1P\I MLIPI\N

Mcrous Io Curvarn a McaIry

Mnu anu Bouy
raDsatCd aDd CCmQtCd y HMo LL LHT

b H A M b H A L A
bos:on London
2
L N N o
1rauiat^ri |utr^durtt^u 1
PnthO!O_y On thC Lu!ttV8ttOn O bC8!tZ8ttOn
tC8ttC On bttttn_ Ot_Ctttn_ bI
b8ytn_ O 8Ott W8tCt L8n y8n_ Jc6
bCCtCt ttttn_ On thC WCCh8ntm O ^8tutC 11?
Zh8n_ b8nCn_ 8tt P!ChCmy bCCtCt 11
bCCtCt bCCOtd O 1ndCtt8ndtn_ thC 8y 1 ?_
H N o L H o | N H U L | N
aCtsm, CDC C| thC mCst aDttCDt C| tastCrD tradtttCDs, ts
draWtD_ t DtrCastD_ attCDttCD tD thC mCdCrD Cst. DtCrCst
tD aCtsm ts DC CD_Cr tCDhDCd tC |rtD_C CCmCDts, as sCmC
WCud QrC|Cr, ut has CtCmC Qart C| thC DCrma mCDtatty
C| tCDsttCus tDdtVtduas aDd tCsmCQCttaD thtDkCrs tD maDy
arCas C| tCDtCmQCrary t|C.
art C| thC QCQuartty C| aCtsm tD thC Cst mt_ht C
duC tC thC |att that aCtsm ts sttCDtth t yCt asC humaDtsttt
aDd sQtrttua. aCtsm has a taQattty |Cr sutC QCrVastCD C-
tausC tt taD C uDdCrstCCd aDd QrattttCd WtthtD thC |ramC-
WCrks C| CthCr WCrd rCt_tCDs, Cr WtthCut aDy rCt_tCus
|ramCWCrk at a. hts sCDCss adaQtattty may C Why aC-
tsm has CCD aC tC QCDCtratC CstCrD tuturCs WtthCut thC
tmttattCDs C| thCCC_tta dCttrtDC Cr rCt_tCus tdCDttty.
bCmC C| thC sQCttatZCd arts Crt_tDattD_ tD aCtst tradtttCD,
suth as arC-haDd martta dtsttQtDCs, atuQuDtturC, hCra
mCdtttDC, aDd thCraQCuttt massa_C, arC CtCmtD_ tDtrCas-
Z N b L L b N L U L L N
tD_|y Iamt|tar tD thC Cst. aCtst sCcta| Qht|CsCQhy aDd stra-
tC_tc thtDktD_ haVC a|sC QrCVCd tC C CI _rCat tDtCrCst tC
CstCrD QCCQ|C tD VartCus Wa|ks CI |tIC. hCsC arC amCD_ thC
dtmCDstCDs CI aCtsm that haVC attractCd thC attCDttCD CI
QrCICsstCDa|s tD maDy arCasQC|tttca| aDd mt|ttary, a_rtcu
tura|, tDdustrta|, aDd cCmmCrcta|, CducattCDa|, mCdtca|, aDd
sctCDttDc.
mCdttattCD ts CDC C|CmCDt CI aCtsm that tDtCrCsts a rCad
sQCctrum CI QCCQ|C, CcausC thC statC CI mtDd ts cCDtra| tC
thC WC||-CtD_ aDd CIhctCDcy CI thC WhC|C Cr_aDtsm. aCtst
mCdttattCD ts ICr CDhaDcCmCDt CI Cth Qhystca| aDd mCDta|
hCa|th, thCsC tWC IacCts CI WC||-CtD_ arC tDttmatC|y rC-
|atCd tC CDC aDCthCr. mCdCrD sctCDtthc uDdCrstaDdtD_ CI thC
mtDd-Cdy cCDttDuum cCDhrms tradtttCDa| aCtst C|tCIs
aCut thC CIICcts CI mCDta| statCs CD Qhystca| cCDdtttCDs aDd
VtcC VCrsa.
hts VC|umC QrCsCDts a sC|CcttCD CI matCrta|s CD aCtst
mCdttattCD tCuchtD_ uQCD a WtdC raD_C C| tCQtcs tradtttCD
a||y takCD uQ y aCtsts ICr thC QurQCsC C| a||-arCuDd humaD
dCVC|CQmCDt. aVtD_ CCD WrtttcD tD LhtDa, thCy arC
cCuchCd tD thC custCmary usa_Cs CI LhtDCsC cu|turC, Qarttcu
|ar|y thC uD|tartaDtsm CI thC |ast mt||CDDtum, tD Whtch aC
tst, LCDIuctaD, aDd uddhtst tCachtD_s JrC cCmmCD|y usCd
tC_CthCr |Cr DCDdC_mattc J|aD.C tD htghCr cdu.JttCD.
A cCDs|dCrJ|C amCuDt C| mJtcrta| |rCm thts trJdtttCD, tD
Cth c|Jsstca| JDd uD|tJrtJD phJscs, ts currcDt|y JvJtJ|c tD
LDg|tsh trJDs|Jtt0D. hcrc ts DC hxtd systcm O| thOught Cr
Qra.tt.c tD J0|sm, JDd mJDy dt||crcDt mcthOds hJvc CcD
artt.u|atcd Cvcr thc .cntur|cs. lt||0rcDt tcmpcrJmcDts JDd
dt||crcuJ ttmcs hJv` dt||crcDt rcQu|rtmcDts, Jcc0rdtDy !0
JC|st !cJ.h|Dg, sC thc rcsp0Dscs O| tht JO tC thcsc vJrytDy
cCDd|tt0Ds mus| thcmsc|vcs d|||Cr tC c c||c.t|vc. h|s ts thc
N b L L b N L L L N
matD rcasCD |Cr thc QuOttattCD C| a Vartcty C| matcrtas |rCm
thts tradtttCD, tC rcbctt thc cxQcrtcDtcs C| dt ||crcDt QcCQc
aDd thcrcOy athtcVc _rcatcr OaaDtc aDd addrcss a OrCadcr
sQcttrum C| humaD tcmQcramcDt thaD dCcs scttartaD dC_-
mattts.
cstdcs truc aCtst tcathtD_s, tt ts aVcrrcd tD thc ttcra-
turc, thcrc arc maDy |asc Cr dctcrtCratcd |Crms C| suQQCs-
cdy aCtst Qrattttc. arDtD_s tC thts c||ctt haVc OccD
ttrtuatcd |Cr maDy tcDturtcs. hts ts aDCthcr rcasCD |Cr thc
QrcscDtattCD C| a raD_c C| tradtttCDa matcrtas, sC that thc
QuOtt may haVc sCmc Oasts |Cr thc uDdcrstaDdtD_ aDd cVau-
attCD C| Qartttuar QcCQc Cr Qrattttcs QurQCrttD_ tC rcQrc-
scDt aCtsm.
hc hrst scctttCD QrcscDtcd hcrc ts a WCrk tacd Anthe/-
e en the Cu/tivatien e) Rea/izatien Oy aD uDkDCWD authCr
kDCWD CDy Oy thc styc LuttVatCr C| bcattattCD. tstCV-
crcd tD maDustrtQt |Crm aDd QuOtshcd tD I759, tt aQQcars
tC Oc a QrCdutt C| thc mtD_ dyDasty t15681644). LtttD_
aCtst, LCDmttaD, aDd uddhtst tcathtD_s, thc authCr cm-
Qhasttcs OaaDtcd dcVcCQmcDt C| thc Datura, sCtta, aDd
sQtrttua ccmcDts C| humaD t|c thrCu_h mcdttattCDs CD a
Wtdc Vartcty C| tCQtts.
hc sctCDd scctttCD ts a Vcry |amCus maDua CD mcdtta-
ttCD, Treati:e en Sittin Ferettin Oy btma LhcD_thcD C| thc
aD_ dyD8sty (618~907). hc tCsmCQCttaD tuturc C| thc
aD_ dyDasty has C|tcD OccD tacd thc _CdcD a_c C| Lht-
Dcsc ttVtt tattCD. hc _rcat sthCCs C| L8stcrD uddhtsm
hCu|tshcd durtD_ thc aD_ dyD8sty, cxcrttD_ a QCWcrju tD-
ucDtc CD thc suOscQucDt cVCuttCD C| LCDmttaDtsm aDd
8C|sm. hts Trsatiss en Sittin Fersttin ts ccary aCtsttt,
yct tt |s _cDcray Qh|cd tD a maDDcr attcQtaOc tC LCD|u-
N b L L b N L l L N
ttaDs aDd uddhtsts. t ts CItCD QuCtCd tD atCr WCrks CD thC
sujCtt CI aCtst mCdttattCD.
hC thtrd sCCtttCD tCDststs CI saytD_s CI a aDyaD_,
a IamCus aCtst WtZard CI thC bCD_ dyDasty (960~I279),
aDyaD_, WhCsC aCtst DamC mCaDs LtDDaar buDt_ht, Was
CDC CI thC _rCat dtsttQCs CI aD_ LhCD_yaD_, thC ICuDdCr
CI thC PCrthCrD raDth CI LCmQCtC bCatty aCtsm, a QCW
CrIu DCC-aCtst mCVCmCDt rCVtVtD_ Cth tCDtCmQattVC aDd
sCtta CCmCDts CI aCtsm. hC austCrC sQtrttuatty CI thC
PCrthCrD raDth CI LCmQCtC bCatty aCtsm ts rCmtDtstCDt
CI LhaD, Cr ZCD, uddhtsm, Whtth maDy DCC-aCtsts stud-
tCd, ut tt ts asC aD Cr_aDtt rCsQCDsC tC thC QrCCms aDd
hardshtQs CI a sCttCty uDdCr ICrCt_D CttuQattCD.
hC ICurth sCCtttCD ts takCD IrCm aD aDthCC_y taCd
S::r:t ritins en th: M::hani:m: e) Natur:. hts ts a tCCtttCD
CI CxtCrQts IrCm 165 sCurtCs CI aCtst tradtttCD, tDtudtD_
aDttCDt tasstts, WrtttD_s CD mCdttattCD aDd sQtrttua a-
thCmy, aDd thC admCDtttCDs aDd tDstrutttCDs CI thC _rCat
umtDartCs CI aCtst sQtrttuatty thrCu_h thC a_Cs.
hC hIth sCCtttCD ts a dtstCursC CD thC mCDta rChDCmCDt
rCQrCsCDtCd y thC sttCDtC CI sQtrttua athCmy. t ts attrt
utCd tC ZhaD_ baDICD_, a sCmtmythCC_tta h_urC CI thC
mtD_ dyDasty tC WhCm, Cr tC WhCsC sthCC, a _rCat maDy
WCrks CI thts _CDrC arC attrtutCd. ZhaD_ baDICD_ Was suQ
QCsCd tC haVC CCD a _rCat athCmtst aDd ts tradtttCDay
assCttatCd Wtth thC ICrm CI CxCrttsC kDCWD as at[tQuaD, Cr
at Lht LhuaD.
lrCsCDtCd hCrC ts a tCxt CDtttCd z/.:.
,
1.:A/-
.h:, S:.r:ti. j ust as m1rtta arttsts, suth as bhaCtD CxCrs
aDd ZCD du0Crs aDd ar.hCrs, .CmmCDy QrattttCd mCdtta
ttCD, thC tDtCrtCr |CuDdattCD C| at Lht ts asC tradtttCDay
8ssCttatCd Wtth tDtCrDa mCdttattCD QratttC. hts athCmy
P N b L P L b l N L U L L N
tCC ts OasCd CD awarCDCss CI t hC CCDDCCttCD OCtwCCD mtDd
aDd OCdy, aDd tts CxCrCtsC ratsCs thC phystCa praCttCC CI at
Lht DCw QuttC pCpuar tD thC Cst, tC a _rCatCr CVC CI tCta
tuhmCDt.
hC stxth aDd hDa sCCCttCD tD thts VCumC ts takCD IrCm
Se:ret Recerds e) Lndrstandin the a, a rarC aDd rCmarkaOC
maDusCrtpt CCCCttCD CI taks Oy aD aDCDymCus aCtst
kDCwD CDy Oy a dCVCttCDa DamC. hts appCars tC OC a wCrk
CI thC atC _tD_ dyDasty (I644~1911), CCary ICCwtD_ tra-
dtttCDa tDCs yCt wtth a CaDdCr CharactCrtsttC CI mCdCrD
t|DCs.
1 L W A T
N H L 1 N H L
L U L N | N
H L L | | N
| QCCQC WaDt tC dC thC DDCst thtD_ tD thC WCrd, DCthtD_
CCmQarCs tC CarDtD_. | thCy WaDt tC C thC Cst C| CarDCrs,
DCthtD_ CCmQarCs tC CarDtD_ thC ay. mastCr Zhu satd,
`LCarDtD_ ts |Cr sCCktD_ thC ay, What ts thC usC C| |CarDtD_
CthCrWtsC! LVCD QrC|CsstCDa QrCmCttCD ts sCmCthtD_ Cxtra-
DCCus What a Qtty tt has CCrruQtCd sC maDy QCCQC hC Ttc
T:Cbtgsays, `C Cstatsh aD CmQCrCr aDd sCt uQ ht_h C|h -
Ctas, CDC may haVC a _rCat CWC aDd drtVC a tCam C| hCrsCs,
ut that ts DCt as _CCd as adVaDCtD_ Camy CD thts ay.
aCDt ts CxQCttCd y CthCrs aDd rarC|y rCaChCs tts CDd,
VtrtuC ts CuttVatCd y CDCsC|, aDd tt has a dChDtttCD. hC
ay ts uDdCDDCd, ut WhCD usCd t t ts tDCxhausttC. hCrC-
|CrC suQCrtCr QCCQC CDy study thC ay: thCy CCk uQCD
mCrtt aDd |amC, WCath aDd status, as bCattD_ CCuds, CtttD_
8 H L L U L V P L N L H L P L Z P L N
thCm _C aDd CCmC WtthCut CtD_ mCVCd y thCm WhtC tD
thCtr VCry mtdst.
| suQC|tCr QCCQC CDy study thC ay, ts tt CCausC thCy
_atD sCmC CDCht! YCs, tt ts. hat ts that CDCht! hCsC
WhC study thC ay study What ts tD thC sC|. hC mtDd CaD
C rCadCDCd, thC Cdy CaD C CDChtCd, stCkDCss CaD C
Cu|Cd, dCath CaD C aVCtdCd. PC CDChts arC _rCatCr thaD
thCsC.
C QCCQC WhC study thC ay aCtuay _atD thCsC CDCUts
aDd QCasurCs! | thCy dC, thCD Why dC QCCQC C| thC WCrd
a _Ct trrttatCd WhCD thCy sCC QCCQC WhC study thC ay
CCDstdCrtD_ thCm CCCCDtrtCs Cr QhCDtCs! hC Tac T: Chin
says, `hCD suQCrtCr QCCQC hCar C| thC ay, thCy traVC tt
dtt_CDty. hCD mCdtCCrC QCCQC hCar C| thC Way, thCy sCCm
aWarC, yCt arC as t| CtVtCus. hCD CssCr QCCQC hCar C| thC
ay, thCy au_h at tt Cut Cud. hat thCy dCD t au_h at
CCudDt C thC ay.
I H I N L I I L b
hC ay ts CDC aDd CDy CDC. LD thC CCCstta CVC tt ts
CaCd dCsttDy, CD thC humaD CVC tt ts CaCd CssCDtta Da
turC. LD thC QhCDCmCDa CVC tt ts CaCd QrtDCtQC.
hts QrtDCtQC Ct|CuatCs th|CughCut thC WCrd, aQQCa|tDg
tD daty aCttVtttCs. LVC|y CVCDt aDd CVCry thtDg has a Datu|a
QrtDCtQC, whtCh CaDDCt C dtsQCDsCd wtth. hus thCrC ts a
QrtDCtQC whCrCy thtDgs arC as thCy arC, tt CaDDCt C atCrCd,
0Dy |00wCd.
OuQC|tC| QC0QC 0sCrVC thtDgs tD tC|ms C| Q|tDCtQC
rtght 0| w|0Dq, gC0d 0| ad, thCy dCa wtth thCm aCCC|d
tDgy. h|s ts CaCd sCUCssDCss. OCUCssDCss |Csuts
lH
0jCtt|vtty, 0jCCtV|ty |Csuts tD Ca|tty. La|tty rCsuts tD
H L L L L N 9
dcaling with cvcnts accuratcly and comprchcnding thc na-
turco|things.
_ I uviewthingsthroughyourcgo, thcn|ovcandhatrcd
ariscuncontro||ab|yandyoucannotavoidindu|ging|cclings
Vhcn you indulgc |cclings, then you arc bcing subjcctivc.
Vhcn you arc sub`cctivc, yOu arc ignoranr Vhcn you arc
ignorant, youarcmixcdupandcon|uscd,youarcon|y awarc
o|yoursc||, not o|princip|c.
Vhcn thcrc is princip|c, thcrc is cncrgy, whcn cncrgy is
mani|cst, princip|cis hiddcn. Vhcn thcrcis cncrgy, thcrcis
|orm, whcn |orm is mani|cst, cncrgy is hiddcn. Principlc is
a|ways balanccd, whcrcas cncrgy is partia|, |orm is cvcn
morc partial. 8a|ancc is good in al| rcspccts, thcrc is somc-
thing that is not good in partia|ity. I|you want to convcrt
what is not good in partia|ity to rcturn to thc goodncss o|
ba|ancc, you must cxaminc yoursc||closcly on thc brink o|
action. Expandand |ulF l|whatcmcrgcs |romthc balancco|
princip|c, cuto||andc|iminatcwhat comcs|romthc partia|-
ity o| |orm. A|tcr a long timc, principlc wi|l natural|y rc-
main, whi|cdcsircswi||natural|ydisappcar.
Thcprincip|cs o|thcwor|dmustbcinvcstigatcd, yctthcy
cannot all bc invcstigatcd comp|ctcly. Thcrc is an csscntial
point,whichistodisccrncon|usioninonc'sownmind.Vith
disccrnmcnt comcs c|arity, with clarity comcs truth|u|ncss.
Vith truth|u|ncss, thc principlcs o| thc wor|d arc apprc-
hcndcdandccntcrcdpoisc isattaincd.
To knowthatthconcgoodisba|anccandyctnottorcach
balancc, to know al| phcnomcna arc mind and yct not to
undcrstand mind~this iscon|usion. To knowthcmattcr o|
birthanddcath isscriousandyct nottorcalizcbirthlcssncss,
to know impcrmancncc is swi|t yct not to rca|izc thcrc is
mndamcntal|ynospccdthis isconmsion.
l L L V P L N L f L P L Z P L N
rtDttQC ts Crt_tD8y thCrC, ust t8 tt tC mtDd 8Dd tt
ts
thCrC 0I ttsCI. CstrC ts Crt_tD8y DCt thCrC; tI y0u t8D ust
sCC thrCu_h tt, tt dts8QQC8rs CI ttsC| btCQQtD_ dCstrC 8Dd
kCCQtD_ tC QrtDttQC 8rC 8stt8y DCt tW0 thtD_s, tC thC Cx-
tCDt th8t yCu h8VC stCQQCd dCstrC, tC th8t CxtCDt yCu kCCQ
tC QrtDttQC. PCthtD_ CDCDts QC0QC mCrC th8D QrtDttQC,
yCt th0s; WhC kCCQ tC QrtDttQC 8rC ICW. P0thtD_ h8rms QC0
QC mCrC th8D dCstrC, yCt th0sC WhC tDdu_C dCstrCs 8rC
m8Dy.
hCD QC0QC h8VC dCstrCs, tt ts tkC trCCs h8VtD_ tDsCtts,
tCDsumCd WtthtD uDkDCWD, CI0rC CD_ thCy tC8QsC. hCsC
Wh0 thtDk dCstrC ts IuD dC DCt rC8tZC dCstrC ts tkC hrC, tI yCu
d0 D0t Qut tt 0ut, y0u

Wt urD yCursC| Y0ur sQtrtt Wt
suUCr |rCm trrtt8tt0D, 8t0hC 8Dd sCx Wt WC8r 0ut y0ur Vtt8
CDCr_y, QrCduttD_ tDCss 8Dd utCrs, s0 y0u try 0ut tD Q8tD
d8y 8Dd Dt_ht. uddhtsts WhC s8y y0u su|ICr |r0m y0ur stDs
8ItCr dC8th dC D0t rC8tZC yCu 8rC8dy suIICr WhtC stt 8tVC.
H b A V b N A N b A H H
hC LrC8t 8y ts I0rmCss, thC uDtVCrsC ts thC 8y Wtth
ICrm. hC uDtVCrsC ttsCI d0Cs D0t sQC8k, s8_Cs 8rC 8 uDtVCrsC
th8t t8D sQC8k. dtd D0t _Ct t0 sCC thC s8_Cs, ut h8VC rC8d
thCtr t8sstt WrtttD_s. y rC8dtD_ thCtr t8sstt WrtttD_s, 0DC
t8D uDdCrst8Dd thCtr QrtDttQCs, h0W ts th8t dtUCrCDt Ir0m
sCCtD_ thC s8_Cs:
L0d trC8tCs 0ur 0dtCs, L0d Cst0Ws 0ur D8turC. DstdC
8Dd 0utstdC 8rC 0th |r0m L0d, h0W d8rC WC dCr8D_C thCm:
C 8rC WtthtD L0d, L0d ts tD 0ur hC8rts, t| WC sCC thC uDt-
VCrsC 8Dd Cmu8tC |ts Qurtty, thts ts D0t dt |ICrCnJ Ir0m thC
LrC8t 8y. | WC hJVC CVCD 8 tttC sChsh tDtCDt, WC CxQCr|
rDtC QCD8t|cs th8t 8rC D0t trtVt8.
H L L P L L Z N 1 1
Thc physica| body is Godgivcn naturc, i|you act in ac-
cord with God-givcn naturc, you wi|l spontancous|y bc |rcc
o|thcburdcno|humandcsircs.Dai|ytasks arc norms,act in
obcdicncctothc|awso|Godandthcrcwi|lbc no mistakcn
cxccsscs.
Thc path o|humanity is alwayscoordinatcd with hcavcn
and carth in thc altcrnation o| movcmcnt and stil|ncss.
Human cncrgy is a|ways in communion with hcavcn and
carthinthcaltcrnationo|cxhalationandinhalation.
I havc rcad that thc sun going down into thc carth is a
symbol o|thc hrc o|thc hcart dcsccnding, and thc moon
rcachingthcccntcro|thcskyisa symbolo|thcwatcro|thc
kidncys rising.Gazingupward,wcscc thcMorthStarabid-
ing in its p|acc, with thc othcr stars rcvo|ving around it, so
itisca|lcd thc pivot o|thc sky. Sincc cvcn thc hcavcns havc
a pivot~which is considcrcd thc root o| crcation~human
bcings a|so havc a pivot, which is considcrcd thc sourcc o|
naturc and |i|c.
Evcnthough thcy arc cqua|ly human, thcrc arc so-callcd
grcat pcop|c who match thcir qualitics with hcavcn and
carth. Try cxamining your own mind and your own na-
turc-how may thcy match hcavcn and carth! I| thcy
match,thcnbcdi|igcnt,i|not,thcnquicklyrc|orm.Dothis,
andattaining humangrcatncsswil|notbcaworry.
Hcavcn produccs, carth dcvc|ops, thcy arc our univcrsal
|athcr and mothcr. Hcavcn is activc, carth is stil|, thcy arc
our univcrsa| guidc and tcachcr. Thc past sagcs wcrc thc
childrcn o| hcavcn and carth, thc mturc sagcs arc kind|y
dcsccndants o|hcavcn and carth. Thosc who actua|ly lovc
thcirparcntsarcgrcat invirtuc, thcy wil|surcly rcccivc|i|c.
Thosc who actually rcspcct thcir tcachcrs lcarn |rom thc
groundupand arrivcat thcpcak.
1 Z H L L U L V L L L L Z L
H U M A N L I L
Humanli|c is thcultimatc, whcnthcu|timatcgocs intoac
tion it produccs positivc cncrgy as h rc. Firc is spirit. Vhca
thcu|timatc bccomcs quicsccnt it produccs ncgativc cncrg,
aswatcr.Vatcrisvita|ity.Thchrco|spiritandthcwatcrot
vitality combinc subtly and congca| bctwccn thc two kid-
ncys toconstitutcthcroot o|originalcncrgy.
8c|orcwcarcborn,thcclarityorturbidityo|ourcndow
mcnt o|cncrgy comcs |rom God's bcstowa|~humans caa
havc nothing todowithit. A|tcrwc arc born, pcrvcrsityo(
rcctitudco|humancharactcrcomcs|romourownmaking~
Godcannotovcrsccit.
Ashcavcnandcarthgivcbirth to human bcings, thoscot
highcrintc||igcnccarco|coursc|cw, thosc o|bascst|o|lyarc
a|so |cw. It is thc middling who arc most numcrous. Mid-
dling pcop|c can strcngthcn thcmsc|vcs until thcy arc not
di||crcnt |rom thosc o| highcr intc|ligcncc, but i| middling
pcoplc ncg|cct thcmsclvcs, how arc thcy di||crcnt|romthe
|owcst|oo|s!
Pcop|c today on|y know thcy arc o|'spring o|thcir par-
cnts, thcy do not rcalizc that thcy and thcirparcnts arc
o|'spring o| thc Vay. Thcrc|orc supcrior pcoplc invariably
scck to attain thcVay, so thcy wi|| thcrca|tcr havc nothing
tobcashamcdo|bc|orchcavcnandcarth, nodisgraccbc|ore
hcavcn and carth.
MastcrGcngsaid,''ThcVay o|thc wisc kingsVcnand
Vu has not yct col|apscd, it is in pcop|c. Itwas not onlyin
thcpcop|c o|thcpast, it is also in pcop|co|thcprcscntag
e.
It is noton|y in pcoplc o|thc prcscnt agc, it will also bcin
pcop|c o| thc |uturc.` Vhcn a pcrson is born, a pcrson has
H L L P L N L P L | P N !
onc body; incach body is arca| human bcing Thc sp|ritua|
subtlcty o|a rca| human communcs with hcavcn and carth,
thcc|arity and ca|m o| a rca| human |s |rcc |rom dust. Thc
rca| human has ncvcr grown morc or |css, thc rca| human
bcing has ncvcr dicd or bccn born. l|you can just nurturc
thcrca| human bc|ng, this wi|| bc bcttcr than apaupcr ob-
taining tcnthousandp|cccs o|go|d.
Mcncius said, Thc di||crcncc bctwccn humansand ani-
ma|s is slight, common pcop|c ob||tcratc it, supcr|or pcop|c
maintainit. Thosc whomaintain|t bccomc sagcs, thoscwho
ob|itcratc it bccomc bcasts. ` Vhcn thcy ob|itcratc it, thcy
turnintobcasts rightaway,notinanothcrli|c a|tcrdcath.
Maturc has Fvc |orccs-mctal, wood, watcr, hrc, and
carth.Thcyarcca|lcd|orccsbccauscthcyncvcrccasc, i|thcy
ccascd|orcvcna whi|c, thcycould notbcca||cd |orccs. Hu-
manityhas hvc constants. Thcyarcca||cd constants bccausc
thcy arc invariab|c, i|thcy varicd |or cvcn a momcnt, thcy
could not bcca||cdconstants.
Thcsc hvc |orccs and hvc constants arc inhcrcnt in thc
humanbody,whcrcthcyconstitutchvcorgans~hcart,|ivcr,
pancrcas, lungs, and kidncys. Thc hvc organs arc thc main
root giving li|c to pcop|c, i|this main root is damagcd, it
cannot sustain li|c. Thcrc|orc whcn cn|ightcncd physicians
trcatdiscasc, thcy invariably harmonizc thchvcorganshrst.
Vhcnthchvc|orccsopcratc inthccoursc o|dai|yactivi-
tics, thcy constitutc thc hvc norms. Thc hvc norms arc thc
rclationship bctwccngovcrnmcnt and pcop|c, bctwccnpar-
cntsandchildrcn,bctwccnhusbandandwi|c, bctwccnoldcr
andyoungcr siblings, and bctwccn |ricnds. Thc Fvc norms
arcthcpatho|succcss|orpcop|c,i|thcyncg|cctthiswayo|
succcss, thcy cannot bc human. Thcrc|orc whcn ancicnt
sagcs
cducatcdpcop|c, Frstthcyc|ucidatcd thcprinciplcso|
1 L L U V L L H L L Z L
thchvcnorms,andyctthcrcarcpcoplco|thcprcscntgcncr-
ation who scck thcway by morti[ing thcirphysical bodics
and dcparting |rom human norms. Thcy arc ccrtainly un-
awarc that thcy arc wrong, and whcn pcoplc o| thc world
rcvcrc and worship thcmouto|amazcmcnt, thcy too don't
knowthcy'rc wrong.
U L A U b
Pcoplc all say that a|tcr sixty you agc ycar by ycar, a|tcr
scvcnty, youagc month by month, a|tcrcighty,youagcday
by day. I am morc thancightyycars old~now what!From
now on, cach day I livc is a day lcnt by Hcavcn |or thc
Vay-how darc I wastc it! Evcn i| I attain thc Vay right
now, it is alrcady latchow could it bc admissiblc to dclay
any|urthcr!
Alongtimcagothrcccldcrswcrctalkingaboutimpcrma-
ncncc. Onc c|dcr said, O| thosc who attcnd this ycar's
party, who knows who will bc missing ncxt ycar. `Anothcr
cldcr said, Vhat you'rc talking about is |ar away. Vhcn
wc takc o|| our shocs and socks tonight, wc don' t know
whcthcr or not wc will put thcm on again tomorrow.` Thc
thirdcldcr said, Vhat you'rc ta|king about is still rcmotc.
Vhcn wc cxha|c this brcath, wc don t know i| wc wi||
brcathc |O agai n. '
Thc wisc dO OOt !OsC t| mC, t!C L|JvC dO nott!|O1 twicc.
l | yOu yCt tO kOOw t!C Jy tOdJy, yOu s!Ou!d sct tO wO|
t!|s vC|y dJy, w!CO yOu 1OOw, t!Jt is w!CO tO stJ|t. tyou
sJy yOu dO nOt !JvC t!C !C|su|C tOdJy JOd w| | wJ)t |O| Jn
Ot!C| dJy, m J||J|d t!Jt w!CO yOu wJOt tO dO | t yOu wOnt
LC JL|C tO JOymO|C.
umJO LC|Oys !JvC t!|CC t|CJsu|Csv| tJ ty, COC|_y Jnd
L | L L _ | L N \
spirit.Ino|dagc,bewareo|exhaustingvita|ity,whcnvita|ity
ishaustcd, you dic. !n o|Jugt, bc\varc o||caking cnergy,
i|cnergy is drained, you dic. In o|d uyc, bcwareo|dissocia-
tiono|thespirit, i|thc spirit is gone, youJic
Howcan you avoidcxhaustingvita|ity? Is it ncccssary to
stayaway |rom scx? Howcun you avoiJ |caking energy? | s
i tncccssary tospcak |ittle' How can you avoiJ dissociation
o|spirit!IsitncccssarytobcJesire|ess?Thcspiritcannotbc
stabi|izcd by |orcc, whcn the mind and brcathing rest on
cach othcr, thcn thcspiritnatura||y stabi|izcs. Encrgy is not
to bc draincd casual|y, |orgct words and kccp ccntcrcd and
cncrgyis notdraincd. Vita|ityisnottobc|ostthrough|cak-
agc, rccircu|atc vita|ity to rcp|cnish thc brain and vita|ity
docs notlcak.
Somc ask, whcn pcop|cagc and thcirphysica|cncrgyhas
dctcrioratcd, how can it bc rcp|cnishcd! 8ybcingcarc|u|o|
your spccch you can rcplcnish your |ungs. 8y modcrating
|ood and drinkyoucanrcplcnishyourstomach. 8ystopping
worry you can rcp|cnish your hcart. 8ygctting rid o| angcr
you can rcp|cnish your |ivcr. 8y stoppingpromiscuous |ust,
youcan rcp|cnish yourkidncysandgcncrativcorgans.
I|askcd|or morc, I wouldsaydon' tworry about not rc-
plcnishing, bcwarc o| rcp|cnishing and thcn wasting again.
I havc thcrc|orc said, a|tcr ahundrcd days o|rcp|cnishmcnt
you do not scc cxccss, but onc day o| wastc and you scnsc
insu|6cicncy.
Lookat thcp|antsand trccs, thcir|o|iagcHourishcs, thcn
drops in latc autumn, rcturning to thc roots, as a natura|
pattcrn. Rcturning to thc root, it docs not dic but rcgcncr-
atcs comc springtimc. From this princip|c wc can scc that
cnd|css rcgcncration is thc Vay o|naturc, whilc rcturning
to thcir roots is thc inhcrcntpattcrn o| bcings. Thosc who
1 L L U L P L L H L P L Z P L
know thc inhcrcnt pattcrn and do not vio|atc thc Vay arc
rca| pcop|c. That is why rcal pcoplc brcathc |rom thci(
hccls~thchcc|sarclikcthcroot. Duringthcthrcc months
o| wintcr, which is thc scason o| rcturn to thc root, you
shou|dquict|y nurturcthis.
b I L K N b b b
How docs sickncss arisc! Evcryonc crcatcs psychologica| a|
Hictions bascd on wandcring thoughts. Oncc psycho|ogica|
amictionshavcariscn, thcy injurcthchcartwithin. Onccthc
hcart is injurcd, it cannot nurturc thcstomach, so oncdOt
not cnjoy |ood. Vhcn thc stomach is dcbi|itatcd, thc |ung
cncrgy wi|| bcdcF cicnt,thuscausing acough. Onccthcrc |
a cough, watcr cncrgy drics up, so wood cncrgy is incom-
p|ctc~thchairburns, thc musc|csarc dcbi|itatcd, whcnthc
wcakncss sprcads throughout thcFvcorgans, oncdics.
Vhcn wandcring thoughts sprout and stir, this is whca
sickncss originatcs. Pcop|c todaydo not noticcthis, thcy in-
variab|y wait until pain a||ccts thcir bodics bc|orc thcycon-
sidcr thcmsc|vcs sick, not knowing it was not an ovcrnight
thing but dcvc|opcd gradual|y.
Outsidc thc body thcrc arc six cxtrcmcs~wind, co|d,
hcat, humidity, dryncss, and hrc. |nsidcthcrc arc scvcn |cc|-
ings~joy, angcr, sadncss, happincss, worry, |car, and sur-
prisc. hOC whO gCt ck CcuuC OI thc CVCO |CC|Og
u|t
intcrna||y |mpu|CU uOU UCVC!Op symptoms O| dCDc|COcy
hOC whO gCt |ck CcuuC o|thc sixcxtrcmcsarccxtcrn
a||y
destabi|izcduOU UCVCOp i||ncsscsO| cxccss.
LCD c|COcy cu!! |or rcplcnishmcnt, cxccss shou|d Dr
U|u|OCU O|| Sickness |csu|tiOg |rom injury to thc tCmpO|a|
phy|cu COc|gy cuO be curcd by hcrbs, mi ncra|s, ucupuOc
L L | N L L | \
turc, and moxabustion, sickncss rcsulting |rom imcrna|
damagc to thc primal immatcria| vita|ity anJ spirit cannot
bccurcJwithout inncrgazingand quiet nurturing
Thc tcn grcat physicianscurcd pcoples physica| il|s, thc
sagcs o| thc Thrcc Tcachings curcd peop|cs mcntal ills.
Vhcn |ricnds arcsick, cvcryonc knows to|ookin on thcm,
butwhcnpcoplcarc sick thcmsc|vcs, thcydon`tknow how
to |ook a|tcrthcmsclvcs.
||you know how towatch yourscl|, gazing inwardlyyou
sccnomind,gazingoutward|yyou scc nobody.Sinccmind
andbody arcnotthcrc,whoisitthatsu||crs illncss!Vhois
itthatisnotil|?I|youcansccclcarly,youwil|spontancous|y
bcunburdcncd.
Vhcnyoualwaysthinkabouti|lncss, thcnyourmatcria|-
ism gradual|y diminishcs. Vhcn you arc a|ways on guard
against dcath, thcn thc mind|u|ncss o| thc Vay naturally
dcvc|ops.
Oncc upon a timc a man had a hcart ailmcnt. Hc mct
an cmincnt monk who to|d him, Youril|ncss originatcs in
amictions. Amictionsarisc|romcrrantthoughts.
m* " -~ ~
Mow thcn, thcrc arc thrcc kinds o|crrant thoughts. I|
youthinkbacktothcgood timcsandbadovcrthcdccadcs,
thc|avorsandhostilitics, thcvarious id|ccmotions and|ccl-
ings, thisiscrrant thoughto|thcpast.
Vhcnthingscomcup, youshouldrcspondaccordingly.
I|instcadyouinsiston|ormingopinions,youhcsitatcindcci-
sivc|y. This iscrrant thought o|thc prcscnt.
Vhcn you hopc |or thc wcalth and status you wish
somcday, or you hopc your childrcn will gct thcir dcgrccs
and bc succcssm| in thcir timc~cvcn though thcsc arc
things that cannot ncccssarily bc accomp|ishcd and cannot
ncccssarilybcobtaincd~thisiscrrantthoughto|thc|uturc.
I 8 L L L P L L L P L Z L
'Thcscthrcc kinds o|crrantthoughtssuddcnlyoccuraad
thcnsuddcn|ydisappcar-Chan 8uddhists call this thc illu-
sorymind.I|youcansccitiscrror, thcn itwill mcltaway=
Chan 8uddhists ca|l this thc awakc mind. Thus it is said,
Don'tworryabout thc occurrcncco|thoughts, onlybcwar
e
o| bcing slow to noticc it happcning. Thc occurrcncc
c
thoughtissickncss , notcontinuingthoughts ismcdicinc.'
Thc cmincnt moma|so said to thc man wmc hca:t
ailmcnt, Yoursickncssis a|so |ai|urco|watcrandFrc tom|x.
Gcncrallyspcaking, obscssion with bcautics to thcpoiat
o| dcbauchcry is cxtcrnal|y stimulatcd lust, a wct drcao
causcd by thinking o| bcautics at night is intcrnal|y prc
duccd |ust.
Attachmcnt to thcsctwo dissipatcs thc brainvitality.!t
youcanstop thcm, thcn thc watcr cncrgy associatcd with
thcm wi|| natura||y bcproduccd in abundancc, so itcan rise
to mix with thchcart.
Vhcnyoupondcrwritingstothc point whcrcyou|orget
tos|ccpand cat, this is ca||cdabstract obstruction.
\'hcn you pursuc your busincss or pro|cssion without
rc|raining|romovcrwork, thisisca|lcdconcrctcobstructica.
Although thcsctwoarcnot human |usts, sti|| thcydao-
agcthcsou|. I|you can rc|axthcm, thcnthcFrco|thc hcart
w||| not harc upwa:d, so rt can dcsccnd to mix w|th t|e
gcn|ta| cncrgy
`uS SCOsC UJtJ arc not UCct|V|2CU and scnsc orgaas
JVC OU [JttOCrS. Going JyJ|OSt tc How to rcturn to oae,
tC IuOtt|UOS UI tC S|x scnscs JtC not act|vc.
!c mJO W|t tC cJ|t J| mCOt U UWCU thc cminea:
monk's JJV|tL btJy|Og J|UOc | n UOC tUUm, hc cmpt|cd
|is
m|nJo|al| U|cttS. Whcn C !aJ bccn s| tting thcrcU| ove.
J muOt, h|sC.t|t J| O\cOt s.med tU d|sappcar.
L L U V P L L L P L _ P L !
Vhen you have an i|lness, know it yourselt Once you
know it, youshou|dcureitassoon as possible. I|you dislike
the cure and avoid |acing the i||ness, when impermanence
comesuponyouit will be too |ate|or regret.
b A 1 H

