Spirit (Overview) · Internal Version¶
This version presents the original source texts, organized by section, with source citations preserved verbatim.
[I] The Ontological Definition of Spirit¶
Spirit (jingshen) is the composite of jing (vital essence) and shen (animating power).
Jing has two layers of meaning: first, the vital essence a LIFE-body obtains from food in order to sustain continuous motion — specifically, the refined energy the body absorbs and digests from food; second, the subtle substance stored within the body and held in reserve to sustain motion.
Shen also has two layers of meaning: first, the force that coordinates the effective cooperative operation of all the organs and parts of the LIFE-body — for example, the invisible, inexplicable governing force by which a fertilized egg develops into a complete human being in the mother's womb; second, the force through which a person's thinking and soul mutually resonate with the Negative Universe. Everything that is invisible, indescribable, inaudible, and intangible yet exerts a real influence on you — that is shen (in the narrow sense).
Spirit, then, is the composite of jing and shen — the pillar of the LIFE-body, the bridge and junction point through which matter and antimatter are interconnected and interact. (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice Series · Intermediate Cultivation)
Additionally, Guide Xuefeng defines the composition of spirit from another angle: jing is the composite of vital essence and animating power; it has two energy sources — one is the material essence absorbed after matter is digested (such as vitality and vital breath), and the other is the antimatter essence absorbed after antimatter is digested (such as spirit-sprites and refined quintessence). (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Essays · The Spirit World and the Soul World)
In terms of the universe's three elements (consciousness, structure, energy): the energy of jing comes primarily from the vital energy of heaven and earth; the energy of shen comes primarily from the level of consciousness — it is a structural energy, a programmatic energy, a faith energy. Ling (spirit-force) is the highest-grade energy in the universe and comes entirely from the Greatest Creator. Jing and shen are the energies next in rank below ling. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 525)
[II] The Three Worlds of LIFE: Material, Spirit, and Soul¶
LIFE has three worlds: the material world, the spirit world, and the soul world.
The world of busy striving for food, clothing, shelter, transportation, birth, aging, illness, death, fame, profit, and social status — that is the material world. The world of diligent effort for joy, happiness, freedom, and bliss — that is the spirit world. The world of selfless dedication and giving for the sake of rapture, supreme bliss, brightness, and auspiciousness — that is the soul world.
The material world is heavy; the spirit world is light; the soul world is ethereally empty. Animals live in the material world; people live in the spirit world; immortals, Buddhas, and angels live in the soul world. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Soul Series · Let Us Live in the Spirit and Soul World)
With more refined categorization: - Living in the material world — one word captures it: exhausted (body, mind, and spirit all exhausted). - Living in the spirit world — two words: at ease. - Living in the soul world — light as air.
Those who live in the material world are closest to the animal kingdom; those who live in the spirit world have truly understood the principles of being human; those who live in the soul world are nearest to gods, Buddhas, immortals, and sages — they belong to the highest order of humanity. In broad terms: those in the material world are people; those in the spirit world are human immortals and earthly immortals; those in the soul world are celestial immortals, Buddhas; the Hundun world is the domain of gods and the Greatest Creator, beyond human reach. (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice Series · These Are the Outward Expressions of Those Who Live in the Spirit World)
Guide Xuefeng has also noted elsewhere: 98% of humanity lives in the material world; fewer than 2% live in the spirit world; perhaps only one in ten thousand lives in the soul world — which is what Shakyamuni called the world of "no-form." (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Friendship Series · A Rambling Chat with Academicians)
[III] The Place of Spiritual Wealth Among the Three Great Fortunes¶
In life one should pursue three great fortunes: soul wealth, spiritual wealth, and material wealth. One must first pursue soul wealth, then spiritual wealth, and lastly material wealth. None of the three can be missing; if any one fortune is lacking, life cannot be complete. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 27)
Material wealth supports spiritual wealth; spiritual wealth supports soul wealth. Soul wealth generates spiritual wealth; spiritual wealth generates material wealth. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Soul Series · Let Us Live in the Spirit and Soul World)
Without spiritual wealth, a person is simply an animal sustained by instinct, moving from place to place. Lacking spiritual wealth, a person will feel lonely, bored, and empty; they cannot attain happiness or joy; their psychology will become distorted and abnormal; they will be repressed, irritable, and eccentric, prone to going to extremes. (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom Series · The Three Great Fortunes of Human Life)
The soul is the root; spirit is a kind of vitality that grows from that root. The quality of the soul determines the quality of the spirit. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Soul Series · I Hope Governments Around the World Will Consider the Soul-Building of Humanity)
If a person has no spiritual belief and no spiritual life, that person is dead! (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Soul Series · Why Is Today's World in Such Turmoil?)
[IV] Six Indicators for Living in the Spirit World¶
How does one know whether one is living in the spirit world? Check the following six indicators:
First: There is a person or a group of people in your inner world whom you are firmly convinced will extend a helping hand at any time to help you through difficulties; you always maintain abundant energy and vitality and no longer worry about or fear the difficulties along life's journey.
Second: You deeply believe that karma is unfailingly precise, that the net of heaven is vast and nothing slips through; you remain calm at heart and face difficulties and disasters with equanimity, without alarm or fear.
Third: You have finally understood that human life is a single journey of a LIFE through the human world, and you are no longer burdened or troubled by a house, a car, money, your parents, your children, your spouse.
