The inherent qualities of relationships in our lives are all influenced by emotions, beginnings and endings; birth, aging, sickness and death; changes that happen with the cognitive mind. The way we are affected by love or other emotions, sometimes we do not react in a proper way and when this occurs, then misjudgment and misunderstandings ensue. This creates karma (us being controlled by our mind, rather than controlling our mind/thoughts) distinguishing between love and hate, creating a living illusion, terrible dreams and fears. How can we do better within this reality?

Inquiry

The Mythologies of Root Nature, Basic Driving Force & Every Species

This quandary is the basis, above all others, about the purpose of life. The famous teachers (Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi and Buddhists) all teach people who wish to pass beyond the animalistic state they need to have a strong balanced body, mind and spirit. We have to recognize we are a type of animal. For animals in nature their primary concern is to protect their lives and meet their basic needs at that moment. This may seem cruel to find food, but they only kill and take what is needed at that time. This brutality to fulfill necessities and only in the moment of needthis is how nature functions, this point may seem strange in modern day society.

Ancient emperors often killed good ministers who spoke unpleasant truths. Currently, in the name of peoples' freedom in Europe and the US are strong - through smash and grab diplomacy, not listening to or welcoming other governments or their own citizens. Like previously seen in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and continuing until into the present situation in Ukraine. Always using the same absurd method of cruelty, entirely lacking benevolence, defying the natural laws and those of humanity, actions today are too lawless to be associated with mankind!

This method of ruling is the same way ancient emperors dealt with loyal ministers, but now with even more excess and less reasonable means. This is what we call civilization and democracy to export to others, ceaselessly causing confusion and disorder, reversing the natural order. Ordinary people are constantly at the mercy of successive man-made and natural disasters, sinking into challenges they are unable to escape, intuitively feeling alarmed, panicky; always ups, downs, with confusion and shock, clumsy and falling; unclear of the reason and unaware of why they feel so unsatisfied.

Those in power seize their chance to trifle with resources within their grasp, lending and borrowing with their new power, and likely committing fraud against common people to meet their own ends – this type of animalistic desire creates a living nightmare – one it is not possible to wake from.

Primal Characteristics which Combines both Divinity and Demonization as the Core

　　 People are complicated creatures. Not only do we have animalistic traits, we also have what Mencius speaks of as our impulsive nature, evil desires and our inherent patterns or habits in addition to learned characteristics of the four ends, concerns that cover: benevolence (sense of commiseration), righteousness (sense of modesty), etiquette (sense of compliance) , and wisdom (sense of distinguishing); and with all of these we need to find balance or they will come into conflict with one another. However, there is something born within our insight, which plays the role between our conscious and enlightened mind as a means of balance. For example, when a child is in danger we will automatically make an effort to save them. But if we saw someone from our past who had hurt us, would we also make as much effort to save them? Is it not more complicated, can we be as certain how we would react? If we could offer a helping hand to someone, would sharing the same political views influence our resolve; our emotions and political position also may matter. Inherent internal factors and animalistic characteristics have been conflicting with our sense of humanity for thousands of years, which will be stronger in each of us today?

Karma of the Distinguishing Mind

　　From childhood to adulthood we continue to be influenced by our inherited genes, confused between person and animalistic instincts; passively learning bad habits which prevail in our subconscious. No wonder traditional fortune-telling masters have stressed the importance of fate, asking us to respect and appreciate whatever we attempt to do and only the smallest part of what we wish for may occur. Some would doubt the famous Taosist saying, 'Our fate and future depend on our practice and enlightenment, not the will of god.’ In Buddhism, consciousness first addresses the six basic senses, then to the combining of consciousnesses to the level of the meetings of the gods and the devils within ourselves. Among them, the meeting of the internal god and the devil that causes the greatest confusion and assimilation it is the highest and the lowest, the best and the worst of ourselves, then up to the level of the devils and angels within us. As the seven emotions and six desires are stirred up the divine can start to move, allowing the most skillful and manipulative goddesses and devils within us to fully take over the mind, causing a feeling of the head swimming in giddiness or dizziness.

Consciousness comes in a bright flash, due to ignorance it is a brief benefit and leaves behind weakness since the chi is used up in such a burst. This Buddhist method tries to explain how to enter into emptiness - we try to escape, in this way we create more karma. Reading the Sutras is not easy and going through the six stages, we try to cultivate through the senses and thinking. The most essential aspect is developing kungfu within daily life. After all, in Daoism the basic idea of 'your destiny is in your own hands' is the same current of thought as Confucians ideals of practicing the Six Arts. Archery and carriage driving are essentials of kungfu, developing movement and stillness in balance and action. Entering stillness would be the most important part – which helps you to enter via the way of stability, silence, peace, thoroughly examining to completely gain and recognize the way. Begin with knowing where to stop our mind, subconsciousness and spiritual cognition and entering stillness, through stillness to get close to complete extermination (the stage before Prajna). Therefore we realize that all causes and concepts originate from emptiness. With this we gain holistic stability and through the way of sensing chi frequencies, we automatically enter into silence and the natural quality of the buddha-nature. This would work to balance all sorts of thought movement and reach the way of ultimate peace and observation, through the practice of living for life chi as a base.

Changing Fate

　　The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment says, everyone’s life is without beginning, growing out of nothing and appearing as a product of nothing, among the rising and falling of emotions and desires, we are all a result of our circumstance, that samara guides us through an unceasing cycle of life and death. Everyone has their own unique experiences and preparations, creating different perspectives and ways to deal with challenges and opportunities that are developed. For example, the idealization of finding a perfect mate to share the ups and downs of marriage when the biological instinct emerges. Even the Buddhist text says, it is a genetic mechanism to maintain and ensure the survival of the species which is experienced by everyone. The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment also relates that although both people and animals are governed by the laws of nature, people desire to lead a positive life. The feeling to pursue a positive life can influence how far we can improve our life, but we are still just directing a torch and if we go against the wind you will get burnt by the flame. This relates back to the eight consciousness’s of the body, if you can’t be both compassionate and intelligent, fate will invisibly govern life’s trajectory. Those who believe only in what fate says, when the Grim Reaper is at the door, you won’t last to see the light of day.

