Reincarnation of LIFE (Internal Edition)¶

This edition is for Chanyuan Celestials. Full primary-source citations are preserved, organized by theme.

I. The Nature of Reincarnation: LIFE Does Not Die — It Only Transforms¶

"From an essential standpoint, the universe contains only energy and LIFE — nothing else. … All matter originates from energy and ultimately returns to energy. All LIFE originates from structure and ultimately returns to structure. Energy is indestructible; LIFE is ceaseless." — Chanyuan Corpus·, The Reincarnation of LIFE

"Once LIFE is created, it cannot disappear, because the essential nature of LIFE is a spiritually-charged antimatter structure, and this structure cannot be destroyed. It can only transform from one form into another, entering from one space into another." — Chanyuan Corpus·, The Reincarnation of LIFE

"LIFE truly does not die — only the form of expression of LIFE dies. When we see a person die, it is not that person's LIFE that has died, but only the carrier of that LIFE. It is like a house we live in — we move out, and the house stands empty and 'dies.' But we cannot say that because we moved, we ourselves have died." — Chanyuan Corpus·, The Reincarnation of LIFE

"We are LIFE; the boat is our physical body; life is the river. We use the physical body as a boat to cross the river of life toward the opposite shore. Once we reach the shore, we abandon the body and continue our journey." — Chanyuan Corpus·, The Reincarnation of LIFE

"Reincarnation is doing the same thing over and over — living the same LIFE over and over. … What was the grandfather's grandfather doing? Growing up, then marrying, then building a house, then having children, then earning money to raise those children, then arranging marriages for them, then growing old. … Isn't this reincarnation?" — Guide's Other Writings·, See Who Is Still in Reincarnation

II. The Cosmic Law: Total Number of LIFE Is a Constant¶

"Within the cosmic system of Earth, the total number of LIFE-forms is a fixed quantity, not a variable. … This is like the total volume of water on Earth — the total is fixed. If a region suffers drought, it does not mean the Earth's water has decreased. … Water only reincarnates and transforms — into mountains of ice, into the ocean, into the earth, into fog and cloud — endless and unceasing through the ages." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

"When the number of humans on Earth increases, the number of animals and plants correspondingly decreases. When the number of Immortals in the Thousand-Year World increases, the number of humans on Earth correspondingly decreases — and so on down the chain." — Chanyuan Corpus·, The Reincarnation of LIFE

"The purpose of reincarnation is like the water cycle on Earth — to maintain the symmetrical balance of LIFE across cosmic spaces, and also to implement rewards and punishments for LIFE." — Xuefeng Corpus·, Answering Several Questions about the Reincarnation of LIFE

"Reincarnation is controlled by the Tao — or rather, by the program of LIFE. … Its purpose is to manifest the fairness and justice of the Greatest Creator." — Xuefeng Corpus·, Answering Several Questions about the Reincarnation of LIFE

III. The Ten Spaces of Reincarnation¶

"LIFE reincarnates and transforms within the following ten spaces: the Elysium World, Ten-Thousand-Year World, Thousand-Year World, the human world, the domestic animal realm, the animal realm, the plant realm, the underworld, the frozen layer, and the fire-refining layer. The Hundun realm refers only to the space of energy convergence; the Pure Cool realm is the place of the Greatest Creator; the Celestial realm is the place of gods; the negative-pole black hole body is only the prison for high-level LIFE demons; the positive-pole black hole body is only a temporary place for reincarnation (reincarnation as newborns); the dream realm is the demonstration ground for the past and future of all LIFE in all spaces. The insect realm and the bacterial realm, together with the grass within the plant realm, constitute a reincarnation system of a different nature." — Chanyuan Corpus·, The Reincarnation of LIFE

IV. Consciousness at Death Determines the Destination¶

"The state of consciousness at the moment a person leaves the human world determines where they go after 'death.' … What kind of consciousness produces what kind of antimatter structure; what kind of antimatter structure manifests what kind of LIFE state. Therefore, if a person's consciousness at the moment of leaving is animal consciousness, they will inevitably go to the animal realm after 'death.' If their consciousness at that moment is immortal consciousness, they will inevitably go to the Immortal realm." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

"If a person has held human consciousness throughout their life, can they suddenly acquire the consciousness of a Buddha at the last moment and proceed to the Pure Land? The answer is: there is no such possibility — not in the slightest. Without the accumulation of quantitative change, there is absolutely no possibility of qualitative change. … 'Where a person's treasure is, there their heart will be also.' Where the heart is, that is where they will go." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

V. Reincarnation Overview: Consciousness Determines Destination¶

Supremely loving → ascends to Celestial Immortal Supremely good → ascends to Buddha Supremely joyful → ascends to Divine Immortal Supremely vital → ascends to Terrestrial Immortal Supremely compassionate → ascends to Human Immortal Utterly loyal → ascends to the Noble Path Filially devoted → reborn in the Fortunate Path Fair-minded → returns to the Human Path Virtue-accumulating → reborn in the Wealthy Path Muddled and confused → transferred to the animal realm Cold and indifferent → reborn in the plant realm Malicious and venomous → falls to the ghost path Domineering and overbearing → descends to the frozen layer Cruel and brutal → descends to the fire-refining layer

— Chanyuan Corpus·, Reincarnation of LIFE: An Overview

VI. Humans Can Reincarnate as Animals — Four Logical Arguments¶

"Humans can reincarnate as animals, and animals can reincarnate as humans. The logical arguments are as follows.

