Deep Roots, Lasting Vision · Internal Reference¶
Guide Xuefeng's original texts, for deep study
I. Core Essay — Deep Roots, Lasting Vision¶
Chanyuan Corpus · Immortal Cultivation · "Deep Roots, Lasting Vision"
Immortal Sage Laozi said: "This is called having deep roots and a firm foundation — the way of long life and enduring vision."
"The grass spreads across the ancient plain — each year it withers and blooms anew. Wildfire cannot burn it dead; the spring wind breathes and it returns." Why? Because it has roots.
In cliffs and peaks, pines and cypresses stand green, unfading through the cold, unmoved by northwest winds. Why? Because their roots run deep.
Five thousand years of Chinese civilization, unbroken, generation after generation of talent rising like trees in the forest. Why? Because its cultural roots run deep.
Xuefeng is not truly Xuefeng — he originates in primordial chaos, travels between the yin and yang realms, and is born through Lifechanyuan. Why? Because his spiritual roots run deep.
Therefore, to achieve long life and enduring vision, to ascend as a celestial being, one must deepen one's roots and firm one's foundation.
What is the root? The Way of the Greatest Creator is the root. What is the foundation? The teachings of divine beings are the foundation.
To deepen one's roots means: walking the Way of the Greatest Creator, awakening one's innate spiritual awareness, listening to the teachings of Jesus and Sakyamuni, perceiving the vast universe, pursuing supreme enlightenment, transcending the three realms and five elements, clarifying non-form, heading toward the source — merging one's finite life into the infinite life-time-space.
"The reed on the wall: top-heavy, shallow-rooted. The bamboo shoot in the hills: sharp-tongued, thick-skinned, hollow inside."
Ordinary life: frantic busyness, unaware of the divine. Common mortals of the red dust: topsy-turvy, laughable. Celebrities and scholars: putting the cart before the horse, thrashing about uselessly. Partisans and devotees: drilling into dead ends, practicing in vain.
Looking at the rushing crowds of the worldly — like flies competing for blood, ants fighting for scraps. Their sharp arguments and clever debates are nothing more than snails fighting on the tips of their horns, heroes proclaiming themselves in a spark of flint. Lament! Beautiful lives become illusions. Grieve! Time wasted transforms into demons. Laugh! Tottering about on shallow roots. Advise! Look carefully, reconsider.
"Those who do not lose their place endure; those who die yet do not perish have true longevity." "Place" means home — one's life source, one's original nature. If one does not lose one's original nature and returns to the source — that is "not losing one's place." In this way, one can die yet not perish, enjoy life for ten thousand years, and soar through the cosmos.
People say the talk of becoming a celestial being is deception. I say you are like drifting clouds, ever-changing — not understanding life, with shallow roots, how could you fathom the source of mysteries?
To deepen your roots: regularly chant the Morning, Noon, Evening, and Night Sutras. To deepen your roots: contemplate the Eight Heart Dharmas of Chanyuan. To deepen your roots: follow the Guide to explore the Eight Mysteries. To deepen your roots: constantly build merit in Chanyuan.
Keep still to cultivate wisdom; restless motion breeds confusion. In hardship, stillness comes naturally; in comfort, movement beckons. May readers humble themselves in quiet reflection, deepen their roots, and lay the foundation for liberation and transcendence.
II. Long Life and Transcending Fate¶
Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · "Fate and Its Transcendence"
The sages of humanity have continuously explored the mysteries of life, time, and space, pointing us toward a radiant path. The way guided by Jesus leads to the Kingdom of the Greatest Creator. The Buddha's teachings on releasing the self guide us out of the sea of suffering to the other shore. Muhammad showed us that through the authority of Allah, we can escape the boundaries of heaven and earth and go beyond the "script." And Laozi pointed us explicitly to the path of "long life and enduring vision."
III. Long Life and Life Entropy¶
Xuefeng Corpus · Wake-Up Calls · "Expanding the Depth and Breadth of Life"
Dissipative structure theory tells us: the lower the entropy value, the younger and more vital the life — the greater its capacity for "long life and enduring vision." The more closed one's living and mental environment, the higher the entropy; the more open, varied, and rich in information, the lower the entropy. To keep life vibrant, to cultivate deep wisdom, to break free from fate and the realm of necessity — one must reduce one's life entropy, and the best way to do so is to expand the depth and breadth of one's life.
IV. Releasing Achievement and Lasting Vision¶
Xuefeng Corpus · Essays · "Accomplishing Yet Not Claiming Credit"
I advise all who have made contributions — even members of underground organizations — to always remember the teaching "accomplish, yet do not claim credit." Let go at any moment, lay it down at any moment, return to zero at any moment, appear each day as a new person, forget your past achievements, never rest on your laurels. In this way, you will be ever-renewed — enduring in long life and lasting vision.
V. Long Life from a Healing Perspective¶
Chanyuan Corpus · Life Manual · Intermediate Life Manual (I)
What Heaven bestows in us is virtue; what Earth bestows in us is breath. Through the flow of virtue and the breath of life, we come into being. ... Therefore, the wise person in cultivating life must accord with the four seasons in adapting to cold and warmth, harmonize joy and anger to settle in proper dwelling, balance yin and yang and regulate firmness and softness. In this way, evil influences cannot invade — and long life and enduring vision are attained.
VI. Chanyuan Ideals as Collective Longevity¶
Other Articles · 2008 · "Talking Again About Getting Rich"
Perfecting the Chanyuan ideals and living by them is our guarantee of prosperity and the safeguard for our Second Home to achieve "long life and lasting vision." Any individual who violates or disregards the Chanyuan ideals will eliminate themselves — and will also be eliminated by the community. We will design both visible and invisible checks to ensure that this mechanism of elimination operates effectively.