Reverse Thinking

Xuefeng

Not having is having, having is not having. Up is down, down is up. Success is failure and failure is success. Gain is loss, loss is gain. You are me and I am you. Humans are Buddhas, and Buddhas are humans. People are ghosts, and ghosts are people. Humans are demons, and demons are humans. LIFE is death, and death is LIFE. Moving forward is moving backward, and moving backward is moving forward. Destruction is construction, and construction is destruction. Being intelligent is being foolish, and being foolish is being intelligent. Science is a form of superstition, and superstition is a form of science. Politics involves governing people, and governing people involves politics. Workers are laborers, and cadres do nothing. Disorder is order, and order is disorder. A child is an old person, and an old person is a child. The infinitely large tends towards the infinitely small, and the infinitely small tends towards the infinitely large.

The darker the place, the brighter it seems, yet the brighter it appears, the darker it becomes. The slower, the faster, and the faster, the slower. The richer one is, the more distressed one becomes, and the more powerful one is, the more dangerous one becomes. The kinder you are, the more foolish you may seem, yet the more foolish you appear, the wiser you may be. The poorer one is, the less trustworthy one is perceived, and the richer one is, the greedier one becomes. The more useless something seems, the more useful it may be, and the less one possesses, the freer one may be. The more enticing something appears, the more it may consume one's LIFE, and the more delectable something seems, the more it may harm one's health. The more one has, the more one will gain, and the less one has, the less one will be bestowed.

Looking at people from afar, they appear beautiful, but up close, they seem ugly. Similarly, pigs appear hateful from a distance, yet charming up close. The nourishment for humans is not food, but the different molecular structures of energy (Qi) within food. If one consumes this energy directly, they may bypass the need for food altogether. When god created humans, humans began creating gods; when humans raise cows, cows start to raise humans; when humans invent computers, computers will eventually invent humans. Because we have eyes, we don't see what we should see, but we see what we shouldn't see; because we have mouths, we don't eat what we should eat, but we eat what we shouldn't eat.

Those who achieve success early often decline early. Early intelligence can lead to early confusion. Early sorrow can turn into early joy, and early happiness can turn into early sorrow. Those who rise early tend to sleep early, and those who sleep early often rise late.

The more one loses, the more one gains. Conversely, the more one gains, the more one loses. In having nothing to lose, one has nothing to gain, yet in losing everything, one gains everything.

The ultimate objective of life is not to approach death but to journey towards another world, much like the ultimate aim of a fetus is not to grow within the womb but to enter the world. Thus, human society acts as a grand womb, through which individuals must pass, seemingly through the "gateway of death," to reach another world. Consequently, death is not the end but rather the beginning.

The "you" in dreams is not your true self, the true self slumbers in the real world. Similarly, the "you" in the present is not the true self; the true self is sleeping in another world. The dream "you" is unaware that your real self is slumbering in the real world, just as the present "you" is unaware that the true self sleeps in another world. Upon awakening, the dream ends; when the true self awakens in another world, life concludes. If one dies suddenly, it is because the true self in another world did not awaken naturally but was abruptly awoken by others. Thus, regardless of age or manner, death is not an inherently negative event, and the living need not sorrow but should rejoice in their timely cessation of illusion.

From the perspective of conventional thinking, the sun unquestionably revolves around the earth, as observed rising from mountains, water, and the horizon, and setting on the opposite side at dusk. The ancient text "Shan Hai Jing" contains a fable titled "Kuafu Chasing the Sun," wherein the protagonist Kuafu perishes due to his adherence to conventional thinking. Similarly, Copernicus was burned alive for expressing a "treasonous and heretical" notion: "The earth revolves around the sun, rather than the sun around the earth." Consequently, conventional thinking is often the folly of fools. We frequently refer to "sea level," yet it is not a level surface but rather a curved one. When traveling by Boeing 747 from Johannesburg to Hong Kong via Bangkok, the altitude of the plane remains relatively constant, leading us to assume it flies straight and parallel. However, the flight path is not linear but rather curved. You take a globe, imagine yourself standing in Oslo, Norway, and then picture the people in Cape Town, South Africa. Can you tell me who is on top, who is on the bottom? If you consider yourself on top, then the people in Cape Town would be below. Since they are below, and everyone's feet are planted on the Earth, it is without doubt that the people in Cape Town live with their heads facing down. However, when you visit Cape Town, you find that people are heads-up, making it seem like the people in Oslo are the ones with their heads down. Thus, our conception of up and down may be erroneous. Though we claim airplanes soar in the sky, changing spatial perspectives reveals they travel beneath the earth.

