Tianfu — Natural Talent (Internal Edition)¶
Overview¶
In the Lifechanyuan system, "tianfu" (天赋, natural talent / innate endowment) encompasses two interrelated dimensions: first, the innate talents and qualities Heaven has encoded into each life — genius is not cultivated after birth but inherited from the accumulated consciousness of past lives; second, the natural rights Heaven bestows upon every person — the right to think, to be free, and the other rights the Greatest Creator has given as inalienable gifts. The holographic principle implies that everyone is a genius, but mediocrity and clutter are the chief destroyers of genius. The path of genius requires four elements: suitable soil, environment, freedom, and the right timing. Those who attain the celestial realms must be geniuses, for no one without exceptional spirituality and perseverance can reach the heights of cultivation.
I. The Nature of Tianfu: Genius Is Innate¶
(i) Genius Comes from Past-Life Consciousness¶
The human genetic code carries the consciousness information of past lives and lives before that. The quality of one's "spiritual root" (慧根) is determined by this inherited consciousness information — this is the source of what we call genius. In general, those who have not lived in the Kingdom of Heaven in past lives find it very difficult to cultivate into celestial beings or buddhas. This is why cultivation to celestial or buddha level is so difficult — just as someone who was not born with a fine voice will find it very hard to become a singer.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Evangelism · The Brain, Consciousness, and the Vast World, Xuefeng)
Genius is not cultivated — it is innate. What "innate" means is that in past lives and the lives before that, one had already developed a certain quality.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Evangelism · The Brain, Consciousness, and the Vast World, Xuefeng)
(ii) The Holographic Principle: Everyone Is a Genius¶
Holographic theory tells us that every point contains the information of the entire universe, and every existing molecule contains all the information of the universe's past. This means that every person carries within them the information of gods, buddhas, celestials, sages, demons, ghosts, and monsters — from which we can conclude that every person is a genius.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Essays · Mediocrity and Clutter Are the Chief Destroyers of Genius, Xuefeng)
The universe is holographic. Every person is, by nature, endowed with the qualities of divinity, buddha-nature, celestial nature, human nature, animal nature, and material nature. Due to differences in the era, family environment, level of education, and personal effort, some people achieve a magnificent life of the highest quality, while others turn their life into something second-rate or discarded.
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition · Concept 53)
II. Tianfu as Unmanageable Innate Endowment¶
(i) Innate Endowment Is One of the Eighteen Unmanageable Factors¶
Whether male or female, tall or short, fat or thin, handsome or plain, whether gentle or fierce in temperament, whether Black, Yellow, or White — all of this is determined in the genes before birth. It is inevitable. Each person has no choice but to accept it; one cannot blame Heaven and Earth or reproach one's parents.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · The 18 Unmanageable Factors of Life, Xuefeng)
Some people are born prodigies; some are born with dull aptitude; some are born with deficiencies. At birth everything may appear normal, but as physiological changes unfold — just like smallpox appearing in its season — these qualities emerge in due time. The individual cannot control them, and cannot make them arrive earlier or later.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · The 18 Unmanageable Factors of Life, Xuefeng)
(ii) Innate Material Cannot Be Forced into Another Shape¶
If someone is tone-deaf yet tries to study music or become a singer, they have committed a strategic error in life.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Strategic Life, Xuefeng)
I have a distant uncle who, as a young man, apprenticed himself to a carpenter. After three years of learning, he could not make a single chair without a master guiding him. This means my distant uncle committed a strategic error in life — he was not born to be a carpenter.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Strategic Life, Xuefeng)
Everything in nature is as it was born to be. If you are a blade of grass, be a joyful blade of grass — do not expect to become a peony.
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition · Concept 209)
III. The Eden Garden Theory: Genius Needs Its Own Soil¶
(i) Everyone Has Their Own Eden Garden¶
Every person has their own Eden Garden. Only within their own Eden Garden can a person live out their full splendor. To leave one's Eden Garden is to encounter obstacles everywhere, to face hardship at every turn — and even to be regarded by those around them as a "waste" or "useless person."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Finding Your Own Eden Garden, Xuefeng)
The genius painter Van Gogh spent his life in philistine society — ridiculed by others, recognized by no one — and died in poverty and illness. The great counselor of the Zhou dynasty, Jiang Ziya, tried his hand at business and lost money rather than earning it. Chen Jingrun, who captured the prize of Goldbach's Conjecture, went to a market to buy vegetables and was mocked as "a bit of a simpleton."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Finding Your Own Eden Garden, Xuefeng)
(ii) The Kind Does Not Lead Troops: Natural Talent Defines the Boundaries of Vocation¶
The kind-hearted must not lead soldiers; the chivalrous must not accumulate wealth; the truth-seekers must not enter politics; those who love must not start families; the beautiful-souled must not mix with the philistine crowd; the naive must not try to write essays; the sincere must not engage in confrontation.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Finding Your Own Eden Garden, Xuefeng)
(iii) Everyone Has Unlimited Potential — the Question Is Finding the Right Track¶
Every person has unlimited potential. The main reason that potential is never developed is not innate stupidity or insufficient intelligence, but rather that one never, from beginning to end, found the best running track for one's life.
