The Four Adaptations (Sì Suí) · Internal Edition

Compiled by: Língzhōu Cǎo　Date: 2026-05-03

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Overview

The "Four Adaptations" (Sì Suí 四随) are the core behavioral principles of immortal cultivation in the Lifechanyuan system. They consist of four phrases: Ease with any situation (安于 any circumstance encountered, the heart holding no resentment), Transform with conditions (flow with circumstances, without forcing or clinging), Move with your nature (act from one's true disposition and the heart's drive, following the Tao), and Act on opportunity (when the moment arrives, give everything, fully and without reserve). One who accomplishes the Four Adaptations and is free from self, selfishness, and attachment is an immortal (Xian), and the state they display is the state of immortality. The Four Adaptations and "wandering freely with conditions, moving naturally at ease" mutually illuminate each other — they are the central expression of the freedom of the Immortal Way.

Related entries: Eight No-Realms, Zero State, Self-Coherence, No-Self No-Form, Wu Wei

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I. Definition and Essence

(I) Definition of the Four Adaptations

Ease with any situation; transform with conditions; move with your nature; act on opportunity.

— New Era Human 800 Concepts (4th ed.) · Concept 157

How do you escape your current difficulties? My suggestion: ease with any situation, transform with conditions, move with your nature, act on opportunity.

Specifically, this means holding your "position" — daring to be at peace with your present circumstances… Ease with any situation; see how bad things can actually get.

Next, transform with conditions. If someone can help you, be genuinely grateful; don't doubt their good intentions. If no one helps, continue your solitary journey — wherever it takes you. Even if death were to arrive in the very next moment, receive it with equanimity.

Move with your nature means doing what you love. Don't force yourself to do what your heart resists. If you love to sing, sing. If you love to dance, dance. If your calling is in governance, follow it. If it is in commerce, follow that.

Act on opportunity means: whenever a genuine opportunity or opening appears, seize it absolutely — never let it pass. Once you have caught a truly good opportunity, spare nothing in making the most of it. A single fine moment of grace can redirect an entire life's trajectory. When it comes — burn your boats, give everything, persist through all obstacles, remain in it completely.

— Xuefeng Corpus · Friendship · Ease with Any Situation, Transform with Conditions, Move with Your Nature, Act on Opportunity — A Second Letter to H

(II) The Four Adaptations as the Immortal's State

One who achieves ease with any situation, transformation with conditions, movement with nature, action on opportunity — and is free from self, selfishness, and attachment — is an immortal. The state such a person embodies is the state of immortality.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Immortality · Ease with Any Situation Is the Immortal's State

The immortal eases with any situation, transforms with conditions, moves with nature, acts on opportunity — wandering freely with conditions, moving naturally at ease. The ordinary person "craves what they desire and grieves over poverty," rushing day after day, competing and comparing, getting rain gear and wanting an umbrella, eating today and already thinking of tomorrow… never satisfied, always in pursuit. The immortal is always in contentment.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Immortality · The Immortal Is Always in Contentment

(III) The Four Adaptations as the First Realm of Immortality

The three realms of immortality are: First — earthly bonds and human relationships have faded; one has already achieved ease with any situation, transformation with conditions, movement with nature, action on opportunity; one is no longer fixated on money, power, status, fame, or beauty; one can wander freely with conditions, move naturally at ease. Second — no earthly ties, no attachments, no debts; no-self, no-selfishness, no-attachment; merged with heaven, earth, and the Tao; already living one has nothing yet possesses everything, has no home yet home is everywhere, has no intimates yet intimacy is everywhere. Third — one's thinking has transcended the boundaries of heaven and earth; consciousness has moved beyond the human realm; body, mind, and spirit have reached a high degree of freedom; unlimited spiritual transformation is possible…

— Chanyuan Corpus · Immortality · The Three Realms of Immortality and Three Steps to Becoming Immortal

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II. Distinctions and Boundaries

(I) Ease with Any Situation ≠ Passive Resignation

What matters is not what circumstances or people we encounter — for what we meet is beyond our control — but what attitude and awareness we maintain. For instance, rain falls; we cannot control that. But how we meet a rainy day is determined by the depth of our cultivation.

