Zhuan Falun
English Version
Translation Group of Falun Xiulian Dafa
Beijing, China, 1998
Li Hongzhi
......
Zhuan Falun is not flowery in its language and even does not conform to modern grammar. However, if I try to use modern grammar to polish this book of the Great Law, there would arise a serious problem: the language and grammatical structure of the writing might be standard and beautiful, but they will not be able to impart deeper and higher implications, because it is completely beyond the capability of contemporary standard vocabulary to express the Great Law as a guide in different higher dimensions and its manifestations in each dimension so as to give an impetus to the evolution of the practitioner's True Being and cultivation energy, and promote a substantial transformation. ......
Li Hongzhi
On Buddha Law
"Buddha Law" is most profound. It is the most mystical and supernormal science of all theories in the world. To open up this field, it is necessary to make a fundamental change of the mentality of ordinary people; otherwise the truth of the cosmos will forever remain a myth to mankind, and ordinary people will always crawl along within the boundary delimited by their own ignorance.
What is "Buddha Law" after all? Is it a religion? A philosophy? That is only the understanding of "the modernistic scholars of Buddhism". They merely study the theory. They regard "Buddha Law" as something like a category of philosophy and make a study of and do the so-called research on it with a critical eye. Nevertheless, "Buddha Law" is more than that little bit recorded in the Sutras, which only deals with "Buddha Law" at the elementary level. "Buddha Law" is an insight into all mysteries of the cosmos, and encompasses everything while leaving out nothing from the particle, the molecule to the universe, from even the smaller to the greater. "Buddha Law" is an exposition of the cosmic qualities "Zhen Shan Ren" ( Truth Compassion Forbearance) presented at different levels in different ways. It is what the Tao School means by "Tao" and Buddha School by "Law".
Well advanced as the contemporary human science is, it is only a portion of the mysteries of the cosmos. Whenever we mention some specific phenomena concerning "Buddha Law", somebody will say, "We are now in the electronic age! Why bother with these out-of-date superstitions when science is so progressive that spaceships have even reached other planets?" As a matter of fact, no matter how advanced a computer is, it is no match for the human brain, which remains an unfathomable enigma today. No matter how far our spaceships can fly, they are unable to get out of the physical world in which we human beings dwell. The knowledge of the contemporary human beings or what they know is just skin-deep, and too far from the real understanding of the truth of the cosmos. Some people even dare not face up to, dare not approach or dare not admit the facts of the existing objective phenomena because these people are too conservative and unwilling to change their traditional mentality. Nothing but "Buddha Law" can thoroughly reveal the secrets of the cosmos, time and space and the human body. It can genuinely distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, and establish the right view by eradicating all fallacies.
The guiding ideology of the present day human science can only be confined to the physical world for its development and research. It follows such a way that a subject will not be studied until it is recognized. As for the existing objective phenomena, which are invisible and intangible but reflected in our physical space in concrete forms, people dare not approach them and regard them as unidentified phenomena. Those opinionated people argue stubbornly and groundlessly that they are natural phenomena. Those with ulterior motives simply put labels of superstition on all of them against their conscience. Those who make little effort to seek truth evade them using as an excuse the under-development of the science. If human beings can change their rigid mentality and have a new understanding of themselves and the cosmos, they will make a leap forward. "Buddha Law" can provide humankind with an insight into the immeasurable and boundless worlds for them. Throughout the ages, nothing but "Buddha Law" can give a perfect and clear exposition of humankind beings, all different spaces of material existence, life and the whole cosmos.
Li Hongzhi
June 2, 1992
Contents
On Buddha Law 1
Lecture One 4
Genuinely Guiding People Up to the High Hierarchy 4
The Law Varies from Dimension to Dimension 6
Zhen Shan Ren Is the Sole Criterion Used to Judge a Good Person from a Bad One 9
Qigong Is a Prehistoric Culture 11
Qigong Is Cultivation 13
Why Doesn't Your Cultivation Energy Increase When You Do Cultivation? 15
Characteristics of Falun Dafa 20
Lecture Two 25
Issue of the Celestial Eye 25
Supernormal Capability of Remote Sight 31
Supernormal Capability of Total Recall 33
Transcending the Five Elements and the Three Realms 35
Issue of Pursuit 38
Lecture Three 44
I Regard All the Students as My Disciples 44
Qigong of the Buddha School and Buddhism 44
Be Constant in a Single Cultivation System 47
Supernormal Capabilities and Energy Potency 49
Reverse Cultivation and Energy Borrowing 50
Spirit Possession 54
Cosmic Language 58
What the Teacher Has Given to His Students 59
Energy Field 63
How the Students of Falun Dafa Should Spread the Cultivation System 64
Lecture Four 67
Loss and Gain 67
Transformation of Karma 68
Upgrading Xinxing 73
Filling Energy into the Top of the Head 77
Xuanguan-Shewei (Placement of the Mysterious Pass) 79
Lecture Five 84
Configuration of Falun 84
Rare Cultivation Way 85
Cultivation of the Evil Way 87
Double Cultivation of a Man and a Woman 89
Integrated Cultivation of Both Human Life and Nature 90
Law Body 91
Light-Opening 92
Zhu You Ke (Subject of Supplication) 96
Lecture Six 98
Cultivation Insanity 98
Demonic Interference during Practice 103
Demonic Interference from one's Own Mind 107
The Main Consciousness Should Play a Governing Role 110
Mind Must Be Upright 111
Wushu Qigong (Martial Arts) 115
Desire to Show Off 118
Lecture Seven 121
On the Issue of Killing 121
On the Issue of Eating Meat 123
Jealousy 127
On the Issue of Healing Illnesses 130
Hospital Treatment and Qigong Healing 133
Lecture Eight 137
Bigu (Abstention from Food) 137
Stealing Qi 138
Gathering Qi 140
He Attains Cultivation Energy Who Does the Cultivation 142
Heavenly Circuit 146
Attachment of Complacency 152
Self-Imposed Silence 153
Lecture Nine 155
Qigong and Physical Culture 155
Intention 156
Clear and Clean Mind 160
Inborn Qualities 163
Enlightenment 165
A Person Well Grounded in All Virtues 169
Glossary 175
Lecture One
Genuinely Guiding People Up to the High Hierarchy
( )
During the whole course of my Law lecturing and practice exercise teaching sessions, I have been responsible to society and my students, and therefore we have achieved good results and have had a good effect on society. Some years ago, many qigong masters came to teach qigong, but what they were talking about all belonged to the level of healing diseases and keeping fit. Of course I do not mean that their qigong practice was not good, but just that they did not bring into the open anything of a high order. I have the situation of qigong of the whole country well in mind. At present, I am the only person genuinely teaching the gong in high dimensions both at home and abroad. Why isn't there anybody else who can do it? Because doing this means dealing with many big and controversial issues, which involve the remote historical origin of qigong, and which are of a wide range. What's more, teaching the gong at a high level can not be done by an ordinary person, for it involves doing away with things belonging to many systems of qigong. In particular, we have a lot of practitioners who have made a mess of their bodies by practising this qigong today and that one tomorrow, and therefore they are bound to be unable to ascend in cultivation. Unlike those who go up in cultivation by following one main cultivation way, he takes all the branch roads. While he is practising this one, that one comes to interfere; while practising that one, this one comes. As they all come to interfere, he has been left unable to go on with his cultivation.
I am going to sort out all those things, retaining the good and eliminating the bad, so that you will be guaranteed to be able to practise hereafter. However, I will do this only for those who have come to learn the Great Law truly and wholeheartedly; I will not do this for those who are attached to various desires, who have come to seek after supernormal capabilities, to cure diseases, to learn some theories, or for certain ill purposes. As I have told you, I am the only person doing this. There will not be so many opportunities because I cannot always give lectures like this. I think those who are able to attend my lectures in person are really... You will understand what I mean when you feel your appreciation of this period of time in the future. Of course we believe in predestined relationship, and it is this relationship that has brought us here together.
Let's just think, why do I teach the gong in high dimensions? What is this? Aren't we saving people? Saving people means cultivating yourself in a true sense rather than just healing diseases and keeping fit. Thus true cultivation requires a high Xinxing ( mind nature) in my students. Since all of you sitting here have come to learn the Great Law, you should regard yourself as a true practitioner and let go of your attachments. You will gain nothing if you come here to learn the gong and the Great Law for the purpose of pursuing various personal interests. To tell you a truth: The whole course of one's cultivation is to let go of his attachments unceasingly. In human society, one vies with the other, tries to cheat or outwit the other, and hurts the other for a bit of personal interests. All these attachments must be done away with. Especially those who are learning the gong here today should do away with them better.
I am not going to talk about treating diseases here, nor shall I treat diseases. However, as a true cultivator, you cannot cultivate yourself without a healthy body. So I'll purify your body, but only for those who really have come to learn the gong and the Law. Here I would like to point out emphatically that I have no way to help you if you cannot rid yourself of your attachments, and I can do nothing for you if you cannot let go of your diseases. Why? As there is such a Law in the universe: According to Buddhism, the causational relationship governs everything in human society. Birth, old age, diseases and death stay with an ordinary person the way they are because the wrongdoings he committed in his previous lives incur karmic debts, which make him suffer from illnesses or tribulations. To suffer is to pay your karmic debts; therefore no one is allowed to change it as he pleases. Changing it means that the debt one owes does not have to be paid off; and no one is allowed to do it of his own free will, or he is as good as committing evil deeds.
Some people believe they are doing good when treating diseases and keeping fit for others. In my opinion, they have not really cured the diseases, but only put them off or transformed them, instead of rooting them out truly. Only by dissolving one's karma can you really remove his tribulation. If someone has reached such a level that he is indeed able to cure the disease and dissolve the karma completely, he must be in quite a high dimension. He has already seen the truth, that is, the Law of the human world cannot be violated as one wishes. During the course of their cultivation, practitioners are allowed to do some good out of compassion, such as to help people treat diseases and keep fit, but they can not cure the patients completely. If you were able to cure an ordinary person of his diseases thoroughly, as a non-practitioner, when he left here diseases free, he would still behave like an ordinary person, scrambling for his own personal interests. Why should his karma be cleared off for him? This is definitely not allowed.
Then why can we do it for cultivators? This is because a cultivator is most precious. He wants to cultivate himself, and it is this very thought that is most valuable. In Buddhism, there is Buddha nature to it. Once this nature reveals itself, the enlightened beings ( ) will come to his help. What does this mean? In my view, this is because I am teaching the gong in the high dimension, dealing with the Law in the high dimension, and the issues involved are quite big. In this universe, the real life of a human being is not born in this human world, but in the cosmic space. In the universe, there are quite a lot and a great variety of life - creating substances, the interplay of which can create lives. That is to say, the earliest life of a human being came from the universe. The cosmic space itself was originally nice and compassionate, actually possessing such qualities as Zhen Shan Ren ( Truth Compassion Forbearance), with which human beings were born. However, as more and more lives came into being, there occurred a kind of social relationship among groups of people. Some of them might have developed selfish motives, and thus gradually lowered their dimension; they could not stay where they were and had to drop to a lower dimension. However, in this new dimension, they became bad again and still could not stay there, so they continued to drop until reaching the dimension of human beings.
The whole human society stays in the same dimension. Having dropped to this stage, these living beings should have been destroyed, from the point of view of supernormal capabilities, or according to the great enlightened. However, the great enlightened gave them another chance out of mercy, and thus created such a special environment and space, while the living beings in this space are quite different from those in all the other spaces in the universe. They cannot see the living beings of the other spaces, nor can they see the truth of the other spaces, nor can they see the truth of the universe; therefore they are as good as lost. In order to cure their diseases, stop their sufferings and rid themselves of their karma, these people have to cultivate to return to the origin and go back to the truth. This is a view held by all schools of cultivation. The real purpose of being a human being is to return to the origin and go back to the truth. So once a person wants to cultivate himself, he is said to have revealed his Buddha nature. This thought is most valuable because he wants to return to the origin and go back to the truth, jumping out of the level of ordinary people.
You may have heard of a saying from Buddhism: Once Buddha nature presents itself, it shakes the Ten Directions of the universe. Whoever sees it will come to his help unconditionally. Buddhas save people without making a condition, without asking for anything in return. They can help people unconditionally. So we can do many things for our students. As for an ordinary person, we will not help him because he just wants to remain an ordinary person and be cured of his diseases. Here is someone who thinks: I'll start cultivation as long as I have recovered from illness. He cannot make a condition for cultivation. If he wants to cultivate, he may start to do it. However, there are some people who have come with unhealthy bodies; some carry disorderly messages in their bodies; others have never practised qigong at all; still others have practised for decades only to find themselves still wandering in the state of qi, and therefore have not gone up in cultivation.
What shall we do then? We'll purify their bodies to enable them to go up to a high level of cultivation. During the lowest level of cultivation, there is quite a process of purifying the body thoroughly and completely; emptying the mind of bad thoughts, cleaning up the karmic field around the body and driving away the factors causing diseases all at once. Otherwise, with such a turbid body, a blackened body and a filthy mind, how can you reach the high dimensional cultivation? Here we do not exercise qi, therefore you do not have to practise low level things, for we'll push you over to make your body free of diseases. Meanwhile, we'll plant a series of what is ready-made for you to lay the foundations at the lower levels. In this way, you can start practising at a very high level.
According to a saying from cultivation, cultivation consists of three phases, including the practice of qi, but genuine cultivation has only two great phases (excluding the practice of qi): One is the cultivation of Shi Jian Fa ( the In-Triple-World-Law); the other is the cultivation of Chu Shi Jian Fa ( the Beyond-Triple-World-Law). These two are entirely different from the terms World-In and World-Out used by monks and nuns in the temple, which fall into the category of theory. The two great phases of ours have brought about a transformation in the true cultivation of the human body. In the course of the cultivation of the In-Triple-World-Law, the human body keeps being purified, and is purified incessantly; and when a person arrives at the highest form of the In-Triple-World-Law, his body will completely be replaced by substances of high energy. And the cultivation of the Beyond-Triple-World-Law is virtually the cultivation of the Buddha body, a body made up of substances of high energy, with all the supernatural powers emerging once again. What we refer to are these two great phases.
We believe in predestined relationship. Since we are all sitting here, I can do this for all of you. Now we have only over two thousand people, but I can do it for several thousand, even more than this, or ten thousand. That is to say, you do not have to do low level practice any more. I'll push you over this level after purifying your body, and then equip you with a set of integrated cultivation systems for you to begin your high dimensional cultivation directly. However, I'll do this only for those who really have come here for cultivation without saying that you are a cultivator as long as you are sitting here. Only by making a fundamental change of your mentality can we give you all these, but what I give you is not limited to them. You will understand what I have given you later on. Here we have no consideration for treating diseases, but we go in for purifying your bodies as a whole to enable you to practise. With such an unhealthy body, you will not be able to come up with cultivation energy. Therefore, do not ask me to treat your diseases, and I am not going to do this for you. The chief purpose of my coming to the public is to guide people up to the high hierarchy, genuinely guide people to the high hierarchy.
The Law Varies from Dimension to Dimension
In the past many qigong masters stated that qigong was divided into what was elementary, intermediate and advanced. They all belong to qi, something staying in the phase of exercising qi, which was also divided into the elementary, intermediate and advanced. As for what is really advanced, the broad masses of qigong practitioners are quite ignorant of it, and do not know it at all. What I am going to lecture about from now on is all about the Law in the high dimension. Besides, I would like to rehabilitate the reputation of cultivation. In my lectures, I am going to speak of the unhealthy phenomena in the world of cultivation, and how to look at and deal with them. I also intend to make clear such things as those quite big and even very serious issues involved in lecturing on the Law and teaching the practice exercise of the high order. I also want to disclose the interference in our ordinary human society from other spaces, especially the interference in the world of cultivation. At the same time we'll solve the problems for our students. Otherwise, you will not be able to practise. In order to resolve the problems once and for all, we must regard you as genuine cultivators, and we can do all of this for you. Of course, it will not be easy to change your mind all at once, but in the following lectures, you will change gradually, and I hope you will listen attentively. I am different from others in teaching gong. When doing so, some people simply said something about their principles of qigong, then asked the students to receive messages, and ended up by teaching them a set of hand movements. People are already used to this way of teaching qigong.
To teach qigong indeed, one must preach the Law and expound the Tao. In my ten lectures, I'll expound the Law at the advanced level so that you can cultivate yourself; otherwise, you simply cannot do it. What the others teach all belongs to the stage of healing diseases and keeping fit, and you will not be able to reach high dimensional cultivation without the guidance of the Law of the high dimension even if you want to. This is also true of your going to school. You are still a schoolboy if you attend the college learning the textbooks of a schoolboy's. Some people think they have learned many kinds of qigong, from which they have received a pile of certificates, but their cultivation energy has not gone up yet. They mistake these for the true essence and all of qigong. They are wrong because these are only the superficial knowledge of qigong at the lowest level. Qigong covers far more than these. It is cultivation. It has extensive knowledge and profound scholarship; and the Law varies from dimension to dimension, so qigong does not seem to be what we now know about the exercise of qi, for it is all the same for you to learn it even more. Let me illustrate it with an example. You have learned the textbooks for British primary schools; you have learned the textbooks for American primary schools; you have learned the textbooks for Japanese primary schools; you also have learned the textbooks for Chinese primary schools. You are still a schoolboy. The more lessons about what is elementary of qigong you have learned, and the more full of it you are, the more harm it will do you because you have made a muddle of your body.
I'd like to stress another point. In cultivation, we must expound the Law and teach the practice exercise. From this point of view, monks from some temples, especially those from the school of Zen Buddhism, may have some different ideas. They do not feel like hearing people say anything about preaching the Law. Why? Zen Buddhism believes that the Dharma cannot be preached. Once it is done, it will no longer be the Dharma. It can only be understood tacitly because there is no Dharma to preach. Therefore, all through the evolution of Zen Buddhism up till today, they have been unable to preach any Dharma at all. Patriarch Dharmer taught Zen Buddhism according to a statement made by Sakyamuni, who once said, "There is no Dharma without change". Based on this statement, Dharmer founded the school of Zen Buddhism. So far as we understand, this school is getting into a bull's horn (a dead end). Then, what do we mean by getting into a bull's horn? When Dharmer began to dig into it, he felt it spacious; the Second Patriarch felt it not so comfortable; the Third felt it not too bad; and when it came to the Fourth, it became quite narrow; the Fifth found there was not much space left; and when it came to the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, there was no room left, and he could no longer get into it. If you go to a Zen master to learn the Dharma today, do not ask questions. If you do, you will get a stick-hit on the head, which is called "stick-warning". It means that you cannot ask questions, but that you should make yourself understood by yourself. You may say, "I have come here to learn just because I do not know. What on earth can I understand by a stick-hit on the head?"
That is to say, they have reached the tip of the bull's horn, and there is nothing for them to say any more. Even Dharmer himself said that he could only pass down his teaching to the Sixth Patriarch, and that thereafter there would be no more teaching of Zen Buddhism. Now several hundred years have passed. However, there are still some people who cling to the principles of Zen Buddhism. Then, what exactly did Sakyamuni mean by saying that "There is no Dharma without change"? Sakyamuni was in the status of Tathagata. People, including many monks after him, did not awake to that status in which Sakyamuni was, nor the mental state of his realm of awareness, the true sense of the Dharma he had preached, and the real meaning of his words. So, people thereafter explained his words this way or that way, causing much confusion. They believe that "There is no Dharma without change" means that you cannot preach the Dharma, or it would no longer be the Dharma. It is not so. Sakyamuni did not reach so high a status as Tathagata immediately after he became enlightened and opened his cultivation energy under the Bodhi Tree. In all his 49 years of teaching the Dharma, he also kept on improving himself. Whenever he reached a higher dimension, looking back, he would find that all the Dharma he had just taught was not right. Then, after reaching an even higher dimension, again he found the Dharma he had preached was wrong. After that, the same thing happened again. For the whole 49 years, he kept going up in such a way that every time he reached a higher dimension, he would realize that the Dharma he had preached before had a poor understanding, and he also found that the Dharma in each dimension was the embodiment of the Dharma in that dimension with no exception. Every dimension had its own Dharma, but no one was the absolute truth of the universe. The Dharma in a higher dimension came closer to the cosmic qualities than that in a lower dimension. This is the reason why he said, "There is no Dharma without change."
At last, Sakyamuni also said, "I have preached no Dharma at all in my whole life." This is again interpreted by Zen Buddhism as there is no Dharma to be preached. In his later years, Sakyamuni had reached the status of Tathagata. Then why did he say that he had preached no Dharma at all? What exactly did he mean by this? What he meant was, "Even if I've reached the status of Tathagata, I still fail to see what the ultimate truth and the Dharma of the universe are." In this way he told people after him not to accept his words as the absolute truth, the unchanging truth; otherwise they might be confined to or go below the status of Tathagata without being able to make a high dimension breakthrough. The people after him could not grasp the true sense of these words, and misinterpreted them as "If spoken out, the Dharma will not be the Dharma." Actually, what he meant is: The Dharma varies from dimension to dimension, but the Dharma in each dimension is not at all the absolute truth of the universe. However, the Dharma in a dimension does serve as a guiding principle for that dimension. This is exactly the truth he referred to.
Many people in the past, especially those of Zen Buddhism, kept such a prejudice and an entirely wrong view all the time. Without being taught and instructed how to cultivate, how can you practise and cultivate yourself? Maybe some of you have read some Buddhist stories in Buddhism, which said: Someone went up to the heaven, and after he had got there, he found that the Diamond Sutra above was different from the one below both in the writing of each word and in its meaning. Why was this Diamond Sutra so different from the one found in the ordinary people? Another one also said: The scriptures in the Paradise of Ultimate Bliss were completely disfigured and no longer recognizable as compared with the ones below. Such was the change that they differed not only in writing but in connotation and denotation of the words as well. This is because the same Law varies and differs in manifestations from dimension to dimension, and it can serve as a different guiding principle for cultivators in a different dimension.
We all know about a booklet in Buddhism entitled "Travel Notes to the Western Paradise". It says that a monk was sitting in meditation practice when his Yuanshen ( True Spirit) arrived in the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss and saw some scenes. After a day's visit, he returned to the earth where six years had passed. Did he see anything? Yes, he did. But what he saw was not the truth. Why? Because he had reached a dimension not high enough, and he could only be shown, in his own dimension, the manifestations of the Buddha Law that he should see. He could not see the truth because such a world is exactly the embodiment of a component part of the Law. This is what I mean by "There is no Dharma without change."
Zhen Shan Ren Is the Sole Criterion Used to Judge a Good Person from a Bad One
People in Buddhism have been investigating and studying what Dharma is. There are also some people who believe that the Dharma preached in Buddhism is truly all of the Buddha Law, but, in fact, it is not. The Dharma preached by Sakyamuni 2500 years ago was aimed at those simple-minded ordinary people at an extremely low level, just newly born out of primitive society. The Period of Decline he referred to meant today. People nowadays will not be able to use that Dharma to cultivate themselves any more. In the Period of Decline, even monks in the temple can hardly save themselves, let alone save others. Sakyamuni preached the Dharma in view of the situation at that time, but he did not bring to light all the Buddha Dharma in mind at his own level. So it is impossible for the Dharma he had to remain all the same without change for good.
With the development of society, the human mind is becoming more and more complicated, which makes it rather difficult for people to continue with their cultivation this way. The Dharma in Buddhism cannot cover the whole Buddha Law, or rather it is only a tiny part of it. There are many Great Laws of the Buddha School which have circulated among the people, and have been handed down to only one person for each generation through the ages. The Law differs from dimension to dimension, and from space to space. These are all the different manifestations of the Buddha Law in different spaces, and in different dimensions. Sakyamuni said in the same way that there are altogether 84000 schools of the Dharma cultivating Buddhas. However, in Buddhism there are only over a dozen of them, such as Zen Buddhism, the Pure Land School, T'ien-t'ai School, Hua-yan School, Tantrism, etc., which certainly cannot contain all of the Buddha Law. Even Sakyamuni himself did not preach all of his Dharma, but only part of it on the basis of the ability of the people at that time to understand it.
But what is Buddha Law after all? In this universe, the most fundamental qualities Zhen Shan Ren ( Truth Compassion Forbearance) are exactly the most essential Buddha Law, the highest manifestation of Buddha Law. Buddha Law differs in the way of manifestation, differs in the role it plays as a guiding principle, from dimension to dimension. The lower the dimension is, the more jumbled and numerous its manifestations are. These fundamental qualities, Zhen Shan Ren are found in all substances -- particles of the air, stone, wood, earth, iron and steel, the human body; ancient people stressed that the ten thousand things of creation in the universe composed of Five Elements also have these qualities, Zhen Shan Ren. The cultivator who has reached a certain dimension can only perceive the specific manifestation of Buddha Law in that dimension. This is his attainment status, the level of attainment. Broadly speaking, the Law is quite enormous. At the highest point, it is very simple, for it is quite similar to the shape of a pyramid. In an extremely high dimension, three words can be used to generalize it. They are Zhen, Shan and Ren. Revealing itself in each dimension, the Law is extremely complex. Take a human being for instance, Taoists regard the human body as a small universe. A human being has a physical body, but only a body itself cannot complete an integrated human being. It needs to have temperament, character, personality, and the existence of Yuanshen (the True Spirit) to become an integrated, independent and specific individual. This is also true of our cosmos. There are Milky Way galaxy, other galaxies, and life and water, the ten thousand things of creation in this universe. This is one side of the physical existence, but there also exist these fundamental qualities, Zhen Shan Ren simultaneously. They can be found in the particle of any substance. Tiny particles all contain these qualities.
The fundamental qualities, Zhen Shan Ren are the criteria of judging between the good and the bad in the universe. What is good and what is bad? It is only by this criterion that we can judge. The same is true of the virtues we referred to in the past. Of course, the moral standard of today's human society has already changed, and it has been distorted into the bargain. If a person were learning from Lei Feng now, he might be considered to be mentally ill, but who would have thought so if this had happened in the 50's and 60's? The moral standard of mankind is going downward; public morals are declining day by day; people are bent on nothing but profit; they try to hurt others for their own personal interests; they try to overtake each other for personal gain by fair means or foul. Just imagine! Can this be allowed to continue? Someone is doing wrong. If you told him he is wrong, he would not believe you. He really does not believe he is doing wrong. Some people even judge themselves by the deteriorating moral standard and consider themselves better than the others because the criteria of judgment have already changed. No matter how the moral standard of mankind has changed, the fundamental qualities of the cosmos will always remain the same. These qualities are the sole criterion of judging whether a person is good or bad. Therefore, as a cultivator, you must act according to the fundamental qualities of the cosmos rather than according to the standard of ordinary people. You have to act on these criteria if you want to return to the origin and go back to the truth, if you want to ascend in cultivation. As a human being, only by being able to go with the fundamental qualities of the cosmos, Zhen Shan Ren, can you become a good person; going against these qualities, you will become a truly bad one. At your work unit or in society, some people may say you are bad, but you are not necessarily really bad; some may say you are good, but you are not necessarily really good. As a cultivator, assimilating yourself to these qualities, you will definitely achieve the way. It is just so simple a logic.
The Taoist cultivation of Zhen Shan Ren lays stress on the cultivation of Zhen. So they go in for cultivating the truth and nourishing their nature, telling the truth, acting on the truth, becoming true, returning to the origin and going back to the truth, and eventually become immortals in cultivation. However, there is also Ren, and there is Shan, but with the emphasis on Zhen in cultivation. While the Buddha School puts emphasis on Shan of Zhen Shan Ren in cultivation, for the cultivation of Shan can give rise to the growth of the great loving kindness and compassion. Once their compassion is up, they see all sentient beings suffering. As a result, they make a vow to save them out of their suffering. However, there is also Zhen, and there is Ren, but with the emphasis on Shan in cultivation. Our school, Falun Dafa is based on the supreme criterion of the cosmos -- an integrated cultivation of Zhen Shan Ren, and therefore the energy we cultivate is enormous.
Qigong Is a Prehistoric Culture
What is qigong, anyway? Many qigong masters are trying to explain what it is, but what I say is rather different from what they say. Many qigong masters explain this at a certain level of theirs, while I state my point of view about qigong at a much higher level. It is entirely different from theirs. Some qigong masters say that qigong has a history of 2000 years in our country; and some say 3000 years; others say 5000 years, as old as the history of the Chinese civilization; and still others say that it should be 7000 years old, as is shown by archaeological findings, far beyond the history of the Chinese civilization. Whatever the viewpoints may be, the history of qigong is almost the same as that of the human civilization. According to Darwin's theory of evolution, human beings evolved first from water plants to aquatic animals; then climbed up to land; and further up to the trees; again came back down to land and became apes on land; and finally developed into modern human beings with mind, and culture. According to this calculation, the real emergence of the human civilization does not go beyond 10000 years yet. For further backward calculation, there even was not such a thing as tying knots to remember things. It is true that they wore leaves as clothes and ate raw meat. Further backward, they were totally savages, the sort of primitives, who perhaps even did not know how to use fire yet.
However, we have discovered something, i.e., there remain across the world so many sites of ancient civilizations, far beyond the history of our human civilizations. Technologically speaking, these places of historic interest all have a very high order of technology and craftsmanship. Artistically speaking, they are at such an extremely high level that modern people are simply imitating the arts of ancient people, which have a very high value of appreciation. Yet, they were the remains of tens of thousands of, hundreds of thousands of, several millions of or even a hundred million years ago. Just think it over. Are they making fun of the history of today? But there is nothing to joke about, for mankind also has been unceasingly perfecting itself and creating a new understanding of itself. Such is exactly the way of the development of society, as the initial recognition is not necessarily absolutely correct.
Maybe many people have heard of "prehistoric culture", also called "prehistoric civilization". Now I am going to deal with this. The earth has Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, Africa and Antarctic on it. They are referred to as the "continental plates" by geologists. Tens of millions of years have already passed so far in history since they began to take shape. That is to say, there is a lot of land which rose from the bottom of the ocean, and also a lot of land which went down to the bottom. As a result, the land became as stable as it is today after a passage of tens of millions of years of history. However, we have discovered, on many ocean bottoms, huge buildings of ancient times, whose carving and sculpturing are too exquisite to be the cultural remains of today's human beings. Thus they must have been built before the land was deposited onto the ocean bottom. Then who was it that had created these civilizations tens of millions of years ago? Human beings were not even monkeys at that time, how could they possibly have created things of such high intelligence? Archaeologists have found in the world a kind of organism called "three-leaves insect", which came into being between 600 million and 260 million years ago, and became extinct thereafter. An American scientist found a fossil of "three-leaves insect", on which there was also a human footprint, left by a shoe he was wearing, and clearly printed on the fossil. Aren't they joking with the historians? How could there possibly have been human beings 260 million years ago according to Darwin's theory of evolution?
In the museum of National University of Peru, there is a rock on which is engraved a human figure, which, after close examination, was engraved 30000 years ago. However, this human figure is wearing clothes, a hat and a pair of shoes, observing celestial bodies through a telescope in his hands. How could people of 30000 years ago possibly have woven cloth and worn clothes? The most inconceivable is that he is holding an astronomical telescope to observe celestial bodies, and that he has certain knowledge of astronomy as well. We have been of the opinion that Galileo, a European, invented the telescope, which has a history of only over 300 years up to now. But who was it who invented the telescope 30000 years ago? In addition, there are so many other such mysteries. For instance, the slabstone frescoes discovered in many stone caves in France, South Africa and on the Alps were wonderfully done, vivid and true to life. The human figures engraved on them are very exquisite, coated with a mineral paint, as well. However, they are all dressed up in modern style, somewhat similar to Western suits, wearing close-fitting trousers. Some of them have something like pipes in their hands; others are holding walking sticks, wearing hats. How could monkeys of several hundred thousand years ago possibly have had such a high order of the arts?
To say something further, there is the Gabon Republic in Africa, which is rich in uranium ore. As the country was relatively backward, and it could not extract uranium from ore on its own, it exported it to the advanced countries. In 1972, a French plant imported this uranium ore. To their great surprise, chemical examinations showed that this ore had already been extracted and utilized, therefore they sent people of science to the country to investigate, and scientists from many other countries went there, too. They confirmed, at last, that this uranium ore was in fact a large-scale nuclear reactor, which was so well laid out that it would be impossible even for modern people to produce it. Then when was it completed? It was two billion years ago that it was completed, and it had been in operation for about 500000 years. This is a sheer astronomical figure beyond the explanation of Darwin's theory of evolution. There are so many things like this. What has been discovered now in the world of science and technology is convincing enough to rewrite our textbooks of today. Once a series of working and thinking styles has fallen into a habit based on their inherent conventional modes of thought, men find it difficult to accept new ideas. When the truth presents itself, they dare not accept it, but will reject it, by instinct. Owing to the influence of conventional modes of thought, there is no systematization of these things now; therefore, men's mentality cannot keep track of the developments all the time. Whenever we talk about these things, which have already been discovered, though not popularized as yet, some people will say this is superstition and cannot be accepted.
