Yuan — Internal Version¶
This version compiles the original texts of Guide Xuefeng without alteration, organized by section with source annotations. Intended for Chanyuan Celestials and in-depth researchers.
Overview¶
Yuan, within the Lifechanyuan system, is the invisible gravitational force and debt relationship formed between life and life, between life and all things. Every encounter, every joy and sorrow, every union and separation is driven by yuan. Yuan is an antimatter existence — formless and imageless, yet traceable in its effects. Yuan is both the author of one's life trajectory and the fundamental cause of the cycle of reincarnation. Resolving worldly bonds (chen yuan) and forming celestial bonds (xian yuan) is one of the core courses in the cultivation path from human to immortal.
I. Definitions of Yuan¶
Broad Definition:
"Yuan is the cause behind the arising, abiding, decaying, and ceasing of all things and phenomena. It is the reason behind every event, the bridge and bond that creates the joys and sorrows of life, the cause that sets the direction of any matter, the connection formed over beginningless kalpas through thoughts, words, and deeds with the innumerable things of the great universe — a connection that is destined to manifest in the future. It is a form of debt: the services or grace received from others that have not been repaid in time. It is a fixed pattern of reciprocal retribution."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Preaching Section · The Mystery and True Nature of Yuan)
Physical Definition:
"Yuan is the potential energy accumulated by the mutual gravitational attraction between lives. This potential energy flows through time and space across hundreds of thousands of kalpas, until at some point in time and space, the two lives meet, the potential energy converts to kinetic energy, the energy is released, the gravitational attraction disappears, and the yuan is resolved."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Preaching Section · Xuefeng Explains Yuan)
Concise Definition (Q&A):
"Yuan is the convergence point at which two lives settle the grievances of a previous life, and also the intersection that creates the opportunity for their next meeting."
(Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Q&A Section · Responding to Questions (16))
Everyday Explanation:
"Yuan is a form of debt — services or grace received from others that have not been repaid in time. Yuan determines the direction of one's life and existence."
(Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Warning Section · This Too Is Yuan)
All things are yuan.
II. Types of Yuan¶
Xuefeng precisely defined the various forms of yuan in Xuefeng Explains Yuan:
- Good yuan (良缘): The information left in the negative universe by lives that have built mutual respect, love, and blessings and long to meet again. This information never disappears until the wish is fulfilled and the yuan resolved.
- Virtuous yuan (善缘): The gravitational pull generated when one life gives another sincere blessings and grace — a pull that will bring a corresponding return in the future.
- Evil yuan (恶缘): The hatred and debts formed between lives. These never disappear until the hatred dissolves and the debts are balanced.
- Forming yuan (结缘): The informational bond that ties two lives together for a future inevitable meeting, formed through receiving grace or suffering injury. Once formed, it must be resolved; otherwise there is no escaping its pull.
- Resolving yuan (了缘): Repaying debts owed — this is what it means to resolve yuan.
- Worldly yuan (尘缘): The information left behind or debts incurred in the human world.
- Celestial yuan (仙缘): The bonds formed with immortals.
- Following yuan (随缘): Joyfully accepting and playing the role assigned by the cosmic script — this is what it means to follow yuan.
- Conjugal yuan (姻缘): The love, hatred, passion, and enmity between men and women.
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Preaching Section · Xuefeng Explains Yuan)
III. The Eight Principles of Yuan¶
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Preaching Section · The Mystery and True Nature of Yuan)
First: Yuan arises and does not perish; only when yuan is resolved does it perish. Once yuan is formed, it must reach a conclusion. The conclusion is the settling of accounts; only after the account is settled does the former yuan cease.
Second: The depth of yuan is determined by the degree of love or hatred. The stronger the love or hatred, the deeper the yuan; the weaker the love or hatred, the shallower the yuan.
Third: The length of yuan is determined by the debt. Yuan is essentially a debt relationship. As long as the debt exists, the yuan persists; once the debt is settled, the yuan shortens and ceases.
Fourth: Yuan is created by people, and dissolved by the Tao. Whether virtuous or evil, all yuan is self-created. Once created, the Tao's reward-and-punishment program ensures it will arrive at some future moment. "Good is repaid with good, evil with evil; it is not that there is no repayment — the time has simply not yet come; when the time arrives, repayment is certain."
Fifth: Formless and imageless, yet traceable in shadow and footprint. Yuan is an antimatter existence that cannot be seen or touched — like a time bomb. But through the Buddha's eye, its source can be traced.
Sixth: The arising and ceasing of yuan rests in a single thought. Once yuan arises, the account must be settled. To dissolve yuan midway, one must accumulate merit — through repentance, prayer, giving, and selfless service — to neutralize evil yuan.
Seventh: When yuan arrives, events occur; when yuan is exhausted, events cease. "All coincidences and all sudden events arise because yuan has arrived. When yuan arrives, the meeting occurs; when yuan is resolved — that is, when all equivalent debts have been fully collected — the event naturally subsides, yuan is exhausted, and the parties separate."
Eighth: Forming and resolving yuan depends entirely on wisdom. A person's life is a continuous process of forming and resolving yuan. "Yuan is also like an invisible, densely woven net, and people walk through this dense net. 'Heaven's net is vast; though its meshes are wide, nothing slips through.' This 'heavenly net' is the yuan governed by the Tao. If one does not awaken, one cannot escape this net."
IV. Yuan and the Cycle of Reincarnation¶
Yuan is the fundamental bond of the cycle of reincarnation.
