Self-Improvement And Self-Cultivation Is a Science

Xuefeng

Jan. 18, 2022

In the history of the Chinese nation, there were many people who sought immortality, but how many people have become immortals? It is very rare.

In the history of the Chinese nation, there were many people who studied Buddhism, but how many people have become Buddhas? Very few.

In the history of the Chinese nation, there were many people who learned Qigong and wanted to obtain supernatural powers, but how many people have obtained supernatural powers? Just a drop in the bucket.

Why there are so many who learn, but only a few who succeed?

The core factor is that everyone regards self-improvement and self-cultivation as a form of metaphysics rather than a science.

Laws, verification, and methods are the three elements of science. To self-improve and self-cultivate, one must first determine the purpose. If there is no definite purpose, it is like a leaf blown by the autumn wind in the wilderness. Then one must find the law to reach the destination, which can also be called a road map. If you cannot find the law (road map), you can only practice blindly. After finding the law (road map), you need to verify it. You can verify it on yourself, or on others. What do you verify? You verify that the found law (road map) is correct and effective. If it cannot be verified, the so-called law (road map) is not accurate, and it must be false. If the law is proven to be correct, it is necessary to find the way and the method to reach the destination according to the law.

The theories of Chinese immortality (Taoism) and Buddhism lack scientific basis. Are there any laws? No. Is there any evidence? It is rare. Is there a way? No. Of course, you can say that there are "84,000 ways," or that "all roads lead to Rome," but "84,000 ways" and "all roads" do not necessarily lead to the destination, and it is also possible to walk to a destination that is a million miles away from the original objective, or even to do the opposite.

Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma for forty-nine years and finally found that the Dharma could not be expressed in words, and finally had to "hold a flower and smile" and created the Zen of " avoiding reliance on written words, but on its transmission from heart to heart". This deviates even more from scientific principles. What is Zen? What is the heart? It is totally impossible to give it a scientific definition and quantification.

Chinese culture as a whole lacks the spirit of science. For example, Wang Yangming’s Philosophy of Mind mainly focuses on these three points, namely, “mind is principle”, “the unity of Inner knowledge and action”, and “the extension of innate knowledge”. How can there be any scientific elements in this? The so-called "mind", "principle" and "innate knowledge" are all concepts that cannot be quantified, and "to study the underlying principle to acquire knowledge" is a more ambiguous method. Another example is the current popular "China dream" and "realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation", which are slogans without scientific spirit and are an impractical connotation, or just a bowl of ecstasy soup. "Rejuvenation" of what? Of course, it is definitely not meant to "rejuvenate" men to wear braids and women to bind their feet, nor is it to "rejuvenate" chastity archways and male superiority, so is it to "rejuvenate" the theory of yin and yang, five elements and eight trigrams? "Rejuvenate" eight-character fortune-telling, divination and Feng Shui? "Rejuvenate" the state of Qi, the state of Chu, the state of Yan, the State of Han, the state of Zhao, the state of Wei? "Rejuvenate" the tyranny of King Qin? "Rejuvenate" Yao, Shun and Yu? What exactly do you "rejuvenate" without specific connotations? What about the method of "rejuvenation"? Is this science?

When we enter the field of self-improvement and self-cultivation, we will find that almost 100% of these theories and methods have no scientific content. They are all playing with concepts and loading writing with fancy phrases, such as sitting cross-legged, inedia, yoga, the training of qi, expiration and inspiration, opening the governor and conception vessels, the kowtow, and burning incense, chanting mantras, chanting scriptures, turning the Dharma wheel, turning the prayer wheel, vipassana (mindfulness), keeping still and being in a state of deep meditation, meditation, etc., these have nothing to do with self-improvement and self-cultivation, and have few benefits and many disadvantages.

There is only one purpose to self-improvement and self-cultivation, which is to make life happy, joyous, free, and blessed, and to let LIFE continue to sublimate. The way to achieve this goal is: to repay your debts and end secular ties; to make contributions to accumulate merit; to perfect the nonmaterial structure of LIFE. These methods have clear connotations and extensions, and must be constantly verified and advanced in a solid manner in accordance with scientific methods.

Whether you want to become immortals or Buddhas or go to heaven, or want to live a happy life, you cannot escape the above content. All other teachings and methods are just senseless acts and nonsense talk, or it can be said that they are just some people’s means of making a living.

Self-improvement and self-cultivation is a science. Self-improvement and self-cultivation without science is illusive thinking. In the end, after several years, a dozen years or even a lifetime’s self-improving and self-cultivating, you will find that you are still in the same place as before.