A lot of dauntless scientists abroad have openly accepted these phenomena as prehistoric cultures, which are the civilizations previous to this cycle of our present human civilization. That is, there were still the periods of civilization prior to this cycle of our civilization, and there was more than one. The archaeological finds reveal that they did not belong to the period of only one civilization. Thus, it is believed that only a few people had managed to survive the crushing destruction a number of times, and thereafter began to live a primitive life and reproduce new human beings, and enter a new civilization. Then, they experienced a new destruction again, reproduced new human beings once more. This is how mankind went through such different periodic changes, one after another. The motion of matter, as physicists put it, follows a certain pattern, so do the changes of the whole universe.
The movement of our earth cannot possibly be all smooth sailing in this vast expanse of the universe or within the motion of the Galaxy. It is most likely to run into another planet, or rather some other troubles, which will give rise to a catastrophe. In the light of our supernormal capabilities, it has been arranged this way. After a meticulous check which I once did, I discovered that mankind had been left in complete destruction 81 times. Only a few people survived each time, leaving behind a little bit of their prehistoric civilization, and went into the next period, living a primitive life. Human beings multiplied until there were so many when another civilization emerged. Going through 81 such periodic transformations, I still did not count down to the origin. Chinese people believe in favourable weather, favourable terrain, and the group morale. Variations in celestial phenomena and variations in weather will bring about different social conditions in ordinary human society. In the terms of physics, there is regularity in the motion of matter; the same is true of the movement of the universe.
The prehistoric cultures I referred to above mainly tell you: Qigong is not an invention of this cycle of human beings, but of a prehistoric culture, left behind after going through a remote past. We can find an exposition of some viewpoints in Buddhist scriptures. Sakyamuni said in his life time that he had completed his cultivation and found the Way some billions of kalpas before. How many years is one kalpa? One kalpa means some billions of years. Such a huge figure is simply unimaginable. If this is true, doesn't it tally with the human history and the evolution of the earth? Sakyamuni also said that there had been six Buddhas of the primeval age previous to him, and he had had his own masters, all of whom had found the Way in cultivation some billions of kalpas before. If all this is true, are there such cultivation ways as those genuine Orthodox and true qigong we teach in society nowadays? If I answer this question, of course I'll say yes, but not many. At present, sham qigong and fake qigong masters and those spirit possessed have casually invented some things to deceive the public. These qigong outnumber genuine qigong so many times that it is hard to tell the genuine from the fake. It is not so easy to identify genuine qigong and it is not easy to find one as well.
As a matter of fact, not only qigong was left behind from the remote past, but Taiji, Hetu, Luoshu, Zhouyi (Book of Changes) and the Eight Diagrams, etc. are all prehistoric as well. So, if today we make a study of and come to understand them from the viewpoint of ordinary people, we will get nowhere in doing so. At the level of ordinary people, from the angle of ordinary people and in the realm of awareness of ordinary people, we will not be able to become acquainted with what is true.
Qigong Is Cultivation
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Now that qigong has such a remote history, then what on earth is it used for? Let me tell you. Ours is a great cultivation Law of the Buddha School, naturally cultivating the Buddha, while Tao School naturally cultivates the Tao (the Way) and finds the Tao. I'd like to tell you, this "Fo (Buddha)" is not superstition. This "Fo" ( ) is Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. There were actually two words which were introduced to China at that time, called "Fo Tuo". And there was also a translation as "Fu Tu". Having translated this way or that, we Chinese left out one word and called it "Fo". What does it mean when it is translated into Chinese then? It means the enlightened ( ), the enlightened person through cultivation. Where on earth is there any superstitious colouring here?
Now, come to think about it. Cultivation may be able to bring out supernatural powers. At present, there are six supernormal capabilities which have generally been recognized in the world, but there are more than these, and I should say there are no less than ten thousand real supernormal capabilities. A person sitting there, without moving his hands or feet, may be able to do what others cannot do even by hands and feet; he is able to perceive the true reasoning of all different spaces, see the naked truth of the universe, and see what is invisible to ordinary people. Isn't he a cultivator who has found the Tao? Isn't he a great enlightened one? Can he be regarded as the same as an ordinary person? Isn't he a person who has become enlightened through cultivation? Isn't it right to call him the enlightened one? It is translated into the ancient Indian language as "Fo". This is a matter of fact and this is what qigong is used for.
When it comes to qigong, some people would say, "Who will practise qigong if he is not ill?", which implies that qigong is used to heal diseases. This is a very superficial understanding of it, extremely superficial. For this, these people can not be blamed, for many qigong masters all do the same thing of curing diseases and building up health, all teaching curing diseases for better health. None of them has ever told about high level cultivation. I do not mean that their cultivation systems are not good, but that their mission is to teach what is at the level of curing diseases for better health and to popularize qigong. Quite a lot of people want to go up to a higher level cultivation. They have such a thought and such a wish but they do not know how to cultivate themselves. As a result, they have caused many difficulties for themselves, and many problems have arisen as well. Of course, genuinely teaching qigong in a high dimension deals with what is quite high. So, out of my responsibility to society and people, we have received good results during the whole course of teaching the Gong. It is true that some of what I said is very high. It sounded superstitious. However, we tried our best to explain it with the help of modern science.
There are certain things which someone will say are superstitious whenever we talk about them. Why? His criterion means what science has not yet acknowledged, or what he himself has not experienced, and what he considers to be impossible to exist, he believes, are all superstitious, all idealistic. This is his conception. Is this conception right? Can we say what science has not yet acknowledged and what science is not advanced enough to explain are superstitious and are idealistic? Isn't he himself trying to practise superstition? And practise idealism? If based on this conception, can science develop and advance? Human society will not be able to be pushed forward, either. All inventions in the field of science and technology are all what did not exist previously. If we looked on all of them as being superstitious, there would be no need to develop them, of course. Qigong is not something idealistic. As many people do not understand what it is, they always think of it as idealistic. Having tested qigong masters with some instruments, we found in their bodies infrasonic sound waves, supersonic waves, electromagnetic waves, infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, ( rays, neutrons, atoms, trace elements of metal, etc.. Aren't they all what is material existence? They are also matter. Aren't all things composed of matter? Aren't other timespaces composed of matter? How can we say they are superstitious? Since qigong is used to cultivate the Buddha, it will naturally involve many high and profound issues, all of which we are going to talk about.
Since qigong is used for this purpose, why do we call it qigong? In fact, it was not called qigong, but what was it called then? It was called cultivation, and it is cultivation indeed. Of course, it had other specific names, but it was called cultivation as a whole. Why is it called qigong? As we all know, qigong has been popular in society for more than 20 years in history, beginning in the middle of "the Great Cultural Revolution" and reaching its climax in the later years of it. Let's come to think about it. At that time, the ultra-left trend of thought went rampant. We did not teach it with its names from prehistoric culture, because, in the progress of this cycle of human civilization, and after going through feudal society, qigong often took names with strong feudal colouring. Those related to the religions often have names with strong religious colouring, e.g. something like "the Great Cultivation Way of Tao ", "the Dhyana of Vajra", "the Way of Arhat", "the Great Cultivation Way of Buddha Dharma" and "Ninefold Internal Alchemy". They all say the same thing. If you had used these names during "the Cultural Revolution", you would have been criticized and denounced. Their wish of popularizing qigong was good ( to help the broad masses to remove diseases and help them to keep fit, and raise the quality of their health. How good this was, but they could not use or dared not use these names. So, in order to popularize qigong, many qigong masters quoted two characters, called qigong, out of the context of the texts of Internal Alchemy and Tao Tsang. Some people even make a study of the word qigong, which surely has nothing to study, for it was called cultivation in the past. Qigong is no more than a new term given to conform to the ideology of modern people.
Why Doesn't Your Cultivation Energy Increase When You Do Cultivation?
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Why doesn't your cultivation energy increase when you do cultivation? Quite a lot of people think this way: I have not received any genuine teachings for my cultivation. If a certain teacher teaches me some unique skills, and some super hand skills, my cultivation energy will go up. Now 95% of the people share the same opinion. I find this rather funny. Why? Because qigong is not mastery of a skill used in ordinary people, but it is something entirely supernormal, therefore it must be measured by the Law at the high level. I'd like to tell you all the basic reason why your cultivation energy can not go up. Of the two words "cultivation, practice", people only pay attention to "practice" rather than "cultivation". If you go searching outside yourself, you will never achieve anything. How can you imagine transforming high energy substances into cultivation energy with an ordinary human body, ordinary human hands and an ordinary mind? How can your cultivation energy go up this way? This is by no means easy. It seems a joke to me. This is as good as going searching outside yourself, seeking after something outside yourself. You will never find anything.
This is unlike what is mastery of a certain skill by our ordinary people, which you can learn and manage to learn well by paying some money. This is not true, but is beyond what is at the level of ordinary people. So you should be required to act on the supernormal Law. How? You should only go cultivating inside yourself, but can not go searching outside yourself. How many people all go searching outside themselves, looking for this today, and that tomorrow. And they are also obsessed with seeking after supernormal capabilities. They have various purposes. Some people even want to become qigong masters, treating diseases to make a fortune. However, true cultivation entails the cultivation of your heart, which is called the cultivation of Xinxing . For instance, in a person-to-person contradiction between people, you should care less about the seven emotions and the six sensory pleasures, and various desires. It is by no means easy for you to want to increase cultivation energy when you are competing and contending with others for your own personal interests. Aren't you doing the same as ordinary people? How can you increase cultivation energy? So, you should pay attention to the cultivation of Xinxing. In this way, your cultivation energy can go up and cultivation attainment can rise to a higher dimension.
What is Xinxing ( )? It covers many aspects of things, including De ( virtues, a kind of matter), Ren (forbearance), awakening quality, giving, giving up all kinds of desires and all kinds of attachments which are common to ordinary people, and the ability to bear hardships. Only when every aspect of your Xinxing has been improved, can you really go up. This is one of the key causes of strengthening your energy potency.
Some people are thinking: The issue of Xinxing you have talked about belongs to what concerns the field of ideology, concerns the realm of awareness, but it is not the same thing as the Gong we practise. Why is it not the same thing? In the field of ideology throughout the ages, there have always been discussions and arguments over the question: Which comes first, matter or spirit? I can tell you that, in truth, they are the same. When doing research on the science of human bodies, scientists now believe that the thoughts the brain gives out are exactly matter. While it is something material, isn't it also something spiritual then? Are matter and spirit identical? The same is true of the cosmos I have talked about, which exists in the form of matter, and exists with its fundamental qualities at the same time. Of the fundamental qualities, Zhen Shan Ren of the cosmos, ordinary people cannot feel their existence because they stay on the plane of this one dimension as a whole. If you go beyond the dimension of ordinary people, you will be able to feel them. How? All matter in the universe, including all matter filling the whole universe, are entities of intelligence. They all can think, and they are all existing forms of the cosmic Law in various dimensions. They do not allow you to rise to a higher dimension, and even if you want to go up, you just cannot because they do not allow you to. Why not? Because your Xinxing is not good enough for that. As each dimension has a different standard, if you want to raise your dimension, you will have to give up your bad thinking and empty your mind of all things dirty and filthy, and assimilate yourself to the standard required of that dimension. Only in this way, can you ascend.
With the improvement of your Xinxing, there will definitely come a fundamental change in your body. With the betterment of your Xinxing, there will surely occur a change of the substances that make up your body. What change? You will let go of those bad things which you are after and obsessed with. For example, a bottle is filled with dirty things and is fastened up tightly with its lid. When thrown into the water, it will sink to the bottom at once. Now you empty it of the dirty things. The more you empty them, the higher the bottle will rise. When you have emptied all of them, it will rise to the surface of the water completely. In the course of cultivation, you are required to empty your body of all kinds of bad things in order to enable yourself to ascend to higher dimensions. The fundamental qualities of this cosmos just play such a role. If you do not cultivate your Xinxing, do not raise your moral standard, do not let go of your bad thoughts, bad substances, they will not allow you to ascend to a higher dimension. Then, how can we say that matter and spirit are not identical? Let's illustrate it with a joke. If a man is allowed to ascend to the status of a Buddha with seven human emotions and six desires found in an ordinary person, just imagine, is this possible? Maybe an evil thought would be born into his mind when he had seen a senior Bodhisattva so beautiful, or he would fall into a contradiction with Buddhas because of the jealousy he has not given up. How can such a thing be allowed to exist? What should you do then? You should get rid of all kinds of bad thoughts you have as an ordinary person completely. Only in this way, will you be able to ascend to a higher dimension.
That is to say, you should pay attention to the cultivation of Xinxing and cultivate yourself according to the cosmic qualities, Zhen Shan Ren, doing away with your desires, the mind with ill intentions and the thoughts to do bad as an ordinary person. With a little bit improvement of your ideological level, some of the bad substances in your body are already gone. Meanwhile, you will have to endure some hardships and suffer a little to remove some of your karma, and thus you will be able to ascend a little. That is to say, the cosmic qualities will remove some restrictions from you. Cultivation is your own business, while the evolution of cultivation energy is done by your master. Your master has provided you with a kind of energy which can increase cultivation energy. This energy will function when it can transform the substance, De (virtues), into cultivation energy outside your body. As you increasingly improve yourself and go up in cultivation, your energy pillar grows higher at the same time. As a cultivator, you should cultivate yourself and steel yourself in the environment of ordinary people, and get rid of your attachments and various desires gradually. What we human beings often consider to be good is usually regarded as bad when seen from the high dimension. So we say, the more personal interests one has gained in ordinary people, the better he lives, the worse he has become in the eyes of the great enlightened, but ordinary people count these good. How bad is he then? The more he gains, the more he hurts others because he has obtained what he should not. And he will give much attention to wealth and fame, and therefore will lose De. If you want to increase cultivation energy, but pay no attention to the cultivation of Xinxing, you will never increase your cultivation energy at all.
The world of cultivation believes that one's Yuanshen (True Spirit) is immortal. In the past, if you had talked about one's true spirit, people would have probably said you were superstitious. As we all know, physics deals with our human body, which includes molecules, protons, and electrons, further down to quarks and neutrinos, etc. through studies. They are beyond the visibility of a microscope at this stage. However, this is still too far away from the origin of life, the origin of matter. We all know that in the atomic nuclear fission, there has to be a great amount of energy collision and considerably huge heat is needed to enable the atoms to split and cause nuclear fission. When one is dying, how can the atomic nuclei in his body die off, easily? So we have found that a person died when the biggest molecular components of the layer, just staying in our space had fallen off, while his bodies in other spaces are not destroyed. Let's imagine what a human body looks like through a microscope. The whole human body is moving. Even when you are sitting there still, your whole body is moving. Molecular cells are moving and the whole body is loosely arranged as if composed of sand. Such is what a human body looks like through a microscope, completely different from the human body we see with our eyes. This is because this pair of human eyes can create false impressions for you, prevent you from seeing such things. The Celestial Eye, if opened, can see things by enlarging them, as was originally an innate capability of a human being, but it is now called supernatural power. If you want to bring out the supernatural powers, you should return to the origin and go back to the truth, cultivate yourself backward.
Now let me say something about these De (virtues). What exactly is the interlocking relationship between them? I would like to analyze this. A human being has his one body in each of all the many spaces. The biggest components of a human body we can see now, are cells, which comprise our human physical body. If you get into the area between the cells and molecules, between the molecules, you will find yourself having already entered into another space. What does the existing form of that body look like? You certainly cannot understand this with the interpretation of the concept used in this space we have now, for your body has to assimilate to the requirements of the existing form of that kind of space. Of course the body in another space can become bigger or smaller, and then you will find that is another incomparably vast space, too. This is what we mean by a kind of simple form of the existence of another space, which exists at the same place and at the same time. A person has a specific body in each of many other spaces, and in a specific space, there exists a kind of field around the human body. What field? This field is exactly what we mean by De. De is a white substance, but unlike what we thought of in the past as something spiritual of a person, something ideological, it is fully a kind of material existence. So, old people used to talk about accumulating De, or losing De, and what they said was absolutely right. These De form a field around the human body. In the past, what the Tao School did was that a master looked for his disciples, but the disciple did not look for his master. What does it mean? The master just wanted to see whether this disciple was carrying a large proportion of De around his body. If so, it would be easy for him to do cultivation, otherwise it would be difficult for him to do so and attain high achievements.
With this there also coexists a black substance, which we call karma here, and which is called bad karma in Buddhism. White substance and black substance, both substances coexist. What is the relationship between these two substances? The substance De is achieved after we have endured hardships, suffered setbacks or done good deeds, while the black substance is received after we have done bad, done wrong or bullied others. Nowadays some people not only are bent solely on profit, but also stop at nothing in doing evil. They commit all manner of crimes for money, killing and framing innocent people, redeeming lives with money, practising homosexuality, taking drugs among many other things. When one does bad, he will lose De. How does he lose it? When this person is swearing at the other one, he feels he has taken the advantage of the other one because he has given vent to this anger. However, there is a law in this universe called: No Loss, No Gain. If you gain, you will lose. If you do not want to lose, you will be forced to. Who is in charge of this? It is the cosmic qualities who are in charge, and therefore you are not allowed just to think of gain. How do they do this? When the person is swearing at or bullying the other, he is throwing his De over to the other, while the other is wronged, suffers loss and endures pain, so he will be compensated for all this. Now the person is swearing at the other. As he is doing so, a piece of De is flying off his own field of space and falling onto the body of the other person. The more he swears, the more De he will give the other. The same is also true of beating or humiliating others. Now one punches the other or kicks the other. How much De has fallen onto the other person depends on how heavily he has beaten the other as he is doing so. Not being able to see this law, an ordinary person thinks he is bullied, but cannot tolerate. Now that you have punched me, I'll punch you in return. "Pa" he strikes the person back with a fist, pushing this De back to the person. Neither of them has lost or gained. The other one may think, "You have dealt me one blow, I'll deal you two; otherwise I cannot give vent to my anger." So he has dealt the person one more blow, and another piece of De has flied off his own body and has been given to the person.
Why do we attach so much importance to this De (virtues)? What kind of relationship exist for De to be transformed? The religion teaches, if one has these virtues, he will gain in the next life, if not in this life. What does he gain? If he has lots of virtues, he will probably become a high official, make great fortunes, will be able to get what he wants, all of which are exchanged for virtues. The religion also teaches, if a person has run out of virtues, he will fall into perdition of both body and soul. His Yuanshen (True Spirit) will be destroyed, and all of him will die with nothing left after he dies. But we, the world of cultivation, mean that De (virtues) can be evolved into cultivation energy directly.
Now I am going to say how De is evolved into cultivation energy. In the world of cultivation, there is such a saying called "Cultivation is one's own business, while the evolution of cultivation energy is done by one's master." However, some people teach placing a crucible onto a furnace to make elixir of immortality with the gathered medical substances, and intention, because they think these are very important. But I'd like to tell you that they are not at all important. If you think much about them, you will have an attachment. If you attach much weight to them, aren't you seeking after them? Cultivation is your own business, while the evolution of cultivation energy is done by your master. It is enough for you to have this wish. It is your master who really does this for you, and it is entirely impossible for you to do this. Will you be able to evolve that kind of entity of intelligence composed of these high energy substances with an ordinary human body? It is out of the question. It is all a joke talking about this. The evolution process of the human body in another space is quite miraculous and abstruse, and very complex, and is utterly beyond your capability.
What will your master give you? He will give you the energy which can be used to increase cultivation energy. As De stay outside the human body, it is the De that give birth to one's real cultivation energy. It is all the De that give rise to the height of one's level of attainment, the strength of his energy potency. Your master evolves your De into cultivation energy, which grows in an upward spiral. The cultivation energy which truly decides one's level of attainment grows outside one's body and forms an energy pillar after growing spirally to the top of one's head in the end. Seeing how high a person's energy pillar is, we can tell how high his attainment of cultivation energy is. This is truly his level of attainment, the achievement status Buddhism refers to. While some people are sitting in practice, their Yuanshen (True Spirit) can leave their bodies, rising high into the sky all at once, further upward, and then cannot and dare not ascend any further. They are ascending by sitting on their own energy pillar, and therefore they can only ascend that high. Because their energy pillar is that high and they cannot ascend any further. This is what Buddhism teaches about achievement status.
There is another yardstick used to measure how high one's Xinxing is. The yardstick and the energy pillar do not stay in the same space, but they exist at the same time. If you have improved your Xinxing in cultivation, for example, among ordinary people you do not utter a word but feel completely at ease when somebody shouts an abuse at you; you do not say a word but laugh it off when somebody deals you one blow with a fist. You have already shown very high Xinxing. Now that you are a cultivator, what should you gain then? Don't you gain cultivation energy? As your Xinxing goes up, your cultivation energy is growing. How high your attainment of cultivation energy is depends on how high your Xinxing is. This is an absolute truth. Some people in the past practised qigong hard and quite well either in the park or at home, and they were pretty sincere. However, once they went out, they were no longer cultivators, doing whatever they liked, competing with others and striving for fame and wealth with ordinary people. How can their cultivation energy grow? Not at all. This is also the reason why they cannot get well from their diseases. Why haven't some people recovered from their diseases after a long time of practice of qigong? Qigong is cultivation, something supernormal, not physical exercise done by ordinary people. So, only by paying great attention to Xinxing can they recover from their diseases or increase their cultivation energy.
Some people believe that this elixir of immortality in placing a crucible onto a furnace to make the elixir of immortality with the gathered medicinal substances is exactly the cultivation energy, but it is not. This elixir of immortality contains only part of the energy, but not all of it. What is the elixir of immortality then? As we all know, we still have another part which is used to cultivate life, our bodies will also turn out supernormal capabilities and the numerous magic arts, most of which are locked up and not allowed to be used. There are many supernormal capabilities, ten thousand kinds of them. As soon as one has taken form, it is locked up. Why do they not come out? The purpose is that you will not be allowed to use them to do what you want to in ordinary human society, that you cannot interfere in it as you like, and that you cannot show off your abilities in it at will, because they will interfere with the state of ordinary human society. There are a lot of people who are cultivating themselves while becoming enlightened. If they made all their abilities appear, seeing that they are all true, then all people would come for cultivation, even those who are unpardonably wicked would also come along. This will not be allowed to happen. Therefore you are not allowed to show off this way. Besides, you are liable to do bad, for you cannot see the causational relationship of the matter and the root cause of it. You think you do something good, but maybe you do something bad, and therefore you are not allowed to use these supernormal capabilities. Once you do bad, you will drop down off your dimension, and all your cultivation will be in vain. So many supernormal capabilities are locked up. What will you do then? By the time you have opened your cultivation energy and become enlightened, this elixir of immortality will serve as a bomb, blowing up all the supernormal capabilities, all the locks and the acupuncture points in your body. With a shocking "Pa", all are blown up. This is what the elixir of immortality is used for. When a monk is cremated after death, there are usually relics left, which some people say are bones and teeth. But why has an ordinary person not got them? This is exactly the elixir of immortality, which has exploded, and its energy has released. It itself contains plenty of substances from other spaces. It is also something of material existence after all, but it is useless. People nowadays regard them as something very valuable because they are glossy, energy possessing and very hard. This is the very elixir.
There is another reason for failing to increase cultivation energy. Because you do not know the Law existing in the high dimension, you will not be able to go up in cultivation. What does this mean? As I have just said some people have practised many kinds of qigong exercise. I'd like to tell you that it is no use their learning many more than this, and that they are only primary school pupils, in terms of cultivation, because what they have learned all belongs to the principles guiding elementary levels. The principles applied to such low levels cannot guide them up to high dimensional cultivation. If you are learning primary school textbooks at college, you are still a primary school pupil. It is no use learning more, and the result will be still worse. The Law varies from dimension to dimension. It differs in the role it plays guiding a different dimension, and therefore the principles applied to the low levels cannot guide you up to high dimensional cultivation. What we are going to expound to you from now on is all about the principles guiding high dimensional cultivation. I am combining my talk with what exists in different dimensions, which, as a result, will always serve as guidance for your cultivation from now on. I have got several books, magnetic tapes and video tapes. You will find in them that after you have read or listened to them once, when you read or watch or listen to them again after a while, they are sure to still serve as your guide. As you are increasingly improving yourself, they will continuously give you guidance. This is the Law. The above are the two reasons why one does not increase cultivation energy when he does cultivation. He does not know how to cultivate himself because he does not know the Law guiding high dimensional cultivation. He does not increase cultivation energy because he fails to cultivate inside himself and fails to cultivate his Xinxing. These are the two reasons.
Characteristics of Falun Dafa
( )
Our Falun Dafa ( ) is one of the 84000 Law cultivation schools. It has never been made public and taught in the history of this cycle of human civilization. But it was popularized to offer salvation to people during a prehistoric period of time. Now I have brought it into the open once again during the last days of Last Havoc. Therefore it is extremely precious. I have explained such a process in which De (virtues) are directly transformed into cultivation energy. It is actually acquired through cultivation rather than through practice. Many people pursue cultivation energy by only paying attention to practice instead of cultivation. In fact, cultivation energy is achieved only by cultivating Xinxing. But why do we here also teach people how to practise the exercise then? First I'd like to say why monks do not practise the exercise. They can increase cultivation energy, the cultivation energy which determines their level of attainment, mainly by sitting in meditation, chanting scriptures and cultivating their Xinxing. Because Sakyamuni taught giving up everything in the world including Benti ( the True Being), physical movements were unnecessary. As the Tao School does not teach offering salvation to all sentient beings, they do not have to face people of all kinds, such as people who are from different levels, with various mentalities, some of whom may be very selfish, and others may be not. They select their disciples, and find three, only one of whom is to receive true teachings. He is destined to have very high virtues, to be good and to come with no problems. So the master emphatically teaches him hand movements in order to cultivate his life, for some hand movements are needed to cultivate supernatural powers and other magic skills.
Falun Dafa is also a cultivation way with an integrated cultivation of both human nature and life, and therefore it has some movements to practise. On the one hand, movements are used to strengthen supernormal capabilities. What is strengthening? Use your strong energy potency to make your supernormal capabilities strong, causing them to get stronger and stronger. On the other hand, there will also be evolved many living entities in your body. Arriving at high level cultivation, the Tao School tells that Yuanying (the Immortal Infant) comes into the world while the Buddha School refers to a Vajra's indestructible body, and numerous magic skills will be evolved as well. All these things will be practised and evolved by hand movements, in other words, movements are used to cultivate all this. An integrated set of the cultivation way cultivating both human nature and life, requires both cultivation and practice. Now I believe all of you have come to understand how cultivation energy has come into being. The cultivation energy which really determines your level of attainment is not at all achieved by practice, but by cultivation. It is in the course of your cultivation and among ordinary people that you have improved your Xinxing, and assimilated yourself to the cosmic qualities, which no longer restrict you, and thus you will be able to ascend to the high dimension. The De will begin to be evolved into cultivation energy, and with the betterment of your Xinxing, your cultivation energy will naturally grow. Such is the relationship between them.
Our cultivation system belongs to the cultivation ways which genuinely cultivate both human nature and life concurrently. The cultivation energy that we cultivate, the cultivation energy composed of such high energy substances, is stored in every cell of the body, all the way into the particle components of the origin of substances existing in the extremely microcosmic state. With the growth of your energy potency, its density increases, and its might intensifies. Such high energy substances are intelligent. They are stored in every cell of the human body and all the way into the origin of life. As time passes, they will fall into the one formation with the cells in your body; the same as the order of molecular arrangement, and the same as the formation of all atomic nuclei. But a fundamental change has taken place, or rather your body is no longer the kind of body composed of the original physical cells. Are you out of Wuxing (the Five Elements)? Of course your cultivation is not over yet, and you will continue with your cultivation among ordinary people. So you look like an ordinary person from your appearance. The only difference is that you look much younger than the people of your age. Naturally, first of all, we should remove the bad things from your body, including diseases. However, we do not treat diseases here, instead, we will clean up your body. We do not use the term treating diseases, but call this cleaning up the body. We clean up the body for those who really cultivate themselves. Some people have come here to cure diseases. As for those who are seriously ill, we do not allow them to come to the lectures because they cannot let go of their obsession with treating their diseases, they cannot stop thinking that they are ill. If they are seriously ill and suffering great pain, can they stop thinking that they are ill? They cannot go into cultivation this way. We have stressed again and again that we cannot permit those who are seriously ill to come in, as we are here for cultivation, which is a far cry from what they have in mind. They might as well find some other qigong masters to do this for them. Nevertheless, we have many students who are ill, and we are going to deal with this for them because they are genuine cultivators.
Students of our Falun Dafa will take on a complete new look in their appearance after a period of time in cultivation. The skin is becoming delicate and smooth, and white, glowing with health. The wrinkles on the faces of the aged will become fewer, and even very few. This is a common phenomenon. I am not here telling you something quite impossible. Many of the old students here understand what I have said. What's more, the old women will even regain their menstrual period because the cultivation ways which cultivate both human nature and life concurrently need the menses to cultivate life. At the present stage, there will be a little bit menstrual flow, but not much, just enough to cultivate life. This phenomenon is also quite popular, otherwise, how can you cultivate your life without it? The same is true of men. The old and the young all will feel light all over. Those who really cultivate themselves will feel this change.
Our cultivation system cultivates in quite a big way unlike many other systems which imitate the movements of animals. This cultivation system cultivates simply in so enormous a manner. The principles Sakyamuni and Laozi taught in their life time were confined to the principles guiding our Galaxy. What does our Falun Dafa cultivate? We do our cultivation according to the evolutionary theory of the universe. We take the criterion of the supreme cosmic qualities Zhen Shan Ren as our guidance in cultivation. We cultivate such a big thing, the same as the cultivation of the universe.
Our Falun Dafa has another extremely distinctive and unique characteristic completely different from all the other forms of qigong. All the qigong forms which are popular in society nowadays all belong to the cultivation of the Internal Alchemy, the refinement of the elixir of immortality. It is very hard for such qigong forms to serve the purpose of opening cultivation energy and becoming enlightened among ordinary people. Our Falun Dafa cultivates a Falun at the place of one's lower abdomen rather than going into the Internal Alchemy. In class, I'll plant it into my students' bodies by myself. While lecturing on Falun Dafa, I'll plant Falun into your bodies in succession. Some can feel it, others cannot, but most of you can have the sensation due to different human physical qualities. We cultivate Falun rather than refine the elixir of immortality. Falun is the miniature of the cosmos, having all the supernormal capabilities of the cosmos. It has the ability to turn round and rotate automatically. Once it is planted into your body, it will always rotate at your lower abdomen, and will rotate like this all the year round, and will never stop. When turning clockwise, it will automatically absorb energy from the cosmos, and it will also evolve energy by itself to supply the energy needed to evolve all the different parts of your body. Meanwhile, when turning counter clockwise, it will release energy to deliver waste matter out of your body afterwards, and disperse around your body. When it is releasing energy, Falun will deliver the energy very far, and then will bring in new energy. The energy it releases will benefit all the people around your body. The Buddha School teaches self-salvation and salvation to others, salvation to all sentient beings. They not only cultivate themselves, but also offer salvation to all sentient beings. In this way others will benefit from them, for they can accidentally regulate the bodies of other people and treat diseases, etc.. Of course, the energy will not get lost. When Falun is turning clockwise, it will collect the energy back to itself, because it rotates constantly and incessantly.
Some people may wonder: Why does this Falun rotate constantly and incessantly? Still some people asked me, "Why will it turn? What is the working principle? It is easy to understand that more energy collected can form the elixir of immortality, but it is hard to imagine the revolution of Falun." I am going to take an example. The cosmos is moving. All the Milky Way system, and all the other galaxies are moving in the cosmos, the nine great planets are revolving around the sun, and the earth is still rotating itself. Let's think about it. Who is pushing them? Who is putting more force to them? You cannot try to interpret it with the concept which applies to ordinary people, for it truly has its own mechanism of revolution, and the same is also true of our Falun, which turns round as it does. It solves the problem of practice done by ordinary people under the circumstances of normal life, and increases the time for practice. How does it do so? Because it never stops revolving and absorbing energy from the universe and then revolving it incessantly. When you are at work, it practises you. Of course, not only Falun, but also the numerous functions and mechanisms we are going to plant into your body, which will turn round and evolve automatically all along with Falun. That is to say, this cultivation system all evolves the practitioner totally and automatically, and in this way there occurs a kind of "Gong cultivating the practitioner", also called "the Law cultivating the practitioner". While you are not practising, Gong is practising you. While you are practising, Gong is also practising you. When you are eating, sleeping or at work, you are being evolved by Gong. What do you practise for then? You practise in order to strengthen Falun as well as all the functions and mechanisms I have planted into your body. In the high dimension cultivation, we do active no action, do movements along with mechanism as well without any intention to guide you, and we do not do breathing, etc..
