The Highest Realm of Life

Xuefeng

Dec. 18, 2012

"Last night, the west wind withered the green trees. Alone, I ascended the high tower, gazing at the distant road to the end of the sky."

"The belt of my robe is gradually getting looser, but I do not regret it; it is for him that I've grown pale."

"Amidst the crowd, searching for him countless times, suddenly I turned my head, and there he was, at the dimly lit crossroads."

These are the three realms of life discussed by the great scholar Wang Guowei in his work "Words in the World."

At thirty, one stands on their own; at forty, they are no longer perplexed; at fifty, they understand their destiny; at sixty, their ears are obedient; at seventy, they follow their hearts' desires without overstepping bounds. These are the life realms according to Confucius, the sage of China.

"Opening up the south wilderness, tending to the simple and returning to the field." "Rising early to cleanse the wilderness, carrying the hoe under the moon." "Diligently working in the early hours, returning with the plow at sunset." "Dogs bark deep in the lanes, roosters crow on top of mulberry trees." "Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the southern mountains." These are the realms of life according to Tao Yuanming.

Heavenly realm, human realm, and earthly realm - the realm of gods with goodness, no desires, wisdom, and no illnesses is the heavenly realm. The realm with the seven emotions, six desires, birth, aging, illness, and death, and the troubles of desires is the human realm. The realm of monsters, demons, ghosts, and goblins is the earthly realm. These are the three realms of life in Daoism.

The desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm represent the worlds inhabited by sentient beings with desires, encompassing lust, emotions, physical desires, and food desires, which belong to the desire realm. The world that transcends desire yet retains material existence and is inhabited by sentient beings with pure physical forms belongs to the form realm. The world inhabited by sentient beings devoid of material substance, existing solely with the four mental aggregates of sensation, thought, action, and consciousness, is the formless realm. These constitute the three realms of life in Buddhism.

"Falling leaves fill the empty mountains, where do I find your footprints?" "Empty mountains, no one around, the water flows, and the flowers bloom." "The vast sky endures through the ages, but the wind and moon only last a moment." These are the three realms of life in Zen Buddhism.

Satisfying physiological needs, security needs, emotional needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs - according to American psychologist Abraham Maslow, these are life realms from low to high.

Realms indicate the spiritual and mental heights of a person, reflecting the essence, taste, quality, and value of their life.

As the life and LIFE guide in Lifechanyuan, what kind of realm do I aim to help the Chanyuan Celestials achieve as the highest in their lives?

No debts, owing neither money to anyone nor emotional obligations, going with the flow and living freely.

Free from any worries, there are no concerns about sustenance, lodging, travel, or the cycle of birth and death. The mind abides nowhere, holds no attachments, and experiences profound serenity and joy.

Without desires or wants, simply flowing with nature, feeling content regardless of location or activity. “When the wind rustles through the bamboo, the bamboo leaves no trace; when geese pass over a cold pond, the pond shows no shadow”, “neither concerned about poverty nor eager for wealth”.

Non-contention with the world, no judgments or evaluations of the people and the world, as if one is watching the world of mundane affairs like an ant kingdom. Everything follows its nature, naturally, without trying to change anything; let wolves be wolves and sheep be sheep. Do not try to turn wolves into sheep or sheep into wolves. "The course of life, what's it like, I wonder? Perhaps like a wild goose treading snow-mired paths; in passing, it may leave a mark on the mud, but the goose flies on without looking back." Meanwhile, throughout one's life, behold the world of truth, goodness, and beauty; ignore the phenomena of falsehood, evil, and ugliness.

Harmony with Heaven, merging with the Dao, uniting with heaven, earth, and all things, without self or form, being flexible, harmonious in stillness and motion, and advancing and retreating effortlessly.

Abundant soul wealth, abundant spiritual wealth, and abundant material wealth.

Accumulating abundant treasures in heaven, knowing your future is extremely broad and brilliant, understanding that your life's future resides in the picturesque heavenly high-level space.

Strictly adhering to the way of the Greatest Creator, "Biting the blue mountain and refusing to let go, its roots are firmly embedded within the shattered rocks. Despite a thousand strikes and ten thousand blows, it remains unyielding against the winds blowing from all directions." " Regardless of how the wind blows and the waves surge, it's better than taking a leisurely stroll in a courtyard."

Above is the highest realm of life I want to guide the Chanyuan Celestials to reach: with no debts, no concerns for the future, no desires, non-contention with the world, harmony with Heaven, unity with the Dao, three types of abundant wealth, treasures in heaven, and strict adherence to the way of the Greatest Creator.

Having a realm indicates that a person tends towards nobility and elegance. Without a realm, a person tends towards vulgarity and coarseness. The higher the realm, the greater the spiritual and mental freedom one gains. The lower the realm, the easier it is for a person to be entangled in worldly matters and deceived by fleeting appearances, resulting in less freedom.

Climbing to the highest realm of life and LIFE is the direction we are striving for and the goal we want to achieve. After three years of practice in the Second Home of Lifechanyuan, we climbed to the middle of the mountain. It is certain that as long as we live in the Second Home for eight years, eighty percent of the Chanyuan Celestials will surely realize their dreams and achieve their most beautiful ideals.

The realm of Chanyuan Celestials is very high, and Chanyuan celestials’ future of life and LIFE is very beautiful!