Vhen people are in theprimeo||i|e, there is nothing they

' won't do inpursuit o|desires. Thentheirhea|th isdamaged
' and all sorts o|ailmentsoccur. Vhen death is approaching,
evenhouses|ul|o|sonsanddaughterscannothelp them, no
matter how much money they have, it cannot buy them
health. Havingregretswhenyougettothepointo|deathis
toolate.
Vho does not |ear death! Ve should bewareo|it /e/re
we are dying. l|we wait unti | we are dying to beware o|
death, thendeathwill be hard to escape. Vhodoes not|ear
sickness ! Ve should beware o|i t /e/re we get sick. I|we
wait unti| weget sick to beware o|sickness, thensickness
will be hard to cure.
Observe the things i n the world~is anything more im-
portant than nature and |i |e!Think o|a|| theevents inthe
world~areanygreaterthanbirthanddeath!
Everyone |ikes|i |e butnotthepatho||ongl i|e. Everyone
dislikesdeath but not the thingsconducive todeath.
Vhilepeopleareintheworld,eventsgooncontinuously,
and they eventuallydie, on the brink o|death, what means
can be used toavoid i t! It is better to changeyour attitude
as soon as possible, letting go o|all sorts o|entanglements
insenseob|ects, to become a long-lived person beyond the
world. Vouldn'tthatbegood!
Some may ask, we have been wrapped up in theob|ects
Z H L U L V N f P L P L N
o|thcscnscs|oralong,|ong timc, won titbchatd tolctgo
o|thcm all at oncc, cvcn i|wc want to Thc answcr to this
isthatyouarc unwil|ing to lct go~that is why you say it's
hard. Supposc you dic~is thcrc anything you don' t lct go
o|! Evcn though you'rc not dcad now, supposc yourscl|to
bcalrcadydcad~whcnyoulctgo o|cvcrything,whatisnot
wondrous!
It is also askcd what wc lct go o|. Thc answcr is that we
lct go o|thc |ourgross clcmcnts, thc Gvc clustcrs, sccds o|
cmotionalizcd consciousncss. Rcal practitioncrs o| thc Va
shouldbc i|totallydcadoncc,andthcn rcturntoli|c.Fo(
pcoplc who arc totally dcad, thcrc is no world wrapping
thcm up, and no mystic principlc. Vhcn you rcach total
ccssation likc this, only thcnis it sctucd.
Con|uciussaid, I|youhcarthcVayin thc morning, you
can dic contcnt that night. This saying tcachcs pcoplc the
critical point. It sccms to mcan that whcn supcrior pcop|e
havc hcard thc Vay, thcy comprchcnd li|c and dcath in an
instant.
b U b H I N U
Simply bccausc thcy cannot gct rid o| onc thing, namcl
craving,pcoplccravc |amc and proht and bccomc boundb
|amc and proF t, thcy cravc winc and Hcsh and bccome
boundby winc and Hcsh, thcy cravc status and prcstigcand
bccomc bound by status and prcstigc, thcy cravc childrcu
and grandchildrcn and bccomc bound by childrcn and
grandchildrcn. Thcy bind up thc truc naturc in all sortso|
mixcd-upways,comingandgoing in thchumanworldsub-
jcct tounlimitcdsut|cring.
A|ctusdevclops|rom thccombinationo|thcspcrm
|rom
H L L U L V P L P | P \
thc|athcrand thcovum|rom thcmothcr. Thc amniotic sac
islikc aprison,constrictingthcbody Vhcn thc mothcrcats
somcthing hot, it islikc boilingwatcr is bcingpourcdonthc
bodyo|thc |ctus, whcn thc mothcrcats somcthing cold, it
islikciccisbcingprcsscdagainst itsbody. Vhcn thccncrgy
is|u||andthc |ctusiscomplctc, iturgcntlywantstogctout,
but it must Frst brcak through thc sac. It takcs a |cw days
|or thcwatcr tobrcak. pcop|c on|yknowo|thc su||cring o|
thcmothcr's|aborpains~thcydo notknow that thc in|ant
su||crs cvcn morc.On|yat parturition,whcnitcrics out,arc
thcsu||crings inthcwombovcr.
Thcn thcrc arc su||crings a||ccting thc wholc body that
subscqucntly comc a|ong. Inwardly thcrc arc hungcr and
thirst, outwardly thcrc arc cold and hcat, |cvcrs and rashcs
occur onc a|tcr anothcr. Thcsc arc thc su||crings o| child-
hood.
Vhcn adu|thoodis rcachcd, thcnonc is|accdwithwork.
Thosc who bccomc rulcrs worry about thc |and, thosc who
bccomcgcntry and pcasants worry about thcir pcrsons and
thcir |amilics. Day and night thcy labor, uncasy cvcn whcn
sittingorlying down.Thchrcs in thc intcrnalorgansarc a|l
activc,burning thc natura|harmony. lllncsscsdog thcbody,
without rcsistancc.
Pcoplc hrstcxpcricncc thcsucringo|illncss,windup in
thc su||cring o|dying, and a|tcrward havc thc su||cring o|
rctribution. Itgocsonthroughthcagcs,rcpcatingcndlcssly.
8uddhists spcak o| thc sucring o|scparation |rom lovcd
oncs,thcsu||cring o|associationwiththc hostilc, thcsu||cr-
ing o|unmlF llmcnt. Thc sucrings and miscrics o|pcoplc
todayarcal|scl|-madcandscl|-cxpcricnccd,pcrsona|cxpcri-
cncco|what thcy havc crcatcd thcmsclvcs. Thcrc arc thosc
who mistakcnly gct involvcd bccausc thcydo notknowthis
Z Z H L L U V P L L L P L Z P L
is su||cring, thcrc arc thoscwhoclcarly know it issu||cring
but cannotgctout.
A provcrbsays, Don't talkabout gctting marricdcarl,,
a|tcr marriagc it' s hardcr. Don't say succcss is high attaia
mcnt, a|tcrsucccss work is grcatcr. Don t say sowing
sced:
iscnough, a|tcrthc sowing it smorctoilsomc.Don' tsay
it:
bcttcrto bcamonkora pricst; a|tcrbccominga monk
or3
pricst it'smcntallyhardcr. `
Somc mayask, whilcthcsuhcringso|worldlypcoplcare
mostly physical, thc su||crings o|scholars arc mcntal, the,
bind thcmsclvcs with no ropc and busy thcmsclvcs wit\
nothing. Thcy cannot stop cvcn i| thcy want to~what
should onc do in such a casc! Thc answcr to this is that
scholarssu||crlikc this whcnthcyhavc not|oundauthcnti.
tradition. I|youhndauthcntictradition,itisuptoyouyour
scl| whcthcr you stop or lct go~what su||cring is thcre
Indccd, lcarning thc Vay is a mcthod o|com|ort, whoeve:
talksaboutsu||cringovcr it isan outsidcr.
b b b b N L b A N L I | b
To cntcr thc gatc tolcarningthcVay, Grst you mustunde(
stand csscncc and li|c. Esscncc has its sourcc o| csscac:,
which is the mind ground. L||e has its stcm o|li|c, whicht:
thc truc bleath. The stem o|li|c should be solid, thc sour.:
o|essenceshou|dbeclear. How isthcsourceo|essence
c|ar.
hed! Vhen |ns|de and outs|de are both |orgottcn, thcn it :
clear. How is the stem o| l||e so||d|hed! Vhcn spirit aa1
energystay together, then |t |ssolid+
Essence |s sp|r|t, l||e |s v|ta||ty and energy. The D|agra
o| the Abso|ute says, The rea||ty o| the inhnitc and
th:
vitality o|yin and yang energ|essubtlycoalcscc, thchunar
L L U P L P L P ! N Z
bcing originatcs hcrc.' Esscncc is thc rcality o|thc inGnitc,
li|cisthcvitalityo|yinandyang.ThcMastcro|thcChangc-
lcss said, Esscncc is in thc mind. To thc cxtcnt thcmind is
clcarcd, to that cxtcnt is csscncc visiblc. Vhcn csscncc is
mani|cst, naturc is |ulhllcd. This is how stopping thought
can bc uscd to |ulhl| naturc. To thc cxtcnt that naturc is
|ulF llcd, to that cxtcnd spirit and cncrgy arc congcalcd.
Thcrcis nomorc tolcarning than scrcncly attainingthis.'
Thcwholc work is in stopping thought. Thc most dircct
and rapid mcthod |or this is kccping mind and brcathing
togcthcr. How so! Encrgy is thc mothcr o| spirit, spirit is
thcchildo|cncrgy,mindandbrcathingkccpingtogcthcris
likc child and mothcr mccting. Vhcn spirit and cncrgy
mcrgc into onc, acr a long pcriod o|closc intimacy this
produccs grcat stabilization. This is callcd rcturning to thc
root and rcstoring li|c. Vhcn thc root is dccp, thc stcm is
solid,thisisthcwayo|longli|c andctcrnalvision.
AnccstralTcachcrQiusaid, I|thcbrcathingisat all un-
scttlcd, li|c is not your own. I say, l|thc mind is at all
un|orgottcn, brcathing cannot bc sctucd. Human bcings
havcaunivcrsalnaturcaswcllasadisposition.Thcunivcrsal
naturc is thc totalityo|thc absolutc, as soon as it gctsinto
yinandyangandthchvcclcmcnts,thcnitisdisposition. So
thcsubstancc o|thc absolutc |allsintodisposition~itisnot
that thcrc isascparatc naturc.
MastcrZhangsaid, Vhcnyouskill|ullyrcturntoit,thc
univcrsal naturc is thcrc.' Askcdi|thcrc isa wayo|skill|ul
rcturn,hcsaid,Ycs.Con|uciansspcako|clcaningthcmind
andbcing inacccssiblc, 8uddhistsspcako|indcpcndcnt ob-
scration,Taoistsspcako|rcturning tosimplicity. Thcscarc
thcbcginningso|skillmlrcturn.
"Con|ucianssaythatthcrcisstabilitya|tcrknowingwhcn
L L U L V L L H L Z L
to stop and there can be serenity a|ter stabilization. 8ud-
dhists speak o|seeing through the emptiness o| mind an
d
body.Taoistsspeako|returning toinnocence.Theseare the
midd|eo|ski|l|u|return.
Con|ucians speak o|having no wil|mlness, no compul-
siveness, no obsessiveness, and no se|hshness. 8uddhists
speak o|having noeyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind.
Taoists speak o|returning to the inGnite. These are the
at-
tainmento|ski|||u|return.
Humannatureisorigina|lygood,thatwhichhasanything
not good in it is disposition. To know this disposition and
not becompe||ed by itis themethodo|t rans|ormingdispo-
sition.
M I N
D human being has just one mind. External|y it is |ee|ing,
interna||yit is nature. Going a|ong is consciousness,coming
back is wisdom. Mow i| you want to reverse going along
externa|lytocomebackinternal|y, is it necessary topractice
introspection! Introspection imp|ies introversion and e||ort
topercerve.
_
e spirit o|a human being is in themind, and thetrig-
gero|the mind is in theeyes. There|ore when the |unctioa
o|theeyes is nIUt, the mind remains inside a|ong with it.
Mot on|ydoesit remain there, it is a|so stabi|ized.
_
_Oncethemind is stabi|ized, thehreo|the heart descends
whi|e the WJIt! o| the genita|s rises The mouth is h||ed
WID WttI sa|iva,IDt ttI wa|kon hery bri||iance. There
are
uUt0It t t
9
itIDaI CJnn0I be|u||y expressedin words.
|| DuUJn UtInp DJ\t juI one true mind, why do they
ItJy intocon|usion? They seem to haveawareness, but they
i
H L L U P N L P L P Z
haVC nC Clt. hCICtCtC tt t aId that tt yCu KnCW WhCn yCu
tIay, thCn yCu WCnt tIay. hCn yCu nCCd tC lCt _C, lCt _C.
btnCCttty CltmtnatC talChCCd, tCpCCttulnC ClImInatC
- .~~ ~
'
_
t. hCn WandCtIn_ thCu_ht CCCut In pICtuC CCntu-
tCn, dCnt tIy! tCp thCm, jut lCCK aCK at thC mInd

ItClt-What t It that thtnK: hCn yCu haVC tCpnIZCd
What U,, yCu WIll attatn ttanquIlltty Cn th(
btudy Ct thC ay ha nC pCCIal tCChnIquC: CCntantly
lCCKIn_WIthIn t tudyIn_ thC ay, and WhCn talC thInKIn_
I nC mCtC, thCn thI t thC ay. %atCt Zhu atd, `C thC
CXtCnt yCu atC In pCCtCn Ct yCuI mtnd, tC that CXtCnt yCu
hnd pCWCt Wtthtn. t yCu KCCp It undCt ClCC CCnttCl and
dCnt lCt tt ChaC thIn_, hCW CCuld yCu nCt uCCCCd tn CCI-
tCCtIn_ It: hI Can C CXpCttCnttally pICVCn CVCn tn halt a
mCnth ttmC.
C alC aId, `bCCKtn_ thC IClCaCd mtnd dCC nCt mCan
CCKIn_ CmC CthCt mtnd tC tCCu Cn. bathCI, thC mCmCnt

yCu nCtICC a IClCaCd mtnd, thInK, `hI mtnd I my mtnd, It

hCuld C up tC mC tC CmplCy tt-It hCuld nCt C allCWCd
tC _C Cut tCllCWtn_ CthCt. LVCn tt yCuI mInd has CCn
tCppCdup tCI a lCn_ ttmC, yCu Can WaKC up and dIIVC aWay
all talChCCd WIth a hCut.
LCnttnuC tht yCCtVtn_ mInd. hCn thCICInCmInd-
tn_, CCnttnuC tht y ICttn_ Cn thC ICathtn_. hCn thC
ICathtn_ t CttlCd, thC pIIIt CttlC alCn_ Wtth tt. ht t
What I ICtCItCd tC a ICal pCCplC ICathIn_ tICm thCtI hCCl.
hC Cnly thtn_ that dtttCtCnttatC human tICm Cat t
thts mtnd. uddha atd CVtldCCt WIll CCmC aCK ICCIn
Chan_Cd tntC Cast; I ay pCCplC WhC lCC thCtI mInd C-
CCmc Cts It_ht thCn and thCtC. hy: hCy may haVC
human tOIm, ut thCy atC nC lCn_Ct human.
t yCut mnd s unmCvCd WhCn yCu CC CCCt, that t
Z H L L U L V L L H L P L Z P L
ca|lcd bcing unborn. Thc unborndocs not pass away. Then
this mindisnotboundbyobjccts o|thc scnscs. Whcnthcre
isno bondagc, that islibcration.
| b b L I N U b
Thcscvcn|cc|ings havcalrcadybccnmcntioncd. Whcnyou
arcom|, cncrg_rclaxcs, whcn you arc angry, cncrg riscs.
Wacnyou arc sad, cncrgycvaporatcswhcn,
ct:cgy scattcrs. Whcn you arc anxious, cncrgy clumps,

whcn you arc sorrowml, cncrgy dcsccnds. Whcn you are

startlcd,cncrgy is disordcrcd. Pcrvcrscncss and abnormalit,
producc discascs~swclling and blockagc in thc hcart and
abdomcn,stabbingpaininthcabdomcnandsidcs,b|ockage
o| thc throat, agitation and panting, shortncss o| brcath.
Mixing with bloo+, thcyproducc bowc|obstruction, mixing
with watcr, thcy producc indigcstion, ph|cgm, and drool.
Somctimcs thcy causc sclcroscs or growths likc wadding or
|ikcmcmbrancs.
Thcscillc||cctsarctoomany tomcntionthcmall. Thcrc-
|orc thosc who arc skillcd at hygicncgathcr in thcir|cclings
and rcturn tocsscncc~this is agood mcthod o|gcttingrid
o|discasc.
Fcclings arc naturc acting out cxtcrnally. Sagcs nurture
thcm bc|orc thcy havcactcd out, so thcyarcab|cto harmo-
nizcthcir|cc|ingsto al|thingsuncmotiona||y,goingthrough
it aN without posscssivcncss,gctting involvcdwithoutbcing
swcpt away. Thcy arc likc clcan mi rrors rcHccting objccts
bcauty is thc bcaut o|thin s, so thcy do not conccivc
|ove
on accont o| it uglincss is thc ug|incss o|thing, _
do notconceivchatrcdon accounto|it.

h
_
s i
,
is said, Opcn and
,
n,artial, whcn things
cone
H L L P N L P L | _ P | N 1
up rCpODd aCCOrdID_ly. mparttatty mCaDs Datura! truth
uDadutCratCd Wtth thC uCCttvtty OI humaD dCtrC. hC-
pODdID_ aCCOrdID_y mCaD that WhCD thCrC arc thtDy that
mut C, thCD aCt ID uCh a Way a WtlcauC DO prOcm tD
that CODtCXt.
ritin: en Sta/i/i:in Nature ay, `COplC tCCID_ haVC
thCtr parttCuar IDdDCC, y rCaOD OI WhICh thCy CaDDOt
rCaCh thC ay. LD thC WhOC, thCC ltDdDCC arC ID u-
jCCtIVC uC OtIDtClCCt. hCDyOu arC ujCCtIVC, yOu CaDDOt
dCICratCly C rCpODtVC tOCVCDt; WhCD yOu uC thC tDtCl-
lCCt, yOu CaD C pODtaDCOu WIth CCar aWarCDC.
AlO, `COpC tCCltD_ arC Catly arOuCd aDd hard tO
CODtrO, ut aD_Cr t thC WOrt. t yOu CaD tmmCdtatCy tOr-
_Ct yOur aD_Cr WhCD aD_CrCd aDd OCrVC What t rt_ht aDd
WrOD_ IDprIDCIpC, yOu CaD alO CC hOW CXtCrDal CduCttOD
arC DOt WOrthy Ot aVCrtOD, aDd turthCrmOrC C hal!ay
aOD_ thC ay.
%atCr Zhu atd, `Or_Ct aD_Cr aDd yOuWIl C tmparttal,
CC What I truC aDd yOu Wtll tOlOW It. hCC tWO arC mCaD
OtrCturDID_ tOyOurClt aDd _CtttD_ rtd Ot ltDdDC. C
r
WhO attatD thC ay arC Cmpty aDd tlCDt IDIdC aDd Out. D
thC mtdt Ot QutCtudC thCy lOOK WtthID. rCalt2tD_ thCrC IDO
thID_ at all, WhtlC phytCaly WtthtD thC CIrClC thCy mCDtally
traDCCDd thtD_.
2 8 L L U L V P L L P L Z P L
1 H I N K I N U
hC humaD mIDd hCuld C mCrtthCd, WhtlC tt pCtCDtta
l
hCuld C VIVthCd. %CrtIh CattCD mCaD CautD_ tt dCtrCu

thCu_ht tC dtCCut, VIVth CattCD mCaDCDltVCDtD_ tt rCaCD

.
hIDKID_ I thC tVID_ pCtCDtIa CthC mIDd. rCCdCm rCm
CrrCr I thC CVCral prtDCtplC, thC DtDC thCu_ht arC thC pC-
CthC prtDCtpC-thIDKtD_ hCW tC CC CCary, thtDKtD_ hCw
tC hCar KCCDy, thIDKID_ hCW tC maKC a Warm tmprCICD,
thIDKID_ hCW tC C rCpCCtul ID dCmCaDCr, thtDKID_ hCW tC
C truthu tD pCCCh, thtDKID_ hCW tC C CrtCu t D WCrK,
thIDKID_ hCW tC pCC quCtICD WhCD ID dCut, thtDKtD_
What trCuC may CCCur WhCD aD_ry, aDd thIDKtD_ aCut
utICC WhCD CCID_ prCht tC C madC.
h|DKID_ aCut thC ay I CCrrCCt, th|DKID_ aCut thtD_
I CrrCr. hC ay I IDhCrCDt ID u, WhCD yCu thtDK aCut
thC ay IDhCrCDt WIth|D u, thtDKID_ ItCl t thC ay.
hCD thCu_ht rCaChC thC rCam C utlCty, thC CCmprC
hCDd|D_ mIDd, CCar aDd CCaD, I uCyaDt aDd Cyu. LDy
tht CaD C CalCd C-rCalI2attCD, t yCur mCDtal CDCr_y I
CXhautCd tD pItC CthC dCpth CyCur thIDKID_, CVCD tyCu
haVC CmC pCrCCptICD It I DCt Cl-rCalt2atICD.
hC$ hC aOaID rCalI2atICu WtthCut thtDk| Dg arC a_C,
thCC WhC attaID rCalI2at|CD y thIDktD_ arC thC WIC. PCt
= .
CC_Itat|Dg Cr trIVIDg I callCd truthulDC, rCCrrID_ tC thC
|DDatC kDCWCdgC that tDam haVC WIthCut tudy Cr rCdCt
t|CD. LhCCIDg thCyCCU tmpy mCaDchCCIDg thI DCDCC_
|tatIVC DCDtrtv|Dy.
hc humaD hCart ha CVCD CQCDIDg, mCt C thCm
tuppCU y CCU chaDDCl. l I yCu WaDt tC CQCD thcm u[.
yCu caDDCt UC C wt thCut lCarD|Dy aDU th|DktDg. htDkIDg
H L L U L V P L N L L P P L 2 9
ha thC CDC Ct pCDCttattD_, lCatDtD_ ha thC tuDCttCD Ct
CCDhtmtD_. hCD thtDKtD_ aDd lCatDtD_ atC Cth CmplCyCd,
What path CaDDCt C attatDCd:
hCD yCu haVC DCt yCt pCDCttatCd a pttDCtplC, tt t ltKC
taCtD_ a Wall. htDKtD_ t ltKC CttD_ hClC tD thC Wall. Ct
CaCh hClC yCu CtC all thC Way thtCu_h, yCu _Ct that muCh
lt_ht. btatttD_ Cut mall, yCu CDlat_C, uDttl CVCDtually thC
WhClC Wall ttClt t _CDC, aDd thCtC t CpCDDC, ttCC aCCC,
aDd DC tutthCt CttuCttCD.
hC 8eek e) Manner: ay, `htDK tD a dt_DthCd Way.
hat tt t dt_DthCd mCaD tt t DCt tCtCCd, that tt t dCDC tD
tht Way mCaD tt t DCt laCtCd. hCD tt t DCt tCtCCd Ct
laCtCd, tt CaD C CallCd _CCd thtDKtD_.
`hC thtDKtD_ Ct a CulttVatCd maDdCCDCt_C CyCDd ht
pCtttCD. ht t CallCd thtDKtD_. hCDCVCt tt t Cut Ct
plaCC tt t CallCd thCu_ht. htDKtn_ t a dCCt Ct CDtty tDtC
thC _y, WhCtCa thCuht atC t

Ct

Ct

thC ay.
.
1 H U U U H 1 b
btmply CCauC CtuDaWatCDC, thCu_htuddCDly attC, tht
t CallCd t_DCtaDCC. CCauC Ct thC atttD_ Ct t_DCtaDCC, tt
CCm mtDd CCCmC thCu_ht. %tDd tCally dCC DCt mCVC,
WhCD yCu tCaCh tht pCtDt tD CCtVtD_ mtDd, thCC thCu_ht
CCaCCt thCmClVC.
btCpptD_ thCu_ht t DCt hatd-tt yCu CaD tutD aCK tC
CtCtC a tD_lC thCu_ht ha attCD, thCD thC ptCCCdtD_
thCu_ht Wtll Datutally DCt CCDttDuC.
CtCtC atCual, WCatCmCt_CdWtth thC tDDttC. utttyCu
WaDt tC uDdCttaDd thC DCDCCCuttCDCC Ct a tD_lC thCu_ht
tt_ht DCW, yCu must CxamtDC WhCtC thCu_ht CCmC ttCm.
3 L L U L V P L L H L P L Z P L
hC pat t aCd Cn thC prCCnt, thC tuturC t aCd Cn thC
pat, ttyCu haVC nC mtnd tn thC prCCnt, thC pat tnaturally
CVCr.
NtCWCt pCrCn and ClarC CCrtatnly thCu_ht, ut C arC
VtCW Ct attaChmCnt tC rClt_tCn, and thCC mut C Cltmt-
natCd tCC. t yCu CCnCtCuly try tC tCp Crrant thCu_ht,