The sum of positive and negative cosmic energy is zero — this is a universal law. … Whatever a person has received from another must be repaid in some form. One form of repayment is to become the domestic animal raised by the creditor — a pig, dog, ox, horse, sheep, or chicken. … So the folk saying 'In the next life, I wish to serve you as a horse or ox' is true.

LIFE is a spiritually-charged antimatter structure — essentially consciousness. Whatever consciousness a person holds, that is what they will reincarnate as. … Among people, not a few have a consciousness state that is nearly indistinguishable from some species of animal; after the death of their physical body, they reincarnate as that animal.

There is a law of LIFE balance in the universe … LIFE between humans and animals is continuously transforming. When humans increase, animals decrease; when humans decrease, animals increase. Where do the additional animals come from? They are humans who have reincarnated.

The human world is a transit station for LIFE of all levels. … Among humans there are gods, Buddhas, Immortals, demons, spirits, ghosts, and representatives of all manner of animals — lion, tiger, wolf, cattle, horse, pig, sheep, chicken, dog, and more. … This shows that animals can become human, and humans can become animals." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Four Logical Arguments That Humans Can Reincarnate as Animals

"Four warnings arising from this truth: 1. Never incur debts — economic debts, emotional debts, and debts to nature all count; 2. Examine whether your consciousness contains any animal attributes, and if so, eliminate them early; 3. Minimize harm to domestic and wild animals — otherwise you face great danger of reincarnating into the animal realm; 4. Listen to the teachings of sages; keep your distance from demons and spirits." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Four Logical Arguments That Humans Can Reincarnate as Animals

VII. The Law: Descending Is Easy; Ascending Is Hard¶

"The lower the level of LIFE, the greater its number. … The number of LIFE-forms in the underworld is certainly greater than in heaven; the number of humans is certainly greater than the number of Immortals in the Immortal realm." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

"It is easy for people to commit crimes; it is hard to become a 'model' or 'exemplar.' … People all like to conform to mainstream values, and mainstream values belong to the category of large numbers and low LIFE levels. Therefore, drifting toward the lower realms is very easy — it happens imperceptibly." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

"The road most people walk leads to death (the lower realms); only the road walked by few leads to eternal life (the upper realms). … Only those who 'are leisurely when the world is busy, and busy when the world is leisurely' have hope of moving toward the upper realms." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

"Peonies have been unchanged for a thousand years; lotuses have been unchanged for a thousand years. … Without the experience of being reborn in body and soul, one's LIFE is hard to elevate." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

VIII. The Marks of Reincarnation¶

"Geneticists have found that human genes carry hereditary information. Those who were injured in a certain place in a previous life will find a mark of injury at the same location after rebirth. … We can trace a person's previous lives by observing their words and actions — just as geologists can learn what geological changes occurred in a place by observing the terrain and geological structure." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

"A very small number of people frequently have visions in their consciousness and are highly sensitive to 'ethereal' spaces. This proves that their previous life was not in the human world but very likely in the Thousand-Year World, Ten-Thousand-Year World, or even the Elysium World." — Chanyuan Corpus·, The Reincarnation of LIFE

"To elevate one's LIFE to the Celestial realm, one must eliminate all marks of being human." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

IX. The Mengpo Soup: A Compassionate Design for Forgetting¶

"According to the Book of Yama, souls in the underworld who have fulfilled the conditions for reincarnation are first made to drink a bowl of the soul-confusing soup — the Mengpo soup — causing them to forget their previous lives and appear as entirely new LIFE. This is an act of immense compassion, and simultaneously a law for maintaining orderly LIFE and the dynamic balance of LIFE. If previous-life memories were not erased, what would happen if a person discovered their child was their previous-life enemy, their spouse was their great-grandmother two lives ago, or their beloved pet was their previous-life child? The result would be utter chaos." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

"The information of each LIFE's previous lives is a sequence of codes that must not be casually revealed — this is the secret of Heaven. Once the secret of Heaven is leaked, trouble and disaster inevitably follow. … This is why Jesus said: 'The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables.'" — Chanyuan Corpus·, Eight Small Secrets about LIFE and the Reincarnation of LIFE

X. How to Transcend Lower-Realm Reincarnation¶

"Before a person's spiritual sense is opened, their fate is entirely a fixed trajectory — just as an astronomer can accurately predict the orbit of a planet, a wise 'fortune-teller' can fully predict the direction of that person's LIFE. After the spiritual sense is opened, fate is entirely in one's own hands; no fortune-teller can predict where one's LIFE will go, because a person with opened spiritual sense can change at any moment. The essence of cultivation and practice is opening the spiritual sense; what is called 'awakening' is the opening of one's own spiritual sense." — Chanyuan Corpus·, Reincarnation of LIFE: An Overview

"The higher a person's spirituality, the stronger their felt sense of the essential nature of LIFE; the duller the spirituality, the weaker the felt sense. Death is only a phenomenon of LIFE; eternity is the essential nature of LIFE. The reality of LIFE has no birth or death — only reincarnation and transformation. This is already an irrefutable iron fact." — Chanyuan Corpus·, The Reincarnation of LIFE