We do not consider the time and place necessary for practice. Some people asked, "When is the best time for practice, midnight, dawn or noon?" We do not pay attention to the time necessary for practice. If you did not practise at midnight from 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Gong was cultivating you then. If you did not practise at dawn, Gong was cultivating you at that time. While you are sleeping, Gong is also cultivating you. While you are walking, Gong is cultivating you as well. When you are at work, Gong is still cultivating you. Does not this shorten your time for practice considerably? Many of you cherish a sincerity of truly finding Tao, which is, of course, the purpose for cultivation because the ultimate goal for cultivation is exactly to find the Way and reach the consummation. For some people, the time left for them in their life is quite limited, and may be not enough for cultivation, but our Falun Dafa can solve such a problem by shortening the course of cultivation. Moreover, it is a system cultivating both nature and life. As you continue with your cultivation, your life will be prolonged. You continue with cultivation and your life is prolonged so that the time for cultivation will also be enough for you, who have good inborn qualities but are getting on in years. However, there is a principle that the life beyond your destiny, beyond your allotted original span of life, i.e. the life prolonged hereafter is all rearranged for you to cultivate. So the least deviation of your thinking will surely incur danger to your life, for your natural span of life has already been over long before unless you have gone beyond the cultivation of Shi Jian Fa (the In-Triple-World-Law). By then you will get into another state of affairs, and will be out of this control.
Our system has no consideration of direction in which you should practise or the way you end up your practice because Falun revolves constantly and never stops. When there is a telephone call or somebody knocks at the door, you may simply go and do these things without the necessity of winding up your practice. When you go and begin work, Falun will immediately turn clockwise and take back the energy emitted out of your body. No matter how much effort you make when artificially holding qi in both hands and filling it through the top of your head, qi will lose. As Falun is an intelligent entity, it knows itself it should do all this. We do not consider direction either, for the whole cosmos is revolving, so is the Milky Way system. The nine planets are turning round the sun and the earth itself is rotating. We cultivate ourselves according to the Law which is as enormous as the universe. Which direction is the North, South, East or West? No direction. No matter which direction we are facing when practising, we are facing all the directions. No matter which direction we are facing, we are as good as facing the North, South, East and West simultaneously. Our Falun Dafa will protect our students from going wrong. How can it do so? Our Falun will protect you if you regard yourself as a genuine cultivator. Since I am rooted into the cosmos, whoever can challenge you can challenge me, and to be frank, can challenge the cosmos. This sounds inconceivable, but you will understand what I mean if you continue with your cultivation. There are things too profound among some others, which I cannot tell you. We will systematically expound the Law governing high dimensions from the simple to the profound. However, if you harbour evil intentions, seeking after something, you will inevitably get into trouble, and therefore you are not allowed to do so.
I find that the Falun of many of our old students are, somehow, out of shape. Why? This is because they cultivate by mingling what belongs to the other schools with ours, and because they have accepted what belongs to others. Then why does Falun not protect them? Because it has been given to them, it belongs to them and is under the control of their own thinking. Nobody will take care of what you want. This is the Law of this universe. If you do not feel like going on with your cultivation, nobody can force you to, otherwise he as good as does evil. Who can make you change your mind? You should make demands of yourself. You practise this qigong today and that one tomorrow, learning the strong points from all schools and accepting things of all others for the purpose of removing diseases. Did you manage to do so? No, you did not. Your diseases have been put off until later. For the high dimensional cultivation, we teach the importance of being constant in one cultivation system. Whatever school you have decided to cultivate, you should concentrate on and put your heart into it until you have opened your cultivation energy and become enlightened in this school. Then you can change over to another cultivation system, which is a different set of things to cultivate. Because an integrated system of things which has truly passed on, was left behind after going through a considerably long period of time of the remote past, and has undergone quite a complex process of evolution. Some people practise by virtue of their sensation.
What is their sensation? It is nothing at all. The process of real evolution goes on in another space, which is devastatingly complex and marvelous, without a tolerance of a single error, just like a precision instrument, which will immediately go wrong if you put into it a part from another instrument. Your bodies in all the different spaces are taking changes, devastatingly abstruse and marvelous, and no tolerance of error is allowed. As I have told you, cultivation is your own business while the evolution of cultivation energy is done by your master. If you accept things from other people casually and add them to what you cultivate, the messages from the others will interfere in what you have in this school, and you will become deviant. Moreover, this will be felt in ordinary human society, and will bring trouble to yourself as an ordinary person. However, others cannot help because this is what you want yourself. So this is a question of your ability of comprehension. Besides, what you have added to your cultivation has already made a mess of your cultivation energy, and therefore there will arise such a problem that you cannot continue with your cultivation any more. But I do not want you to learn only Falun Dafa by all means, either. If you do not learn [[Falun Dafa\\ because you have received true teachings from some other cultivation systems, I also approve of this. But I'd like to tell you that you must be consistent in your cultivation system if you really want to reach the high dimensional cultivation. In addition, I have one more point to make to you. At present, there is not another person who really teaches qigong in the high dimension like me. Later you will realize what I have done for you, and therefore I hope you should not have such a poor awakening quality. Many of you want to reach the high dimensional cultivation but you may not realize what it is when it is presented to you already. Even if you go and take many people as your masters, and spend so much money, you will not be able to find it. Today when it is offered to you, you may not yet realize what it is. This is a question of whether or not you want to be enlightened, and this is a question of whether or not you can be saved.
Lecture Two
Issue of the Celestial Eye
Many qigong masters have mentioned something about the Celestial Eye. However, the Law differs in manifestations from dimension to dimension. A cultivator of a particular attainment level can only see the scenes on that level. He cannot see or believe the truth beyond that level. Therefore, he only believes what he has seen on his own level. When he has not gone up to such a high level of cultivation, he would think those things do not exist and are incredible. This is determined by his attainment level, and therefore his mentality will not be able to ascend. That is to say, about the issue of the Celestial Eye, some people talk this way, others that way. As a result, they have talked it into a mess, and nobody has given it a clear explanation. As a matter of fact, this [[Celestial] Eye]] cannot be explained clearly on the low level. As a top secret in the past, the structure of the Celestial Eye has never been revealed to ordinary people, and nobody has ever mentioned it. Here, we are not going to dwell on that theory of the past but explain it with modern science in the most simple and plain modern language, presenting its fundamental issues.
What we call the Celestial Eye actually lies in the area from a place a little above the point between the eyebrows to the pineal body, which is the main channel of the Celestial Eye. There are numerous eyes in the human body. The Tao School says that each qiao (aperture), which is called an acupoint in traditional Chinese medicine, is an eye. The Buddha School claims that every pore is an eye. Therefore, some can read with the ear. Others can see with the hand or the back of the head. Still others can see with the foot or the belly.
To talk about the Celestial Eye, at first, we are going to say a few words about our physical eyes. Now some people believe that the physical eyes can see any substance or any object in this world of ours. Therefore, they fall into a rigid notion, believing that what is seen through the eyes is true and real, and they do not believe what they cannot see. People of this sort have been thought to have a poor awakening quality. Some people do not understand why they have such a poor awakening quality. It sounds quite reasonable that not seeing is not believing. However, to look at the issue on a slightly higher level, you will find this unreasonable. Every timespace is composed of matter. Of course, the material structure differs and the various manifestations of living beings differ from timespace to timespace.
I would like to give you an example: Buddhism presents the idea that all the phenomena of human society are illusions (maya), and not solid. How can they be illusory? Those objects are so real and tangible. How can you say that they are false? In fact, the existing form of an object is different from its manifestations, but our eyes have the capacity to stabilize the object in our physical space into the state we have now seen. Actually, it is not in such a state, not even in this space of ours. For example, what does the human body look like under a microscope? You will find the whole body is made up of loose and moving molecules, which are like grains of sand, small and roundish, with electrons moving around the atomic nuclei. The whole body is wriggling and moving. And the surface of the body is not smooth or regular. Any object in the universe, steel, iron or stone, is all the same, as the molecular composition in it is in motion and the whole formation is invisible to you. It is actually unstable. This table is also wriggling, but our eyes cannot see the truth. They can only give us a delusion.
It is not that we are unable to see something microscopic. It is not that man does not have this ability. In fact, man is endowed by nature with such an ability and is able to see things microscopic. It is just because of the eyes we have in this physical space that we have a false impression, and therefore we cannot see them. So, it is believed in the world of cultivation that people who do not believe what they cannot see have a poor quality of comprehension because they are misled by ordinary people's wrong views and are lost among ordinary people. This is a view which has been taught in the religions, and we actually find there is some truth in it.
The eyes have no other great abilities except that they can stabilize the things we have in the physical space into such a state. When one sees something, the image of the object does not form in the eyes directly. The eyes, which are like a camera lens, only serve as a tool. When taking a picture at a distance, the camera lens becomes longer. Our eyes also have such a function. When one looks in the dark, his pupils become larger. When taking a picture in the dark, the aperture of the camera has to become larger as well; otherwise, with insufficient exposure, the photo will turn out to be black. When one comes to a very bright place, his pupils become smaller rapidly; otherwise, dazzled by the strong light, he cannot see clearly. Using the same principle, the aperture of the camera also has to be made smaller. Therefore, as a tool, it can only take in the image of an object. When we actually look at something, a person or the existing form of an object, it is in the brain that the image of it is formed. In other words, we see through the eye and the image it receives is conveyed through the optic nerve to the pineal body which is located in the back half of the brain and appears in that region. That is to say, it is the pineal body of the brain that actually reflects the image and sees an object. Modern medical science also has come to realize this.
The opening of the Celestial Eye we refer to means opening a passage between the eyebrows so that the pineal body can directly look out by avoiding the use of the optic nerves. This is what we call opening the Celestial Eye. Some may think: but this is unrealistic. After all, our eyes can serve as a tool and take in the image of an object. How can we do without them? Modern medical dissection has already discovered that the front half of the pineal body has the whole structure of an eye. As it lies in the skull, it is postulated to be a vestigial eye. Our cultivation world has some reservations about whether it is a vestigial eye or not. But at least modern medicine has realized that there is an eye in the centre of the human brain. We open the passage straight to that point. So it just tallies with what modern medicine has discovered. This eye, unlike the naked eyes, will not create illusions. It can see the reality of things and the essence of matter. Therefore, a person with his Celestial Eye on a very high plane can see through our space into another timespace and perceive the scenes an ordinary person cannot see. A person with his Celestial Eye on the low plane may have a penetrative sight, which can penetrate a wall or see through a human body. So the Celestial Eye has such a function.
The Buddha School presents Five Types of Eye Sight: the Flesh Eye Sight, the Celestial Eye Sight, the Wisdom Eye Sight, the Law Eye Sight, and the Buddha Eye Sight. These are the five major planes of the Celestial Eye. Each plane is subdivided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower. The Tao School says there are 9 times 9, eighty-one levels of the Law Eye. Now we are opening your Celestial Eyes, but not below the plane of the Celestial Eye Sight. Why? Though you are sitting here ready for cultivation, you just start practising as ordinary people and still have a lot of ordinary people's attachments. If I open your Celestial Eyes to below the plane of the Celestial Eye Sight, you will possess the supernatural powers as called by ordinary people and can see through a wall or into a human body. If we spread this supernormal capability on such a large scale and open your Celestial Eyes to such a plane, it would seriously affect the society of ordinary people and disrupt its normal state: the state secrets would have no way to be kept; it would be all the same to you whether other people wear clothes or not; you could see a person in the room when you are out of it; walking along a street, you would stop before a lottery and pick out the first prize ticket. Such things will not be allowed to happen! Just imagine, is it a human society if its members all possess the Celestial Eye Sight? Anything that seriously disturbs human society is absolutely not allowed to exist. If I really opened your Celestial Eye to such a plane, you might become a qigong master instantly. Some of you wished to be a qigong master in the past. Now with the sudden opening of your Celestial Eyes, you will be able and ready to treat diseases in others. By so doing, aren't I leading you astray?
Then, what plane am I to open your Celestial Eyes to? I am going to open them straight to the plane of the Wisdom Eye Sight. If I open them to a higher plane, your Xinxing ( ) is not high enough; should I open it to a lower plane, it would seriously disturb the normal state of society. So I open them to the plane of the Wisdom Eye Sight, and you are able to see the scenes existing in other spaces though you cannot see through a wall or into a human body. What advantage does it have? It can build up your confidence in cultivation. When you have clearly seen what ordinary people cannot see, you will believe that it really exists. Now I am going to open your Celestial Eyes to this plane no matter whether you can see clearly or not, as it will be good for your cultivation. A true cultivator of the Great Law who is strict with himself in the improvement of his Xinxing will achieve the same effect by just reading this book.
What is the thing that determines the plane of one's Celestial Eye? It is not that you can see everything after your Celestial Eye is opened. No, it is not so. It also involves the division of its planes. What does the plane of one's Celestial Eye depend on? It depends on three factors. The first factor is that one's Celestial Eye must have a field from inside to outside. We call this field the vital essence ( ). What is its function? Just like the screen of a television, if there is no fluorescent material on it, it is no more than a light bulb which only gives light, but shows no picture when you turn on the television. It is the fluorescent material that makes it possible for the images to appear on the screen. Of course, this is not an apt example, because we see the images directly, while the television shows them through the fluorescent screen. It roughly illustrates what I mean. This bit of vital energy is extremely valuable. It is composed of the more essential things refined from the substance, De ( virtues). The existing vital essence varies from person to person. Only two in ten thousand people may be found to be on the same plane.
The plane of one's Celestial Eye is the direct manifestation of the Law of our universe. As something supernormal, it is closely connected with one's Xinxing. A person of low Xinxing stays on a low level. As his Xinxing is poor, he has lost much of his vital essence. If one possesses very high Xinxing and cares little about fame, wealth, conflicts among the people, personal interests, and seven emotions and six carnal desires, his vital essence may be well preserved, and he can see quite clearly when his Celestial Eye is opened. A child under six will have a very clear vision when his Celestial Eye is opened, and it is very easy to open it. A word is enough to have it opened.
In the powerful current and gigantic dye vat of ordinary human society, what people believe to be right is actually often wrong. Who does not want to live a good life? To live a good life, you may infringe upon the interests of other people, which may whet your selfish desires, you may profit at other people's expense and bully and harm others. To gain personal interests, you may compete among ordinary people. Doesn't it go against the cosmic qualities? Therefore, what people believe right is not necessarily right. When educating a small child, the adult is likely to tell him that "You should try to become wily" so that the child can get a foothold in the society of ordinary people in the future. In the view of our universe, however, it is wrong to be wily, as we should follow the natural course and care little about personal interests. Why should he become so wily? Because he wants to gain personal interests. "If someone bullies you, just let his teacher or his parents know", "When you see money on the ground, you should pick it up and put it into your pocket". The child is educated in such a way. When he grows up, he will receive more and more such teachings and he gradually will become more and more selfish in the society of ordinary people. He will gain advantage by unfair means and thus lose his De (virtues).
This substance De, when lost, will be transferred to another person instead of disappearing. However, the vital essence will disappear. If one has been wily and crafty from childhood up till now, has a strong desire for personal interests, and puts profit-making before anything else, he will not normally see clearly when his Celestial Eye is opened. This, however, does not mean that he will never have a clear vision. Why? Because we cultivate so that we can return to the origin and go back to the truth. With continuous cultivation, there will be continuous compensation for the lost vital essence. Therefore, we lay stress on Xinxing, on the improvement as a whole, and on the ascension as a whole. When one has improved his Xinxing, he will also find himself improved in other respects. If one cannot improve his Xinxing, his vital essence around his Celestial Eye will not be compensated. This is how the principle works.
Now let's come to the second factor. If a practitioner has good inborn qualities, he can get his Celestial Eye opened through his own cultivation. But he may get frightened the moment his Celestial Eye opens. Why? Because one usually cultivates in the hour of Zi at night when all is quiet. He is practising when he suddenly sees a large eye just before him, which gives him a start. He is so frightened that he does not dare to practise any more. How frightening it is! Such a large eye is looking at him, now closing, now opening. It is so real and vivid. So some people call it a demon's eye and others call it a Buddha's eye, etc.. In fact, it is one's own eye. However, cultivation is one's own business, while the evolution of cultivation energy is done by one's master. The whole process of the evolution of cultivation energy for a cultivator is very complex in other spaces. All the cultivator's bodies, not only the one in another space but also those in all the spaces are changing. Can you do it yourself? No, you can't. All these are arranged by the master. It is the master who is doing this. Therefore, we have the saying that cultivation is one's own business, while the evolution of cultivation energy is done by one's master. You only have such a wish or thought, and it is your master who has actually done the job.
Some people have got their Celestial Eyes opened through their own cultivation. We say it is your own eye, but you yourself are not able to evolve it. Some people have masters. When your master finds that your Celestial Eye is open, he will evolve an eye for you. This eye is called True Eye. Of course, there are some people who have no master, but they have a passing-by master. The Buddha School says: Buddha is present everywhere. There are so many Buddhas that you can find them everywhere. Others say: There are deities three feet above one's head. It means there are such a great number of them. The passing-by master will evolve an eye for you when he finds that you are well cultivated with your Celestial Eye open but are short of an eye. This eye can be counted as a result of your own cultivation, because, to offer salvation to people, a passing-by master will have no prerequisites and care nothing for the cost, reward and fame. He is far nobler than an exemplary person of ordinary people. He does so entirely out of compassion.
When your Celestial Eye is open, you will find yourself in such a state: The light dazzles you. You feel it dazzling your eyes. In fact, it does not dazzle your eyes, but dazzles your pineal body. You feel as if the light were dazzling your eyes. That is because you have not got the Eye. When you are provided with the Eye, you will no longer feel the light dazzling you. Some of you can feel or see this Eye. As it has the same nature as that of the universe, it is quite innocent and curious. It looks inward to see if your Celestial Eye is open, or if it is able to see. It is looking inward at you when your Celestial Eye is opened. It will give you a start when you suddenly see it looking at you. In fact, it is your own Eye. In future you will see things with this Eye. Without this Eye, you can see nothing at all even when your Celestial Eye is open.
The third factor involves one's breakthrough of his attainment level which reveals the difference from space to space. This is exactly what determines one's attainment level in cultivation. One sees not only through the main channel of the Celestial Eye but also through plenty of subchannels. The Buddha School says that every pore in the human body is an eye; The Tao School says that every aperture of the human body is an eye, that is to say, every acupoint is an eye. Of course, what they say still refers to the one way the Law evolves in the human body. So any part of the body has the ability to see.
The attainment level we refer to is different from this. There are several main subchannels in the eyebrows, upper eyelids, lower left eyelid and the area between the eyebrows besides the main channel. They determine the breakthrough of one's attainment level. Of course, if an ordinary practitioner can see through them, the level this person has broken through is already quite high. Some people can also see with their physical eyes, because they have perfected their eyes in cultivation, thus their eyes also possess the forms various supernormal capabilities take. However, if one does not use this eye properly, when he can see this object, but can not see that one, this will not do. Therefore, some people usually use one of the eyes to see things in another space, and the other one to see things in this world. There is no subchannel below this eye (the right eye), as it has something immediate to do with the Law. People tend to use the right eye when they do bad things. Therefore, there is no subchannel below the right eye. Those are some of the main subchannels which develop in the Cultivation of Shi Jian Fa.
When one has reached an extremely high level beyond the cultivation of the In-Triple-World-Law, he will develop an eye like a compound eye which is so large that it covers the upper part of his face with countless small eyes in it. Some great enlightened beings in a very high dimension have developed so many eyes that they cover the whole face. All the eyes can see through the large eye, and they can see whatever they want to and they are able to see all the dimensions at a single glance. Now zoologists and entomologists have done some research on flies. A fly has a large eye. Through a microscope, you can see that it is composed of countless small eyes, so it is called a compound eye. One will not acquire such an eye until he has reached an extremely high dimension, a dimension much higher than that of a Tathagata. But ordinary people cannot see its existence, nor can practitioners on an ordinary level. They can only see he is the same as an ordinary person, as this eye exists in another space. Here I have talked about the breakthrough of one's attainment level, the question of being able to break through all the spaces.
I have basically revealed the structure of the Celestial Eye. It would be a quicker and easier way to open your Celestial Eyes by external force. When I am talking about the Celestial Eye, each of you will feel that the muscle of the forehead becomes tight as if the muscles had gathered there, drilling inwards. Is that so? Yes. As long as you have come here really to get down to learning Falun Dafa, you will have such a sensation. You will feel a strong power pushing the muscles inward. We have released the energy specially for you to open your Celestial Eyes with. Meanwhile, I have also released Falun to mend them. When I am talking about the Celestial Eye I am opening it only for those who cultivate Falun Dafa. But this does not mean that everybody will get a clear vision or even will be able to see. This has something to do with you yourself. Never mind. It does not matter if you are unable to see. Take your time to cultivate yourself. As you raise your level continuously, you will be able to see gradually, and a dim vision will by and by become a clear one. As long as you cultivate yourself and you are determined to do so, you will regain what you have lost.
It is quite difficult for one to open his Celestial Eye himself. Now I am going to say something about a few ways for one to open the Celestial Eye by himself. For example, when sitting in cultivation, a practitioner may observe his forehead and the Celestial Eye. He may find nothing but darkness in his forehead. After a long while, he will feel his forehead gradually turning white. After another period of cultivation, he will find his forehead gradually becoming bright. Then it will turn red. By then, it will begin to bloom, just like a bud opening its petals instantly as is shown in a film or on television with such a scene. That red colour is flat at the beginning when it suddenly becomes protuberant in the centre and keep on blooming. It is impossible for you to make the blossom thoroughly open even in ten years or so, because your Celestial Eye is entirely blocked.
Some people's Celestial Eye is not blocked. It has a channel. However, as they do not cultivate, there is no energy. When they cultivate, there will suddenly appear a black disc before their eyes. With a long time of practice, the disc will gradually turn white, then become brighter and brighter until it is getting more and more dazzling. One may say: I have seen the sun, I have seen the moon. In reality, he has seen neither the sun nor the moon. What has he seen, then? He has seen the channel of this Celestial Eye. Some people have made rapid progress and can see immediately after they have been provided with the Eye. But others would find it very difficult. They would run outward along the channel which is like a tunnel or a well during practice, or even in sleep they would feel themselves running outward. Some feel they are urging a horse on; some feel they are flying; some feel they are running; some feel as if they were rushing out in a car. But they feel that they can never rush out of it, as it is very difficult for them to open their Celestial Eyes on their own. The Tao School regards the human body as a microcosm. If it is a small universe, just imagine, then it would be more than one hundred and eighty thousand Li from the forehead to the pineal body. Therefore, they feel as if they were always rushing outwards but would never rush out of it.
It is quite reasonable for the Tao School to regard the human body as a microcosm. It does not mean that the composition and structure of the human body is very similar to that of the universe. It does not refer to the existing form of the human body in this physical space of ours. What state is the physical body in below the plane of cells according to modern science? There is various molecular composition. Smaller than molecules are atoms, protons, nuclei, electrons and quarks. The smallest particles which have been studied are neutrinos. Then, what is the smallest particle in its true sense? It is extremely difficult to find it. Sakyamuni once said in his later years, "It is so vast that it is boundless; it is so tiny that it is indivisible". What did he mean? The universe is so vast that one with the status of Tathagata is unable to see its boundary; it is so tiny that one in the status of Tathagata cannot see its smallest particle. This is what he meant by saying "It is so vast that it is boundless; it is so tiny that it is indivisible".
Sakyamuni also put forward the three-thousand-chiliocosmos theory. He said that in the Milky Way galaxy of our universe there were three thousand planets on which living beings with material bodies like human beings exist. He also said there were such three thousand chiliocosmos in a grain of sand. A grain of sand is like a universe and there are such beings of intelligence as us living in it. There are also such planets, mountains and rivers in it. It sounds rather fantastic! If this is true, just think about it, isn't there sand in the sand mentioned? Aren't there three thousand chiliocosmos in each grain of the sand there? Then, isn't there sand in each of those three thousand chiliocosmos? And aren't there three thousand chiliocosmos in each grain of the sand there again? Therefore, in the status of Tathagata one cannot see its bottom.
The same is true of human molecular cells. People ask how large the universe is. I tell you that this universe has its boundary. However, in the eyes of one in the status of Tathagata it is boundless and unlimited. But the inside of the human body from molecules to micro-particles is as large as this universe. It sounds like a tall story. When a person or a life is made, his specially given composition of life and his nature have been already formed in the extremely microcosmic state. Therefore, it is far beyond our contemporary scientific research. Compared with those living beings on the high intelligent planets in the whole universe, the standard of our human science and technology is quite low. We are even unable to break through the other spaces which occupy the same space at the same time. However, flying saucers from other planets come and go directly in another space in which there are different concepts of spacetime. Therefore, they come and go so quickly and mysteriously that the human mind finds it difficult to accept it as a fact.
I mentioned such a question when I talked about the Celestial Eye. While you are running outward in the channel, you will feel that it is endless. Someone may see another scene. He would feel that he is running not along a tunnel but along an endless broad road on either side of which there are mountains, rivers, and cities. He just keeps running outward. It may sound fantastic. I still remember a qigong master's words. He said that in a pore in the human body there was a city in which the trains and cars were running. Other people were much surprised at his words and were incredulous. As you know, a substance is composed of molecules, atoms, and protons in its microcosmic state. In the end, you may keep investigating downward like this. If you can see a plane, not a dot, in each dimension, that is, if you can see the plane of molecules, or that of atoms, or that of protons, or that of nuclei, you will see the existing forms of different spaces. Any object, including the human body, coexists with and is open into the spatial planes of the cosmic space at the same time. When contemporary physics studies the particles of matter, it only studies a single particle by analyzing and fissioning it. It studies its component parts after its nuclear fission. If we had such an instrument through which we could see the whole manifestation of all atomic composition or molecular composition existing in this plane, if we could see this picture, we would break through this space and see the true existence of other spaces. The human body corresponds to the space outside it. It has such a form of existence.
Other different states will appear when one tries to open his Celestial Eye himself. We have dwelled on some relatively general phenomena. Some can see their Celestial Eyes turning. A practitioner of Taoist qigong often sees something turning in his Celestial Eye. When the Taiji disc breaks with a snap, he will see the images. But that does not mean that he has Taiji in his brain. In fact, at the very beginning his master planted in him a set of things, one of which was Taiji. The master sealed his Celestial Eye. When it is time for his Celestial Eye to open, the Taiji disc will split open. So it is something specially arranged by the master, not something innate in his brain.
Some people are after the opening of the Celestial Eye. But, the more they practise, the more difficult they will find it to open. What is the reason? They have no idea themselves. The main reason is that the Celestial Eye is not to be pursued. The more you pursue it, the more you cannot get it. Your Celestial Eye will not open when you desire to have it. Instead, something neither black nor white will flow out of it and cover your Celestial Eye. After a long time, it will form a great field. The more it flows out, the more it accumulates. The more difficult you find it to open your Celestial Eye, the more you will pursue it and the more it will flow out. As a result, it will surround your whole body. To make things worse, it can be very thick and form a great field. Even if your Celestial Eye is really open, you cannot see anything, because you have been sealed by such an attachment. Only when you think no more of it and give up this attachment completely, can it disappear gradually. But it will take you a very long period of painstaking cultivation to get rid of it, which, however, is not necessary at all. Some people do not know this. When their master warns them against pursuing the Celestial Eye, against seeking after it, they just would not believe, would not stop thinking about it. As a result, it runs counter to their desires.
Supernormal Capability of Remote Sight
A supernormal capability directly connected with the Celestial Eye is called the Remote Sight. Someone says that he can see scenes in Beijing, in America or scenes on the other side of the earth while sitting here. Some people are not able to understand it. It cannot be explained scientifically. How can it be possible? Some people have tried to explain it this way or that way, but their explanations are not convincing. They wonder how man can have such a great ability. In fact, it is not so. A practitioner who cultivates in the phase of Shi Jian Fa (the In-Triple-World-Law) does not have such an ability. What he sees, including Remote Sight and many other supernatural powers, all work in a specific space. They cannot go beyond the physical space of our human existence at the most. They usually do not go beyond one's own spatial field.
The human body has a field in a specific space. This field is not the same one as the field of De (virtues). They are not in the same space but are of the same size. This field corresponds to the universe. Whatever exists in the universe can find its counterpart in it. But this counterpart is only a kind of shadow, not a real object. For example, the United States and Washington exist on earth. In this field there is also the reflection of the United States and Washington. But it is a shadow. However, a shadow is also a material existence. Since the field corresponds to the universe, it changes with the things in the universe. Therefore, with the supernormal capability of the so-called Remote Sight one actually sees the things in his own spatial field. When one has gone beyond the cultivation of the In-Triple-World-Law, he no longer sees in this way. He will see things directly. Such an ability is called the divine power of Buddha Law, a power whose might knows no bounds.
How does the supernormal capability of Remote Sight work in the In-Triple-World-Law? Here I am going to expound this to you. In the space of this field, there is a mirror in the position of one's forehead. A non-practitioner's mirror faces himself. A practitioner's mirror will turn over. When one is about to develop the power of Remote Sight, the mirror will keep turning over and over. As you know, a film produces continuous movements at the speed of twenty-four pictures per second. When it goes slower than that, the pictures will keep bouncing. The mirror turns faster than that. It keeps the images reflected in it, and then turns over to show them to you. The images will be erased when it turns over again. Then it will do the same again and again by keeping turning over and over. Therefore, what you see is in motion. This is exactly how it shows you the things within your spatial field it reflects, which are the counterparts of the things in the universe outside.
Well, how can one see things behind him? How can everything around him be reflected in such a small mirror? You know, when one's Celestial Eye is above the plane of the Celestial Eye Sight and is about to reach the plane of the Wisdom Eye Sight, it is going to break through this space of ours. Just at the point of an entire breakthrough, the Celestial Eye will change: When it looks at an object, a man or a wall, they will all have disappeared, matter does not exist. That is to say, in this specific space, when you look in depth, you will find no man there. There is only a mirror standing in the scope of this spatial field of yours, and this mirror is in your spatial field and it is as large as your entire spatial field. So when it turns over and over in the field, there is no place that cannot be reflected in the mirror. The mirror can reflect everything in your spatial field, as long as they are the counterparts of the things in the universe. This is what we call the supernormal capability of Remote Sight.
In testing this ability, the scientists who study the human body are likely to deny it. Here is the reason for their denial. For example, one was asked to tell what someone's relative in Beijing was doing at his house. When he was told the relative's name and some general facts, he could see the person. He gave a description of the building, how to enter the room through the door, and how the room was furnished. What he said was all correct. When asked "What is the man doing?" "He is writing," he replied. In order to verify his statement, the tester asked his relative by telephone: "What are you doing now?" "I am eating". Didn't it tally with what he had seen? This is the reason why such a supernormal capability was negated in the past. But what he saw about the place was exactly correct. As there is a time difference between the space and time of ours, which we call timespace, and that of the space where supernormal capabilities exist, there is a difference in the concept of time between the two spaces. The man was writing just before. Now he is eating. There is such a time difference. Therefore, if these scientists usually make their deductions and investigations based upon the conventional theories and contemporary science in this way, they will get nowhere even after ten thousand years of study. As these things are supernormal in the first place, men need to change their mentality. They should not understand these things in such a way again.
Supernormal Capability of Total Recall
There is another supernormal capability which has a direct relation with the Celestial Eye. It is called Total Recall. Now there are six supernormal capabilities which are generally recognized in the world. They include the Celestial Eye, Remote Sight, and Total Recall. What is Total Recall? It is a supernormal capability with which one can know a person's future and past; if the ability is great, one can know the rise and decline of a society; if the ability is even greater, one can see the Law of the change of the whole celestial body. As matter moves following a certain pattern, any object in a special space has its existing forms in many, many other spaces. For instance, when the human body makes a movement, the cells in the body will also move with it. So will all molecules, protons, electrons, and the other smallest particles in the microcosmic state. However, a body has its own form of independent existence, and the existing forms of the human body in other spaces will also be changed.
Don't we often refer to the conservation of matter? Whatever you do will leave an image and some message in a specific space. When people have done something, as they do with a wave of hand, it is all material existence. In another space, it is conserved and will exist there forever. A person who possesses supernormal capabilities will know what happened in the past by just taking a look at the images in the past which are still there. When you have developed the ability of Total Recall in the future, you will find the form of the lecture I am giving here today still existing. It exists here at the same time. When a person is born, his whole life has already existed in a special space where there is no concept of time. For some people, more than one life is there.
Some people may think: Isn't it unnecessary for us to have a personal struggle or to remold ourselves? They cannot accept it. As a matter of fact, only small things in life can be changed through personal struggle. Some small things may change after your personal struggle. But you may get karma because of your effort to change them; otherwise, there is no such thing as making karma or doing good or evil. If you obstinately do so, you will take advantage of other people, thus you have done evil deeds. Therefore, it is for this reason that it is repeatedly emphasized that a cultivator should follow the natural course, because you will harm other people when you make your own efforts. Originally, there is no such thing in your life, but you have received what belongs to other people in society. Thus, you owe them a debt.
As for big things, an ordinary person can never change them. However, there is a way to change them. That is, one can change his life by doing nothing but evil deeds and committing all manner of crimes. But a complete destruction of his life lies ahead of him. We can see in the high dimension that one's Yuanshen ( True Spirit) does not die at his death. How is it that the True Spirit can be free from death? In fact, we find that a dead body in the mortuary is nothing but a mass of human cells in this space of ours. All the cell tissues in the internal organs and in the whole body in this space have fallen off, while in other spaces a body composed of particles which are smaller than molecules, atoms or protons is not dead at all. It lives in other spaces and still exists in that microcosmic space. However, a person who stops at no evil would have a complete disintegration of all his cells. In Buddhism it is called perdition of body and soul ( ).