Crrant thCu_ht Wtll tntCad CCm tC tnCrCaC. ry CCIVtng

What thC thCu_ht arC and thCC thCu_ht Wtll pCntanC- 2

Culy Vanth.
C CulttVatC rCalt2attCn tt t CCnttal tC tCp thCu_ht. C

tCp thCu_ht tt tCCnttal tC CCIVC mtnd. hCn yCu C-

CIVC mtnd, mtnd dCC nCt CXtt, WhCn mtnd t nCnCXttCnt,
CCCtarC Cmpty Ct thCmClVC. btnCC mtnd and CCCt arC
thu, thCrC t nC tCpptn_, C hCW Can CCIVtn_ C:
LuttCn_ atd, `LCnCtCuly CXamtnC VCry ClCCly, CCrVC
pCrCCpttVCly VCry tntCntly. t hatt CnCr_tC artC, thCy Wtll
CCaC Cn thC pCt, dC nCt tCllCw thCm and yCu wtll aVCtd
talltn_ tntC thC CmCttCnal tndul_CnCC Ct Crdtnary human
OCtn_. CnCt dCtrCy thCm CtthCrand yCu wtllaVCtd talltng
tntCqutCttm. hC all-at-CnCC tCaChtn_ Ct thC ChCCl CtCCm-
plCtCnC t attCr all ltKC tht,ut aCCCrd wtthCrt_tnal naturC
andCCnCtCu CC_ntttCn Wtll C untntCrruptCd.
7ri/:x Cuit ay, `hC CJr, CyC, and mCuth arC thrCC
trCaurC, hut thCm JnU dC nCt allCw paa_C. Ct _C Cl
WtlltunC and rCturn tC Cmpty nCthtngnC, trCCdCm trCm
thCught t nCrmJlCy.
hCC whC JttJtn mtndCnC tn mtnU ttClt dtCCrn wtth
Cut JnnthtJttny thC chJrJCtCrtttC Ct mtnU. hCC whC JrC
trCC IrCm thCuyht JttCr hJVtng hJd thCught CCCur tC thCm
rCJtC thJt thCuyht hJVc nC CCncC Ct thCtr Cwn-Ctn_
CCndttCnJlly CrtytnJtCd, thCy arC thCrCtCrC Cmpty.
H L L U L | V P L N L L P L L N \
L I K b b
LvCty human mtnd ha tKC. tKC atC WhCtC thC mtnd tCnd
tO IOCu.
hCtC atC tht n_ WC dU nOt CxpCct tO C O, yct atC O,
attCt a WC dO nOt KnOW Why thCy atC O.
!nOIat a thC CvC Ot human ChataCtCt Can C ud_Cd y
a tn_C thOu_ht, and a WhOCItCtImC uCCC Ot taIutC Can
C dCtCtmInCd y OnC tImC, WC CannOt ut C CatCtul.
t pCOpC IKC aIC humanIty and utICC, COuItCy and
muIC, pOCtIy and ClaIC, WC KnOW WIthOut QuCtIOn that
thCy atC IntClI_Cnt. t thCII IKC aIC IdlCnC, _amIn_,
dIInKIn_, and WhOIIn_, thCn WC KnOWWIthOutQuCtIOnthCy
atC WattC.
t thCII lIKC aIC _aIdCnIn_, hhIn_, and WOOdCuttIn_, WC
KnOW WIthOut QuCtIOn thCy aIC pCaant. t thCIt IKC atC
QuatICIn_, OatIn_, and WCapOnIy, WC KnOW WIthOut QuC-
tIOn thCy atC VIOCnt pCOpC.
LCnCtaly pCaKIn_, thCIC atC hVC lOC that _O WIth a
IKIn_ tOt amuCmCnt and pay. hCy atC pOlutIOn Ot thC
Ody, WCaIyIn_ Ot thC pIIIt, WatC Ot WCath, lO Ot tImC,
and maKIn_ mItaKC at WOIK. LVCn It yOu atC CXttCmCy
KIllCd, yOu CannOt _O taI, that I Why CutuICd pCOplC a-
taIn.
3 2 H L L U L V L L L L L
1 H b b U 1
hC humaD Cdy ha thtCC ChamCt tD tCDt, CaCd thc
DItVaDa ChamCt, thC CtImCD ChamCt, aDd thC ChamCt ul
thC yCCW CCutt. hCC atC WhCtC pItIt aDd CDCt_y dWC.
D aCK thCtC atC thtCC paC, CaCd thC CCCCyX pa, thc
mtUpIDCpa, aDd thC adCptCWpa. hCC CCDtItutC thc
tCutC aCD_ WhICh pttIt aDd CDCt_y CCutC.
%CDCIu atd, `ba_CCmpCtCtXaC aDd bhuD dId It y Da-
tutC, ID_ aD_ aDd u dId tt y tCdICCVCty. C au
atd, `aD_ aDd u dtd tt ID pCtCD. hI I jut a mattcr
CtCdICCVCtID_ It ID CDCC! ID_ aD_ aDd u WCtC ac
tC tCdICCVCt LmpCtCt XaC aDd bhuD ID thC CdiC CaD_
aDd u, I WC atC aC tC tCdtCCVCt It ID CutCVC, thCtC I
a u_C CmpCtCt XaC aDU a a_C CmpCtCt bhuD ID CVCty CDc
Cu.
hCD WC IDWutdy CXamIDC thC Cdy, CDCt_y I thCrc.
hCD WC IDWatdy CXamIDC that CDCt_y, pItIt I thCtC. c
CauC CutIVatCd pCCpC CCW thC ay WIth thCIt CdIC,
WhCD thC Cdy I CutIVatCd thC uy I CtaIhCd. mma
tutC pCCpC CCW dCItC Wtth thCtt CdtC, C thCIt dCItc
UCutth WhIC thCIt CdIC pa aWuy.
hC :/a,a~a :oa uy, LCCpy CDtCtID_ CDC _atC
Way, CDtCt CDC WIthCut ttuyIDg, WhCD yuu KDCW thC tCut,
thC IX CDC utC cCut uDd cum u ut uDcC. hC tCuu0
pCupC utC uDuC tu uttuID thC uy I CcuuC thCy utC OuI
UCDCd y thC uUy.
I yCu WuDt l gCt tId u thI utUCD, yuu huuU tCui
zc
th| uUy uD mpCtmuDCDt thIDg, u QuIDu mutCtIu u
cc|
WIth Du uWDCt, u ug uIpu uDU uuU, utIDC uDd ICcC. hr
WhCc uUy, IDIUc uDU uut, hu DuthIDg _uCU uuut It ut uI.
H L L U L V L N L L L ! | L N
hy dC yCu Want tC CCd It hnC CCd and drC It In hnC
ClCthC ' Cu hCW C harpnC and C kCCnnC WhCnCVCr
yCu arC In thC prCCnCC Ct CthCr. CCpC WhC arC ujCCt
tC CCmpulICn arC CCnuCd In mInd and dCudCd at hCart;
CVCryCnC In thC WCrd ha CCn trun_ alCn_.
Cath I ClCWCd y Irth, Irth I ClCWCd y dCath.
Cr InhnItC CCn WC haVC CXpCrICnCCd CCuntC paIn and
VCXatICn, WIth nCVCr any hCpC C _CttIn_ Cut. PCW that I
haVC Ct my hCart Cn CarnIn_ thC ay, haVC CCn al thC
Way thrCu_h yCu and What yCu arC a aCut. PC lCn_Cr WIl
I C CCnuCd y yCu, nC Cn_Cr WIl C CCmpClCd y yCu.
Lradually dCVClCp InI_ht IntC thC CmptInCCt pCrCn. t
yCu appy It al at CnCC, aandCnIn_ Cdy and phCnCmCna,
mCrtIjIn_ yCur phyICal Cdy and dImIIn_ yCur IntClI-
_CnCC, and yCu CmraCC thI and nCVCr _Ct CyCnd It, Can
yCu apprCaCh thC ay:
hCnpraCtItICnCrCWI2ardryCultIVatC thCmClVC, thCy
InVarIaly rCtCrC thCIr CdIC. bpIrIt I CnCr_y, WhCn CnCr_y
I taIlI2Cd, pIrIt I CCuCd. LCnCC and ItC Cth dCVCl-
CpCd, thC ay and thC VCCl rIdC CaCh CthCr, pIrIt and
Cdy Cth ulImatCd, thCy mCr_C IntC rCalIty alCn_ WIth
thC ay.
H L L U L V L L L L Z L
b N b K U 1 L H A N N b L b
hC human Cdy ha tWClVC matnCnCt_y ChannC and Ct_
ht
CXtta CnCt_y ChannCl, ut Cny thC tWC KnCWn a thC pg
-
tVC and thC aCttVC ChannCl atC CCnnCCtCd Wtth human
It
and dCath.
n Ctdtnaty pCCplC, thC patVC ChannC t tn thC adCmtn
_Ctn_upWatd, WhtlC thC aCttVC ChannC t tn thC aCK _Ctng
dCWnWatd. tCnt and aCK atC CpatatCd, C thC mCChantm
CIttanIOtmattCn ha nO at. hu thCtt lCn_th CI ltIC dt
pCnd Cn thC CXtCnt CIthC CnCt_y thCy wCtC Ctn Wtth.
taCttttCnCt CIWt2atdty tCCC_nt2C thC patVC ChannC t
WhCtC a thC ytn ChannCl mCCt and thC aCttVC ChannC t
What unthC all thC yan_ ChannC. IthCC tWC ChannC att
ItCC-hCWtn_, thC hundtCd ChannCl Wt!l UCW ItCCy. hCtC
ICtC thCy tCpC CCnVCt_CnCC OInC_attVC CnCt_y and ptCmCtt
thC htC CIpCtttVCCnCt_y, ptaCttCtn_ thCmCthCd OIthCtutn
tn_ CIthC WatCtwhCC.
ht mCthCd t ItCC2tn_ thC ptttt tn thC CnCt_y CpCntng.
ht t CalCd tCtutntn_ tC thC tCCt. tth ptttt and CnCtg)
KCCptn_ tC CaCh CthCt, CmtaCC untty wtthCut patttng
hCn ttllnC CltmaXC IClCwCd y mCVCmCnt, tht t pItt!
a_atn tttn_ up thC CnCt_y tOOt tO nttVana. At tht pCtnt tht
CCutC CIthC watCtwhCC _CC thtOu_h IOt thC htt ttmC.
!I yOu want tC knOW thC cOutC OI thC watCtWhCC, it t
thc patVC and aCttVC CnCt_y ChannC tn Out OdtC. hC0
CnCt_y htt attc, tt tCam Ctwccn thC ktUnCy and _CDt
ta, thcn OVCtI1Ow aOVC thC mal OIthc aCk, HOwtn_ tkt
watCt I1OOUtn_, nOt COuttn_ tn channC; wC qutcky tht
ptttt tOUttVC tt ack tntO thCCOCCyx and up tO thC mtdp
tDt
t t hatd tO _ct thtOu_h thC mtdptnC, ptC thC t
nr_C u[
1
H L L U L V ! L N L L L | | L N d
a_atnt thC palatC tC makC tt ttC ttyht tC thC mtddC Ct thC
_. CtC ptttt and CnCt_y mtx, thC tCuttn_ CxpantCn
and dutdtty Can C tCCC_nt2Cd tC CmC CxtCnt. hCy tutn
tntC WCCt dCW, nCW thC tCn_uC t tC C tCucd tt_ht aWay,
C thC WCCt dCW dCCCnd thtCu_h thC thrCat and WtndptpC,
ttaVC thtCu_h thC hCatt, and tCtutn tC thC paCC Ct tCta_C
and tCp thCtC.
hCn yCu ptaCttCC tht CyCtC tttt_attCn tCt a lCn_ ttmC,
CVCntuay tt t pCttCCtCd, C that CnCt_y h thCthtCChCld,
aCVC and CCW, mCt_tn_ thCm. ht t What t mCant y
thC aytn_ that tt yCu alWay CauC CnCt_y tC pCnCttatC thC
Ctnt, Vttaltty Wtl natutaly C tul and thC CpCn ptttt Wtl
C ptCCnt.
_ W U H L L 1 b U L I b 1 1
I
'|
hC WCtd t tCtC, CCtCty t tn duX. bCCtCty may C Ct-
dCty Ct ChaCttC. n CtdCtly ttmC, tt t VaualC tC CtaCntCd
and uC tt CpCnly. n ChaCttC ttmC, tt t VauaC tC CVtttu-
Cu and tCmatn CCnCCaCd.
hCtC atC Cd and yCun_ pCCpC. hCn yCun_, tt t tm-
pCttant tC tudy and WCtK hatd. hCn Cld, tt t tmpCttant
tC taKC CatC and C Calm.
Lut human tnVClVCmCnt tn thC WCtld t tKC CtCtn_ a
ttVCt; WhCtCVCt thCtC may C ptttal WhCtC WC CCuld dtCWn,
WC nCCd tC KnCW tC aVCtd thCm. A _CCd hCtC may C CX-
ttCmCly Wttt, ut tt aWay uttCt patn CauCd y dut tn
thC Wtnd. A dtVtntn_ tCttCtC may C mttaCulCu, ut ttCan-
nCt CCapC thC tl CmCn Ct haVtn_ tt _ut ttppCd Cut.
hCn a ttd ttC Cn thC Wtnd Ct ChCCC a ttCC tC tCCt,
hCW CCmtCttalC tt t! ut WhCn tt t lutCd tntC a Ca_C y
H L L U L V L L H L L Z L
_rCCd tCr tCCd, tt CannCt _Ct trCC. ICW, ttOC and ttpCnd

CCm tC C Ca_C Ct mCn'

hC _CCd and ad dCnC y pCCplC Ct anCtCnt ttmC and
thC rt_ht and WrCn_ dCnC y pCCplC tCday WCrC and arC all
thCtr CWn uCCCC and tatlurC. htn_ that arC alrCady pat
arC all ptrtt Wtthtn thC WCrld, What t aCCCmplthCd y tn
tptd talK aCut thCm, What t thC prCht tn rCCtttn_ thCm:
hCn WC dC nCt taK Cr rCCttC, Cur mtnd arC QutCt. hCn
thC mtnd t QutCt, tht t thC ay.
hat trCCdCm and CaC yCu haVC tCday CCmC trCm tru-

trattCn Ct tCrmCryCar, hOW Can WC KnCW that tCday tru-
trattCn mt_ht nCt CCCmC trCCdCm and CaC CmC day:
| A M b A N I H U | I 1
hCC WhO haVC nCt CCn uCCCtul at lCarntn_ thC ay
haVCtatCd tO tOp Crrant thCu_ht, WhtCh CmChCW CtruCt
thCm. hOC WhO haVC IatCd tC tCp Crrant thCu_ht haVC
CCn unaC tC tCr_Ct tamC and prCh t, WhtCh OmChCW COD-
trO thCm. I yOu Want tC tCp Crrant thCu_ht, tt t hrt
nCCCary tC CC thrCu_h IamC and prCht.
amC thatCd y LrCattCn, prCht t anCCCt CtCmCttCna
CCntCnttCn. hCrCtCrC tamC and prCht arC mOrC Iatal thaD
WCapOn. hy: tth thC Way WCapOn Can Ktl, pCCpc
KnCW tC aVOtd thCm, ut Wtth thC Way tamC and prCht Kt,
pCOpC Wtl _O tO thCtr dCath unrCpCntant.
n anCtCnt ttmC, pCOpC tmuCd Wtth thC ay OttCD
tCt_nCd madnC, CCauC thCy dtd nOt Want pCOpC tO knO7
thCm. POWadayS tt pCOpC haVC thC t_htCt trCn_th
thcy
Want tO annOunCC tt tO thC WhOC WOrd-hCW aC'
hCn CuturCd pCOplC tudy thC ay, thCy tOr_Ct a
f
H L L U L V P | L N L L P P N 3 7
compctitivcncss and scl|-display. Inconspicuously thcy prac-
ticc inncr cultivation, and whcn thc Vay is clcar and thcir
charactcr is cstablishcd, thcy still do not claim cxpcrtisc.
Thcrc|orcitissaid, That inrcspccttowhichcultivatcdpco-
plccannot bc rcachcdisonly that which pcoplcdo notscc.
ProGtissomcthing thathas novirtucyct attractspcoplc.
ItmakcspcoplchotwithoutGrc. Ithasnoauthorityyctgcts
pcoplctolaborwillingly. I t has noahcctionsyctmakcspco-
plc ncvcr |orgct it |or a momcnt. It causcs studcnts o|thc
Vay toruin thcir charactcronccthcyhavcsccn it, itcauscs
administrators totwist thc law oncc thcy havcsccn it. Sincc
ancicnt timcs human hcarts and laws o|nations havc o|tcn
bccnspoilcd byproht.
Thcrc isgrcatharm |or thcworldconccalcd withingrcat
proht, but pcoplc do not know it. Mot that thcy do not
know,butthcyarcblindcdbyproFt. Pcl|obtaincdbybrcak-
ing thc law is likc |ood that causcs illncss~whcn you takc
thcm, your only conccrn is that it is not cnough, but whcn
cxposcd, youronlyconccrnisthat itwas too much.Vhyis
thc samc thing di||crcnt according to thc timc! Bccausc
proht and harm |ollow cach othcr. I|whcn you scc proht
you think thcrc is harm thcrc, thoughts o|grabbing it will
incvitablystop.
Culturcd pcoplc accumulatc virtuc. Virtuc can cnhancc
hcalthandcanalsomakconcsucccssml. Thcrc|orc, rankand
cmolumcnt, good rcputc and long li|c, comc naturally to
pcoplco|grcat virtuc, withoutbcingsought.
Sma|l pcoplc accumulatc wcalth. Vcalthcan support thc
body, but it can also damagc thc body. Thcrc|orc pcoplc
witha|oto|wcalth may want tolcavcworryandapprchcn-
sion bchind but cannot.
3 8 N L L U L V l L N L H L Z l L N
U N b H T A K | N U b
Thingsthatshould not bc doncshouldnotcvcn bc thougbt
ol. Things that should not bc told to othcr pcoplc should
notbcannounccd to Hcavcn. Ilyouchcckyoursclllorthcse
things timc andagain, you will ncarthcVay.
Opportunitics to accomplish somcthing in thc world are
hard to comc by. Il somcthing can and should bc donc, it
will not do to cxcusc yourscll~shirkcrs achicvc nothing.
Somcthing that cannot bc donc should not bc lorccd-
doing things by lorcc brings lailurc. Thcrc is a rcason in
cvcry casc.
Cultivatcd pcoplc discuss right and wrong, small pcople
discussproht andloss.Vhcnpcoplchavcnothingto do, the
mind should normally abidc in thc hcart-onc should not
cntcrtainrandomthoughts in thcdark. Vhcnthcrcissomc-
thing to do, thc mind should bc on truth~onc should not
insiston lollowingsub|cctivcvicws.
Vhcn yt mrc lcw, naturahy our ains arc lcw.

Vhcn yourords arc lcw naturally your troublcs arc lcw.

Vhcn you cat littlc, naturally you gct sick lcss. you
havc lcw dcsircs in your hcart, naturally you havc lcw
worncs.
~

Thc two things in thc world that arc hardcst to doare
crossing thc occan and going into battlc, yct pcoplcwilldc
thcscthingswithoutlcaringthcirdilncultics. Vhcnitcome:
to thc Vay, it hasthccascolbcingso casythat it isattained
upon looking within, not likc thc dangcr ol crossing the
occan, it has thc sccurity ol thc naturalncss ol cclcstial de-
sign, not likcthcpcrilolgoingintobattlc. yctpcoplcrarcly
practiccit~why is that!
H L L U L ! V L N L L L N
T H I N U b
" Thc cxistcncc o|myriad things is bom |rom nonbcing. Thc
+
|cclingso|ordinary pcoplcstickl cxistcncc, it |s surcly di|-
(
Gcult to |ookintoctcrnal nonbcing, and it is cvcn hardcr to
constantly ncgatcthatcxistcncc. I|pcoplcwant to stand on
" thc ground o|ctcrnal nonbcing it is ncccssary to |ocus on
" csscntialnaturc.
Vhcnyouarc|ocuscdoncsscntialnaturc,thcrchasncvcr
bccn any thing, scl|is|orgottcnand thingssublimatc spon-
4 tancously. Evcnthoughthingshll thc cnvironmcnt, thcy al-
ways rcturn to nonbcing. Layman Pang said, )ust havc no
g mind on myriad things yourscl|~why |car things always
, surrounding you!

, Thcrc arc bcwitching pcoplc, and thcrc arc bcwitching

things, both can makc pcoplc stray. But can thcy rcally
makc pcoplc stray! Thc |act is that pcoplc stray on thcir
own. Thc Hundred Charatter Ta//et says, Truc constancy
|
shoulddcalwiththings,indcaling withthings,itiscsscntial
.
nottostray.' Vhcnyou scc bcautimlthingsand conccivc a
thought o|liking |or thcm, yourmind is thcn drawn away
by thcm~thus you havc straycd.
.
Vhcn you scc through onc thing, you arc not con|uscd
by onc thing,whcnyouscc throughmyriad things, you arc
notconmscdbymyriadthings.ThcDiamend Sutra says,All
compoundcdthingsarclikcdrcams,illusions,bubblcs,shad-
ows, thcy arc likcdcwandlikclightning~youshouldprac-
ticcthisobscrvation.`
Evcrything in thcworld has its own propcr principlc, in
rcspcct towhichsubjcctivcidcasarcusclcss.Sowhatinthc
wor|disthcrctocogitatcaboutorworryabout!Thisiswhy
H L L U L V P L N L H P L l Z P L
CuttVatCd pCCplC taKC CarC CImattCr thCy CCCur, WtthCut
maKtD_ aDythtD_ thC mattCr. hCy dCal Wtth thtD_ th0y
arC, WtthCut ttCKtD_ tC thtD_.
LhCD_ XtDQuaD atd, `CCpC WhC dCVCtC thCmCVC tu
CXtCrDa thtD_ WaDt CVCrythtD_ tC C _CCd, ut thCy dCDt
rCQutrC thCtr CWD Cdy aDd mtDd tC C _CCd. hCD th0y
happCD tC haVC tt _CCd ID tCrm CICXtCrDal thtD_, thCy
du
DCt rCat2C thCtr CWD Cdy aDd mtDd arC arCady pCtCd.
PCWaday pCCpC haVC plCDty CI hCutD_, C
, ICCd,
.t _Ct .,arC_em

