Letting Go · Internal Version¶
This version presents all source texts in full, without alteration, organized by theme with source citations.
[I] The Fundamental Meaning of Letting Go — Heart Empty After the Moment Passes¶
For the old monk, he saw only a person who needed help crossing the river, nothing more. The moment it was done, it was done — bamboo holds no sound after it has passed, a pond holds no reflection after it has cleared. No lingering attachment. (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Revelation · Letting Go)
If I were to teach you the Dharma, the very first thing I would ask of everyone is to "let go." (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Revelation · Letting Go)
[II] What Must Be Let Go — The Complete List¶
Let go of ideals, morality, truth, -isms, family, ethnicity, nation, religion, political party, commandments and precepts; let go of life and death, honor and disgrace, worry and fear, cultivation practice, Heaven and hell; let go of good and evil, true and false, beautiful and ugly, right and wrong; let go of achievements! Let go of greatness! Let go of the self! (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Q&A · Tongxincao's Questions on Letting Go, quoting Chanyuan Corpus · Celestial Cultivation · Reach the Celestial Realm with a Heart That Dwells Nowhere)
I urge you to let go — let go of the past, let go of the present, let go of the future, and do your work within Lifechanyuan. Shakyamuni Buddha attained righteous fruition because he could let go; Jesus Christ attained kingship over humanity because he could let go; Laozi attained the celestial Tao because he could let go. Life is a journey — travel light. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Friendship · Yaolin Grass)
[III] Specific Fixations That Must Be Released¶
"I am old" — let go. "I have accomplished nothing" — let go. "I was once a criminal" — let go; "lay down the butcher's knife and attain Buddhahood on the spot." "I was once a prostitute" — let go; the physical body and the spirit-body are not the same thing. "I am a famous person" — let go; the celestial realm has no famous people. "I am a distinguished contributor" — let go; "one general's fame is built on ten thousand bleached bones." "I am very important" — let go; without you, perhaps others would live more freely and at ease. (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Revelation · Letting Go)
[IV] The Levels and Inner Substance of Letting Go¶
In truth, it is easy to let go of material things; it is also fairly easy to let go of affection, friendship, and romantic love. What is not easy is letting go of rigid, entrenched thinking. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Q&A · Compiled Answers to Visitor Questions on the Lifechanyuan Website)
What is called "letting go" is the removal of your discriminating mind, your mind of right-and-wrong, your mind of gain-and-loss, and your clinging mind. (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · 181 Points of Buddhist Cultivation · Point 122)
If ego-clinging and ego-views do not die, a piece of rotten wood cannot be carved. The highest mountain and the widest river that is hardest to cross is ego-clinging and ego-views. Pain and fear arise from the fixations and biases of the mind. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th ed., Concept 273)
Without putting down one bundle, you cannot walk farther; without transforming one view, you cannot experience the light beyond the willows. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th ed., Concept 393)
[V] The Relationship Between Letting Go and Celestial Attainment¶
To reach the Thousand-Year World and the Celestial Islands, one must not only be free of all worldly entanglements — one must also possess a perfected consciousness and abundant spiritual provisions… If private desires are heavy, I'm afraid one will be cut off from the Kingdom of Heaven from that point on. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Chanyuan · Let Go, Release, No Regrets)
Life is a dream; the four elements are all empty; nothing can be taken along — only karma follows. Everything in this fleeting world is like clouds drifting past the eye. What ultimately accompanies you is the quality of your LIFE — that is, a perfected consciousness… Only these invisible things are the priceless treasures we have gained. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Chanyuan · Let Go, Release, No Regrets)
To obtain the "visa" to the Thousand-Year World, or the Ten-Thousand-Year World, or Elysium, one must relinquish the self and enter the state of Hundun… which means relinquishing ego-clinging. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th ed., Concept 486)
Relinquish the self, and the self is gained; cling to the self, and the self is ultimately lost. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th ed., Concept 325)
[VI] The Practice of Letting Go — The Second Home¶
In today's world, the path to living well — fully, with savoring and ease — after letting go of everything is to enter Lifechanyuan's Second Home. There, you will own nothing, yet you will be able to possess everything. You will no longer need to worry about food, clothing, shelter, transportation, aging, illness, or death — everything will be arranged for you. You will be able to have "a heart that dwells nowhere" and "a heart with no lingering attachment." (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Celestial Cultivation · Reach the Celestial Realm with a Heart That Dwells Nowhere)
[VII] Guide's Special Note — Letting Go Is Not Compulsory¶
Dear one, you have been tormented by "letting go." If letting go is not easy, then just hold on. As long as holding on makes you happy, at ease, and free — that is fine. When the day comes that you feel holding on is exhausting, then let go. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Q&A · Tongxincao's Questions on Letting Go, 2016-1-27)
I love who you are right now… If you let go of your principles, I would actually feel your value has diminished… My hope is that you keep being who you are now. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Q&A · Tongxincao's Questions on Letting Go, 2016-1-27)
As for "reaching the celestial realm with a heart that dwells nowhere" — when the right time and the right space form, you will feel it naturally. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Q&A · Tongxincao's Questions on Letting Go, 2016-1-27)
Letting go? Won't that leave you empty? Then hold on tight. (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Revelation · Letting Go)