Reincarnation in Present Life

　　From a Buddhist perspective, there are two methods to change your fate. The first is how you perceive the world. With the past 25 recorded major dynasties of Chinese history until present day, Chinese culture follows the concept of cause and effect, of which there is no such absolute or concrete result, but the existence of interacting of forever changing ways and frequencies. Another lesser considered view is within reincarnation. The spirits of those who come before us are always transforming, specifically their knowledge before they return, whether good or bad is not important, the process of transformation continues. Additionally, growth in Buddhist terms of the cosmos, people are ceaselessly searching for what they can do, due to their individual causes and consequences on the Buddhist Wheel of life without understanding what for.

Although, superimposed and cutting across all other entanglements of karmic cause and effect or reincarnation is the question of seeking out the person in the world you are predestined to love. To have a good way of life you have to study diligently, pursue love, merit, marks of victory, holding an official position, controlling great power, avoidance of abusing power in any area of personal or professional life. It can be likened to when you play with fire you will get burned, just consider the current Ukraine-Russian war. Or Alexander the Great, having conquered all the way from Greece to India, insatiably he tried to take too much in a frenzied state, just to occupy and order people about. It is like a blind person riding a blind horse, at midnight in the abyss, pursuing a boundary in the limitless. This creates karma because of the tendency to want to hold on to something, eventually falling into destruction, with devastating effects. Likened to TuLiniang, the female lead in The Butterfly Pavilion, she didn't know that her emotions were aroused, yet they were deepened through life and death, and back to life again unchanged through three lifetimes. It seems like a traditional Chinese romantic ghost story, but actually is the same way searching for Dao. Within which, there is all the way going up and down, suffering from all bitterness and grievance without a way to let go but still striving for it with not the least bit of hesitation. The three lifetimes means forever, non-stop. In other words, searching for love is another way of searching for Dao. It is similar to the Buddhist term of perfecting oneself via different ways of critical, hazardous, challenging and torturing tests. It's not about being real or fictitious; actually this hidden recognition is the result of karmic cause and effect. From this point of view shows the second way, 'this exists so that exists and this is born so that is born’ type of cause and effect relationship is exemplified. Understanding this reasoning, it is impossible to grasp or measure the universe.

Our Poisonous Enemies

We all know that we can't have what we want and our preferences continuously change. All mankind experiences the trap of emotional poisons in a continuous merry-go-round. Wanting to have everything you wish for is greed, anger is the ups and downs of one's mood and looking only through rose colored glasses is ignorance or foolishness. It doesn't really matter because in the end, because everything is empty…..and full. Buddhism says that since common men don't have the ability to understand through experience their significance in this world is negated. The need to develop from the present experience through watching phenomena manifest before us, letting our emotions bring it into being and our perseverance; but is this truly significant, when one feels love but it is not great love, only a type of recognition of something, one's own enclosed state, unable to correspond and connect with reality. Wanting to throw open (and close) cognition through traversing countless challenges and experiences, in order to finally to see the beauty, true beauty before us, so much must be done. For most people, not even half are ready or wish to begin this type of journey, it simply is too grand to approach. If you do not wish to take the necessary steps, only suffering can be accepted, would this not motivate us more to move? Because only through the experience of hardship can you gain your own insight and transform yourself. Numerous people are still reluctant to change themselves in this situation. Few are like Wang Yangming who tried every means possible to transform himself through practicing martial arts, learning the classics of the three philosophies(Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian), martial strategies, strengthening through kungfu, the six arts, his capacities, and wisdom. No matter how hard at each step along the way, he always held on to the light in his heart, because the ill-treatment experienced in this life he went through and in the end found enlightenment. Before gaining a thorough understanding through study, practice, and questioning to find strength and wisdom. Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism all use the same study method, kungfu.

Undulation of Causes and Consequences

All consequences are born of cause, is there something to be depressed about watching these emerge? To not let the heart be affected by this fluctuation, having no judgement, can you let go of the desires of the six levels of life and enter into a higher level. Love is something that promotes life from the most basic force; each person has their own character, seeds of their inherent personality ready to emerge. Relying on the foundations of motive force to grow and later expanding the fullness in life considering the six levels of one's life through: animalistic, emotional, reasoning, sense of awareness, awaking, and spiritual levels. First allowing the part of love, personality/character, including a person's desires, catalysts of impulses, focus of obsession, what stirs up feelings; perceptions, revolving around emotion, the six poisons, losing the way, the five senses rising, include loving feelings, and different types of love. Reasoning for all pursuits is greed, hate, and ignorance that revolve around sickness, so balance lacks magnitude which is why we need to further develop our own internal strength in class. Understanding our own obstructions and blindness, lets us transform these through awareness, persistence and hard work can promote our own life levels; rising through the course of things, no longer relying on conscious thoughts and judgements. In turn, stopping the endless thoughts, changing our own ways, enabling our true heart to rise up, with the light of our heart awakening and letting the spirit to emerge. After this is complete, then one can enter the level of the spirit, seeing the emptiness of the five aggregates, slowly one can see and enter the Dao.