aCdat DCthaVtD_ muCh

a Ct|Cr
'
tt CCmC tC DCt haVtD_ muChlCarDtDg
CthCr Cr mt haVtD_ a muCh CCDCtCDCC thCy
haVC DC hamC-Why t that: hCtr thCu_htlCDC t
CXtrCmC'
"~.
. "
b U
hC Ana/::t: rCCCrU that LCDIuCtu put aD CDU tC ICui
thtD_-WtllIuDC, tDttCDCC, tuCrDDC, aDU C_Ctm.
hC IaCt that C_Ctm CCDCudC thC ltt mCaD that WtIu-
DC, tDitCDCC, aDd tuCrDDC arC a mCDttCDCU CD aC-
CCuDt CI C_Cim. IthCrC t DC C_Ctm, DCithCr t thCrC aDy
WtIuDC, tDitCDCC, Cr tuCrDDC.
L_Ctm i thC rCCt CIal Ch hDC. IthCrC t DC C_Ctm,
thCrCCtiCut aDd thC maDy ICrm CICh hDC dC DCtarisc.
CWuUay WhCD pCCpC CCDciCuy rC_ulatC thCtr CCD
Uuct, t thCrC a iDyt CDC WhC UCC DCt UC tt ICr himCl:
l
it UCC DCt prCht CDCCI, CIICrt i CmtttCU, that i Cca
uc
thc WCrU vtvW tt u CxtraDCUu aDU CaVC tt uDdCDC. l it
prCht CDCCI, CDC Wt UC tt CVCD iI tt i Uama_tD_ tC
thc
hCath.
MCW grCat t thC hurm CICyCim! LDly WhCD thCrC
t Du
ll
, |
N L L U L ! V ! L N L L L ! ! L N 1
cgoism issclGshncsstrans|ormcd,conductbccomcsupright,
and you also lorgct your physical body. Vhat can burdcn
youthcn!
Scarch withinyourbody-what is thccgo!Onccthc no-
tionolscl|is not thcrc,you attaingrcat libcration.
Yen):a`: Cehe:tien says, I lignorancc is not undcrstood,
you mistakcnly grasp it as scl|. Vhcn thc notion o| scllis
rigidly Fxcd, thcn grccd, angcr, and |alsc vicws arbitrarily
conccivccxistcnccs,givingrisctoattachmcnts.
Vhcnyouknowthcbodyisillusory,yourcalizcithasno
indcpcndcnt naturc. Mattcr is cmptincss~who is thc scl|!
All phcnomcna only havc tcmporal dcGnitions, without
any truc rcality. Monc o| thc |our gross clcmcnts and Gvc
clustcrsisthcscll, and thcrcisnocombinationcithcr. Vhcn
youscck, insidcand out, ultimatcly thcrc is nopcrson.
Examinc thcChincsc charactcr lor:e( oreeit consists
o|two opposing wcapon charactcrs. Thc calamitics olvi-
ciousncss and violcncc all arisc |rom cgo. Thcrclorc thosc
whosc hcarts arc on thcVay should Grst bccgolcss.
U N H b A L I 1 1
Pcoplc who study thc Vay Grst must rccognizc rcality and
unrcalitybclorcthcycancntcrthcVay.Vchavcsccnactors
portraying |ailurc and succcss, gain and loss, parting and
mccting, sadncss and happincss, thcir outward lorms arc as
thcy appcar, whilc thcir minds arc inwardly calm. Vhat
havcthcyattaincdthat thcy arcablctobcunmovcdinmind
likc this Thcy arc clcarly awarc that thcsc rcprcscntations,
thc costumcry and thc makcup, thc statcs olmind and thc
lilc situations, arc artiGciallycrcatcd~thcy switch and shilt
Z H L L U L V P L N L H P L Z P L N
rolcswithoutlossorgaintothcmsclvcs. Icarncrscanundcr-
standthcVay bycontcmplatingthis.
Also |ook at marioncttcs-thcir hands and |cct movc,
vagucly likc human |orms. Pcoplc who do not know may
lookat thcpuppcts, scc thcstrings, andstill notthinkthat
thcrc must bc somconc holding up thc strings bc|orc thc
puppct can movc. l|that pcrson shouldsuddcnly lcavc, thc
marioncttc strings would still bc thcrc but thcy would bc
immobilc.Thcphysicalbodyo|ahumanbcingislikcamar-
ioncttc, its cncrgy and b|ood arc thc strings, and thc rca|
naturcorcsscnccisthcpuppctccr.
A|so|ookat thcslcight-o|-handartist, hc changcs namcs
andshi|tsobjcctstocon|uscthccycsandmindso|onlookcrs,
who dcc|arc it marvclous. Al| world|y contrivanccs invo|vc
mcntal dcccption and il|usion, no dihcrcnt |rom s|cight o|
hand-i|youcanscc thcmwithoutyourcycs bcingdazzlcd
andyour mind con|uscd, thcnyou arc ncarthcVay.
Alsoconsidcrshadowp|ays.Thcy|ightalampandbcata
drum, and a crowd gathcrs to watch thc shadows. As thcir
minds andcycs |o|low thc shadows, thcy |orgct thcmsclvcs,
unti| thc oil is uscd up and thc |ampgocs out, whcrcupon
all thc illusions rcturn to nothing. I ntclligcnt pcoplc who
obscrvc this can thcrcbyundcrstandthcVay.
Vhcn an cxistcncc is produccd in noncxistcncc, it cxists
yct is not cxistcnt, whcn thc cxistcncc rcturns to noncxist-
cncc, it docs not cxist, yct is not noncxistcnt. Vhy! Thc
cxistcncco|ancxistcnccrcsu|ting|romaconjunctiono|con-
ditions has no intrinsic idcntity, so it is said that it is not
cxistcnt, in ordcr to rc|utc thc vicw o| pcrmancncc. Thc
cmptincss o| intrinsic idcntity inhcrcntly has no noncxist-
cncc, thus rcvca|ing rcal csscncc, so it is said that it is not
noncxistcnt, to rc|utcthcvicw o|annihi|ation.
H L L U L ! V L N L l L L L N 4 3
On a small scalc day and night, birth and dcath. on a
largc scalc cras and agcs-allcan bc undcrstood by analogy.
Studcnts o|thc Vay should know that onc csscntial naturc
is rcal, whilc myriad conditions arc unrcal. All things uscd
in daily li|c arc dust and dirt in unrcality~why contcnd
with mcdiocritics ovcr thc amount and gradc o|dust and
dirt!
U b J b L 1 b
Thcrc is nothing H thc world but onc mind. Stirring
thoughts crcatc all objccts. I|thoughts arc not produccd,
objccts arc spontancously gonc. Vhcn you thoroughly cx-
amincstirring thoughts, thoughts too arc cmpty andsilcnt.
Sowcknowthcrcisnothinglostwhcndcludcdandnothing
gaincd whcncnlightcncd, bccausc thctruc mind not dwcll-
ingonanythingncithcrincrcascs nordccrcascs.
Mind is around bccausc o|objccts, objccts arcvicwcd by
mcans o|mind. l|you arousc thc mind on sccing objccts,
cvcni|you livc in a mountain|orcst or on an island in thc
occan, itis all mundanctoil.
Vhcnpcoplcarccmotionallyattachcd toobjccts,objccts
play with pcoplc, whcn thc mind loscs its normalcy, onc
bccomcs dcrangcd. Vhcn |cclings pursuc things, things
draw|cclings, whcn thcspiritlcavcs itsabodc,oncbccomcs
idiotic.
Good objccts and bad objccts arc both objccts, cvcn i|
thcycomcindrovcs,thcyarcnotcxistcnt.Pcrvcrscthoughts
and upright thoughts both arc in thc catcgory o|arbitrary
thoughts,cvcn though thcy occur incon|usion, thcystilldo
notcxist.
Donotsay scnsualdcsircsarcplcasant,i|yougctlostand
H L L U J V P L N L H P L l P L N
|orgct to rcturn, you will incvitably comc to thc point
DI
damagingyourbody andyourli|c.
Youshouldknow that onccsscntialnaturcisrcalandcm
bracc it without parting. Thcn you can scck wisdom and
thusaspirctosagchood. Vhcnyou makcbcdcvilmcntsvan-
ish and brcak through cxistcncc, thcn thc impurc world is
trans|ormcd into a purc land. Vhcn you go back to thc
rootandrcturntoli|c, thcordinarybodybccomcsthcsacrcd
cmbryo.
Sincc thc world is only a construction o|mind, why not
hrst comprchcnd mind! Scnsc datacntcrviadiscriminating
consciousncss, so onc must simply intcrrupt discriminating
consciousncss. An in|ant has no discriminating conscious-
ncss, sothc roilingo|scnsc objcctshas no opcningtocntcr.
In rcalizcd pcoplcitispurclyknowlcdgc, thcrcalmo|rcali-
tics is thoroughly clcar, and all is thc homcland o|undcr-
standingsubtlctics.
M | b 1 A K b b
Dclibcratcdcviation|rom principlciscallcdcvil. I nadvcrtcnt
dcviation|rom principlc is callcda mistakc.
A provcrb says, I|pcoplc arc not sagcs, how can thcy
makc nomistakcs!`Thissayingcanbc uscd to |orgivcothcr
pcoplc, but itshould not bc uscd to cxcusconcscl|.
Vhcn hcwas h|ty years old, an ancicnt rccognizcd|orty-
ninc ycars o| mistakcs. Mow that I am cighty-Gvc, am
awarco|cighty-|ourycars o|mistakcs!
I|oncdocs notcvcn rccognizc past mistakcs, rcccnt
mis-
takcs arc not casy to rccognizc.
Vhy! Vhcn you arc dcludcd, you cling to wrong 4
right.
H L L U L V L N L L L ! L N D
Vhcnyouarccnlightcncd,incontrast, youscccvcn right
as ilwrong.
Scll-cxamination is not to bc donc only thricc-how can
amistakcbcallowcdtwicc!
MastcrZhusaid, ' I nthc coursc oldaily activitics, whcn
you rcalizc somcthing is wrong, thcn do not act that way.
This is how togct rid olsickncsscs.
Ilyou ask how t obc ablc t o' not act that way, tgis
rid dnkcy inscarch oladonkcy.
Vhcn studcnts arc practicing Purc Land Buddhism, this
involvcs thrcc working clcmcnts~vcrbal, physical, and
mcntal.
It is casicr to bc laultlcss vcrbally than physically, casicr
| to bc laultlcss physically than mcntally. Pcoplc with dctcr-
mination will apply cllort to thc hard part, quickly rclorm-
ing in ordcr to gainacccss to thcVay.
I t is somctimcs askcd whcthcr pcoplc who havc donc
wrong can rcpcnt. Vhatcvcr you havc donc in thc past,
whcthcrmajororminor,cannotbcgraspcdwhcnyouscarch
lor it, insidc oroutsidc~thisiscallcd trucrcpcntancc.
It is also askcd what pcoplc should do whcn thcy havc
vows thcy lcartobrcak. Vhcnyou arcconmscd, you talkol
_ promiscs, whcncnlightcncd,thcrcarc nonc at all.
Try tolooklorthcmrightnow~whcrcarcyourvows!
I nthis way youcan attaingrcatlibcration.
H L L U L l V P L N L f P L Z P L N
U U N b b b
Goodncss isthcpositivccncrgygcncratcd bythchrstmove
mcnt olthc absolutc. Humans havc this lor thcir csscnti
a|
naturc, so human naturc is univcrsally good. Thosc whc
wouldcultivatcthismust nurturcpositivccncrgy.
Intcrms olthc climatc, positivc cncrgy ariscs altcr pure
ncgativc cncrgy in thc tcnth lunar month. This is thc true
brcathwithin thc compa:s.
8y way ol admonition, 8uddha said that good and bad
causcs and cllccts ol hcavcn and hcl| arc unavoidablc and
willincvitablybccxpcricnccdsomcdayinluturclilc.
Con|uciussimply said, Arrivcabovcorarrivcbclow,caln
and at cascoralways anxious. ` Arriving abovc mcans ad-
vancingdaybydaytololty il|umination~whatisthatilnot
hcavcn!
'Arriving bclow mcans sinking into basc corruption-
whatis that ilnothcll!
8cing calm and at casc mcans bcing happy whcrcver
you arc~whoscblcssingscancomparctothis!
8cing always anxiousmcansthcrcarcpitlalls whcrcver
you go~nocalamityis grcatcr.
Gcncrally spcaking, thc timc whcn you do good or dc
cviliswhcnyoucxpcricncc blcssingorcalamity-itis like8
shadow or an ccho, not waiting lor anothcr day or luture
lilc.
Somconc askcd a Chan 8uddhist, Do hcavcn and
hell
cxistornot:`
ThcChan8uddhistrcplicd,Vithdclight andlcarinthe
hcart, good and bad bccomc statcs, j ust comprchcnd oae
mind and naturally you'll havc noconlusion. `
M L L U L P L N l t P L I P | N 9 !
Thcqucstioncraskcd, Howis thcmi ndcumprchtndcd'
ThcChanBuddhistrcp|icd,Dontth|nkuIyOuU undOud
at a| | . `
Somc ask i |doing guod and improvcment urc uny di|-
Icrcn!.
Thcanswcri sno
Vhcn thc cars do not listcn to obsccnitics, this is im-
provcmcnto|thccars.
Vhcn thc cycs do not look at the wrong things, this is
improvcmcnto|thccycs.
Vhcn thc mouth docs not uttcr lalsc words, this is im-
provcmcntolthc mouth.
Vhcnthcminddocs notproducc crrant thoughts, thisis
improvcmcntolthcmind.
Vhcnthc hands do notpickup anything impropcr, this
is improvcmcntolthchands.
Vhcn thc lcctdo not walk on an impropcrplacc, this is
improvcmcntolthclcct.
Emulating thcways olsagc lcadcrs togovcrn thcpcoplc
isimprovcmcntollcadcrship.
Emulating thc ways olwisc ministcrs in working lor thc
govcrnmcntis improvcmcntoladministration.
Emulating thc mothcr olMcncius, who chosc whcrc to
livc lor thc sakc ol hcr son's cducation, is improvcmcnt ol
mothcrhood.
Emulating thcdisciplcs olConluciuswhocultivatcd thcir
will toscrvc thcir parcnts is improvcmcnt in thcrolcolthc
ohspring.
ltisalsoaskcdwhcthcrthcrcisactuallyanygoodinchari-
tablcworks likc improvingroads, rcpairingshrincs, andcul-
tivatingluturclilc.
I havc hcard that a sagc said, From thccmpcrorsdown
H L L U L V P L N L L P L Z P N
to thccommoncrs,scll-cultivation isbasiclor oncand al|.Il
f
youcultivatcanythingwithout scll-cultivation,thisiscallcd
not knowing thc basis. '
H b A M b
Vhydodrcamsoccur:
All olthcm arc illusory sccncs crcatcd by thc unawakc
consciousncsswandcring inoblivion.
Thcorigin,cxistcncc,disintcgration,anddisappcarancco|
rcalms o| dcsircs, |orms, and lormlcss abstractions arc just
oncdrcamingmind.
Thc changcs occurring in drcams arc cxistcnccs born in
nothingncss.Vhilcdrcaming,painsandplcasurcsarcphysi-
cally cxpcricnccd, but on suddcnly awakcning, thcy arc all
gonc at oncc.
It is not that thcy arc noncxistcnt on awakcningthcy
arc noncxistcnt to bcgin with. That is why thcS:u :u Kml-
i.ati:u :)the a
;
says, Vithin drcams clcarly thcrc arc a
varictyo|statcs, but a|tcrawakcning, thcy arccmpty, thcre
isno univcrsc. '
Thc mountains, rivcrs. andlandarcall sccncs indrcams,
kings, lords,gcncrals, andministcrsarcall pcoplc indrcams
Thc scripturcs and classics o| Con|ucianism, Taoism, and
8uddhism arc all books |or intcrprctingdrcams.
| nancient timcs somconc askcd a mastcrabouthisslccp.
| n a singlc slccp you takc in thc primordial wholcncss
o|
thc univcrse, whcn you wakc up you brcak through the
going and coming o| past and prcscnt Marvclous' |s thcre
alsoaVay o|slecp!`
He said, Thcrc is a Vay. Vhcn ord|nary pcoplc slcep,
H L L U L V | L N L L L L N 4
thcy hrst |ct thcircycsgoto slccp, thcn thc.r m|nds Vhcn
I slccp, I |rst lct my m|nd go tos|cep, then myeycs.
'Vhcn I wakc up, |rst I wake my eycs, thcn my mind.
8ywakc|ulncsso|cyc, l scc mind, whcn mindawakcns, do
notscc thcworld.
Vhcn do not scc thc world, ncithcrdo I sce mind. I
slccp mindlcssly and awakcn without minding.
Thcqucstioncr askcd, I |I want to lcarn to bc unmind-
ing,howcan I doso!`
Thc mastcr rcplicd, Don' t noticc mind whcn dca|ing
with objccts, and don' t noticc objccts whcn dca|ing with
mind.
This is all I know~how could I know anything clsc!
Vhcnyouwakcup, thcrc'snothingtoknow, thcmorcyou
know, thc morc tircd thc mind.
I tis ridiculous tobc inthcmundancworldnotknowing
thatdrcams arcdrcams.
H U b 1 b
Hal|thcpcoplcinthcworldarcdcludcdbyghosts,andhal|
arccon|uscdbyothcrpcoplc.Gcttingcachothcrallcxcitcd,
thcypractically hll thc world.
Thosco|lo|ty illumination trytosavc thcm byspcaking
clcar|y,but thcydonot hccd. Thoscin positionso|authority
trytorcstrainthcmbylaw, but thcy donot stop. Falscdoc-
trincs incrcasc inpopularitydaybydayinthc|uturc,who
knows whcrc itwillcnd!
Ghosts arc pcoplc who havc alrcady dicd, pcoplc arc
ghostswho havc notyctdicd, and thc spiritso|today arcall
pcoplc o|ancicnt timcs. Thcrc arc ghosts and spirits cvcry-
whcrcinthcworld,andnotonlyarcthcrcghostsandspirits
D H L L U L V P L N L L P L Z P L N
in thc world, thcrc arc a|so ghosts and spirits within thc
body.
How do wc know this! Human naturc comcs |rom posi-
tivc cncrgy, whilc thc physica| body comcs |rom ncgativc
cncrgy. Positivc cncrgy is thc spirit, ncgativc cncrgy is thc
ghost. Rcturning |cc|ing to naturc is thc way o| thc spirit,
|o||owing |cc|ing and |osing naturc is thc busincss o| thc
ghost.
A provcrb says that as long as pcop|c havc any positivc
cncrgy thcy do not bccomc ghosts, whi|c as |ong as thcy
havc any ncgativc cncrgy thcy do not bccomc immorta|s.
Howtructhissaying is' Human bcings arc amixturco|yin
andyang, a combination o|ghost and spirit . a suddcn im-
pu|sctowardgoodisguidancco|thcspirit,asuddcncvi|act
is compu|sion by thc ghost. Cu|t|vatcd pcoplc arc carcml
whcn a|ouc, obscrving thc bcginnings o|good and cvi|, this
is thcway todistinguish thc ghost|romthcspirit.
b I l H I 1
Thc truc naturc o|human bcings is thc or|gina| spirit. 8c-
causcitiscthcrca|andun|athomab|c,wondrous|yrcsponsivc
w|thout convcnt|on, it |s cal|cd spirit I tis cal|cd or|gina| tc
di||crcntiatc it |rom thc acquircd thinkingspirit.
Thosc into whom spirit cntcrs |ive, thosc |rom whon
spiritUCjJttS d|t. lUW GU WC nUW thc spiritcomcs! NhC"
thUughtsSlUj, thC S[| t| t cUDCS. lUW UU WC nUW thc spirit
GCjJttS' NhCn thUughtS Stt t, thcspirit |cavcs.
Thc phys|ca| |UG\ is thC hUuSC UI cnCtgy , JS |ong as cu-
Ctgy |s thcrc, thc |UGy UUt8 nUt dctcrioratc. nCtgy is thc
Dutttx o|S[|t| l , aS |ong JS CnCtgy is thCtC, thcsp|r|tdocsnot
U|StntCgtJtC.
H L L U L V L N L L L ! L N 1
Vhcn pcoplc do good, thc spirit is conccntratcd and c|-
|cctivc, whcn pcoplc do cvil, thc spirit is scattcrcd and
dimmcd. Vhcn pcoplc arc ill, thc spirit dctachcs |rom thc
body anddocs notsu||crthcpains, whcnpcoplcarcin trou-
blc, thcspiritlcavcs Grstanddocs notcxpcricnccthccalam-
ity. I|pcoplc do not Gnd thc spirit |or cvcn thc intcrval o|
a brcath, thcn thcy arc not complctc |or thc intcrval o|a
brcath.
Pcoplchavc thrccvallcys. Thcir cmptincss is likcavallcy,
andthc spirit dwclls thcrc,so it is callcd thcvallcyspirit.
Thctoponciscallcdthccclcstialvallcy,thisisthcnirvana
ccntcr, thc rooto|hcavcn, thcoriginalchambcro|thcspirit.
Vhcnthcspiritdwcllsinthccclcstialvallcy, thcnvitality
changcs intocncrgyandthccncrgyriscs.
A|tcr nincycars, thccclcstial chambcris|ull,andthccc-
lcstial gatcway isthcrcby opcncd up
Thcmiddlconciscallcdthcvallcyo|rcsponsc.Thisisthc
crimson chambcr, thc bright auditoriumwhcrcgovcrnmcnt
isadministcrcd.
Vhcn thc spirit dwclls inthcvallcy o|rcsponsc, thc cars
hcar, thccycs scc, thchvcscnscdothcirjobs,andthcwholc
body|ollowsalong.
Thclowcronciscallcdthcvallcyo|soul.Thisisthcclixir
Fcld. Thisis thcsccrct roomo|hiddcn cultivation.
Vhcn thc spirit dwclls in thcvallcy o|soul, looking and
listcning arc turning inward, spirit and cncrgy kccp to-
gcthcr, and vitality and consciousncss thcrcby cmbracc 8
onc.
Z H L L U L V L N L H L 4 l L N
b N b H 1
Ordinarypcoplc'scncrgyriscsinlrontanddcsccndsin back,
rcalizcd pcoplc's cncrgy riscs in back and dcsccnds in lront.
Vhcn cncrgy gocsoutandin, thisiscallcdordinarybrcatb-
ing, whcn it docs not go out and in, this is callcd true
brcathing.
Gcncrally spcaking, whcn thc ordinary brcathing
stillcd, thc truc brcathing is spontancously activatcd. Tbe
way brcathing is stillcd is notby |orccmllyholding it so tbat
it docs not comc out It is a mattcr ol absolutc cmptiness
and uttcr sti|lncss, thc stcadicr thc mind, thc subtlcr the
brcathing.
Thc way to do this is to rcturn thc mind to quictude
/ whatcvcryou arc doing, not imagining what is yct to cone
/ and not thinking about what has alrcady passcd. Altcr 8
long timc at this, spirit and cncrgy mcrgc, lcclings and ob-
jccts arc |orgottcn, spirit solidiGcs, cncrgy congcals, aad
thcrcis justoncbrcath inthcbclly, rcvolvingwithoutgoiag
out orin. This iscallcdwombbrcathig.
Oncc this brcathing occurs, kccp strictly tocmptyquiet,
rchning vitality into cncrgy, which gocs through thc three
passcs and pours into thc thrcc chambcrs. Thisis cal|cd
tbe
rcal bcllows, thc rcal Furnacc and cauldron, and thc rcal Di
mg proccss.
In8eek e)the A:ure |au/t itsays, I nthc past I mctatrue
guidc, who transmittcd thc spokcn sccrct , it just rcquires
|rcczing thespiritand putting it inthclairo|cncrgy.
Thismcansthatwhatwchumanbcingsh rstrcccivc
whea
wcarc imbucd withcncrgyascmbryos|ormcdolthcvita
lity
H L L U L V L N L | L L L N
and cncrgyo|our|athcrand mothcris ourindividual inhcr-
cntabso|utc.
In rcalizcd pcop|c, thc spirit rcstson thc brcath, cntcring
dccply into its own lair, subt|y continuous, thcrc as such,
without thcslightcst intcrruption.
Thusoncattainsthcwondcro|conccntratingcncrgyand
making i tsupplc` and so oncis ab|c to 'obscrvc its rcturn.`
Iao-tzusaid, Thcspaccbctwccnhcavcnandcarth islikc
abc|lows. Human bcings arc born by virtuc o|thccncrgy
o|hcavcn and carth, rcspiration is thc mcchanism o| thc
bcllows.
Truc brcath is thc cncrgy o| rcspiration. So this truc
brcath is thc stcm o|rcccption o|cncrgy, thc sourcco|pro-
duction o|cncrgy.
Thcrisinganddcsccndingo|cxha|ation andinha|ationi n
a|tcrnatc succcssion corrcsponds to thc rc|ationship o|yin
andyang.
Thcrc|orci tissaid,Thcbrcathcounto|thcnaturalcyclc
is countcd vcry subtly, thc cold drip o| thc watcr clock
matchcs dropbydrop.
Somc ask i |i ti s also said that thc truc brcathing i s thc
alchcmical hrc. Thc answcr is that thc truc brcathing is not
considcrcdthchrc.
Thc hrc is thc humanspirit, thcbrcathing is thc bcllows
o| thc hrc. Thc unbrokcn continuity o| thc bcllows is
`brcathing|romthchccls as rcalizcdpcoplcdo.
Thcrc|orc i tissaid, Staylcisurcly by thc mcdicincstovc
towatch thc hringproccss, just calm mind and brcath and
lcavc ittonaturc.
Thcwholchumanbodyisancncrgycircuit.Vhcncncrgy
Hows|rcclywc|cc|good, andwhcncncrgyisblockcdwcgct
sick.
5 4 N L L U L V P L N L P L Z P L N
Sodanccaround tonourish thccncrgyolthcb|ood.
This
mcthod can bcpracticcdanytimc,atonc' sconvcnicncc.
ltiscsscntialtouni[thcmindandstopthcbrcathsotbc
spirit is pcrvasivc, thc cncrgyislu|l, and cncrgyHowscasiy,
Thcng|arc and grit your tccth, bcstcrn and strong, and
lalscthoughtswi|lspontancous|yvanish.
Dothisscvcra| timcs andthcnsit quictly, and it is most
cllcctivc at gctting rid ol conmsion and dissolving | UC,
Thiscxcrcischasgrcat bcncFt and should not bcs|ightcd.
V 1 A L 1 T
Rca|izcd pcop|c rcGncvita|ity intocncrgy, in ordinarypco-
p|c, cncrgy turns into vita|ity. Ancicnts comparcd this tc
quicksi|vcr, mcaning that it runs oll vcry casily, and thCy
symbo|izcd it by thc dragon, mcaning that it is cxtrcmc|y
dilGcu|ttosubduc.Thoscwho|carnthcVay guard it rigor-
ous|y and do not |osc i t, that is ca|lcd building thc loun
dation.
Spirit, cncrgy, andvitalityarcalways trying to lcavcpco-
p|c,as|ongas youcankccpthcmstab|candmakcsurcthcy
do not |cavc, thcn you can prolong lilc. Vci Boyang said,
Vhcncvcr thcrc is mcntion olcxtracting |cad and adding
quicksi|vcr, actually it mcans rcturningvitalitytorcpairtbe
brain. `
It is askcd, Pcop|c say that whcn thc mystic |cmalc
is
CstJ|shCU, thC ttuC v| tJ |t y is stabi|izcd. Howcanwccst
lish thc myst|c |CmJC'
lt isCstJO|shCd whcntheopcnspiritdocs notdic. `u9
dOCs thC O[Cn s[|t|t nOt dic! Vhcn you havc no dcsirc aud
JtC sCtCnC Js cJn bc, thCn | t dOCs nOt d|C.
Those whO J|c gOOU Jt sCI-cut| vJt| On tJkC thC Grc
u|
H L L U L V L N L l L L N D D
spirit and thc watcr olvitality and combinc thcm in onc
placc. Vhcn calmncss cvcntually rcachcs its limit, it givcs
birthtomovcmcnt, thchrcolrca|izationstcams,andgoldcn
vitality spcws bcauty pcnctrating thcpasscs.
b U L A 1 | N
ThcVayisaspccchlcsssagc,asagcisthcVay withspccch.
8ut cvcn though onc has thc powcrolspccch, it isonlylor
using thatpcrson'sway to govcrn thatpcrson's bcingit is
notlorlorcingwhatishardtoknowand hard todo.
Thoscwhocducatcdpcoplc in oldcn timcscducatcdthcm
bymcansolthc Vay olsagcs. Thc Chin says, Murturing
rcctitudc by innoccncc is thc accomplishmcnt ol sagcs. `
That is, whcn cducating childrcn, ilyouprcscnt thcm with
cmulation olsagcs, howcanpcoplc not cxcrtthcmsclvcs in
cmulationolsagcs!
Lao-tzusaid, Vhcnyoucultivatcyourownpcrson,that
virtucisrca|.`Tospcakolcultivationabandoningthcpcrson
islalsc. Mowadayspcoplcwho scckwizardryorbuddhahood
oltcn cut thcmsclvcs ohlrom socicty and Hcc thc world in
thcirqucst.Thcyconsidcritburdcnsomctohavcahomc,to
havc awilc andchi|drcn, tohavc busincss with pcoplc, thcy
bclicvc thcy cannot attain wizardry or buddhahood on that
account, and so thcy think thcy must cut thcmsc|vcs oh
lrom socictyand Hcc thc world. Thcydo not rcalizcthatthc
Vay olwizards and buddhas is not apart lrom body and
mind.
Ilyou can actually rccti[ your mind and cultivatc your
body,thcnilyouhavcahouscyoucanlivcthcrc,ilyouhavc
awi|c andchildrcnyou can cnjoythcm,ilyouhavcdcalings
with pcoplcyou can uscthcm |orrchncmcnt.Sohouschold-
H L L U L V l N H L Z N
ers too can become szgcs, w|zzrds, znd uddwhy
should it be necessary to abandon wht u vCry cnvrn
Irnt
and dowhat isinconvenient!
L b A H N I N
Learning isthejourneytotheVay. Theclassicso|thesag
and traditionso|thewiseare thetickets|or thcjourney.
Inlatergenerations|alseteachingbecameveryactive.L0
their words and actions actually accord with the clsics 0
thesagesandthetraditionso|thewise!I|thereisanyincon-
sistency, then it isdemonicsuggestion.
Learnerso|theVay simply mustcollect their bodiesand
mindssecurely. Toexercisee|!ort apart |rombodyandmiad
is not the right way.
Learning the Vay is not simply a matter o|articulating
it,orevenjustunderstanding i t. It is absolutely necessaryta
sweep your own heart clean o| all desires |or things, thea
you willspontaneously harmonizewiththeVay.
The will to learn the Vay should be all the hrmeri|yoa
are poor,allthestrongeri |youare old. I|yourwillis drivea
byambientenergiesor takenaway byexternalthings,thatb
not the |ault o|theseenergies or these thi ngs, but a|Hictioa
resulting |rom |ailureo|will.
)ustexamineyourwillcritically, reEectoverandoveraud
you will see where the problem i s. Put a stop to it
wit|
intensedetermination and you will be achangedperson.
Vhat cannot be accomplished i|you do it in deadly
ear
nest!The mindo|sages is thesameas thato|otherpeo
ple
,
how could it be only a mattero|constant clarityand ca
m'
It is nothing butseeingrealityanddevelopingstability.
N L L U L V L N L L L 1 l L N
Vhcnyou scc rca|ity, no i||usionscan con|usc you, whcn
youdcvc|opstabi|ity, things cannot shakc it ortakcit away.
Sccing and hcaring arc |ikc |ood and drink,

you nccd
thcm cvcry day, but you a|so nccd to digcst and c|iminatc
thcmcvcryday. llthcyarcnotdigcstcdandc|iminatcdthor-
ough|y, thcy rcmain in thcgut,cvcntua||yproducing i||ncss.
K N U W L b b
Thclorcmostpriorityol|carningisattainingknow|cdgc.At-
tainingknow|cdgcis a mattcrolinvcstigating things. Hav-
ingstudicd, think,havingthought,study.
Vhcnyou rcach thc pointolcomprchcnsivcpcnctration,
thcn know|cdgc is rcachcd. Vhcn know|cdgc is rcachcd,
thcn sinccrity olintcntion and who|csomcncss olmind can
gradua||y bcattaincd.
Thcknow|cdgcol|carncrsis |imitcd, whcrcas thcrc is no
cnd to thc princip|cs olthc wor|d. Thcrclorc whcn somc-
thing is known, thcrc is incvitab|y somcthing unknown.
Vhcnyoucomctoknowthc unknown, thcnthcrcissomc-
thingc|sc unknown. That iswhy pocts havcuscd thc mcta-
phor|ikccuttingandpo|ishing.
Itis notthatpcop|chavcnoknow|cdgc, but trucknow|-
cdgc is hard. Vhcn it comcs to pcar|s and j adcs, cvcryonc
wantstopick thcmupandputthcm i nthcirpockcts-why
isthat!Trucknow|cdgcis suchatrcasurcthatilstudcntsol
thcVayhad this attitudc thcrcwou|dbc no worry that no
oncwou|d strivclor trucknow|cdgc.
Vhcnitcomcstowhctting asword, nooncwou|d|ickit
withhisowntongucortryitonhisbody~whyisthat!Thc
abi|ity oltruc know|cdgc to wound pcop|c is such that il
H L L U L l V P l L N L P L P l L N
thosc who shun cvil had this attitudc thcrc would R0
worry that trucknowlcdgc wou|d not bc pu|tcd.
Thchumanmindisoriginallyluminous,but itt5covcred
by dcsircs |or things, so it bccomcs dcsirc. || you know !hu
phcnomcnon is thc vcil o|dcsircs |or things, this is a point
o|cnlightcnmcnt,|ocusyourcncrgy on it andstabilizcit.
Today yougct rid o|a littlc, tomorrow you gct rido|3
littlc. Suddcnly thcy arisc, suddcnly thcy vanish~arc you
awarco|this!
I|youcanbc awarc o|this and can watch, thcnyoucaa
bc ncithcrarouscd noroblivious.
Vhcnyourcach thcpoint whcrc you arc ncithcrarouscd
nor oblivious, your mind is stablc and your naturc is
complctc.
Mowyourbrcathisgoing out and i n, arc you awarco||t'
I|you can bc awarc o|it and can stay with it, you c1n
thcrcbynot dclibcratcly cxhalc orinhalc.
Vhcnyouarrivcatthcpointo|notcxhalingori nhaling,
thcncncrgyiswholcandli|c is cstablishcd.
A L 1 I N
Knowlcdgc and action arc mndamcntally onccombincd c|-
|ort. To always kccp knowlcdgcprcscnt is to bc ablc to 1tt
r
onit. Vhcncvcryou do not act on knowlcdgc, youarc tbca
rgnorant.
Culturcd pcop|c undcrstand thc Vay with thcir boqc,
whcrcvcrthc body is, thcrc iswhcrc thc Vay is. Thustbcr:
iswalkingcxcrcisc|orwhcn you arc walking,standingcxc!
cisc |or whcn you arc standing,sittingcxcrcisc|or whcn
yu0
arc sitting,slccping cxcrcisc|orwhcnyou arc slccping.
N L L U L J V L N L h L L l L N
Vhcrcvcr you arc, ilyou arc lrcc lrom thoughts, thcn
whcrcvcryouarciscxcrcisc.
Vhcncvcr thcrc is somcthing you cannot put into prac-
ticc, it is simp|y that your know|cdgc is not authcntic. Il
your know|cdgcola truth isgcnuinc, you wi||natura||y bc
gladtolol|owthatt ruth. Thatiswhy it issaid thatlcarning
a|ways nccdsknow|cdgc. Ilyourpcrccptionolatruth is not
rca|istic, yct youinsiston trying toacton it, howmuchwi||
and cncrgy do you havc! Vhcn your wi|l is cxhaustcd and
yourcncrgy Hags, youwon' tbc ablc tocarryon.
Evcning and nighttimc arc timcs ol rcst lor cu|tivatcd
pcop|c. According|y you shouldwithdraw into thcchambcr
olspirit and cmbracc oncncss without parting. Sincc thcrc
arc no worldly lcclings cnvcloping you, ncithcr is thcrc an
origina| sublimc truth~whcn you arc |ikc a dcad man lor
thctimcbcing, thatiscal|cdgrcatrcst.Altcryougct to thc
pointoldrcamingands|ccpingwithoutbccomingmudd|cd,
you scc thc cllcctolmastcringscriousncss.
Thcn thc lol|owing morning is thc timc lor thc cu|turcd
pcrson's dai|y rcncwa| . `According|y, you shou|d risc carly
anddaily scckwhatyouhavcycttoattain,with thcdctcrmi-
nation to do tcn timcs or a hundrcd timcs what othcrs do.
Thc days bccomc months, thc months bccomc ycars, thosc
whostudywithoutqucstionolhowlongittakcs, bc itthrcc
ycars or hvc ycars, ncvcr lai| to rcach sagchood. Vhcn you
arcmindful atcvcrymomcnt,nurturingit with cachbrcath,
thc work is ncvcr intcrruptcd, pcrlcctcd day altcr day and
month altcr month, lcarning wi|l shinc with light.
Somcask how natural dcsign can bc comp|ctcd. It iscs-
scntia| to conscious|y nurturc it at al| timcs. Thcy a|so ask
how topuri|y humandesircs. It isjustamattcroldiminish-
ingthcm daybyday.
H L L U L V P L N L L P L Z P L N
Allpcoplc havc intuitivc knowlcdgc and innatccapacity.
Intuitivc knowlcdgc should bc brought out, innatccapacity
should bcmlGllcd.This is amattcro|diligcnt lcarning and
carncstqucstioning.
Our rcal naturc is spiritual and most subtlc, whcn
thoughts stir it Hics o||, invisiblc. I|you want to stabilizcit,
youmustlookintothcsourcc.Thc mcchanism is always in
thccyc,abidingatrcstinthcmind,whcnthcmindisalways
clcar andcalm, spirit andcncrgyrcturn to thcroot, cvcntu-
allyproducingthcsuprcmc trcasurc,graduallyhlling,circu-
lating abovc

nd bclow, producing springtimc throughout

thcbody.
Vhcn you havc rchncd thc scl|to unadultcratcd matur-
ity, you |orgct |cclings in |acc o| ob|ccts. Gathcr spiritual
mcdicinc, using positivc cncrgy to control ncgativc cncrgy,
dcvcloping thc cmbryonic sagc. This is callcd bcing a rcal-
izcdhuman.
b b L | b X A M I N A 1 I N
Scl|-cxamination mcans cxamining your own mind. O|thc
twcnty-|our hours o| thc day, how much o| thc timc docs
your mind rcmain insidc, and how much o|thc timc is |t
outsidc! I| you do this |or a long timc you will naturally
uttu|n somcpowcr.
ln udCn t|mCs thcrC wus u mun whu usCd uck und whitc
Cuns tO mukC u rCcurd uI his sCI-Cxumtnut| un uI mind.
hCnCVCr hC hud u yuud thuuyht, hC wuu d put u wh|tc
Cun |n u uw , und whCn hC hud u ud t huu_ht, hC wuuU
put u uck cun |n thC uw .
At htst, thCrC wuud C musty uck Cuns. LutCr
tht
uck und whtC wuu|d C huI und hull
ll

N L L U L V L N L L L L N \
Evcntua|lythcrcwou|dbcmost|ywhitcbcans,thcnnoth-
ing but whitc bcans. U|timatc|y thcrc would not cvcn bc
any whitcbcans.
Thcrcis somcthing to this mcthod,clumsyasit is.
Sc||-cxamination mcansawarcncss andcontro|. It is nonc
othcr than rc|orming|au|tsand conscious|y dcvc|oping. Itis
nonc othcr than mastcring scriousncss. Evcn though thc
Grcat Vay has no practicc and no rcalization, matcria|ism
mustbcpolishcd awayday byday.
Pcop|c havc but onc mind. Vhcn you want it to stay
insidc, whosc mind is this! Vhcn it suddcnly runs outsidc,
whoscmindis this!Vhcnyoucan disccrn clcar|y, thcn you
can makc progrcss atcultivation.
Scl|-cxamination ought to bc thorough and prccisc. Scl|-
govcrnmcnt ought to bc chcctivc and dccisivc. Conscious
dcvclopmcnt ought to bc casygoing and unhurricd. Thcsc
thrcc cxcrciscsshouldbcdonc cvcry day unti|you rcach thc
pointo|c||ort|cssncss,thcnthcyarcaccomplishcd.
Somc say wc can transccnd immcdiatcly to thc bcyond
withouthavingtomakcany c||ort.Thismightoccuramong
thoscwithhighcrknowlcdgc, but I wou|d not darc say that
cvcryonccan doi t.
4 H L L U L V P L N L L P L P l L N
H b b I b L 1
Thcspirituallightolbasicnaturchas nocrcationordcstruc-
tion, no incrcascordccrcasc. Evcnthough itbc tightlycov-
crcd lor a long timc, onc Hash ol thc spiritual light can
cxtinguish a thousand cvils and givc birth to tcn thousand
virtucs.
As long as you kccp thc spiritual light always prcscnt,
howarcyoudihcrcntlromsagcs!
Somcaskhowtokccpthcspiritual light always prcscnt.
Itsccmscsscntial to bc rcspccttul.
Only by rcspccting it can thc spiritual light bc kcpt al-
waysprcscnt. Carclulncss and caution arc ccrtainly rcspcct,
industriousncss isalso rcspcct.
Vhcn you arc rcspcctlul, youdo not cntcrtain lantasics,
youdo not slip into oblivion, and you do not dwcll in lull-
ncss. Thcscsccm to bc csscntial to prcscncc olmind, guidc-
lincslorscll-cultivation.
Sinccancicnt timcs sagcs havc transmittcd thc hcart by
thcscmcans. Nowadayspcoplcthinkthatlormaldrcssnatu-
rallyproduccs rcspcct. Rcspcct is justa mattcrolbcingccn-
tcrcdinoncncss. Vhcn youarcccntcrcd inoncncss,youare
naturallylrcc lrom warp andbias.
Thcmind is thc mastcr olthc body, rcspcctlulncss is an
attainmcnt ol thc mind. Nowadays whcn pcoplc cntcr a
shrinc thcy bccomc rcspcctlul bccausc thcrc arc sacrcd
im-
agcs thcrc-why do thcy not think how thcrc arc a
rcal
ghost and spirit in thcir own bodics, and do not kncw
cnough to rcspcct thcm!
Chcng Mingdaosaid, Vhcn I practicccalligraphy, I am
9

1
H L L U L V L N L | L L L N d
cxtrcmcly rcspcctful o|| t, not becausc |ns|st that thcchar-
actcrs bcgooJ. but s| mp|y bccausc th|s |s stuJy.
Chcng Y| nquan sa| J, Vhce MastcrZhou spokc ofonc-
ucss, hc mcant having no Jesire. How can orJinary pcoplc
atta|n Jcsirc|cssncss? | t |s just a mattcr O| rcspect|u|ncss
Kccpat |t stcpa|tcrstcp, holJ |tstcaJy[ustwork ||kc this,
` a|crting yoursc||timc anJ aga|n, not a||ow| ng Jul|ness. You
can scc thc rcsu|ts inoncortwoJays.
" Thccompass anJ thc ru|crarc moJc|s o|thc round and
thc squarc. Thc lcvc| and thc p|umb linc arc modc|s o|thc
cvcn and thc stra|ght. Pcop|c who havc compass and rulcr
on thcir |c|t and |cvc| andp|umb|inconthc|rright arcmod-
c|so|humanity.