There is another way to make one change his life, which is actually the only way. That is, he begins to take up a way of cultivation. Why can his life be changed when he takes up the way of cultivation? Who has such a great power to change it? When one wants to take up the way of cultivation, such an intention will glitter like gold and shake the Ten Directions. The Buddha School's view of the universe is expressed in the theory of the Ten Directions. In the eyes of an intelligent being, a human life is not to be lived as a human being. He holds that human lives originate in the cosmic space and have the same nature as the universe. They are kind and are composed of the matter of Zhen Shan Ren. But they also have their community. When they associate with others in the community, some of them will become bad and drop down to a lower dimension. When they become still worse and cannot stay in that dimension any more, they will drop down to a still lower dimension. They drop down and down and down in this way until they have finally come to this dimension of ordinary people.
Man in this dimension should have been destroyed or wiped out. However, out of great compassion, the great enlightened beings have specially made such a space as our human society. In this space, man is provided with a mortal body and two eyes which can only see the objects in this physical world. That is to say, man has fallen into the maze in which he is unable to see the truth of the universe, which can be seen in other spaces. In this maze and under such circumstances, he is given such a chance. As he is in the maze, he is amidst the greatest suffering. His body is to bring him sufferings. The Tao School teaches returning to the origin and going back to the truth through cultivation. If a man in this space can return to the origin and has the mind to cultivate himself, that is, if he has developed his Buddha-nature, people will help him, because such a heart is regarded as the most precious thing. He does not get lost under such difficult circumstances and still wants to return to the origin, so people will help him. They will help him in every way and without condition. This is the reason why we can do such a thing for cultivators, but not for ordinary people.
We can do nothing for you if you are an ordinary person who just wants to get rid of diseases. An ordinary person is just an ordinary person. Ordinary people can only live in the state of society of ordinary people. Many people say that Buddhas offer salvation to all sentient beings and Buddhas teach the universal salvation of all life. I tell you, you can consult all Buddhist scriptures and will find no words there indicating that the removal of diseases in ordinary people means the salvation of sentient beings. It is those pseudo qigong masters who have messed up the matter these years. The real qigong masters and qigong trail-blazers never suggested treating diseases in others. They only taught you how to get rid of diseases and keep fit through your own practice. As an ordinary person, how can you cure diseases when you have just learned qigong for a couple of days? Aren't you fooling other people? Doesn't that encourage your attachment? You are just seeking after fame, wealth and supernormal things and showing them off among ordinary people! It absolutely won't do. Therefore, the more you seek after it, the more you cannot get it. You are not allowed to do so, and you are not allowed to disrupt the social state of ordinary people at will.
There is such a principle in this universe: When you want to return to the origin and go back to the truth, someone will help you. He holds that man should go back to the origin instead of living in the society of ordinary people. Suppose human beings suffer no diseases and live a comfortable life, they would even be reluctant to become immortals. How wonderful it is if people suffer from no diseases, bear no sufferings, and have whatever they desire. This is really a world of immortals. But you have dropped down to where you are because of your degeneration, so you do not feel comfortable. Man is likely to do bad when he is lost in the world of ordinary people. In Buddhism it is called the karmic principle of reward and retribution. Therefore, when some people usually have a tribulation or some trouble, he is in fact paying his karma according to the karmic principle of reward and retribution. It is also said in Buddhism that Buddha is omnipresent. It is definitely possible that one wave of a Buddha's hand will wipe out all the diseases of mankind. There are so many Buddhas. Why don't they do such a thing? One has to endure the suffering because of the evil deeds he did in the past. If you have cured his disease, you have as good as broken the principle of the universe. It means he is allowed to do bad and does not have to pay what he owes to others. This is not allowed to happen. So everybody is safeguarding the normal state of human society. None of them would try to disrupt it. Nothing but cultivation can make you really free from disease and bring you the real liberation. To make people cultivate the Orthodox Law is the real salvation of sentient beings.
How can many qigong masters cure diseases? Why do they go in for the treatment of disease? Some people may think about the matter. Most of such qigong masters do not go the right way. In the course of cultivation a true qigong master will find that all beings are suffering. He is allowed to help the sufferer out of compassion and sympathy. But he cannot cure the disease. He can only repress it temporarily, or postpone it so that you will suffer from it in the future, or transfer it to other members of your family. He is unable to completely eradicate the karma for you. This is the reason why it is permitted to eliminate the karma only for cultivators, not for ordinary people.
The salvation of all sentient beings put forward by the Buddha School means that you are to be taken from the most painful state of ordinary people to the high dimension where you will never suffer and can enjoy real freedom. This is what it implies. Didn't Sakyamuni mention the other bank of Nirvana? This is the true sense of his salvation of all sentient beings. Suppose you live in ease and comfort among ordinary people, having so much money that you can use the bank notes as a mattress and bear no suffering at all, you will even be reluctant to become an immortal. If you are a cultivator, your course of life can be changed, and only through cultivation can your life course be changed.
The supernormal capability of Total Recall works through a small fluorescent screen like TV in the position of the forehead. Some find it at the location of the forehead; some find it nearby the forehead; some find it inside the forehead; some can see it with eyes closed; some can see it with eyes open if it is very strong. But it is invisible to other people, because it is something within your own spatial field. That is to say, when this capability is developed, there has to be another one to serve as a carrier to reflect the images of other spaces so that one can see them with the Celestial Eye. With this ability one can see the future or the past of a person very precisely. Though one can also reveal something quite clearly through divination, he is unable to know the small things or details of an event. However, with the ability of Total Recall one can see them very clearly. He can even see the dates and changing details of the event, because what he sees is the true reflection of a person or an object in a different space.
I am going to open the Celestial Eye for every cultivator of Falun Dafa. As for the supernormal capabilities which will be mentioned later, I will not open them. With the unceasing rise of your level, the supernormal capability of Total Recall will turn up in due course. You will meet with this case in your future cultivation. When you have developed this supernormal capability, you will know how it is. So we should tell you all these doctrines and principles.
Transcending the Five Elements and the Three Realms
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What does "Transcending the Five Elements and the Three Realms" mean? This is a sharp question to answer. In the past, many qigong masters were choked off by those who did not believe in qigong when they were talking about the matter: "Which one of you practitioners has transcended the Five Elements and is not in the Three Realms?" Some of them were not qigong masters. They just claimed that they themselves were qigong masters. They should not have talked about the matter since they were unable to make it clear, but they were bold enough to talk about it. As a result, they were gagged by the listeners. It has caused a great loss and confusion to the world of cultivation. Some people have used this as a pretext to attack qigong. To transcend the Five Elements and the Three Realms is a saying prevalent in the world of cultivation. It comes from the religion. It is a product of the religion. Therefore, we cannot talk about the matter by ignoring this historical background and the environment of that time.
What does "Transcending the Five Elements" mean? Both the ancient physics and the contemporary physics of China hold that the Chinese Theory of Five Elements is right. It is true that the Five Elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth constitute myriads of things in the universe. Therefore, we often look at this concept of Five Elements. To put it in modern language, Transcending the Five Elements means going beyond this physical world, which sounds like a fantastic story. Just think about such a matter, a qigong master is possessed of energy. I have been tested for my energy. So have many other qigong masters. The material composition of this energy can be measured by means of many apparatus available; that is, if there is such an apparatus, the composition of energy a qigong master releases can be determined. The apparatus available can determine infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, ultrasonic waves, infrasonic sounds, electricity, the magnetic force, rays, atoms and neutrons. A qigong master possesses all these substances. Some substances released by some qigong masters cannot be determined, because there is no such apparatus to measure them. As long as there are such apparatus, all of them can be determined and you will find that the substances released by qigong masters are extremely rich in variety.
With the effect of a special magnetic field, a qigong master can release a powerful and very beautiful aura. The greater one's energy potency, the larger the energy field he has released. An ordinary person also has an aura, but it is very, very small. In the study of high-energy physics people believe that energy is nothing but the substances like neutrons or atoms. Many qigong masters have been tested. All the famous qigong masters have taken such a test. I was also tested. The measuring apparatus showed that the amount of rays and thermal neutrons I had released was 80-170 times greater than that of the radiation of normal substances. However, this was the result when the pointer on the apparatus had reached its limit. As the pointer had moved to its maximum, we did not know how great it might really be. It is really inconceivable that one can produce such powerful neutrons. How can man release such powerful neutrons? It has proved that we qigong masters are possessed of Gong or energy, which has been verified in the world of science and technology.
To transcend the Five Elements, one has to practise the cultivation system for the integrated cultivation of both nature and life. By practising the cultivation system which is not for cultivation of both nature and life, one can only develop the cultivation energy which marks his level of attainment. The practitioner of the cultivation system which cannot be used to cultivate life does not care about this, because he does not take the way of transcending the Five Elements. As for the practitioner of the cultivation system for cultivation of both nature and life, his energy is stored up in all cells of his body. The energy released by an ordinary practitioner or a person who has just begun to increase his Gong is composed of thick grains which are not very close to one another, so it has little power. When one is at a much higher level, it is possible that the density of his energy will be a hundred, a thousand, or a hundred million times greater than that of ordinary water molecules, because the higher one's dimension, the greater is the density of his energy, which is composed of smaller grains, and the more powerful is his might. In such a case, the energy is stored up in each cell of one's body, not only in the body in this physical space of ours, but also in all his bodies in other spaces. Thus, one's cells, from the plane of molecules, atoms, protons, electrons to that of the smallest particles are all filled with this energy. With the lapse of time, one's body will be completely filled with this high-energy matter.
This high-energy matter possesses intelligence and has some abilities. When it has increased in amount, become dense and filled all the cells of the human body, it can check the physical cells which are most incompetent. Once checked, the cells will undergo no metabolism and finally they will be completely replaced by the high-energy matter. Of course, it is easy for me to say it, but it will be a long process for you to cultivate it. When you reach this dimension in cultivation, all cells of your body will be replaced by this high-energy matter. Think about it, is your body still composed of the Five Elements, the substances of this physical space of ours? It is composed of the high-energy matter collected from other spaces. The substance, De (virtues), is also the matter existing in another space and is free from the control of the time field of our physical space.
Contemporary science holds that time possesses a field and anything beyond the time field is not restricted by time. The concept of spacetime in other spaces is different from that in ours. Can it affect the matter from another space? Not at all. Think about it, haven't you freed yourself from the bonds of the Five Elements at this time? Is your body still like that of an ordinary person? No, absolutely not. However, an ordinary person cannot tell the difference. Even if one has had such a great change in his body, you cannot say that he has come to the end of his cultivation. He has to go on cultivating himself to reach a still higher dimension. Therefore, he must cultivate among ordinary people, as it won't do him any good if people can not see him.
What will happen to him later? In the process of his cultivation, all his molecular cells will have been replaced by high-energy matter, but atoms have their order of arrangement, and the order of molecular or nuclear arrangement has not changed. The molecular arrangement order of a cell is in such a state that it feels soft. The molecular arrangement order of a bone is in such a great density that it feels hard. The molecular density of blood is so small that it is a liquid. Ordinary people cannot see the change from his outward appearance, because his molecular cells still keep their original structure and arrangement order. Though the molecular structure of a cell remains unchanged, the energy in it has changed. So man will not grow naturally old or weakened from then on. Since his cells do not die out, he will remain young forever. In the process of cultivation, one will look young, and in the end he will have a fixed appearance.
Of course, when knocked down by a car, such a body may also fracture, and it may also bleed when cut with a knife, because its molecular arrangement order has not changed though it will not die out or become old naturally and no metabolism will take place in it. This is what we call "freeing oneself from the bonds of the Five Elements". There is nothing superstitious in it. It can be explained scientifically. Some people are unable to explain it clearly. When they give careless remarks, people would say that they are propagating superstitions, as the saying comes from religion, not from the contemporary qigong.
What does "Transcending the Three Realms" mean? I said the other day that the key to the increase of cultivation energy lies in the cultivation of one's Xinxing. When you are assimilated to the cosmic qualities, they will no longer restrict you. With the improvement of your Xinxing, the substance, De (virtues), will evolve into cultivation energy, which will grow up and rise incessantly. When this energy has risen to a high dimension, it will form an energy column ( ). The higher the energy column, the greater your energy potency is. There is such a saying: The great Law is boundless. It all depends on your heart to cultivate it. Which dimension you can reach all depends on your forbearance and the ability to bear hardships. When you have used up your own white substance, you can transform your black substance into the white substance by going through hardships. If you still find your black substance is not enough, you can bear the sins for your relatives and good friends who do not cultivate. By doing so, you can also increase your cultivation energy. This, however, can only be done by a cultivator who is already in an extremely high dimension. An ordinary cultivator should not have the idea of bearing sins for his relatives. With such great karma a common cultivator will find it impossible to attain perfection. What I talk about here are the different principles for different dimensions.
The Three Realms mentioned in the religion refer to nine heavens or thirty-three heavens. In other words, Heaven, Earth and the Under-world form the Three Realms. It says that all living things within the thirty-three heavens must go through the Sixfold Path of Transmigration, which means that a human being in this incarnation may become an animal in a next incarnation. So Buddhism says that one should waste no time in this life. When will you cultivate if you do not cultivate yourself now? For animals are not allowed to cultivate or listen to the Law. Even if they have cultivated, they will not complete the right achievement. If they possess high energy, they will be killed by heaven. You are not able to get a human body in hundreds of years. When you have obtained one in more than a thousand years, you do not value it. Should you be reincarnated as a stone, you would not get out of it even in ten thousand years. You will never get out of it unless the stone is smashed to pieces or is weathered away. How hard it is to get a human body! A person who can really obtain the great Law is very fortunate indeed. Here we have talked about the truth that a human body is hard to get.
For practitioners, there is the issue of cultivation levels. Which level you will reach all depends on your cultivation. If you want to transcend the Three Realms, keep on cultivating yourself. When your energy column becomes very, very high, haven't you gone beyond them? In cross-legged sitting some people may go up very high in no time when their True Spirits leave their bodies. One of my students told me in his experience report how many heavens he had visited and what scenes he had perceived. I told him to go higher. He said that he could not and did not dare to. He was not able to ascend any more. Why? Because his energy column was just that high. He had ascended by sitting on his energy column. This is the achievement status as it is called in Buddhism. He had reached that achievement status. However, for a cultivator, it is not the highest status. He is still going up, sublimating and improving himself continuously. Haven't you transcended the Three Realms when your energy column has broken through the bounds of the Three Realms. We have found through a measurement that the Three Realms mentioned in the religion only lie within the limits of the nine major planets. Some say that there are ten major planets. I would like to say it is not true at all. I found that the energy columns of some qigong masters in previous years had broken through the bounds of the Milky Way galaxy. They were in such a high dimension that they had gone beyond the Three Realms long before. The transcendence of the Three Realms I just talked about is in fact a matter of attainment levels.
Issue of Pursuit
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Many people have entered into our cultivation field with an attachment of pursuit. Some crave after supernormal capabilities; some want to hear the theory; some hope to be cured of their diseases; some intend to get a Falun. They have come here with various desires. Some even said to me, "One of my family members didn't come to attend the lecturing session. I'll pay the tuition. Would you please give him a Falun?" How can you expect to get a Falun, a product of so many generations' efforts which was formed in an extremely long period with a horrifying number of years, by spending dozens of Yuan? How can we give it to each of you without conditions? It is simply because you want to be a cultivator. This heart can never be bought with money. It means that you have developed your Buddha-nature. Therefore, we can do such a thing for you.
You cling to your attachment of pursuit. Have you come here just for getting a Falun? My Law body in another space knows everything you are thinking about. As there is a different concept of spacetime in the two spaces. Seen from another space, the formation of your thinking is an extremely slow process. My Law body even knows your thought before you have it. So you must give up all of your incorrect thoughts. The Buddha School believes in affinity. It is your predestined luck that has brought you here. Maybe it is predestined for you to get it. Therefore, when you have got it, you should treasure it. Do not hold on to any pursuit.
In the religious cultivation of the past, the Buddha School taught Emptiness. They thought about nothing and entered the Door of Emptiness. The Tao School taught Nothingness. They had nothing, wanted nothing and sought after nothing. A practitioner stresses unintentional acquisition of the energy through intentional cultivation. If you cultivate in a state of active no action and care about nothing but cultivating your Xinxing, you are going through one level after another and will certainly acquire what you ought to possess. If you cling to your pursuits, doesn't it mean that you have an attachment? We have taught such a high Law to you all at once, so the demands on your Xinxing should also be high. So you should not come to learn the Law with pursuit in mind.
We are leading you to the right way. To hold myself responsible to you all, I have to give a thorough exposition of the Law. When one seeks after the Celestial Eye, his Celestial Eye will be blocked by itself and he himself will be sealed by something. What's more, I tell you that in the cultivation of Shi Jian Fa (the In-Triple-World-Law) all the supernormal capabilities one has developed are the primordial instincts one carries in his physical body, which are now called supernatural powers. They can only work and control an ordinary person in this space, that is, in our physical world. What do you seek after these minor powers and petty magic arts for? Even if you have acquired them after a desperate pursuit, they have no use in another space after you have entered into the cultivation of Chu Shi Jian Fa ( the Beyond-Triple-World-Law). When you have gone beyond the cultivation of the In-Triple-World-Law, all these capabilities have to be thrown away and pressed into a profound space to be stored up there, which can only be used as a record of your cultivation process for you to look up in the future.
One has to re-cultivate himself when he has gone beyond the cultivation of the In-Triple-World-Law. His body is the one which has transcended the Five Elements as I mentioned above; that is, a Buddha body. Isn't it right to call such a body a Buddha body? A Buddha body has to go through a fresh cultivation and develop new powers, which are no longer called supernormal capabilities, but the divine powers of Buddha Law. With an invincible force, the divine power is something that can really work effectively in different spaces. So what is the use of your pursuing supernormal capabilities? If you pursue them, do you want to use them or display them among ordinary people? Otherwise, what do you want them for? They are invisible and intangible. To choose an article merely for show you should pick up something pretty. I am sure that you have a desire to use them for some purpose in your subconsciousness. They cannot be acquired as skills of ordinary people. They are entirely supernormal things which are not allowed to be displayed among ordinary people. The display itself implies a very strong attachment, a very bad heart, a heart that a cultivator should get rid of. It would be even worse if you want to use them to earn money, to make a fortune, or to reach a goal among ordinary people through personal struggle, because you are trying to use something of a high order to disturb and disrupt the society of ordinary people. This is an even worse idea. So you are not allowed to use your abilities freely.
Generally speaking, children and old people are likely to develop their powers, especially old women, as more often than not they have good control of their Xinxing and have not the attachments of ordinary people. When they have developed their supernormal capabilities, they can easily control them because they have no desire to show off. Why is it difficult for young people to develop their powers? Because young people, especially young men, still want to struggle in the society of ordinary people to attain their goals. Once they have developed their supernormal capabilities, they will use them to reach their goals, taking them as abilities to achieve their goals. This can never be allowed to happen. Therefore, they will not develop their capabilities.
Cultivation is not a trifling matter, nor a skill of ordinary people. But it is a very serious matter. It all depends on how to improve your Xinxing whether you want or are able to cultivate yourself. It would be a bad thing if someone had really got supernormal capabilities by means of pursuit. He would never think about the matter of cultivation from then on. As his Xinxing would be no higher than that of ordinary people and his powers were acquired through pursuit, he might do all kinds of evil deeds. There is much money in the bank. He might use the magic of removal and take some money from it. There are plenty of lotteries run in the street. He might go and pick out the first prize ticket. Why have such things never happened? Some qigong masters say that one is prone to do evil deeds when he has developed his powers if he pays no attention to the improvement of his virtues. I say this is an erroneous statement. It is not the case at all. If you pay no attention to the improvement of your virtues and do not cultivate your Xinxing, you will never develop your supernormal capabilities. Of course, there is also another case: A person of good Xinxing who has developed his powers on his own level will do what he should not do later when he cannot restrain himself. But once he does evil, his powers will be weakened or lost. If he has lost them, he will never regain them. What's more, the worst thing is that they can arouse one's attachments.
Some qigong masters say, as if advertising, that one will be able to cure diseases three to five days after he has learned their qigong. Such qigong masters should be called qigong dealers. Just imagine, as an ordinary person, how can you cure others' diseases by just releasing some of your qi? Ordinary people also possess qi in their bodies just as you do. You have just begun to practise and only have opened your acupoints of Laogong, through which you can take in or release the qi. When you tried to treat diseases in others, the qi in their bodies may have cured your own disease. How could one's own qi dictate to the qi of another? Qi does not cure at all. Moreover, when you are treating a patient, you and the patient form a field, and all of his pathogenic qi will come into your body. As a result, you will have as much pathogenic qi as the patient. Though the root of the illness grows in the patient's body, you will also fall ill if you have taken in much of his pathogenic qi. Once you believe that you are able to cure diseases, you will begin the practice to treat patients and refuse nobody's request. Thus, your attachment will be aroused. How happy you are when you have cured someone of his disease! Why is it that you can cure diseases? Why not think about it? As all pseudo qigong masters are possessed by evil spirits. In order to make you believe them, they will give you some message. When you have treated three, five, eight or ten patients, the message will disappear. As it is a kind of consumption of energy, you will no longer have such energy from then on. You yourself possess no energy. Where can you get it? We qigong masters have gone through dozens of years of cultivation. It was very difficult to cultivate the Tao in the past. It is quite hard for one to cultivate through a side gate or in an unorthodox school instead of taking hold of an Orthodox School.
You see that some great qigong masters have earned wide fame. But only through dozens of years' cultivation have they developed such a little energy. You have not cultivated yourself. How is it possible that you could have acquired energy by just attending a training class? Then, your attachment will be aroused from that point on. With this attachment, you will get worried if you cannot cure a disease. In order to maintain his fame, someone even has such a thought when treating a patient: "Let me suffer from this disease so that the patient will be free from his illness." It is not out of compassion that he has such a thought. He has not got rid of the desire for fame and gain at all. How can he have developed the heart of compassion? He is afraid of losing his fame. So he wishes he could suffer from the disease lest he should lose his fame. What an intense desire for fame! Well, when he has such a wish, the disease can really be transferred from the patient to him at once. He goes home to suffer from the disease. The patient is well, but he feels ill at home after treating the disease. When you believe that you have cured someone of his disease and hear him calling you qigong master, you will get complacent and be extremely pleased with yourself. Isn't it an attachment? When you fail to cure it, you will be crestfallen. Isn't it caused by your desire for fame and gain? Moreover, the pathogenic qi of your patient will all come to your body. The pseudo qigong master teaches you how to dispel it from your body. I tell you that you are unable to dispel it at all, even a bit of it, because you yourself have no ability to distinguish the bad qi from the good qi. In the long run, your body will be all black inside. That is the karma.
When you really want to cultivate yourself, there will be quite an ordeal for you. What shall you do? How much suffering will you have to undergo to transform it into a white substance? It is a hard job. A person of good inborn qualities is usually more likely to have this problem. Some people keep seeking the powers to cure diseases. Seeing such a desire in your mind, the animal will come to possess your body, which is called spirit possession. Do you want to cure diseases? It will give you a hand. But it will not help you for nothing. No loss, no gain. It is really a danger to you. How can you cultivate yourself when you have invited it to your body? You have been completely ruined.
Some people who have good inborn qualities are in fact exchanging their inborn qualities for other people's karma. A sick man usually has a heavy karma. If you treat a serious case, you will feel very ill when you go home after the treatment. Many people who treated diseases in the past had such an experience that their patients became well but they themselves suffered from serious diseases at home. With the passage of time, much karma will be transferred to you. You give your De (virtues) to other people to take the karma, as you will gain nothing if you have lost nothing. Though what you want is disease, you also have to exchange your De (virtues) for karma. There is a principle in this universe: Nobody will stop you from taking something, nor will they say that you are good. There is also a specific tenet in the universe: He who has much karma is a bad person. You have exchanged your inborn qualities for karma. With much karma, how could you cultivate yourself? Your entire inborn qualities are ruined. How dreadful it is! The patient is well and feels comfortable, but you go home to suffer. If you cured two cancer patients, you would take their place to die. Isn't it a dangerous thing? It certainly is. But many people do not know the truth of the matter.
Some pseudo qigong masters enjoy a high reputation. But reputation itself does not necessarily mean being wise. What on earth do ordinary people know? They just echo the views of others and believe in something blindly. What the pseudo qigong masters are doing now does harm not only to others but also to themselves. A couple of years later you will see what will become of them. Cultivation is not to be disrupted in this way. One can cure diseases through cultivation, but to cure diseases is not the aim of cultivation. Cultivation is something supernormal, not a skill of ordinary people. You are absolutely not allowed to disrupt it at will like that. Now some pseudo qigong masters have created a foul atmosphere, using qigong as a means to seek fame and make a fortune. They are trying to form an evil clique to expand their forces. Now the pseudo qigong masters outnumber the true ones by many times. Ordinary people all say so and do such things. Is it the reason for you believing them? You think that qigong is just something like that. No, it is not. What I tell you is the true principle.
To gain personal interests, an ordinary person will do evil in his contact with other people in various social relationships, and he has to pay what he owes to others by enduring some sufferings. Suppose you could really cure disease and do it as you like, could you be allowed to do so? There are so many Buddhas that they are present everywhere. Why don't they do such a thing? How wonderful if they could make all the human beings live comfortably! Why haven't they done so? One's karmic debt has to be repaid by oneself. Nobody dares to break this principle. In the course of cultivation, out of compassion one may occasionally give aid to others, but he can do nothing but postpone their illness. So they may feel well at the moment but will still have to suffer afterwards. He may also transform your illness so that you would lose money or suffer some misfortune instead of suffering from an illness. To really cure one of his disease means to eliminate that karma all at once. However, we can only do such a thing for a cultivator, not for an ordinary person. Here I am not talking about the principle of our school. I am talking about the truth of the whole universe. I am talking about the actual situation in the world of cultivation.
We do not teach you how to cure diseases here. We are leading you to the great way and the right way, taking you upward. So I say in every lecturing session that a cultivator of Falun Dafa shall not treat diseases. If you treat diseases, you are not a follower of Falun Dafa. As we are leading you to the right way, we are purifying your body again and again until it is completely transformed by the high-energy matter when you are in the course of the cultivation of Shi Jian Fa (the In-Triple-World-Law). But you yourself are trying to take those black things into your body. How could you cultivate? That is karma! You can never cultivate. With much karma, you are not able to bear it. If you suffer too much, you will find it impossible to cultivate. This is where the reason lies. I have spread the Great Law to the public. Maybe you still do not know what I have taught to you. Since I am able to teach the Great Law to the public, I have ways to protect it. If you treat diseases, my Law body will take back everything for cultivation planted in your body. We cannot allow you to so casually ruin such valuable things to gain fame and wealth. If you do not act on the requirements of the Law, you are not a follower of Falun Dafa. Your body will be reduced to the level of an ordinary person and the bad things will be returned to you, because you want to be an ordinary person.
After attending my lecture yesterday, many of you began to feel the whole body light. However, a very small number of you who are seriously ill have gone ahead of the rest and have begun to feel unwell since yesterday. Yesterday after I removed the bad things from your bodies, most of you felt the whole body light and very comfortable. However, there is a principle in this universe: no loss, no gain. We cannot remove all of your bad things. It absolutely won't do for you to bear nothing. That is to say, we have removed the root cause of your illness and of your poor health. But you still have a disease field. When your Celestial Eye is open on a very low plane, you can see in your body balls of black qi, the turbid pathogenic qi which are concentrated masses of black qi with great density. When these balls become scattered, the black qi will fill your whole body.
From today on, some of you will feel cold all over the body as if having got a heavy cold, perhaps feeling pain even in the bones. Most of you will feel unwell in parts of the body, such as feeling pain in the leg or feeling dizzy. You may have felt your affected part healed through practice of qigong or cured by a qigong master, but now you will suffer from it again. That is because he only postponed your illness instead of curing it, as a result, with the disease still in the original place, you will have a relapse later. We have to turn it all out and drive it away so that it will be all removed by the root. In this way, you may feel that you have a relapse. In fact, it is a fundamental dissolution of your karma. Therefore, you will have some reaction. Some people will have reaction in parts of the body. They will feel unwell this way or that way and bear all kinds of sufferings. All this is normal. I tell you that no matter how ill you feel, you must come to attend my lecture. As long as you come to the session, all your symptoms will disappear and you will be in no danger at all. I should make it clear to you that no matter how difficult it is for you to endure the "illness", you are expected to come to the session, because it is hard to obtain the Law. When you feel very ill, it means that the thing has reached the extreme and will turn into its opposite, that is, your whole body will be purified and has to be completely purified. The root of your illness has been removed. Only this black qi is left rising outward for itself so that you will undergo a bit of tribulation and bear some suffering. It would never do for you to endure nothing.
In the society of ordinary people, owing to the desire for fame and gain and the competition with others, you do not have a good sleep or enjoy a good meal. You are quite ruined in health. Seen from another space, the bones of your body are all black. To purify such a body in such a short while, it is impossible for you to have no reaction. So you will have some reaction. Some of you may vomit and have loose bowels. In the past many students from different areas told me about this in their experience reports that after class they had been looking for toilets all the way until they got home, because their internal organs all needed to be purified. A few of you may sleep in class and will wake up when I finish my lecture. Why? Because they have brain trouble which needs to be put right. But they could never stand such an adjustment of their brains. So they must be put into a state of anesthesia so that they will feel nothing. However, some of them have no problem in the sense of hearing. Though they are sleeping soundly, they do not miss a single word. Afterwards, they will find themselves full of vigour and will not feel sleepy even if they have not got any sleep for two days. All these are different states which need to be adjusted, as your whole body must be completely purified.
If you are a true cultivator of Falun Dafa and can let go of your attachments, from now on you will have some reaction. Some people are unable to let go of their attachments. Though they say they have let go of them, in fact they can never do so. Therefore, it would be very hard to purify their bodies. Some people let go of their attachments when they begin to understand what I talk about at the end of the session, and their bodies are now purified. The others have found their bodies light from head to foot, but they have just begun to get rid of their diseases and are beginning to feel unwell. In each session there are such people who do not have good awakening quality and lag behind the others. So whatever has happened to you is normal. Such a case also occurred in the sessions I held in other areas. There was someone who felt so ill that he lay prone on the chair waiting for me to walk down from the platform to give him some treatment. I won't do such a thing. In the course of your cultivation, you will meet with a lot of great ordeals. If you are even unable to pass this ordeal, how can you cultivate later on? Can't you abide such a small tribulation? You certainly can. So do not ask me for treatment again. I do not treat diseases. When you mention the word "illness" to me, I'm not willing to listen.
Man is very hard to save. There are always about five or ten percent of the students in each session who cannot keep up with the others. It is impossible for everyone to attain the Tao. Even if you can persevere in cultivation, it is still hard to say whether you can make it in cultivation or have inflexible determination to cultivate. It is impossible for everyone to attain Buddhahood. A true cultivator of the Great Law, however, will experience the same state and get all he should have by just reading this book.
Lecture Three
I Regard All the Students as My Disciples
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Do you know what I have been doing? I regard all the students, including those who can really cultivate through self-study, as my disciples, and thus give them guidance. To lead you to high dimensions by teaching you the cultivation system, I have no alternative but to guide you this way. Otherwise, I am in reality acting in a wholly irresponsible way, making confusion. We have given you so many things and allowed you to know so many Laws that ordinary people are not allowed to know. I teach the Great Law to you, and I also give you a lot of things. I have purified your bodies and dealt with some other problems. Therefore, it would never do if I do not take you as my disciples. It is not allowed to reveal so many secrets of heaven freely to an ordinary person. But the point is that times have changed. Now we do not need to perform the ceremony of kowtowing or making a bow with hands folded in front. That kind of ceremony is of no use. The performance of such a ceremony may look like practising a religion. We do not do that. What is the good of your kowtowing to become my formal disciple if you stick to your old way of doing things when you go out, and still behave as before among ordinary people, competing and scrambling for fame and gain? You may ruin the reputation of the Great Law under my banner!
Real cultivation all depends on your heart. As long as you can cultivate and are able to keep cultivating firmly and steadily, I will take you as my disciple. It won't do if I do not treat you this way. However, there are some people who will not necessarily be able to take themselves really as cultivators and continue with their cultivation. It is impossible for some people to do so. But many people will. As long as you persevere in your cultivation, I will regard you as my disciple, and thus give you guidance.
Can one be counted as a student of Falun Dafa if he only practises these sets of exercise every day? Not necessarily so. Because true cultivation requires you to act upon that Xinxing ( ) criterion we have referred to and heighten your Xinxing in earnest. This is exactly true cultivation. If you only practise those movements without improving your Xinxing, there will be no powerful energy to reinforce everything you have cultivated. It cannot be called cultivation, and we cannot regard you as a student of Falun Dafa, either. If you go on like this, you practise the exercise, but you do not act upon the requirements of Falun Dafa or improve your Xinxing, and stick to the old way of doing things as before among ordinary people, then you could possibly run into some other troubles. Unfortunately, you would even say that the practice of our Falun Dafa has led you astray. All this is likely to happen. Therefore, you must act upon the requirements by our Xinxing criterion, and in this way you will become a genuine cultivator. I have made this clear to you. So do not ask me any more to perform those ceremonies to become my formal disciple. As long as you cultivate yourself in earnest, I'll treat you like this. I have so many Law bodies that they are countless. No matter how many students there will be, I am able to take care of them, not to mention these students of mine.