Phenomena, Feelings, Reasoning, Awareness

From the earliest stage, students learning after birth towards self-perfection is the same as the six levels. Love is the greatest Yin and growth is the greatest Yang, in applied studies all phenomena arise from this. Individual illumination is cultivated from inner growth, allowing a little inner freedom to be produced and strengthened. This bit of strength can not only help one's chikung and kungfu to practice, but also break through various difficulties and return to their true nature. Considering perceptions, this includes how love and emotions are used. Fromm, a psychoanalyst who believed that character in humans evolved as a way for people to meet their needs. He believed love was one type of capacity, which provided people with the capability to manage circumstances, control, restraint, stepping away, undertaken with creativity to resolve problems. Rationally, it actually refers to empathy, benevolence, righteousness, etiquette and wisdom. In Chan Buddhist teachings when they speak of great love it is compassion without any emotion, free from any element of desire, on the contrary to offer greater forgiveness and understanding. To reduce putting our perceptions on reality, self-introspective investigation is effective, having awareness that today is different from yesterday, having empathy, generating great compassion from understanding causes, thus compassion arises, then this is resulting in awareness and forgiveness, the capacity to put something down and let it go. Letting go of things is crucial, because if we are unable to let it go, then we continue to make the same mistakes repeatedly. In order to accomplish things with non-doing, we do them according to natural response, if there is enough to go the length, older, to face matters and problems, everything is prepared to unlock the capacity, and resolve all problems.

From an enlightened point of view, as Wang Yangming first you must undergo thousands of deaths and challenges, like he did in Guizhou to find the enlightened way and how he made use of these theories. Realizing we have our own conscious to handle everything. Going back to own forces can solve everything. The same spirit can be seen in the Sword Snow Stride series, where there is a sword that can open the door to heaven only with an upright and truly sincere heart can a person experience the flashes of illumination through the eternal night, which can unravel confusion, open up to suffering, entering into the realm of the Prajna Paramita, only through paying the utmost hard work can it be accomplished.

‘Dewy’

　　We say that we must rely on fate, but fate has its shortcomings. We hope that we can find peace and stability in our lives, but for this type of life we must apply a great deal of effort to achieve this level. A similar saying, ‘hand in hand eternally together in life and death.’ To achieve this also takes great power. In other words, if you do not have enough strength, then you cannot smile with a firm backbone when facing challenges. Like the story of the Lingyin Temple, there was a spider in front of the Buddha, because there was a drop of sweet dew had fallen there. Before the spider reached the sweet dew, the Buddha asked the spider, what is the most precious thing? The spider replied, that which is unattainable.

After replying the spider spun a thread of web and drew in the drop of sweet dew, he felt it was the happiest day of his life. Later the wind blew the drop of sweet dew away and the spider became despondent for a long time. The Buddha asked the same question and the spider then replied, that which is most precious is that which is unattainable and lost. In the spiders next life he was reincarnated as a man, and the sweet dew drop reincarnated as the title of a top-ranked scholar. Again, the man not able to attain the top-rank then led to developing a grave illness, quickly resulting in his death. In the following life, the grass reincarnated (from the prince) in front of Buddha, the prince asked that the pearl not have to die, if the pearl died he would draw his sword and kill himself on the spot. The Buddha in bodily form told the pearl, the prince was formerly the grass and had loved the pearl for 3000 years, but never knew. The Buddha asked the same question again the pearl realized and responded, the most precious thing in this life is not what is unattainable and is lost, but what we have right now, in the present moment. The pearl was immediately revived and quickly saved the grass.

Destined Causes

Elieen Chang once said, ‘watching him, she became less and less until she was like dust. But in her heart she was happy, because she was originally from the dust.’ This saying tells us that dust is not the end; life is lived between breakthroughs and developments. Like a flower bud naturally blooming late at night for three hours and then bidding its farewell. Similarly, cicadas spend 17 years underground, then emerge for a short life, neither is about length, but the radiance and the blossom. We need to have a huge heart, be tolerant and be friendly with everyone without exception. For fate and love, if you insist upon seeking it, you are just asking for trouble. If you are lucky, it will find you and be happy if you have prepared enough to be able to enjoy the unattainable. Like Sisyphus, forever pushing the rock up the hill, but if you have nothing you seek out, then every step is steady and anxiety free. Is this not the way of kungfu? Still practicing horse stance, running, frog-jumps, squatting, shadow boxing, weightlifting, are these not all forms of self-torture? Actually, torment is necessary because it is only through this that we can tap into our hidden life force towards self-perfection. Then as Fromm said, love is a form of strength; Buddha's compassion is also love and strength. If Buddha does not have great strength and compassion, his love could not reach all forms of life. In which case, caste begins from the root; the mind comes from the opposite direction. If the basis driving force of the mind does not mirror to become the root nature, alternatively then it will be based in uncontrollable lust and desire.

No Inquiries into Misfortune

People ask if you have difficult situations with people, is it a sign of karma from a previous time? Could be or maybe it isn't, but if we don't owe each other, how will we meet? People that we owe today have the feeling of loss the feeling may not have arisen, but actually, we owe them. When you are together for a long time there is light and also darkness, but why focus on the darkness? Even in nature there are stormy days but the following days can be beautiful. The crucial point is whether or not we have benevolence, righteousness, etiquette and wisdom; have we returned to the basic heart. If we have returned, then we don’t have to think too much or worry what situation we are in. In the words of TsangyangGyatso, the sixth Dalai Lama, 'I asked the Buddha: occasionally I find someone I can love, but I fear I can't keep them with me, why is that?’ The Buddha responded, ‘staying with people is not about how much love there is, in the universe everything is in transition, if those we love make us happy or is it a question of desire? We shall ask not about karma, but the enlightened part that occurs.’ In the Water Margin, when JiaBaoyu saw Lin Daiyu for the first time, he felt as if he had seen him somewhere before, and Lin Daiyu also felt that JiaBaoyu looked familiar, with a feeling of dejavu. Or was it that he had seen him in the last life, every person has this sort of feeling towards some sort of image. But knowing when this feeling begins, it also must be a mutual feeling.We need to be in harmony, to be able to truly resonate and communicate; that is, to be in harmony with rituals and music. Rituals are the best method to communicate, if there is enough positive connection, music to listen to the heart within the movement. Learning to give instead of bargaining or taking creates the harmony of heaven and helps us to understand the subtleness of the other’s heart.