Thc ru|cr and compass, lcvcl and p|umb linc, arc ordcr,
ordcr is bascd on rcspcct. I|a country has no ordcr, rcbc|s
g and robbcrs risc and ruin thc nation. I| onc`s body has no
:|
ordcr, thcn cmotions and dcsircs ovcrcomc and ruin thc
_ body.
b b L | V b H N M b N 1
ll
gl
A sagc said, In lcarning, you incrcasc daily, |or thc Vay,
"
youdccrcasc daily.Thisdccrcasc`mcansdccrcasingcxccss
to attain ccntcrcd balancc, dccrcasing trivialitics to rcturn
to basics, and rcducing human dcsircs to rcturn to cc|cstial
g|
dcsign.
9
Thcrc may bc a hundrcdhumandcsircs, but itis impcra-
tivc to mastcroncscl|hrst. Mastcring yourscl|islikcovcr-
|

coming an cncmy, hrst you must know whcrc thc cncmy is

l'
bc|orcyoucanscnd in yourtroops.
Scl|-govcrnmcnt should bc strict, likc a |armcr wccding,
H L L U L V P N P L Z P N
who must rcmovc wccds by thc roots bc|orc hc can bc |rce
o|conccrnthatthcywil|growback.
Scl|-cxamination is |ikc arrcsting a robbcr~you cannct
rclax at any timc.
Sc||-govcrnmcnt is |ikc cxccuting a rcbcl~you mustcut
through withonc strokco|thcsword.Attackinghumandc-
sircmustbc likc thisbc|orc it canbc succcss|u| .
Scl|-govcrnmcnt i s a mattcr o|gctting rid o|what was
originallynotin us.Vcshouldrca|izcthiswasorigina||ynct
thcrc by naturc anddocs notbccomc noncxistcntonlya|tcr
bcingovcrcomc.
Conscious dcvc|opmcnt is a mattcr o|prcscrving whatis
origina||y in us. Vc should rcalizc it is original|y thcrc c|
ncccssity and docs not comc to bc thcrc by consciousdcvc|
opmcnt.
b 1 U I I I N
Thc Chin says, Stopping at thcback, youdo not apprc-
hcnd thc body, going through thcyard, you do not scc thc
pcrson. `whcncvcr thc human mind cannot bc sti||, it is
bccauscdcsircs arc pul|ingit.
A||o|thc human body movcs but thc back, thc whc|c
humanbody has dcsirccxccpt thcback.Thcrc|orcwhcnthc
Ch:n tcachcs pcop|c to stopthcmind at thc back and nct
grasp thc boJy, it mcans to |orgct thcsclt.
Vhcn you |orgct your sc|t, thcn thc root that produccs
dcsirc is severcJ. Th|s |s stopping in sti|| ncss.
Not sceing thc pcrson mcans torgctting pcoplc. hcu
you |orgct pcop|c, Jcsirab|c things disappcar. This is stcp
ping inaction.
Mastcr Chcng said, ''Thc human mind must bc ab|c
tc
H L L U L V L N L L L L N 6
stop. I|thcrc is no stopping it, thcn it |ol|ows things obcdi-
cntly, astray whcrcvcritgocs.
Stopping has two mcanings Onc is abiding in a ccrtain
statc without moving away |rom it. Thc othcr is cutting
somcthing o|| and not rcturning to it. Thcsc two scnscs o|
stopping arccomplcmcntarymcanso|cntcring thc Vay.
b b b I N U
Pcoplc gct up and work all day long, not knowing whcrc
thcir minds go. Somcpcoplc mayconsciously kccp prcscncc
o| mind, but most o| thcm usc |orcc|ul rcstraint. Forccml
rcstraint isdamaging to thc mind.
Thchumanmindisvcrylivcly,thcspiritshouldbcpcacc-
|ul . Its naturc should bc dcvclopcd in accordancc with its
potcntial, not allowinghccdlcssncss,or|orcc|ulncss,orintcr-
ruption. Thcsc arc thc minimum rcquircmcnts |or what
couldbccallcdguidclincs|or dcvcloping thcmind.
VhatCon|ucius callcd stoppingat thchighcstgood is
Lao-tzu'ssccmingtobc thcrc` and 8uddha's sccingindc-
pcndcntly. Thc spirit o| a human bcing is in thc mind,
whilc thc triggcro|thc mindis in thc cycs. Vhcn thccycs
arcuscdinwardly, thc mindisaccordingly insidc, hcnccthc
tcrmsccingindcpcndcntly.`
Sccing mcans looking inwardly, indcpcndcntly rc|crs to
indcpcndcncco|mind. l|youlookinwardly|oralong timc,
not only will your mind bc prcscnt, your mind will ulti-
matclystabilizc.
Spiritandcncrgyunitcdandstabilizcd,inccstasyyouGrst
awakcn. Thc hcavcn and carth o| rcality communc, with
subtlcticsbcyondthcpowcro|wordstocxprcss.
Thc MtJ Strttur: says, I havc sccn thc mind and at-
6 6 N L L U L V P L N L L P L Z P L N
tained the Vay lor inhnite eons. ` Now when the sun sets,
who knows where the darkness in the room comes lrom?
Thenwhenwelightalamp,whoknowswherethedarkness
goes!
Ve mustrealizethelamphasnoreasontochase thedark-
ness, and the darkness has no leeling ol lear ol the lamp.
Thereis noellort expendedoneitherside.
The lamp can represent awakened awareness, while the
darkness can represent ignorance. Look uponpast phenom-
ena8 dreamlike,presentphenomenaaslightning-swilt, and
luturephenomenaas completelyobscure.
Alsolookupon all contrived phenomena in the world
changing lrommoment tomoment, troublesomenoend,to
be put at adistance8 soon as possible.
Vhatever you may be doing, you should practice both
stopping and seeing. Stopping is silent cal m, seeing is alert
awakeness.
Some ask what the clearmind is. The empty mindis the
clear mind. This clear mind has no images ol sell, person,
being,orliverollile, all thingsareempty.
Vhat is seeing essential nature! Following nature is
seeingnature, unconsciouslyandunknowinglylollowingthe
laws olGod.
H L L U L V L N L | L L L N 6 7
|
l L U N b L I U U b b V b L U I M b N T
Thc words cen:cieu: deve/ement go togcthcr, il you cannot
kccpprcscnccolmind, whatcanyoudcvc|op!Kccpingcon-
scious prcscncc ol mind is nurturing |ts naturc. 8clorc
arousal, it is csscntial to nurturcit conscious|y,altcrarousal,
it is csscntial to cxaminc it introspcctivc|y. Subjcctivc idcas
mustbcovcrcomc,andwhcn thcyhavcbccnovcrcomc,con-
scious nurturc is again csscntial. Thcsc thrcc arc to bc ap-
plicdsucccssivcly, without allowing anyintcrruption.
Kccping prcscncc olmind is not a mattcr olusing cllort
tokccpholdolit. Simplybcpurcandhavclcwdcsircs~this
iskccpingprcscncc olmind.
Vc mustrcalizcthatthismindcomcswhcnwcarcawarc
andgocswhcnwcarc notawarc. How canwcmanagctobc
a|waysawarc,sothatitdocs not go away! It isjustamattcr
ol thorough lamiliarity, that is all. I havc sccn wild birds
bcing kcpt, thcy arc not domcstic low|, but bccausc thcy
havc bccnraiscdandlami liarizcd, thcywillnotlcavccvcnil
rclcascd. Ourmindishcrcin ourown hcart-ilwc dcvclop
thoroughlamiliaritywithourmind, whywou|d thcrcbcany
rcason tolosc it!
MastcrZhusaid, Thcwork olnurturing thclundamcn-
tal is intcrruptcd vcry casily. Howcvcr, as soon as you bc-
comc awarc ol thc intcrruption, this is thc point ol
rcsumption. )ust kccp bringing it to mind all thc timc,
building this up bit by bit, until cvcntually thcrc issponta-
ncouscontinuity, turning intooncwholc.
Thoseinwhomvita|ity,cncrgy,andspiritgctthcirpropcr
nourishmcnt and thrivc will livc, thosc in whom thcy miss
thcir propcr nourishmcnt and ladc wil| dic. Try cxamining
6 H L L U V P L N L r H L P L P L N
this in thc coursc ola singlc day, how much do thcy get
thcir nourishmcnt and thrivc, and how much do thcy miss
thcirnourishmcnt and ladc!Thcnyoucanknowaboutyour
lilc and dcath by yourscll, withoutusingdivination.
Thcwork ollcarning thc Vay rcquircs grcatcr intim
acy
with cach passing day, grcatcr intimacy with cach passing
hour. Evcntually you dcvclop spontancous lamiliarity and
unitcwiththcVay.
I b L I L I N L
Human bcings havc always actcd on cmotions and dcsircs,
this habit issodccp-scatcdthat ilthcyscckclarityandcalm
oncday, this is not casy to achicvc. Thcrclorc it is ncccssary
to kccpdisciplinchrst.
Kccping disciplinc mcans purilying thought, word, and
dccd.
Not killing, not stcaling, and not bcingpromiscuouspu-
ri[youraction.
Not lying, not cmbcllishing spccch, not spcaking hypo-
critically, and not spcakingviciouslypurily yourword.
Gctting rid ol grccd, angcr, and lalsc thought purihes
yourthought.
Vhcn you avoid cvcrything impropcr in looking and lis-
tcning, inspccch, and in action, this is thcconsummationo|
disciplinc. Ovcrcoming hostility and dcsirc is thc origin o|
disciplinc.
Con|ucius said that a cultivatcd pcrson has thrcc disci-
plincs. Hc mcant that a culturcd pcrson always maintains
an attitudc o| disciplincd caution, ncvcr acting undcr the
compulsion olblood encrgy.
Conlucius also said that a cu|tivatcd pcrson has
nine
H L L U L V P L N L L P L P L N 6 9
thoughts. Hc mcant that a cultivatcd pcrson's mind is al-
waysalcrt, spontancouslydisciplincdwithout havingtokccp
rulcs.
Thc Shurauama Sutra says, Conccntrating thc mind is
disciplinc. Stability comcs |rom disciplinc, insight comcs
|rom stability. `
b 1 A b I L I 1 1
Awritingonthcnaturco|stabilitysays that stabilitymcans
youarcstablccvcn whcnactivc,aswcllas bcing stablc whcn
quict.
Rathcrthanapprovinginwardncssanddcnyingthccxtcr-
nal,itisbcttcrto|orgctbothinsidcandoutsidc.Vhcnboth
arc|orgottcn, thcn you arcclcaranduntroublcd.
Vhcnyouarc untroublcd, youarcstablc~howcandcal-
ingwith pcoplc bcaburdcnanymorc!
Thcmindbasicallywantsstability,whcnitisncvcrthclcss
incapablc o|stability, thoughts arc actually burdcning it. I|
youstopthoughts andkccpprcscncco|mind,thcrcisnoth-
ing to disturb thc mind, so thc mind spontancously stabi-
lizcs.
Yunmcnsaid, I nthc hrst stagc o|mcditation, thoughts
stop. In thc sccond stagc o|mcditation, brcathing stops. I n
thc thirdstagco|mcditation,thcpulscs stop. I nthc |ourth
stagco|mcditation,cxtinctionculminatcsingrcatstability.
Youshouldknowthatthcrcarcthrccpathswithinstabili-
zation.
Thc hrst is callcd natural stability, this mcans that basic
naturc istranquil, inhcrcntlyunpcrturbcd.
Thc sccond is callcd cultivatcd stability, this mcans nur-
turingthcorigina|purityo|csscntialnaturc.
7 H L L U L V P L N L L P L l P L N
Thc third is ca||cd thc stability o| spacious calm,
this
mcans|ollowingtruthwithopcn mind,actingwithoutcum
-
pulsion. Chuang-tzu said, Thc stability o| spacious calm
comcs |rom thc |ighto|hcavcn.
ThoscwhoattaincdthcVay ino|dcntimcsnurturcdwu-
dom by discngagcmcnt. Vhcn wisdom dcvclops, it h
nothingtodowithknowlcdgc.
Vhcn you arcabout to|al l as|ccp but arc not yctaslccp,
things o|thc wor|d arcnot on your mind, andyouarcmcn-
tallyandphysicallystill, thisis a timco|:amadhi.
Inthcstatcolcausc, this isca|lcd stopping and sccing,in
thcstatco|c|lcct, this is callcdstabilityand insight.
I N b I H 1
It is said that thc human mind is likc watcr-whcn it is
c|car, it rcHccts cvcry dctail, but onccit isdisturbcd, hcavcn
and carthswitchplaccs.
Vc shouldknowthatthcrcarc thrcc paths olinsight.
ThcGrstiscallcdinsightintothccmptincssolthcpcrson.
This mcans rcalizing that thcrc is no birth, no scl|, and nc
pcrson.
Thc sccond is callcd insight into thc cmptincss o|phc-
nomcna. This mcans rcalizing that thc c|cmcnts arc condi-
tional, tcmporary, and not actual|y rcal.
Thcthirdiscal|cdinsightintothccmptincsso|cmptincss.
This mcans rcalizing that cognition and objccts arc both
cmpty, andthiscmptincss is alsocmpty.
Vhcn bcginning to cu|tivatcstabilization, onc may sud-
dcnlyawakcnpsychicpowcrs, suchasknowlcdgcolthcpast,
knowlcdgcolthc|uturc, know|cdgcolothcrs minds,orun-
M L L U L V N L | L L L N 1 1
inhibitcdcloqucncc. This is whatCon|ucianscallthcWay o|
pcr|cct truth|ulncss, by which |orcknowledgc is possiblc.
Whcn thcy lcarn this much o| thc Way, many pcoplc
cravc worldly |amc, pront, and honor. All this bclongs to
contaminatcd spirit and cncrgy, sincc it cannot bc assurcd,
many takc to voluntarydiscmbodimcnt. This should bcim-
mcdiatclyabandoncd, bccausccontaminatcdphcnomcnaarc
unrcal. Thc Tae Te Cbiu says, 'Ordinarypcoplctrytoshinc,
aloncamobscurc.Ordinarypcoplctrytobcsmart,Ialonc
am rgnorant.
b I N L b K I 1 1
ThcwholcC/a::i. en the Mean isall about sinccrity.To choosc
what is good and hold to it hrmly is a mattcr o|sinccrity.
Involvcmcnt in assistancc and providing suitablc cducation
arc works o|suprcmc sinccrity. Suprcmc sinccrity is callcd
sagchood, this is thc cclcstial path. Maintaining sinccrity is
callcdwisdom, this isthchuman path. Onlywhcnwccmu-
latc thc cclcstial can wc attain thc human, whcn wc |ulhll
thchuman,wccan accord withthccclcstial. Thcrc|orc it is
saidthatthcyarconcatthcstagco|attainmcnt.
ThcVay o|hcavcn and carthcangivc l i|c to myriad bc-
ings only bccausc o| sinccrity. Thc way o| cmpcrors and
kings can govcrn pcoplc only through sinccrity, thc way o|
sagcscan providc myriadvirtucs only bysinccrity.
8cing carc|ul whcn alonc and bcing thoroughgoing arc
thcmost csscntialcxcrciscs|orscckingsinccrityin thcmidst
o|daily a||airs.
Suprcmc sinccrity can movc hcavcn andcarthand sum-
mon ghosts and spirits. Ghosts and spirits appcar cvcry-
whcrc bctwccn hcavcn and carth, though pcoplcdo not scc
7 2 H L L U L V P l N H L P L l P l L N
ghostsandspirits, thcydoscchcavcnandcarth.Ghostsand
spirits arc sou|s o|hcavcn and carth, hcavcn and carth are
trackso|ghosts andspirits.
Cu|tivatcd pcop|c |car thc ordcr o|hcavcn, this is why
thcy|carghostsandspirits.Vor|d|ypcop|cdarctodo what
is not good bccausc thcy on|y |car that pcop|c wi|| know.
Thoscwhoarca|raido|othcrpcop|cknowingarchypocrites,
thcyarcsma||pcop|c. Thoscwho|carHcavcn'sknowing
are
sinccrc,thcyarccu|turcdpcop|c.
| A M I L I A L U 1 T
Fami|ia|dutyis thcrooto|ahundrcdpracticcs, thcbasiso|
myriad virtucs. Estab|ishing yoursc|| and carrying out the
Vay constitutc |i|ctimc |ami|ia| duty. Vorking to provide
support is|ami|ia|duty |or onctimc. I |withcvcry stcpyou
takc,cvcrywordyou uttcr,cvcry thoughtyouconccivc,you
darc not |orgct your parcnts and do not makc thc mistake
o| disgracing yoursc||, |osing your mind, or shaming your
parcnts, that can bc ca||cd |ami|ia| duty. I |with cvcry stcp,
cvcryword,andcvcrythought, you darc not disobcyhcavea
and carth and do not disgracc yoursc||, |osc your mind, or
vio|atcprincip|c, thiscan bcca||cdhumanity.
Parcntsarcthchcavcnandcartho|ahomc, h |ia|chi|drea
arc attcntivc to thcir parcnts as thcy arc attcntivc tohcavea
and carth. Vhcn thcirparcnts trcat thcm |oving|y, thcy are
joy|u| and do not |orgct, whcn thcir parcnts trcat them
bad|y, thcy arc hurt but not rcscnt|u|.
Hcavcn and carth arc the parcnts o| a|| bcings. Pcop|e
shou|d bc as attcntivc to hcavcn and carth as to thcir par-
cnts. Vhcn rich and succcss|u|, thcy managc it withoutcX~
H L L U L V L N L | L L L N 1
ccss, whcn poor and in di|hculty, thcy acccpt it without
losing thcir uprightncss.
Itmaybcaskcdhowwccancxcrcisc|amilialdutytoward
ourparcntsa|tcrthcyarcdcad. Thcanswcris that thcbodics
o|thc childrcn arc thc rclics o|thc parcnts, i|wc takc carc
o|oursc|vcswithout|ai |, this is how wc scrvc our parcnts.
Ourhumannaturcisaboon|romhcavcnand carth, i|wc
nurturci twc|l and donotloscit,thisishowwcscrvchcavcn
andcarth.
V H 1 U b
In thc prcscnt agc, thoscwhoattain thc Vay arc rarc. It is
not that thc Vay is hard to attain, it is bccausc pcoplc do
not yct know it trulyor do not kccp to itFrmly.
Thc practicc o|intcrnalizing virtuc bcgins with making
intcntion sinccrc. Thc practicc o| cultivating virtuc bcgins
l
with taking togoodncss.
A sagc said, Thc richncss o| inncrvirtuc is |ikc an in-
|ant. Vho docs not start |i|c 8 an in|ant! I|wc can clcar
away thcstaino|habits,wc rcturntoour prima| innoccncc,
l
thcvirtuco|sagcs issimplythus.
Politica|,|amilial,andsocialrclationsarcunivcrsalcxprcs-
sions o| thc Vay, thosc who talk about thc Vay without
thcscarcoutsidcrs.Visdom,humanity,andcouragcarcuni-
f
vcrsal cxprcssions o|virtuc, thosc whospcako|virtuc with-
f
_|
out thcscarc immoral.
Contuciussaid torclyonvirtuc. Rcliancc mcans ho|ding
hrmly so that it is attaincd oncc and |or all, ncvcr to bc
,' lost. Evcntually it maturcs, and on maturing it turns into
humanity.
r
7 A H L L U L V L N L L L l L N
H U M A N | 1 1
Humanityishuman,ahumanwho is not humancyctwants
tobccomc a rcalizcd human bcing can in no way succccd. l
considcr what Conmcians callhumanity tobc cquivalcnt to
what 8uddhists call rclics and lmmortalists cal| thc goldcn
pill.
Thc mind is thc housc ol humanity, humanity is thc
owncr olthc mind. )ust clcan your mind and you will ac-
cordinglyscnscbasiccncrgycomingback,hl|ingyourwholc
body,you turn around andlookuponallthingsasonc.This
isasignolscll-rcalization.Thcrclorc it is said,Ilyoumtcr
yourscllandrcturntoordcronc day, thcwholcworldrcvcrts
tohumanity.`
As thc univcrsal principlc ol constant rcncwa| ol lilc is
prcscntwithinthchumanmind, it iscallcd humanity,ba:cd
on its capacity lor giving lilc Vhy not consciously nurturc
thisprinciplcolconstant rcncwalollilc in ourminds!
VuLiuquansaid,Thchumanclivclong. I havclookcd
at pcoplc cvcrywhcrc in this way and lound that, gcncrally
spcaking, thosc whosc tcmpcramcntis warm and gcntlclivc
long.
Thoscwhoscdisposition is kind and dcccnt livclong.
Thoscwho arc broadmindcd livclong.
Thoscwhoarcoutwardlycordial anddignihcdlivclong.
Thosc who spcak sparcly and arc quictlivclong.
All this is bccausc warmth and gcntility, kindncss aad
dcccncy, brcadth olmind, cordiality with dignity, and
taci-
turnity arc all aspccts ol humanity~it is htting that thcy
wouldlostcrlongcvity.
Liuquansstatcmcnthas onc aspcctolhumanity,yct
cvca

H L L U L V L N L l L L L N 7 5
that can |ostcrlongcvity. Vhat about thccxtcndcd |ongcv-
ityo|onc who cmbodicsall o|thcsc qua|itics togcthcr'
It is said that thc humanc likc mountains. ' ' Mountains
do not movc ovcr thc agcs, nothing is as |ong-livcd as a
mountain. A mountain is always stil| , humanc pcoplc arc
alwaysca|m.
Vhcn you arc calm, thc spirit stabilizcs, cncrgy crystal-
lizcs, vitality h|ls you, and your body is hrm. In thiscondi-
tion,whowou|d not livc long!
L A L M N b b b
A provcrb says that sagcs accomplish thc ultimatc human
attainmcnt bascd on calmncss. Thc ultimatc attainmcnt is
grcat balancc asahumanbcing.Sagcsarcbascdincalmncss,
not bccausc thcy think calmncss is good and so thcy |ocus
on it, but bccausc nothing disturbs thcir minds. Thcy arc
naturallycalmwithoutscckingcalmncss.
Pcoplc sccking calmncss today havc notgottcn thc truc
tradition.Thcy allsay tochainthcmind-monkcytightlyand
tcthcr thc idca-horsc|ast.
Vhcn thcy hndthcy cannot chain or tcthcr it down, h-
nally thcy say thc mind is u|timatcly ungraspablc and thus
calm.Thcydonotcvcn rcHcct that thispracticcisamistakc
that isducto |ailurc to attainknowlcdgc.
Vhcnyouattainknowlcdgc,youarcclcar.Vhcnyouarc
clcar,youscc that a|l truths in thcworld arc scttlcd and do
not admit o| any subjcctivc idcas at all. This is what is
knownashavingstabilitya|tcrknowingwhcrc tostop.A|tcr
youarcstablc,youcanbccalm.A|tcryouarccalm,youcan
bcatpcacc.
Extcrnally, i|you |orgct |amc and proht, your body wil|
! H L L U L V P L N L f L P L Z P L N
bc at pcacc. Inwardly, ilyou lorgct cogitation and rumina-
tion, yourmind will bcatpcacc.
Evcryonc says that physical sccurity is a b|cssing, I say
thatpcaccolmindis thcVay.
Vhcn Huikcsaw 8odhidharma, thcloundcrolChan,hc
said, Mymindis not yctatpcacc,plcascpaci[ it lormc.`
8odhidharmasaid,8ringmcyourmindandIwillpaci[
itloryou.`
Huikc said, Having lookcd lor my mind, I cannot hnd
it. `
8odhidharmasaid, Ihavcpacihcdyourmindlor you. `
Vcnzc said, Vhcnyouscck thc mind in thcpast,prcs-
cnt, and luturc, thc mind is not thcrc. Vhcn you look lor
dclusionin thchcart,dclusionisoriginallynotthcrc.I nthat
original nonbcing is cnlightcnmcnt. This is callcd truc at-
tainmcntolthc Vay.
H A I N L b b
MohappincssisgrcatcrthanattainingthcVay. Adaylcarn-
ing thc Vay is a day ol happincss, cvcry day lcarning thc
Vay is cvcryday happincss, a lilctimc lcarning thc way is
lilctimc happincss. Lcarning thc Vay is basically a mcthod
olpcacc and happincss, that iswhysagcsstudy ittirclcssly.
Zhou Moushu taught thctwoChcngbrothcrstoscckthc
happincssolCon|ucius and Ycn Hui. This happincssis tobc
|ound by thc individua|, withinoncsc||, whcrc it is natura|ly
sulhcicnt.
Mcncius said that cu|turcd pcop|c havc thrcc kinds o|
happincss. cnjoymcnt o| natural rc|ationships, cnj oymcnto|
individua|ity, and cnjoymcnt o| cducation. Happincss that
dcpcndson hcavcn or on othcrpcop|c wc cannot ncccssarily
H L L U L V L N L L L N ! !
insistupon,butwhy not pcrsonally |u|hllthchappincssthat
isuptousoursc|vcs!
Is thcrc anyonc today who is not compcllcd by anyonc
clsc! Is thcrc anyonc who is not compcllcd by things! Is
thcrc anyonc who is not compcllcd by thc physical body!
Pcoplc havc to gct rid o|thcsc thrcc compulsionsbc|orconc
can talk tothcm about happincss.
I havcsccntircdpcoplcwhohavccxhaustcdthcirphysical
strcngth, thcy |ccl bliss as soon as thcy gct to lct go. I|
studcnts o|thc Vay can lct go, thcir plcasurc is mil|ionso|
timcsgrcatcrthan that o|worldly pcoplc.
Last ycar I wcnt on a trip inthchottcst part o|thcsum-
mcr. I saw old |olks sitting undcr shadc trccs and thought
that would bc ultimatc bliss. Mow whcn I sit undcr shadc
trccs in my |rcc timc, I do not scc what is so plcasurablc.
Vhy! LastycarI was looking upon lcisurcwhcnI wastircd,
that's all. Thcidcais that this sccmstobchow thcpoorlook
upon thc rich, how thc lowcr classcs look upon thc uppcr
classcs.
Asadults,wcshouldsimplyactnormallyaccordingtoour
situation,thcrcbywccan bcscl|-posscsscdwhcrcvcrwcarc.
VishFul thinking is all usclcss, all attachmcnts, karmic
dcbts,|udgmcnt, andmisdccds comc|rom it. Vhcnwishml
thinking ariscs, canwcnotbccarcml!
7 8 H L L U L V P L N L H L P L l P L N
b A L A N L b
Vhat thc ancicnt sagcs transmittcd was just onc thing=
ba|ancc. Notbcingbiascd, notbcingprcjudiccd~thisis thc
substancc olba|ancc. Notgoing too lar, notla||ingshort~
thisisthclunctionolba|ancc.
Thc ancicnt sagc Yao said, Ho|d sinccrc|y to this ba|-
ancc. ' Ho|ding to ba|ancc rclcrs to both action and quict.
Vhcn you arc quict, you ho|d to this ba|ancc by conscious
prcscncc ol mind. Vhcn you arc activc, you ho|d to this
ba|ancc by adapting to cvcnts. Sinccrc|y' mcans trusting,
it has thc scnsc ol spontancous|y kccping ba|ancc at a||
timcs, whatcvcrhappcns, without thc s|ightcst cllort or in-
tcrruption.
Thc ancicnt sagc Shun said, 8c locuscd, bc unihcd."
C|car|y sccing thc lundamcnta| subt|cty is ca||cd bcing lo-
cuscd, bcing consistcnt|y undividcd is ca||cd bcing unihcd.
This says that pcop|c must havc locuscd insight and unihcd
discip|inc bclorc thcy can kccp ba|ancc. Thc word :in:ere/y
a|rcady inc|udcs this mcaning, but hc cxprcsscd it morc
c|car|y |cstpcop|cwou|d not undcrstand that.
Thc human mcnta|ity is unstab|c, thc mi nd olthcVay
is laint. ` Having thoughts is thc human mcnta|ity, having
no thoughts is thc mind o| thc Vay. This mcans that thc
human menta|ityeasi|yHarcsup,whi|cthcmindolthcVay
casi|yJisappcars. Thisspcakso|thcpotcntia| instabi|ity
and
J|nInC to makc peop|c wary, so pcop|c wi|| takc carc tu
kccp UJ|JnCC.
Li Yanping uscJ to sit up straight a|| day to check his
stateo|minJbc|orcthcarisingo|emotions,scckingba|ancc
In this way. A|tcrJoing this |or a long timc, hc rca| izcd
thc
[l
H L L U L V N | L L | | N !
root o|thc wor|d is rea|ly hcrcin. Thcrc|orc he said, ' Learn-
ing is not a mattcr o|J lot o|words, just sit quictly, clcar
your mind, and cxpcricncc thc design o| nature. I |you scc
thcsubjcctivityo|human dcsircs, thcy a|| |adc away
[iQing-ansaid, Thcccntcro|JJnCc isthcpoint whcrc
thoughts do not arisc
. .
Thc Clr0_ says, Sagcs use this to
clcan thcirminds, rctrcatingintoinacccssibi|ity.`
L b A H N | N W | b M
Anancicntsaid,EvcryonccanbccomcaYaooraShun.Yao
andShunwcrcbornsagcs,Tang andVulcarncd to bccomc
sagcs. `MastcrLao said, I am not asagc,I |carncd this. `
Somconc askcd Zhou Moushu, Can sagchood bc
lcarncd!`
Hcsaid, Ycs, itcan. '
Arc thcrcanyrcquircmcnts!`
Ycs, thcrcarc. `
`Vhatarcthcy!
Oncncss is thccsscntialrcquircmcnt. Oncncss mcansno
dcsirc. Vhcn you havc no dcsirc, you arc calm and cmpty
and straightlorward in action. Vhcn calm and cmpty, you
arc clcar, whcn c|car, you arc pcnctrating. Vhcn action is
straightlorward it is objcctivc and lair, whcn objcctivc and
|air,it is univcrsa|.Thisis to bchopcd|or. `
LcarningthcVayislcarningsagchood.ThcVay isinhcr-
cnt in us anddocs not comclrom outsidc, sagc hoodcannot
bc attaincd without virtuc. Our human naturc is thc samc
as that olsagcs, ilwc can pcr|cct that naturc, wc will bc
sagcs.
Pcoplc who study |or cxams can pass thcm~cvcryonc
knows this. Vhy docsn't cvcryonc know that pcoplc who
0 H L L U L V P L N L L P L P L N
study sagchood can bccomc sagcs! Conmcius studicd tirc-
lcssly prcciscly bccausc hc bclicvcd hc could bccomc a sagc
himscll, andhc taughtuntiring|ybccausc hc saw thatcvcry
-
oncinthcworldcanbccomc asagc. Hc travclcdthroughout
thc nation-statcs ol his timc bccausc hc wantcd to civi|izc
thcworldwiththcWay olsagcs,hcproduccdcditionsolthc
sixclassics bccauschcwantcdtocducatclatcrgcncrationsin
thcWayolsagcs.
What Conlucians call sagcs, Taoists and 8uddhists cal|
wizards and buddhas. 8uda mcansawakcncd, wizards arc
immorta|ists. Thcsc arc standard dchnitions, but I think
thcrcis anothcr cxplanation lor thc word /uddha. Thc Chi-
ncsc charactcr lor /uddha is composcd ol human and
not.Thishas thcmcaningolnotactingonhumandcsircs.
Ilyouarc human yct cando what humansdo not, thcnyou
canbccomcabuddha.
Aslorthcworduizard, thc Chincsc charactcrcomcslrom
human` and mountain.` As a mountain is sti|l, this has
thc mcaning ola|ways bcing stab|c, always bcing ca|m. Il
pcoplc can bclikc mountains, thcycanbccomcwizards.
Puttingdownis buddhahood, raisingupiswizardry, how
can onc bccomc asagc! Thcrc is on|yonc, not two or thrcc,
on cxamination, ConFucianism, 8uddhism, and Taoism arc
all rca|izcd through |rccdom lromdcsirc.
Somcask, As wclcarntobccomcsagcs, whatcanwcdo
about thcdi||cu|tyo|gctting rid o|thc|orcco|habit!
Thc answcr is that it only sccms di|h cult bccausc
you
arcn twil|ing l gct rid o|it. I|you wcrc wil|ing to gct rid
o|it, it wou|d soon stop. \hy! Al| |orcc o|habit is unrca|,
whcn thc mind is dc|udcd, it sccms to cxist, but it is not
thcrcwhcn thcmindiscn|ightcncd. Itis not that itbcco
mcs
noncxistcnt oncn|ightcnmcnt, it is origina||y noncxistcnt.