Qigong of the Buddha School and Buddhism
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Qigong of the Buddha School is not Buddhism. I would like to make this clear to you. In fact, qigong of the Tao School is not Taoism, either. Some of us are always confused about these things. Some monks from the temple and some lay Buddhists think that they know quite a lot about Buddhism, so they indulge in unbridled propaganda for Buddhism among practitioners of our cultivation system. I tell you that you should not do such a thing, because they are not of the same school. A religion has the form of religion, but here I am teaching a part of our cultivation school to you, and the practitioners of Falun Dafa shall not take the form of religion except professional cultivators. Therefore, our cultivation system is not Buddhism in the Period of Decline.
The Dharma of Buddhism is only a small portion of the Buddha Law. There are many other profound Great Laws and there are different Laws guiding different dimensions. Sakyamuni said that there were 84000 schools to cultivation. There are only some few of them in Buddhism, such as the Tian Tai Sect, the Hua Yan Sect, Zen Buddhism, the Pure Land School and the Esoteric Sect, which even are not enough for the remaining few beyond the round figure. Therefore, Buddhism cannot represent the entire Buddha Law. It is only a tiny portion of the Buddha Law. Our Falun Dafa is also one of the 84000 schools. It has nothing to do with primitive Buddhism or Buddhism in the Period of Decline or other religions of the present day.
Buddhism was founded by Sakyamuni in ancient India 2500 years ago. When Sakyamuni opened his cultivation energy and attained enlightenment, he recalled what he himself had cultivated in his previous incarnations and then made it public to save human beings. Though thousands upon thousands of scrolls of scriptures have been produced in his school, its characteristics can be summarised in three words: morality, meditation and wisdom. By morality, Buddhism means: to abstain from all desires of an ordinary person. This compels one to give up his desires for personal interests and cut himself off from all worldly things and so on. Thus, his mind will become empty, thinking about nothing, and in this way will be able to enter into concentration. So the two complement each other. When he has entered into concentration, he has to sit in meditation for genuine cultivation so that he can rely on his power of concentration to ascend in cultivation, which is exactly the part of real cultivation in that school. It does not teach how to do the exercise or does not change Benti (the True Being). It only cultivates the energy which determines the level of attainment. So one cultivates nothing but his Xinxing. As he does not cultivate his life, he pays no attention to the evolution of cultivation energy. Meanwhile, he strengthens his power of concentration through concentration and lessens his karma by enduring the suffering of sitting cross-legged in meditation. Wisdom means that one has become enlightened, attained great wisdom, seen the truth of the universe and the true picture of different spaces of the universe and is able to manifest his vast psychic powers. The opening of wisdom or enlightenment is also called opening of cultivation energy.
When Sakyamuni founded his school in his life there were eight religions in circulation in India, among which was a deep-rooted religion called Brahmanism. During the rest of his life Sakyamuni never stopped struggling against the other religions in the realm of ideology. As what Sakyamuni preached was Orthodox Law, the Buddha Dharma he taught became more and more overwhelming during the whole course of his teaching, while the other religions went more and more into decline and even the deep-rooted Brahmanism was on the verge of extinction. However, after Sakyamuni entered Nirvana, the other religions, especially Brahmanism, became popular again. What happened in Buddhism then? Some monks opened their cultivation energy and attained enlightenment at different levels. But they did so at relatively low levels. Sakyamuni reached the status of Tathagata, but a lot of monks didn't.
Buddha Law varies from dimension to dimension in its manifestations. However, the higher the dimension is, the closer its Law is to the truth. The lower it is, the farther it is from the truth. When those monks opened their cultivation energy and attained enlightenment at the low level, they tried to expound what Sakyamuni had said based on the manifestations of the universe they themselves had perceived, what they had learned about and the truth they had awakened to at their own respective levels. That is to say, some monks explained the Dharma Sakyamuni had preached in this way or that way. Still some other monks preached what they had realised themselves as the words Sakyamuni had said and did not follow Sakyamuni's original words. As a result, the Buddha Dharma was distorted beyond recognition. It became entirely different from the Dharma Sakyamuni had preached. In the end, the Buddha Dharma of Buddhism disappeared in India. This is a grave historical lesson. Later, there was no Buddhism in India. Before its disappearance Buddhism went through reformation many times. At length, it combined itself with something from Brahmanism and formed the present-day religion called Hinduism in India, in which no Buddha but something else is worshipped and they do not believe in Sakyamuni. This is what the situation is like.
In the course of its development, Buddhism underwent several relatively great reforms. One of them took place not long after the demise of Sakyamuni. Someone founded Mahayana or the Great Vehicle according to the truth of the high dimensions Sakyamuni had preached. They believed that the Dharma Sakyamuni had publicly preached was intended for ordinary listeners and would lead to self-liberation and the attainment of the Arhatship. It does not offer salvation to all sentient beings, and is called Hinayana or the Small Vehicle. The monks in Southeast Asia still observe the primitive cultivation way practised in Sakyamuni's days. In the Han region we call it the Small Vehicle. Of course, they themselves do not think so. They believe that they have carried on Sakyamuni's original practices. It is true that they have basically carried on the cultivation way practised in Sakyamuni's days.
After the reformed Mahayana was introduced into China, it took root in the country and formed the present-day Buddhism in our country. In fact, it is completely different from the Buddhism in Sakyamuni's days. Everything has changed from the attire to the whole awakening state and cultivation process. In primitive Buddhism only Sakyamuni was enshrined and worshipped as its honourable founder. However, in present-day Buddhism a multitude of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have appeared and a multi-Buddha belief is practised. Buddhism has become a multi-Buddha religion, and there has appeared faith in a great many Tathagata Buddhas, such as the Buddha Amitabha, the Buddha of Master Physician and the Great Sun Tathagata etc.... Many great Bodhisattvas also have been worshipped. In this way, the whole of Buddhism is entirely different from the Buddhism which Sakyamuni founded at the beginning.
During this period there occurred another reformation. The Bodhisattva Nagarjuna made public an Esoteric cultivation way, which was later introduced from India into our Xinjiang and then the Han region of China via Afghanistan. As it happened to be in the Tang Dynasty, it was called Tang Tantrism. Being greatly influenced by Confucianism, we Chinese are different from other nations in moral concepts. In this Esoteric cultivation way there was the double cultivation of a man and a woman, which could not be accepted by the society of that time. Therefore, the Tang Tantrism was eradicated in the suppression of Buddhism in Hui Chang period of the Tang Dynasty, and thus disappeared from the Han region of China. Now in Japan there is a school called East Tantrism, which, in fact, derives its origin from the China of that time. However, the one who introduced it was not granted Guanding (filling energy into the top of the head). According to the Esoteric Sect, he who has learned something from the Esoteric Sect without going through Guanding is a Law robber and will not be regarded as a disciple taught by the master himself. Another branch was introduced from India into Tibet via Nepal and formed Tibetan Tantrism, which has been handed down up to the present day. This is the basic situation of Buddhism. I have just given a very brief description of its development and evolution. In the whole course of the development of Buddhism, some other schools, such as Zen Buddhism founded by Bodhidharmer, the Pure Land School, Huayan Sect, etc. also appeared. All these schools resulted from the awakening to what Sakyamuni had preached and formed parts of reformed Buddhism. There are more than ten such schools in Buddhism. And they all take the form of religion, so they belong to Buddhism.
Most of the religions which came into being in this century are false, in fact, not only in this century, but also in some previous centuries, as there was the emergence of many new religions in all parts of the world. All the great enlightened beings have their own paradises for the people they want to save. The Tathagata Buddhas, such as Sakyamuni, Amitabha, the Great Sun Tathagata, etc., all have their own paradises over which they preside for the human beings to be saved. In our Milky Way galaxy, there are more than a hundred such paradises. Our Falun Dafa also has the Falun Paradise.
Where can those false schools take their followers for the sake of salvation? They are unable to save other people. What they preach is not the Law. Of course, some people founded a religion and did not intend to act as a demon to undermine the orthodox religions at the beginning. When they opened their cultivation energy and attained enlightenment in different dimensions, they saw a bit of truth, but they were rather low, very far from an enlightened being who is able to save other people. They discovered some truth and found that some of what happens among ordinary people is wrong. They also told others to do good deeds, and did not oppose other religions at the beginning. At length, people began to believe in them, thinking what they said was reasonable. Then, people trusted them more and more and consequently began to worship them instead of religions. When their desire for fame and gain was up, they would like to have the public grant them some titles. From then on they became founders of a new religion. I tell you that such religions are all evil. Even if they do no harm to people, they are still evil religions, because they stop people from believing in orthodox religions. The orthodox religions can save people, but they cannot. With development as time passes by, they will do evil on the sly. Recently, many such practices have spread to China. The so-called Guanyin School is one of them. So, do be on your guard against them. It is said that there are more than two thousand such practices in a certain country in East Asia. In Southeast Asia and some Western countries, there is nothing that people do not believe in. In a certain country, there are simply witch religions. All these things are the demons that have come out in the Period of Decline. The Period of Decline not only refers to that of Buddhism, but that of a great many spaces down from a very high dimension, which have become corrupt. The Period of Decline not only means the Period of Decline in Buddhism, but means there is no Law in the hearts of people to maintain morality in human society.
Be Constant in a Single Cultivation System
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We teach how to be constant in a single cultivation system. No matter how you cultivate yourself, you should not cultivate blindly by mixing other things into what you practise. Some lay Buddhists cultivate what is taught in Buddhism, and they also cultivate what belongs to our Falun Dafa. I tell you that if you cultivate this way you will get nothing in the end, for nobody will give you anything. Though both of us belong to the Buddha School, there is the matter of Xinxing, and single-minded cultivation. You have only one body. Which school's cultivation energy will you develop in your body? How should it be evolved for you? Where do you want to go? The school you have cultivated will take you to the place belonging to it. If you cultivate in accordance with the Pure Land School, you will go to the Paradise of Ultimate Bliss presided over by the Buddha Amitabha. If you cultivate in accordance with the Buddha of the Master Physician, you will go to the Glazed Paradise. This is the view held in the religion and is called the one and only way.
The practice of the exercise we teach here, which, in fact, refers to the whole process of the evolution of cultivation energy, goes the way one's cultivation school has arranged for his cultivation all the time. Where would you say you should go? If you straddle two boats, you will get nothing. Just as the practice of qigong and the cultivation of Buddhahood in the temple cannot be mixed up, neither can different cultivation ways, neither can different qigong forms, and neither can different religions. Even the different schools in the same religion cannot be mixed up in cultivation, but only one of them can be chosen for cultivation. When you cultivate the Pure Land School, you practise nothing else but the Pure Land School. When you cultivate the Esoteric School, you practise nothing else but the Esoteric Sect. When you cultivate Zen Buddhism, you practise nothing else but Zen Buddhism. If you straddle two boats and cultivate this one, and that one, you will get nothing. That is to say, even in Buddhism the one and only way is taught, and you are not allowed to cultivate different schools at the same time. A Buddhist also practises, and also cultivates himself. The development process of his cultivation energy follows the cultivating and evolving course arranged in the school he himself cultivates. In another space, there is also an evolution process of cultivation energy, which is also extremely complex and mystical. Therefore, it can not be practised together with other things at will either.
Some lay Buddhists try to take our practitioners to the temple for conversion to Buddhism when they hear that we practise qigong belonging to the Buddha School. I tell you, all of our students here, do not do such a thing in any way. By doing so, you are disrupting both our Great Law and the commandments of Buddhism. Meanwhile, you are hindering our students, and as a result they will achieve nothing. It will never do. Cultivation is a serious matter, which must be done single-mindedly. Though what we teach to ordinary people is not a religion, the goal of cultivation is the same, that is, to reach the opening of cultivation energy and attain enlightenment, and reach consummation in cultivation.
Sakyamuni said that in the Period of Decline even the monks in the temple would find it difficult to save themselves, not to mention lay Buddhists, whom nobody is actually taking care of. Though you have formally become a disciple to a master, the so-called master is also a cultivator. If he does not get down to genuine cultivation, he will also achieve nothing. Nobody can ascend if he does not cultivate his heart. Conversion is a ceremony for an ordinary person. Will your conversion to Buddhism make you a person belonging to the Buddha School? And then, the Buddha will take care of you? There is no such thing. Even if you kowtow every day with your forehead grazed and burn incense bundle after bundle, it is still of no use. You have to cultivate your heart in a real and earnest way. Up till to the Period of Decline, a great change has already taken place in the universe. Even the places where people practise their religious beliefs have gone bad. Those who possess supernormal capabilities (including monks) have also found such a situation. At present only I myself in the whole world am teaching the Orthodox Law in public. I have done something never done by anyone before, and opened such a large door during the Period of Decline. This, in fact, is a chance that does not occur once in a thousand years or even in ten thousand years. However, it still depends on you yourself whether you can be saved or, to put it another way, whether you are able to cultivate. What I say is a great cosmic Law.
I am not saying that you must learn nothing else but my Falun Dafa. What I teach is a truth. If you want to cultivate, you must stick to only one cultivation way. Otherwise, you will never succeed in cultivation. Of course, if you do not want to continue with your cultivation any longer, we will leave you alone, as the Law is taught to true cultivators. So, you must cultivate single-mindedly and never take in any thinking about other cultivation systems. I am not talking about mental activities here. No mental activities are required in our Falun Dafa. Therefore, do not add any thinking to your cultivation. You must keep this in mind: There are basically no mental activities in our system, as the Buddha School teaches the Emptiness and the Tao School the Nothingness.
Once I had my mind connected with those of four or five great enlightened beings and great Taoists of the extremely high dimensions. In the eyes of an ordinary person they were devastatingly high. They wanted to know what I was thinking about. I have cultivated for so many years and it is absolutely impossible for others to read my mind because supernormal capabilities cannot enter me at all. Nobody is able to understand me or know what I am thinking about. In order to know what I was thinking about, they connected their minds with mine for a certain period of time with my consent. With this connection, I felt this a bit unbearable. No matter how high or how low my attainment was, I was still among ordinary people doing something, that is, saving people, my mind is saving people. But how tranquil were their minds? Their tranquillity reached a dreadful extent. If there had been only one who had reached such a tranquil state, that would have been all right. But there were four or five people sitting there with their tranquillity all reaching such an extent -- just like stagnant water, that you would find nothing moving there. I tried in vain to feel their thoughts. During those few days I really felt bad, and just had that kind of feeling. Their minds were in such a state of complete inaction and emptiness that it is beyond the imagination and sensation of ordinary people.
There are no mental activities at all for the very high dimensional cultivation because your foundation has been built up when you are on the foundation building stage of an ordinary person. Reaching the very high dimensional cultivation, especially our cultivation system, is entirely automatic. As long as you heighten your Xinxing, your cultivation energy keeps on growing. You even do not have to do any hand movements any more. The exercises in our cultivation system are meant to strengthen the automatic mechanism. Why does one always keep still when sitting in meditation? He is entirely in the state of inaction. You may find that the Tao School teaches this technique or that one, something like mental activities and conducting intention. I tell you that the Tao School will have nothing left and pay no attention at all to this intention or that one when they have come slightly out of the stage of qi. However, some practitioners who have practised some other qigong can never give up such things as how to conduct qi, how to do intention, etc.. I teach them something from a college level, but they always ask me things on the level of primary school pupils, such as how to conduct or how to use mental activities, because they have already fallen into such a habit. They think this is the way qigong is, but it is not.
Supernormal Capabilities and Energy Potency
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Many people are not clear about qigong terms, and some people are always confusing them. They take supernormal capabilities for energy potency, and energy potency for supernormal capabilities. The cultivation energy which is developed through the cultivation of one's Xinxing evolves from one's virtues when a person has assimilated himself into the fundamental qualities of the universe. This cultivation energy is crucial because it determines the height of one's level of attainment, the strength of one's energy potency and the height of one's achievement status. What will one develop in the course of his cultivation? He will develop supernatural powers which are called supernormal capabilities for short. The above-mentioned cultivation energy which determines one's attainment level is called energy potency. The higher one's attainment level is, the more powerful his energy potency will be and the stronger his supernormal capabilities will be.
Supernormal capabilities are nothing but by-products of one's cultivation. It does not stand for the level, the height of one's attainment level or the strength of one's energy potency. Some may develop more while others may develop less. Besides, supernormal capabilities are not to be acquired as a major goal of cultivation. Only when a practitioner is determined to get down to true cultivation, can he develop them. However, he cannot cultivate them as his major goal. What do you cultivate these things for? Do you want to use them among ordinary people? You are absolutely not allowed to use them among ordinary people at will. Therefore, the more you desire to have them, the less you will get. You are desiring, and desiring itself is an attachment. What you have to get rid of through cultivation is simply attachment.
Many people do not have supernormal capabilities though they have entered into a high and profound realm of awareness in cultivation. Their masters have locked up their powers for fear that they can not restrain themselves and do something bad. Therefore, they have not been allowed all the way to show their supernatural powers. There are quite a lot of such people. Supernormal capabilities are controlled by one's consciousness. A practitioner may fail to control himself in his sleep, and a dream he had could possibly make the heaven and the earth overturned the next morning. This will never be allowed to happen. When cultivating among ordinary people, those with great supernatural powers are usually not allowed to use them. Most of them have had their powers locked up. But exceptions also occur. Quite a lot of people who have cultivated well and can restrain themselves are free to use some of their powers. If you ask such people to make a casual display of their powers, they will never do so, because they can restrain themselves.
Reverse Cultivation and Energy Borrowing
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There are some people who have never practised qigong or have learned just a few movements in a qigong training class. However, what they have learned is not cultivation, but belongs to something used to eliminate diseases and keep fit. That is to say, these people have never received true teachings. But they suddenly find themselves possessed of energy overnight. Now I am going to tell you how they have got gong (energy), and there are several ways of doing so.
One of them refers to reverse cultivation. What is reverse cultivation? There are some people who are quite old but still want to cultivate. It is too late for them to cultivate from the very beginning. In the high tide of qigong, they also wanted to cultivate. They knew that by practising qigong they could do good for others, and at the same time they could improve themselves. They had such a wish to improve and cultivate themselves. But in the high tide of qigong in the previous years, what those qigong masters did was to popularize qigong, and there was nobody who really taught things of a high order. Even up till today nobody but I really teaches the Gong of a high order in public. All the reverse cultivators are above fifty. They are quite old but have very good inborn qualities, and what they carry in their bodies is very good. Such people are almost good enough to be selected as disciples or successors. However, since they are getting old, it is by no means easy for them to cultivate. Where can they find a master? But when they just think of cultivating themselves, such a heart will glitter like gold and shake the Ten Directions. People often mention the word Buddha-nature. And this is what they mean by Buddha-nature, which has come out.
Seen from the high dimension, human life is not meant for being a human being. As human life is born in the cosmic space, it is in conformity with Zhen Shan Ren, the fundamental qualities of the universe, and originally has a kind and good nature. However, when there are more living beings, they fall into a social relationship, in which some of them have become selfish or bad and can no longer stay in the very high dimension, so they drop into a lower one. When they become bad again in this dimension, they have to drop down and down until they have dropped into this realm of ordinary people. They are to be annihilated when they have dropped into this realm. However, out of compassion those great enlightened beings have decided to give human beings another chance by putting them in the hardest of circumstances, so they have created such a space.
People in the other spaces do not possess such bodies. They can float in the air. They can become bigger or smaller. However, in this space human beings are provided with bodies, such as our physical bodies. With such a body, you will find cold, heat, fatigue or hunger all unbearable. Anyway, these are all sufferings for you. When you are ill, you feel pain. You have to go through birth, old age, diseases and death. You are left in the sufferings to pay your karmic debts. You are given another chance to see whether you can return or not. Therefore, you have dropped into a maze in which you are provided with two eyes so that you are not able to see the other spaces, or the truth of matter. If you can return, the greatest suffering will be the most valuable. In such a maze, you have to suffer a lot when you cultivate yourself to return in dependence on your awakening ability, and thus, you will go back quickly. If you still let yourself go bad, your life will be annihilated. Therefore, in the eyes of the enlightened beings, human life is not to be lived as a human being. A person is expected to return to the origin and go back to the truth. An ordinary person cannot awake to this. An ordinary person in ordinary human society is no more than an ordinary person. What he thinks about is how to develop himself and how to live a good life. The better he lives, the more selfish and greedy he will become and the more he will run counter to the fundamental qualities of the universe. Thus, he will head for his doom.
Seen from the high dimension, you are actually going backward when you think you are moving forward. Human beings think that they are developing science and are progressing, but they are simply following the Law of the universe. Zhang Guolao, one of the Eight Immortals, rode a donkey backwards. Few people know why he rode a donkey that way. He found that one was actually moving backward when he was going forward, so he rode a donkey with his back facing ahead. Therefore, when some people want to cultivate, the enlightened beings regard such hearts as extremely valuable and help them without condition. Just as our students sitting here today, if you want to cultivate, I can help you without condition. But as an ordinary person, if you want to have your disease cured, want to have this or have that, I will not help you. Why? Because you want to be an ordinary person, and an ordinary person must go through birth, old age, diseases and death. He has to live that way. Everything has its causational relationship which cannot be disrupted. There was originally no cultivation arranged for you in your life. Now that you want to cultivate, your future life will be rearranged and your physical body can be put right.
Now a person wants to cultivate. When this intention was born, the enlightened beings saw it and highly appreciated it. But how to help this person? Where can he find a master in this world? Besides, he is already over fifty. The great enlightened beings themselves cannot teach him. If they revealed themselves to teach him, preaching the Law and imparting the practice exercise to him, they would reveal the secrets of heaven, and thus would fall down. Human beings have dropped into the maze as a result of their evil doings and they have to cultivate in the maze in dependence on their own awakening. Therefore, the enlightened beings cannot teach them. Seeing a real Buddha preaching the Law and teaching the practice exercise, even a person who is guilty of unpardonable evil will come to learn, and everyone will believe. Then, what is there for him to awake to? The question of awakening would not exist. It is human beings themselves who have dropped into the maze. So they should have been annihilated. Now in this maze you are given a chance to return. You return if you can. If you fail to return, you will continue to live in the rebirth cycle and finally meet annihilation.
One walks with his own legs. What would he do if he wanted to cultivate? The enlightened found a way. At that time, there occurred a high qigong tide, which resulted from a change of the celestial phenomena. In order to work with the change in the celestial phenomena, the enlightened beings supplied him with energy on the merits of his Xinxing through a soft pipeline connected with his body, which worked like a water tap. The moment he turned it on, the energy came out. When he wanted to release the energy, the energy came to him. When he did not release it, he possessed no energy. He was in such a state. This is called reverse cultivation in which he cultivates to reach consummation by cultivating from the high to the low.
We generally cultivate from the low to the high until we have opened our cultivation energy and reached consummation. A reverse cultivation, however, is meant for one who is quite old and cannot afford to cultivate from the low to the high, for it would be quicker for him to cultivate from the high to the low, which was also a phenomenon of the time. Such a person must have very high Xinxing. He is provided with corresponding energy on the merits of his Xinxing. What for? One of the purposes is to work with the then celestial phenomena. He may bear hardships when doing good, as all kinds of worldly desires will disturb him when he is confronted with ordinary people. Some people will show no understanding for him though he has cured them of their diseases. While giving them treatment he has removed a lot of bad things from their bodies and given them such a cure that may not necessarily cause a marked change in them then. So they will feel unhappy and show him no gratitude. Maybe they will even call him a trickster. With these problems his heart will be tempered in such circumstances. One is expected to cultivate and improve himself when he is supplied with energy. He can develop his powers and increase his cultivation energy while he is doing good. But there are some people who do not realize this. Didn't I tell you that the Law cannot be preached to them? It is a matter of awakening. If a person cannot awake to it for himself, there is no way out.
When some people received the energy, they would suddenly feel themselves burning one night in their sleep and could hardly bear the cover of their quilts. They got up the next morning and would get an electric shock from whatever they touched. They knew that they had got the energy. Seeing someone suffering a pain in the body, their hands would move over the affected part casually, and found this quite good. From then on they knew that they were possessed of energy. So they acted like qigong masters and hung up their signboards. They proclaimed themselves qigong masters and established a practice. At the beginning, as good people, they would turn down the money or the gifts offered to them when they cured other people of their diseases. But in the big dye vat of ordinary people, they could not escape being contaminated, because such reverse cultivators had never gone through the real cultivation of their Xinxing and it was very hard for them to keep up a good Xinxing. Gradually they would begin to accept small keepsakes. Then they would accept big things. In the end they would feel offended when not enough was given to them. Then they would say: "Why give me so many things? Give me money!" And they would become very unhappy when they were not given enough money. What's more, they refused to admit their inferiority to qigong masters of Orthodox schools. Their ears were filled with others' compliments about their abilities. They would be unhappy when someone said something bad about them. Their desire for fame and gain was up. They thought they were smarter than others and were really extraordinary. They thought that they were given the energy so that they could act as qigong masters and make a great fortune without realizing the fact that the energy was meant for their cultivation. When their desire for fame and gain was up, their Xinxing had actually fallen down.
I have said, the height of one's Xinxing determines that of one's cultivation energy. When one's Xinxing has been lowered, he can no longer be supplied with so much energy. The energy is to be given with the change of one's Xinxing, as the height of one's Xinxing determines that of one's cultivation energy. The stronger one's desire for fame and gain, the more heavily he will fall among ordinary people, and his cultivation energy will also become diminished. In the end when he has fallen down to the bottom, the energy will not be given to him and he will possess no energy at all. Quite a lot of such people were found years ago, and most of them were women over fifty. You see the old woman practitioner had never received true teachings except that she may have learned some movements in a qigong training class to get rid of her diseases and keep fit. One day, all of a sudden she gained the energy. However, when her Xinxing turned bad and her desire for fame and gain was up, she fell down. Now she is nobody and she has no energy found in her. A great number of reverse cultivators have fallen down and very few remain now. Why? Because she did not know that this was for her to cultivate herself. She thought this was for her to make a fortune, to win fame and to act as a qigong master among ordinary people. But in fact this was for her to cultivate herself.
What is energy borrowing? This has no age limit. But there is one requirement that this should happen to a person who has extremely good Xinxing. He knows that one can cultivate himself through practice of qigong and he also wants to cultivate. He has the intention of cultivating himself, but where can he find a master? It is true that some years ago there were indeed some true qigong masters who were teaching some cultivation systems. However, what they taught was only something to eliminate one's diseases and keep fit. But nobody taught qigong of a high order. Nobody would teach that.
Speaking of energy borrowing, I have one more thing to talk about. Besides Zhu Yuanshen ( the chief spirit), a person also has Fu Yuanshen ( assistant spirit). Some people have one, two, three, four, or five Assistant Spirits. The Assistant Spirit and the person are not necessarily of the same sex. It may be a male or a female, different from individual to individual. As a matter of fact, the Chief Spirit and its physical body are also not necessarily of the same sex, as we have found that now there are a great number of men who have female Spirits and a great number of women who have male Spirits, which is just in conformity with the cosmic climate of Yin and Yang being reversed with Yin in prosperity and Yang in decline as held by the Tao School.
One's Assistant Spirit often ranks higher than the Chief Spirit. Especially some people's Assistant Spirits come from a very high dimension. An Assistant Spirit is not at all spirit possession. Born together with you from your mother's womb, it shares the name and the body with you. Usually it is the Chief Spirit that has the final say in deciding what one should think about or what one will do. The main task of an Assistant Spirit is to prevent one's Chief Spirit from doing evil. But when the Chief Spirit is headstrong, the Assistant Spirit can do nothing to help. The Assistant Spirit will not be misled by the society of ordinary people, but the Chief Spirit is likely to.
Some Assistant Spirits come from very high dimensions. Maybe they are on the verge of completing the right achievement. The Assistant Spirit wants to cultivate, but it cannot help it when the Chief Spirit does not want to. One day, in the high tide of qigong, the Chief Spirit also wanted to learn an exercise system to reach a higher level of cultivation. Of course, this idea was quite simple, without any desires for such things as fame and gain. The Assistant Spirit was delighted by this: "I want to cultivate, but I don't have the say. You want to cultivate, it is just what I want." But where could it find a master? The Assistant Spirit was quite capable, and it left the body to see the great enlightened being it had come to know in its previous life. Some Assistant Spirits rank very high and they are able to leave the body. When it came to the enlightened being and expressed its wish to cultivate and borrow some energy, the latter was glad to help it with its cultivation when seeing the man was quite good. Thus, the Assistant Spirit got the energy, which was usually composed of some scattering energy and was transported through a pipeline. Some may get something in a finished form, which is usually possessed of supernormal capabilities.
In this way the energy in finished form is possessed of supernormal capabilities as well. Just as I mentioned above, this person felt himself burning in his sleep at night. When he woke up the next morning, he found himself possessed of energy. He would get an electric shock whatever he touched and was able to cure diseases. He knew that he was possessed of energy. Where was it coming from? He was not clear. He had only a general idea that it was coming from a cosmic space, but he was not able to know exactly how it had come. He did not know about all this, but the Assistant Spirit told him nothing, as it was the Assistant Spirit itself who cultivated. Therefore, he knew nothing but the coming of the energy.
There is no age limit for the people to borrow energy. However, most of them are young people. Therefore, in previous years there were such people at the age of over twenty or over thirty or over forty coming out to the public. There were also old ones. A young man will find it more difficult to control himself. You may find that he is quite good in normal times. In the society of ordinary people he shows little interest in fame and gain when he is not capable. However, once he has risen above others, he is likely to be obsessed with fame and gain. He thinks that there is still a long way for him to go in his life and he still wants to make a rush and have a struggle so as to reach some goal of ordinary people. Therefore, once he possesses the supernormal capabilities and becomes capable, he is prone to use them as the means to win his personal objectives in the society of ordinary people. It won't do. One is not allowed to use his capabilities in this way. The more he uses them, the less energy he will possess. In the end he will possess nothing. Many such people fell down. I don't think there is even one of them left now.
The two cases I talked about just now are about the energy gained by those with good Xinxing. The energy of this kind is not developed through one's own cultivation, but is borrowed from an enlightened being. So, the energy itself is good.
Spirit Possession
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Perhaps many of you have heard something about the possession by animals, such as foxes, yellow weasels, ghosts and snakes, etc. in the world of cultivation. What is it all about? Some people say that one can develop supernormal capabilities through the practice of qigong. As a matter of fact one is not to develop supernormal capabilities, but they are none other than man's instinct. However, with the development of human society, men are more and more attached to tangible things in our physical space and are more and more dependent on modernized means. Therefore our human instinct is deteriorating, and in the end it is made to disappear completely.
To possess supernormal capabilities, one has to cultivate them through cultivation when he is on the way to returning to the origin and going back to the truth. The animal does not have such a complex mind, so it can communicate with the fundamental qualities of the universe and is possessed of the primordial instinct. Some say that animals know how to cultivate. It is said that foxes are able to refine the elixir and snakes or some other animals are able to cultivate themselves. Actually, they are not able to cultivate. At the beginning they know nothing about the refinement except that they possess those primordial instincts. However, under particular conditions and circumstances and after a long time it may take some effect, so they can acquire the energy and even develop some supernormal capabilities.
Thus, these animals have some abilities. In the past people would say that the animal got the supernatural energy and possessed some abilities. In the eyes of ordinary people, the animal is so formidable that it can easily control human beings. In fact, I say it is not formidable. It is nothing to a true cultivator. Even if it has cultivated for nearly a thousand years, a small finger would be more than enough to crush it. We say that the animal possesses such a primordial instinct, so it can have such abilities. However, there is a principle in this universe: An animal is not allowed to complete its achievement through cultivation. So you may find it written in an ancient book that it shall be killed every hundreds of years through a big or small calamity. The animal will have its energy increase when a certain time is reached. Then, the animal will be wiped out by a thunderbolt, etc., as it is not allowed to cultivate. Since the animal does not possess human nature, it cannot cultivate itself like a human being. As it has no human qualities, it is bound to be a demon when it has achieved success through cultivation, so it is not allowed to do so or it will be killed by heaven. The animal itself also knows this, but as I said, human society now suffers a sharp moral decline, and some people will stop at no evil. Isn't human society in danger when it is in such a state?
However, things turn into their opposites when they reach the extreme! We find that in prehistoric periods every time when human society met destruction in different cycles, human beings were morally corrupted to the extreme. Now the space where we human beings exist and many other spaces are in impending danger. So are the other spaces in this dimension. Therefore, the animal is eager to escape. It also wants to ascend to a higher dimension, thinking that it can escape from the danger by raising its dimension. But it is easier said than done. To cultivate, it has to get a human body. How can a practitioner be possessed by a spirit? This is one of the reasons.
