Intermediate Cultivation (Academic Version)¶
Conceptual Scope¶
Intermediate Cultivation (中级修行, Zhōngjí Xiūxíng) is the second tier of Lifechanyuan's three-level cultivation system. It transitions from the behavioral regulation of Elementary Cultivation to the inner transformation of the spirit body, with the ultimate goal of "forgetting both self and world, living by heart images." Its central tension is the dialectical unity of two pairs of opposites: entering versus transcending the mundane (入俗·脱俗), and engaging versus leaving the world (涉世·出世).
I. Structural Logic of the 11 Aspects¶
The 11 aspects of Intermediate Cultivation can be organized into four functional layers:
Layer 1: Spiritual-Faith Foundation (Aspects 1, 3) - Revering the Greatest Creator — establishing the highest object of faith - Reading the sutras and awakening to Buddha-nature — understanding life's essential nature via the Buddhist path
Layer 2: Cognition and Knowledge (Aspects 2, 5) - Awakening to, walking, and attaining the Dao — understanding cosmic law and following it - Respecting and learning science — the parallel operation of science and super-science
Layer 3: Destiny and Practical Life (Aspects 4, 6) - Accepting fate, shaping fortune, creating new destiny — the dialectic of fate (heaven-given) and fortune (self-made) - Life, spiritual, and soul self-rescue — a three-dimensional self-reliance system
Layer 4: Ascending States of Consciousness (Aspects 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) - Entering/transcending the mundane → engaging/leaving the world → becoming/transcending the ordinary → heart images → forgetting self and world: a continuous trajectory from worldliness to the celestial realm
II. The Binary Structure of Destiny¶
Intermediate Cultivation offers a precise conceptual framework for fate and fortune:
| Dimension | Determining Factors | Controllability | Path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fate (命) | Heredity, time of birth, birth environment | Uncontrollable (heaven-given) | Accept |
| Fortune (运) | Personality, education received, people associated with | Controllable (self-made) | Choose fitting vocation, pursue education, associate with virtuous people |
Key claim: Destiny can be remade. Intermediate Cultivation is the critical period for beginning to actively construct one's destiny.
III. The Dialectic of Engaging and Leaving the World¶
"Engage the world first, then leave it — this is the shortcut. Try to leave without engaging, and the path becomes far longer."
This is one of the core methodological principles of Lifechanyuan's cultivation path:
- Engaging the world (涉世): Fully immersing in worldly suffering and experience — failures, betrayals, poverty, illness, separation — necessary and not to be avoided.
- Leaving the world (出世): After sufficient engagement, viewing the material world "as one who has already died" — transcending rather than escaping.
This differs fundamentally from certain religious paths that advocate direct renunciation (direct monastic entry). Lifechanyuan's path insists on the necessary sequence: enter the world → leave the world.
IV. The Ontological Status of Heart Images¶
Heart images (心像, xīnxiàng) occupy a unique ontological position in Intermediate Cultivation:
"Heart images belong to the negative universe. But years or decades later, when you find yourself actually in that scene, the image has become the physical reality."
Heart images are distinguished from ordinary imagination by four characteristics: 1. Spontaneous arising (not deliberately constructed) 2. Require a state of forgotten self and world (cannot arise amid busyness, anxiety, or desire) 3. Function as future destiny markers (once appeared, it is one's future) 4. Guaranteed realization (the negative universe will bring the practitioner to the scene shown)
The Guide documented multiple personal instances of heart images becoming physical reality decades later, citing them as evidence for the negative universe's causal efficacy.
V. The Three Levels of Forgetting Self and World¶
"Forgetting self and world" (物我两忘) is both the goal of Intermediate Cultivation and the gateway to Advanced Cultivation:
| Level | Content | Characteristic |
|---|---|---|
| Recognition | Knowing material pursuit is futile and harmful | Intellectual transcendence |
| Perception | Seeing that the material world is an illusion of the non-material | Perceptual transcendence |
| Being | Living with celestial/Buddhist thinking; forgetting self and world as constant state | Ontological transcendence |
At the third level, "you already possess Buddha-nature" — the physical body remains in the human world, but the spirit body has essentially arrived at the higher life spaces.
VI. Comparative Summary: Elementary vs. Intermediate Cultivation¶
| Elementary Cultivation | Intermediate Cultivation |
|---|---|
| External behavioral rules (51 conditions) | Inner spiritual elevation (11 aspects) |
| Establishing order in daily life | Creating a new life trajectory |
| Succeeding within the mundane | Transcending the mundane |
| "Spinning the cocoon" (protection) | "Nurturing within the cocoon" (transformation) |
| Attaining a stable and ordinary happy life | Reaching the celestial state of forgotten self and world |
Welcome to explore the other versions of 【Intermediate Cultivation】: http://wiki.lifecosmos.org/en/intermediate-cultivation/