Thinking Self-Cultivation (2)

Xuefeng

2012/12/25

In Thinking Self-Cultivation (1), many brothers and sisters engaged in earnest reflection: Wannian Celestial, Xidai Celestial, Yaqian Celestial, Qianmo Celestial, Baichuan Celestial, Cien Celestial, Tianji Celestial, Fadic Celestial, Zhehui Celestial, Xiaoyao Celestial, Daqi Celestial, Jinguan Celestial, Dazhi Celestial, Qingjing Celestial, Wanmin Celestial, Shenming Celestial, Penglai Celestial, Baobei Celestial, Dingnan Celestial, Tianfang Celestial, Baisen Celestial, and Zhufeng Celestial. Only through such deliberate thinking can one truly be said to have practiced. Congratulations and blessings to all of you!

1.Food and Health Does eating more food make the body healthier? Does consuming a more varied diet improve one’s health? For the Celestials living in the Home, be honest: Are the meals in the Home better than the food you ate in the mundane world before arriving? What kind of food do you consider to be the best?

2.Clothing and Aesthetics Without considering warmth, do you find nudity more beautiful, or does appropriate attire enhance beauty? In the Home, some brothers and sisters have many clothes, while others have fewer. Is it better to have more clothes or fewer?

3.Housing and Preferences What kind of house do you prefer to live in? How would you like its interior and exterior to be decorated? Are you satisfied with the housing currently provided in the Home?

4.Interpersonal Preferences What types of personalities do you enjoy interacting with?

Cheerful and humorous or serious and solemn? Joyful and carefree or gloomy and worried? Pure and innocent or gossipy and meddlesome? Flirtatious and romantic or upright and faithful? Strict and rule-bound or laid-back and casual? Fond of garlic, green onions, and cilantro, or preferring simple and plain tastes? Someone who knocks on your window late at night to seek you out, or someone who waits silently for your invitation?

5.Determining One’s Future What determines your future circumstances? Provide specific examples to illustrate your point. How can you be certain that after dying in the human world, you will reach a heavenly paradise? Use logical reasoning to support your belief.

6.Perception of the World Do you see the world as chaotic or orderly? Many people endure illness, disasters, and misfortunes. Are they victims of injustice? Have they been wronged?

7.Freedom and Kindness I plan to build a bird park in the fourth branch. The sky within a radius of dozens of meters will be enclosed with wire mesh. Inside, there will be flowers, grass, trees, flowing water, ample food, and artificial bird nests. Birds will be purchased or captured and placed inside to fly around. Would this restrict the birds’ freedom to soar in the open skies and forests? Is this idea cruel or kind to the birds?

8.The Mystery of Bodhidharma Bodhidharma is said to have meditated facing a wall for nine years, motionless and without eating or drinking. During that time, where did he go? Why did his physical body not perish?