H L | o L N
o | | N | H L | N
Vhat pcoplcvalucisli|c, whatli|cvalucsisthcVay. Vhcn
pcoplc havc thc Vay, it is likc hsh having watcr. A hsh in
a dry rut will still scck a buckct|ul o| watcr, but wcak
and dyingworldlings do not cvcn havc thc scnsc to takc to
thcVay.
How contradictory it is to dislikc thc pains o| li|c and
dcathyct likc thc workso|li|c anddcath, andtorcspcctthc
namcs o|thc Vay and virtuc but disrcspcct thcpracticco|
thcVayandvirtuc!
Vhcnat animpassc,youthinko|gcttingthrough,whcn
lost, you think o|gctting back. Evcry momcnt o| timc is
prccious as a gcm, shamcand awc dccpcn cach othcr.Thus
I havc gratc|ully pursucd thc doctrincs o|thc classics and
havc
outlincd scvcn sub|ccts corrcsponding to thc tcaching
o|mind,toscrvcasapivotalaidtothcproccsso|cultivating
thcVay.
Z L b L L N b l N L H 1 N
b b K I U U b | A I 1 H
Faithisthcrooto|thcVay, scriousncss isthcstcmo|virtuc.
Vhcnthcrootisdccp, thcVay candcvclop, whcn thcstcm
is hrm, virtuc can Hourish.
A manwhoprcscntcdagcm toakinggothis|cctcuto||
in punishmcnt bccausc thc king could not rccognizc thc
valuc o|thc jcwc| in thc matrix, a man who spokc out to
savca nationwas cxccutcd |or it.
Thc implication is that whcn mattcr and mcans attract
attcntion, thcmindgctscontuscd, whcnprincip|csand phc-
nomcnaappcar, thinking gcts dizzy.
Mow sccing 3 how thc u|timatc Vay transccnds |orm
and Havor, and truc csscncc is apart |rom ob|ccts o| dcsirc,
how thcn could onc hcar o| thc rarchcd and subtlc and bc-
|icvcin it, orhcaro|thc imagc|css and not bc con|uscd!
Vhcnpcop|chcartc||o|sitting|orgctting, i|thcybclicvc
thisis csscntia| to practicingthcVay, rcspcct it and havc no
doubt, and also put it into practicc, thcy arc surc to attain
thc Vay.
Thcrc|orc Chuang-tzu said, Morti[ing thc body, dis-
missing intc||igcncc, dctaching |rom |orm, dcparting |rom
know|cdgc, assimi|ating to thc grcat pcrvasion~this is
ca||cdsitting|orgctting. `
Vhcnsitting|orgctting, whati snot |orgottcn! Inwardly
you do not noticc your own body, outwardly you arc not
awarco|thcunivcrsc. Asyoumystical|yunitcwiththcVay,
myriad cogitationsa|l disappcar.
Vhcn Chuang-tzu spcaks o| thc grcat pcrvasion, thc
wordsarcsha||ow but thc mcaning is dccp. Con|uscdpcople
L b L L N b N L L N 3
hcar thcm without bclicving~thcy havc a trcasurc in thcir
hcarts, yctthcylooklor|cwcls. Vhatcanbcdonclorthcm!
Scripturc says, Vhcn laith is insulGcicnt, thcrc is disbc-
lict ` This mcans that whcn laith in thc Vay is insulhcicnt,
thcn onc is touchcd by thc calamity oldisbclic| How can
oncthcn hopc lor thc Vay!
b b V b H N U b N 1 A N U L b M b N 1 b
Scvcring cntanglcmcnts mcans dctachmcnt lrom cntanglc-
mcnts in contrivcd mundanc conccrns. Rclinquish conccrns
and your body will not bc undcr a strain, contrivc nothing
andyourmind will naturallybccalm.
As scrcnity and simplicity dcvclop day by day, worldly
dchlcmcntlcsscns day by day.
As your bchavior dcparts mrthcr and lurthcr lrom thc
mundanc, your mindbccomcscloscrandcloscrto thcVay.
Vhich ol thc sagcs and saints did not gct thcrc by this
routc! Thc classic says, Closc your cycs, shut your doors,
and youdonot toil all your lilc.
Thcrc arc thosc who makc a show olvirtuc and ability,
sccking pcoplc topatronizcthcm.
Thcrc arc thosc who busily travcl about making visits,
attcnding cclcbrationsandtuncrals.
Thcrc arc thosc whoprctcnd to bchcrmits whilcwishing
in thcir hcartslor promotion andadvanccmcnt.
Thcrc arc thosc who invitc pcoplc lor drinks andmcals,
hopinglor mturc lavors.
Thoscwhobchavcinthcscwaysarcallclcvcrlyconccaling
mcntal machinationslor purposcsolproht.
Sincc it not in accord with thc Vay, and it proloundly
impcdcs propcr practicc, bchavior likc this should bc
4 H L P b L N b l N H L N
stoppcd. Thc classic says, Opcn your cycs, carry out your
aairs,andyou will not bcsavcd all yourlilc.
Aslong as wcdonot initiatc anything, othcrs wil| natu-
rally notgct involvcd, cvcn ilothcrs initiatc somcthing, wc
do notgctinvolvcd.
As past cntanglcmcnts gradually stop, do not lorm ncw
involvcmcnts. Ritual socializing and opportunistic intcr-
coursc naturally bccomc rcmotc, and you bccomc unbur-
dcncdandatpcacc.
Onlythcncanyoupracticc thcVay.
Chuang-tzu said, Mcithcr inviting nor cxpccting, havc
nolcclingsaboutcontrivcdmixingwiththcmundanc.
Hc also said, Do not bc mll olschcmcs, do not bc bur-
dcncdbyconccrns, do not bc rulcdbyolh ccs. `
I l somcthing cannot bc ncglcctcd, thcndoi t as unavoid-
ablc. Do not bccomccnamorcdolit and hxatc thc mind on
itso itbccomcshabitual.
L L L b L N U 1 H b M N
Thcmindisthcmastcrolthcwholcbody, thccaptainolthc
cntirc ncrvous systcm. Vhcn it iscalm, it produccs insight,
whcnitis agitatcd, itbccomcs dim.
Vhcnglcclullywandcringinstatcsolillusion,whowould
saytruth isright!Vhcncomplaccntlytaking it casyinarti-
hciality, who would say vanity is wrong!
Con|usion and ignorancc o| thc mind comc |rom thc
ground thc mind rcsts on. Evcn whcn you pick a placc to
livc, thc intcnt is to improvc your bchavior by adapting to
thc surroundings. Vhcn you arc sclcctivc in your choicco|
lricnds, that is bccausc you valuc thc potcntial |or positivc
bcncht. How much thc morc whcn you dctach |rom thc
H L b L N b | | N l L H U L 1 N 5
rca|molbirthanddcath to ab|dcinthcu|t|matc Way~how
can you not rclinquish thc |ormcr to atta|nthc |attcr!
Thcrclorc, whcn you bcg|n to study thc Way, it |s ncccs-
sary to sit ca|m|y, col|cct thc m|nd, dctach |rom objccts,
and dwcl| in nothingncss. 8y dwcl||ng |n nothingncss you
arc not obscsscd with anything at a|l , thus you spontanc-
ously cntcr a nonrcsistant statc olmind and so mcrgc with
thc Way.
A scripturc says, I n thc suprcmc Way is si|cnt nothing-
ncss, with incomparab|c spiritual lunctions. Thc substancc
olmind is also thus. `
Thc root olthc substanccolmind is thc Way itsc|l, but
bccausc thc mcnta| spirit is sub|cct to inHucnccs, its obscu-
rity gradual|y dccpcns. Altcr Howing in wavcs lor a |ong
timc, cvcntual|ythcmindbccomcsscparatcdlrom thcWay.
Vhcn you c|car away thc dch|cmcnt olmind and opcn
up thc conscious spirit, that is ca|lcd cultivating thc Vay.
Vhcnyou no longcrHowi nwavcs, and you mcrgcwiththc
Vay andrcstin thcVay, this isca|lcd rcturningto thcroot.
Kccping to thc root is cal|cd ca|m stabi|ization. Altcr a
|ong timc olca|m stabilization, i||ncsscs disso|vc and |ilc is
rcstorcd. Itisrcstorcdandcontinucd,andyouspontancous|y
attain knowlcdgc ol thc ctcrnal. 8y virtuc ol knowlcdgc,
thcrc is no unclarity, in thc ctcrnal thcrc is no changc and
nocxtinction.Gcttingoutolbirth anddcathactua||ycomcs
lrom this. Thcrclorc to sctt|c thc mind in thcVay oltruth
it isimportant not tobchxatcdonanything.
Scripturc says, Things Hourish, thcn cach rcturns to its
root. Rcturningtothcrootiscal|cdca|m.Ca|mncssiscallcd
rcstoring |ilc. Rcstoringlilc iscal|cdconstancy, knowing thc
constantiscallcdclarity. llyou grasp thc mind andstation
it on cmptincss, that is ca|lcd having an ob|cct, it is not
6 H L P l b L L N b N L H L N
callcd having no objcct. Vhcncvcr you dwcll on an objcct,
thatcauscsthcmind tolabor, not only is it unrcasonablc, it
cvcncauscssickncss.
Aslongas thcminddocsnotsticktothings,andyoucan
rcmain unmovcd, this is thc corrcct |oundation |or gcnuinc
stabilization. I|you stabilizc thc mind by this mcans, your
mood will bccomc harmonious, thc longcr you do so, thc
lightcr and |rcshcr you |ccl. I|you usc this as a tcst, crror
and truth bccomc cvidcnt.
I|you cxtinguish thc mind whcncvcr it is arouscd, with-
out distinguishing right |rom wrong, thcn you willpcrma-
ncntly canccl awarcncss and cntcr into blind trancc. I|you
just lct yourmindbc arouscd withoutcollccting or control-
ling it at all, thcn you arc a|tcr all no dihcrcnt |rom an
ordinarymortal.
As |or thosc who simply stop thc mi nd, good or bad,
without any dircction, lctting thcir idcas Hoat and wandcr
whilc waiting |or thcm to scttlc o| thcmsclvcs, thcy arc
vainly mislcading thcmsclvcs.
As |or thosc who carry on all manncr o| a||airs whilc
claimingthcirmindsarc una||cctcd, thcy talk vcry wcll but
thcir bchavior is quitc wrong. Gcnuinc studcnts should bc
particularlywaryo|this .
Now thcn, stop con|usion without cxtinguishing awarc-
ncss, kccp calm withoutclinging to cmptincss. Practicc this
rcgularly and you will naturally attain truc vision. I|thcrc
arccurrcnt mattcrsorcsscntialso|thctcachingaboutwhich
you havcdoubts, thcnyou may thinkabout thcmtogct thc
mattcr settlcd, so that you undcrstand what you had won-
dcrcd about. This too is a propcr basis |or dcvcloping
wisdom.
Oncc you havc undcrstood, havc no |urthcr thoughts.
I|
H L b L L N b N l L H L N 1
you kccpthinking, you will ruin yourscrcnity by yourintcl-
|igcncc-you will 'diminish thc principal on account o|thc
intcrcst . `Fvcn i|you cxcrcise tcmporary bri||iancc, youwi||
|ai|to achicvc a lastingaccomp|ishmcnt .
b M L I | 1 I N 1 H I N b
In thc coursc o| human li|c it is incvitable to cxpcricncc
things. Things arc mani|old,not up tooncpcrson alonc.
A bird that ncsts on onc branch in thc |orcst wou|d bc
lostina roosting Hock, ananimalthat hlls itsbcllydrinking
|rom a rivcrdocs notgoscckinginthcoccan.
Finding it inthingsoutsidc and undcrstanding it inyour-
scl|within, you rcalizc you havc your lot in li|c and you do
not strivc |orwhatis not in your lot. You takccarco|things
that arc appropriatc and do not takc up things thatarc not
appropriatc.
I|you takc up things that arc not appropriatc, thisdam-
agcsyour intcllcctualpowcr. I|you strivc |orwhatisbcyond
you, this wcars out your body. I|youarcpsychologicallyand
physically uncasy, how can you rcach thc Vay!
For this rcason, nothingis bcttcr|orpcoplcwhocultivatc
thcVaythanto rcsolutclysimpli[things. Disccrn whcthcr
thcy arcincsscntialorcsscntial, asscss whcthcr thcyarctriv-
ialorscrious, distinguishwhcthcrtocliminatcthcm or takc
l
to thcm.Vhatcvcrisnotcsscntialandnotscriousshouldbc
abandoncd.
/ It is likc whcnpcoplc consumc winc and mcat, drcss in
| silk, cn|oy |amc and prcstigc, and posscss gold and jcwcls.
X
Thcsc arc all cxccss cravings o|sub|cctivc dcsirc, not good
mcdicincs to cnhancc li|c. Thc mscs M pursuc thcsc
L P b L L N b N L N
things, bringing about thcir own dcath or ruination. |fWC
rcHcct on thisquictly, wcscc how vcryconmscd thcy arc.
Chuang-tzusaid, Thosc whoarrivc at thc truthof| ifc
dD
not strivc |or anything that has nothing to do with li|c.
Vhathasnothingtodowithli|c is anythingcxccssivc.Sim-
plc|ood and old clothcs arc cnough to takccarco|csscntial
li|c, whydo younccdwinc,mcat,andsilk|or yourli|ctobc
complctc!
Sowhatcvcris not ncccssary|or li|c should bccliminatcd,
andsoshouldanything that iscxccssivc bcyond thc nccdsof
li|c. Posscssionshavcanin|uriouscncrgy,whichhurtspcoplc
whcn it builds up. Evcn i| you havc |cw posscssions, you
stillworry about thcm, how much thcmorcwhcnyouhavc
alot!
I|youtricdtoshootasparrowwitha jcwcl,pcoplcwould
laugh at you, how much thc morc ridiculous it is to tum
yourbackon thcVayandvirtuc,slightnaturcandli|c,and
shortcn yourli|cspan bypursuing incsscntials'
I|wc comparc |amcand prcstigc to thc Vay andvirtuc,
|amc and prcstigc arc artihcial and basc, whcrcas thc Vay
andvirtucarc rcal and noblc. I |youcan tcll thcnoblc|rom
thc basc, you shouldgct rid o|thconc and takc thc othcr,
not hurting your body on account o| |amc, not changing
yourwillon accounto|prcstigc.Chuang-tzusaid,Oncwhc
loscshimscl|byworking |or |amcis no gcntlcman. `
ThcS:riture en the e:te A::ent says, Embracc thc|un-
damcntal, kccp to unity. Spiritual i mmortalists whogo tc
cxccss cannot kccp to unity, thcy j ustsit in o|hccs ofg|ory.
I|youarcnotsclcctivc,cvcrythingyoucomcin contactwith
will burdcn yourmind and dull yourintclligcncc, yourprac-
ticco|thc Vay will bcdc|cctivc.
As |or thosc who dcal with mattcrs calmly and scrcn
cly,
H L b L L N b N | L H L N
whoarc inthcmidstolthingswithoutbcingburdcncd,thcy
arc among thosc who havc attaincd rcalization. Ilyou say
you arc unburdcncd without rcally having attaincd it, you
arc rcally onlyloolingyourscll.
1 H U b b b b N U
Truc sccing is thc lorcsight ol thc wisc, thc pcrspicacity ol
thc ablc, hnding out what calamity or lortunc may comc,
undcrstandingwhcthcractionorstillncssisauspiciousorin-
ausprcrous.
Vhcn you can scc thc potcntial bclorc an cvcnt is trig-
gcrcd, and thcrcby act accordingly, guardingyourlootstcps
with proloundcarc, unobtrusivcly working toprcscrvc your
lilc, your conduct lrom start to hnish lcaving no troublcs
and not contraryto rcason, this iscallcd trucsccing.
Eating and slccping can both bc harmFul or bcnchcia|,
cvcry act and cvcry word can bc a sourcc olcalamity or
lortunc. Evcn ilyoucan managcthcbranchcsskillmlly,that
is not good as disciplining thc root crudcly. Sccing thc
root, managc thc branchcs, but without ascnscolcompcti-
tivcncss.
So collcct your mind, simp|i[ your allairs, and rcducc
contrivancc day by day. Vhcn you cmbody quictudc and
your mind is lrcc, only thcn can you scc thc subtlc. Thc
classicsays, Alwaysbc lrcclrom dcsirctoscc thc subtlc. `
Mcvcrthclcss, thcbodywithwhichyoucultivatcthcVay
nccds to bc clothcdandlcd.Thcrcarcsomcthingsyoucan-
not dispcnsc with, acccpt this with an cmpty hcart, takc
rcsponsibilitylor it withclcarcycs. Do not say this willm-
pcdc your mind and crcatc vcxation and cxcitcmcnt, thosc
who gct vcxcd and cxcitcd ovcr things alrcady havc activc
P b L L N b N L L N
amictions o| mind~how can that bc callcd paci(ing
thc
mind!
Humanrclations, c|othing, and|oodarcourboats,i|you
want tocross thc sca, you usc a boat. Onccyouhavc crosscd
thc sca, youlogica||ydonotstayinthcboat.8utwhywou|d
youwanttoabandon thc boat bc|orcyouhavc crosscdovcr!
Thcvaniticso||ood andclothing arc rca|lynotworthwork-
ing|or,butwcscck|oodandc|othingi nordcrtogct bcyond
vanity.
Evcn though youwork|or your nccds,do not givc riscto
thoughtso|gainand|oss,thcnwhcthcror notthcrcis somc-
thingtodoyourmindwil|always bcatpcacc.You sccklikc
othcrsbutnotgrccdily othcrsdo, yougainlikcothcrsbut
do not accumu|atc othcrs do. Vhcnyou arc not grccdy,
you arc not anxious, whcn you do not accumulatc storcs,
you do not losc anything. Your outward appcarancc is likc
thato|othcrs, butyourmindisa|ways di||crcnt|romworld-
|ings. This is thc csscncc o|truc practicc, you should makc
an c||ort toapp|yit.
I|problcmsrcmainintractablccvcna|tcryouhavcscvcrcd
cntang|cmcnts and simp|ihcd your a||airs, just vicw thcm
objcctivc|y !|youarchcavi|yamictcd by scxuality, thcnyou
shou|d vicw addiction to scx as coming |rom thoughts, i|
thosc thoughts do not occur, thcn thcrc is no scx. So you
shou|d rccognizc that thoughts o|scx arc cxtcrna||y cmpty,
whilc thc idca o|scx is an inward imagination. Thc imagin-
ing mind iscmpty, sowho is thc subjccto|scxua|ity!
Scripturc says, Scxua| objccts arc j ust mcnta| imagcry,
sincc mcnta| imagcs arc a|l cmpty, how can thcrc bc scxua|
objccts!`
A|so, thinko|how bcauti|u| womcn arc morc dangcrous
than vixcn spritcs. Vixcn spritcs charm mcn, causing thcm
L b L L N b ! N l L L N 1
avcrsion, so that thcy wi|| not cntcr cvi| ways, cvcn at thc
thrcat o|dcath. 8ccausco|this avcrsion, thcyavoid promis-
cuity |orcvcr. 8cauti|u| womcn bcwitch mcn so that thcy
bccomc obscsscd and grow morc and morc dccp|y attachcd
cvcn as it |cads to thcir dcath. 8ccausc o|wrong thoughts,
on dying thcy |a|| into various statcs and arc born in hc||.
Scripturc says, In this |i|c you wi|lcd to bccomc husband
andwi|c, but a|tcrdcathyoucannot |ivc togcthcr.`
Vhyis thccoursco|human|i|clikcthis!8ccausco||a|sc
thoughts.
A|soconsidcrthis. i|physica| bcauty is invariably attrac-
tivc, why do hsh divc and birds Hy whcn thcy scc ahuman,
cvcn abcauti|ulwoman!Vizardslookuponphysicalbcauty
as muck and mirc, thcwisc|ikcnit toaswordorahatchct.
I|you do not cat |orscvcn days you may dic, but i|you
do not havc scxual intcrcoursc |or a hundrcd ycars you will
avoid prcmaturc dcath. Thcrc|orc wc know that scx is not
csscntia| |or body or mind but is an cncmy to csscncc and
li|c. Vhybc obscsscdwithit, bringingdcstructiononyour-
scl|!
Vhcn pcop|c scc othcrs doing wrong and conccivc avcr-
sion and disdain, that is |ikcgrabbing thckni|c |rom somc-
onc about to kil| himscl| and committing suicidc with it
yoursc||. I tisthcothcrwho is doing wrong, not compcl|ing
you, why takc on othcrs' wrongs and makc thcm intoyour
ownsickncss!
Furthcrmorc,i|yousccthoscwhodowrongasdctcstab|c,
thcn thosc who do good should a|so bc disdaincd. Vhy!
8ccauscbothobstruct thc Vay.
I|you arcpoor,youshouldalso|ookintoit carc|u||y.Vho
gavc you povcrty! Hcavcn and carth covcr and support im-
partially, your prcscnt povcrty is not on account o|hcavcn
9 2 L P b L N b N N
andcarth.Vhcnlathcrsandmothcrsproduccchildrcn,thcy
want to makc thcm rich and prcstigious, so your prcscnt
povcrty and lowlincss arc not on account olyour lathcrand
mothcr. Pcoplc, ghosts, and spirits havc no lcisurc cvcn to
savc thcmsclvcs, howcanthcyhavcthcpowcr to lorccpov-
crty on you! Pursuc this cxamination in activity and in rc-
trcatand youwillhndthatpovcrtycomcslromnowhcrcbut
yourown action.
Thcn you will know thc command ol hcavcn. Action is
crcatcdby youyourscll, lilcisbcstowcdbyhcavcn.Thcrcla-
tionshipolaction and lilc islikcshadow andccholollowing
lorm and sound, thcy cannot bc avoidcd and should not bc
rcscntcd. Only thc wisc rcalizc this, plcascd with hcavcn,
acknowlcdging cclcstial ordcr, thcy do not worry, so how
canpovcrty troublcthcm!
Chuang-tzusaid, Actioncntcrsbutshouldnotbckcpt."
It isbccauscolyour own action that you arc alHictcdwith
povcrty, though it has comc in, it should not bc kcpt
around. Scripturc says, Hcavcn and carth cannot changc
onc's conduct, yin and yang cannot divcrt thcir action.
Spcakingi nthcsctcrms,thisi struclatc,notsomcthingarti-
hcial,what is thcrc to rcscnt!
Vhcn a couragcous warrior cncountcrs brigands, hc has
no lcar, wiclding his sword, hc procccds straight ahcad,
whcrcupon thc brigands all scattcr. Oncchisachicvcmcnt|
cstablishcd, his glory and his rcward continuc all his lifc.
Mow, i| povcrty and sickncss amict our bodics, thcn thcsc
arc brigands. I |wc havc a stillcd mind, that is thc coura-
gcouswarrior, intclligcntcxaminationis wicldingthcsword,
thc dissolution o| ahIictions and troublcs is victory in war,
and pcacc and pcrmancnt happincss arc thc glory and thc
rcward.
L P b L L N b N l L L N
Vhcncvcr miscry opprcsscs our minds, i|wc lai| to usc
this obscrvation and instcad bccomc anxious and burdcncd,
thcn that is likc pcop|c who cncountcr brigands but do no
worthy dccds, throwing o|l thcir armor, abandoning thcir
troops, and running away. Doing thc wrong thing, thcy
abandon happincsslor miscry~how pitilu| isthat!
Ilyou arc su|lcring |rom i|lncss, youshould obscrvc that
thisil|ncsscomcs|rom havingyourownbody. Ilyoudidnot
havc your own body, whcrc wou|d thc ai|mcnt bc! Thc 7ae
7e Chin says, I|I had no body, what a|H iction would I
havc!`
Mcxt obscrvcthcmi ndashaving norca| mastcr. Scarch-
ing inwardly and outward|y, you hnd no pcrccivcr, a|| sup-
positionscomc|rom thc wandcringmind.
Thusi|yousti||thcbodyandquictthcmind,thcnmyriad
illncsscswil| a|l vanish.
I|youdrcaddcath, youshould thinko|yourbodyasthc
abodc olthc spiri t, this physica| dctcrioration in old agc is
|ikcahouscthatis rottingawayandno|ongcr ht toinhabit.
Itwill bc ncccssary to abandon thc housc and hnd anothcr
placc torcst.
Thisishow itiswhcnthcspiritgocsasthc body dics~i|
you cling to li|c and abhor dcath, trying to avoid changc,
thcn your spirit's consciousncss will bccomc conmscd and
no longcr opcratc corrcct|y. 8ccausc o| this, whcn you arc
cncrgizcd at rcbirth, youdo not scnsc thcclcar, hnc cncrgy
but mostly hnd po|lutcd, dcbascd cncrgy. All |olly, grccd,
and bascncss actual|ydcrivc|romthis.
I|you can managc to bc dispassionatc about living and
un|azcd by dcath, that will put li|c and dcath in ordcr and
also takc carc o| prcparations |or thc a|tcrli|c. I| you cravc
all sotts othings, cvcty craving produccs an illncss. Vhcn
L P b L L N b | N L L N
cvcn onclimb is ailing, it makcs thcwholcbody uncasy,so
il thcrc arc myriad ailmcnts in onc mind, how cou|d you
prolongyourlilc cvcn ilyouwantcdto!
Allcraving orhatrcd is lorgctlulncss ollilc. Vhcnaccu-
mulatcdillusionsarc not clcarcd up, thcyintcrlcrcwithpcr-
ccptionolthc Vay. This is whywcnccdtogivc up cravings
andabidc in nothingncss,sothatwc havcabasislorgradual
clarihcation. Il wc look back at our lormcr cravings altcr
that, thcnwcwillnaturallyhndthcmunappcaling.
Ilwc vicw objccts with minds absorbcd in ob|ccts, thcn
wc will ncvcr know thcrc is somcthing wrong. Il wc vicw
objcctswithmindsdctachcdlromob|ccts, onlythcn arc wc
ablctosccwithpcrlcctclaritywhatissoandwhatisnot.A
sobcr man, lor cxamplc, can scc what a drunkcn man docs
wrong, but ilhchimscllis drunkhcis notawarc olhisown
crrors.
A scripturc says, I basically givc up thc prolanc anddis-
dain thcmundanc.` It also says, Ears and cycs, soundand
lorm, kccp amicting you, thc sccnts and Havors cnjoycd by
thcnoscandmoutharccncmics. ` Thcoldmastcrdisdaincd
thc world, abandoncd thc prolanc, and aloncsaw that sccu
and savor arccncmics~howcanthoscwhoindulgcin crav-
ing lorthcmrcalizc thath shshopsstink`!
|i
l|
H L P b L L N b N l L L 1 N
1 K A N U I L b 1 A b I L | Z A 1 I U N
Stabilization is thc hnal stagc o|cscapc |rom thc pro|anc,
thc|oundationo|attainingtheVay, thcaccomplishmento|
cu|tivatcd stil|ncss, thc consummationo|maintaining ca|m.
Vhcn thc body islikc awithcrcd trcc, thcmindlikcdcad
ashcs, without rcactivity, without sccking anything, this is
thcc