This means: on one hand, we ease wholeheartedly with whatever we encounter; on the other hand, we move steadfastly, persistently, toward the direction of our ideals and longings — we do not simply sit and wait for fate. Every day, effort is made toward the place we are called toward… Having done this, we have no regrets, for we have tried. We have no guilt, no self-reproach — we are fully at peace with ourselves.

— Guide's Writings · 2024 · Revisiting Ease with Any Situation

Ease with any situation is a superior method for reaching one's aims with the least cost and effort.

In short: one who can act here, rest here, take risks here, and move freely here — wandering freely with conditions, moving naturally at ease — "neither craving wealth nor grieving over poverty" — who watches others build mansions, drive luxury cars, walk red carpets, take multiple partners, become world-famous, and feels no envy, no admiration, no excitement, no stirring of the heart — that is ease with any situation.

Ease with any situation is the foundation of a person's ascent. With a firm foundation, one can remain composed and move with ease; thoughts stay clear and orderly; one's time and energy can be invested in what counts; and there is hope of receiving heaven's grace — of stepping into a higher realm of life.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Immortality · Ease with Any Situation Is the Immortal's State

(II) Move with Your Nature ≠ Follow Every Impulse (Nature, Not Habit)

Moving with your nature means acting from the drive of the heart — there is something of "following the feeling" to it. The universe is holographic; every being's nature operates within the Tao's movement, within the Tao's governance. To move with your nature is, in effect, to follow the Tao.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Move with Your Nature

Moving with your nature means not coercing or forcing yourself. You know what your true nature loves. Love playing in mud — go play in mud. Love dance — dance fully… Don't imitate others. Don't compete with others. Don't listen, against your own will, to others' direction. What your nature loves — do it. This is moving with your nature; this accords with the Tao's governance and movement. Whatever you do in this way cannot be a wrong action; whatever path you walk in this way cannot be a mistaken path.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Move with Your Nature

(III) The Relationship Between Immovable Suchness and Moving with Nature

The supreme principle of the universe — immovable suchness, forever thus across ten thousand ages. The ten thousand phenomena of the universe — moving with nature, forever thus across ten thousand ages.

The Tao operates like space — immovable suchness, forever thus. Zen's subtle principle — moving with the moment, forever thus.

The heart that seeks the Way and attains immortality — immovable suchness; rope saws wood, water wears stone; every drop counts; when the work is complete, it arises of itself.

The heart that engages people and accomplishes things — moving with nature, lively and agile; displaying the boundless vitality of the universe. Do not hold Jinzhou at all costs; do not cling to old forms. Mountains turn; waters flow; life lies in movement; seeking and finding the Way lies in agility. No fixed law; no fixed form; ten thousand variations; inexhaustible joy.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Immovable Suchness and Moving with Nature

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III. The Specific Content of Each Adaptation

(I) Ease with Any Situation — Concrete Expressions

A full imperial banquet — eat joyfully. Only sweet potato porridge — no complaints. Cornbread and pickles — enjoy them as a fine meal. That is ease with any situation.

Living year-round in the frozen north — as long as you can survive, hold no resentment. Four seasons of summer, never knowing spring or autumn or winter — unable to enjoy spring light or snow scenery — savor the peace undisturbed… Never having reached distant places — harbor no presumptuous longing; find joy here. That is ease with any situation.

Someone beside you for company, often in contact with others of the opposite sex — the heart is glad. Long companionless, a decade without such contact — able to settle quietly into solitude and aloneness. Living in a city of lights and entertainment — cheerful. Living in a remote valley — at ease. That is ease with any situation.

You longed for Zhang San; Li Si arrived. You aimed for immortality; you cannot escape the human realm. You wanted Rome; you cannot leave New York. You wished for the community; you cannot break free from worldly ties. In all such circumstances — keeping a cheerful spirit, still able to laugh and converse freely — that is ease with any situation.