Extending from the spatial positions of up and down to the abstract concepts of high and low, we often say: "The greater the hardships endured, the more esteemed the person," "Man struggles upwards, water flows downwards." This erroneous perception of hierarchy makes people forget the meaning of life, trapped in the quagmire of upward ascent since childhood, unable to extricate themselves. By the time old age approaches, they still don't understand, remaining confused, thus muddling their once very beautiful lives. The more energetic a person is, the more susceptible they are to straying from the path, and the smarter and more talented a person is, the easier it is for them to become ensnared in the mundane. Conversely, those who are frequently ill, seemingly hopeless, are more likely to grasp the truth. This is reflected in the Taoist saying, "illness breeds Tao in the mind," and the reason lies therein.

Let's look at time again. We say, "Today is March 3, 2004, and ten years from today will be March 3, 2014." Upon waking in the morning, we glance at the clock and exclaim, "Ah, it's already seven o'clock!" When conversing with friends, one might remark, "Time flies so quickly, I'm almost forty years old." We feel as though we're swimming in the vast ocean of time, life is fleeting, and the years are unforgiving. The older one gets, the more prone they are to sighs and regrets. "The sunset is infinitely good, but it's almost dusk." "Knowing today, why regret yesterday." Time, like a demon or cancer cell, consumes people's happiness, hope, and lives. But let me ask you: "Where does time come from? Does time truly exist in the universe? Is time really so precious?" You may find yourself perplexed. If I were to tell you, "Time is a construct of humanity, it doesn't truly exist in the universe, and time isn't inherently valuable," you might find it puzzling. If I were to further assert, "You've created time as this specter, this illusion, to intimidate and torment yourself," you might begin to question my sanity. Delving deeper, have you ever dreamt of deceased loved ones? The relatives you see in your dreams aren't truly dead; they've merely transitioned to a different realm of existence or shifted to another space. Would you then consider me delusional, spouting nonsense? The truth is, if you were to think so, you'd be correct, indicating your normalcy, practicality, and rationality, but lacking the concept of unconventional thinking.

Three meals a day are considered essential. The diet should be varied; otherwise, malnutrition may ensue. This is conventional wisdom. If you firmly believe it to be an absolute truth, then indeed it is. You become accustomed to three meals a day; should you miss one, you'll feel hunger and uneasy. If you believe two meals a day suffice, then indeed they do. If one day you were to consume an extra meal, you'd experience stomach discomfort. If you believe one meal a day is adequate, then it is. Regarding food, if you subscribe to the theories of nutritionists, you'll include chicken, duck, fish, various fruits, vegetables, etc., in your diet. If you adopt a diet that is too simplistic, it will result in your physical and mental emaciation, accompanied by fatigue. But if you reject the conventional nutritionist's approach, believing that consuming only one egg and a glass of milk per day provides ample energy, then indeed it does. Furthermore, if you firmly believe that subsisting on a spoonful of honey, an apple, and an adequate amount of spring water per day is sufficient, then it is. Should you believe that abstaining from food and drink altogether, existing as your own cosmic entity, allows for longevity, then you've grasped the mechanics of animal hibernation, attaining the wisdom of Bodhidharma.

