How to Use Free Will

Xuefeng

November 24, 2015

Humans possess free will. When the script and characters are set, how the story unfolds is determined by one’s free will. People are incapable of fully aligning with the Tao; the very places where they fail to align with the Tao are precisely caused by the exercise of their free will. Humans think, weigh pros and cons, strategize, and seek benefits while avoiding harm—these are all manifestations of free will. People experience troubles, pain, anxiety, worry, and fear, and these feelings are the sensations of consciousness, further proving the existence of free will. When free will conflicts with the script’s storyline and character arrangements, these feelings are born.

When we shop at a mall filled with a dazzling array of goods, we make choices, and this process of selection is a full expression of free will. Television has broadcast "blind date" programs, where the dating process is a demonstration of free will in action. If humans lacked free will, they would simply become biological robots, and the act of making choices would not occur. Chanyuan Celestials living in the home should have experienced this: When you are in a one-on-one situation, you may internally resist the guide’s instruction to avoid such interactions, even feeling that you are right and the guide is wrong. However, you dare not openly resist; on one hand, you want to follow the guide’s direction, but on the other, you find it difficult to let go. As a result, confusion and pain arise within—this is the conflict between free will and the script's storyline.

The Buddha's teaching is “no-self.” A person with “no-self” has no free will. The Buddha’s state is “no-self”; if there is a “self,” then it is not the Buddha. The requirement for aligning with the Tao and heaven is to align one's free will with the program of the Tao and the laws of heaven, not to oppose them. In other words, one should willingly, joyfully, and happily align with the script’s storyline and character arrangements, embodying each role naturally, step by step, with the heart and mind in harmony.

Stubbornness is an extreme manifestation of free will: when asked to go east, you insist on going west; when asked to play, you insist on working; when asked to move, you insist on being still; when asked to take something off, you insist on putting something on. In this way, conflicts intensify, and suffering and calamities occur more frequently. By observing the people around you, historical figures, or characters in television dramas, you will find that those who are stubborn often lead difficult lives, experience misfortune, and meet unfortunate ends. This is why the Buddha taught us to “eliminate attachment to the self.” Each Chanyuan Celestial living in the home can also discover this secret from personal experience: when you adhere to the Chanyuan values and strictly follow the guide’s roadmap, you will experience happiness, joy, freedom, and well-being. However, when you violate the Chanyuan values and diverge from the guide’s roadmap, you will feel suppressed, depressed, and uncomfortable, unable to enjoy happiness and freedom. This confusion is caused by the desire to exercise free will.

“The Sage embraces the One to be a model for the world.” Why embrace the One? Because embracing the One brings ease, simplicity, freedom, and happiness. Without embracing the One, every step becomes difficult, and disaster is inevitable. In the universe, it means aligning with the Greatest Creator; in a nation, aligning with the head of the government; in a group, aligning with the highest authority. If you choose to oppose, it is like an egg striking a rock, leaving yourself battered and bruised. To embrace the One, you must eliminate attachment to the self, and to eliminate attachment to the self, you must curb your free will as much as possible when it conflicts with the storyline.

Free will is a gift from the Greatest Creator, and anything given by the Greatest Creator should be used. Not using it is wrong, but how should it be used?

The universal script is vast and complex; only by opening the Dharma-eye and Buddha-eye can one glimpse some of its mysteries. By looking at the long river of history, through the lens of centuries and millennia, by examining minute details, and by understanding the characteristics of the Tao and its laws of expression, one may gain some insight. Most people, however, have ordinary eyes and limited vision, unable to comprehend what this great script is portraying and how it is unfolding. The only broad and open road is to follow the way of the Greatest Creator, to listen to and adhere to the teachings and guidance of gods, buddhas, celestial beings, and sages. Relying on our own limited wisdom to understand the truth of the universe is like climbing a tree to catch a fish; using our own free will to find a shortcut to heaven is nothing more than a fool's dream.