Tianxing — Innate Nature (Internal Edition)¶
Overview¶
In the Lifechanyuan system, tianxing (天性, innate nature) is the original and essential character that the Creator has encoded into every being and thing — pristine and luminous before birth, reflecting the qualities of the Greatest Creator and the celestial realm. Tianxing belongs to the universal dimension (the shared essence of all within a category), as distinct from the class-specific disposition (秉性, bingxing) and the individual habit (习性, xixing). Acting in accordance with tianxing is acting in accordance with the Dao. The forces that suppress tianxing — marriage and family, culture, the state, religion, and the pressure of survival — are the shackles that prevent life from fully blooming. Cultivation in Lifechanyuan aims not merely at returning to one's original tianxing, but at transforming the nonmaterial structure of one's LIFE into the structure of a Celestial Being, thereby acquiring Celestial nature.
I. The Definition and Essence of Tianxing¶
(i) Tianxing Is the Original Nature — the Tathāgatagarbha Nature¶
Tianxing is the tathāgatagarbha nature — the original character that Heaven bestows upon every life.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Heart-Mind · Following One's Innate Nature, Xuefeng)
Following one's tianxing means living according to the tathāgatagarbha nature. Why should one follow tianxing? Because only by living according to the tathāgatagarbha nature can one live out one's true face, can one truly live as oneself. Only by truly living as oneself is one's life as a human being not lived in vain, and only then does one's life accord with the intent of the Creator.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Heart-Mind · Following One's Innate Nature, Xuefeng)
(ii) Tianxing Is the Essential Character the Creator Bestows¶
Tianxing is the character the Greatest Creator has given to each kind of thing and each kind of LIFE, distinguishing it from all other things and lives. The constituent elements of every thing and LIFE are the same, but because their structures differ, they manifest different characteristics — just as a wooden bed, wooden door, wooden table, wooden stool, and wooden window are all made of wood, but because their structures differ, they manifest as bed, door, table, stool, and window. In this sense, self-nature, buddha-nature, and tathāgatagarbha nature are the wood, while tianxing is the bed, door, table, stool, and window.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Evangelism · Self-Nature, Buddha-Nature, Tathāgatagarbha Nature, and Tianxing, Xuefeng)
The intent of the Greatest Creator is not for things and lives to manifest their self-nature, buddha-nature, or tathāgatagarbha nature, but to manifest their respective tianxing — each fulfilling its own role.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Evangelism · Self-Nature, Buddha-Nature, Tathāgatagarbha Nature, and Tianxing, Xuefeng)
(iii) Tianxing Is Pre-Heaven Nature — Pristine and Luminous¶
Nature divides into pre-Heaven nature and post-Heaven nature. Pre-Heaven nature is pristine and luminous, utterly unstained; post-Heaven nature is colorful but pervaded with dust and dregs. Tianxing is pre-Heaven nature; inherent character and habitual disposition are post-Heaven nature. Tianxing reflects the qualities of the Greatest Creator and the divine; inherent character reflects the innate impulses of LIFE after cycles of reincarnation; habitual disposition reflects the inertia of human survival after entrenched patterns of thought.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Acting in Accordance with Nature, Xuefeng)
II. Tianxing and Its Distinction from Bingxing and Xixing¶
(i) The Three Levels of Nature¶
Nature divides into three kinds: tianxing (innate nature), bingxing (inherent character), and xixing (habitual disposition). Tianxing is given by the Creator — it is the essential attribute of a thing, belonging to the universal dimension. Bingxing is the character assigned to distinguish one category of things from another, belonging to the class dimension. Xixing is the habit a single thing develops over time due to environment and survival needs, belonging to the individual dimension. Take water: all water under heaven shares the same tianxing — this is the universal dimension. Seawater, river water, spring water, and rainwater each have different bingxing — this is the class dimension. Salt water, tea, medicine, and tears each develop their own xixing — this is the individual dimension.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Thirty-Six Hexagram Mazes · The Nature Maze: Maze Thirteen, Xuefeng)
Tianxing is the attribute shared by all within a category; bingxing is the character possessed by a particular class of things; xixing is the individuality of a single thing. Take flowers: all flowers share the common nature of flowers — this is tianxing. But flowers divide into the chrysanthemum family, lily family, orchid family, cactus family, arum family, and so on — this is bingxing. The chrysanthemum family's many varieties each have their own individuality — this is xixing.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Thirty-Six Hexagram Mazes · The Nature Maze: Maze Thirteen, Xuefeng)
Every person, regardless of who they are, shares the common nature of humanity — this is tianxing. But the Yellow, White, and Black races each have their own distinct character — this is bingxing. And each individual person has their own distinctive individuality — this is xixing.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Thirty-Six Hexagram Mazes · The Nature Maze: Maze Thirteen, Xuefeng)
(ii) The State and Moral Dimension of the Three Natures¶