omco|tranquil|ity.Thcrc is nomind|ulncsso|stabi-
|ization, yct thcrc is no instabi|ity. Thus it is cal|cd tranquil
stabilization.
Chuang-tzusaid, Oncwhosccapacityistranqui||ystabi-
|izcd radiatcs natural light. Capacity rc|crs to thc mind,
natura| |ight is activcinsight.Thcmindisacapacitoro|thc
Vay, whcnit is asunc|uttcrcdandquictas canbc, thcnthc
Vay staysthcrc and insightcmcrgcs.
Insight comcs |rom original naturc, onc docs not just
comctohavcit now. That iswhy it isca|lcdnatural|ight.It
isjust bccausc o|thcmudd|ingcon|usion causcdbycraving
thatitcomcs to bcobscurc.Clcanit, makc itHcxib|c,rccti[
it, and rcstorc it to purity and calm, and thc original rcal
conscious spirit will gradually bccomc c|car o| itscl|, this
docsnot mcanthatyouarcjustnowproducingthat insight.
Onccinsighthascmcrgcd, trcasurcitanddonotcompro-
miscstabilityby toomanyconccrns. It is notthatproducing
insight is di|hcult, bcing insight|ulbut not using itishard.
Sincc ancicnt timcs thcrchavc bccn many pcop|cwhohavc
|orgottcn thcirbodicsbut|cw who havc |orgottcnthcirrcp-
utations. 8cing insight|u| but not using it is |orgctting rc-
putc,|cw in thcworldattainthis,soit isconsidcrcddi|hcu!t.
Thc nob|c who can bc una||cctcd and thc rich who arc
not
cxtravagant can kccp thcir richcs and nobi!ity bccausc
L P l b L L N b N L t N
thcyarc notcxccssivc|y mundanc.Thoscwhocanbcunsha-
kab|y stab|c and insight|u| without cxp|oiting it can pro-
|ound|y rca|izc truc ctcrnity bccausc thcy arc not cxccssivc
in rc|igion. Chuang-tzusaid,ltis casy to knowthcVay,it
is hard not to spcako|it.
To knowbutnot spcak o|it isthcwaytogcttohcavcn.
Toknow and spcak o|it is thcway to gct to humanity.Thc
pcop|co|o|d wcrcdivinc, not human.
Insight canknow thc Vay, but this is not attaining thc
Vay. Pcop|c may know thc advantagcs o| gaining insight
without rca|izing thc bcnchts o| attaining thc Vay. \se
insighttoc|ari|y thc u|timatcprincip|c,cmp|oyc|oqucnccto
movc pcop|c's |cc|ings and arousc thcirhcarts, incrcasingin
thc coursc o|cvcnts, coming in contact with othcrs. I|you
on|y spcako|constantca|min thcmidsto|activity,howcan
you know that ca|mncss is a mattcr o|bcing ca|m in order
to dca| with pcop|c Thcsc words do not cxprcss tranqui|
stabi|ization. Evcn i|you arc intc||cctua||youtstanding,that
on|y makcs yousomuch|cssncarto thcVay.You mayhavc
origina||ygoncchasingdccr,butyouarcgoing homcwithd
rabbit. Vhat you havc got is cxtrcmc|y s|ight, bccausc y0u
arcbcingsma||-mindcd
Chuang-tzu said, Thosc who mastcrcd thc Vay in au-
cicnt times nurturcd wisdom by mcans o|scrcnity. Visdcn
grcw, but thcy did not usc wisdom to contrivc anything.
This is ca||cd using wisdom to nurturc scrcnity, whcn wi-
dom and scrcnity combinc to nurturc onc anothcr, thcpat-
tcrn o|harmony comcs|rom naturc.
Scrcnity and wisdom arc stabi|ization and insight.
hc
pattcrn o|harmony is thcvirtuco|thc Vay. Vhcnyouhave
w|sdom but do not use it, rcmaining pcacc|u| and
scrcnc,
H L b L N b N H L N 1
a|ter bui|ding this up |or a long time you natura||y attain
thevirtueo|theVay.
This stabilization is accomp|ished by e||ort. It may be
based on observing advantage and seeing harm, stopping
the mind out o||ear o|ca|amity, discarding and removing
accumulated habits. In any case, whcn the mind is mature
you wind upstabi|ized,justas i|it werenatura||yso. Evena
thunderc|ap that shatters a mountain does not startle you,
naked swords may crossbe|ore youreyes andyetyoudo not
|ear.You |ook upon|ame and |ortuneas transient andknow
birth and death are |ike oozing sores. Thus we know that
when we exercise undivided wi|| we solidi|y the spirit, then
openness and subt|etyo|mindareinconceivable.
The mind is not existent in and o| itsel|, but it is not
nonexistent in action. It is swi|t without rushing, it comes
without being ca|led. Its anger will drive an arrow a|l the
way into a boulder, its resentmentwi|l bring down |rost in
midsummer. Indulge in evi|, and the nine he||s are not |ar
away, accumulate good, and the three heavens are not dis-
tant. Coming al| o| a sudden and going all o| a sudden,
mind'smovements and sti|lnesscannot be named. Vhether
its timing is rightor not cannot be |athomed bydivination.
It is incomparab|y harderto tame thandeerorhorses.
Theexalted ancient master employed eternalgoodto|ib-
erate people, ascending the plat|orm o| the spirit, he ex-
pounded the ine||able. Summarizingthecausesande||ectso|
threevehic|es, he expanded upon the naturalness o|myriad
beings. For a gradua| approach he used daily lessening o|
contrivance, |or an immediateapproach heused experiential
teturn to where there is nothing to learn. Metaphorically, it
is |ike drawing a bow and penetrating with an arrow, the
methodisb|untingsharpedgesandresolvingcomplications.
L b L L N b N L L N
I|you practicc this consistcnt|y, by habit it will bccome
natura|. Dismiss intcllcctualism, subduc your body, and
sit
|orgctml in oblivion, unmoving in stillncss, subtly cnteriag
into i|lumination. Thosc who go divcrgcnt ways will ne
vet
undcrstand thc mcaning, thoscwho travcl this path have a
chancctoscc thc sub|imc.Thisrcquircs|ittlcc||ort,butitu
vcrychcctivc.
A 1 1 A I N I N 1 H b W A T
ThcVayis somcthing miracu|ous. lt ischcctivc and has an
csscncc, yct it is immatcrial and has no |orm. I tcannot bc
|athomcd rctrospcctivc|y orprospcctivcly, cannot bc sought
by rcHcctionsorcchocs. Mo oncknowswhyit is so, yct itis
so. Pcnctratingli|c complctcly, this is cal|cdthcVay.
Pcrlcctsagcsattaincdthisinancicnttimcs ,sub|imctcach-
ingstransmit it in thcprcscnt. I|youinvcstigatcthcprinci-
plcs according to thc tcrms, thcy arc comp|ctc|y vcracious.
Supcrior pcoplc bc|icvc who|chcartcd|y, thcy mastcr thcn-
sclvcs and practicc di|igcntly, cmptying thcir minds and
opcning thcirspirits so that thc Vay alonc comcs andcon-
ccntratcs.
Thc Vay has pro|ound powcr, it gradual|y changcs the
bodyandspirit.Vhcnthcbody|ollowsthcwayto pcnctra-
tionandwho|lyunitcswiththcspirit,suchapcrsoniscal|cd
aspiritual human.
Thcspiritua| naturc is nonrcsistant and Huid, its csscncc
ncvcr changcs or pcrishcs. Vhcn thc body is assimilatcd tc
thc Vay, thcrc is thus no birth and dcath. I nconcca|
ncnt,
thc body is thc samc as thc spiri t, whcn rcvca|cd, thc spirit
is thcsamc as cncrgy.That is how it is possiblc to walkO
watcr and hrc without injury` and cast no shadow undcr
L b L L N > N l L L N 9 9
thcsunormoon. Vhcthcrto remain incxistcnccordisap-
pcar is up to oncsc||, onc gocs out and in thc gatcway o|
nothingncss.
Thcbody isamatcrial rcsiduc,yctitcansti||rcach imma-
tcria| subt|cty, how much dccpcr and |urthcr can spiritual
kuow|cdgc rcach' Thc Situv e] ihe Litiu Sirit says,
Vhcn body and spirit arc uni|cd, that is thc truc body.`
ThcScritur+ eu the e:teru :ceut says, It is possiblc to|ivc
|ong by virtuco|unih cationo|body andspirit. `
Howcvcr, thcrc arc di||crcnccs in dcpth o| thc powcr o|
thc Vay o| absolutc nonrcsistancc. Vhcn it is dccp, it also
al|ccts thc body, whcn it is shal|ow, it on|y inHucnccs thc
mind. Thoscwhoscbodics arca||cctcd arc thc spiritua|pco-
p|c, thosc whosc minds arc inHucnccd on|y gain insight|u|
awarcncss, whilcthcirbodics cannot cscapcpassingaway.
Vhy is that! Insight is a Function o| mind, whcn it is
workcd too much, thc mind is |atigucd. Vhcn you hrst at-
tain a littlc insight, i|you arc dclightcd and talktoo much,
your spiritualcncrgy |caks out, and thcrc is no spiritual rc-
|rcshmcnto|thclighto|thc body. This ultimatc|ycauscsan
carly cnd,so thcVaycanhardlybccomplctcd.This is what
scripturcs cal|disso|utiono|thc corpsc.
For this rcason, grcat pcoplc conccal thcir lightandhidc
thcir brilliancc in hopcs o|attaining complctcncss. Stabiliz-
ing thcirspirit, trcasuring thcir cncrgy, thcy study thcVay
and cxtinguish thcir minds. Vhcn spirit unitcs with thc
Vay, thisiscallcdattainingthc Vay.Scripturc says, `Thosc
whoassimilatctothcVay also attain thcVay.Italsosays,
' Vhydid thcancicntsva|uc this Vay!8yitonccanattain
withoutlong sccking and cscapc|romthc|aultsonchas.
Vhcn thcrc is jadc in a mountain, thc plants and trccs
thcrc do not withcr, whcn pcoplc cmbracc thc Vay, thcir
I 0 0 L P b L N b N L N
physicalbodicsarcstabilizcdbythat. Vhcnimbucdwithits
inHucncc|or a|ongtimc, thcphysicalconstitutionisassimi-
|atcd to thc spirit. Vhcnyou rchncthc body to gainacccss
to subtlctics, mcrging with thc Vay, thcn you dispcrscoac
body intomyriad things and mcrgc myriad things intoonc
body.
Thc illumination o|wisdom is boundlcss, physica| traa-
sccndcncc is cndlcss. You cmploy thctota|ity o|mattcraad
cmptincss,scr asidc Crcationroaccomp|ishthcwork.Gcau-
inc rcsponsc without biasthat is thc virtuc o| thc Way.
ThcS:riture on the e:te A::ent says, Havcthcsamcmiad
as hcavcn but without knowing i t, havc thc samc body 8
thcVay but without distinguishing i t. A|tcr that thc Way
o|Hcavcn is |ulhllcd. ` This rc|crs to attainmcnt o|rca|iza-
tiono|its consummation.
Vhcn thc spirit docs not |cavc thc body, it lasts as|cag
as thcVay. Vhcn thc body is assimilatcd to thc Vay, thea
it ncvcrccascs tocxist. Vhcnthcmindis assimilatcdtothe
Vay, thcrc is nothing it docs not pcnctratc. Vhcn thc cars
arc assimilatcd to thc Vay, thcrc is no sound thcy dc act
hcar. Vhcn thccycs arc assimi|atcd to thcVay, thcrc is ac
|orm thcydo not scc.
C|arityandc||cctivcncss o|thcsixscnscscomc|rom this,
but mcdiocritics o| rcccnt timcs whosc consciousncss dces
not rcach |ar havc only hcard o| thcpath o| rc|inquishmeat
o|thc body and havc not rca|izcd thcmarvc| o|thc bcdy .a
itscl| Unashamcd o| thcir own shortcoming, thcy imitate
othcrs' crrors. Thcy arc |ikcsummcrinsccts that do not be
|icvc in ice or |rost, or bugs in a jar that dcny thc sky aac
carth. Thcy cannot bc rcachcd in thcirignorancc~howca
they bc taught!
H L P b L N b | l N l L N ! l
b 1 1 I N | H b 1 1 I N
E::entia/: and Auxi/iarie:
I|youwant to cu|tivatc thcVay and attain rca|ization,hrst
gct rido|warpcdbchaviors.
Vith cxtcrnal a||airs cut o|| so that thcrc is nothing to
gct on yourmind, thcn sit straight andgazc inwardly with
accuratcawarcncss.
Assoonas younoticcathoughtarisc,immcdiatc|ycxtin-
guish it, arrcst thoughtsas thcy arisc, inordcrtomakcyour
mind pcacc|ul and quict.
Mcxt,cvcnthoughyoumaynotobviouslyhavcanyobscs-
sions, still H oating, wandcring, random thoughts arc also to
bccxtinguishcd.
Vorkdiligcntlydayandnight,ncvcrgivingup|or amo-
mcnt, but only cxtinguish thc stirring mind, do not cxtin-
guish thc shiningmind.
Disappcarintothccmptymind,donotdisappcarintothc
posscssivcmind.
Donotdwcllonanythingandthcmindwillbcstablc.
This mcthod is mystcrious, with bcnchts that arc vcry
pro|ound. Unlcss you alrcady havc a|hnity|or thcVayand
havc undividcd|aith in i t, you cannot trulyapprcciatcit.
Evcni|youknowhowtorccitcthctcxts,youstillhavcto
disccrn rcality|rom artihciality. Vhy! Sound and|orm dim
thc mind, |alschoods |ool thc cars, pcrsonality and cgo bc-
comc sccond naturc, thc discasc o|scl|-a|hrmation is dccp-
scatcd. Vhcnthcmindisscparatcd|rom thcVay, thcprin-
ciplcis hard tocomprchcnd.
l|youwishtorcturntothcsuprcmcVay, havcdccp|aith
I 0 2 L P b L N b l l N L N
andhrstacccptthrccprcccpts. l|youpracticcinaccordwitb
thcsc thrcc prcccpts consistcntIy |rom bcginning to cnd
thcnyouwill attain thc truc Vay.
Thc thrcc prcccpts arc.
I . simpli|yinginvolvcmcnts
2. notcraving anything
. quictingthcmind
I|you diligcntly practicc thcsc thrcc prcccpts without
Hagging,thcncvcni|youhavc no mindtoscckthcVay the
Vay willcomc o|itsc||.
A scripturc says, I|pcoplc can cmpty thcir minds and
notcontrivcanything,itis not thatthcywantthcVay, but
thc Vay spontancously rcvcrts tothcm. `
Spcakingonthisbasis,thisquintcsscntialmcthodi sgcnu-
inclytrustworthy and trulyva|uablc.
Mcvcrthc|css, thcordinarymindiscxcitablcandobstinate
and has long bccnthat way, so to bring thcmindto rcstby
mcanso|prcccpts is i n|actvcry hard.
Oncmighttrytobringi ttorcst but not succccd,orone
maytcmporari|ysuccccdbutthcn|oscitagain. I nthcstrug-
glc to kccp it as it s|ips away, thc wholc body runs with
swcat.
A|tcr a long |ong timc thc mind bccomcs Hcxiblc but
straight,on|ythcnisit|u|lytuncd. Donotgivcupcvcryday
work |ustbccauscyou arc tcmporari|yunablcto conccntrate
or controlyourmind.
Assoonasyouhavcgaincda littlccalm, thcnyoushou|d
conscious|ystabilizcit at al|timcs,whcthcryouarcwa|king,
standing, sitting, or |yingdown, whilcyou arc dca|ingwith
concrctc mattcrs and tasks, in thc midst o| thc hust|c and
bustlc.
L b L L N b N L L N l 0 3
Vhcthcrthcrc is somcthing thc mattcr or not, always bc
as i|mindlcss, whcthcr in quictudc or in a commotion, lct
your wi|l rcmainundividcd.
I| you contro| your mind too intcnscly, thc strcss will
causci||ncss Fits o|insanc idiocy arcsymptomaticolthis. Il
thc mind is i mmobi|c, thcn you shou|d |ct it go, hnding a
mcan bctwccn laxncss and intcnsity.
Always tunc yoursc||, bcingcontrollcdwithoutobscssing,
bcing natura| without indu|ging. Vhcn you can bc in thc
midst olclamorwithout hating it and can dca| with things
withoutvcxation, thisis trucstability.
That docs not mcan, howcvcr, that you scckto bc busy
|ust bccausc you can dcal with things without vcxation, or
that youtakcto c|amor|ustbccauscyoucan bcunmovcdin
thc midstolc|amor.
Unconccrn is trucstability,conccrnisrcsponsctocvcnts.
lt is likc a mirror, which rcHccts thc lorms ol anyonc or
anythingthathappcnstobcthcrc.
Vith ski|llul applicationolcxpcdicnttcchniqucs,as|ong
as you arc ablc to gain acccss to stabilization and unlcash
insight, whcthcr it comcs sooncr or latcr is not up to thc
pcrson. Do not hastily scck insight withinstabi|ization, lor
ilyouscckinsightthatwil|damagcyourstability,andilyou
damagcstabi|ity you wi|lhavc noinsight.
llinsight occurs spontancouslywithoutyoursccking lor
insight, thcn that is truc insight. To bc insightml without
cxp|oiting it is truc wisdom appcaring ignorant, cnhancing
thctwin bcauticsolstabi|ityandinsightwithoutcnd.
llyou think whcn in a stabilizcd statc, you will bc vcry
scnsitivc and all sorts oldcvils and spritcs wi|| lollow your
mindand appcaraccordingly. Thcwondrousandwcirdphc-
1 H L P b L L N b l N L H L N
nomcnacncountcrcdbythcrcalizcdpcoplcandthcoldm-
tcrsarc cvidcnccolthis.
)ustlct thcrcbcuncovcrcd opcnncssabovc thcstabilizcd
mind and groundlcss vastncss bclow thc stabi|izcd mind.
Old habits dissolvc, ncw habits arc not crcatcd, not bound
or obstructcd by anything, you gct out ol thc nct ol thc
world.
Practicc thislor a|ongtimc and you willnatural|yattain
thcVay.
I npcoplcwhoattainthcVay thcrc arc hvc mcnta|timcs
and scvcn physica|phascs.
Thchvcmcnta|timcsarc.
I . morcmovcmcnt thansti|lncss
2. cqua|movcmcntandsti|lncss
j
. morcstil|ncssthanmovcmcnt
q. stillncss whcn thcrc is nothing todo, movcmcnt
whcnsomcthingimpingcs
j . thcmindmcrgcdwiththcVay,notstirringcvcn
on rmpact
Onlywhcnyourcach this last stagcdo you hna|lyattain
pcacc, thc dirtolsin cntirclygonc,youno longcrsul|crvcx-
ation.
Thcscvcnphysicalphascs arc.
1 . onc's action accords with thc timc, onc's countc-
nancc isgcntlc and plcasant,
2. chronic ailmcnts al l dissolvc, body andmind arc
|ightand |rcsh,
. youth|ul damagcis rcpaircd, thcbasisisrcstorcd,
and |i|c is rcvivcd,
q. thc li|c span is cxtcndcd thousands o| ycars-
pcoplc likc thisarccallcdimmortals,
L L L N b N G l L L N 1
. thc physical body is rcFncd into cncrgy~pcoplc
|ikcthisarc ca||cd rcal humans,
6 cncrgy is rcnncd intospirit~pcop|c |ikcthisarc
ca||cdspiritualhumans,
. thc spirit is rcnncd to mcrgc with thc Way
pcoplc|ikcthis arc callcdpcrlcctcd humans.
Thcpowcrolpcrccptionbccomcsclcarcrwithcachphasc,
until it ispcrlcctlycomplctcdwhcnonc attainsthcu|timatc
Wayand achicvcs insight.
Evcn ilyouhavcpracticcdstabilization lora|ong timc,il
your body and minddo not havc thcsc hvctimcsandscvcn
phascs, youwil|havcashort lilc in apo|lutcd body, rcturn-
ing tothcvoidwhcnmattcrdisintcgratcs. Ilyou thcnclaim
to havc insight or to havc attaincd thc Vay, cvcn ilyou
hnd it in thcory you arc not thcrc in rcality. This is surcly
mistakcn'
b 1 N b Q F
L | b M b L H N 1 N
b b L * b N L I U H 1 b N M b N 1
LC8rDtD_ thC 8y ts 8 m8ttCr CI sCI-CDt_htCDmCDt. 8turC
tC rC8tzC CDt_htCDmCDt ts t8usCd y t_DCr8DtC.
I yCu W8Dt tC rC8k thrCu_h t_DCr8DtC, hrst tC8D yCur
mtDd.
hts ts 8 m8ttCr CI QurtjtD_ 8Dd t8mtD_ tt uDtt tt ts
QCrICtty tC8r.
hCD yCu suttCCd 8t thts yCu 8tt8tD mhmCDt. YCu dC
DCt DCtCss8rty DCCd tC 8sk 8DCtbCr ICr tDstrutttCD.
b N b H U Y , N A 1 U H b L H A H A L 1 L H ,
A N 1 H L W A T
L8t Q8tDy tC tuttV8tC CDCr_y.
LCt rtd CI 8D_Cr tC tuttV8tC D8turC.
C humC tC tuttV8tC th8r8ttCr.
tCCQ uDthCd, tC8r 8Dd tC8D, t8m 8Dd sCrCDC, tC tutt~
V8tC thC 8y.
hCD yCur D8mC ts DCt CD thC rCs 8Dd yCur hC8tt ts DCt
CD QCWCr 8Dd QrCDt, thts ts hCW yCu shCd thC hum8n shC
8Dd CtCmC 8 tCmQ8DtCD CI mC8VCD.
L b M b L N T N I 0 7
M I N L b b b N b b b A N M A b 1 b K 1
Encrgy is hard to mastcr, it is swi|t as a ga||oping horsc.
On|y bycalmncssdocs itbccomc casy.
Gct rid o|cxtcrna| longings. I|you scc thc hubbub in
|ront o|your cycs as i| it wcrc dccp in thc mountains, in
inacccssiblcvallcys, thisis thc hcarto|aVay|arcr.
Moonc cancxcrciscmastcrywithout rcachingthcstatco|
mindlcssncss.
N A 1 U H A L A 1 1 b H N b
Vhcnthcmindi sstablc,|cclingsarc|orgottcn.
Vhcnthc bodyisimmatcrial,cncrgycirculatcs.
Vhcn thc minddics, thc spirit livcs.
Vhcnpositivityisstrong, ncgativityvanishcs.
Thcsc arc naturalpattcrns.
b L b b I N U 1 b L H N U b
Thc subtlcty o|prcscrving nonvolatilc cncrgy is inkccping
vitalitycomplctc.
Itismostimportanttobcguardcdwhcnslccping.Vhcn
you arc going to slccp, kccp accuratc mind|ulncss prcscnt,
somyriadthoughtsdisappcar.
Lic on your sidc, brcathing so|tly through thc nosc, thc
soulnotstirringwithin, thc spirit notroamingoutsidc.
Do this, and your cncrgy and vitality will naturally sta-
bilizc.
1 P b M P b L H P N T P N
U H I 1 1 A N D b H b N I 1 1
I|pcop|c can mastcr thc patho|purity and scrcnity, that is
most cxccllcnt. Thcrc|orc scripturc says, I|pcoplc can al-
ways bc purc and scrcnc, hcavcn and carth wil| rcsort to
thcm.
Thishcavcnandcarth` docs not mcan thccxtcrna| sky
andground. It rc|crs to thchcavcnandcarthin thcbody.
Abovc thc solar plcxus is callcd hcavcn, bclow thc solar
p|cxus is ca|lcd carth. I|thc cncrgyo|hcavcn dcsccnds and
thcvcssclo|carthopcns,so thatthcrcis harmonyabovcand
bclow,thcnvita|ity and cncrgyspontancouslystabilizc.
A 1 1 A I N I N 1 H b W A T
Thcsubstancco|thcVay isnomind, thcapp|icationis|or-
gctting words.
Thcbasisisso|tncss, thc|oundationispurityandscrcnity.
I|it is to bc carricd our among pcoplc, it is ncccssary to
bc modcratc in cating and drinking, to stop musing and
mul|ing, to sit quictly to tunc your brcathing, and to slccp
pcacc|ul|y tonurturccncrgy.
Vhcnyourminddocsnotracc, thcnyournaturcisstablc.
Vhcn your body is not bc|aborcd, thcn your vita|ity is
complctc.
Vhcnyourspirit is notdisturbcd, thc c|ixircrysta|lizcs.
A|tcr thatyoucxtinguish|cclings in cmptincss and scttlc
thc spirit in thc absolutc.
This can bc callcd attainmcnt o|thc subtlc Vay without
lcaving homc.
P b M b L N T N l 0 9
H b A H b N b b b
Evcrything rcquircs prcparcdncss, |or thcn thcrc is no
troublc.
Soi|thoscwhoworkonthcVay wouldcontrolthcircmo-
tions and dcsircs whcn thcy arc young, thus making car|y
prcparations|or it,thcnspiritual immorta|ity ispossiblc.
I|you wait unti| you arc o|d and yourwillpowcrandcn-
crgy arcdcc|ining, itwi|lbc too latc tostudythcVay.
L L A H 1 T A N U H 1 T
C|arityandpuritymcanc|ari[ingthcmindsourccandpuri-
|yingthccncrgyoccan.
Vhcn thc mind sourcc is clcar, cxtcrnal things cannot
disturb it, so |cclings sctt|c and spiritua| i|lumination takcs
placc.
Vhcn thccncrgyoccanispurc,wrongdcsircs cannot m-
|cctit,sovitalityiscomplctcandthcbcllyismll.
So c|ari[ mind youwould clari[watcr, nurturc non-
vo|atilccncrgy youwouldnurturcanin|ant.
Vhcnnonvolatilccncrgyblossoms, thc spirit ischcctivc.
Vhcnthcspiritischcctivc, nonvolati|ccncrgytransmutcs.
This is c||cctcdby clarityandpurity. I|youpracticccon-
scious, dclibcratc cxcrciscs, thcsc arc |imitcd tcchniqucs. I|
youpracticcthcprinciplco|mindlcssnoncontrivancc,thisis
unlimitcdclcarcmptincss.
1 1 P L b M P b L P N T P N
N U N L U N 1 H V A N L b
Moncontrivanccmcansnotmusingormulling.
Though youmay act in thcmidsto|lovc, dcsirc, angcr,
accumulation,gain, and loss, bcalways uncontrivcd.
Evcnwhcninvolvcdinthings,bcalwaysunconccrncd.
I|you conccntratc total|y, morcovcr, clari|y your mind
and puri[ your wil|, nourish your cncrgy and makc your
spirit complctc, you will dri|t into thc land o||rccdom and
cntcrthcvi|lagco|nothing-whatsocvcr.
M I N L b b b N b b b
Mindlcssncss,ornomind,docsnotmcanbcingmind|css|ikc
catsordogsorbugs.
Itmcans striving to kccp thc mind in thc rcalm o|clcar
purity,andhaving nowarpcdmind.
Vulgar pcop|c havc no c|carpurc mind, whi|c pcoplc o|
thc Vay havc no pollutcd dirty mind. That docs not mcan
thcyarc total|y mind|css |ikc trccs, rocks, cats, ordogs.
H A L 1 L b
Studcntso|thcVay shou|d havc thcirmindsonthcVay at
a|l timcs, no mattcr what thcy arcdoing.
Vhcnthcywalk, t