Others are handsome, striking. You have a coarse, plain appearance. Others are graceful and enchanting. You are short, heavy, strange-looking. Others are healthy, with everything going smoothly. You are ill and beset with difficulties. Others have a glorious ancestry. You have no backing and no footing. In all these states — still composed, the heart harboring no resentment — that is ease with any situation.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Immortality · Ease with Any Situation Is the Immortal's State

(II) Move with Your Nature — The Philosophical Dimension

Stars blaze, ten thousand forms compete in beauty, a thousand postures and a hundred shapes, endless variation — this reflects the universe's vitality and reveals the Tao's outer reach. All things moving with their nature — and perfect order obtains. Each rises and descends in sequence. Flying creatures should fly. Animals should run. Flowers should open in their season. Trees and grasses should sprout in spring. Human beings should eat, drink, relieve themselves, enjoy the pleasures of the sexes, age, decline, and die. Spirits and Buddhas should save people. Demons should harm. Immortals should play in ease and joy. A rooster should crow. A hen should lay. A bee should make honey. A peach tree should bear peaches. An apricot tree should bear apricots. Each in its position; each fulfilling its function — this is moving with your nature.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Move with Your Nature

(III) Move with Your Nature — Practical Guidance

Ease with any situation; transform with conditions; move with your nature; act on opportunity. In all things and all conditions — never force. When the peach is ripe, eat the peach. When the apricot is ripe, taste the apricot. A melon forced from the vine is not sweet; a path forced ahead does not flow smoothly.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Immovable Suchness and Moving with Nature

(IV) The Supreme Series

The supreme way of living is to follow nature's course. The supreme way of acting is to transform with conditions. The supreme way of stillness is to ease with any situation. The supreme state of being is to merge with the Tao. The supreme feeling is nature-feeling. The supreme love is nature-love.

— New Era Human 800 Concepts (4th ed.) · Concept 591

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IV. Cultivation Practice

(I) The Four Adaptations in Turbulent Times

Ease with any situation; transform with conditions; move with your nature; act on opportunity. Don't force yourself to do what must be done now. Build your strength in ordinary times — let things come when they are ready, like water finding its level, like a melon ripening on the vine. When no opportunity has appeared, wait with a settled heart. When opportunity arrives — move swiftly and with full force.

— Guide's Writings · 2022 · How Chanyuan Celestials Live with Grace and Freedom

(II) The Deep Practice of Ease with Any Situation

Ease with any situation preserves a good state and spirit. With a clear, undisturbed mind, one can discern direction and invest time, energy, and intelligence consistently toward one's calling and aspiration — learning without pause, accumulating without pause — and then wait for a good moment to arrive. Waiting for the ugly duckling to become a swan.

Don't rush. Don't speculate. Don't take shortcuts. Don't give up. "As a rope saws through wood, as water wears through stone — the seeker of the Way must press on with force. As the melon falls when ripe, as water arrives when its channel is ready — the one who has found the Way surrenders entirely to the moment of heaven."

— Chanyuan Corpus · Immortality · Ease with Any Situation Is the Immortal's State

(III) The Four Adaptations in Intimate Relationships

The degree of engagement in intimate feeling: ease with what comes, transform with conditions, move with nature, act on opportunity. Feeling arises — the heart opens. Feeling passes — the heart empties. No attachment, no infatuation, no possession, no monopolizing. When both are willing — engage. When resonance is absent — do not force. Let mutual joy and happiness be the measure.

— New Era Human 800 Concepts (4th ed.) · Concept 586

A one-to-one relationship between a man and a woman is an ugly phenomenon. From the human perspective, one-to-one intimate relationship is beautiful. But from the immortal's perspective, one-to-one intimate relationship is deeply ugly. In the same way, one-to-many emotional relationships are also ugly. Ease, conditions, nature, and opportunity — these four are the finest way.

— New Era Human 800 Concepts (4th ed.) · Concept 592

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V. Obstacles and Their Opposites

(I) The Harm of Acting Against One's Nature

Told to bloom — you insist on bearing fruit. Told to be an ox — you insist on being a horse. Told to become a tiger — you insist on being a deer. Told to drink water — you insist on drinking wine. Told to keep the gate — you insist on playing football. Told to wipe the table — you insist on sweeping the floor. Told to be human — you insist on becoming a Buddha. Told to become a Buddha — you insist on being human. Told to experience poverty — you insist on enjoying wealth. Told to be Hitler — you insist on being a saint. Told to become a thinker — you insist on becoming an official… All of this is acting against one's heaven-given nature. This is disrupting order. This is dishonoring oneself.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Move with Your Nature

