Breaking Through Form — Advanced Practice (part 2)

Deiform Buddha

December 14, 2006

Spinning oneself into a cocoon and then breaking out is a metaphor for spiritual practice: the cocoon is created for protection, and breaking out of it symbolizes transformation into a celestial being.

Elementary practice is like spinning the cocoon, intermediate practice involves nurturing new life within the cocoon, and advanced practice is about breaking out of the cocoon to achieve spiritual transcendence.

All forms are like cocoons. In the beginning of learning, the cocoon provides protection, but after mastering the practice, one must break through the form.

This is advanced practice, and it’s worth trying to see if you can break through.

Forget the constitution and laws, forget all regulations and rules, forget all precepts and moral standards.

In your heart, besides the concept of the Greatest Creator, everything else ceases to exist: no nations or ethnicities, no political parties or groups, no religious organizations, no family, no parents, no spouse, no children, no mentors or teachers, no guides, no masters, no enemies, no friends, no rivals, no relatives.

The universe also ceases to exist, time is gone, space is gone, you are gone, and the material world has disappeared.

Virtue, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust are no longer needed.

Let your consciousness return to the original holograph.

When you reach this stage in practice, you are a celestial being.

If you do not break free from these constraints, you cannot unite with the Tao, act freely from the heart, or become a celestial being.

A teacher assigns homework to students, and the students must complete it, but the teacher does not because they have already done it. Therefore, we must strive to become a teacher who no longer needs to do homework.

A master gives disciples a series of requirements, precepts, discipline, and practice approaches, but the master is no longer bound by these requirements, rules, or approaches because they have transcended them. We must become the master of the master.

The purpose of speaking and writing is to convey thoughts, feelings, and ideas. As long as the meaning is accurately expressed, the form can be varied. If one insists on using a rigid “Eight-part Essay” format, a lot of time and energy will be wasted on form, which is putting the cart before the horse.

Practice and cultivation are meant to achieve a perfect LIFE structure. As long as this goal is reached, any method is valid. If one focuses solely on forms like sit in meditation, reciting mantras, adjusting breathing, or meditation, it is like picking sesame seeds while ignoring watermelons.

The purpose of affectionate love and sexual love is to experience happiness and joy. If it brings happiness and joy, any means can be used. If one insists on exploring reasons and methods, considering this and that, it falls into the trap of form, such as falling into the trap of marriage. Can one not enjoy affectionate love and sexual love without marriage?

The purpose of wearing clothes and eating is to sustain the physical body. As long as the goal of maintaining life is achieved, any method is correct. If one insists on being meticulous about appearance or nutrition, it is wasting effort on trivialities.

Is a woman considered a proper lady only if she has bound feet? Is a man considered a good citizen only if he has long hair? Is it only filial to decorate one’s parents’ grave elaborately? Is attending church the only way to be a Christian? Is shaving the head and burning dots on the head is the only way to show devotion to Buddhism? Is remaining faithful to one’s spouse the only way to be a good wife? Is placing scriptures on one’s head the only way to show respect for saints? Is kneeling and calling the emperor’s name the only way to show loyalty? Is keeping a canary in a golden cage the only way to show affection for the bird?

Any form is meant to constrain the ordinary people, not the true seekers of the Tao. Seekers cannot be concerned with forms or explore them; once trapped by forms, one will be bound by them. Dharma sets no rules, no dharma is dharma. Form has no set shape, non-form is form. Only by breaking free from the constraints of forms can one move freely and act in accordance with one’s intrinsic nature.

At an advanced stage of practice, one must discard all scriptures, reject the teachings of masters, step on guides, and treat worldly regulations and rules as worthless. Only then will a new world reveal itself, and one will enter formless thinking, enter holographic thinking, and be able to see the Greatest Creator clearly. One can then roam freely, and become a Super Celestial Being.

Only by reaching such a state can one distinguishes truth, goodness, and beauty from falsehood, wickedness, and ugliness, make significant contributions to humanity, and understand the full meaning of Lifechanyuan.