Heart, Mind, Thinking, and Consciousness

Deiform Buddha

October 9, 2006

Heart: The heart is the space for thinking, much like a person’s bedroom or a factory’s workshop.

Mind: The mind is the information that moves in and out of the thinking space, akin to the furnishings and the owner of a bedroom, or the facilities, machinery, and workers in a factory.

Thinking: Thinking is the process of analyzing, synthesizing, judging, reasoning, and inducting based on phenomena and concepts. It is similar to the living habits and lifestyle of the bedroom owner, or the decision-making activities of the factory owner and management, as well as the work methods of other employees.

Consciousness: Consciousness is a relatively stable dynamic nonmaterial structure of the mind and is the result of thinking. It is like the bedroom, its furnishings, the owner, and the lifestyle reflected in the bedroom.

The heart is a natural creation, the entire human body is the heart, and the entire universe is the heart. The heart is essentially empty. Only when the spirit enters the heart does it become alive. The longevity of the heart depends on whether the spirit still resides within it. The size of the heart is determined by the energy of the spirit entering and leaving it. When the spirit of the Greatest Creator resides in the heart, the heart is the entire universe; when the spirit of gods resides in the heart, it possesses half of the Tai Chi; when the spirit of Buddha resides in the heart, it occupies the entire nonmaterial world; when the spirit of celestials resides in the heart, it encompasses all higher spaces of life; when the spirit of kings or presidents resides in the heart, it governs the entire territory of the nation; when the spirit of sages resides in the heart, all observable phenomena on Earth occupy the heart; when the spirit of ordinary people resides in the heart, it includes the nation, ethnicity, religion, political party, family, and friends; when the spirit of worldly people resides in the heart, money, power, status, fame, appearance, resentment, and hatred dominate; when the spirit of an ignorant person resides in the heart, it is driven by basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, transportation and bodily functions that driven by instinct.

The heart and the spirit are often combined. When the spirit departs from the heart, a person becomes a vegetable. If the spirit that resides in the heart is of low level and energy, the person is often rigid and inflexible. When a person is described as lifeless, it means they lack spirituality. What is spiritual beauty? Observing and comparing 100 private bedrooms would help understand what spiritual beauty means. Some bedrooms are clean, simple, and unadorned; others are luxurious and elegant; some are chaotic and disordered; and others are filled with foul air, eerie and terrifying. The state of a person’s mind is similar.

The state of the mind determines the basic essence of a person’s life. This essence manifests through a person’s temperament, speech, and habits. The state of the mind is determined by consciousness, which is mainly influenced by thinking. Therefore, fundamentally, the nonmaterial structure of life depends on thinking. If thinking does not reach the necessary level, the corresponding consciousness structure cannot form, and if consciousness does not change, the nonmaterial structure of life remains unchanged.

To summarize: The computer network system is like the heart. All information in the network system, including articles, images, music, etc., represents the spirit. A website is like a heart, and the content of the website is like the spirit. The heart and spirit together constitute the spiritual essence of the website. If the content is disordered and chaotic, the website’s consciousness is messy. If a certain program is set up to analyze, synthesize, judge, and organize the content in an orderly manner, the website will be aesthetically pleasing and well-organized, indicating that the website’s consciousness—its intension and extension are beautiful.

Life is a nonmaterial structure with spirituality, and the core of this nonmaterial structure is consciousness, as pointed out by Nanji Buddha (Nanji Celestial). The key to forming consciousness is thinking, as revealed by the Taiji Buddha (Taiji celestial). What states different structures manifest have been clearly discussed by Foshan Buddha. For insights into how to think, the “Substance, Form, and Function” explanation by Qiankun Buddha provides the best revelation. Minds change at any time. The state of the mind changes with time, space, and objects, showing different appearances. Children appear spiritually beautiful in their parents’ eyes; subordinates show humble spiritual beauty in front of their superiors; “beauty in the eyes of the lover, devil in the eyes of the enemy.” Our practice and cultivation should focus on thinking. When thinking aligns with the way of the Greatest Creator, the mind will inevitably be beautiful. If thinking becomes fixed, consciousness cannot change, and the mind, like morning or evening clouds, cannot maintain lasting splendor.