Love or Fate

　　In another Buddhist story that talks about fate, recognizing that everything is connected to past consequences is described through the story depicting the fiance of a young scholar who married someone else. As a result, the scholar became so ill he couldn’t recover. He encountered a wandering monk, who showed him one of his past lives, where he saw a dead naked woman lying on a beach. Many people simply walked past her and kept going, another person took off their clothes to cover the naked woman’s body, and someone else stopped and buried the body. The monk said the woman was the scholar’s fiance from his last life, the scholar had given his clothes to cover her body and her love for him was generated by this act, moreover her current husband is the one who buried her. After understanding the causes and consequences of his situation the scholar quickly recovered from his illness. This story shows us that our families can be the result of a previous life's causes and consequences seen from a much larger view. Don’t get stuck on the dark side or present problems, a family can come together through such means.

People today do not possess ancient hearts, they live together regardless if they get married or not, unconcerned about the past life’s death. In today’s terms when marriage and burial doesn't arise from repaying accumulated past debts, then it can create a situation recently seen in Hong Kong where a famous model was murdered by her in-laws. How much does this situation have to do with previous lives? It was just about material desire; the ex-husband’s family murdered her out of greed. Whereas the Buddhist way is to cover the naked body, shows the original heart. The Buddhist metaphor implies: one’s soul or real self will naturally and automatically entangle with another soul, which had deeply connected in the previous life. From the point of view of love, a different level can be observed; trapped without superficial distraction, laying a cloth on a dead body is an example of the original heart because it was done with a pure heart by covering up the body. All the gives and takes, payments and debts will automatically project in this life to the two who might meet each other in some occasions or particular dimensions. Similarly, in quantum entanglement a proton of a certain frequency somewhere in deep space galaxy, regardless of the distance and blockages of space, will immediately connect with another proton of the same frequency. All these exchanges mutually in this life will connect automatically, without considering the causes and consequences, or the result of exchanges, regardless of the terms and conditions in the previous life. Or should I say if terms and conditions, frequencies, causes and consequences, do not fit in with it the reunion (marrying) would probably not be good in returning payment of debts of the previous life. Thus a courting family could happen like zombies burying in the tomb and hurting each other, unable to escape. In other words, even though people would like to meet again in this life in whatever situation, they can guarantee is that if we try all our best to perfect ourselves, we might have the chance to keep both sides communicating in better, harmonious ways of life. If not, both would probably hurt each other more than in a previous life.

Self-Perfection Leads to Dao

　　There is a Chinese Opera called Legend of the White Snake, TienHan’s version, in which during an umbrella dance in a parade they sing: “there is a great love on the West Lake in February, winds and rain carry the ship, ten years of meeting each other for the same ship will offer us a chance to know each other in some occasions, one hundred years of meeting with each other in previous life we finally stay together in this life.” This is another Buddhist story, where a woman likes a man at a temple gathering and requires the Buddha’s help to turn herself into a stone and wait for the man to come back. Knowing that she'll only see him once every 500 years, the woman didn’t regret waiting, a thousand years went by before she saw the man again and the woman’s heart became very tender which turned into a blessing. She spoke to Buddha, thinking of him my heart has already merged with his, and there is no need for formal marriage. The Buddha listened and sighed, he and his current wife felt bitterness. The Buddha sighed again, the woman was astonished that there was something more on the Buddha’s mind. The Buddha smiled, the man had waited for you for a thousand years, he was cultivating himself as well.

Northern Sung poet YanZhi-dao in his ‘Lin Zhanghsien” poet, wrote as follows. ‘The high tower’s fate was locked when I woke up. Curtains were lowered while being awakened from a deep drunken state, sadness came into my heart last spring, I stood still while flowers are fading. A couple swallows few in the drizzling rain, the first time I saw the sharp beauty of last year, reminding me of the then full moon night, had shined and lit up clouds drifting in the sky.’Thisexpresses the preliminary emotion of sincerity, that even though things have changed, the sincerity and passion was kept forever like they said, the man waited for the woman for a thousand years!

(Rapidity in) Love Chain Causes Regret

Today teachings about men and women, demonstrate when times are good it is like being in heaven, everyone possesses a great deal of knowledge and utmost self-respect, but when things are bad, words exchanged in the middle of a heated exchange can even end in killing the other. Previously, the scholar’s story discussed causes and effects of things that can change in a lifetime through being husband and wife, referring tokarmic debt, not to mention how the conditions depend on the outcome of the situation and cultivation of the relationship. Society gradually advances, people's fluctuating sentimental feelings grow increasing larger, the five emotions and poisons enemies rise in the body, the change in use of language in a family is the worst hit area. Because we depend on each other in these relationships, if one party shows disrespect to the other and the other party lashes out in response, each in varying degrees of verbal and physical degradation.

In Stephen Chow's film, A Chinese Odyssey Part 1: Pandora’s Box, the White Bone Demon and the Buddha's candles, Green Cloud and Purple Cloud, retrospectively had fated romance with ZhiZunbao (Monkey King or ‘empty minded’) in different lifetimes. At the beginning ZhiZhunbao thought that he was White Bone Demon's lover even though he met later with Green Cloud and Purple Cloud but the feeling was not realized when they met. Pandora’s Box, after how many times changing this life and past lives, gradually both Cloud sisters come together in the same time period. While Purple Cloud is trying to deceive ZhiZhunbao, to bring back Pandora’s Box for the Bull King as she had fallen in love with him, he still had not admitted he loves Purple Cloud. Until she died in order to protect ZhiZhubao, which triggered the opening of his past life memory that they were lovers. ZhiZunbao fate did not afford this relationship and Purple Cloud died. At that moment Monkey King's past life opened up and he could remember why he had the golden crown, it was because his emotions had caused him great pain. As Purple Cloud was dying she said: I know you wear this golden crown and sail with Rosy cloud, come back and marry me. I had guessed the first part but was wrong about the second part.

