The Greatest Creator Is the Primary Productive Force (Internal Reference)¶
I. Definition and Essence¶
The Greatest Creator is the primary productive force.
(New Era Concepts for Humanity, 4th Edition, Concept 34)
Think about it: what makes fruit trees bear fruit? What makes vegetables and wheat grow and ripen? What brings gentle rain down upon the earth to nourish all things? What makes hens lay eggs and hatch chicks? What force turns a fertilized egg into a fully formed body? What makes wool grow on sheep for our use? What makes cows produce milk for us to drink? What makes springs gurgle and rivers flow clearly to irrigate the fields? All of this is the work of the Greatest Creator! The Greatest Creator is the primary productive force!
(Chanyuan Corpus · Chapter on the Greatest Creator · "The Greatest Creator Is the Primary Productive Force")
Lifechanyuan defines productive force as: any factor that has the capacity to produce. The earth is a productive force — it produces grass, flowers, crops, and indirectly produces wild animals, livestock, birds, insects, and human beings. Rivers, lakes, and seas are productive forces — they produce countless fish and shrimp. The atmosphere is a productive force — it sustains all life on earth. Sunlight is a productive force — through photosynthesis it supplies the energy on which all earthly life depends… Look at everything in nature, and you will be astonished to realize that nature itself is productive force.
When all is said and done, what is productive force? Answer: the Greatest Creator is productive force. Who is the primary productive force? Answer: the Greatest Creator is the primary productive force.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Mind Chapter · "Reflections on Productive Force")
II. Distinction — Contrasting "Science and Technology Are the Primary Productive Force"¶
The authoritative Modern Chinese Dictionary defines productive force as "the capacity formed by the combination of people with the ability to labor and the means of production (tools and objects of labor) to conquer and transform nature. People are the decisive factor within productive force…"
This definition is unscientific — there is something fundamentally wrong with it, something uncomfortable about it, especially the phrase "conquer nature."
For some time the famous slogan "Science and technology are the primary productive force" has been in circulation. That claim is too narrow and too extreme. The correct statement is: nature is the primary productive force.
People are not the decisive factor within productive force. The decisive factors are sunlight, air, water, and the earth. Without people, nature will continue to flourish on its own; without sunlight, air, water, and earth, what can people determine? It would be more accurate to say "People are the primary destroyers of nature."
"The level of productive force marks the degree to which humanity has conquered nature." This conclusion is wrong. A more honest statement would be: "The level of human productive force marks the degree to which humanity has destroyed nature."
(Xuefeng Corpus · Mind Chapter · "Reflections on Productive Force")
Humanity holds a mistaken belief: that realizing the most ideal society — communism, for instance — first requires highly developed productive forces and an abundance of products. In pursuit of this goal, some have proposed "science and technology are the primary productive force."
These views are simply wrong. The complete realization and sustained development of the communist society of Lifechanyuan's Second Home has nothing to do with traditional notions of productive force development. The fundamental issue is the soul state of each member — and that soul state depends on whether one is walking the Way of the Greatest Creator, and whether one acknowledges that the Greatest Creator is the primary productive force.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Chapter on the Greatest Creator · "The Greatest Creator Is the Primary Productive Force")
III. Evidence — All of Nature Manifests the Greatest Creator's Productive Force¶
One morning I went to work in the cucumber patch and was astonished to find that every cucumber vine, at intervals of about half a foot, produces a tendril. What is this tendril for? It is for climbing: when it cannot reach anything, it grows straight; when it contacts another object, it coils tightly around it so the vine can grow upward. Look how intelligent the cucumber is!
The back wall of our small bar is covered with a plant like ivy. How does it climb a straight wall and reach the rooftop? Along its thin stem, at intervals, grow little "feet" that secrete a sticky liquid — this liquid seeps out and firmly adheres to whatever the foot touches, allowing the plant to climb walls and even cliff faces. How remarkably wise this little plant is!
