Intermediate Cultivation (Internal Version)¶
Overview¶
Intermediate Cultivation is the second tier of the Lifechanyuan cultivation system. Building on the behavioral foundation of Elementary Cultivation, it advances through reverence for the Greatest Creator, awakening to the Dao, and understanding Buddha-nature — creating a new life trajectory and ultimately reaching "forgetting both self and world, living by heart images." Its 11 aspects are accompanied by a dedicated Intermediate Prayer. "Forgetting self and world" is simultaneously the highest level of Intermediate Cultivation and the lowest level of Advanced Cultivation.
Core Definition¶
Intermediate Cultivation means, building on the foundation of Elementary Cultivation, creating a new life trajectory through reverence for the Greatest Creator, awakening to the Dao, and recognizing Buddha-nature — thereby entering and transcending the mundane, experiencing and leaving the world, becoming ordinary yet transcendent, and reaching the state of forgetting both self and world, living by heart images.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
I. Revering and Worshipping the Greatest Creator¶
Keep the commandments of the Greatest Creator; devote your entire life solely to loving and revering the Greatest Creator (Zhuanzhu-Fotzu-Shangdi). Do not worship other deities or worldly heroes.
The Greatest Creator is the creator of all things in the universe, the lord of all celestial beings in the Kingdom of Heaven, the cradle of life, the birthplace of wisdom, the primordial force of the universe, and the energy center of the super-material world. He possesses eight characteristics: uniqueness, formlessness, neutrality, non-illumination, justice, compassion, omnipotence, and wisdom.
To transcend time and space and attain eternity, the only path is to rely on the Greatest Creator. He is the master switch of energy. We must approach him with humility, with our entire heart, spirit, soul, and body — to know him, trust him, follow him, revere him, sing his praises, and worship him.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
II. Awakening to, Walking, and Attaining the Dao¶
The Dao is the power the Greatest Creator uses to maintain the orderly operation of the universe... it is the law of the universe, the adjudicator of cause and effect, the objective principle that operates independently of human will, the blood of the universe, the life force of the cosmos.
Awakening to the Dao requires knowledge and wisdom; it requires cultivation; it requires a mind as calm as water; it requires transcending the ordinary.
Walking the Dao means going with the natural flow, abiding by the Dao, persisting without ceasing, and detaching from worldly life.
Attaining the Dao means entering the Dao: no more sense of self, no thoughts of life and death, forgetting self and world, becoming one with the Dao, ending human life and beginning celestial life, able to travel freely through all realms, knowing past and future — in a word, having become divine.
Awakening to the Dao is easy; walking the Dao is hard. Walk the Dao for ten years and you shall certainly become a celestial being.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
III. Reading the Buddhist Sutras, Awakening to Buddha-Nature¶
Read the Buddhist sutras, beginning with the Diamond Sutra — for all other Buddhist sutras are rooted in the Diamond Sutra. Any sutra not rooted in the Diamond Sutra is not truly a Buddhist sutra.
Awakening to Buddha-nature requires working on one's essential nature. The Advanced Practice of Lifechanyuan is designed precisely for this purpose.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
IV. Accepting One's Fate, Shaping One's Fortune, Creating a New Destiny¶
Destiny consists of two parts: fate (命) and fortune (运). Fate is primarily determined by three elements: inherited information, the time of conception and birth, and the environment of conception and birth. Fortune is primarily determined by three elements: personality, education and upbringing received, and the people and groups one associates with.
Fate is heaven-ordained; fortune is self-created. Leaving one's destiny to chance is wrong — destiny is in one's own hands and can be remade. During Intermediate Cultivation, one must begin creating a new destiny through three paths: 1. Choose a vocation that matches your personality; 2. Receive as much scientific, cultural, and civilized education as possible; 3. Seek out and associate with people who have achieved genuine success and possess virtue in their respective fields.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
V. Respecting and Learning Science¶
Lifechanyuan is a super-scientific discipline built on the foundation of science. Super-science and science are twin siblings — they are non-contradictory, mutually dependent, interconnected, and complementary.
At the same time, one must clearly understand that science has limits: it can only address problems within the material realm and cannot solve problems in the non-material dimensions of spaces 19 through 36. Relying on science alone cannot extend our life into higher life spaces. Only super-scientific knowledge can ultimately help us transcend time and space and attain eternity.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
VI. Life Self-Rescue, Spiritual Self-Rescue, Soul Self-Rescue¶
Heaven helps those who help themselves. Laziness, negativity, idleness, and drifting along are life's great enemies — these negative influences not only leave us empty-handed in the material world, but the non-material world offers no help either.
Soul self-rescue means: no matter what harsh or unfortunate circumstances you are in, always aspire toward truth, goodness, and beauty; always operate by the principles of truth, goodness, and beauty... As long as you learn soul self-rescue, celestial beings and Buddhas will help you break through adversity, and miracles will certainly occur.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
VII. Entering the Mundane, Transcending the Mundane¶
Entering the mundane means treating the worldly customs around you — names, wealth, status, social conventions — as natural phenomena, without interfering or trying to correct them. Allow them to flourish and perish on their own.