cysct|oot on thcpatho|cvcnncss.
Vhcnthcystandsti|l, thcy|rcczc thcir|cclingsincosmic
spacc.
Vhcn thcy sit, thcy tuncthc brcathing in thcnosc
Vhcn thcy rccl|nc, thcy cmbracc thc jcwcl bclow thc
navc|
ll
9
P L b M P b L H P N T P N l ! !
Evcntuallythctunco|thcbrcathingisunbrokcn,andyou
arc |ikc an imbccilc al|day long. This is corrcctpracticc~it
hasnothing to do withcontrivcdobscranccs.
b N L H T A N b I H I 1
Thccncrgyinthcbody shouldnotbcscattcrcd, thcspiritin
thcmindshou|dnotbcdimmcd.
Howdoyouavoidscattcringcncrgy!
8y not actingcompu|sivcly.
Howdoyouavoid dimming thcspirit!
8ynot kccpingthingsonyourmind.
b L L H L W H | | N b N
H L M L L H N | b M b N U H L
L U L L b L 1 | N U 1 H b M I N A N
H b | I N I N U 1 H b b b L |
The rea||zed man Zhengyang sa| d.
Starting in on cultivat|ng rea|ization |s entirely based on
rehn|ng the m|nd. Concentrateonwatch|ng whenthoughts
ar|seand be sure tokeepaccurate|yaware, sweepaway m|s-
ce||aneous thoughtsand return toone thought.
NhCO yUu mastertJ DOcss totheutmost,returntoopen-
Ocss tU |CcUDC stJU| |zcU, sweep away thoughts o| past,
prcscnt, JOU Iututc, JOO| h| |Jtc OUt|UOs UI scI, pcrson, c|O,
JOU |vct UI | Ic.
PItCt thc ytUuOU UI yUut D| OU |s cJ D andtheskyUI yUut
OJtutC |s ccJt JOU cUU, sU | U| Iy yUur s[| t| t tU stJ|| tzc |t |n
thC JjCttutC UI OUOVUJt|c cOcty.
b| Oy D|OUCU|y s| |cntly watch ovcr t hc DcthJO|sD oI
c|osiO JOH U[cO| Oy, thc num|crs UI cx|t and cOtty. Vhcn
H L M L H N b M b L N U L 1 1
'
you brcathc out, thc cncrgy mcchanism opcns, whcn you
brcathc in, thc cncrgy mcchanism closcs. Thc spirit rcmains
in thc apcrturco|nonvo|atilccncrgy, conscious|yvisualizing
thc cncrgyo|cxhalation and inha|ation risea|ong thcactivc
channc| up thc spinc, |ikc a rcd sun rising up to thc top ol
thc sky in thc crown o| thc hcad, thcn dcsccnd a|ong thc
passivc channc|, |ikc a whitc moon, down to thc lurnaccol
thccarth in thc bc|ly.
P'
Count your brcaths this way to tcn by oncs, thcn to a
hundrcd bytcns,thcntoathousand, totcn thousand,kccp-
ing your mind on thc numbcrwithout missing, in ordcr to
causc yourthoughts not to scattcrand your attcntionnot to
bc disruptcd. Vhcn mind and brcath stay togcthcr and
work in unison, thiskccps thcmind|romlcapingaboutand
prcvcnts attcntion|romrunningol|.
An ancicnt said, Truc attcntioncomcs andgocswithout
intcrruption, knowingwithoutkccping watchismcditation.
I|you hxatcattcntion,yougowrongcvcrywhcrc, but ilyou
arcinactivc, you |al l intoavoid. FrommindFulncssyouturn
mind|css. Ilyou makc thc mindcmpty andopcn, nonrcsis-
tant and rcccptivc,thcnit has nobirthordcath.
llyouwant togct rid o|random thoughts, hrst kccp ac-
curatc awarcncss. Vhcnyou havc awarcncss, you naturally
havc no thoughts. Vhcn having no thoughts is practiccd
unti| it bccomcs thoroughlylamiliar, it can rcsult inhaving
nodrcams. Vhcnyouhavc nodrcams, thcnthcminddics
and thc spiritlivcs.`
This is vcry important in thc hcrc and now. Altcr all,il
thcmind is not rchncd, thcn thc spirit is notstablc, sothc
|ight olcsscncc incvitablywavcrs. Ilthc attcntionisnot rc-
6nc
d, thcn cmotionalism docs not dic, so thc root ol lilc
is
not h rm. It is ncccssary to qucnch thc hrcs in thc mind
1 1 H M L H P N l b M b L N U H
complctcly, cxtinguishing cnd|css dcsircs. At all timcs kccp
inward watch ovcr thcsolc rcality, in al| p|accs rcalizc myr-
iad ob|cctihcations arccmpty.Thcnthcskyolyourcsscntia|
naturcwillbc clcar and coo| and you will no longcrbc car-
ricd away by|oy ordclight.
Thisismcrcly anchcctolrchningthcscll. Thcrclorcitu
said, 8clorcyourchncthc rcstorativcc|ixir,hrst rchncyour
scll.Vhcnyouhavcthorough|yrchncdyourscll,thcnrchnc
thcc|ixir. `
H b 1 U H N N 1 U b M 1 N b b b A N
H b b H N A 1 N N 1 H b L A V b H N
U | b N b H 1
MastcrShouyangsaid.
Vhcnyougointorctrcattowork onthcpatholrcturn,
youshould sitstraight ina quictroom and turnyourawarc-
ncss inward.
Congcal thc spirit on thc ground ol thc gatcway ol|ilc,
awarc but not hxatcd,consciousolitat hrst,thcnaltcrward
lorgctting it.
Empty thc mind and solidi[ thc spirit, not sticking to
matcriallorm yct not lal|ingintocmptyob|ivion.
Vithopcn awarcncss undimmcd, consciously nurturc si-
lcnt shining.
Dothislorapcriodolthrccsticksolinccnscata timc.
As |ong as you scnsc your brcathing is gcntlc and lcc|
cmpty,clcar, andcxhi|aratcd,thisis corrcctpracticcolso|id-
i[ing thc spirit and attainingtranslormation.
Vithin scvcn wccks olpracticc, watcr and hrc will mix
and truc yang wil| bc born. Kccp i||umination stab|c lor
thrcc months and you can approach thc inncrprccincts.
H L M L L H N b M b L l N U L ! 1
Gradua||y stabi|izing and crysta||izing thc pi||. kccp i||u-
minationstcady |oronc hundrcd days, andthcn itcanpcnc-
tratc thcpasscs and gct through thc opcnings.
Vhcn thc mind rcstsbc|owthcnavc|,thatisca||cdwomb
brcathing. Mi nd and brcath submcrgc togcthcr into thc rc-
gionbc|owthcnavc|, kccpingthcmc|carand purc natura||y
is ca||cd not|orgctting, `whi|cgoing a|ong with thcirc|ar-
ity andpurity natura||y is ca||cd not |ostcring.
Itisa||amattcro|makingspacc thcp|accyou storcyour
mind,using abstruscsi|cnccas thcp|acc you rcst yoursprit.
Do it ovcrandovcr again, c|ari|yingand c|ari|ying,dccpcn-
ing and dccpcning,gradua||ymindand brcath comctostay
togcthcr, spirit and cncrgy mcrgc harmonious|y. 8c|orcyou
rca|izcit,positivccncrgyariscsccstatica||y, and you arc asi|
intoxicatcd.
1 H b N A 1 U H A L M b L H A N I b M U |
1 U H N I N U A 1 1 b N 1 I U N A H U U N
1 U U A Z b W I 1 H l N
8aiYuzhan said, Thcpatho|inncrrchncmcntis cxtrcmc|y
simp|cand casy,|ustgctthc hrco|thc hcarttodcsccndinto
thcc|ixirhc|d. Thc c|ixirhc|dis thcchambcro|watcr, whi|c
thc hcart is hrc. Vhcnhrccntcrswatcr, thcn watcrand6rc
mix and truc yang is produccd. Thcrc|orc pcop|c ca|| thcm
hcart and gcnita|s, not watcrandhrc.
Thc rca|izcd man Zhcngyang said, Gctting thc hrc o|
thc hcartto dcsccndis thcSouthStarshi|tingtothc position
o|thc MorthStar.'
Shi Xing|ing said, Gathcr in your spirit and rcturn it
back intoyourcncrgyandthca|chcmica|proccsswi||natu-
ra||y takc p|acc. '
1 1 H L M L L H N b M b L N U H L
Liu Haizhan said, I havc rca|izcd thc princip|c o||ong
|i|c~intcnscyangsubducs intcnscyin.
Xu)ingyangsaid,Iwi||disc|oscmy|ami|ywaytoyou~
thc sun shi|tsintothc |ighto|thc moon.
MastcrVangChongyangsaid,Vhcnyou bcgintobui|d
thc|oundation, hrsttakcthcspirit in thc uppcr opcningand
sinkit intothc|owcropcning, in thc cavcrno|cncrgy. Mind
andbrcathkccpingtogcthcrcauscspurcattcntiontobccvcr
awarc. A|tcrnating cxha|ation and inha|ation comc and go
in thc |urnacc o|crcation, a|tcr a |ong timc this bccomcs
thorough|y|ami|iar,andhrcwi||natura||ycrupt|rombc|ow
thc navc|, atigcrwi||cmcrgc|romthcwatcr.Vithoutcvcn
trying torcturntoccntra|ba|ancc, you spontancous|yrcvcrt
toccntra| ba|ancc.
Vhcn you hrst watch ovcr thc opcning, turning your
attcntion around to gazc within, it is a b|ackpcar|, |ikc thc
darksidco|thcmoon.Stcadi|yi||umincdbythc hrco|mind
|o||owing thc wind o| rcspiration, thc b|ackncss spontanc-
ous|yproduccs whitc, hrccrupts inwatcr, andwarmcncrgy
circu|atcs in thc cavcrn o|cncrgy. This is thc initia| movc-
mcnto|truc yang, producingbcing|romnonbcing.
Hc a|so said, Thc |orging and rch ning o|wind and hrc
must bc app|icd to purc yang to activatc thc yang cncrgy.
This is a|| amattcro|discovcring and conscious|y nurturing
thc basic spirit, a point o| cmpty nothingncss, storing it
down in thccavcrno|cncrgy. This is ca||cd scnding it back
to thc carth pot and sca|ing it tight|y.
'Vith thc cthcrca| spiritual light o|esscncc o|thc basic
spirit within, bc |ike a turt|c hiding, |ikc a snakc hibcrnat-
ing, donot |orgct, do not |orcc, asi|prcscnt yct as i|abscnt.
Evcntua||y cxha|ation and inha|ation wi|| join, spirit andcn-
crgy wil l cmbrace, thc mystic pass wi|| natura||y opcn, and
the sccd o|rea|ization wi|| bc produced. `
H N o N L N o
| J |
o L L H L o
L L H L M 1
1 H b A L L H b M L A L I K U L b b b
Thc actual practicco|thc work cannot |o||ow anythingcrc-
atcd as a rulc, bccausc cvcrything crcatcd is tcmpora|. Tao-
ism today has most|y dctcrioratcd in this way, so thcrc arc
|cw in thc wor|d who transmittruth.
It is not right to gct Gxatcd on nondoing cithcr. !|you
don'tdoanything, you wi|l|al| intoincrtvacuity. 8uddhism
today is mostly a||cctcd by this dctcrioration, so thcrc arc
|cw 8uddhists in thc wor|d.
Thc rcason this Vay is not opcrativc is that thc Vay is
notclcar|yundcrstood.At hrst thc work isamattcro|cxtin-
guishing cmotiona|ism and swccping away miscc||ancous
thoughts. This isthc Grststcp, building thc |oundationand
tcGning thc scl|.
Once thc human mcnta|ityissct asidc, thccclcstia| mind
LOHm k. OncchumandcsircsarcpuriGcd,thcnthccclcs-
tial dct:gn u a|ways prescnt.
1 1 P J P L L H L M T L L H L
Evcry day, hrst bc quict |or a timc, unti| body and mind
arc both pcacc|u||y sctt|cd and yourbrcathing G gcnt|cand
cvcn. Mow |ight|y c|osc your cycs and gazc into thc rcgion
bc|ow thc hcartand abovc thcgcnita|s,withinaspacco| . j
inchcs, without bccoming hxatcd on it and withoutdcpart-
ing |rom it cithcr. Do not |orgct it, do not |orcc it. Whcn
myriadthoughtsdisappcarandthcsou|a|oncis prcscnt,this
isca||cd rightmindm|ncss.
At this timc, in this mind|u|ncss is |ivc|incss and buoy-
ancy, in thatcncrgy is scrcnity and contcntmcnt.
Whcncxha|ation riscs, it is not toco||idcwith thc hcart
abovc, whcn inha|ation dcsccnds, it is not to co||idc with
thc gcnita|s bc|ow. C|osing and opcning,coming and going,
practicc this|oroncortwowccks, and natura||ythckidncys
and gcnita|s wi|| gradua||y stcam, thc cncrgy in thc clixir
Fc|d wi|| bc warm. 8rcathing wi|| bc spontancous|y tuncd
withoutyourhavingtotunci t, cncrgywi||bcspontancous|y
chncdwithout your nccdingtorchncit.
Oncc cncrgy and brcath arc harmonizcd, thcn thcrc is
natura||y no cxit or cntry, no coming or going abovc, in thc
midd|c, or bc|ow. This is womb brcathing. This is spiritua|
brcathing. This is thc truc bc||ows, thc truc cau|dron and
|urnacc.This is rcturning to thc root and rcstoring|i|c. This
is thc opcning o|thc mystcrious |cma|c, thc root o|hcavcn
and carth.
Whcn cncrgy rcachcs this point, it is |ikc a Howcr just
budding, |ikc ancmbryojustconccivcd.Truc cncrgysponta-
ncous|y stcams and circu|atcs, |rom thc coccyx up through
thc spinc into thc hcad, down thc nasa| passagcs, through
thc windpipc, to thc hcart, whcrc it drops into thc ccntra|
c|ixirFc|d. This is thc initia|movcmcnto|thcwatcrwhccl,`
P J L L H L M 1 b L L L b \ 1
but on|y cncrgy gcts thcrc~thc spirit is not yct comp|ctc,
soitisnot thc truc movcmcnt. Don'tbothcrwith it.
l just gazc stcadily, vcry vcry subtly, watching ovcr thc
ccntral chambcr. Matura||y thcrc is cnd|css |iving potcntia|
thcrc. Practicing thislor a monthor two, my spiritbccomcs
quictcr and quictcr. Vhcn you arc quict lor a |ong timc,
cncrgyis incrcasinglyproduccd. Thisiscallcdthcpracticcol
spirit producingcncrgyand cncrgyproducingspirit.
A hundrcdormorcdaysolthis,andthcvita|spiritgrows
and grows, whilc truc cncrgy gradually bccomcs mll.
Varmthappcarsinabundancc,andthcrcisgoodcircu|ation.
Vatcr and hrc natura|ly comminglc, and hcavcn and carth
join. Thc spirit is Huid, thc cncrgy is cxpansivc. In a short
whilc truc cncrgy unihcs, and a whirlwind spontancously
riscs up into thc hundrcd channc|s. This is thc truc movc-
mcnt olthcwatcrwhccl.
During this intcrval, ila pointolspirituallightisscnscd
in thcclixirhcld,thisis thcdarkpcarlatthc bottomolthc
watcr,` thc ycllow sprouts insidc thc carth.` At that timc
onc yang rcturns, hazy likc a rcd sun whcn it hrst riscs,
shining on thcoccan,loggy, misty, obscurcyctvisib|c, thcn
lcad hrcisbornthcrcin.
Vhilc hcavcn and carth and watcr andhrc havc yct to
combinc, still thc spirit in thc uttcr quicsccncc ol cmpty
nothingncss, allowing no intcrruption in this cxcrcisc unti|
you turn intoa singlc solid wholc, thisis callcd thcmating
olthc hvcclcmcnts.Thcnwhcnwatcrandhrcmix,youcul|
thcm in two stagcs, 8 thc watcrwhccl turns inrcvcrsc,you
gathcr mcdicinc at lourintcrva|s. Thc spirit rcmains insidc,
thclight olthcalchcmicalpil|docs not |cavc. Thisisca|lcd
thc majorcyclc and is rclcrrcd to 8 carrying out thc major
rcstorationi nnincrcvolutions.
l 2 0 P J P L L H L M T b L L H L b
Atthis timcapointo|absolutclypositivcvitalitycrystal-
lizcs within thc ccntcr. It isstorcd in thc timc whcn dcsircs
arc clcarcd and cmotions arc stillcd, yct i t has appcarancc
and|orm. Vhcnyougcttothisstagc, thcbrcathstaysinthc
womb.Incubatinginsidc and out withuncrring timingis
callcd thc tcn months'work.
Z
Thc cxcrcc o| stillncss is in cach intcrval o| timc. Evcn
withinaquartcrhourthcrcarcthccxcrciscso|rchningvital-
ityintocncrgy,rcF ningcncrgyintospirit,andrchningspirit
back into opcnncss. This is not only so |or thc tcn-month
incubation pcriod, it isso in onc hour, onc day, oncmonth,
andoncycar.
Sit down, closc your cycs, bccomc awarc o| thc spirit,
quict thc mind, and tunc thc brcathing. This cxcrcisc is to
rchncvitality into cncrgy.
Turn attcntion around to gazc inwardly, |rcczc thc spirit
in thc alchcmical opcning, makc thc truc brcath circulatc,
ccntcr thc inGnitc cclcstial potcntial within, acting whcn
stillncss rcachcs its maxi mum, bccoming still whcn action
rcachcs its maximum. This cxcrcisc is to rchnc cncrgy into
sput.
|n this way truc cncrgy gathcrs at thc sourcc, yin and
yang rcturn to thcorigin and matc, spontancously thcwind
grows still anJ thc MdVCS arc calmcd. At this timc kccp
right mind|ulncss in thc clixir ncld, this is thc proccss o|
scaling. '
Whcn you carry out thcsc thrcc practiccs, i ti snot just
mattcr o|go|ng into rctrcat |or tcn months, as it is said,
' Whcnyou opcratc thc proccss|oraquartcrhour, thcrc is J
P | J P L H t M * b L L L b \ Z 1
quJttCr-hOur cyc|C. hCn yOu OpCrJtC tt |Or Jn hOur, aday,
J mOnth, Or a ycar, thCrC Jrc hOur. dJy, mOnth, and ycar
cyclcs. `
bO | n OnC quartCr hOur, thC I\rst hJ| OI thC qurtCl hour
is thC `WJrmt ng, thC `IOstCring OI thC I\tC, thC `Cgtnntng
o|thC unJr cyc|c,` thc `htst [hJsC O| thC mOOn, `dtIhcu|ty
|n thC mOrnt ng, `s[r| ng and summCt. hC sCcOnd hal|o|
thC quJrtCr hOur |s thC `cOO|ng, thC `w|thUraw|ng, thc`cnd
OI thc unJr cyclc,` thC `ast [hasC o|thC mOOn, darkncss
tn thC CVCn| ng, `autumn anU w|ntCr. |n onc doublc hour
thcrc arc divisionso||ourquartcr hOurs in thc hrst hal|and
|ourquartcr hours in thcsccond ha||. Thc samc is truc o|a
day, a month, ora ycar.
This is ca||cd asscmb|ing thc Fvc |orccs o|yinand yang,
in aquartcrhour'scxcrciscyou takcovcr thccncrgyproccss
o|awholcycar. At thispoint you arc tru|y cmpty and tru|y
ca|m. Go on |or onc or two ycars, u[ to tcn ycars, or a
hundrcd ycars, and you brcak through spacc to mcrgc with
thc cosmic void. This cxcrcisc is |or rchning thc spirit back
intocmptincss.
Oncc thc tcn months o|thc prcliminary work arc com-
p|ctcd, thcnyou must watch ovcr thc in|ant` at all timcs.
Tcn stcps, a hundrcd stcps, a thousand milcs, tcn thousand
mi|cs~it gocs out gradua||y. !| you |ust |ct it go with no
rcstraint, it wil|gct |ost and not rcturn.
Aclassico|immorta|ismsays,Vhcnspiritcntcrscncrgy,
it |ormsan cmbryo,whcncncrgyc|cavcs tospirit,itcrystal-
lizcs thcalchcmicalpi||.`Thisiswhatiscallcd"apointdrop-
ping intothcycl|owcourt.
Pcop|c who havc |cw miscc||ancous thoughts obtain thc
clixirpi|lrapidly,whi|cthoscwhohavca|oto|misccllancous
l 2 2 P J P L L M L M T b L L H L b
thCu_hts 8rC slCW tC Ct8n thC Qll. hs mCthCd s smQlc
8nd C8sy, ut QCCQlC ]ust Wll nCt Qut ICrth thC CIICrt. I yCu
C8n Qr8CtCC t CCnsstCntly ICr 8 lCn_ tmC yCu Wll surCly
`QCnCtr8tC mCt8l 8nd stCnC, `W8lk Cn W8tCr 8nd hrC, 8nd
`CCmQrChCnd hC8VCn 8nd C8rth.
o L
L
H L

H L L
H o
|
U N
L
H o
N
|
N
H L
W
1
1 H U L A N | A L b L
ThcOldMano|C|carScrcnitysaid.
Thcrc is nothing in thc world that docs not havc both
trucand|alscvcrsions. Practicco|thc Vaymay also bc truc
or |alsc, so studcnts should hrst distinguish thc dicrcncc
clcarly.
Trucpracticcistotalsinccrity. ltisnotamattcro|avoid-
ing thcworldor lcavingsocicty. And ncithcrdocs itdcpcnd
cntircly on dclibcratcsittingand rccitingscripturcs. Thc cs-
scntial thing is to rchnc away thc |alsc within thc truc to
hltcr out thc truc |rom thc |alsc. Only thcn do you attain
thctrucrcalityo|pcr|cctsinccrity.
l| you only conccrn yourscl| with rcciting scripturcs in
|ronto|othcr pcoplc anddonotconccrnyourscl|withinncr
cultivationandscl|-govcrnmcnt,ori|yousitquictlyallday,
immobilc as a statuc, looking goodoutwardly but inwardly
1 Z U N L H P N l N H L W P T
agitatcd by roaming thoughts and miscc||ancous idcas~a||
olthis isla|sc.
Thcla|sc is antagonistic to thc truc, so ilit is not c|imi-
natcd it wi|| harm thc truc. 8ut togct ridolityouhavcto
hnd thc appropriatc way. Ilyou do not hnd thc way, it u
|ikcshutting thc door tocatch a robbcr, thc la|sccannotbc
c|iminatcdand thc trucissurctogct hurt.
Pcop|cwhoarcnotolthchighcstwisdomarcinnucnccd
andconditioncd byla|scimagcscvcryday, sothcy |oscsight
ol natura| rca|itics. Thcy arc so uscd to untruth that it bc-
comcstruthlor thcm.
Evcnilthcrcarcsomcwhohavca |itt|chighcrconscious-
ncss and c|car|y know that wor|d|y allairs arc a|| artihcia|,
whcntaught to cu|tivatc thc rca| thcy sti|| hnd thcartihcia|
hardto rc|inquish. Ilthcyarcto bc rcso|utc, thcy hrsthavc
to rchnc thcmsc|vcs within thc artihcia| unti|thcy lcc| thcy
havc no morc intcrcst in artih cia| things, il thcy sct thcm
asidc to scck thc rca| altcr that, thcn thcy wi|| bc ab|c to
hnd thc rca|.
Ilyou happcn to havc bccn born in a rura| arca and arc
basica||y uncomp|icatcd and unallcctcd, and ncvcr having
cxpcricnccdthcbcdazz|cmcntolprospcrityyoudonotknow
thcrc is such a thing as artih cia|ity, thcn you do not know
thcrc is rca|ity cithcr. That is bccausc thc rca| is hiddcn
within thc artihcia| and thc artihcia| is not outsidc thc rca|.
Vhat is quintcsscntia| is to bc ab|c to hnd out thc rca| in
thc midst ol thc artihcia| and disccrn thc artihcia| in thc
midsto|thcrca|.
Thcrclorc cu|tivation olthcVaydocs not rcquirc|caving
homc.Youmustmixwithsocicty,harmonizingi||umination,
|ivinginthcmatcria| wor|d without bcing inlcctcdbymatc-
ria|ism.
L H U R R Y
U h 0 R 5 1 A h 0 | N 0 1 u w A Y I 5
The Old Mano|C|carScrcn|tysaid.
|n quict sitting, whcthcrornotthcrcisJ spccihcproccss,
youshouldnotc|ing to |orm | |you consciouslyanddclibcr-
tc|y try to app|y mcntal |magcs, you JIC pronc todcvclop
all sortso|il|ncsscs. That isca|}d drawinasg_lcgs
oni t, you wi|| bring troublconyoursc|l.
vlea wc |ook into thc sourcc olthis problcm, wc hnd
it can bc attributcd to onc`s own hxation, inHcxibi|ity, and
habituation tobiascd vicws. It also comcslrom conccit and
rigidity and lailurc to clarily instructions lrom a tcachcr so
as to undcrstandthcmthoroughly.
Thc upshotolthislailurctoabidcby thcprincip|csolthc
practicc, taking i n thc c|ixir too rapid|y, without thc pro-
ccss's bcing complctcd, sitting hasti|y and carc|css|y bclorc
yin and yangcncrgicshavc loundthcir rcspcctivc placcs.
Somc consciouslylocusthcir attcntion on thclowcrc|ixir
hc|d whcnthcy sit. Somcro|| thcircycs up into thcir hcads
togazcupward. Thcy arc doingmcnta|gymnastics.
Somc conccntratc attcntionon thc brcathing, |ikcpump-
ing a bc|lows. Somc locusthcirminds on counting brcaths,
trying to takccncrgy in without|ctting itout.
Thcrc arc anumbcrolsuch pattcrns.Thcycancauscdiz-
zincss, dcalncss, rcddcningolthc cycs, distcntionolthc ab-
domcn, pain i n thc tcndons and boncs, mcnta| loggincss,
nocturnalcmissions, and othcrsymptoms.
Pcop|c who lack thc basic capacity tcnd to dcvclop il|-
ncss
cs by what thcydo in thcirprctcnscsolpracticingTao-
ism. Vhat thcydo not rca|izc is thatpracticing thc Way is
! 2 6 U N L b P N N H L W P T
cultivating and nurturing thc Vay o| naturc, thc natural
coursc.
Firstitiscsscntialtoclcarthcmind andminimizcdcsircs.
A|tcr that, you prcscrvc and nurturc thc vital spirit. You
maysuccccdinprolongingli|c,orcvcni npcrmancntrcaliza-
tion o|wizardry or buddhahood, but thc ccctivc rcsult is
ductoinconspicuouspracticcaccordingtoprinciplc,clcaring
thc mind and not making up anything-it docs not comc
|rom artihcialcontrivancc.
Gcncrallyspcaking,quictsittinghasthrcctypcso|princi-
plcs. First thcrc arc thc principlcs on whichhighcralchcmy
is bascd. In thc middlc thcrc arc thc principlcs o| rchning
thc alchcmicalclixir.Finallythcrcarc thcprinciplcso|lowcr
alchcmy.
So cvcry stcp has its proccss. Thc ordcr must bc undcr-
stood, thc principlcs must bc obscrvcd. Evcn thoscwho arc
sinccrc and gcnuinc may bc ablc to kccp thc principlcs o|
prcparation and proccdurc, but most act carclcssly whcn it
comcstocomplction.
I am going to rcvcrsc thc ordcr and talk about lowcral-
chcmy. Youcannot rush, you will bchnishcdonlywhcnyou
havcattaincdthoroughrcsolution,sothatyourvitalspiritis
clcar and |rcsh. Othcrwiscyou will mcrcly havc onc or two
cxpcricnccs, or thcproccsswillbrcakdownacrstarting.
I|you arc carclcss with lowcr alchcmy, it is vcry casy lO
causc harm. I sccso many pcoplc trying to practiccwithout
doing it corrcctly |rom thc start. 8c|orcthcir minds arcsct-
tlcd, and bc|orc thcy havc pcrccivcd thc right conditions,
thcy immcdiately cross thcir lcgs, |old thcir hands, and dc-
libcratcly sit. Thcir hcads arc not right to start with, thcir
bodics arc not upright, thcir gazc is not cvcn. Thcy try tu
opcratc thc proccss bc|orc thc hrc is cvcn burning in thc
O N P N ! N H P T 1 Z
mrnacc. Evcn though thcrc rcmain a numbcr o|conditions
that havc to bc prcscnt, thcy cannot wait~thcy shut thcir
cycstight,sothatpurityand po||utionarc notdistinguishcd
and positivc cncrgy cannot risc. This way o| practicc is
hardlyc||cctivc.
Inpracticc,thccycsandcarsarc thcmostdi|hcu|tpoints.
I|yousimp|y takc thc distcntiono|thc primaryopcningto
bc thc proccss o|thc work, you maycxpcricnccitchingand
ringing in thc cars,blurrincssinthccycs, anddroo|ing|rom
thc mouth that must bc conscious|y drawn in. Thcsc arc
al| cxamplcs o|inabi|ity to await thcright opportunity, |ikc
cycsight and |ightunablctocombinc.
I|thcopcningo|thccarshasnotbccnshuttothcoutsidc,
thc brcathi nthcnosc hasnotbccomcsubt|c,thctruc|iquid
has not bccn produccd, or thc hrc in thc mrnacc has not
bccn ignitcd, no s:atc isgcnuinc.
Itisa|togcthcrcsscntialtorcachthcpointwhcrcthccycs,
cars, nosc, and tongucmcrgc, andvita|ity,cncrgy, and spirit
msc,that iswhcnthclighto|insightshincs|orth. I|youdo
not wait |or thc mcdicinc to bc produccd and thc hrc to
ignitc, how can thc grcat c|ixir bc rchncd! I|thc hring is
insu|hcicnt, thc ncgativcpol|utcdcncrgyinthcbodycannot
bc clcarcd away.Thcn purc positivc cncrgy cannot risc.
I a|waystc||pcop|cthatthc hrstcsscntia|o|practiccis to
cvcn thctcmpcrwcl| .Youshou|dnotpracticcsittinghasti|y,
wait unti| positivc cncrgy riscs and thc mcdicinc is pro-
duccd~on|ythcn is thctimcright.
hcn itcomcstocontcmp|atingcmptincss,itiscsscntial
toattain rcvcrsa| o|attcntioninward,thcstatco|tuin the
/iht areund. Ro||ingthccycs up intothchcad is notrcvcrsa|
o8ttcnton, not isitturningthclight aroundwhcnthccycs
cc d8rknc. You must rcach thc point whcrc thc cycs do
1 Z U N L b P N l N H L W P T
not scc, thccars do not hcar, and thcbrcathing in thc nosc
is cxtrcmc|y subt|c. Thcn you havc no cycs, cars, nosc,
tonguc, body, or mind, you arc awarc on|y o|thc cxistcncc
o|thc primary opcning,nothingc|sc.
Vhcn you arrivc hcrc, thc |ight o| your truc naturc
cmcrgcs. This isca||cd thc cc|cstia|monarch o|thc |ourc|c-
mcntso||cring abow|.
A|tcrward, work on not |ctting go o| this |itt|c mystic
pass, thatwi||surc|ybcagoodwaytoproduccana|chcmica|
pi||. 8utwork individua||y, bccausc thc statc o|turning thc
|ight around may takc morc or|css timc, dcpcnding on thc
individua|.
Abovc a||, don't bc |n a hurry. I|you do not wait |or a
gcnuincstatctooccur but |orcib|ywithdrawyourvisionand
considcr that to bc turning thc |ight around, sitting with
yourcycsc|oscd, thcnpositivccncrgycannotgctinandncg-
ativc cncrgy cannot gct out. You wi|| on|y toi| usc|css|y,
without bcncF t.
Thcrc arc somc pcop|c who ro|| thcircycs up into thcir
hcads and gazc upward with cxccssivc |orcc. I|thcy do this
|ora|ongtimc,thcy wi||su||crcithcrbraindamagcorpossi-
b|y b|indncss, Ut |ttcVCtS|C. |S |S VCty utDIu , SU l
JVC tJCn up tC uUDUn| t|UnS |c|t by tC DJStCtS UVCt tC
JgCS tU SyStCDut|cuy CncUD[JSS thc [tJct|cu tCqu|tCDCntS
IUt tCJ|2|ng t0 Nuy.
uVc tCVCuCU tc DccJn| SDS o|DySt| c| SD W|tUut ICut
UI cCCSt|J tcgu Jt|OnS, |n O[CS tJt cJc | nU|Vt UuJ Duy
hnU Uut Wut |t |S tU c uDJn, unU tCtutn UDc, tU [CtDu-
nCnt tcu|zJt|Un UI tC StJtC o|Iu H DCnt UI |gct UCVCU[
DCnt.
l I yOu JVc WOtcU IUt u Ung t| DC ut uVC nUt [ctcc|VCU
uny ttut, it |S |ccJuSc yUut D| nU |S St| unStuC. bJgC
U N t h b J P N l N \ 1 u W 1 1
tJught jCUjC tU OUW hUW tU stnj, J|tCr Wh|h thCtC is
tJbil |ty@ tJ D, JOU jCJcc|u DcU| tJtt UO. hC |unctUO U| StJ-
||Jt|UO isytCJt | OUcCU' | yUu j|Jtt|tC tUttctty, yUut D| OU
W| t StJC JOU yUut tCDjCt W| C CvtOhUW cUuU you
thCO C unJc l jttcC|VC ttut h'
Sitting WUt | S cJ | CU qu|Ct s| tt| Og ctJuSt |t | S J DJttC|
U clcaningJ| t ht jU ut|UO tUD yUu! D| OU. |OtC tht jUu-
t|UO | S _UOC JOU yUuI mind isc tar@ ttuth OJtutJy UCtUDCS
CV|UCOt . Thc |CJSUO jcUjc cannot scc truth is S|Djy bc-
tJuSC thcirD| OUS utt tUU OU|Sy and thcy cannotscc through
th|OgS anU cvcnts as thcy rcally Jtc.
Vhcthcr or not thcy practicc quict sitting, practition-
crs o|thc Vay must clcan old impuritics out o|thc mind,
making it clcar and purc. Rcncw this work daily, without
hastcorhurry, JOU cvcntuallyyouwillspontancouslysccthc
bcncnt.
So whcn you bcgin, it i s csscntial tomakc a rcal c||ort.
Accumulatingvitalityisscttingupthc|oundation.Stopping
thoughtsisprincipal Lni|yingspiritandcncrgyisobtaining
thcmcdicinc. Kccping thc spiritstilland not lctting itscat-
tcr is incubation. RcF ning thc spirit back into cosmicspacc
isobtaining thcalchcmicalpill. A|tcr thc pill iscomplctc, is
it not thc highcstunivcrsal truth!
Thcrc is a |olk saying that i|youwant c||ort to dccpcn,
is that practitioncrs o|thc Vay must not bc in a hurry to
scc rcsults.
Vhcthcr or not thcrc is any progrcss cannot bc dctcr-
mincd on thc sur|acc. You should know thcrc is a timc to
risc up and a timc to lic low, a timc to go |orward and a
timctowithdraw. It islikcwalkingamountainpath, which
1 U N L b P N N M L W P T
h8s ht_h 8Dd lCW Q8CCs, CVCD 8Dd uDCVCD Ql8CCs~hCW C8D
tt C VtCWCd 8s 8 thC s8mC!
X,1p8Dd y_WCD't
_C WrCD_. Ds lCD_ 8s yCu dCDt stCQ W8ktD_, CVCDtu8 ly yCu

Wt rC8C t C QC8k, sC Why hurry: I yCu hurry, yCur lC_s
8

Dd ICCt Wt! ,um, yCur hC8d Wtl! _Ct dtZZy, yCur CyC-
st_ht Wt! _Ct urry, 8Dd yCu Wtl _8sQ ICr rC8th. hCD,
tDstC8d CI sQCCdtD_ CD yCur W8y, yCu h8VC CrC8tCd Cst8CCs.
LD8!C tC _C CD, yCu Wtl _tVC uQ 8lCD_ thC W8y. sDt th8t
8 W8stC CI 8! yCur QrCVtCus CUCrt!
btrtVC tC rC8k thrCu_h m8tCrt8l ICrm, CmQty yCur Cdy
8Dd mtDd, 8Dd CCCmC ltVCy 8Dd utd. CD t dr8W 8 sD8kC
Wtth lC_s CD tt 8Dd yCu Wtl D8tur8ly DCt C _utlty CI
`dr8WtD_ 8 tt_Cr tkC 8 dC_. CVCCQ yCur Ch8r8CtCr tD rCl8-
ttCD tC thC CutstdC WCrld 8s muCh 8s yCu C8D. hCD yCur
Qr8CttCC ts 8CCCmQtshCd 8Dd tts rCsu!ts 8rC IuhlCd, thCD rC8
truth C8D C sCCD WtthCut lCCktD_, tDhCrCDtly CCDt8tDtD_
CDdCss sutCttCs.