But think about it — is it really the cucumber or the ivy that is intelligent? Of course not. From their apparent cleverness we can see the wisdom of their Creator. Nature everywhere gives us hints; behind nature is an extremely highly intelligent life — and that life is the Greatest Creator.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Mind Chapter · "Reflections on Productive Force")
An endless forest, trees towering densely — these trees were not planted by anyone, not watered or fertilized or managed by anyone. They simply grow naturally according to their nature, and nature's power and capacity command the deepest respect.
A gentle rain moistens all the grasses and trees across the mountains and valleys — even the flowers and plants on sheer cliff faces receive the Greatest Creator's care. Human effort could never accomplish this.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Enlightenment Chapter · "Yesterday's Insights in the Forest")
IV. Cultivation Practice — Walking the Way of the Greatest Creator Means Possessing the Primary Productive Force¶
In the Second Home there are only simple hand tools; members' average education level is middle school; products are not abundant but quite plain. Yet everyone lives together with joy, happiness, freedom, and delight, with highly civilized conduct. Why? Because we recognize that the Greatest Creator is the primary productive force — the Greatest Creator is the source of happiness. As long as we walk the Way of the Greatest Creator and hold firmly to the Greatest Creator's hand, we will have everything we need, and our happiness will be boundless.
At the macro level we must always rely on the Greatest Creator. As long as we seek the kingdom of the Greatest Creator and walk the Way of the Greatest Creator, we need not worry about lacking the necessities of life, about failing to live a beautiful life, or about having no beautiful future.
Let us trust and rely on the Greatest Creator; let us praise and glorify the Greatest Creator with all our heart, mind, and strength; let us dissolve into the Way of the Greatest Creator and be together with the Greatest Creator — and a beautiful life and beautiful future will belong to us!
(Chanyuan Corpus · Chapter on the Greatest Creator · "The Greatest Creator Is the Primary Productive Force")
We already know that the Greatest Creator is the primary productive force. Walking the Way of the Greatest Creator means we possess the primary productive force. Chanyuan Celestials, each one outstanding — cultured, disciplined, and industrious — cannot help but surpass those around them once they begin. They will certainly obtain more abundant productive force than others and create a richer material life.
(Guide's Other Writings · 2008 · "Answering Tongtian's Questions")
The Greatest Creator is the primary productive force. Once we have sown seeds and watered and fertilized them, the Greatest Creator will take care of their growth — there is no need to rush.
(Guide's Other Writings · 2020 · "Harvesting a Big Radish")
V. Obstacles — The Consequences of Going Against the Way¶
All of humanity's plans and ambitious goals actually run counter to the principles of nature. All human interventions, plans, and targets mostly violate the natural way. Violating the natural way results in over-exploitation and waste of resources, leading to resource scarcity, which in turn generates competition, conflict, and even war over natural resources. When humanity's cleverness and striving violate the natural way, that is going against the current — nothing good will come of it.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Enlightenment Chapter · "Yesterday's Insights in the Forest")
As long as we revere the Greatest Creator, revere life, and revere nature, and walk the Way of the Greatest Creator, everything will naturally be arranged beautifully. We need not conquer nature or transform nature — we simply need to live naturally in accord with nature's laws, and all will be well.
If instead we insist on using humanity's small cleverness and skills to conquer and transform nature, the more we conquer and transform, the worse things become.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Mind Chapter · "Reflections on Productive Force")
VI. Ultimate Fruition — The Second Home as Living Proof¶
The Greatest Creator is the primary productive force; productive force determines productive relations. Chanyuan Celestials are the main productive force; the character of Chanyuan Celestials determines the productive relations of the Lifechanyuan Era. The tools of labor and objects of labor remain the same — yet when the productive force changes, productive relations change accordingly.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Q&A Chapter · "Answering Wanmin's Questions")
Among all productive forces, the Greatest Creator is the primary productive force — that is, the regenerative capacity of natural resources. Without the Greatest Creator's primary productive force, if rain stops falling, no human effort can avert catastrophe. Next comes human beings, the secondary productive force. When a person's productive capacity is consumed on activities entirely unrelated to creation — such as maintaining interpersonal relationships — that is the greatest suppression and destruction of productive force.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Chanyuan Chapter · "The Greatest Internal Cost in Life Lies in Marriage")