Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE (Internal Reference)¶
This version is for deep-study practitioners. All passages are quoted from the original teachings without alteration. Translations aim for faithful rendering of meaning rather than word-for-word literalism.
I. Definition: Human Life and LIFE Are Two Different Things¶
Human life and LIFE are interrelated yet fundamentally different concepts. Human life is only a brief journey that LIFE takes through the human world — it is absolutely not the whole of LIFE.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
Human life is a fragment of LIFE's journey through the human realm. Human life is brief; LIFE is enduring. Human life is a single chapter in the river of LIFE, while LIFE is a continuous drama stretching from the cosmic source to infinite time and space.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Essays · The Value and Meaning of Human Life and LIFE)
Human life can end at any time, but LIFE does not end when human life ends. Once human life concludes, LIFE continues to exist in other forms.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Essays · The Value and Meaning of Human Life and LIFE)
II. Why Do We Need a "Roadmap"?¶
A practitioner must first understand the meaning, value, and purpose of human life and LIFE. Otherwise, our human lives will inevitably be lost and confused, and our LIFE will have no beautiful future.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
A life without direction is blind; a life without values is lost. The suffering and misfortune in human life stem primarily from having no direction or values.
(Eight Hundred New-Era Concepts, 4th Edition · Concept 49)
Our brief time on Earth determines the course of our LIFE. Every word, every action, every thought concerns the grand plan of our future. Every minute and every day faithfully records our merits and transgressions. Where we go is entirely our own choice.
(Eight Hundred New-Era Concepts, 4th Edition · Concept 59)
III. Station One: The Purpose of Human Life — Joy, Happiness, Freedom, Bliss¶
We will ultimately understand that the value and meaning of human life — in other words, why we live — is to live a life of joy, happiness, freedom, and bliss.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
The meaning of human life is to pursue a life of joy, happiness, freedom, and bliss. Whatever meets this standard is correct; whatever does not leads only to confusion and pain. The value of human life does not lie in what we acquire or possess in the human world, but in elevating the quality of LIFE, perfecting the antimatter structure of LIFE, and ultimately attaining the Tao to become a celestial.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Heart and Soul · Navigation for Human Life and LIFE)
Human life unfolds from two purposes: one is to make human life joyful, happy, free, and blissful. The other is to extend LIFE toward more beautiful spaces.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Heart and Soul · Human Life Unfolds from These Two Purposes)
IV. Station Two: Moral Clarity — Leaving Marriage, Family, and Nation¶
What is morality? Ways of acting that uphold one's original nature as given by the Greatest Creator are moral; ways that violate it are immoral. Specifically, teachings, behaviors, and ways of living that allow people to be joyful, happy, free, and blissful are moral. Those that obstruct or prevent joy, happiness, freedom, and bliss are immoral.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
Any teaching, theory, constitution, law, behavior, or practice that upholds and glorifies marriage, family, and the state is immoral.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
Entering the Second Home created by Lifechanyuan allows us to leave marriage and family. By ushering in the Lifechanyuan Era — where all teachings return to one source, all paths return to one root, "the worthy are never neglected, all under heaven are one family," "things lost on the road are returned, doors need not be bolted at night," all things are in harmony, everyone is happy — we can leave the nation, political parties, and religions behind.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
V. Station Three: Repaying Debts and Dissolving Bonds¶
LIFE comes to the human world because of each individual LIFE's gravity, which for most people consists of debts, and for special individuals is determined by a mission. Once a person has repaid their debts in the human world and lives according to the Greatest Creator's will — in harmony with one's nature and with the natural law — the foundation is laid to ascend to the Thousand-Year World, the Ten-Thousand-Year World, or Elysium to enjoy the enduring pleasures of LIFE.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Heart and Soul · Navigation for Human Life and LIFE)
LIFE has gravity, and this gravity is directly related to debts and karmic bonds. Therefore, one must dissolve worldly bonds and repay all accumulated debts from past lives. Otherwise, everything is wishful thinking. Christ Jesus told us clearly in the Bible: if we owe a debt — even a single penny — we absolutely cannot escape that place.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
How to quickly dissolve worldly bonds and repay all debts? The World-Honored Buddha Sakyamuni has already shown us clearly in the Diamond Sutra: practice formless giving, for the reward of formless giving is "beyond imagination." The best path is to participate in the Lifechanyuan enterprise and usher in the Lifechanyuan Era for humanity.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
VI. Station Four: Accumulating Heavenly Treasure and Merit¶
We must store some treasure in Heaven. Christ Jesus told us clearly: wherever our treasure is, that is where our heart will be; wherever our heart is, that is where our future will be. Practitioners must accumulate merit — the merit we accumulate is our treasure in Heaven. The greatest merit is to usher in the Lifechanyuan Era for humanity.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
VII. Station Five: Transforming Consciousness — The Key to Heaven¶
Reality is the projection of consciousness. What kind of consciousness you have, that is what reality you have. Once consciousness is transformed, reaching the corresponding space is effortless. When we possess the consciousness of a celestial in the Thousand-Year World, we can go there. When we possess the consciousness of a celestial in the Ten-Thousand-Year World, we can go there. When we possess the consciousness of a Buddha in Elysium, we can enter Elysium. When we possess the consciousness and qualities of a Heavenly Celestial, we can enter the Celestial Islands Continent.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
The most urgent matter in human life is how to advance LIFE's antimatter structure toward higher spaces — how to elevate one's character and perfect one's spirituality. We do not know what tomorrow will bring, but one thing is certain: the kind of LIFE structure we have is the kind of LIFE future we will have.
