Thirty-Six Eight-Diagram Arrays: The Array of Nature

Xuefeng

Humans live in nature, just as fish live in water.

Humans originate from nature, live in nature, and return to nature.

Without nature, there would be no humans. Without nature, there would be no vast world.

Nature is the Buddha. Living in nature is living in the Buddha.

To become a Buddha, one must live fully in nature.

Humans can transcend everything, but they can never transcend nature.

Nature is a characteristic of structure, and structure determines the nature of things. Whatever the structure, there is a corresponding nature.

All things have nature. The essence of things is determined by structure, but the characteristics of things are manifested by nature. Different things have different natures—mountains have mountain-like qualities, water has water-like qualities, flowers have flower-like qualities, medicines have medicinal qualities, animals have animal-like qualities, humans have human-like qualities, Buddhas have Buddha-like qualities, and gods have divine qualities. All things possess nature and live in nature. They exist in a limited environment because of nature, thus creating the splendid and orderly world, which is the nature array.

Nature is divided into three types: innate nature, bestowed nature, and acquired nature. Innate nature is given by the creator and is the essential attribute of things, belonging wholly to them. Bestowed nature is the characteristics bestowed upon various types of things to differentiate them, belonging to their respective categories. Acquired nature is the habits formed by individual things through the influence of their environment and survival needs, belonging to the individuals themselves. For example, all water in the world shares the common innate nature of water, which belongs to all water bodies. However, seawater, river water, spring water, rainwater, etc., each have different bestowed natures, belonging to their respective categories. Saltwater, tea water, medicinal water, tears, etc., acquire habits based on their specific uses, belonging to the individual level.

Innate nature refers to the common attributes shared by all, bestowed nature (inherent nature) refers to the characteristics possessed by a certain category of things, and acquired nature refers to the individuality of a single entity. For instance, let’s take flowers as an example. All flowers share a commonality, which is their innate nature. However, flowers are further categorized into different families such as the Asteraceae (daisy family), Liliaceae (lily family), Orchidaceae (orchid family), Cactaceae (cactus family), Araceae (arum family), etc., which is their bestowed (inherent) nature. Within the Asteraceae family, there are thousands of varieties like the chrysanthemum, golden daisy, black daisy, pink mini daisy, etc., each with its own individuality, which is their acquired nature.

Humans, regardless of who they are, share the common characteristics of humanity, which is their innate nature. However, people of different races—yellow, white, black—have their own unique traits, which are their bestowed natures. Each individual person has their own unique personality, which is their acquired nature.

Humans possess both innate nature and their own bestowed and acquired natures.

Innate nature is a state of emptiness and elegance without form—it is the nature of Tao. Bestowed nature is a state of differentiation with the Tai Chi—it is the nature of virtue. Acquired nature is a habitual state of adaptation to the environment—it is the nature of reason. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust are all results of acquired nature.

How to escape the nature array?

In terms of essential attributes, humans cannot escape the nature array because humans themselves are nature and cannot transcend it. To escape the nature array means to overcome acquired habits, discard bestowed characteristics, and restore innate nature. In other words, if humans surpass the rationality of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust, abandon the nature of virtue, and return to the nature of Tao, they can be considered to have escaped the nature array.

When discussing nature, we must also talk about the nature of two sexes and the nature of sexual love. The nature of sexual love is not innate nature or acquired nature but bestowed nature. Humans are divided into male and female, yin and yang, due to the principles of Tai Chi. “All things carry yin yet embrace yang” is also due to the principles of Tai Chi. From the perspective of cultivation, humans can only transcend sexual love and no longer engage in sexual love when they surpass the yin and yang of Tai Chi and return to innate nature to achieve self-harmony. This is the state of Buddhahood and also the state of Super Celestial Being.

Humans come from nature, return to nature, and the path to returning to innate nature, the nature of Tao, is still nature. Only through sex can one return to nature. When yin and yang achieve balance and saturation, one can return to the sea of nature—the innate nature, the nature of Tao. If yin or yang is lacking, there will be imbalance and deficiency, making it difficult to return to the sea of nature—the innate of nature, the nature of Tao.

Do not avoid sex. The more you avoid sex, the further you move away from innate nature, the nature of Tao—Buddhahood.