Tianxing is the state of luminous emptiness and formlessness — it is Dao-nature. Bingxing is the state of differentiation in Taiji — it is De-nature (virtue-nature). Xixing is the state of habits formed in conformity with the living environment — it is rational-nature. In truth, the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness are the workings of xixing.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Thirty-Six Hexagram Mazes · The Nature Maze: Maze Thirteen, Xuefeng)
(iii) Not All Lives Possess All Three Natures¶
Not all lives have tianxing, bingxing, and xixing. Only lives at the intermediate levels of the spectrum of LIFE have all three natures. Lives at the two poles have only tianxing; lives between the poles and the middle levels have only tianxing and bingxing.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Questions & Answers · Does Every Level of LIFE Have Its Own Tianxing, Bingxing, and Xixing?, Xuefeng)
III. The Expressions of Tianxing¶
To love beauty is tianxing; to seek freedom and happiness is tianxing; to pursue eternal life is tianxing. Rats burrowing in the ground, birds building nests in trees, wolves eating meat, sheep eating grass, someone who loves music, someone who loves lying and stealing — these are all bingxing, also called innate nature. People smoking, drinking, staying out all night — these are xixing.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Acting in Accordance with Nature, Xuefeng)
Different things have different natures — mountains have the nature of mountains, water the nature of water, flowers the nature of flowers, medicine the nature of medicine, beasts the nature of beasts, humans the nature of humans, buddhas the nature of buddhas, gods the nature of gods. All things possess nature and live within nature, all things depend on nature for their existence — and thus the great diversity of the universe is constituted in orderly, layered, magnificent display. This is the nature maze.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Thirty-Six Hexagram Mazes · The Nature Maze: Maze Thirteen, Xuefeng)
To love the opposite sex is the tianxing of humans — this is the intent of the Creator. Making full use of our sexual organs accords with the intent of the Creator.
(Source: Guide's Other Articles · 2022 · The Way of Nature Is the Core Value of Lifechanyuan, Xuefeng)
The tianxing of humans contains the element of protecting children and caring for the elderly. To let children and the elderly eat is human tianxing. To disregard children and the elderly and grab for oneself — that is not human tianxing, but animal nature and demonic nature.
(Source: Guide's Other Articles · 2023 · How to Know Whether You Are Living Within Your Nature, Xuefeng)
IV. Cultivation Practice: Following One's Tianxing¶
(i) How to Follow Tianxing¶
Following tianxing means casting off everything that shackles and constrains the expression of one's tianxing. What cannot be cast off in reality should first be cast off in consciousness, then gradually, piece by piece. This is what Laozi's Tao Te Ching means by "For learning, add day by day; for the Dao, subtract day by day. Subtract and subtract again, until you arrive at non-action. Through non-action, nothing is left undone." Next: do what you love, do what you are good at. Do not run about for money, power, or fame; do not run about for family or to honor ancestors; do not run about for the state or for any organization. Give yourself entirely to what you love and what you excel at.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Heart-Mind · Following One's Innate Nature, Xuefeng)
(ii) Acting in Accordance with Nature Is Acting in Accordance with the Dao¶
Acting in accordance with nature means doing what the heart-mind drives you to do — there is a sense of "following the feeling." The universe is holographic; all natures operate within the range of the Dao, under its governance. To act in accordance with nature is to act in accordance with the Dao.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Acting in Accordance with Nature, Xuefeng)
Acting in accordance with nature means not forcing yourself. You know what your tianxing loves. If you love playing in the mud, go play in the mud; if you love dancing, dance well; if you love noodles, eat noodles; if you love reading, read — whatever your tianxing loves, go and do it. In this way you act in accordance with nature, in accordance with the governance and movement of the Dao; in this way nothing you do is wrong, and no path you walk is the wrong path.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom · Acting in Accordance with Nature, Xuefeng)
(iii) Following Nature Is the Path to the Dao¶
"Following one's nature is the path to the Dao." Tianxing is Heaven-given: if you are a cat, just go and catch mice; if you are a mouse, just dig holes and steal grain; if you are a night-blooming jasmine, just bloom and spread your fragrance; if you are cattle or sheep, just eat grass — this is the arrangement of the Heavenly Dao, and acting this way accords with it. In application: when people ask me whether to choose A or B, whether to go east or west, my answer is always "listen to the loudest voice within your heart, follow the strongest driving force within you." Why? Because the loudest inner voice and the strongest driving force are the Dao — are your tianxing. To act this way is to merge with the Dao.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Evangelism · The Secrets of the Way of Nature Analyzed, Xuefeng)
(iv) Escaping the Nature Maze — Restoring Tianxing¶
What it means to escape the nature maze is to overcome xixing, abandon bingxing, and restore tianxing. Or: if a person transcends the rationality of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness; discards De-nature; and returns to Dao-nature — that person has escaped the nature maze.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Thirty-Six Hexagram Mazes · The Nature Maze: Maze Thirteen, Xuefeng)
V. The Obstacles to Tianxing¶