Expanding upon this, should you experience faint stomach pains one day, subsequently suspecting stomach cancer and thinking daily, "Oh no, I have stomach cancer," within three months, a medical examination confirms your fears. Conversely, after an examination reveals lung cancer, should you firmly assert, "This cannot be lung cancer; my lungs are perfectly healthy, and there's no way I could have lung cancer," three months later, the lung cancer dissipates. The key lies in the power of the mind. It only works when one believes sincerely; with sincerity, one can split gold. "I'm old, I'm no longer capable." "I'm already forty, what else can I do?" "This life is what it is. If there's an afterlife, I must..." "I'm already eighty, this illness cannot be cured." "This is impossible." "This is too fantastical." These sentiments, born of conventional thinking, lead one down a path of negativity, a suicidal mindset, a misconception of human nature, a spreading virus. Some may argue, "I'm already in my seventies, nearing the end; even if I were to break free from conventional thinking, what good would it do?" Let me tell you, every day of a person's life, every age, marks both an end and a new beginning. Each day heralds the birth of a new self. People can live not only to one hundred but even two hundred years. The reason for disbelief lies in the millennia of conventional thinking constraining minds and thoughts, coupled with the misleading notions of shallow science, claiming a pituitary gland at the back of the brain secretes a fluid controlling lifespan and asserting that humans undergo only seven cell divisions from birth to death. These are all negative inductions. "Be practical and realistic; don't aim too high. Human lives rarely exceed seventy. You're almost eighty; be content. Do you really believe in a second youth?" The next time someone dares to preach such "wisdom," tell them to take their ignorant babble elsewhere.

An elephant can be tied to a stake with only a thin rope; a farmer can be tied to the ground with only a bit of land; a worker can be tied to a workshop with only a few sets of tools and a workplace; an intellectual can be tied to a job with only a few hundred yuan salary and the hope of being promoted; a businessman can be tied to a business field with only a little profit; a follower of a religion can be bound within a certain religion by a scripture; and an official can be tied to a post with only one position. The moral creed of "Children whose parents are still alive should not travel too far away from their parents" has tied a high school outstanding classmate of mine near his home forever; the absurd causal preaching of "There are three forms of unfilial conducts, having no male heir is the gravest of the three", has made countless respectable people suffer from inner torment forever. For their parents, for relatives and friends, for children, for traditional virtues, for reputation, countless men and women who do not love each other silently endure and live together for a lifetime...

Everyone is more or less tied by invisible ropes, and everyone's mind is covered by an invisible net of thinking; everyone is carrying a heavy cross, but they can't feel it, or they can feel it but do not have the strength and courage to break through the fetters. Seeing that the people around them are living like this, they feel at ease, get used to it, become numb, so they bear it.

Someone asked me: "It's easy for an elephant tied by a string to break free, but where will it go if it breaks free?"

Yes, if you break free, where can you go? With no fodder, no jobs, no wages, no position, and even no housing and the surrounding relationships, how can one survive?

There was a group of swans. Every autumn, they flew over thousands of mountains and rivers in a group, singing songs all the way, admiring the green mountains and blue waters under their wings, and going to the far south to open up new living areas. A few of them were captured and fed by humans. They grew fatter and fatter, having no worry about food and drink, and carefree. Even in the cold wind and snow, there was a shelter protecting them from the wind. As time went by, they got used to the food given by the master and got used to the joy with the chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs. Their brothers and sisters flew back the next year, and they met with a burst of kisses and hubbub. Autumn was here again, and the brothers and sisters came to encourage them to fly to the warm south together, but they advised their brothers and sisters in turn: "Stay here, there is food, drink, and housing here. Why bother to fly back and forth every year? Besides, the place you fly to may not necessarily be lush with water and grass. Even if the food is abundant, you have to find food yourself. How can it compare to us here having food and drink, and being free and easy?" The brothers and sisters shook their heads in puzzlement, one by one, they spread their wings and flew away.

In the third year, spring had come, and the flowers were in bloom, the brothers and sisters flew back again with singing, but except for two nephews and nieces, their original brothers and sisters were nowhere to be seen. They asked their dirty nephew: "Where did your uncles and aunts go?" The lame niece rushed to cry: "A few uncles were killed by the master to entertain guests, other uncles were killed by the mistress, saying that she wanted to nourish her body, and the aunts were taken away by relatives and friends of the family. Don’t know whether they are still alive. When I was grabbing food with the puppy, my leg was bitten by the mother dog, what should my brother and I do now?” As she spoke, she squatted on the ground in despair. All the swans came around at once, stroked and comforted with their white wings: "Children, don't cry, we will take you out of here this autumn."

"Where can we go?" asked the poor nephew.

Long-term habits have formed a fixed thinking. Once the thinking is fixed, it is difficult to break through.