Pipe Dream

　The scholar thought his fiance would always be with him, in the end she married someone who she owed something to in an earlier life. Likewise, Pearl fell in love with the nectar on the net, but nectar never put pearl at ease, on the contrary the grass watched pearl for a thousand years, but the pearl had never sensed this. Showing that we just pay attention to those we care about, never knowing that still other people may care and love us at the same time. In the Chinese Odyssey film, Purple Cloud shed a tear which landed on ZhiZhubao's heart, but he didn't know it. The White Bone Demon could see the tear left by Purple Cloud and then left her own tears, but he is not yet aware of this. There is also a love song called ‘Cherish Tonight’ by Danny Chan, the lyrics read: blame the person whose arms you're in, to love is easy, but to love and tolerate is not easy. Illustrating that after falling in love, some other affairs may still happen. Actually, when you love someone, they may not love you, when you are happy, the other person may not be happy, can you really love each other, there are many circumstances to consider and sometimes your just hurting one another, just like how Eileen Zhang, a talented female author known in the early Republic of China period, could fall in love with the famous scholar Hu Lancheng, the love saint.

Regarding societal moral norms there isn't a topic to discuss, The Diamond Sutra says, if you seek things using the senses you are not seeking the Buddha, and all conditioned phenomena are like bubbles in a dream, like dew or lightning, and should be viewed as such. In the Dream of the Red Chamber, JiaBaoyu was supposed to be married to Lin Daiyu, but instead she married XueBaochai, who was healthy, gentle, moderately generous and decent. In the end, she shaved her hair and became a monk despite the dark clouds that gathered. Most people think this means everything is an illusion, does love really exist? Actually, inside it talks about love is something that has come and gone (tathagata), a level of Buddha wisdom, in other words, love is nothing but Tao, that is why those who do not have a high level of wisdom and ability to control themselves, they are probably do not have the ability and chance to love other people. Cause that will be a kind of controlling of the other and manipulating other people, that is sort of a poisonous behavior and cause damage to the other side.

Everyone's Afflictions

　　In life of the Dao wanting to see what comes, and reach to the Buddha state, then first seeing yourself, knowing who you are, this includes knowing our transcendental and present dimensions, previous lives and this life. If you don’t have the chance to understand you won’t know the benefits and downfalls of your own character or what to study, what type of work to engage in and develop, what things make you happy and what you enjoy, what lifestyle you want to have, it’s about knowing yourself. Once you thoroughly know yourself you can understand others. Coming back to see heaven and earth, which can be understood through knowing the four season, solar terms, natural disasters, the changes and exchanges between yin and yang, Buddha quality and our self-quality, these can help us understand the trajectories of life. In the end it is possible to see everyone’s life, from the one to the three to the myriad of things, the highest Buddhist sea-vast lotus Pool Dharma Assembly was held because of showing the profound, subtle and Buddhist power, instead it appear like the cultivation of positive upright chi, always expanding virtue, benevolence and righteousness for the suffering of others, hoping to exchange places with that person, trying to bring a better age for current era, peoples problems’ are the same as the beings either from the billion worlds or Mt. Sumeru (with the seven continents and eight seas of all eight realms) clinging to emotions.

More or Less Vexing

　　The Great Song Scholar, Su Dong-Po, in his poem Butterfly in Flowers wrote, ‘flowers fading in red as apricots are still unripe. Swallows fly while clear water surrounds houses, wind blows as willow branches become fewer. However, more flowers can still be found somewhere out there. A swing remains inside the wall, where outside there are roads. He walks outside, where girls laugh inside. Steps move away as laughing vanishes too. Cold winds come as an emotionless force to overwhelm all passions.’ The meaning shows that man is always crushed under forces from time, seasons, changes, identity and emotions.” However, it turns out to be a bridge over troubled water.

These words show when life’s occupation and work have lost its meaning, the heart of the flower is no longer red, the willow branches are scarce, clear water should go under the bridge, people’s family around, beautiful maidens smile is valued within the walls, where outside more flowers can be sought. But the smile can no longer be heard anymore. As Chien Zhong-Shu in his poem Fortress Besieged wrote, ‘people inside want to get out, those people outside want to get in.’Life is superficial, many people still can’t see themselves, people fall into a vagrant life, hurting themselves is their miserable past-time, regretting their misfortune. As in the ‘Eight Realms of Dragons’ the focus is on the reincarnation cycle of karma. Rigid people are all doomed into the form realm. It’s because desires and afflictions distract people at all corners. Trapped within their own karma, people from all realms suffer, are wronged and misunderstood forever. However, where’s the meaning of tathagata? Should people learn from the Buddha to stop all their emotions and afflictions, thus being able to cross over the river of karma and poisonous elements.

Cycle of Reincarnation

In the film, Reign of Assassins, the assassin Drizzle, Zeng Jing accidentally married Jiang AhSheng, who also had disguised himself and wanted to take revenge, yet together they lived an ordinary daily family life. During a bank robbery Drizzle exposed her kungfu in order to protect Jiang AhSheng, who once wanted to kill her. Zeng Jing was injured in a fight with Wheel King,the leader of the Black Rockand she had to return home in a desparate state. The Black Rock assassin chased her. Jiang AhSheng was supposed to kill Zeng Jing, but instead he defeated the killers. When he faced the Wheel King and arrived at Zeng Jing's fake tomb, Jiang Asheng said, 'I should have killed you to avenge my father, because you are a woman I couldn't do it.' But in reality, Jiang AhSheng liked Zeng Jing. Zeng Jing responded with a question, 'before you were going to kill me, did you ever really love me?' Then tapped Jiang AhSheng's acupoints to fake his death and had a decisive battle with the Wheel King. The Wheel King was unaware that 'Drizzle' Zeng Jing could make up the defects within the ‘PiShu Sword Skill’ which was taught by Wheel King through LuZhu’s help. Even though she was severely injured, she narrowly managed to kill Wheel King. When Jiang AhSheng woke up he picked Zeng Jing up and they left together. As in 'Romeo and Juliet' Juliet faked her death, leading to Romeo to actually killing himself, which in the end absolved the feud between their families.