Fourth: You have seen through life — whether great individuals or the vicissitudes of all humanity, it is simply a farce being performed — and so you live freely, serenely, unencumbered, and joyfully.
Fifth: You have understood the mysteries of LIFE and space-time; you know of the existence of the Thousand-Year World, the Ten-Thousand-Year World, the Elysium World, and the Celestial Islands Continent; and you have set your entire life's striving toward the immortal realms and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Sixth: You have an unwavering faith in the Greatest Creator. (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice Series · Test Whether You Are Living in the Spirit World)
[V] The Outward Expressions of Those Who Live in the Spirit World¶
Those whose inner world is rich and full no longer emphasize outward forms and outward expressions. Those who live in the spirit world will not be tainted by the following: they do not hoard gold, silver, or luxury goods; they do not care about designer brands, luxury cars, or prestigious watches; they treat every person as an equal; they embrace new ideas, new theories, and new things with an open heart; they would rather endure loneliness and solitude than go along with the crowd; they enjoy reading the wordless heavenly book. In fact, those who live in the spirit world enjoy a higher degree of material comfort than those who live in the material world — this is the secret behind why the quality and taste of an immortal's life surpasses that of an ordinary person's life. (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice Series · These Are the Outward Expressions of Those Who Live in the Spirit World)
[VI] Faith: The Navigator of One's Spiritual State¶
Whatever your faith is, that is what your spiritual state and psychological activity will be; whatever your psychological activity is, that is what your words and actions will be; whatever your words and actions are, that is what your results and life path will be. Faith is the navigator of life; different faiths produce different life outcomes. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 388; Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice Series · The 18 Factors That Constitute Necessity)
A person's spiritual state is at its best and their soul is at its most beautiful when they are in a state of joy. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 233)
[VII] Spiritual Self-Rescue: The Active Path of Spiritual Cultivation¶
Spiritual self-rescue is one of the core contents of Lifechanyuan's intermediate cultivation. Spirit cannot be borrowed or stolen; it can only be rescued through one's own effort. Health cultivation is primarily the cultivation of jing, qi, shen, and physical form; one of the primary purposes of health cultivation is to develop spirit.
The specific requirements for cultivating jing, qi, and shen:
Speak less to nourish inner breath; discipline the heart-nature to nourish spirit-breath; eat simply to nourish blood-breath; restrain anger to nourish lung-breath; moderate eating to nourish stomach-breath; think less to nourish liver-breath; curb desires to nourish heart-breath; restrain sexual desire to nourish vital-essence breath. To cultivate the body, one must first still the mind. No distraction, no vexation, no clinging, no delusion, no craving, no dissipation. Settle the spirit within; eliminate desire without. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 743)
If eating is not restrained, the body will not be light; if sensory pleasures are not restrained, the spirit will not be clear; if thinking is not restrained, the heart will not be calm. When the heart is not calm, the spirit is not luminous; when the spirit is not luminous, the Tao cannot be attained. Restrain thinking, and shen is complete; restrain speech, and qi is complete; restrain sexual desire, and jing is complete. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 744)
Keep the kidneys undisturbed, and jing is complete; keep the body undisturbed, and qi is complete; keep the heart undisturbed, and shen is complete. When the three are round and the three are complete, one naturally becomes an immortal. (Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 758)
[VIII] Spiritual Nobility — The Highest Earthly Form of the Spirit World¶
A spiritual noble, in Lifechanyuan's framework, is one who is spiritually noble, soulfully rich, unmanipulated by the power, capital, cultural customs, and social currents of contemporary society — independent, upright in character, free-spirited, and graceful. The opposite of a noble is not a commoner but a beggar — anyone who seeks something from the outside world and in doing so tramples their own dignity, personality, freedom, and independence is a beggar.
All Chanyuan Celestials ought to be spiritual nobles, because Lifechanyuan over twenty years has walked only the Way of the Greatest Creator and the path of Lifechanyuan, never existed by depending on others' goodwill, never bribed those in power, and has never envied power or status — relying solely on its own diligence and wisdom to survive.
May the world give birth to ever more spiritual nobles. History over thousands of years tells us: material nobles and power nobles will not bring humanity freedom, peace, dignity, and happiness. Only spiritual nobles are the hope of humanity. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Essays · Spiritual Nobles Are the Hope of Humanity)
[IX] The Ultimate Destination of Spirit — Leaping Into the Soul World¶
The spirit world is the goal of the human being, but the soul world is the ultimate direction of LIFE's ascent.
If a LIFE has freed itself from both the bondage of matter and the bondage of spirit, and is living in the soul world — that being is a celestial immortal or a Buddha. (Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Inspiration Series · Why We Should Keep Learning Until Our Last Breath)
For those who aspire to immortality and Buddhahood: switch the scene at any time. If the material world is unbearable, switch to the spirit or soul world. If the spirit world is still assailed, live directly in the soul world — the soul world has nothing to do with other people and nothing to do with reality; it is your own boundlessly free inner world. (Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice Series · On the Path to Immortality There Are No Adversities)
Spiritual wealth is the foundation of soul wealth; the fullness of spirit provides the ground for the flowering of the soul. And the true soul world is itself one of the necessary conditions for entering the Thousand-Year World, the Ten-Thousand-Year World, the Elysium World, and the Celestial Islands Continent.