Let’s look at another phenomenon. Seeing the following scenes, you can't help but be moved: if you have been to Tibet and Mecca and witnessed the Tibetan Buddhists and Muslims when they are on the pilgrimage, their devotion moves the heaven and touches ghosts and gods; and the demeanor of still and silence of the Zen Buddhist disciples who close their eyes and cross their knees when they meditate; the eagerness of the disciples in Catholic and Christian churches to be filled with the Holy Spirit, even their state of foaming at the mouth, shouting, and suddenly falling to the ground; the persevering preaching activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses; the pious attitude of the seventy-year-old lady, leaning on crutches, traveling across mountains and rivers to spread the Gospel; the state of praying for blessings of the Hindus, they enshrine and worship statues of gods at home, in shops, or in factories, and burn incense regularly; the wholly devoted state of Africans praying for blessings, groups and groups of Africans on the African land are all dressed in white clothes, regardless of the wind or rain, they go to the big tree, or kneel on the grass to repent and pray. What kind and honest people!

I respect these kind-hearted people and hope that all people will go to mosques, Buddhist temples, Taoist temples, churches, and Kingdom halls to participate in activities and listen to teachings. I bring this up just to talk about the problem of thinking. All religions have their own rituals and forms, and they have fixed activities every day, every month, and every year. What I want to ask is: Can these rituals, forms, and activities alone enable you to be liberated, reborn in heaven, in the Elysium World, or the Millennium world? I have no objection to your beliefs. The problem is that you must figure out what you believe in and whether its past and future are clear. If you don’t know, will all your efforts be in vain, and will you go astray?

Just take Buddhism as an example. Shakyamuni Buddha said in the "Diamond Sutra": "Those who see me in form and seek me in sound are treading the heterodox path and cannot perceive Tathagata." What is form? Form refers to material forms, things that can be seen and touched. Then, is paying homage to Buddha statues, burning incense, and kowtowing, and praying, in accordance with the teachings of Buddha? If a physical body goes all the way to a temple to worship a physical statue, does the behavior itself violate the teachings of the Buddha? Is it already on the heterodox path? Everyone who worships the Buddha statue, I want to ask you: "Where is the Buddha? Is the Buddha in the temple?" If you don't have Buddha in your heart, even if you travel all over the world, you can't find Buddha. If you have Buddha in your heart, there are Buddhas everywhere. If you really want to worship Buddha, you must keep in mind the teachings of Buddha. First, worship Buddha in your heart, and learn from Buddha in speech and behavior. Only in this way can you understand the principles of Buddhism, perceive the nature of Buddha, and finally become a Buddha.

Worship that emphasizes form but ignores content is a kind of blasphemy against gods and Buddhas. Rituals and forms are a kind of restraint, a kind of pretense, just to strengthen people's beliefs, and a means and process of dissemination. Whether you attain Tao depends entirely on your own psychology and actions. If you don't have it in your heart, it is useless and naught even if you burn incense and kowtow every day, go to temples and Taoist churches to worship statues of gods every day. If you have it in your heart, even if you have never been to a temple or church, you can become a loyal disciple of gods and Buddhas.

Due to the limitation of conventional thinking, most people think that gods and Buddhas are in temples, Taoist temples, and churches, or in some places that are indefinable. They believe that as long as they participate in religious activities and hold ceremonies, they can get the blessings of gods and Buddhas, and their merits and virtues are fulfilled, and they will attain the state of spiritual immortality. It is actually very wrong. In fact, gods and Buddhas are one with humans, and gods and Buddhas are on us, and gods and Buddhas cannot be deceived. Everyone has divinity and Buddha nature and interacts with the gods and Buddhas in other dimensions. Whether we can go to the space of gods and Buddhas after death is entirely determined by the response information waves, we send out from our body, and the intensity of the visible light colors which we have but cannot be seen and distinguished by the naked eye. Just like a networked computer, the program has been determined, and it all depends on how you apply it. It is impossible to get away with it if you want to be opportunistic.

The great world seems chaotic, complicated, unpredictable, and elusive, but it is actually very simple. Our every word, deed, every action, every thought is recorded on our body without omission. Even in the pitch-dark night, one does things secretly, thinking that the gods do not know it, and the ghosts do not notice it, in fact, the information waves and light emitted from us have changed and have been clearly revealed. “Divine punishments, though slow, are always sure, with big meshes yet letting nothing slip through”, who can you fool?