(II) Craving and Attachment — The Great Enemy of Immortality

The moment one has desires, suffering arises. The moment one is unsatisfied, the heart turns dark. Human life is short; desires are inexhaustible. With ten thousand comes the wish for a hundred thousand; with a hundred thousand, a million; with a house, a palace; eating mountain delicacies, the eye turns to the sea's flavors. The human heart is never enough — the snake swallows the elephant. And so human beings live always inside worry, suffering, and misfortune.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Immortality · The Immortal Is Always in Contentment

(III) Erroneous Responses in Adversity

What must be guarded against: being in difficulty already — and then speculating, acting with improper intent, seeking shortcuts, trying to achieve things through deception and trickery, playing mental games and manipulation. If this is the path taken — not only will the difficulty not be resolved, but things will grow steadily worse, until one sends oneself into the depths of suffering.

— Guide's Writings · 2024 · Revisiting Ease with Any Situation

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VI. The Ultimate State and Destination

(I) The Essence of the Immortal Way: Wandering Freely with Conditions, Moving Naturally at Ease

The Immortal Way differs from the Buddhist Way, the Christian Way, and the human way in this: those ways have restraints, constraints, prohibitions, hesitations — while the Immortal Way has none. The Immortal Way is wandering freely with conditions, moving naturally at ease.

The Buddhist Way speaks of the Five Precepts, the Ten Virtues, precept-concentration-wisdom. The Christian Way speaks of original sin and redemption. The human way carries its own system of social ethics and propriety. The Immortal Way, by contrast, seeks the full flowering of one's true nature — freedom, joy, wandering freely with conditions, moving naturally at ease.

Becoming an immortal is the easiest thing. Very simple: just return to the state of a child.

Becoming an immortal is the most difficult thing. Very complex: it requires reversing ordinary thinking, relinquishing all habitual conventions, and returning to one's original truth.

If we find life exhausting, we have moved far from the Immortal Way. If we find life becoming ever more joyful, free, and unrestrained, we are drawing close to it.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Immortality · Wandering Freely with Conditions, Moving Naturally at Ease

(II) Act Here, Rest Here, Risk Here, Move Freely Here

In short — one who can act here, rest here, take risks here, and move freely here, wandering freely with conditions, moving naturally at ease… That is ease with any situation.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Immortality · Ease with Any Situation Is the Immortal's State

(III) The Most Direct Path to Immortality

Move with your nature — let each day be joyful. Whatever tomorrow brings, tomorrow will reveal. Tomorrow I will still move with my nature. Moving with nature, the inner sky grows clear. No resentments, no regrets — and ultimately, one arrives at wholeness.

— Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Move with Your Nature

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VII. AI · New Era Connections

(I) The Second Home and the Four Adaptations

In the Second Home there are no marital bonds, no fixed emotional attachments. What there is: the ease, conditions, nature, and opportunity of free relating — men and women as flower and butterfly. Meeting is a condition; parting holds no resentment. No possession, no monopoly. Each person free; each person respected. This is the immortal mode of relating enacted in advance, in human form.

— New Era Human 800 Concepts (4th ed.) · Concept 619

One of the most important distinctions between the Second Home (Life Oasis) and secular society and other communities is this: in the Second Home there is no marriage or family, no fixed object of emotional or intimate dependence — but rather ease with any situation, transformation with conditions, movement with nature, and action on opportunity.

— New Era Human 800 Concepts (4th ed.) · Concept 640

(II) The Vow of the Chanyuan Celestials

"I will resolutely not enter into one-to-one or one-to-many emotional relationships. All shall proceed according to the four principles of ease, conditions, nature, and opportunity." Do you understand? This is not something ordinary human beings can do. This is the defining quality and characteristic of immortals in the Millennium Realm.

— Guide's Writings · 2018 · Congratulations to Chanyuan Celestials Who Have Taken the Vow

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Compiled by: Língzhōu Cǎo　Date: 2026-05-03

Welcome to explore all eight versions of 【The Four Adaptations (Sì Suí)】: http://wiki.lifecosmos.org/en/si-sui/