Zeng Jing knew that she may not be able to win against Wheel King, but she put in her full effort anyways. Through this she paid back the debt and became a torch fire(love) which had helped lighting up herself as well as AhSheng. Facing the dilemma of love between ZengJing and LuZhu, Buddha found that he won’t be able to make it. Instead, in making up the error of ZengJing’sPiShui Sword Skill, he found a chance to let ZengJing kill him, when teaching her the skill. That’s a predestined cause for him to love and help her to keep on the Dao of Buddha at the same time.

Later Drizzle asked Luzhu’s master about Luzhu, before he died he brought up that Chan had arrived, why? The old monk said, 'The Buddha talks about helping the world by means of using opportunities, that if the opportunity is missed it will not return again.' Asking again about reincarnating as a stone bridge? Buddha's disciple Ananda is willing to love a woman by reincarnating as a stone bridge and ready to wait another five hundred years to meet her again. This is because we can’t have it both ways, only if we sacrifice ourselves up to the point of death can we achieve the true meaning of Tathagata. In other words, we won’t be able to be totally be in love with someone, while at the same time devote ourselves totally to search for the Dao as Buddha.

Lu Zhu’s Enlightenment

　　Lu Zhu had been a monk at Shaolin for over 10 years practicing martial arts combined with Zen. Not to mention his high level of achievement, additionally he is happy to love Drizzle. Similar to Ananda, both must endure extended hardship! The Sutra of Enlightenment states, 'loving others is like holding a torch in the wind, you will surely get burnt.' When people are able to relate to lust, they can see the moral behavior is incorrect or inappropriate, but it has become normal behavior. People like to love but refuse to recognize the sensory or acts of lust. However, love and lust are actually one in the same thing. From moral points, love is so innocent, lust seems dirty. When someone loves another, they would probably want to get together with each other for more and more time, even wanting to control the other! However, love is actually to give, not take. Any return will be regarded as a purely instinctual response without any conditions. But people mostly act like they have both hands holding a fire touch facing the wind. Without great wisdom and abilities, no one can escape from the way of self-destruction. So, love is a way like the “Monkey’s Adventures,” one has to go through all sorts of bitterness and suffering before having a chance to get to the ‘Sutra’ (Dao).

Lust is something desirous and having a deep effect, but reincarnation is the only way that allows people to see how to make a correction or better life via practice in discipline, because what lies inside reincarnation is love (great compassion), sending light into any space of darkness or ignorance. Therefore it’s a simple love for a boy or girl which doesn’t mean lust and desire, but rather their first projection of a highly elevated affection from the root quality; that’s the fire when candle has just been lit, having no rigidity or conditions attached. This is the foundation of people’s personalities. The problem for Lu Zhu is between the two parts, seeking enlightenment and his love for Drizzle. Later he will die and Drizzle's love will emerge, at that same time Drizzle's obsession can be resolved. Drizzle's disguises herself as Zeng Jing, to accept Lu Zhu's actions, maybe Drizzle doesn't really love Lu Zhu, but Lu Zhu says it’s not important whether Drizzle really loves him or not, only that he can help her. In this way, Lu Zhu is able to complete his love for Drizzle. Even Ananda accepted five hundred years of wind, rain and baking in the sun only to see her face again, watch her walk by on the bridge, this can transform a life. Jiang AhSheng wanted to take revenge for his father's death, when he knew Zeng Jing was Drizzle, his original plan was to kill her, but instead of killing her he saved her. Originally his life was nothing special, after they got married, there was no special affection in her heart, just staying alive and away from Black Stone. However each tried to kill Wheel King after consecutively persecuting each of them, Jiang AhSheng and Zeng Jing were forced to fight back. Both of these people’s hearts slowly retreated, letting love transform them. Lu Zhu died because of love and attachment, to sacrifice himself so that Drizzle could know his love for her and in that moment an opportunity opened up in a flash and he could live up to tathagata and let go.

In the Sutra of Enlightenment, if love is the beginning of enlightenment, then you can see the eight types of knowledge. However, the hidden recognition of Alaya consciousness, which conveys all sorts of undetected emotions, is actually the myriad of things. It is the symbiotic relationship between good and evil, transforming karmas via encounters and in returning to civilian life it is easy to become ignorant. Additionally it is necessary to have the utmost power and inner strength to not gradually diminish, not too clean or too dirty, nor attached to your nature, then one can recognize this consciousness.

In the movie The Grand Master, the last thing Li ErGong said to IP Man before his death was, 'my greatest fortune was to bump into you, it was my destiny. Tell people I have no regret about being angry. A person without regret, hasn’t done anything interesting. You are in my heart, it is not illegal to like someone, gratitude or resentment is like a chess game always protecting something.' IP man responded, ‘like playing a chess game, one should have no regrets for not changing his way after putting down these chess pieces. We had a predestined relationship, not resentment or grudges. Your father said, don’t forget to keep an echo within your mind, if there is light there are people waiting for you.

Ode to LoZhen

　　Cao Zhi admired and loved Zhao Fu, but in vain. Thus he wrote the book of the River Goddess, in which he wrote how he courted Loshui Goddess and fell in love with her. However, there was a great gap between man and god’s love, thus it left all the indescribable, obsessed, mysterious, disappointed, anxious and unembraceable. Finally, after watching desperately while far apart, he still had to draw back from the passion caught in the whirlpool of love. People said, it was not at all a fantasy to dream about, then why not sing praises? Then causes without end for the greatest sincerity, the expense of sincerity is possession, with sincerity there is no cheating of false or true, when you expend you do it without choosing how.