Someone may wonder why none of so many great enlightened beings and highly achieved masters is concerned about it. Here is another principle of our universe: If you desire something or want something, nobody would like to interfere. We teach you how to take the right way here, and at the same time make a thorough exposition of the Law. But you still need to awake to it for yourself. It's your own business whether you want to learn it or not. It is the job of the master to introduce you to the way of cultivation, but how to cultivate yourself is entirely a business of your own. Nobody will compel or force you to cultivate. It is your own business whether you want to cultivate or not. That is to say, nobody will prevent you from taking whichever way you have chosen or whatever you want or whatever you want to gain. You can only be encouraged to do good.
Though some people practise some qigong, what they have achieved has actually been obtained by the possessing spirits. How is it that they have incurred spirit possession? How many qigong practitioners throughout the country have got possessing spirits in their bodies? If I told you the number, which is quite considerable, many people would not dare to practise qigong. Why has such a state appeared? Those things are disastrously disrupting the society of ordinary people. How could possibly such a formidable phenomenon appear? It is human beings themselves who have given rise to it, for mankind has been degenerating, and demons are present everywhere. Especially those sham qigong masters are all possessed by evil spirits, and they impart nothing but such things when they teach qigong. In the history of mankind an animal was not allowed to possess a human body. It would be killed if it tried to. Nobody would allow it to do so. But in the present-day society, there are some people who supplicate animals for help, want them and enshrine them. Some may argue in the mind: but I don't have a clear intention of supplicating them. Though you do not supplicate them, you seek after supernormal capabilities. How can the enlightened beings of the Orthodox Law cultivation provide you with them? Seeking after them is an attachment of ordinary people, which you should let go of. Then, who will give you these capabilities? Only demons in other spaces and various animals will. Doesn't that mean that you are seeking after them? So they have come to you.
How many people practise qigong with right thoughts? A practitioner should pay great attention to virtues, do good deeds and be kind towards others. Wherever he is or whatever he does, he should set such demands on himself. How many practitioners, whether they practise in the parks or at home, think this way? I did not know what qigong some people were practising, but I heard them saying when they were doing some movements and swaying their bodies: Ah, my daughter-in-law has never paid her filial devotion to me; my mother-in-law, how can she be so bad? Some were chattering about everything from their work units to state affairs, and there was nothing that they would not talk about. When talking about the things that didn't suit their modes of thinking, they were filled with rage. Can you call it cultivation? There was someone who was practising keeping a pile-stance. He became so exhausted that his legs began to tremble. But his mind was busy: Now things are all very expensive and prices have gone up. Our organization cannot even pay out wages. Why am I not able to develop some supernormal capabilities? If I possess some of them, I'll be a qigong master and can make a fortune. I can make money by treating diseases in others. When he saw others having developed their supernormal capabilities, he felt more anxious. So he persisted in pursuing the supernormal capabilities, the opening of the Celestial Eye and the ability to cure diseases. Let's think about it, how far away it was from Zhen Shan Ren, the fundamental qualities of our universe! It is all counter to them. To put it strongly, he was practising an evil way! But he was practising it unconsciously. The more he thought this way, the worse the intention he would give out. As the man had not found the right way, he did not know anything about the importance of virtues. He thought he could develop cultivation energy by just performing some movements and believed that he could gain what he wanted through his pursuit.
It is just because of one's own wrong intention that he has brought on something evil. The animal can see it clearly: This chap wants to make a fortune by practising qigong; that chap wants to gain fame and supernormal capabilities. Good lord, his body is not bad and what he possesses is quite good. But his thoughts are really bad. He is seeking after supernormal capabilities! Maybe he has a master, but I don't fear him even if he has one. It knows that a master of the Orthodox Law cultivation will never give him supernormal capabilities when he sees that the man has such a desire for them. The more he seeks after them, the more definitely his master will not give them to him, because this is just an attachment that he should get rid of. The more often he has such a thought, the more definitely he will not be given these capabilities and the more he is unable to awake to it. The more he desires, the worse the intention he will possess. In the end, seeing that the man is finished, the master heaves a sigh and leaves him alone. A practitioner may have no master, but a master who happens to pass by takes some care of him, since there are many enlightened beings in different spaces. Catching sight of the man, the enlightened being takes a look at him and follows him for a day. Finding him not worthy of help, the enlightened being goes away. Another enlightened being may come to him the next day and will also go away when finding him not worthy of help.
The animal knows that, whether the man has a master or a passing-by master, he will not be given what he pursues. Being unable to see the spaces where the enlightened beings stay, the animal does not fear. It has availed itself of a loophole. There is a principle in our universe: What he himself seeks after, or what he wants, other people usually do not interfere in. The animal has exploited such an advantage: Since he wants supernormal capabilities, I'll give them to him. Isn't it wrong for me to help him? So it gives him the capabilities. At the beginning, it dares not get on his body, so it first gives him some energy to have a try. One day the man suddenly finds himself possessed of the energy he seeks after and is able to cure diseases. Finding that it really works, the animal uses it as a prelude to a piece of music: Since he is willing to take it, I'll get on his body. Then, I can give him more and directly. Don't you want the Celestial Eye? Now I'll give you everything. So it comes to possess him.
His intention is seeking after these things when his Celestial Eye opens. He can also deliver some energy and use some minor capabilities. He is overjoyed with himself, thinking that he has at last gained what he pursued through practice. In fact, he has achieved nothing from his practice. He feels that he can see through into a human body and find out the disorder in one's body. As a matter of fact, his Celestial Eye is not open at all. It is the animal that controls his brain. The animal conveys what it sees with its own eyes to his brain, which makes him believe that his Celestial Eye is open. He can deliver the energy at will. The moment he stretches out his hand to deliver the energy, the animal also stretches out its paw from behind his body. When he releases the energy, the small snake head will put out its forked tongue and lick the affected part or the place where one has a swelling. Such a case happens to a lot of people. It is these guys themselves who have invited the possessing spirits.
With such a desire, the man wants to get rich and become famous. Well, now he possesses supernormal capabilities and is able to cure diseases. He can also see with his Celestial Eye. He is quite happy about it. Seeing this, the animal would think to itself, "You want to get rich? Well, I'll let you get rich." It's really an easy task to control an ordinary person's mind. It can make a lot of people come to him for treatment, having them come in great numbers. Good lord, he is treating the disease here, while it incites the journalists to give publicity to him in the newspapers there. It controls ordinary people and makes them do these things. If a person who has come to the man for treatment does not pay enough money, it will make his head ache so that he will pay more money. Thus, the man has gained both fame and wealth. As he has made a fortune and attained fame, he acts as a qigong master now. Such a man usually pays no attention to Xinxing and dares to say anything. Heaven is number one and he is number two. He has the audacity to say that he is the Lady Queen Mother or the Jade Emperor who has descended into the world. He is even bold enough to say that he is the Buddha himself. As he has not gone through the real cultivation of Xinxing, he pursues the supernormal capabilities during practice. As a result, he has brought on animal spirit possession.
Some think: What's so bad about it? Anyway, it's all right if I can earn money and make a fortune. Besides, I can also become famous. Quite a lot of people think this way. I tell you that the animal actually harbours an intention. It won't give you anything without cause or reason. There is a principle in this universe: He who loses nothing will gain nothing. What does it gain? Didn't I talk about the issue just now? It wants to get that little bit of essence of your body so that it can cultivate into a human figure. So it tries to take the human essence from the human body. But there's only this one fraction of essence in the human body and one has to rely on it to cultivate himself. If you let the animal get it, there's no hope for you to cultivate. How can you cultivate in this way? With nothing left, you can never cultivate yourself. Some may say: "I don't want to cultivate. I just want to make a fortune. It's all right if I can get money. Why bother with other things?" I'd like to tell you, you want to make a fortune, but I'm sure that you will not think so when I tell you the reason. Why? If it leaves your body early, you'll feel weak in your limbs. From then on, you'll always be in such a state during the rest of your life, because too much of your essence has been taken away by it. If it leaves your body late, you'll be a vegetable, lying in bed with only a breath left in you for the rest of your life. Though you are rich, are you able to spend your money? Though you are famous, can you enjoy your fame? Isn't it a terrible thing?
Such a case happens especially to the practitioners of today and it occurs very frequently. The animal not only possesses the body of a person but also kills his Yuanshen ( the True Spirit). It gets into the person's Niwan Palace and squats there. The person appears to be a human, but in fact he is not. Such cases occur even now. Because of the change in the moral standards of mankind, one will not be convinced that he is doing evil when you tell him so. He thinks it is only right and reasonable to earn money, to seek money, and to make a fortune. Therefore, he will hurt others and do harm to others. In order to earn money, he will stop at no evil and dares to do anything. If the animal does not lose, it will not gain. How can it give you something for nothing? It wants to take something out of your body. Of course, as we said, it is because of their wrong mentality and wrong intention that people have brought on such trouble.
Now let's come to Falun Dafa. If you cultivate our cultivation way, you won't go wrong on the condition that you have good control of your Xinxing, as one righteousness subdues all evils. If you cannot control your Xinxing, you are bound to incur trouble for yourself when you pursue this or that. Some people can never give up what they practised in the past. We teach being constant in a single cultivation system. True cultivation is to be constant in only one way. Some Qigong masters have written some books, but I tell you that there are such things as snakes, foxes, and yellow weasels in their books, which are the same as what they have practised. When you read those books, these things will jump out of the words. I have said that sham qigong masters outnumber true ones many times over. You are not able to distinguish them. Therefore, you must keep good control of yourself. I don't mean here that you must cultivate Falun Dafa. You can cultivate whatever system you like. But there was a saying in the past: One should not practise heterodoxy even for a day even if he is unable to obtain the Orthodox Law in a thousand years. Therefore, you must keep good control of yourself and really cultivate the Orthodox Law. Don't mix anything else into what you cultivate. You even cannot add your intention to it. Some practitioners' Falun have become deformed. Why have they become deformed? They will say that they haven't practised any other systems. But when they begin to practise, they add what they practised in the past to their cultivation through their intentions. Thus, they have brought other things into what they cultivate. So much for the problem of spirit possession.
Cosmic Language
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What is cosmic language? One may suddenly mumble an inexplicable language, but he himself doesn't understand what he is talking about. A person who possesses the capability of telepathy can catch a general idea, but is unable to understand the exact meaning. Some people can even speak several such languages. Some take it as an ability or supernormal capability, and swell with pride. Actually, it is not a power or an ability, nor can it represent one's attainment level. What is it, then? The fact is that your mind is dominated by a subtle being from another space. But you think it quite good. You are delighted to get it. You are pleased with yourself. The more you are pleased, the more firmly it will control you. As a true cultivator, how can you let it dominate you? Besides, it comes from a very low dimension. Therefore, as true cultivators, we should never try to incur such trouble.
Man is the most precious and the supreme intelligence of all things. How can you permit those things to dominate you? You even do not want your body. How sad it is! Some of those things possess a human body. Some do not enter into a human body. They just keep their distance from a person, but they can control and dominate him. If you want to speak that language, they will make you mumble it. It can be transmitted to another person. If that person wants to learn it and is bold enough to open his mouth, he can also speak it. In fact, those things present themselves in packs. If you want to speak, one of them will come to you and make you speak it.
Why can such a case occur? As I said, the subtle being wants to raise its level, but as there is no suffering for it to endure in its own place, it cannot cultivate or improve itself. So it tries to improve itself by doing good deeds for human beings. But it doesn't know how to do it. However, it knows that energy it has released will have a soothing effect on the sick and relieve him from suffering for the moment though it is unable to cure him, and it also knows that it can achieve such an effect by releasing the energy through a human mouth. This is how the case is. Some people also call it celestial language. Still others call it Buddha's language. This slanders Buddha. I say that's sheer nonsense!
As is known, Buddha seldom opens his mouth. Should he open his mouth to speak in our world, he may bring an earthquake to mankind. How terrible such a booming would be! Some people say, "I see with my Celestial Eye that he is talking to me." He does not talk to them. Some see my Law body talking to them. In fact, he does not talk to them. He gives out his intention which has a stereophonic sound. When it reaches your ears, you will feel as if he were talking. He usually speaks in his own space. But when his words are transmitted to our world, you can not tell what he says, because there is a difference in the concept of spacetime between the two spaces. One Shichen, that is, a period of two hours, in our world is equal to a year in that large space. That is to say, the time of our world goes slower than that of his space.
There was a saying in the past which goes, "One day in Heaven above is equal to a thousand years on Earth." It refers to an individual paradise in which there is no concept of space and time, that is, the paradise where the great enlightened beings stay. It refers to such places as the Paradise of Ultimate Bliss, the Glazed Paradise, the Falun Paradise and the Lotus Paradise, etc.. However, in that large space time goes faster than that in ours. Some people have got their ears opened and possess the capability of clairaudience. If you can receive or hear one speaking, you will find that you cannot tell what he says. Whatever you hear sounds the same, just like the twitter of a bird or the high speed turning of a record player. You simply cannot catch a single word. Of course, some can hear the music or the talking. But only through a supernormal capability which can be used as a carrier to eliminate the time difference can you clearly hear the words which have been transmitted to your ears. This is how the case is. Some say it is Buddhas' language. It is not at all.
When the enlightened beings meet, a smile is enough for them to fully understand each other, because they use the soundless telepathy which has a stereophonic sound to the ears of the one who has received it. The moment they smile, they have exchanged their views. This is not the only way they use. Sometimes they also use another way. As you know, the lamas of Tibet in the Esoteric Sect are good at making hand-signs. But when you ask a lama what the hand-sign is, he will tell you that it is the Supreme Yoga. What is it exactly? He does not know, either. In fact, it is just the language of the enlightened being. When there are a lot of people, he will make a large hand-sign which is very beautiful, and there are various large hand-signs. When there are a few people, he will make a small hand-sign, which is also very beautiful. The small hand-sign is composed of different hand signs, which are very complex and rich in variety, since it is a language. In the past all this was regarded as a secret of heaven, but now we have revealed it. What is adopted in Tibet are only some movements which are used exclusively for the practice of their exercise. Though the movements have been classified and systematized, they are no more than a language exclusively for the practice of their exercise, the several forms of the practice of their qigong exercise. The real hand-sign is quite complex.
What the Teacher Has Given to His Students
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Some people caught hold of my hand and would not let it go when they saw me. Seeing them shaking hands with me, some others also shook hands with me. I knew what was in their minds. Some felt very happy to shake hands with the teacher. Some wanted to get some message and would not let go their hold. We tell you that real cultivation is your own business. We are here not to eliminate your diseases or to build up your health or to give you some message to heal your diseases. We do not do these things. Your diseases will be eliminated directly by me. Those who practise in the practising spot will be cured by my Law bodies. Those who learn Falun Dafa through self-study by reading the book will also be cured by my Law bodies. Do you think that you can increase your cultivation energy just by touching my hands? Isn't that ridiculous?
Cultivation energy depends on the cultivation of one's own Xinxing. If you do not get down to genuine cultivation, your cultivation energy will not grow, because there is a criterion of Xinxing to measure it. When your cultivation energy has grown, a person of a high attainment, can see that your attachment, that matter, has been eliminated and a yardstick has grown on the top of your head. Such a yardstick exists like the energy column. The higher the yardstick, the higher the energy column. It represents the energy that you have cultivated yourself. It also represents the height of your Xinxing. Other people can never add any energy to it. Even if they have put a wee bit on it, it will drop down. I can make you reach the state of "three flowers gathering on the top ( )" instantly, but that energy will fall down the moment you go out. That energy is not yours. It does not come from your cultivation. So it cannot stay there. As your criterion of Xinxing is not there, nobody is able to put the energy there. This entirely depends on the cultivation of yourself, the cultivation of that heart of yours. Only when you improve yourself constantly and assimilate yourself to the cosmic qualities with a steady increase of your cultivation energy, can you ascend. When some people ask me to sign my autograph for them, I am reluctant to do so. They will tell others that the teacher has signed his autograph for them. They want to show off. They want to receive the protection of the teacher's message. Isn't this an attachment again? One's cultivation depends on oneself. Why talk about the message? Could you look for this in your high dimensional cultivation? What can that be? That is no more than what is taught to cure diseases and keep fit.
In the microscopic state, every particle of the energy you have refined is exactly the image of you. When you go beyond Shi Jian Fa (the In-Triple-World-Law), you will have entered into the cultivation of a Buddha body. Every particle of the cultivation energy is the image of a Buddha body, which is very beautiful and sits on the lotus flower. But the animal's energy is composed of small foxes or small snakes. Even the particles in the microscopic state are the images of those things. There is also something like a message. You would like to drink tea water after it is given a few stirs as it is supposed to be an energy. An ordinary person just wants to be relieved from pain for the time being or postpone and check his illness. Anyway, an ordinary person is an ordinary person. No matter how he does damage to his body, we do not care. But you are practitioners, so I tell you these things. Do not do such things again from now on. Do not look for those things, such as the message and the like. Some qigong masters say, "I will give the message to you. You can receive it in all parts of the country." Receive what? I tell you that such things will not be able to have a great effect on you. Even if it may do you some good, it can do nothing but help you get rid of your diseases or improve your health. But as practitioners, we must depend on ourselves to cultivate the energy. The energy of a message released from others cannot be used to raise one's attainment level. It can only be used to heal the illness of an ordinary person. You must put your heart right. Nobody can cultivate for you. Only when you really cultivate yourself can you raise your attainment level.
Well, what have I given you? You know that many of us have never practised any qigong and suffer from diseases. There are also quite a lot of people who have practised qigong for many years but still linger in the state of qi and possess no cultivation energy. Of course, there are some people who treat others' diseases. You do not know how you treated diseases. When I talked about the issue of spirit possession, I took down their possessing spirits, all such bad things, no matter what they are, from the inside to the outside of the bodies of those who can really cultivate the Great Law. When a person who can really cultivate himself through self-study reads this Great Law, his body will also be cleaned up. So will the environment of his home. Throw away the spirit tablet of the fox or yellow weasel you enshrined in the past. It has been cleaned up and it is no longer there. Since you want to cultivate, we can open the most convenient door for you and do such things for you, but it is confined to true cultivators. Of course, there are some people who have no intention of cultivating themselves. Even until now they have not realized what I talk about. We have no way to take care of them. We only take care of true cultivators.
There is also a case of a person who was told in the past that he was possessed by an evil spirit. He himself also felt so. But he still worries about it although the possessing spirit has been removed. He always feels the existence of that state, believing that he is still possessed by it. This is a kind of attachment, which is called a suspicious mind. If he goes on like this, he may bring it to himself again in the long run. He himself has to let go of the obsession as there is no possessing spirit at all in his body now. Some people were cleared of those things in my previous sessions. I have done these things and taken all the possessing spirits away.
In the Tao School the elementary stage of cultivation requires the laying down of some foundation, to form the Heavenly Circuit, the field of the Dan Tian (Elixir Field), and things of some other aspects. Now here we are going to plant Falun, Qiji ( energy mechanism) for you and a great many other mechanisms for cultivation. There are more than ten thousand of them, which will all be planted in your body like seeds. Only after I have removed your diseases, done all that should be done and provided you with all that I shall give you, can you really succeed in the cultivation in our faith. Otherwise if I do not give you anything, you can no more than remove your diseases and build up health. To be frank, if some people do not value Xinxing, it would be better for them to do physical exercise.
We are responsible to true cultivators. Those who cultivate through self-study can also get those things. But they must be true cultivators. We give all those things to true cultivators. I have told you that I need to take you as my disciples and guide you in earnest. Besides, you must have a thorough grasp of the Law of the high order and come to know how to cultivate yourself. The five sets of practice exercises will be given to you at once and all will be taught to you at once. In the future you will reach a considerably high level, which is so high that it is beyond your expectation. There will be no problem for you to complete the true achievement. I am preaching the Law combining it with different dimensions. As long as you cultivate, you will find that it will always be able to give you guidance in your cultivation of different dimensions.
As a cultivator, your life course will be changed from now on. My Law body will rearrange it for you. How will it be arranged? How many years will there be before some people end their life course? They do not know themselves. Some may contract a serious illness in a year or half a year which may last for several years. Some may suffer from cerebral thrombosis or other diseases and can never move at all. How can you cultivate during the rest of your life? We are going to clear your body of those things to prevent such things from happening. However, we must make it clear beforehand that we can only do such a thing for true cultivators. I am as good as doing a bad deed if I do this freely for ordinary people. It will not be allowed for such a thing to be done for ordinary people at will, because there is the causational relationship for such things as an ordinary person's birth, old age, disease and death, which should not be disrupted at will.
We regard cultivators as most precious. Therefore, we can only do this for a cultivator. How to do this? If the master possesses high and mighty virtues, that is, if he has very great energy potency, he can dissolve your karma. The master can remove a great amount of your karma if he has high cultivation energy. If he has low cultivation energy, he can only remove a bit of your karma. To illustrate this with an example, we shall collect all kinds of your karma existing in your future course of life and dissolve part of it; say, half of it. The half left is still higher than a mountain and you are unable to get over it. What shall be done? When you attain the Tao in the future, a lot of people may benefit from your attainment. Thus, they will bear a share for you, which, of course, does not matter to them. You yourself have many living entities you have evolved and you have a lot of you besides your Zhu Yuanshen ( Chief Spirit) and Fu Yuanshen ( Assistant Spirit), all of whom will have to bear a share for you. So, there will be little left for you to go through an ordeal with. Though we say "little left", it is still considerably big. You are still unable to get through it. What shall be done, then? It will be divided into a great number of shares, which will be placed on different stages of your cultivation, and used to improve your Xinxing, to transform your karma and to increase your cultivation energy.
Besides, it is not at all an easy job for one to cultivate himself. I have said that cultivation is a very serious matter; it is beyond ordinary people and is more difficult to do than anything of ordinary people. Isn't that supernormal? Therefore, it makes a higher demand on you than anything concerning ordinary people. We human beings have Yuanshen (the True Spirit), and the True Spirit is immortal. Since the True Spirit is immortal, let's think about it. Isn't it likely that your True Spirit did some bad deeds in your social activities before your birth? Most likely. You may have killed, owed something to someone, bullied someone, or done harm to someone. You may have done those things. If this is true, he can see you very clearly there when you cultivate here. If you try to get rid of your disease and improve your health, he does not care. He knows that you are postponing your paying back. If you do not pay back now, you will have to pay back in the future, and then you will have to pay more heavily. Therefore, he does not care if you do not pay back for the time being.
When you decide to cultivate, he will not allow you to do so: "You want to cultivate. You want to go. When you have increased your cultivation energy, I will not be able to reach you. And I will not be able to touch you. " So he will not allow it to happen. He will try every possible means to stop you from cultivation. He will use various ways to disturb you, or even come to kill you. Of course, it is impossible that your head would be chopped off when you are practising cross-legged sitting here, because it should fit the state of ordinary human society. You may be knocked down by a car when you go out, or fall down from upstairs, or meet with other dangers. Things which are quite dangerous may occur. True cultivation is not as easy as you imagine. Do you think you can go up through cultivation once you are determined to cultivate? If you really want to cultivate, your life will be endangered soon. You will meet this problem immediately. There are a great number of qigong masters who dare not guide people up to the high dimensional cultivation by teaching them their cultivation systems. Why? Because they are unable to do such a thing. They are unable to protect you.
In the past there were many Taoist teachers who could only teach one disciple. They had no more than enough ability to protect one disciple. But to protect so many disciples on such a large scale, ordinary qigong masters would find themselves incapable of doing it. Yet, we tell you here that I can do this, because I have countless Law bodies who possess very great divine powers and my Law potency and who can display great supernatural powers and great Law potency. Besides, what we do today is not so simple as it seems to be and I did not come out to do it on impulse. I can tell you that many great enlightened beings are paying close attention to this event. This is the last time for us to teach the Orthodox Law in the Period of Decline. When doing such a thing, we are not allowed to go astray. If you can really cultivate in the right way, nobody dares to touch you rashly. What's more, you are under the protection of my Law bodies, so you will never be in any danger.
A debt must be paid. So some perilous things may happen to you in the course of your cultivation. However, when such things happen, you will not be scared and you will not be exposed to real dangers. I can give you some examples. When I held a session in Beijing, one of my students crossed a road by bike. When reaching a sharp turn on the road, this student, a woman of over 50 years old, was knocked down by a high-quality car. She was hit very hard by the car. With a bang she bumped her head against the awning of the car. At that moment she still straddled her bike. Though she was hit on the head, she felt no pain. She not only felt no pain, but did not bleed, even had no swelling. The driver was terribly frightened. He got out of the car and asked her hastily if she was injured and suggested they should go to the hospital. She said that she was all right. Of course, this student had a very high Xinxing and she would not put the driver to any trouble. She said she was all right, but a big dent was made in the car.
Such an event is to take one's life. But he will not be endangered. When we held the session in Jilin University last time, one of our students was walking his bike out of the front gate of the University. When he had just reached the middle of the street, he got sandwiched in between two cars all of a sudden. The cars nearly hit him, but he did not feel the slightest fear. We usually feel no fear when such a thing happens to us. The cars stopped at that moment and no danger occurred.
The following event also took place in Beijing. The dark came quite early in winter and people went to bed also quite early. There was nobody in the street. It was very quiet. There was a student of ours who was hurrying home by bike. In front of him there was only a jeep running. All of a sudden, the jeep stopped. Without noticing it, the student was still riding ahead with his head hanging down. But the jeep suddenly backed up very quickly. It backed so fast that with the two forces joining together it also was meant to take his life. At the moment when they were about to have a bump, there suddenly came a power which pulled his bike back more than half a metre, and the jeep came to a sudden halt with its bumper touching the wheel of the bike - the driver might have found him behind the jeep. At that moment, the student felt no fear. When encountering such a case, nobody will feel fear, but after this he may become scared. What first came to his mind was: My goodness! Who has pulled me back? I must thank him. He turned his head and was about to say thanks, but he found there was nobody to be seen on the road. All was quiet. It dawned on him instantly: It was the teacher who protected me.
Another event took place in Changchun. A building was being constructed near a student's house. These days people tend to construct tall buildings and the scaffold is built up from iron poles which are two inches in diameter and four meters long. When the student came out not far from his house, an iron pole happened to fall down vertically from that tall building and went straight to the top of his head. The people in the street were stupefied. He said, "Who patted me?" He thought someone had patted him on the head. The moment he turned his head, he saw a big Falun turning over his head, and the iron pole slid down from his head and was stuck into the ground without falling. If it had been stuck into the human body, let's think about it, such a heavy pole would have penetrated through the whole body as if putting a bamboo stick through the sugar-coated haws. This was really dangerous!
There have been innumerable such happenings, but nobody has ever been endangered. Not all the practitioners will encounter such things. Only very few of us will. Whether you encounter them or not, I assure you that you will be in no danger. I can assure you of this. There are some students who do not act on Xinxing requirements. They only practise the movements without cultivating their Xinxing. They cannot be counted as practitioners.
Speaking of what the teacher gives, I have given you these things. My Law body will protect you until you are able to protect yourself. At that time you will have gone beyond the cultivation of Shi Jian Fa (the In-Triple-World-Law) and already attained the Tao. But you must act as a true cultivator. Otherwise, you cannot achieve this. There was someone who shouted at the top of his voice as he was walking in the street with my book in his hand: "I have Master Li for my protection, and I am not afraid of being hit by a car." He was damaging the Great Law. People of this sort will not be protected. A true cultivator will never do such a thing.
Energy Field
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When we are practising, there will be a field around us. What kind of field is this? Some say it is a qi field, or a magnetic field, or an electric field. In fact, whatever field you call it is improper, because this kind of field contains extremely abundant substances. The substances which compose all the spaces of our universe can be found in this cultivation energy. Therefore, it is relatively proper to call it an energy field. This is why we usually call it energy field.
Well, what effect will this field produce? As you know, our cultivators of the Orthodox Law have such a feeling: A person who has gone through the cultivation of the Orthodox Law is compassionate with his presence and is assimilated into the cosmic qualities Zhen Shan Ren ( Truth Compassion Forbearance). Therefore, all of our students who are sitting in this field will feel it and have no bad thoughts in their minds. When sitting here many of our students even cannot think of smoking. They feel a serene atmosphere which is very comfortable. This is the effect produced by the energy carried by the cultivators of the Orthodox Law within this field. After the session, the vast majority of you will possess the energy. You will really have developed your energy, because what I teach to you is something for the cultivation of the Orthodox Law, and you yourself also try to act upon the Xinxing requirements in cultivation. With your incessant practice and cultivation according to our Xinxing requirements, your energy will gradually become more and more powerful.
We teach the salvation for both self and others and for all sentient beings. So Falun can save oneself by turning inwards and save others by turning outwards. When turning outwards, it releases energy to benefit others. Thus, those who are within the cover of your energy field will benefit from it and may feel very comfortable. No matter whether you walk in the street or work in your work unit or stay at home, you may have such an effect on others. You may accidentally adjust the body of a person who is within the area of your field, as this kind of field can put right all abnormal states. A human body should be free from diseases. When it suffers from diseases, it is in an abnormal state, and your field can put right such an abnormal state. An evil-minded person who is thinking about something wrong may change his mind or will not think about the bad things when he is strongly affected by your field. Those who feel like swearing at others may suddenly change their minds and do not want to do so. Only the energy field of Orthodox Law cultivation can produce such an effect. Therefore, in the past there was such a saying in Buddhism, "The Buddhas' lights illuminate all things and bring propriety and righteousness to brightness and perfection." This saying exactly expresses this.
How the Students of Falun Dafa Should Spread the Cultivation System
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After the session, many students feel the cultivation system is very good and want to teach it to their relatives and good friends. You can do that. You can spread it and teach it to anyone. However, there is one point I want to emphasize. We have given you so many things which cannot be measured in value. Why do I give you these things? They are meant for your cultivation. Only when you cultivate, can you be given these things. That is to say, when you spread the cultivation system in the future, you should not make use of them to seek after fame and gain. Therefore, you are not allowed to hold sessions and collect fees as I do. As we need to print books and materials and go around spreading the cultivation system, we need money. Our charge is the lowest in the whole country, but we have given the most for it. You have realized that we are to guide people up to the high dimensions. As a student of Falun Dafa, you are required to keep two points in mind when you go out to spread the cultivation system in the future.
First, you are required not to charge a fee. We have given you so many things not for you to make a fortune or seek fame but to save you and help you cultivate. If you charge a fee, my Law body will take back all that has been given to you. Then, you are no longer a cultivator of Falun Dafa and what you teach is not our Falun Dafa. When spreading the cultivation system, you do voluntary service for others without seeking fame or gain. Practitioners all over the country all spread it this way and the instructors from all parts of the country also set a good example with their own conduct. If you want to learn our cultivation system, just come to learn it. We shall be responsible to you, and take no charge.
Second, you are required not to add any personal things to the Great Law. That is to say, no matter whether you have opened your Celestial Eye or what you have seen or what supernormal capabilities you have developed, you should not explain our Falun Dafa according to what you have seen when spreading the cultivation system. What you have seen on your level of attainment is nothing, too far away from the true meaning of the Law we have preached. Therefore, when you spread the cultivation system in the future, you must be very careful about this. Thus, the original things of our Falun Dafa can remain unchanged.
You are also not allowed to spread the cultivation system in the way I do. You must not preach the Law in the form of large-scale lectures as I have adopted. You are unable to preach the Law. What I speak about is of a very profound significance, because there are things belonging to the high dimensions in my lectures. Now you cultivate at different levels of attainment. When you have improved yourselves in the future, and you go back and listen to the recording of my lectures, you will improve yourselves continuously. If you listen to them constantly, you will always have a new understanding and gain. You can achieve a much better result by reading this book. I am giving lectures which contain things very high and profound. So you are unable to preach the Law. You are not allowed to take my original words as your own. If you do, you are a Law robber. You can only say my original words and tell the listener that they are said by the teacher or are written in the book. You can only talk this way. Why? Because such talking will carry the power of the Great Law. You must not spread what you know as Falun Dafa. Otherwise, what you spread is not Falun Dafa. You are equally disrupting our Falun Dafa. If you talk according to your ideas or your thoughts, what you say is not the Law. It is unable to save or have any effect on others. Therefore, nobody else is able to preach this Law.
To spread the cultivation system, you can play the recording or play the video tapes in the place of practising the Gong or in the place of teaching the Gong. Then let the instructor teach them how to practise the exercise. You can adopt the form of a forum where you can learn from each other through discussions and interpretations and by exchanging experiences and views. You are required to spread Falun Dafa in this way. Besides, you must not address the student (disciple) who spreads Falun Dafa as teacher or master. There is only one master of the Great Law. All are disciples no matter when they are initiated into the school.
When spreading the cultivation system, some may have such a thought: The teacher can plant Falun and adjust one's body, but we are unable to do these things. It does not matter. I have already told you that every student is followed by more than one of my Law bodies. My Law bodies will do these things. When you teach someone, he may get Falun on the spot if he has the predestined luck. If he is not so lucky, he will gradually get it after cultivation and through adjustment of the body. My Law body will help him adjust his body. What's more, I tell you that if you can really regard yourself as a practitioner, you will just the same get all that you ought to have by reading my books, watching my video tapes or listening to my recording to learn the Law and the practice exercise.
