Beware! One Tendency Hides Another

Xuefeng

Since Yin and Yang first emerged, all things and phenomena in the universe have contained these two attributes, forming a duality that ensures balance, with each half complementing the other and embodying the symmetry of opposites. Life and death, for instance, are the two sides of existence: life contains death, and death contains life. They are opposites yet interdependent; without one, the other cannot exist. (The nature of life in the Pure Land is a separate discussion.)

The concept of symmetry and the unity of opposites is a valuable tool for understanding phenomena and things, and it is a major avenue for humanity's path to wisdom and sainthood. If we only focus on one side of things, or only recognize one aspect, we will inevitably fall into extremism and be misled.

A sheet of paper has a front and a back, or a Yang side and a Yin side. If we only acknowledge the front of the paper and deny the back, then our thinking has a problem. This type of thinking, which sees only one side of things, is a form of one-sided thinking, asymmetrical thinking, and disharmonious thinking.

Lifechanyuan begins by introducing the concept of “unconventional thinking.” The goal is to inspire people to break free from one-sided perspectives. It encourages us to twist one end of our thinking 180 degrees, inverting it, to see what we hadn’t seen before: turn absence into presence, good into bad, love into hate, up into down, life into death, success into failure, loss into gain, poverty into wealth, greatness into insignificance, heroes into fools, darkness into light, and so on.

It is essential to emphasize that “Unconventional thinking” involves adjusting one's perspective by 180 degrees, not fully reversing or inverting it. If everything is fully inverted, we fall into another extreme. For example, when we look at a piece of paper, we see only the front. If we flip the paper over, we still see only the other side. The key is to see both the front and the back until we can no longer distinguish which is which. This is the subtlety of "unconventional thinking." For example, when we can see death within life, and life within death—where life and death are interdependent and coexistent—when we finally realize that life and death themselves do not exist, this is the true understanding of "unconventional thinking." Once we reach this level of thinking, we can become a master, a saint.

I won’t delve into this profound and mysterious holographic thinking theory. For now, let us focus on the Yin-Yang attributes of things and phenomena to analyze the problems present in human and individual thinking.

Everyone goes through a passionate phase. When I was in middle school, I experienced an intense love affair with a classmate. It was a period of intoxicating infatuation. My mindset at that time was undoubtedly, "In heaven, let us be a pair of winged birds; on earth, let us be intertwined branches, unwavering even if the seas dry up and the rocks decay." This is one tendency, but this tendency masked another one—the parting, the bittersweetness hidden within sweetness, the decades-long yearning, and the inner sorrow.

The Cultural Revolution was a time of national fervor. Those who didn’t participate as Red Guards may struggle to understand the passion behind slogans like “breaking the Four Olds and establishing the Four New” or the zeal of "singing revolutionary songs and traveling the world." During that time, people's mindsets were strikingly similar to my own during my youthful infatuation. However, beneath this lively and exuberant tendency lay another: the destruction of old superstitions and traditions without building genuine faith, which led to immense personal and national tragedies later on.

Readers of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich know that Hitler’s impassioned speeches and charisma inspired the SS soldiers to fight heroically and relentlessly. At that time, Nazi soldiers were fervent and full of fighting spirit, completely convinced they were fighting for a great and sacred cause. However, one tendency hid another: they had no awareness that they were serving fascist rule.

Certain "holy war" organizations have members who are brave and fearless, willing to face death without hesitation. Their hearts are often shaken by a sense of "sacred" power, fighting and sacrificing their lives for this "sacred" cause. They feel supreme honor, greatness, and pride. When they flew planes into the World Trade Center and leveled it to the ground, what they felt was nothing but extreme joy. However, this "sacredness" conceals another tendency—beneath the brilliance lies immense evil.

Some extreme religious and political organizations consist of individuals with one-sided thinking. They often believe their cause is the most righteous in the world, yet they fail to realize they are walking an extreme path, one that goes against the Way.

Over the past six months, I’ve been writing articles while reading widely from domestic and international Chinese websites written by somewhat well-known authors. To this day, I have yet to find a single excellent article. They all veer toward extremes, exhibit one-sided thinking, and are written by those who are self-satisfied. This is a tragedy for the Chinese people.

Zhuge Liang, deeply aware of his inability to turn the tide, wrote The Ma Qian Prophecies. Similarly, Lifechanyuan may also be unable to change the course of events. After ten months of online promotion, only a handful of individuals have grasped its essence. Most remain oblivious to the hidden tendency beneath another. They are unaware of the cliff’s edge, even as disaster looms.

Materialism and idealism, atheism and theism, are two sides of the same coin, or Yin and Yang. To assert that the world is purely material, ignoring the existence and role of spirit, mind, and consciousness, will inevitably lead humanity astray. Conversely, to claim the world is purely ideal or consciousness-based, disregarding the value and role of material existence, will likewise mislead humanity. Pure materialism exaggerates human agency and subjective initiative, leading to arrogance, conceit, pride, and irrationality. Pure theism suppresses and stifles human nature, innate freedom, and initiative, potentially bringing spiritual and psychological terror.

Enough for now—it’s late. Tomorrow is the last day before Christmas 2004, the busiest day of the year for business. I’ll leave some energy for work tomorrow and make a bit more money.

In conclusion, if one becomes intoxicated by one tendency, one will inevitably suffer under the opposite tendency later on.

By the way, could gods and Buddhas have another side? Could the devil (Satan) have another side as well?