Transcending the mundane means viewing the world from the vantage point of a celestial being — observing worldly affairs the way humans observe ants. It means gradually distancing yourself from mundane people and affairs; seeing through this life from the stance of a Buddha; viewing fleeting changes from within eternal time and space.
Shed a little worldliness and you gain a degree of elegance. Remove a degree of worldliness and you add a measure of transcendence. Shed one part of human-heartedness and gain one part of Buddha-nature. Fully transcend the mundane, and you have become a celestial being.
Transcending the mundane requires great wisdom and long cultivation — the melon falls when ripe, water flows when conditions are right. If you force yourself to transcend the mundane or pretend to be above it, you will not transcend at all — you will only become more mundane.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
VIII. Engaging the World, Leaving the World¶
Engaging the world means standing in the human world, immersing yourself in the daily life of human society — experiencing the full range of human emotion: the bitterness and sweetness, the loves and hates, the hopes and despairs, the successes and failures, the humiliations and joys.
Leaving the world means placing yourself in the state of one who has already died, and from that vantage point observing the material world and human society — regardless of favorable or adverse circumstances... As long as you imagine yourself as an already-deceased spirit, you can leave the world, transcend, stop hitting dead ends, and see through the redness of dust.
To leave the world, you must first engage it. Without experiencing the trials of the human world, you cannot know heaven beyond heaven; you cannot attain great wisdom; you cannot find truth.
Engage first, then leave — this is the shortcut. Try to leave without engaging, and the path becomes far longer.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
IX. Becoming Ordinary, Transcending the Ordinary¶
Becoming ordinary means adopting the mindset of a common person, following conventional patterns, living the normal plain life — not pursuing distinction, abnormality, specialness, strangeness, or dramatic ups and downs.
Transcending the ordinary is a hidden power within the plain — a potential energy; it is unbreakable resilience; it is thought and action not bound by conventions or traditions; it is a quality that appears mediocre on the surface but is in fact extraordinary, refined, and indomitable.
To transcend the ordinary, one must first become ordinary; one must cultivate; one must think in reverse, act counter to convention.
The transcendent person's body is in the human world, living the ordinary life of a common person day by day — but the spirit body has essentially departed from the mundane, and the state of mind has already reached the realm of the celestial.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
X. Valuing Heart Images¶
A heart image is a vivid, realistic image of a future you can inhabit — arising through unconscious psychological activity in the mind. 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 not fantasies, daydreams, or delusions. They arise spontaneously and naturally when you are in a peaceful, serene atmosphere — free of material desires — like a vision welling up from within. They appear in a state of consciousness where self and world are forgotten; they do not arise when you are busy, anxious, exhausted, or full of desires.
Heart images may seem like visions, but they are absolutely real scenes that transcend time and space. Once a heart image appears, that is your future. No matter where you go or what you do, the negative universe will bring you to the place shown in your heart image.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
XI. Forgetting Self and World (The Highest Level of Intermediate Cultivation)¶
Forgetting self and world is a high-level spiritual state — or an actually attained celestial realm — reached by those of great wisdom and intelligence who have transcended the mundane.
Forgetting self and world is the highest level of Intermediate Cultivation and the lowest level of Advanced Cultivation.
Three Levels of Forgetting Self and World:
Level 1 (Recognition): Knowing that all material pursuit is ultimately futile and harmful; understanding that all suffering in the human stage comes from the sense of self; choosing to exist in accordance with the natural flow.
Level 2 (Perception): Not only knowing but seeing that the entire material world is merely an illusion and appearance of the non-material world; the span of a human life is but the blink of an eye; completely abandoning the concept of matter, forgetting the self, and following the Dao.
Level 3 (Being): Having fully internalized that life has multiple levels of form — the forms humans can see are all temporary; the formless things humans cannot see are permanent. Living with the thinking of celestial beings and Buddhas; forgetting self and world as a natural constant state.
When you feel completely at ease, your spirit light and free, soaring through celestial realms you have never visited... when you cannot remember where you came from, have forgotten your past... when you cannot sense the existence of time, when there is no day or night — this indicates you have forgotten self and world. In fact, your physical body has died, and you have already arrived at the Thousand-Year World or Ten-Thousand-Year World.
When you have forgotten self and world, you already possess Buddha-nature.
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
Intermediate Prayer (Excerpt)¶
O Lord of all celestials — the Greatest Creator: You are the primordial force of the universe, the energy center of the super-material world, a sweet spring in the desert, a lighthouse in the fog. I sincerely thank you for granting me wisdom. Years of cultivation have enabled me to see clearly the structure of Earth and the universe, to understand the thirty-six-dimensional space, to know the reasons and processes by which life rises and descends through different spatial dimensions... O Greatest Creator! Since coming to know you, I have been in a state of immense excitement and exhilaration...
O Creator of all things in the universe: I owe my complete human nature entirely to your grace; I owe my transcendence of the mundane to your patient guidance. Eliminating material desires, conquering death, transcending time and space — achieving in just a few human years what ordinary people could not achieve through several cycles of reincarnation spanning five or six hundred years — the key factor in this leap of spiritual quality was complete faith in you...
O compassionate Greatest Creator: I pray to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Through cultivation, I draw closer to you. Please accept your servant's petition and fulfill my wishes! Amen!
(Source: Chanyuan Collection · Cultivation Chapter · Intermediate Cultivation)
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