Not many people truly live as themselves. The things each person truly longs for in their heart go unattained, because our words and actions are constrained, because our inner desires are suppressed by reality. In this sense, people are slaves to the factors associated with them — not the masters of their own lives. What factors constrain the expression of tianxing? Many. Every factor associated with oneself constrains to some degree: parents, children, spouses, siblings, culture, social trends, the groups one belongs to (companies, political parties, religious groups, etc.), government, the state, and so on.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Heart-Mind · Following One's Innate Nature, Xuefeng)
Every married person understands: from the moment you have a husband or wife, your free tianxing is constrained. You can no longer do as you wish according to your free will.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Heart-Mind · Following One's Innate Nature, Xuefeng)
Every person grows up within the culture of their own people. Culture has long since seeped imperceptibly into the cells of our blood, into our consciousness. We have unknowingly become slaves to our own culture. Culture has invisibly controlled our vision and our thinking, constrained our words and actions.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Heart-Mind · Following One's Innate Nature, Xuefeng)
The state is another important factor constraining human tianxing. With the existence of the state, we are given the role of citizens. As citizens, we must endure the demands and restrictions the state places on citizens: there are things the state does not allow us to do, so we cannot do them; words the state does not allow us to say, so we cannot say them.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Heart-Mind · Following One's Innate Nature, Xuefeng)
Beyond these three factors, those who scramble for survival also find it difficult to follow their tianxing. All those working for wages, working for private employers, striving for the sake of their children's future — all of these people are those who have no choice but to act as they do for survival. Almost none of them are free people. A person who is not free cannot follow their tianxing.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Heart-Mind · Following One's Innate Nature, Xuefeng)
VI. Tianxing and Celestial Nature — The Destination of Cultivation¶
(i) Celestials and Buddhas Are Lives That Follow Their Tianxing¶
LIFE has levels … Celestials and buddhas are lives one level above humans, because celestials and buddhas are lives not controlled by family, state, culture, political parties, religion, or any other factor — they follow their tianxing freely. The reason to follow tianxing is to elevate the quality of our lives, to live as celestials and buddhas live.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Heart-Mind · Following One's Innate Nature, Xuefeng)
(ii) Lifechanyuan's Goal: Not Just Returning to Tianxing, but Cultivating Celestial Nature¶
All schools of cultivation ultimately move toward the Tathāgata, toward returning to the original, toward returning to tianxing. This is correct: wolves must eat sheep, and sheep must eat grass — if wolves no longer eat sheep, if sheep no longer eat grass, that is acting against tianxing, against the Heavenly Dao. Many schools require inward cultivation — in fact, this means seeking one's own tianxing, one's own tathāgatagarbha nature. But Lifechanyuan is different. We do not cultivate back to tianxing, back to the Tathāgata — because when we return to tianxing, we may discover that our original nature is that of a wolf, or a sheep. Therefore, regardless of what the original tianxing was, what we now cultivate toward is the nature of a Heavenly Celestial. How does one cultivate Celestial nature? By transforming the nonmaterial structure of the human LIFE into the nonmaterial structure of a Celestial Being's LIFE. When the structure is achieved, the nature of a Celestial Being is likewise achieved.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Questions & Answers · Does Every Level of LIFE Have Its Own Tianxing, Bingxing, and Xixing?, Xuefeng)
(iii) Two Paths for Chanyuan Celestials¶
Not all lives have tianxing, bingxing, and xixing … Most Chanyuan Celestials were originally from the celestial realms — restoring their tianxing is sufficient. A small portion, however, reached the human level only after thousands of lifetimes of cultivation — these cannot restore their original tianxing; they must cultivate toward Celestial nature.
(Source: Xuefeng's Collected Works · Questions & Answers · Does Every Level of LIFE Have Its Own Tianxing, Bingxing, and Xixing?, Xuefeng)
VII. The New Era and the Cosmic Dimension¶
The Way of the Greatest Creator has eight essential principles: First, the universe is the product of the consciousness of the Greatest Creator. Second, all things are born of creation. Third, everything moves within the consciousness — the Dao — of the Greatest Creator. Fourth, give full expression to tianxing, and follow Nature. Fifth, revere the Greatest Creator and emulate the Greatest Creator. Sixth, reality is the reflection of each life's own free consciousness. Seventh, joy, happiness, freedom, and bliss are the main theme of LIFE. Eighth, everything is a game.
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition · Concept 515)
Sexual love can both achieve us and destroy us. Broad sexual love is the quality of lives in the Kingdom of Heaven; narrow sexual love is the character of lives in the human world; fighting over and possessing sexual resources — that is the tianxing of animals.
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition · Concept 594)
Related Entries¶
Innate Nature · Inherent Character · Habitual Disposition · Natural Talent (Tianfu) · Tianming (Heavenly Mandate) · Self-Nature (Buddha-Nature) · Dao · Spirituality · The Four Adaptations · Awakening · Celestial Beings, Heavenly Celestials, and Buddhas