Cao Zhi searched for his great love, although unsuccessfully, in the book 'The River Goddess' in the space of the imaginary goddess, a super universal being brought great joy and sublimation of spirit, love being limitless to enter the door of completion, the level of life continuing to slowly ascend, the spirit transcending youth over years, returning to sincerity of the basic heart. Is this not just obsessive, wishful thinking? Actually, this emotion is said to be the most flawless purity. Those who understand will, and those who cannot grasp the concept naturally will not be able to. The immortal of the River Goddess, Cao Zhi was in a cocoon of emotional entanglement, unprecedented sincerity, no one can follow this train of thought, those who seek to possess things in this world can never comprehend this.

Strings of the (sad) inlaid Zither

“The zither has broken into fifty strings, each reminding of a year that has slipped by. Life is as surreal as Zhuangzi’s “Butterfly Dream,” the cuckoos telling of the King’s dream. The moon shows the tears of suffering as if pearls illuminated by the moon. Fond memories like the comfort of jade warmed under the sun. Emotions only indicating the past, what has gone cannot be remade.” On the surface it seems Li Shangyin talks about human emotions, feelings, human affairs, and the great changes that are talked about with great efforts. He understands the true pain of people, the invincible strength of people, fated relationships are not predetermined. Li Shangyin was really manipulated by destiny; only those who truly suffered in life could have the chance to truly read his work. Trapped by the political struggle between the Hu and Li parties, his life appears to be at its darkest, in fact he can’t control anything, rather appeared like a falling star. All the people who had helped him before were dead. His beloved wife Wan Yan-Mai stayed just a limited time with him, then suffered an accidental death. Described sadly in the poem, Massage from a Night Rain, ‘asking when I return, that I do not know. Dreaming of rain all night at Bashan’s pool in autumn. When we talk again on the window bench of the west chamber, still we talk all night when it rains again all night in BaShan!’With all this spiritual sincerity, it will bring all the glory of wearing golden armored dresses everywhere in town or as described in “Endless Songs” “all sparkling like crystal and stars.” In his poem “Nonymous” “Wind blows as stars combing the night, the tower keeps company with hall apart, though we are not matched with phoenix wings, we are spiritually inspired and linked.”

Seeing life being illuminated, piercing through the shackles of the spirit, giving rise to a higher level through persistence, lighting the heart in the eternal dark night. Penetrating through spiritual fetters and have transformed desire up to a higher level, light up your own mind eternally.

Give Way to Others as to Keep Your Own Balance

　　People like Lu Zhu, Cao Zhi, and LiShangyin are all fixated on waiting for others in this world and we call them stupid, but they each of them are able to penetrate through lust and possession and produce their insistence in passion. Their personalities transcend and give love without asking for results; to share light with their greatest efforts, not like the love of common men which is unreliable, who only want something in exchange without sincerity, always trying to get something without paying.

Families focus on ethics, rather than true love; having greater stability and exchange within relationships does not create balance. However, people who understand love know loving relatives is persistence. Affectionate people also must persevere, only great heroes and sages can let go and abandon love. Even seems attachment is a reminder of rigid affection.

It is in our basic human nature that we are even willing to endure hardship and distance, if we abandon this, we are no longer human. We are all similar, when you are worried, it shows you still care, you cannot free yourself by ignoring or not caring. Although those who seek truth, they are not with the populous who never cared. Emotions bind us to undertake finding the rays of brilliance and help to make them reappear.

In other words, love is basically an obsession, never forgetting doesn't mean that it will reverberate, except when this obsession comes without any conditions or prerequisite.

Wang Yangming's quote, 'Ge Wu is to develop through self-perfection; adapting the good and letting go of evil' in the pursuit of good, the cause is ‘negativity in man’s heart is sophisticated and can cause man’s mind to identify many problems, yet the mind of Dao can balance,' in the universe all things have cause and effect. Buddhists say everything is empty, then how can everything be suffering? When people haven't yet seen emptiness they cannot understand the meaning. For people who know words fall short for them to express the feeling of the heart, they don’t understand the reason this is the truth.

Results are Self-Determined

　　Lu Zhu, Cao Zhi, Li Shangyin were all people who exhausted their karma, struggling through causes and consequences so as to reach to the level of Dao seeing there is no fate, is to have fate, appearing to separate from the true target, through abandoning it gives birth to it, which is precisely 'concentrating everything as a whole', abandoning it is the opposite of the seeking self-contentment and fate is and is not completed in one idea. Dharma says, ‘if you want to know the results of your past life, look at this life. And to know the next life, you are creating it in this life.’ ‘As committed to the spread of Chan Dao lighting up the minds of Chinese people from the western heavens; one way applies in many aspects(levels), transformation comes out naturally.’ Remember when Anada accepted 500 years of harsh winds, rains and beating sun, only to see the face of the woman he loved once again in the last world having glanced back five hundred times, this life is exchanged for one chance that may slip by. This romantic love then is a great sublimation of love, this seems not as an obsession but is the greatest obsessive emotion. For this reason, true love is ready to totally let go, to not even bother, protecting it when far apart. In this way, it becomes self-completed and a determined way to prove and evaluate your balance. Only with such a balanced give and take decisions and discipline, we are qualified to love someone. Thus self-nature begins to evolve and continues to. The brilliance of life is in the basic root and self-nature, one part of the self is complete, that is deep love which is able to bridge the gap over any barriers of the heart and mind. Didn’t TsangyangGyatso, the 6th Dalai Lama, say, ‘There was a trace of your breath, feeling of a fingertip, adhering warmth met along the way. Don’t seek enlightenment just for the next life, instead of just falling naturally into speechless love, silent joy, again a sunny snowy day, moon on a rainy evening, and traces in the haze, will offer you greater passion and compassion as well. From now on this loving feeling will no longer become ups and downs again. Flowers planted in the past life can open along the roadside of this life in front of you!’ But this shows a state of perfection and treasury. As seen in the famous quote, ‘grab the hoe using no hands, climb on the buffalo without sitting on it. Be like the bridge where no man walks and under which no water flows.’ Seems to be empty, but it contains true emptiness. You have to have the capacity to realize ‘keeping to the center’ in order to achieve it.