"Yuan is an invisible net woven between lives. 'Heaven's net is vast; though its meshes are wide, nothing slips through.' Once there is yuan, it must be resolved. Unresolved yuan cannot escape the net. Worldly yuan must be resolved in the world; heavenly yuan must be resolved in heaven; hellish yuan must be resolved in hell."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Preaching Section · Xuefeng Explains Yuan)
"Yuan is a gravitational force. Unresolved yuan, no matter how much time has passed or how far apart in space, forever exerts its pull. There is no escaping it."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Preaching Section · Xuefeng Explains Yuan)
"If you wish to go to the Thousand-Year World, you must quickly resolve all your yuan in the human world — whether virtuous, evil, good, or conjugal. Whatever the yuan, it is best resolved quickly. Otherwise you cannot leave the human world; you will inevitably reincarnate to resolve it."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Preaching Section · Xuefeng Explains Yuan)
From the Law of Universal Gravitation for Life:
"In the universe, lives that share yuan have mutual gravitational attraction. The strength of this attraction is directly proportional to how much they owe each other, and inversely proportional to how much grace they have shown each other."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 362)
"If there are unfulfilled wishes, a person will reincarnate to the human world again."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 363)
"While worldly yuan remains, one must reincarnate; while debts remain unpaid, one must return."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 797)
V. Yuan in Cultivation — Resolving Worldly Yuan, Forming Celestial Yuan¶
Resolving worldly yuan and forming celestial yuan is one of the core courses on the path from human to immortal.
"Three things that must be done on the path from human to immortal and buddha: repay debts and resolve worldly yuan; give and contribute, accumulate merit and virtue; perfect and beautify the antimatter structure of one's own life."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 465)
"To become an immortal, one must form celestial yuan and resolve worldly yuan. Without resolving worldly yuan, it is difficult to become an immortal."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 463)
"The gateway to moving toward a more beautiful space is: repay debts, resolve yuan, accumulate merit, perfect and beautify the structure of life."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 346)
Awakening to yuan is the Fifth of the Eight Great Awakenings on the path from human to immortal:
"All things are yuan. Form yuan with ghosts, go to the underworld; form yuan with immortals, reach the immortal realm. Without clearing debts, one cannot escape difficulty; without sufficient merit, one cannot reach the immortal realm."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Wisdom Section · The Eight Great Awakenings from Human to Immortal; New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 474, Item 5)
VI. The Eight Gates to Resolving Worldly Yuan and Forming Celestial Yuan¶
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Preaching Section · The Mystery and True Nature of Yuan; Xuefeng Corpus · Soul Section · Resolve Worldly Yuan, Form Celestial Yuan)
First: Prayer, repentance, and formless giving — can resolve all evil yuan, repay debts accumulated over many lives, and build treasure in heaven.
"One resolves one's own worldly yuan oneself. The best method for resolving worldly yuan is formless giving."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 673)
Second: Follow yuan and transform, endure with patience — joyfully accept whatever comes to resolve yuan; do not generate resentment or anger.
Third: Refrain from all evil, practice all good — let all thoughts, words, and deeds be good only; bring as much joy and happiness as possible to those around you.
Fourth: Only give, never take —
"Better to let others owe me than to owe others — this is the path to freedom."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 172)
Fifth: Distance yourself from worldly affairs; do not form new mundane yuan — especially in matters of romantic and sexual love, which must be completely mutual; such bonds are the hardest to resolve.
Sixth: Seek immortals, worship Buddha, form virtuous yuan broadly —
"The connections formed among Chanyuan Celestials are, in fact, the forming of celestial yuan. If ten Chanyuan Celestials you have befriended attain the Tao and become immortals, then by virtue of this yuan, you too have the hope of reaching the immortal realm."
(Source: Xuefeng Corpus · Soul Section · Resolve Worldly Yuan, Form Celestial Yuan)
Seventh: Forgive all wrongs; sever the gravitational pull — forgive every life that has harmed you since beginningless time; stop pursuing debts; completely sever the yuan with them.
Eighth: Revere the Greatest Creator; walk the Way of the Greatest Creator —
"This is the core of cores for resolving worldly yuan and forming celestial yuan, and also the most sublime gateway to achieving unity of heaven and humanity, uniting with the Tao, and moving toward the realm of supreme bliss."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Preaching Section · The Mystery and True Nature of Yuan)
VII. Following Yuan: The Immortal's Practical Attitude¶
The work of resolving worldly yuan does not mean passive avoidance. It means actively resolving yuan while maintaining joyful acceptance:
"At ease wherever one goes, transforming with yuan, moving with one's nature, acting as occasion requires."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 157)
"The mind has no fixed abode; the mind has no hindrance. Follow yuan with ease; move freely as one wills."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 464)
"When yuan arrives, meet; when yuan is exhausted, part. Do not torment yourself over yuan's arrival or departure."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 265)
"The most sublime approach is to transform with yuan."
(Source: New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Edition, Concept 591)
VIII. The Ultimate Destination — Virtuous Yuan Bears Virtuous Fruit¶
"All things, events, and phenomena in the world arise, develop, and change through the combination of causes and conditions. When causes and conditions gather, things arise; when causes and conditions disperse, things cease. Virtuous yuan bears virtuous fruit; evil yuan bears evil fruit. Mundane yuan ties one to the human world; Buddha yuan sends one to supreme bliss. This principle must not go uninvestigated or ununderstood. To understand the mystery and true nature of yuan is to be an immortal or buddha; to remain ignorant of it is to be one of the common multitude."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Preaching Section · The Mystery and True Nature of Yuan · Conclusion)
The path of cultivation to become an immortal or buddha:
"Repay debts and resolve worldly yuan, accumulate merit and virtue, perfect and beautify the antimatter structure of life."
(Source: Chanyuan Corpus · Immortal Cultivation Section · 45 Immortals and Buddhas Born in Lifechanyuan)
Related Entries¶
Karma · Retribution · Reincarnation · Formless Giving · Awakening · Soul · Life · The Tao · Life Characteristics