Changing in Tune with the Cyclical Evolution of the Universe

Xuefeng

That year, my son was fifteen. We lived at 10 Forest Road, in a detached house surrounded by sixty-three different plants. Among them was a tree emitting a peculiar and strong fragrance after dinner during the flowering seasons. The scent wafted through the courtyard, drifted into the dining room, living room, bedroom, permeating our nostrils, seeping into our organs, and minds, intoxicating and enchanting us.

That evening after dinner, I strolled with my child in the courtyard, standing under this divine tree (whose name I still do not know), and began a lecture for my son. Here is what I shared with him back then:

Son, since you were three, I've been teaching you about life. For the past three years, every Wednesday evening has been our designated father-son exchange. I may lack the ability to provide you with abundant material wealth. Instead, I'm passing on the little wisdom inherited from your great-grandmother and grandfather and some traditional virtues of the Chinese nation that I've come to understand. Over these three years, I've taken you to the Jehovah's Witness church every Sunday, exposing you to their teachings to make you aware of what's missing in Chinese culture. Your future insights will rely on your perception. Read some books that are not books, like this tree; it's a book. Let's read it now.

Son: “Dad, how do we read this tree?"

Child, this tree is a book encompassing everything. Imagine how it grows, what sustains it, its origin, why its leaves are green, why it only blooms once a year, why its leaves and flowers have distinctive shapes. What force is behind this uniqueness? Tonight, let's not discuss anything else, only explore why this tree emits fragrance only at specific times. What can this phenomenon teach us?

Son: “Dad, is it trying to tell us it adheres to a governing law?"

You truly are your father's good son, clever with high comprehension. What else do you think is also governed by a law?

Son: "It seems all plants and flowers follow a law. When spring arrives, they sprout, bloom, and grow. When winter comes, they wither, decay, and hide. This happens every year."

Reasonable. What else is bound by a law?

Son: "Seems like weather changes are also governed by a law. Zimbabwe has dry and rainy seasons. During the dry season, rain does not fall for months. When the rainy season arrives, it starts raining. Midway through the rainy season, thunder and lightning occur frequently, accompanied by heavy rains. This happens every year."

Anything else?

Son: "The moon also seems to be governed by a law; otherwise, we wouldn't have regular full moons and new moons."

Anything else?

Son: "Dad, are not people also constrained by a law? I do not have a beard now, but you do. You didn't have a beard at my age. When I'm your age, I'll surely have a beard. Isn't this something we cannot control, Dad?"

Absolutely right, child. What else is bound by a law?

Son: "Can't remember."

Child, everything in the universe is bound by laws, like an invisible vast net covering everything. From celestial bodies' movements to insects' reproduction, from tides' ebb and flow to roosters' crowing, everything is within this net. Nothing escapes it.

"Son: Is this net like the palm of the Buddha?"

You can understand it that way.

Son: “Dad, since everything is governed by laws, does that mean everything in my life is inevitably constrained by laws? Can I skip school tomorrow?”

Silly child, trying to stump Dad? (I patted his head then, and the child smiled shyly.) Since everything is bound by a law, you must go to school. You do not have a choice, just like when you're hungry, you must eat, or when your bladder is full, you must urinate.

Son: "Then when can I have control over myself? Haven't I lost my freedom?"

Child, this delves into something deeper. Firstly, we need to seek out and understand the laws. Without knowing the laws, one's life remains bewildered, confused, and unclear. Everyone believes they are acting according to their own will, but in reality, they strictly adhere to established procedures in their actions and speech. Whether it's Jesus, Buddha, Hitler, or Mao Zedong, it's all the same.

Son: "Dad, the more you talk, the more confused I get."

Child, seeking and understanding laws are one thing; following them is another. For example, if you discover the law of seasonal changes, you should consider adapting to those changes. When winter is approaching, you should think about how to survive the cold. Are your winter clothes prepared? Is the heating equipment effective? And so on. Farmers aiming for a good harvest must prepare seeds, fertilizers, tools according to seasonal changes and sow, water, weed, fertilize, and harvest on time. Missing the season means no harvest.

Discovering the law enables us to grasp the cyclic evolution of the law. Like geese flying north and south, a comet returning every 76 years, women menstruating, and societal cyclic upheavals. Mastering the cyclic nature of laws tells us what to seek and what not to seek in life.

Son: "Dad, you said that we have no control over everything, so, what should I pursue and what should I not pursue? Can I have control over that?"

This involves whether we have mastered the laws and their cyclical evolution. If we are completely ignorant of the laws and their cyclical nature, we are always out of control, just like mice that must inevitably dig holes or bees that inevitably gather nectar to make honey. However, if we have mastered the laws and their cyclical evolution, we have control over ourselves. The more laws we comprehend, the more freedom we have.

Son: "So, people should first seek and understand laws. But how many laws are there in the universe?"

Child, the laws in the universe are endless, like the vastness of the ocean's waters.

Son: "Dad, with so many rules, when will we ever find them? It seems impossible to grasp them in a lifetime. Plus, we still need to eat, go to school, work, sleep... There is not enough time."

Child, it's true that it seems difficult, and it is indeed difficult. However, saying it's not difficult means it's not. I have a trick - once you master it, you can navigate effortlessly through endless changes. If I were to place you in a space where the sky is not the sky, where there's no distinction between up and down, how would you find your way out from there? If there's a cycle of significant change in this universe every five thousand years, how could we escape it?

Son: "Dad, the universe is unfathomable, and it seems like you are too. But it's already past ten, and I have school tomorrow. Can I go to bed now?"

Child, school is important. Let's stop our conversation here for tonight.

I patted my child's head again, and the child smiled shyly.