We do not allow the students to treat diseases in others. Students of Falun Dafa are strictly forbidden to treat diseases in others. We teach you how to ascend through cultivation and do not let you develop any attachment or ruin your health. Our place of practising the Gong is better than that of any other cultivation systems. If you go to our place to practise, you will achieve a much better result than your treatment of diseases. My Law bodies sit in a circle. Above the place of practice is a cover on which there is a large Falun. A gigantic Law body guards the place on the cover. The place is not a common one. It is not a common place for the practice of qigong. It is a place of cultivation. Many of us who possess the supernormal capability have found that the site of our Falun Dafa is covered with a vast sheet of red light.
My Law body can plant Falun directly, but we do not encourage one's attachment. When you teach someone to perform the movements, he says, "Oh, I have got Falun." You think it is you who have planted it, but you are wrong. I tell you this so that you will not develop this attachment. It is all done by my Law bodies. The students of our Falun Dafa should spread the cultivation system this way.
He who alters the practice exercise of Falun Dafa is disrupting the Great Law and is doing harm to our school. Someone changed the instructions for the practice exercise into rhymes. We can never allow such a thing to happen. A true cultivation way has been handed down from the prehistoric period which dates back to the remote past, and has brought up countless enlightened beings. Nobody has ever dared to alter it. Such a thing can only happen in this Period of Decline. It has never occurred in history. You must be very careful about this.
Lecture Four
Loss and Gain
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The relationship between loss and gain is often talked about in the world of cultivation as well as among ordinary people. What attitude should we cultivators adopt towards loss and gain? It is different from that of ordinary people. What ordinary people want is personal interests, how to lead a good and comfortable life. But we cultivators are different. On the contrary, we would not seek what ordinary people want. Moreover, what we achieve is something desired but unachievable by ordinary people, unless they should cultivate.
As for the loss we generally refer to, it is not loss in a rather limited sense. When somebody speaks of loss, he considers it to be giving some money, helping others who are in trouble and offering a bit of food to beggars. It is also a kind of giving up and a kind of loss. But it is only, on this question that he cares little about money or material benefits. Caring little about money, of course, is an aspect, and a comparatively principal aspect. However, the loss we are talking about is not in such a limited sense. When we are in the course of cultivation, there are too many attachments one should give up as a cultivator, such as show-off, jealousy, competition and complacency. A great number of attachments have to be given up. The loss we are talking about is in a broad sense, that is, in the course of cultivation one should give up all his attachments and various desires belonging to ordinary people.
Perhaps somebody is considering: Now that we are practising among ordinary people, won't we be like Buddhist monks or nuns when we give up everything? It seems impossible to give up everything. Our cultivation way, as far as the portion cultivating among ordinary people is concerned, requires one to cultivate in ordinary society and keep himself the same as ordinary people to the maximum. It by no means requires you to lose material interests indeed. No matter what a high ranking official you are and how much wealth you have, the key to the question is whether you can give up the attachment.
Our school is directly aimed at human nature. Whether personal interests and person to person conflicts can be cared little about and treated lightly or not is the crux of the matter. To cultivate in the temple and in deep mountain forests is to completely cut you off from ordinary human society and force you to give up the hearts of ordinary people. It keeps you away from material interests, and therefore makes you give them up. A cultivator among ordinary people does not go that way but he is required to care little about them just in the life-style of ordinary people. It is certainly very difficult but it is the crux of our school. That is why the loss we are talking about is in a broad sense other than in a rather limited one. People talk about doing something good and giving alms. Then just look at those beggars in the street nowadays: Some of them are professional, who may have more money than you do. We must focus on something big instead of taking care of something smaller. Cultivation is aboveboard and should concentrate on something large in mind. In the course of loss, what we really have lost is something not good.
One usually regards all that he pursues as good things. But in fact, looking from the high level, all of them are to satisfy his vested interests in being an ordinary person. As stated in Buddhism, it is merely a couple of decades whether you have more money or a higher official position. At birth we bring nothing, at death we take away nothing. Why is cultivation energy so precious? Only because it directly grows on your Yuanshen (True Spirit), so it can be brought at birth and taken away at death. Besides, it determines your attainment status, therefore it is hard to cultivate. That is to say, what you have given up are bad things so that you may return to the origin and go back to the truth. What would you achieve? That is the rise of your attainment level and at last you will complete the true achievement and reach the consummation. It solves the essential problem. Of course, we want to give up various desires belonging to ordinary people and reach the standard of being a real cultivator, which is not easy to achieve and should be carried out gradually. Now you hear I said doing it gradually and you say the teacher has told me to do it gradually and then I will do it gradually. That is not allowed! You should set strict demands on yourself though we allow you to improve yourself gradually. If you achieved all at once today, you would be a Buddha today. So it is unrealistic. You will be able to do this gradually.
What we lose in essence is something bad. What is it? It is karma, which goes along with various attachments of humans. For instance, ordinary people have various bad thoughts and will incur this black substance, karma, by doing something bad for his personal interests. This is directly related to our minds. In order to remove this bad substance you should first turn your minds around.
Transformation of Karma
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There is a transforming process between the white and the black substances. After a person to person conflict has taken place, there is a transforming process. One will get white substance, De ( Virtues), when doing something good, and will incur black substance, karma, when doing something bad. Both substances can be carried forward. Somebody may be wondering whether it is because one has done something bad in the first half of his life. It is not all necessarily so because a human has accumulated the karma not during one lifetime. It is held in the world of cultivation that one's Yuanshen (True Spirit) is immortal. If so, he might have had social activities in his previous lives. One might have owed somebody, bullied somebody or done some other bad things such as killing, etc., which would incur such karma. Those substances can be accumulated in other spaces and are always attached, and so can the white substance. They come not only from this source. Another source is to be carried over from one's family and ancestors. Old people in the past often talked about accumulating virtues, and accumulating virtues from ancestors; this person is losing his virtues and decreasing virtues. Those words are quite right. Nowadays ordinary people would no longer listen to these words. The young will not keep them in their minds when you talk about losing virtues or being short of virtues. Actually, these words have profound implications. They are not only a modern spiritual and mental standard but also have a real material existence. Both substances can be found in the human body.
Someone asks whether one can not cultivate towards a high level when he has too much black substance. That is somewhat true. Too much black substance will influence one's awakening quality, because it has become a field surrounding your body and has just enveloped you inside it and cut you off from the cosmic qualities, Zhen Shan Ren. Such people may have a poor capability of understanding. When a person talks of cultivation or qigong, he regards all those as superstition, considers them ridiculous and does not believe in them at all. This happens frequently but not absolutely. Does that mean it is very difficult for such a person to cultivate and to increase his high energy? It does not. We say the Great Law is boundless and it all depends on your will to cultivate. The master teaches the trade but the perfection of the apprentice's skill depends on his own efforts. It all depends on your will to cultivate. Whether you can cultivate or not all depends on whether you can endure, give and suffer. If you can make up your mind to overcome all kinds of difficulties, I say it will not be a problem.
A person who has a lot of black substance often pays more than those who have a lot of white substance. Because the white substance directly assimilates itself to the cosmic qualities, Zhen Shan Ren. He may increase his cultivation energy simply and directly as soon as he improves his Xinxing and improves himself in his own contradictions. A person with a lot of De has a good capability of comprehension and can endure hardships as well. He can endure hardships, tire his bones and muscles with toil, and temper his heart and mind. He can increase his cultivation energy even if he suffers more from physical pains than mental ones. However, it would not be possible for a person who has a lot of black substance, who has to pass through a process: first transform the black substance to the white substance. Even such a process is also extremely agonizing. Therefore, a person of poor quality of enlightenment normally needs to suffer more pains, and it is even harder for him to cultivate because of his huge karma and bad quality of enlightenment.
Take a specific case, for example, let us see how such a person is cultivating. When keeping still and sitting in deep Ding, one has to cross his legs for a long time. After a long time the legs become painful and numb, which makes one mentally quite uneasy. Suffering from physical and mental pains makes the physical body as well as the mind quite uncomfortable. Some people are afraid of pain while sitting with their legs crossed, and wish to give up by taking the legs off. Some people cannot stand the pain any more even after sitting for a little bit longer. Once the legs are taken off, the practice is in vain. We consider it useless if one quits sitting with his legs crossed once they begin to feel pain, and resume doing so after some warm-ups. Because while his legs are suffering pain, we can see that the black substance is moving to his legs. The black substance is karma and can be eliminated and transformed into De through suffering pain. Once the pain is felt, karma will begin to be eliminated. The more karma comes the more pain his legs will feel. Therefore, his pain in the legs does not come without a reason. Normally, a person sitting cross-legged often suffers labour pain one moment and another of relatively ease, and then, a moment of pain again. Oftentimes, it goes this way.
Because karma is removed piece by piece, the legs will feel better after a piece is eliminated, and will feel pain again when another piece comes up. After the black substance is removed, it does not disappear as this substance does not become extinct. Upon being removed, it is transformed into the white substance which is De. How come it is transformed this way? This is because he has suffered, given, and endured pain. We have said that De is attained through enduring, suffering pain, and doing good deeds. Therefore, this situation will occur while one is sitting in the state of Ding. Some people put their legs down when their legs begin to feel pain, and do some warm-ups before resuming the practice of sitting. That will not work at all. While doing standing practice with their arms up, some people feel pain in the arms and cannot endure it, and then put down their arms. This does not work at all. What does this little pain account for? I would say that it would be simply too easy for one to succeed in cultivation by just raising the arms up. This is the situation which occurs when people sit in the state of Ding.
Our school does not mainly proceed in this way though there is a portion in this aspect which also plays a role. Most of us transform karma through person to person Xinxing conflicts. It is oftentimes manifested this way. While we are in trouble, the conflict between one and another even surpasses the pain. I would say that physical pain is the easiest thing to endure and can be overcome by biting one's teeth tightly. The mind is the most difficult to control when a conflict occurs between one and another.
For instance, a person might become extremely mad if he overhears two people speaking ill of him in terrible language when he comes to work. However, we have mentioned that a practitioner should set high demands on himself, and should not return the same when being hit or abused. He remembers that: the teacher has said that as practitioners we do not behave like others and should conduct ourselves in a better manner. He does not quarrel with those two people. Yet, when the conflict arises, it oftentimes would not matter, or become useful in improving oneself if it does not irritate one's mind. Thus, his mind will not give up and is still bothered by it. He will always wish to turn around to look at those two persons. Looking back over his shoulders, he will see the two evil-looking faces in a heated conversation. He will not be able to put up with it any more, and become very angry. He will probably start a row with them. The mind is very difficult to control during a conflict between one person and another. I would say that it would be easy if everything is experienced by sitting in the state of Ding. However, it would not be always so.
As a result, you will run into all kinds of tribulations in your future cultivation. How can you cultivate yourself without these tribulations? How can you upgrade your Xinxing by just sitting there when everyone is good to each other without conflicts of interests and the interference of the human mind? That is impossible. One needs to genuinely cultivate oneself through experiencing reality in order to steel oneself. Some people have said: how come we always meet with problems while we cultivate, and there are almost as many problems as a non-practitioner would have? Because you cultivate among ordinary people, you will not be suddenly turned upside down in the air and suffer in the sky. It will not happen like that. It will all come from ordinary people's situations such as whoever may irritate you today, or whoever may upset you and treat you badly with ill language, which are used to see how you react to these problems.
Why do you run into these problems? They are all tribulations caused by your own karma. We have already removed many pieces, except for that tiny bit which is left and arranged as obstacles placed on different levels for you to upgrade your Xinxing, test your mind and discard your various attachments with. All these are your own tribulations which you should overcome, and we make use of them to improve your Xinxing. As long as you upgrade your Xinxing, you will be able to overcome them unless you do not wish to do so. You will be able to make it if you want to do so. Therefore, from now on do not regard it as accidental when running into a conflict. Because when a conflict occurs, it will happen suddenly. Yet, it is not a coincidence. It aims to improve your Xinxing. As long as you conduct yourself as a practitioner, you will be able to deal with it properly.
Of course, you will not be informed of the conflict or the tribulation ahead of time. How could you cultivate if you are told of everything in advance? That would not be of any use. A conflict will oftentimes occur suddenly so that it can test one's Xinxing and make one's Xinxing genuinely improve. It is the only way to judge whether one can maintain his Xinxing. Therefore, a conflict arises not by accident. During the whole process of cultivation this issue of karma transformation will occur, and it will be much more difficult than suffering from physical pain. How can you increase your cultivation energy simply by practising a little bit more exercise with sore arms and tired legs as well as long hours of practice? Those only function to transform one's Benti ( True Being ). However, they still need energy to reinforce them. They do not help one to raise one's attainment level. Tempering one's heart and mind is the key to genuinely heightening one's levels. Speaking of tiring one's bones and muscles with toil to make progress, I would say that Chinese farmers suffer the most. Should they all be qigong masters? No matter how much physical pain you suffer from, you do not suffer as much as a farmer would, who works hard and wearily in the field under the burning sun. It is not such a simple matter. Therefore, we have mentioned, to genuinely improve oneself, one should genuinely upgrade his mind. That will be a genuine improvement.
During the process of karma transformation, to keep yourself in control unlike an ordinary person who would make things worse, we should normally maintain a benevolent and serene state of mind. When suddenly running into any problems, you will be able to deal with them properly. When you often maintain a benevolent mind, you will have time and room to slow down and think when suddenly meeting with a problem. If you always think about competing for something with others, I would say that I am sure you would start a row with others once there is a problem. Therefore, I have said that when you run into a conflict, what I mean is to transform your black substance into the white one and into De.
When our mankind has developed to today's stage, almost everyone was born rolling in karma. Everyone has a considerably huge amount of karma. Therefore, in karma transformation a situation often occurs that your karma is being removed and transformed and in the meantime your cultivation energy and Xinxing can make progress. When running into a conflict, it might be displayed in Xinxing friction between one person and another. If you can endure it, your karma will be removed and your Xinxing will also be improved, and your cultivation energy will increase, too. They are so integrated. In the past, people could increase their cultivation energy because they had a lot of De and their Xinxing was already high. But people today are not so. Once they suffer a little, they do not want to cultivate any more. In addition, they are getting more and more unable to become enlightened, and it has become more difficult for them to cultivate.
During cultivation there may be two cases in terms of dealing with specific conflicts and when someone ill-treats you: one is that you might have ill-treated this person in a previous life. You are not balanced and wonder why he treats you this way. Then, why did you treat him that way before? You may argue that you did not know at that time and this life has nothing to do with the one in the past. This is not allowed. The other case is related to karma transformation during a conflict. Therefore, in dealing with specific conflicts we should conduct ourselves more forgivingly instead of acting like an ordinary person. This is true in the office, other work environments, and in private enterprises as well, where there are also human interactions. It is impossible for you not to interact with society. At least there are relations between neighbours.
All kinds of contradictions can be encountered in social intercourse. In our school, as far as the portion of cultivating among ordinary people is concerned, it does not matter how much money you have, how high ranking an official you are, whether you are self-employed or operating a company; it does not matter what business you are dealing with, but you should be honest and fair in buying and selling. Every trade in society ought to exist. What counts is one's heart rather than his career. There was a popular saying that nine out of ten merchants are dishonest. Ordinary people say so. I would say it is a question of one's heart. Everybody ought to straighten out his intentions and do business fairly. It is natural and right that one earns more when giving more. No pains, no gains. People of different strata can be good people. There exist different contradictions for different strata. Contradictions in the high stratum have their own form and people of a high stratum can also correctly handle them. People of all strata can care little about their desires, and their attachments, and therefore become good people. Good people can be found in different strata. So they may cultivate in the strata they belong to.
Human conflicts have become very unique nowadays whether in the nationalized companies or other enterprises in the country. This phenomenon has not occurred in other countries nor historically happened here. As a result, the conflicts over interests are shown to be particularly tense. People use tricks, and compete for a tiny profit. The thoughts they have and the tricks they play are very vicious. It is difficult to be a good person. For instance, a person may feel the atmosphere at the office is abnormal upon reaching the office. Later someone tells the person that so and so has spoken badly of you and reported on you to the boss to put you in an awful situation. Others look at you with a strange look. How could an ordinary person tolerate that? How could he put up with such an injustice? If one makes trouble for me, I will return the same to him. If he knows someone, I do, too. Let us have a competition. If you do so among ordinary people, they will say that you are powerful. However, as a practitioner, that would be terrible. If you compete and contend like an ordinary person, you will be an ordinary person. If you have done more than an ordinary person would in that regard, you are worse than that ordinary person.
How should we deal with this issue? We should first of all keep our heads cool upon running into such a conflict, and we should not behave the same as he does. Of course, it does not matter if we explain the matter kindly and state the issue clearly to him. Yet, we should not become too obsessed with it. If we run into such problems, do not compete and contend like others. Would you not be an ordinary person if you do the same as he does? Not only you should not compete and contend like him, but you should not hate him in your mind, and genuinely not hate him. Would you not become angry if you hate him? In this way you have not exercised forbearance. We believe in Zhen Shan Ren. You are not in a position to practise compassion. Therefore, you should not do the same as he does or become really angry with him though he puts you in such an awful situation that you cannot even look up to face people. Instead of being angry with him, you should thank him in your mind, and thank him genuinely. An ordinary person may think that: Is that not Ah Q? I am telling you that it is not so.
Please think about it. Shouldn't we make a high demand of you because you are a practitioner? You should not conduct yourself with the standard of ordinary people. Is not what you achieve something belonging to the high dimension as a practitioner? Then, we must make the high demand on you by the principles guiding high dimensions. Wouldn't you be like him if you do the same as he does? Why, then, should you thank him? Think about it. What will you attain? In the universe, there is a principle which says: to gain one needs to lose, and one must lose to gain. He puts you in an awful situation among ordinary people. He is considered to have gained advantages. The worse situation he puts you in, the greater the impact it will have, and the more you will have endured. And the more he will lose his De. Such De will all be given to you. At the same time when you endure all that, you probably will care little about it, and not take it seriously.
There is another principle in this universe: You have endured a lot of pain; thus, your own karma will be transformed. Because you have paid for it, how much you have endured will be all transformed into the same amount of De. Does a practitioner not want such De? You will gain in two ways when your karma is also removed. How can you upgrade your Xinxing if another person does not create such an environment? How is it possible if you and I are both nice to each other, and sit there practising in peace? It is just because he has created such a conflict and an opportunity which you can make use of to upgrade your Xinxing. Will your Xinxing be improved this way? You have gained in three ways. As a practitioner, will cultivation energy increase with the improvement of your Xinxing? You will have gained in four ways at once. How can you not thank the person? You should genuinely thank him from the bottom of your heart. It is indeed so.
Of course, the thought he has had is not decent. Otherwise he would not have given you De. Yet, he has indeed produced an opportunity to upgrade your Xinxing. It means that we must pay attention to the cultivation of Xinxing. At the same time of Xinxing cultivation, karma will be removed and transformed into De so that you can move up to a high dimension. They agree with one another. From the perspective of the high dimension, reasoning has changed completely. Yet, an ordinary person can not understand it. If you see this principle from the high dimension, everything will be different. Among ordinary people, you may believe that a principle is correct. But it is not really correct. It is correct only if it is seen to be so in the higher dimensions. It often happens this way.
I have expounded this principle thoroughly, and I hope that in your future cultivation everyone will treat himself as a practitioner, and genuinely cultivate himself as the principle has been clearly stated here. Perhaps, some people still feel that the concrete material interests are practical because they live among ordinary people. Such a person still can not conduct himself according to the high standard in the current of ordinary people. In fact, if you want to become a good ordinary person, there are heroes and model workers for you to follow because they are examples for ordinary people to follow. If you want to be a practitioner, it all depends upon your mind and your awakening quality because there are no model workers. Fortunately, today we have made Dafa public. If you had wished to cultivate in the past, nobody would have taught you. In this way you can act upon the Great Law, and can probably do well. It all depends upon you whether you can cultivate yourself, whether it is possible for you to make it and which level you will be able to break through.
Of course, the transformation of karma does not always take place just as I have described. It can be manifested in other aspects. It could happen in a social environment or at home. One may run into some troubles while walking on the street or in some other social surroundings. You will be made to give up all those attachments that can not be discarded by ordinary people. All the attachments which as long as you have will have to be worn out in different environments. You will be made to fall down, and to understand why from it. This is the way we should make it in our cultivation.
There is another relatively typical case in the course of cultivation for many cultivators. It often happens that when you practise qigong your spouse becomes extremely unhappy. As soon as you start the practice, she will start a row with you. She will not mind, though, if you do any other things. She might not be happy at the time you waste on playing Mahjong, but not as unhappy as if you practise qigong. Your practice will not bother her. What a good thing it is since you practise to keep fit. Yet, once you start the practice she will throw things around and start quarreling. Some couples almost get divorced because one of them wants to practise qigong. Many people have not thought about the reason for the occurrence of such a situation. If you ask her later: Why did you get so upset when I practised qigong? She can not explain it, and really can not: Indeed, how come I became so angry, and so upset at that time? What is in fact the reason? At the time of the practice one's karma will be transformed. To gain one has to lose, and what you lose are still the bad things. You have to give.
Probably your wife will throw a fit right in your face as soon as you walk in the door. If you endure it, your practice today is not in vain. Some people know that one should treasure De while practising qigong. Therefore, such a person normally gets along with his married partner pretty well. If he thinks: I normally issue orders and she listens to me, and yet, today she is overriding me, he would not be able to control his temper and start a row. The practice for that day might end up in vain. Because the karma is there, and she is helping you to remove it, but you do not accept it and start a row with her. It is still there without being eliminated. There are a lot of such cases which many of our practitioners have experienced. They have not thought about why it is this way. She will not care if you do something else. She will always find fault with you though this practice is actually a good thing. In fact, she is helping you to remove karma, and yet you have not realized it yourself. She is not quarreling with you just superficially while she is kind to you from her heart. It is not so. It is a genuine anger from the bottom of her heart because whoever receives karma will feel uncomfortable. That is for sure.
Upgrading Xinxing
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Many people of the past ran into a lot of problems after they cultivated to a certain stage and could not go up any more because they could not observe their Xinxing. Some people naturally have relatively high Xinxing. Their Celestial Eyes are at once opened during practice, and they have reached a certain realm of awareness. Because such a person has relatively good inborn qualities and Xinxing, his cultivation energy grows rapidly. By the time his cultivation energy has reached the level of his Xinxing, he needs to continue to upgrade his Xinxing in order to increase his cultivation energy. Then, the problems will also become outstanding. Particularly for a person of good inborn qualities, he feels that his cultivation energy has grown well and he is getting on well with his practice as well. How come there are suddenly a lot of troubles? Everything now is abnormal. People are mistreating him, and the boss starts to dislike him. Even the situation at home is very tense. Why are there suddenly so many problems? He does not understand it. Such a state has occurred because of his good inborn qualities, and because he has reached a certain level. However, how could that be the standard of the final consummation for a practitioner? It is far from the end of the cultivation! He must continue to upgrade himself. He has reached that state because of his little inborn qualities. In order to upgrade himself, the standard has also to be raised.
One may say: I shall earn some more money to take care of my family. I shall have no more worry about it, and then, I will cultivate the Tao. I would say that you are dreaming. You are not able to interfere in the lives of others, nor can you control the fate of others, including your wife, sons, daughters, parents, and brothers. Are those things to be determined by you? In addition, what will you cultivate if you do not have worries nor troubles? How can you practise the Gong in a comfortable and relaxed manner? Where is there such a thing? That is what you think from the perspective of an ordinary person.
Cultivation should take place in the midst of tribulations to see whether you can give up and care little about the seven emotions and six desires. If you are attached to these things, your cultivation will not be successful. Everything has its causational relationship. Why can human beings be human? It is because of the existence of emotions in human beings. They just live for such emotions, such as an affection for kinsfolk, love between a man and a woman, an affection for parents, feelings, friendship, doing things in consideration of mutual emotions, which embody in all respects. Whether a person wants to do one thing or not, is happy or unhappy, loves or hates something, everything in the whole human society derives from these emotions. You cannot cultivate until you give up these emotions. If you have jumped out of them, nobody can affect you any more. The mind of an ordinary person will not be able to sway you. What takes over in their place will be benevolence which is something of a high order. Of course, it is not easy to abandon such things all at once. Cultivation is a long term process, in which one's attachments are slowly given up. However, you should maintain a strict standard for yourselves.
As practitioners, contradictions may arise all of a sudden. What shall we do? You should always maintain a mind of compassion and serenity. When running into a problem, you can do well because it gives you room to relax the tension. You should always carry compassion and kindness towards others, and think of others before doing anything. If you first consider, whenever a problem comes up, whether others can put up with it and whether it will hurt others, you will not do wrong. So you must make a high or even higher demand on yourself in your cultivation.
It happens frequently that some people cannot realize that. Somebody's Celestial Eye has opened and he sees Buddha. He comes back home and worships Buddha while at the same time talking repeatedly to Buddha in his mind, asking: Why don't you help me? Please help me solve the problem. Of course the Buddha will not help him. The tribulation was set up by the Buddha to improve the person's Xinxing so that he may go up in his contradictions. Can he help you solve the problem? He will not, at all. He will never help you solve it. How can you increase your cultivation energy, improve your Xinxing and get promoted when all problems have been solved? The key is to let you increase your cultivation energy. From the viewpoint of the great enlightened beings, to be a human being is not the purpose. The purpose of having a human life is not to be a human, but to return to the origin. Buddha considers it better that one bears more hardships because he may speed up paying his debts. That is Buddha's opinion. Some people do not realize that. When someone got nothing by asking Buddha for help, he begins to complain to Buddha: Why don't you help me? I burned incense and kowtowed to you every day. Hence, he breaks the image of Buddha and from then on starts to abuse Buddha. Because of such abuse, his Xinxing comes down and his cultivation energy disappears. He knows he has lost everything and then he hates Buddha more and more. He thinks Buddha was harming him. How can he judge Buddha's Xinxing by using ordinary people's standards? How can it work when he treats things of a high order with an ordinary person's criteria? So it happens frequently that people consider such hardships to be mistreatments, and therefore many people have dropped down.
In the past few years, many well-known big qigong masters have also dropped down. Of course real qigong masters have returned after accomplishing their own missions. Only those, who have lost among ordinary people and whose Xinxing has come down, are still active. They no longer have cultivation energy. Some qigong masters, who used to have a great reputation, are still active in society. Noticing that he has dropped into the level of ordinary people and is unable to extricate himself from the pursuit of fame and gain, his teacher takes his Assistant Spirit ( ) away where his cultivation energy grew. There are quite a lot of such typical examples.
Such examples are rather few in our school and those in our school are not striking examples. However in the aspect of Xinxing improvement there are quite a few striking examples. There was a student from a textile factory in Shandong Province. Having learnt Falun Dafa, he taught others to practise it. As a result, the factory has taken on a new look. The employees of the factory used to take leftover towel cloth home. After he had learnt Falun Dafa, instead of taking it home, he would bring back to the factory what he had taken home before. When they saw what he did, other staff would also not take any. Some of them even returned to the factory what they had taken home. Such a situation occurred throughout the whole factory.
A Falun Dafa assistant center director in a certain city went to a factory to see how the practitioners there were doing with their practice. The factory director came out to meet him in person and said: since studying your Dafa these workers come to work early and go home late. They work very diligently and accomplish whatever assignments they are given by the boss. Also, they do not compete for personal interests. Since they have started to act this way, the whole factory has taken on a new look, and the economic benefits of the factory have also been improved. Your Gong is so powerful that I would like to attend the lectures when your teacher comes. The principal purpose of our cultivating Falun Dafa is to bring people up towards the high dimensions, without trying to do so. Yet, it could also play the role of promoting the spiritual awareness of society. If everyone goes searching inside himself, and thinks about how to conduct himself well, I would say that society will be stabilized, and the moral standard of mankind will go up again.
During my lecturing session in Taiyuan, there was a student who was over 50 years old. She and her husband were crossing the road on their way to the auditorium to attend my lecture when a car running fast passed by them. The old woman was caught by the wing mirror of the car. She was pushed along more than 10 meters before being thrown onto the ground. The car did not stop until it had gone more than 20 meters. The driver got out of the car and was cross with the lady: "Why weren't you walking carefully?" Nowadays many people tend to shirk responsibility when they meet with problems no matter whose fault it is.
The people in the car asked the woman how she felt and if she needed to go to the hospital. At this, the driver changed his manner. He asked the woman if she was all right, and offered to take her to the hospital. The woman, who was a practitioner, rose from the ground and said, "There's nothing wrong with me, you may go". Then she whisked away the dust on her and left with her husband.
When they came to attend my lecture and told me what had happened, I felt happy because our students' Xinxing had indeed improved. The woman told me that she would have dealt with the occurrence differently if she had not learnt Falun Dafa. Let us think about the event. The woman was in her 50's. The car pushed her along so far and threw her heavily into the street. Besides, she had retired enjoying no benefits. If such a thing had happened to an ordinary person, she might have said that she was seriously injured, and she might not have got up. If she had been sent to the hospital, she might have caught this opportunity and stayed there as long as she liked. But as a cultivator, the old lady didn't behave that way. We believe that one mindfulness of a person determines the consequence of an affair. Is it possible that an ordinary person at the age of 50 would not get hurt at all in such a situation? But the old lady did not even scratch her skin! This is because she was right minded at that moment. If she had said, "Oh, I feel terrible. Something is wrong with this part or that part of my body...", then she might have really broken her bones or got paralysed. She might have had to spend the rest of her life in the hospital. In that case, would she feel better by being paid a lot of money? The people watching the accident wondered why the old woman did not take advantage of the mishap to squeeze some money from the driver. We know that moral standards have been distorted today. The driver was wrong for speeding. But did he knock the woman down intentionally? Certainly not. However, even the bystanders think it unfair that she did not ask the driver for money as compensation. Many people do not know what is right and what is wrong. If you tell someone that he is doing bad, he will not believe you. Because changes have taken place in the moral standard of mankind. Some people put profit-making first. There is nothing that they dare not do for the sake of money. And it has even been taken as the motto by some people that "Heaven destroys those who do not look out for themselves."
One practitioner in Beijing once took his child for a stroll at Qianmen after supper. They saw many people buying lottery tickets at a broadcasting van. The child wanted to join in the fun, so the father bought a one-yuan ticket for him. Luckily they won the second prize: a high-quality bicycle especially made for children. The child felt overjoyed. But it suddenly occurred to the father that a practitioner should not pursue this kind of thing. How much De would it cost him to accept a prize which he was not entitled to? With this idea, he said to the child, "Don't take the bike, I will buy you one if you want". The child became unhappy, "You didn't agree to buy one for me before; now that I've got one free and you won't even let me take it!" The child began to cry; the father had to take the bicycle home. At home, the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt about himself. He thought about sending money to the lottery people. Then he thought that the lottery tickets were gone, and figured they would divide the money among themselves if he sent it to them. Finally, he decided to donate the money to his work unit.
The father is lucky that many of his colleagues are practitioners of our Falun Dafa, too. They can understand him, so can his boss. If such a thing occurred in an ordinary environment, an ordinary work unit, where you say you do not want the lottery bike and donate the money to your work unit because you are a practitioner, your boss would think that there is something wrong with your mind. Others would talk behind your back: "Has this person gone wrong with his practice of qigong, and gone mad because he is too obsessed with it?" I have told you that the moral standard of the people has been distorted. In 1950's and 1960's, what was such a behaviour? It was quite common and nobody would have felt strange.
We believe that no matter what changes have occurred in human moral standard, the cosmic qualities - Zhen Shan Ren will never change. If someone says that you are good, you are not necessarily really good. If someone says that you are bad, you are not necessarily really bad because the measuring criterion for good and bad has been distorted. Only by conforming to the cosmic qualities can one be a good person. That is the sole measuring criterion for good and bad, which is recognized by the universe. Although a great change has taken place in human society, human moral standard has declined, the moral degeneration of the world is getting worse day by day, and profits making has become the only motivation, the universe does not change with the changes in mankind. As a practitioner you cannot act according to the ordinary people's standards. It is not all right if you do something because an ordinary person says it is right to do so. What an ordinary person says is good may not be necessarily good. What an ordinary person says is bad may also not be necessarily bad. In an era when moral standard is distorted, if you tell someone that he is doing something wrong, he will not even believe it! As a practitioner, you can determine what is genuinely good and what is genuinely bad by using the measurement of the cosmic qualities.
Filling Energy into the Top of the Head
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In the world of cultivation, there exists a formality, which is called "filling energy into the top of the head". It is a religious formality of the cultivation way of Tantrism which belongs to the Buddha School. Its purpose is to forbid the person who has performed this ritual to enter other schools. In this way he is accepted formally as a disciple of this school. Today, the curious thing about it is that such a religious ritual can be found in the practice of qigong, such as in cultivation systems of the Tao School, which also practise filling energy into the top of the head. As I have told you, all cultivation ways under the cover of Tantrism which are taught in public are false. Why do I say so? Because Tang-Tantrism disappeared in China over one thousand years ago and it no longer exists at all, an integrated system of Tibetan Tantrism has never spread into the Han region of China due to the language limitation. What is more, practitioners of Tantrism are required to cultivate secretly in temples, and receive teachings from their masters in secret, and their masters guide them in cultivation, for it is an esoteric religion. It will never be passed on if the proper condition cannot be met.
