Spontaneous Nature · Willfulness · Natural Freedom (Internal Reference)¶

This version is a complete anthology of source texts for deep study. All passages are quoted verbatim and attributed.

I. Spontaneous Nature — Nature Is Buddha, Living Spontaneously Is Living as Buddha¶

1.1 Core definition

"Spontaneous nature (随性). Whatever you most deeply desire and want to do from within — that is spontaneous living. Most people cannot live spontaneously, because they must consider the needs of those around them, the demands of earning a living, social responsibilities, legal constraints, the judgements of others. So those who achieve genuine spontaneous living in a lifetime are very few. Nature is Buddha; living spontaneously is being Buddha. Nature is a celestial; living spontaneously is being a celestial. What is spontaneous living? Wanting a luxurious villa with servants is not spontaneous — that is following vanity and desire. Spontaneous living is: singing folk songs on the street at midnight when the urge strikes; going unclothed to work on a hot day; moving away from whoever you wish to move away from; drawing close to whoever you wish to draw close to."

— Chanyuan Corpus · Human Life · Practical Life Knowledge (3)

1.2 The core of spiritual living is spontaneous naturalness

"The core of rational living is calculation through logic and evidence. The core of spiritual living is spontaneous naturalness driven by faith and intuition."

"Entrust your life to the Greatest Creator, entrust your journey to the Tao, keep only goodness, diligence, honesty, and trustworthiness, treat life as a game to play — at ease with circumstances, transforming with conditions, moving with your nature, acting with the moment. This is spiritual living."

— Chanyuan Corpus · Human Life · Spiritual Living Surpasses Rational Living

1.3 Living out one's heavenly nature

"What does a person live for? For their natural heavenly nature, their innate gifts — for a life of joy, happiness, freedom, and wellbeing, with no regrets at the end. To achieve this, one must not live for power, wealth, fame, beauty, vanity, religion, political parties, nations, ethnicities, families, or others. Do not try to possess or control anything. Do not try to change others. In all things: be at ease with circumstances, transform with conditions, move with your nature, act with the moment. Entrust your life to the Greatest Creator; let the Tao arrange your journey. Treat everything as a game."

— Chanyuan Corpus · Human Life · Eight Truths Every Living Person Needs to Know

1.4 Simplicity and spontaneity

"Live simply, ever more simply. Learn to enjoy quiet blessings. Do not let greed, aversion, and delusion lead you by the nose. In all things: be at ease, transform with conditions, move with your nature, act with the moment. Do not stir up waves where there are none; do not manufacture problems. Let yourself grow still and unhurried. Spend time with the dawn and dusk skies and the bright moon. Converse with flowers, grasses, insects, and birds. Sing, dance, walk, and play to your heart's content."

— Chanyuan Corpus · Human Life · Simpler, Ever Simpler

1.5 Xuefeng describes himself through spontaneous living

"Since Lifechanyuan was founded, I have always moved spontaneously with my nature. The creation of the Second Home was itself an expression of my spontaneous nature. I have not deliberately done anything, nor do I wish to impose my will on others, nor do I wish others to impose their will on me. Fame and death mean nothing to a wild grass. I do not worry about whether I will be alive tomorrow. Everything follows the Greatest Creator's will; everything follows the Tao's arrangement."

"I regard life as a game, a journey. There is no success or failure, no gain or loss — only living out one's nature fully and freely to the end."

— Chanyuan Corpus · Human Life · I Am a Wild Grass on the Wasteland

1.6 The characteristics of human celestials

"The essential characteristics of human celestials are: … In all things, they transform with conditions, are at ease with circumstances, act with the moment, and move with their nature — they live according to perfect human and spiritual nature."

— Chanyuan Corpus · LIFE · The Levels of LIFE

1.7 The characteristics of civilised people

"Third characteristic: Responsive to circumstances, conditions, nature, and the moment — at ease without anxiety, transforming without clinging, moving freely without constraint, acting with good timing."

— Chanyuan Corpus · Human Life · Eight Characteristics of Civilised People

1.8 Raising LIFE frequency

"Seventh: Without form, without striving — at ease with circumstances, transforming with conditions, moving with your nature, acting with the moment."

— Chanyuan Corpus · LIFE · Eight Pathways to Raise Your LIFE Frequency

1.9 Practical life knowledge

"26. Never, under any circumstances, try to change anyone. In all things: follow your nature, follow conditions, follow circumstances, follow the moment."

— Chanyuan Corpus · Human Life · Practical Life Knowledge (1)

1.10 New Era 800 Concepts, No. 157

"157. At ease with circumstances, transforming with conditions, moving with your nature, acting with the moment."

— New Era 800 Concepts (4th edition) · No. 157

1.11 Cultivating self-coherence

"494. How to cultivate the quality of self-coherence? … Sixth: spontaneous imaginative freedom, unbound, at ease with conditions, moving naturally as they flow …"

— New Era 800 Concepts (4th edition) · No. 494

1.12 Insights from a seed

"1. Wanting nothing, seeking nothing — responsive to circumstances, conditions, nature, and the moment. 3. Spontaneous living: not thinking, not judging, not relying on experience or wisdom. 6. Not worrying about the future; moving with your nature even if a cliff lies ahead, advancing with confidence. 7. Following only the laws and principles of your own nature, without analysing pros and cons or distinguishing true/false, good/evil, beautiful/ugly."

— Other Writings of the Guide · 2020 · Extending the Insights from a Single Seed

II. Willfulness — The Opposite of Spontaneous Nature¶

2.1 Willfulness as lack of upbringing

"Willfulness — acting on impulse, following your temper — is a manifestation of poor upbringing caused by severely negligent parenting."