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition · Concept 62)
IV. The Path of Genius: Four Elements¶
(i) Soil, Environment, Freedom, and Timing — None Can Be Absent¶
The facts tell us: geniuses exist everywhere, but if a genius lacks the right soil and environment in which to grow, every genius becomes a "waste." Therefore, finding the soil and environment suited to one's own growth is the primary choice on the path of genius.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Heavenly Revelation · The Path of Genius, Xuefeng)
Soil, environment, freedom, and timing are the path of genius — none of the four elements can be missing. Nine out of ten geniuses are buried in obscurity. Without the right soil and environment, a genius will wither; without a free living environment, a genius cannot give expression to their aspirations; when the timing of birth and growth is unfavorable, genius is suppressed and crushed.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Heavenly Revelation · The Path of Genius, Xuefeng)
(ii) Marriage and Family Have Destroyed Half the World's Geniuses¶
I am convinced that marriage and family have destroyed half the world's geniuses. Therefore, the second condition of the path of genius is not to be locked down by daily trivialities and other people.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Heavenly Revelation · The Path of Genius, Xuefeng)
V. The Four Chief Destroyers of Genius¶
Mediocrity and clutter are the chief destroyers of genius.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Essays · Mediocrity and Clutter Are the Chief Destroyers of Genius, Xuefeng)
In summary, the core factors are the following four. First, miscellaneous tasks. A genius must be single-minded. Any person, as long as they spend their entire life engaged in one line of work they love, will become a genius. The more miscellaneous tasks that fill a life, the more ordinary the outcome. Second, social obligations. The more time a person spends on social relationships and obligations, the faster they move toward mediocrity. Third, broad interests. The broader one's interests, the more one tends toward mediocrity. "Fear not the one who knows a thousand moves — fear the one who has perfected one move." Only one perfected move makes a genius. Fourth, lack of freedom. Only the free person can become a genius. Those without freedom find it very difficult to develop genius.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Essays · Mediocrity and Clutter Are the Chief Destroyers of Genius, Xuefeng)
To become a genius, one must possess four basic elements: single-mindedness, freedom from social obligations, narrow interests, and freedom.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Essays · Mediocrity and Clutter Are the Chief Destroyers of Genius, Xuefeng)
VI. Natural Rights: The Eight Heaven-Given Rights¶
(i) The Right to Think Is a Heaven-Given Right¶
Humans have consciousness and the capacity to think. Thought-activity produces ideas — that is thinking, and this is a heaven-given right. If people are not allowed to think, not allowed to have thoughts, then living is no better than being a pig, dog, chicken, or duck.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Human Life · The Eight Rights the Greatest Creator Grants to Humans, Xuefeng)
(ii) The Eight Heaven-Given Rights¶
The Greatest Creator has granted humans eight rights. If you do not possess them, it proves that someone has stripped you of your human rights. The eight rights of being human are: the right to live, the right to create, the right to migrate, the right to speak, the right over one's own body, the right to think, the right to learn, and the right to refuse.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Human Life · The Eight Rights the Greatest Creator Grants to Humans, Xuefeng)
VII. Natural Talent and Cultivation to Celestial Realms¶
(i) Those Who Become Celestials and Buddhas Must Be Geniuses¶
Those who can become celestial beings and buddhas must be geniuses — where else would they find such high spirituality and steadfast perseverance? Since it takes genius to become a celestial or buddha, the path of becoming a celestial or buddha must likewise follow the path of genius: the right soil and environment, free expression of individuality and talent, and timing that is just right.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Heavenly Revelation · The Path of Genius, Xuefeng)
(ii) The Second Home Is the Soil That Fulfills Genius¶
To solve this predicament, the traditional modes of production and living are helpless. Only the Second Home's mode of production and living — as designed by Lifechanyuan — can do it. It can be said with certainty: if the Second Home were to exist smoothly for fifty years, ninety percent of those living in the Second Home would become geniuses.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Essays · Mediocrity and Clutter Are the Chief Destroyers of Genius, Xuefeng)
(iii) Intelligence and Talent Must Be Released in Time¶
If a person's intelligence and talent are not released and expressed in time, they will — like plants and animals in nature — gradually age, decay, and pass away. Burn, O youth! The value of life lies not in what it absorbs, but in what it releases.
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition · Concept 61)