Strained Mind (2)

1 Practice is done under the condition of less consciousness and heart guiding. Actually, the operation of all lives is under the same way without exception. Baby grows up; seedling grows into big tree; sea changes into land. All of them are developing quietly under the condition of indifference, loneness, vacancy and non-action.

2 The men of perfect practice find indifference, loneness, vacancy and non-action in the operation of the Nature, so they follow it and their minds become sound and tranquil. Not like most young men aspiring to strive for living away from home with a great dream, the men of perfect practice choose the simple and austere life; therefore, they have more spare time to meditate, sit in Zen way and practice Yoga. Under the condition of seeking and doing nothing, personal deeds and behaviors become amiable and approachable. Consequentially, conflict and quarrel reduce and it is possible to be in the sound, tranquil and peaceful mind.

3 If a man can often keep a sound, tranquil and peaceful mind, misery and trouble won’t befall him; devil even has no media to attack and lure him. Usually, the evil influence on the body is one of the most concerned things by most of men of practice.

4 The way of practice becomes smooth and flat due to no misery and trouble in life and no evil influence in practice. Complete virtue, complete form and complete spirit build a man of perfect practice.

5 The men of perfect practice live a life of indifference, loneness, vacancy and non-action like the operation of the Nature. After death, they return their corpses to the Nature.

6 When still, they adopt the principle of Yin. When they find the right direction to rush forward, never retreating in the way of practice, they imitate the courage and heat of Yang.

7 They never actively find or produce trouble but if the trouble comes, they will challenge and solve it effectively. Doing things is not to ward off misfortune and incline to fortune, but to challenge all out before things according to the mirror principle. They are passive; however, if something has to do, they can overturn the world if necessary. In doing things they always seek for perfection and accomplishment.

8 They insist on living a simple and easy life indifferent to fame and wealth. Therefore, thing that appears possibly on the mirror becomes simple and easy. They will do carefully and steadfastly the thing reflected by the mirror. They do in Rome as Rome do. They are strictly and uncompromisingly just but kind; they are incorrupt but inoffensive; they are righteous but discreet; they are bright but not dazzled. They melt fully into the surrounding, for which they evade natural and man-made disaster.

9 The Nature supplies them appropriately but the supply is not given too much to be their encumbrance. The desire and influence of objective condition reduce. Even the devils lose their power and don’t attack them any more.

10 Common people possess of insistence instead of non-self and being flexibility, so life and death are a dead knot in their heart. They desperately try to grasp life and escape death. They expect endless life and fear death very much.

11 The men of perfect practice know that life is limited and nothing is immortal. The immortal infringes the rule of the Nature. Life and death is the basic principle of natural evolution. Therefore, they don’t persist in life and are ready to leave this world at any time. They learned that life is short and precious; they practice Yoga diligently and intend to bear a fruit of perfect practice in this short life.

12 Death is another start or a pause to start another life. Death absolutely is not the end but a break.

13 In life they don’t waste much time to meet their desire and don’t spend much effort in seeking success, power, fame and wealth.

14 They put aside consciousness and thinking as hard as possible. Their devotions are to practice whereas they stop consciousness from intervening in course, result and goal of practice. They resign practice totally to self-nature, Buddha-nature, Qi, calmness and refinement. Everything about practice, from plan to execution, is isolated from consciousness. Therefore, consciousness only knows that he himself is a man of practice but doesn’t know how to practice and its result and future throughout.

15 However, something obviously has changed for the practice that can be noticed by consciousness, such as: he becomes confident, healthy and optimistic. After practice his energy is abundant; thinking becomes clear; he becomes amiable and approachable. Some no-learning skills emerge one by one, especially those in medical field. He doesn’t know why he can cure disease and why he can carry out the rite of sending and consoling soul of the dead, which usually is done by monk, Taoist and priest.

16 The abilities come of themselves, which the men of perfect practice feel nothing especial and surprising when special abilities occur to them. Nevertheless, they never expect any special abilities born to them. Their attitude of no-learning skill is to expect and refuse nothing.

17 What people think in the day it will result in the dream at night. Thinking and desiring in day; usually, extends to sleep at night and as a result of people have many strange dreams.

18 The men of perfect practice live a simple easy life indifferent to fame and wealth and they go all out to accomplish something without a pity. Self-nature, Buddha-nature, Qi, calmness and refinement are given a full play to extend themselves. The things that they want to do are complete. Hence their sleep becomes calm. Dream becomes unnecessary to the function of meeting people’s desire, so dream is gone.

19 The men of perfect practice live the life strictly, so misery and trouble can’t invade them. They feel nothing worried; evil influence can’t attack them; their spirit is pure. In their original soul there are self-nature, Buddha-nature, Qi, calmness and refinement. Devil dare not and can’t approach them.

20 In continuous practice, self-nature, Buddha-nature, Qi, calmness and refinement are given a full play to extend themselves, just as a fire that burns more fiercely by adding more firewood. Under the condition of pure and booming Qi, the men of practice look vigorous and flourishing. All phenomena are results of their practice in terms of the natural course of events, which is worthy of being learned.

21 The most precious mood in practice are soundness, tranquilness and peace, after which, practice starts. The achievements of practice come out gradually. In order to reach the mood, we should learn that happiness, anger, sadness, joy, favorite and distaste are results that are form heart reactions to objective conditions and have various influences on heart.

22 Common people maybe think that this is a life in right condition, but as far as a man of practice is concerned, the moody reactions impede intelligence arising and fully extending of self-nature, Buddha-nature, Qi, calmness and refinement.

23 Buddha asks us to guard our eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and sense, and invigilate these bridges between the objective conditions and the subjective conditions, as well as keep our sound, tranquil and peaceful heart from toxin and contagion.

24 The principle of Tao is that concentration and steadfastness are the perfection of stillness and isolation from worldly things is the perfection of indifference. If carrying out this theory, life of practice reaches the level of soundness, tranquilness and peace. If a man of practice makes up his mind to carry out this theory, he must have no choice but live simple and easy life indifferent to fame and wealth.