— Other Writings of the Guide · 2021 · Learning Proper Conduct

2.2 Guidance against willfulness

"Please know: as your guide I bear no ill will toward any of you, no preconceptions. I understand you. But I also hope you can understand the guide. From now on, do not act willfully so easily. You are not small children any more."

— Other Writings of the Guide · 2020 · Stop Being Wilful, Stop Getting Angry for No Reason

2.3 Willfulness as danger in conditions of high freedom

"Only when full freedom arrives can innate heavenly nature shine forth, and heavenly qualities manifest … But equally, in full freedom, each person's negative qualities surface as well: laziness, selfishness, greed, willful stubbornness, moral decay — the weeds in the soul garden grow unchecked … This means that the greater the freedom, the more vigilance is required. The freer you are to do as you wish, the more carefully you must guard against 'overstepping,' for overstepping signals that you are not yet suited to life in conditions of high freedom."

— Xuefeng Corpus · Admonition · Beware: Weeds Grow Wild in a Field of Freedom

2.4 Willfulness as a mark of weakness

"Who are the weak? … Those who are particularly wilful; those who are particularly attached; those who are perpetually emotionally dependent on others …"

— Other Writings of the Guide · 2020 · Who Are the Strong Ones in the Home?

III. Natural Freedom — The Ultimate Freedom¶

3.1 The ultimate freedom

"The Greatest Creator grants people many freedoms … The ultimate of all freedoms is natural freedom. However many freedoms you have obtained, if this deepest freedom is denied, you remain a prisoner, a slave, unable to live a heavenly life or reach heaven."

"What is natural freedom? This nature is heavenly nature — innate nature, the characteristics granted by the heavens. These characteristics are themselves Buddha, are celestials just below the divine. Only with this freedom can one become a celestial or Buddha."

"As a human being, one must abide by human ethical and legal norms. But as a human being, one can never attain this ultimate freedom — one remains forever a prisoner in the cage of this repression. Only upon reaching the Thousand-Year World can ultimate freedom be obtained."

"To climb to the highest peak of LIFE, Chanyuan Celestials must pursue natural freedom. We must not restrict, obstruct, or hinder it. We must not judge it by human ethical and moral standards. As long as both parties are willing, as long as there is no coercion, as long as Chanyuan values and Home procedures are observed — whoever is with whoever, if you are happy, if you feel wonderful, that is what matters."

— Other Writings of the Guide · 2025 · The Ultimate Freedom Is Natural Freedom

3.2 Nature is Buddha — the divine and demonic power of nature

"The Patriarch Bodhidharma said in the Bloodstream Sermon: 'Nature is Buddha.'"

"Allowing nature its freedom brings peace to the world, harmony to individuals, and stability to society. Therefore, natural freedom is both primary freedom and ultimate freedom. Without it, there is no human freedom, no social justice, and no possibility of becoming a celestial, Buddha, or divine being."

"The prerequisite for human civilisation is natural freedom. Without natural freedom, there can be no human civilisation."

— Chanyuan Corpus · Human Life · The Divine and Demonic Power of Nature

3.3 Natural freedom as LIFE's ultimate freedom

"Fully satisfy your natural drives. Know this: natural freedom is LIFE's ultimate freedom."

— Chanyuan Corpus · LIFE · Analysis of LIFE's Three Treasures: Affection, Love, and Nature

3.4 The rationale for natural freedom in the Second Home

"Q: Why is natural freedom permitted within the Second Home? A: The Second Home cannot be compared with ordinary society. Ordinary society has families and marital relationships; natural freedom there would harm spouses, children, parents, and the wider community. The Second Home has no families and no marital relationships; it is far from ordinary society. Those who join have generally fulfilled their obligations to parents, children, relatives, and society. They live an entirely new kind of life. Moreover, Second Home members are civilised, excellent human beings with pure souls who would not cause the slightest harm to one another. Therefore, the natural freedom of the Second Home cannot simply be transplanted into ordinary society."

— Xuefeng Corpus · Chanyuan · Eighty Questions and Answers about the Second Home (I)

3.5 Among humanity's sixteen unsolved problems

"The sixteen problems humanity has not solved and cannot solve across millennia: … the freedom of sexual love …"

— Xuefeng Corpus · Admonition · Sixteen Problems Humanity Cannot Solve

IV. Second Home and Life Oasis — Spontaneous Living in Practice¶

4.1 The right attitude toward love and affection

"The right measure for love and affection: transform with conditions, move with your nature, act with the moment. When affection comes, let the heart respond; when it leaves, let the heart be empty. No clinging, no obsession, no possession, no monopolising. Proceed when both are willing; do not force what cannot resonate. The measure is mutual joy and happiness."

— New Era 800 Concepts (4th edition) · No. 586

4.2 One-to-one relationships are ugly from the celestial perspective

"A one-to-one male-female relationship is an ugly phenomenon. From the human perspective it is beautiful; from the celestial perspective it is deeply ugly. A one-to-many relationship is equally ugly. Being responsive to circumstances, conditions, one's nature, and the moment is the best way."

— New Era 800 Concepts (4th edition) · No. 592

4.3 A preview of celestial love on earth

"The Second Home has no marital relationships and no fixed emotional attachments. What it has is spontaneous love — responsive, transforming, natural — men and women like flowers and butterflies: when they meet it is destined, when they part there is no resentment; no possession, no monopoly; each free, each respected. This is a preview of how celestials love in the Thousand-Year World."

— New Era 800 Concepts (4th edition) · No. 619

4.4 The defining feature of the Second Home

"One of the key distinctions that sets the Second Home apart from ordinary society is: there is no marriage, no fixed object of emotional or sexual dependence. Instead: at ease with circumstances, transforming with conditions, moving with your nature, acting with the moment."

— New Era 800 Concepts (4th edition) · No. 640

Compiled by: Lingzhou Cao (灵舟草)