(Eight Hundred New-Era Concepts, 4th Edition · Concept 60)
From the human world to Heaven — from human to celestial — requires Eight Great Awakenings:
1. Awakening to LIFE. LIFE is a spiritual antimatter structure that breathes, transforms through reincarnation, and never perishes.
2. Awakening to Life and Death. Life and death are appearances, not essence; form, not root. "The grass on the plain withers and grows again — no wildfire can destroy it, the spring wind brings it back." When the boat reaches the opposite shore, leave the boat behind.
3. Awakening to Cause and Effect. "Plant melons, harvest melons; plant beans, harvest beans." "Heaven's net is wide; though its meshes are coarse, nothing slips through."
4. Awakening to Space. The cosmos contains 20 parallel worlds and 36-dimensional space, with Heaven and Hell. Heaven is designed for the perfect; Hell for the deficient. Whatever state of LIFE you have, that is the space of existence you will have.
5. Awakening to Karmic Conditions. All is conditions: bond with ghosts, you go to the underworld; bond with celestials, you reach celestial realms. Uncleared debts keep you trapped in difficulty; insufficient merit keeps you from reaching celestial realms.
6. Awakening to Mind-Nature. Reality is the projection of consciousness; consciousness creates reality. All phenomena arise from the heart; the heart transcends all phenomena. The three realms are only mind; all phenomena are only consciousness. Fragrant flowers naturally attract butterflies; a pure heart naturally draws celestials. Mind-no-abode is Tathagata. Nature is the characteristic of structure; nature is Buddha.
7. Awakening to the Law Formations. The cosmos has 36 law formations — sources of play and wondrous interest. Power, money, fame, profit, sex, and emotional bonds are each a formation game. Deeply trapped within them, it is hard to break free. Only by attaining supreme enlightenment can one "transcend the three realms and stand outside the five elements."
8. Awakening to the Original Truth. Everything has a source; the source is the original truth. Consciousness, structure, and energy are the three elements constituting the cosmos; everything else is "like a dream, illusion, bubble, shadow — like dew and lightning." The Greatest Creator — the Buddha — is the source of everything, the original truth. Recognize the Greatest Creator, walk the Way of the Greatest Creator, and all eighty-four thousand paths lead through. Without recognizing the Greatest Creator, without walking the Way, all eighty-four thousand paths end at a cliff's edge.
(Eight Hundred New-Era Concepts, 4th Edition · Concept 474)
VIII. The Destination: Thousand-Year World, Ten-Thousand-Year World, Elysium¶
For a person, the most beautiful future for LIFE is the Thousand-Year World, the Ten-Thousand-Year World, Elysium, and the Celestial Islands Continent. These are not fabrications or flights of fancy. They are necessities arising from the law that the sum of positive and negative energies equals zero — just as the solar system necessarily contains Mercury, Saturn, Mars, and other planets; just as the human body necessarily has orifices, hair, limbs, and organs. They are inevitable.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)
The future of LIFE is determined by what we think, do, and act on throughout the journey of human life. Wherever our steps lead, that is where we will go.
(Xuefeng Corpus · Heart and Soul · Navigation for Human Life and LIFE)
IX. Holding to the One — The Way of the Greatest Creator Is the Final Signpost¶
Following Laozi's teaching in the Tao Te Ching: "The sage holds to the One as the model for all under heaven." So long as everyone "holds to the One," "Heaven attains clarity through the One; Earth attains stability through the One; the spirit attains efficacy through the One; valleys attain fullness through the One; all things attain life through the One." The core of the One is the Way of the True Lord — the Buddha — the Greatest Creator.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · Redrawing the Roadmap of Human Life and LIFE)