'All existence can be split into the mind, soul and body. It is advised that you only cultivate one of the above. Only prodigies can cultivate two or even all three. Which one am I proficient in?'
According to the knowledge he had, all sentient beings had three states of cultivation. The mind, the soul and the body.
The mind was completely intangible and was the central hub of existence. It exerted its will through an intangible Force called Intent. It could perform man wondrous acts. Almost all metaphysical abilities stemmed from the mind. But it was the most ethereal and ephemeral of the states of existence. It was also the hardest to train and the most difficult to master.
'Humans focus too much on matters of the flesh. Our earthly desires cloud our minds till we can't focus. If the system had not arrived, most of humanity's attention span would have weakened to the point that we could barely watch a video longer than five minutes.'
Cultivating was an arduous process, but cultivating the mind was especially strenuous and required a form of singular will.
The soul was halfway in between the body and the mind. Part ephemeral part tangible. This was the bridge of existence that anchored the mind to the realm of matter. The soul was the vessel of the mind, hence it was extremely important, especially in the casting of spells and techniques. The soul is what controls energy that moves through the body and the environment. The soul achieves this control through soul Force. Soul Force controls energy which results in cultivation.
Experts in matters of the soul had the ability to use bizarre skills such as curses and blessings which most beings are unable to block or comprehend. They can communicate with spiritual beings in other realms and can transcend dimensions in their astral forms.
Last but certainly not least was the body. The body was the vessel for the soul. Energy travels around the body, converting it cell by cell, atom by atom into a higher state of existence. This was cultivation. Those who focused on physical cultivation constituted the majority of fighters. There were mainly two types. Those who focused on the energy aspect such as mages etc, and those who focused mainly on the flesh such as martial artists.
The physical body exerted a Force called life Force that could exert a tangible effect on reality. There were countless uses for lifeForce, such as healing, prolonging lifespans, growth, increasing physical traits such as speed and strength, communicating with physical matter, and the list goes on.
The mind controlled the soul through intent. The soul controlled the body through soul Force while the body controlled the environment through Life Force. This was cultivation in its simplest form.
'Intent, Soul Force and Life Force. These three are the key. The question is, what are they exactly?'
Genesis sighed in despair. There was simply too much abstract knowledge he could only process over time.
'No matter. I just need to take my time and be cautious. Caution sails a ship for a thousand years they say. Now about my class. Samsara Breaker
Genesis did not doubt that understanding his class was dependent on his knowledge of Samsara. The cycle of rebirth. Reincarnation was a key belief within Hinduism and Buddhism.
'Samsara, or rebirth, occurs in six realms of existence, namely three good realms. Heavenly, demi-god, human, and three evil realms, animal, ghosts, and hellish. Samsara ends if a person attains nirvana or moksha, the "blowing out" of the desires and the gaining of true insight into impermanence and non-self reality.'
In Hinduism and Buddhism, all life goes through birth, life, death, and rebirth and this is known as the cycle of samsara. According to Hinduism in particular, all living things have an atman, which is a piece of Brahman, or a spirit or soul. It is the atman that moves on into a new body after death.
An atman can go into the body of any living thing, such as a plant, animal or human. Once a living being dies, its atman will be reborn or reincarnated into a different body depending on its karma from its previous life. For example, if a person has good karma in a previous life, then their atman will be reborn or reincarnated into something better than they were previously. A person gains good karma for doing good things in life, such as helping others by following their dharma.
A Hindu's ultimate goal in life is to reach moksha. Moksha means liberation or freedom from samsara and it can only happen after a Hindu has been reborn many times. If a Hindu gains good karma from many lifetimes, they will have gained ultimate knowledge and have freed themselves from the constraints of the material world. Once this happens, a Hindu's atman no longer needs to be reborn into another being and is ready to be free from samsara. As a result, the atman will achieve moksha and will be re-joined with Brahman.
The Saṃsara doctrine of Buddhism asserts that while beings undergo endless cycles of rebirth, there is no changeless soul that transmigrates from one lifetime to another - a view that distinguishes its Saṃsara doctrine from that in Hinduism and other similar beliefs. This no-soul/no-self doctrine is called the Anatta or Anatman in Buddhist texts.
'Which Samsara is being mentioned here? Buddhism or Hindhuism? Perhaps Jainism?'
Anatman from Buddhism is more accurately described as a strategy to attain non-attachment by recognizing everything as impermanent while staying silent on the ultimate existence of an unchanging essence. In contrast, Hinduism asserts the existence of Atman as pure awareness or witness-consciousness, understanding consciousness as an eternal self.'
In other words, in Hinduism, you are self-aware, changeless until moksha and a piece of brahman that is in samsara until moksha and are reunited with Brahman. In Buddhism on the other hand, there is no real self, teachings state that no separate, personal self "holds together" the lived experience of any organism in any realm of existence.
'Which one is it?'
Genesis started to feel a headache coming on. He wasn't sure if he should attempt Moksha to reunite with Brahman as stated in Hinduism or attain nirvana by as cessation of all afflictions, cessation of all actions, cessation of rebirths and suffering that are a consequence of afflictions and actions.
As Genesis pondered this, his gaze shifted to the origin of the rejuvenating scent that was around the flower.
It had a solitary flower head on a long stalk; the flower head was yellow. It had numerous spoon-shaped, slightly hairy leaves near its base that formed a rosette. The plant had leafless flower stalks and hairy leaf-like structures below the flower head. Each of the petals was white with about 20 petals spreading out. This was indeed an ordinary daisy, at least in appearance.
Genesis did not doubt that the scent of this flower not only energized his body but his mind and soul as well. It was an instinctual feeling. If there was one thing Genesis had learned in the past year, it was to trust his gut.