Many people have gone to Tibet to seek a master in order to learn Tibetan Tantrism qigong for the purpose of becoming a qigong master someday and becoming famous and rich. Let us think about this matter. The living Buddha or lama who has received true teachings possesses powerful supernormal capabilities which enable him to read a student's mind. With one look at the student, he is able to tell what he has come for and what he is up to. He wants to become a qigong master and make money and seek fame, and to ruin our way of Buddha cultivation. How could this serious Buddha cultivation way be casually damaged by his desire to become a qigong master for fame and gain? What on earth is his motivation? In this case, he would never receive any teachings at all, not to mention any true teachings. However, it is possible that he has learned something superficial because there are many temples there. When one is not right minded, and only wants to become a qigong master to do bad, he is likely to incur spirit possession. The possessing animal also has energy, but not Tibetan Tantrism. Those who have gone to Tibet really in search of the Law might possibly settle down there and would not make their appearance once they have got there. These are genuine cultivators.
It is strange that "filling energy into the top of the head" is also practised by many Taoist cultivation systems. The Tao School features the exercise of energy channels. Why is "filling energy into the top of the head" involved? When I taught the Gong in the south, as far as I could see, such things happen very often in Guangdong Province, where there were more then 10 heterodox cultivation systems which taught "filling energy into the top of the head". What does that mean? It means you have become their disciple after the master has filled energy into the top of your head; and you are not allowed to learn from any other qigong systems. Otherwise, you will be punished. That is what they do. Is this not an evil practice? What they teach is something to cure diseases and keep fit. What people want is only to have a healthy body upon learning their qigong. Why should they do such a thing? Someone says that whoever practises their qigong cannot practise other qigong systems. Could they save people towards consummation? They are leading people astray. But a good many people are doing so.
"Filling energy into the top of the head" is not taught in the Tao School, but it appears in it. I found the energy column of the qigong master who ran wild practising "filling energy into the top of the head" is only as tall as a two-or-three-storey building. He is quite a famous qigong master. I think it a pity that he lost so much cultivation energy. Hundreds of people queued up waiting to be filled with energy by the master. But the cultivation energy that he had was limited -- only that high -- it went down quickly and was consumed at last. Then what could he use to fill other people with energy? Wasn't he cheating them? Viewed from another space, filling energy into the top of one's head can make one's bones look like white jade from head to foot, which is the result of purifying the body all through with energy and the high energy matter.
Could that master make it? No, he could not. Then why was he doing that? Practising religion was not necessarily his purpose. As far as he was concerned, people who have learned his qigong should belong to him, and they should attend his classes to study his way. Making money is his real purpose. He can hardly make money if nobody learns his qigong.
Like disciples of other cultivation ways of the Buddha School, disciples of Falun Dafa will go through "filling energy into the top of the head" many times by their superior space masters while they themselves are not aware of it. Those who possess supernormal capabilities or who are sensitive may know or feel it in sleep or some other time when they suddenly feel a hot current penetrating all through their bodies coming down from the head. The purpose of filling energy this way is not to add high cultivation energy to you, because cultivation energy can only be acquired through personal cultivation. Filling energy into the top of the head is a reinforcing method to purify and to further clean up your bodies. There are many times where filling energy into the top of the head will occur on every level to clean up your bodies. We do not practise the formality of filling energy into the top of the head because cultivation is one's own business, while the evolution of cultivation energy is done by one's master.
Some people still practise something like formally acknowledging somebody as their master. Speaking of it, I would like to mention, by the way, that many people want to take me as their master. This historical time of ours is different from the feudal society of China. Would knee down and kowtowing stand for worshipping your master? We do not practise such a formality. Many of our practitioners think: if I kowtow, burn incense, and worship the Buddha with a sincere heart, my cultivation energy will grow. I would say that is ridiculous. Genuine cultivation depends upon oneself. It does not help at all to seek anything else. You do not have to worship the Buddha, nor burn incense. As long as you cultivate genuinely according to the standard of a practitioner, the Buddha will be very pleased when he sees you. If you always do wrong deeds away from home, he will feel disgusted to look at you although you worship and kowtow to him. Is this not the truth? Genuine cultivation depends upon the person himself. What is the use of your kowtowing to and worshipping the master today, if you do whatever you want to do upon stepping out of the door? We do not practise such a formality at all, or else you could possibly damage my reputation.
We have given everyone so many things. I shall treat as my disciples all those who cultivate themselves indeed and strictly follow the Great Law. As long as you practise Falun Dafa, we shall treat you and give you guidance as disciples. If you do not want to cultivate, we will not be able to do anything for you. What will you carry that name for if you do not want to cultivate? It does not matter whether you are from the first session or the second session. How can you become our practitioners by just practising the exercise? Only by genuinely following our Xinxing standard to cultivate can you keep a healthy body and genuinely make progress towards the high dimensions. Therefore, we do not practise these formalities. As long as you cultivate yourself, you will become practitioners of our school. My Law body knows everything. He knows everything on your mind, and can do anything. He will not take care of you if you do not cultivate yourself, and he will help you all the way through if you do.
Practitioners of some cultivation systems who have never seen their master have said that if they pay a few hundred yuan and kowtow to a certain direction they will become his students. Isn't this cheating oneself? In addition, such a student has become very devoted ever since, and begun to defend or protect the system and the master, also telling others not to learn other systems. In my opinion, it is quite ridiculous. Still, there are people who practise Top-touching. We do not know what effect it has after his touching.
Not only those who wave the flag of Tantrism to teach qigong are a sham, but also all those who carry the banner of Buddhism to teach qigong are a sham. Please think about it. For several thousand years, the cultivation methods of Buddhism have remained unchanged. Would it be Buddhism if someone changed it? Cultivation methods aim at seriously cultivating Buddhas. In addition, they are extremely mystical, and a tiny change would lead to a muddle. Because the evolution process of cultivation energy is very complex and the human senses are nothing, one cannot cultivate himself depending on his senses. The religious formality for monks is a cultivation method, which will not belong to that school once changed. There is a great enlightened being in charge of each cultivation school, which has turned out many great enlightened beings through cultivation. Nobody dares to change the method of that school at will through cultivation. And yet, what mighty virtues does a little qigong master have to cheat the master and change the school of cultivating Buddhas? Will it still belong to that school if it is really changed? The fake qigong methods can be distinguished.
Xuanguan-Shewei (Placement of the Mysterious Pass)
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Placement of the Mysterious Pass is also called Xuanguan-Yiqiao (the One Aperture of the Mysterious Pass). Such terms can be found in the books of Danjing, Daozang, and Xingming Guizhi (A Genuine Guide to Cultivation of Nature and Life). Then, what is it all about? Many qigong masters cannot explain it. This is because on the level of an ordinary qigong master, he cannot see it at all and he is not allowed to see it. If a practitioner wants to see it, he has to reach beyond the plane of the Wisdom Eye Sight to see it. An ordinary qigong master cannot reach this plane, and thus he cannot see it. Historically, the world of cultivation has been exploring what the Mysterious Pass ( ) is, where the One Aperture is and how to place it ( ). From the books of Danjing, Daozang and Xingming Guizhi, you can find that they all talk about the theories this way and that way, but do not tell you the essence of it. They have talked you into confusion, and you are at a loss, for an ordinary person is not allowed to know the heart of the matter.
In addition, let me tell everyone that because you are my disciples of Falun Dafa, I would say these words to you: Do not read those heterodox qigong books. I do not refer to the above mentioned several ancient books, but to those fake qigong books written by contemporary people. Do not even open them at all. If the idea flashes in your mind: Well, this sentence seems to be reasonable, as soon as this has occurred to your mind, the evil spirit in the book will get into you. Many books were written under the control of an evil spirit which manipulated human desires for fame and gain. There are so many and considerably a lot of fake qigong books. Many people have no sense of responsibility, and some of the spirit possessed even write about things evil. Do not even read the several ancient books mentioned above as well as other related ancient books as it involves the issue of specializing only in one cultivation way.
A head of the China Qigong Society once told me something that made me laugh a lot. He said that there was a person in Beijing, who often went to qigong lectures. After listening to many talks, after quite a long time he felt that qigong was nothing more than what was said there. Because they were on the same level, they all talked about the same things. Like those sham qigong masters, he thought that the connotation of qigong was nothing more than that. Then, he wanted to write a qigong book. Please think about it. A non-qigong-practitioner planned to write a qigong book. Nowadays, the qigong books are copied from one to another. As his writing progressed, he got stuck on the issue of the Mysterious Pass. Who could understand what the Mysterious Pass is? Few genuine qigong masters understand it. He went to ask a sham qigong master. But actually he did not know this qigong master was a sham because he himself knew nothing about qigong. This sham qigong master thought if he could not answer this question, people would know he was a sham. Therefore, he dared to make up a story, saying that the One Aperture of the Mysterious Pass was at the tip of one's penis. It sounds very funny. Do not laugh. This book has already been published in society. This is to say that qigong books today have reached such a ridiculous point. Just say what is the use of reading those books; there is no use; they can only harm people.
What is the Placement of the Mysterious Pass? While cultivating in Shi Jian Fa (the In-Triple-World-Law), when a person has reached beyond the middle stage, namely, on the high-level cultivation of the In-Triple-World-Law, he starts to grow Yuanying (the Immortal Infant). It is different from what we have mentioned about Yinghai (Subtle Babies). Subtle Babies are tiny and playful, who run around. The Immortal Infant cannot move. Yuanshen (the True Spirit) does not take control of it. It does not move, but sits cross-legged on the lotus with both hands conjoined. The Immortal Infant is born in the Dan Tian (the area of the lower abdomen), and can be seen when it is even smaller than the tip of a needle in the microcosmic state.
In addition, another issue should be clarified. There is only one real Dan Tian at the lower abdomen area. It is located above the Huiyin acupuncture point below the belly inside a human body. A lot of cultivation energy, many supernormal capabilities, many magic techniques, the Law bodies ( ), the Immortal Infant, Subtle Babies and a good many living entities are born here.
Some individual practitioners in the past talked about the upper Dan Tian, the middle Dan Tian and the lower Dan Tian. I would say that they were wrong. Some people also said that their masters had taught this for generations, and it was in the books. Let me tell you that there was dross even in the ancient times. Although it has been inherited and passed on for years, it is not necessarily right. Some worldly small cultivation ways have always been passed around among ordinary people. Yet, they cannot cultivate, and they are nothing. Such a person calls it the upper Dan Tian, the middle Dan Tian, and the lower Dan Tian because he means to say that the place where Dan (the elixir) can be born is Dan Tian. Is this not a joke? When a human intention concentrates on one point, in the long run, it will be able to develop an energy mass and the elixir will be born there. If you do not believe it, always concentrate your intention on your arm, and keep it that way, in the long run, the elixir will be born there. Therefore, some people saw this happening, and declared that Dan Tian exists everywhere. In fact, it is Dan (the elixir), but not Tian (the field). It is all right if you say Dan is everywhere, or there are the upper Dan, the middle Dan and the lower Dan. However, there is only one genuine Tian (the field) which can give birth to numerous Laws, and which is located in the field of the lower abdomen. Therefore, the way of saying the upper Dan Tian, the middle Dan Tian and the lower Dan Tian is wrong. Dan will be born wherever you concentrate your intention for a long period of time.
The Yuanying (Immortal Infant) grows up slowly to become larger and larger from this Dan Tian of the lower abdomen area. When it grows to be as big as a ping-pong ball, the whole shape of the body can be seen clearly with nose and eyes formed. At the same time when the Immortal Infant is as big as a ping-pong ball, a round bubble will be born next to it. Upon birth, the bubble will grow along with the Immortal Infant. When the latter reaches 4 inches tall, a petal of a lotus flower will appear. When it grows to be 5 or 6 inches, the petals of the lotus flower are basically formed. A layer of lotus flower has appeared. A shining golden Immortal Infant sits in the golden plate of the lotus flower, looking very beautiful. This is the immortal body of a Vajra, which is called the Buddha body in the Buddha School, or the Immortal Infant in the Tao School.
Our cultivation school cultivates and requires both kinds of such bodies, and Benti (the True Being) also will be transformed. As you know, a Buddha body is not allowed to be seen among ordinary people. With some good effort, it could reveal its shape which an ordinary person's eyes can observe in the form of light. However, this body upon transformation appears to be the same as an ordinary person's body. An ordinary person can not find the changes but this body can pass through spaces. When Yuanying (the Immortal Infant) has reached 4 to 5 inches, the air bubble has also grown to that height, which is transparent just like the skin of an air balloon. The Immortal Infant sits there without moving. When it is this big, the air bubble will leave Dan Tian, as it has become mature. Therefore, it will ascend. The process of ascension is a very slow one. But its motion can be observed daily. It gradually moves up, rising higher and higher up. We can sense its existence by meticulous observation.
When the air bubble rises to the acupuncture point of Shanzhong, it will stay there for a while because there is a lot of essence of a human body there (including the heart), a system of which will be formed in the air bubble. This essence will be supplied into the air bubble. After some time, it will again ascend. When it passes through the throat, one will feel suffocated as if the blood vessels were all blocked and swollen quite uncomfortably. This will last only for a couple of days. Then the air bubble will rise to the top of the head, which we call upper Niwan. It is said that it has reached Niwan. In fact, it is as large as your entire brain. Your head will feel swollen. Because Niwan is a very important place of a human life, the essence of it will also need to be formed in the air bubble. Then, the air bubble will try to squeeze its way out of the channel of the Celestial Eye, which makes you feel quite uncomfortable. The Celestial Eye will be squeezed to feel great pain, and the temples will also feel swollen with the eyes feeling as if they are digging inward until it squeezes out and hangs in front of the forehead all at once. It hangs up there. This is what we mean by the Placement of the Mysterious Pass.
By this time, the person whose Celestial Eye is open may not be able to see anything. The door is shut because cultivation in both the Buddha School and the Tao School is intended to speed up the formation of things inside the Mysterious Pass as soon as possible. There are two doors in the front as well as in the rear, both of which are closed. Like the gate way of Tian An Men (Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing), there are two big doors on both sides. In order to make it substantial and form as soon as possible, the doors will not open unless there are special circumstances. What one could see with his Celestial Eye will not be able to be seen or allowed to be seen at this point. What is the purpose of its hanging there? Because the hundreds of energy channels in our bodies meet there, they will go through the Mysterious Pass in a circle and go out. Their all going through the Mysterious Pass is aimed at laying some foundation and forming a system of certain things inside it. Because a human body is a small universe, it will produce a small world with all of the human essence built into it. However, it only produces a set of equipment which cannot operate thoroughly yet.
For the Cultivation Way of the Rare School, the Mysterious Pass is open. When it ejects out, it is a long tube which will become round gradually. So the doors in the front and in the rear are open. Because the cultivation system of the Rare School cultivates neither Buddhas nor the Tao, and they will have to protect themselves. In the Buddha School and the Tao School, there are a great many masters, who can protect you, and you will not have to see to it, nor run into any problems. But the cultivation system of the Rare School cannot go this way. Their practitioners must protect themselves so they should be able to see with their Celestial Eyes all the time. But at that time, seeing with one's Celestial Eye is like seeing through a telescope. After a system of material has been formed in a month or so, it will begin to return inside. After it goes back inside, this will be called Xuanguan Huanwei ( Shift of the Mysterious Pass).
When it returns inside, one will feel swollen and uncomfortable. Then, it will squeeze out of the acupuncture point of Yuzhen. This squeezing-out also makes one feel uncomfortable as if one's head had been split open. When it comes out all at once, and then one will feel relaxed immediately. Upon coming out, it will hang in very deep space, and exist in the body formation of very deep space. Therefore, one would not feel it during sleep. However, one thing that one could feel is that there seems to be something in front of his eyes during the first Xuanguan Shewei ( the Placement of the Mysterious Pass). Though it is in another space, one will usually feel his eyes are blurred as if something had covered them, and he does not feel comfortable. Because the acupuncture point Yuzhen is a key point, a system of material will also be formed in the rear, and then it will start to go back again. This Xuanguan Yiqiao (the one aperture of the Mysterious Pass) in fact is not only one aperture as it will change positions many times. When it returns to Niwan, it will begin to descend in the body until it arrives at the acupuncture point of Mingmen. It will then be projected out of the Mingmen.
The Mingmen point of the human body is a major key qiao (aperture), which is called qiao in the Tao School, and guan ( pass) by us. It is a major principal pass which is like an iron door of many layers. We all know that the human body is one layer upon another layer. Our flesh cells comprise one layer, the molecules inside it another. Every plane has a layer of gates, the atom, the proton, the electron, the infinitely small, till the extremely small particle. Therefore, there are numerous supernormal capabilities and many magic powers locked inside the gate of each layer. Other cultivation ways cultivate Dan (the elixir). When the elixir is going to explode, the Mingmen point must be blasted open. If it is not opened, the supernormal capabilities will not be able to be released. After the Mysterious Pass forms a system at the Mingmen point, it will return inside the body. Then, it will return to the lower abdomen area. This is called Xuanguan Guiwei ( Return of the Mysterious Pass).
After its return, the Mysterious Pass does not go back to the original place. By then, the Immortal Infant has grown to be quite large. The air bubble will cover and wrap it up. As the Immortal Infant grows, it also grows. Often in the Tao School, when the Immortal Infant grows to be as big as a 6 to 7 year-old child, it will be allowed to leave the human body, which is called Yuanying Chushi (The Immortal Infant is born into the world). It will be controlled by the human Yuanshen (the True Spirit). In this way it can move around outside the body. One's body does not move, and his True Spirit will come out. Generally, an Immortal Infant of the Buddha School will be out of danger when it has been cultivated to be as big as the practitioner himself. At this time, it will usually be allowed to leave one's body and come out. By then, the Immortal Infant has grown to be as large as the practitioner himself, and the cover is also large. The cover which is Xuanguan (the Mysterious Pass) has already expanded to the outside of one's body. Because the Immortal Infant has grown to be so large, it will certainly expand to the outside of one's body.
Perhaps, you have seen the Buddha image in the temple in which the former is always inside a circle. In particular, the portrait of a Buddha image always has a circle in which the Buddha sits. The same is true of a great many Buddha images; especially those portraits of the Buddha images in an ancient temple are always like that. Nobody could explain clearly why the Buddha sits inside the circle. Let me tell you that this is Xuanguan (the Mysterious Pass). However, it is not called Xuanguan by now. It is called a world, though not yet an actual world. It only has this set of equipment. Just like a factory, there is only a set of equipment but it has no capability of production. There must be some power and raw materials before it can start production. A few years ago many practitioners said that: my cultivation energy is higher than a Bodhisattva, or my cultivation energy is higher than a Buddha. Others would think it is too abstruse. In fact, what such a person said is not at all abstruse as cultivation energy indeed must be cultivated to be very high in this world.
Why, then, does there exist a situation where one has cultivated to the point of being higher than a Buddha? It can not be understood superficially. Such a person's cultivation energy is indeed very high. Because when he has cultivated to reach a very high level, and reached the time to open his cultivation energy and become enlightened, his cultivation energy is indeed very high. Just at the moment prior to his enlightenment, 80% of his cultivation energy will be taken down together with his Xinxing standard as this energy is used to substantiate this world of his, his own world. We all know that a practitioner's cultivation energy especially plus his Xinxing standard has been cultivated out through a great deal of lifelong sufferings, hardships and tribulations in harsh environments. Therefore, it is extremely valuable. Eighty percent of such a valuable material is used to substantiate his world. As a result, when he succeeds in his cultivation in the future, he will get what he wants when he holds his hands out, and will have anything he wants. He will do anything he wants as everything exists in his world. These are his mighty virtues which are attained through his cultivation after suffering.
This energy of his can be transformed into anything. Therefore, if a Buddha wants something, eats something, plays with something, he will have it. This is from his own cultivation, which is Fowei (the Buddha status). Without this he will not succeed in cultivation. By this time it could be called his own world, and he will reach consummation and attain the Tao only with the 20% of his cultivation energy left. Though only 20% of the cultivation energy is left, his body is not locked. He either will have his body or not have it. But his body has already been transformed by the high energy matter. At this time he will have supernatural powers and become extremely powerful. While cultivating among ordinary people, such a person is often locked, and does not have such capabilities. No matter how high his cultivation energy is, it will be restricted. Now, it is different.
Lecture Five
Configuration of Falun
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The sign of our Falun Dafa is Falun. Those with supernormal capabilities can see Falun revolving. The same is true of our Falun badge which is also rotating. We cultivate under the guidance of the cosmic qualities, Zhen Shan Ren ( Truth Compassion Forbearance), and according to the principles of the cosmic evolution. Therefore, we cultivate something really enormous. In a sense, the configuration of Falun is the miniature of the universe. The Buddha School conceptualizes the universe as the Ten Directions with four sides and eight directions. Perhaps, some people can see a vertical energy pillar above and below Falun, which just makes up the Ten Directions plus the above and the below, which constitute the universe and stand for the Buddha School's summarization of the universe.
This universe, of course, consists of numerous galaxies including our Milky Way galaxy. The whole universe is in motion, and so are all the galaxies within it. Therefore, the Taiji and the small swastikas " " in the configuration as well as the whole Falun are also rotating, including the large swastika " " in the center. In a way, the configuration symbolizes our Milky Way galaxy. Because we belong to the Buddha School, the center retains the symbol of the Buddha School. This is seen on the surface. All substances have their own existing forms in other spaces in which they have an extremely rich and complex process of evolution and form of existence. This configuration of Falun is a miniature of the universe and has its own form of existence and process of evolution in each of the other spaces. Therefore, I call it a world.
When Falun rotates clockwise, it can automatically absorb energy from the universe. While rotating counter clockwise, it can give off energy. An internal clockwise rotation offers salvation to oneself while an external rotation offers salvation to others. This is the feature of our cultivation way. Some people have asked why there should be a Taiji since we belong to the Buddha School. Doesn't the Taiji belong to the Tao School? This is because we cultivate something very immense, and as good as cultivate the whole universe. Then, think about it. This universe consists of the two large schools, the Buddha School and the Tao School. Excluding either of them would not make up a complete universe and such a universe could not be said to be complete. As a result, we have included what belongs to the Tao School. Still some people say that in addition to just the Tao School, there are other religions such as Christianity, Confucianism, etc.. Let me tell you that Confucianism belongs to the Tao School when its cultivation reaches the extremely high dimension, while many Western religions fall into the Buddha School and belong to the same system of the Buddha School when they reach the very high dimension. There are just two major schools.
Then, why are there two Taiji patterns with their upper halves red and lower halves blue, and another two Taiji patterns with their upper halves red and lower halves black? What we generally understand is that Taiji is composed of the two substances of black and white, the Yin and the Yang. That perception comes from a very low level as its manifestation varies from space to space. These are its colours as they are manifested at the supreme level. The Tao we generally refer to has the colours red in its upper part and black for its lower part. For instance, some of our cultivators have opened their Celestial Eyes, and have discovered that the red colour they see with their eyes is green when seen in the space next to ours. The golden colour is seen to be purple in another space. Thus, there is a contrast, i.e. its colours differ from space to space. The Taiji with its upper part red and lower part blue belongs to the School of the Primordial Great Tao, which includes the Rare Cultivation Way. The four small swastika signs " " on the four sides belong to the Buddha School, which are just the same as the one in the middle, all belonging to the Buddha School. The colour of this Falun is relatively bright and we use it as the emblem of Falun Dafa.
The Falun we see through our Celestial Eyes does not necessarily have the same colours, because the background colour will change while its pattern remains the same. When the Falun that I have planted in your lower abdomen area is spinning, your celestial eye may see it as red, or purple, or green, or perhaps colourless. Its background colour keeps changing with the colours of red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue, and purple. That's why what you see may be of different colours while the swastika signs " " inside, and the colours and the patterns of Taiji will remain the same. We feel that the background colour of the pattern looks nice, and therefore we have fixed it. Those with supernormal capabilities can transcend this space and see a lot of things.
Some people have mentioned that this swastika sign " " looks like that of Hitler's. Now I'd like to tell you that this sign itself does not connote any class concepts. Some people say that if its corner is tilted to this side, it would be Hitler's emblem. This does not matter as both sides rotate. It was 2500 years ago in Sakyamuni's time that our human society came to recognize this sign widely. It is but a few decades from Hitler's time during the World War II up till now. He usurped this sign. But his is black in colour, and different from ours. Moreover, his sign stands upright with the points facing up. That's all for this Falun. We have only mentioned the form of its appearance.
What, then, does this swastika " " symbolize in our Buddha School? Some people say that it resembles good fortune, but this is an interpretation of ordinary people. Let me tell you that " " is a sign of a Buddha's status of achievement. Only when one reaches the Buddha's status can he have it. A Bodhisattva and an Arhat do not have it. Yet, senior Bodhisattvas and the four senior Bodhisattvas all have it. We can see that these senior Bodhisattvas are far above the status of ordinary Buddhas, even above Tathagatas. There are numerous Buddhas above the status of Tathagata who has only one swastika " ". Those who have reached beyond the status of Tathagata have more and more swastikas " ". A Buddha whose status is twice as high as a Tathagata will have two swastikas " ". Those who are even higher will have three, or four, or five......etc.. They have so many of it which can be found all over their bodies, on the head, shoulders, knees. There are so many of it that it will even appear on the palms, fingers, foot arches and toes, etc.. With the status rising higher and higher, the swastikas " " will increase continuously. Therefore, the sign " " represents the status of a Buddha. The higher the status of a Buddha, the more signs " " he will have.
Rare Cultivation Way
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In addition to the Buddha School and the Tao School, there is a Rare Cultivation Way which labels itself as the Rare Cultivation. There is a conventional belief on the issue of cultivation methods: From ancient China to this day, people have regarded the Buddha School and the Tao School as orthodox cultivation ways, and also call them the cultivation of the Orthodox School. This Rare Cultivation Way has never been open to the public, and therefore very few people know of its existence. People have learned about it only from literary works.
Does this Rare Cultivation Way exist? Yes. In the course of my cultivation, especially in recent years, I ran into three highly accomplished masters of the Rare School, who imparted to me the best of their school which was extraordinarily unique and remarkable. It is simply because what it cultivates is very unique, what it achieves in cultivation is very strange and cannot be understood by ordinary people. In addition, they claim that they belong to neither the Buddha School nor the Tao School. They do not cultivate the Buddha or the Tao. When people hear they cultivate neither the Buddha nor the Tao, they label the school as Pangmen Zuodao (the Heterodox School). They call themselves the Cultivation Way of the Rare School. The term of Pangmen Zuodao has a pejorative connotation, but it does not carry a negative meaning as it does not mean that the Rare School cultivates an evil way. This is beyond doubt. It does not imply an evil Way in its literal meaning, either. Through the ages the Buddha School and the Tao School have been named orthodox cultivation ways. Before people came to understand this cultivation way, it was said to be a Pangmen, or a sidedoor, not the door to the Orthodox School. What about Zuodao then? Zuo means clumsy, the clumsy way. As the word Zuo in the ancient Chinese vocabulary was often used as "clumsy", Pangmen Zuodao carries such an inference.
Why isn't it an evil way? Because it also has the strict requirement of Xinxing. Its cultivation is also based upon the cosmic qualities. It does not violate the cosmic qualities nor the cosmic Laws, nor does it do anything wrong. Therefore, we cannot say it is an evil way. It is not because the fundamental qualities of our universe conform to the cultivation ways of the Buddha School and the Tao School, but it is because both of their cultivation ways conform to the cosmic qualities that they have become orthodox schools. Since the cultivation of the Rare Cultivation Way conforms to the fundamental qualities of the universe, it is not an evil way, but an orthodox way all the same, because the criterion used to measure what is good or what is bad, what is good or what is evil are the cosmic qualities. Since it cultivates according to the cosmic qualities, it also follows a correct course; however, the features of its requirements differ from those of the Buddha School and the Tao School. Nor does it believe in teaching many students; rather, it is taught to a limited number of students. The Taoist Cultivation Way is handed down by teaching a large number of students, but only one of them receives true teachings. The Buddha School teaches the salvation of all living beings. Whoever wants to cultivate himself can do so.
While handing down its cultivation way, the Rare Cultivation Way never chooses two people, but only one person as its disciple in a considerably long period of time in history. For this reason, what is possessed has never been shown to ordinary people throughout history. As a matter of fact, when qigong reached its height, I found that a few people from this cultivation way also came out to teach qigong. However, while they were teaching, they found that they were actually doing the impossible, because there were some things that their masters did not allow them to teach to the public by any means. If they wanted to make it public, they could not select disciples, and people who had come had different levels of Xinxing. They would not be able to choose disciples because various kinds of people had come with different mentalities. Therefore, it is impossible for the Rare Cultivation Way to be popularized, and it is liable to invite danger, for what it cultivates is extremely unique.
Some people think that the Buddha School cultivates Buddhas while the Tao School cultivates immortals. Then what does the Rare Cultivation Way cultivate becoming after all? They cultivate becoming wandering immortals without a definite territory in a cosmic world. We all know that the Tathagata, Sakyamuni, has his Saha Paradise, Buddha Amitabha has his Paradise of Ultimate Bliss, and Buddha, Master Physician has his Glazed Paradise. Each Tathagata or great Buddha has his own paradise. Every great enlightened being has a paradise of his own construction with many disciples of his living in it, while the Rare Cultivation Way has no definite cosmic territory; rather, they are simply like traveling gods or wandering immortals.
Cultivation of the Evil Way
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What is the cultivation of the evil way? There are several such forms: There is one kind of people who specialize in cultivating the evil way, for it has been taught through the ages. Why do they teach this? Because they are bent on fame and gain and making fortunes with ordinary people. They are interested in this. Of course such people will not gain cultivation energy because their Xinxing is not high. What will they gain then? Karma. When one's karma accumulates to a certain amount, it will also become a kind of energy. However, such a person is not in possession of an attainment level. He has no comparison with a cultivator, but in comparison with an ordinary person he has the ability to regulate the latter. This is because this matter is also the manifestation of a kind of energy which can play the role of being able to strengthen the supernormal capabilities of the human body when its density becomes great. This is why there have been some people who teach such things throughout the ages. Such a person says: I will increase my cultivation energy by doing wrong and swearing. He does not increase his cultivation energy; in fact, he increases the density of this black substance because doing wrong could gain the black substance --- karma. So he can also enable those bits of petty supernormal capabilities he carries along to be reinforced by such karma, and can also produce bits of petty supernormal capabilities, which cannot do anything significant. Such people hold that committing wrongdoings can also increase cultivation energy, and they have such a conviction.
Some people talk about the so-called "The Tao grew by one foot but the demon grew by ten." This is but a fallacy among ordinary people. Demons will never be above the Tao. There is a state of affairs that the universe our mankind knows is only a small one among the numerous universes, and we just call it the universe for short. Each time after a long period of time in the remote past, this universe has always experienced a cosmic catastrophe, which was able to destroy everything in it, including the stars and all life in the universe. There is also a law governing the motion of the universe. For our present cycle of the universe, it is not just mankind that has become evil, as many beings have already perceived an occurrence of the situation for the time being, a big explosion has taken place in this cosmic space long before. The reason why astronomers today cannot see this is that what we see when we now use the most powerful telescope to observe it is a scene which occurred 150000 light years ago. If you want to see what changes have taken place in the celestial bodies, you will have to wait for 150000 light years. This is indeed a very remote future.
By now the whole universe has already undergone a great change. Each time such a change took place, all life in the whole universe was annihilated and lay in ruins. Each time such an explosion occurred, those previously existing qualities of the universe as well as the substances inside were totally blown up. Ordinary lives were killed in the explosion. Somehow each time the explosion did not wipe out everything completely. When a new universe was reconstructed by the extremely high dimensional enlightened beings, there in the new universe would be some that had not been killed in the explosion. These great enlightened beings would reconstruct the universe according to their own characteristics and build the universe according to their own criteria. Therefore, their cosmic qualities were quite different from those of the last.
Those who survived the explosion held on to the previous characteristics and principles and acted upon them in this new universe. But the newly-constructed universe acted in accordance with the new cosmic qualities, the Law. Thus, those who survived the explosion became demons who interfered with the Law of the universe. However, they are not that bad as they simply acted upon the cosmic qualities of the previous cycle. They are what people refer to as the Heavenly Demons. Nevertheless, they do not pose a threat to ordinary people, nor do they harm people at all. They only stick to their own law and act upon it. Ordinary people were not allowed to know this in the past. I say that there are numerous Buddhas whose status is far above that of Tathagata. What does that demon count? In comparison it is very, very tiny. Old age, disease and death are also a kind of demon. Yet they were born to maintain the cosmic qualities.
Buddhism teaches the logic of the Sixfold Path of Transmigration, which speaks of the issue of the Path of Asura (malevolent spirits). This actually refers to the living beings of a different space, who, however, do not bear human nature. In the eye of a great enlightened one, they are of extremely low levels and devastatingly impotent. However, they are terrifying in the eyes of ordinary people. They have a certain amount of energy. They regard ordinary people as a kind of beast, and therefore enjoy eating human beings. Over the past few years they also have come out to teach qigong. But what sort of things do they belong to? How could they look like human beings? It is frightening to learn what belongs to them because you will have to go with them and become their species. When some