Strength of Eternal Life

　　Love and growth need strength and capacity to develop, but the shortcomings to complete yin and yang (etiquette and music) don’t for allow this; just as seeing through the illusion of emotion allows you to really understand the value of true love. Even if you can’t completely understand another’s heart, you need to have discipline and harmony while you are waiting to develop enough strength and energy that is necessary. Similar to Eileen Zhang, although she was fine without Professor Hu, she wouldn’t be who she was today had they not come together. Prof. Hu was a blemish in her life, but she didn’t regret meeting him. Eileen was a solitary rose, a person who didn’t require companionship, but Prof. Hu was lucky enough to connect and form a relationship with her. It seems in him hurting her so much, he also contributed so much; that the pressure and bitterness finally backed her spiritual world enlarging. It’s what a predestined relationship was for, to help perfect those involved.

Referring to the mysterious myth of life like sparkling starlight, Queen of the Night flowers burst into bloom, sounds of chirping insects resonate from the ground, songs of cicadas emerging from the earth. Why does life present itself in different ways - whether you like it or not that’s the way of life existence. It is already happening, still what are the concerns we focus on?

CangYanjia, the 6th Dalai Lama, wrote in a poem: ‘seeking love damages discipline. Hesitation to return to temple to leave the beloved worldly beauty. Can you tell me a way for both good and the beauty and the tathagata disappoints!’ He is a Buddhist leader as such, how could he have this way to view these things?

However, feelings are one part of life, therefore it is within the Buddhist scope. Coming from this view, the 6th Dalai Lama developed the concept of perfection from reasoning in life from the perspective of a more eminent monk than others: Only persevering to have no emotion, no self, after all this is also a void of perseverance and a way of muddying the waters to be blind. Unable to break religious vows, not even one, is also perseverance. Doing nothing one should feel at ease, humans follow the trends of the cosmic forces, trying their best to keep following the rules, become unable to let go of keeping watch of nature without expectation, with compassion.

LuZhu used his life to serve as a swordsman, as if Ru Moye threw herself into refining herself, this type of feeling of looking upon death, like going home actually is close to the feeling of self-perfection of benevolence of the kun, receptive state. Heaven consoles those in love with the essence of absolute solitary beauty lasting for centuries.

Li ShangYin ignited the fire of hearts beating in union at forty-seven years old, after drifting through society never forgetting, even while repeatedly struggling to provide the essentials for his family in troubled times.

Eileen preferred to accept all karmic punishment, such as that of the cicadas underground for seventeen years to emerge for weeks, a flower in bloom only for moments in the night, or the brilliance of a start shooting across the vast emptiness for only a second. Eileen insisted on her love while having no regrets, even having suffered so much, because she found that she had already absorbed compassion and benevolence as well, regardless of Hu.The 6th Dalai Lama offered a life full of tolerance, benevolence, harmony and inspiration.

The Dao of Kungfu

　　Sima Qian, the famous Chinese historian, once said. “Without conviction to trust, be honest, benevolent and brave do not teach anyone martial arts and warfare because kungfu is a way into Dao.” Trust is denoted through faith, conviction of belief and loyalty. Honesty refers to a high degree of virtue. Benevolence is indicated through infinite compassion and mercy. Bravery shows when it is appropriate to endure or to let go. It is necessary to have courage and strength drawn from practicing kungfu, because kungfu is then the Dao.

Love follows the same principle, lacking a foundation of strength in character, if you date and fall in love, you will only deceive oneself as well as others. As written by a Qing poet NaLauXingde, ‘If this life was the first time we met, it would be as sad as the autumn wind painted on a fan.’ If we’re able to return to the root nature, we can regard everything as fresh and new, then we can discover everything is glorious, seeing the more authentic aspect of everything. Otherwise the process of things is only illusory, thus it is like the sad painting of autumn wind on a fan.

When dealing with challenges, emotions, and people if we return to the root nature or basic heart, all can be regarded with love, not because you have it but because you extend your love to the six levels, your life continues to ascend, only if there is mutual radiation and illumination, then you can achieve the Great Dao, and experience a joy as if it was a fountainhead.

The principles of life and the principles of love are an organic whole; both sides have yin and yang, the good and evil character within, just needing to be cultivated. Just as it is said in Dharma, people need much practice to understand how to reason things out, few achieve the enlightened state, many cultivate themselves according to religious doctrines, but few are aware of the Dao. However, the multitude of people pursuing Buddhist practice their bodies are weak and feeble, their frame of mind is obstructed and stagnant; making it very difficult for people to come to an enlightened state, needing to holistically cultivate their physical form, thus the Yijin Jing, Sishui Kung, Mind Punch, and other physical practice books were written. The purpose of these techniques is to keep healthy and fit, and circulating, promoting essence and breath of spirit, making everything easier to understand according to the great heavenly principle. In the Book of History ‘Spirit of Forever Promoting,’ Kong Zi said, ‘the way of heaven is to ceaselessly become stronger.’ Kungfu must continue to endure while nourishing yourself, to accommodate and to smile within modern societal rigidities, to be able to forget the abilities and liabilities of societal expectations and norms.

Chi Kung Culture Society of TAIPEI