Becoming a Celestial Being (Academic Version)¶

Conceptual Definition¶

In the Lifechanyuan system, becoming a celestial being (chéng xiān, 成仙) denotes the transformation of a human life-form into the state of a celestial being (xiān, 仙), and the subsequent elevation into higher-dimensional life-spaces — specifically the Thousand-Year World, Ten-Thousand-Year World, or Elysium World within the non-material (antimatter) universe.

Unlike the mythological usage of the term in popular Chinese culture, Lifechanyuan's concept of celestial ascension rests on a concrete ontological framework — a theory of consciousness, life-structure, and environmental conditions — and is treated as an observable and practicable transformation rather than a supernatural event.

Becoming a celestial being is the central terminal goal of the Lifechanyuan cultivation system. It complements "becoming a Buddha" (chéng fó): the celestial path emphasizes freedom and joy; the Buddha path emphasizes wisdom and awakening. Both ultimately require the same fundamental step: seeing one's original nature (jiàn xìng, 见性).

The Three-Realm Model of the Celestial State¶

Xuefeng's writings consistently describe the celestial state in three ascending realms:

Realm	Defining Characteristics	Experiential Quality
First realm	Free from all worldly striving and sentimental bonds; living by suí yuán fàng kuàng ("going freely with whatever comes")	Sustained ease and joy
Second realm	No karmic entanglements, no possessiveness, no self; one with Heaven, Earth, and the Dao; "owning nothing, possessing everything"	Heart with no fixed abode, no hindrance
Third realm	Consciousness transcending time-space; 64 kinds of spiritual power; ability to manifest form from emptiness and create from nothing	Perpetual bliss

These three realms correspond to the three steps of celestial ascension: (1) leaving all negative emotions behind; (2) dwelling in non-attachment; (3) moving by pure original nature with no interference from "heart."

Core Mechanism: No Longer Possessing the Self¶

The foundational mechanism of celestial ascension, as articulated in "The Secret of Becoming a Celestial Being: No Longer Possessing Yourself" (2012), is the elimination of the self-centered drive:

"A celestial being and a buddha have no heart of their own — they take the heart of the Greatest Creator as their heart. To become a celestial being or buddha, you must stop possessing your own heart."

The logical structure: every form of suffering (worry, pain, anxiety, fear, conflict) arises from the mechanism of self-possession — centering one's energy around the ego's desires, pride, and interests. When the self-mechanism is dismantled, the suffering-generation system collapses and the celestial state naturally emerges. This maps precisely onto the Buddha's teaching: "No-self, no-form; heart with no fixed abode; heart with no hindrance."

The second core mechanism is seeing one's original nature (jiàn xìng). Citing Bodhidharma's record, Xuefeng states: "The path of becoming a celestial being and becoming a buddha is the path of seeing one's nature." Original nature (xìng) is the specific character given by the Greatest Creator; to see it is to live within the consciousness of the Greatest Creator, to live within the Dao.

Condition Theory: Environment as Prerequisite¶

Xuefeng argues explicitly that becoming a celestial being is not merely a matter of willpower or individual practice — it is a function of environmental conditions:

"In ordinary society there are no celestial beings to be found, because ordinary society does not possess the conditions that produce them — just as you cannot find cows in a pigsty or sheep in a wolf den."

Minimum environmental conditions required for celestial ascension: - No worry about food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, aging, or death - Living in a natural setting with mountains and water - Complete freedom from constraint - Distance from money, power, fame, romantic attachment, and lust - A community of people vibrating at the same frequency - Opportunities for play, recreation, and creative expression - A clean, orderly, and vitally alive living environment

The Second Home is Lifechanyuan's deliberately constructed environment for meeting these conditions. In this context, celestial ascension is described not as an exception but as the natural outcome — "just as rivers naturally produce fish."

Trap Typology: Obstacles on the Path¶

Xuefeng's systematic treatment in "Sorting Out the Traps on the Path to Celestial Ascension" (2019) identifies a comprehensive catalogue of obstacles, organized here by category:

Sentimental traps: - Human sentiment (rén qíng): "The stronger human sentiment, the weaker celestial sentiment" - Kinship, marriage, family - One-on-one romantic attachment: "If you haven't passed through the gate of romantic attachment, becoming a celestial being is hopeless" (2025)

Social identity traps: - Ethnicity, nationality, political party, religion - Fame, status, achievement, legacy

Cognitive traps: - Rational thinking (see below) - Knowledge and learning as ends in themselves - Belief in human teachers, masters, or divination

Existential-attachment traps: - Clinging to life (tān shēng): "Clinging to life is a sign of unawareness — of not understanding what life is" (2024)

Rationality as Obstacle to Celestial Ascension¶

One of Xuefeng's distinctive claims is that excessive rational thinking is a major obstacle:

"When a person is very rational, they can never become a celestial being."

The argument: rationality depends on knowledge, past experience, and logical cost-benefit analysis. The celestial being's mode of action is bìng qì lǐ xìng — abandoning rationality — and acting instead from the maximum inner drive of one's nature (xìng). This is identified with spiritual sense (líng xìng) rather than logical calculation. No Lifechanyuan member entered the Second Home through rational deliberation; every one entered by "simply trusting what they felt inside" — a manifestation of spiritual sense rather than rational analysis.

Universality and Specificity¶

Xuefeng explicitly qualifies that the three-realm model and three steps of celestial ascension are "primarily for those who come from the Thousand-Year World by nature" — people with celestial roots (xiān gēn). For others, attempting to follow the path risks "entering a state of imbalance rather than celestial ascension."

This introduces a dual register in the theory: the first realm (leaving negative emotions behind) is broadly attainable for any sincere practitioner; complete celestial ascension in the full sense is specifically addressed to those with the corresponding life-origin.

Becoming a Celestial Being and a Buddha · Celestial Being · Heavenly Celestial · Buddha · Thousand-Year World Celestials · Advanced Refinement · Advanced Cultivation · Illuminate the Mind, See the Nature · Self-Nature (Buddha-Nature) · No-Self, No-Form