Selfishness and Selflessness · Internal Version¶

This version is for practitioners and researchers. It presents complete source quotations organized in a seven-section logical framework with full citations.

Entry Overview¶

Selfishness — putting personal gain above all else — is the cancer cell of LIFE's gene. Selflessness — transcending the limits of self-interest — is LIFE's most perfect quality. Heaven is the domain of the selfless; the lives of the extremely selfish converge into a sea of suffering. Those who are selfless belong to the life of the Kingdom of Heaven; those who have some selfishness belong to human life; those whose selfishness is heavy belong to the life of hell. In Lifechanyuan's cultivation system, overcoming self-centeredness and moving toward selflessness and no-self is the indispensable path to the Kingdom of Heaven.

I. Core Definition — Selfishness as Cancer Cell, Selflessness as Perfect Quality¶

LIFE's most perfect quality is selflessness. Selfishness is the cancer cell of LIFE's gene; the cancer cell consumes LIFE's perfection bit by bit until LIFE becomes so degraded that it falls into hell.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Life · Selfishness Is the Cancer Cell of LIFE's Gene, 2021-12-09)

Heaven is the domain of the selfless. The reason the Kingdom of Heaven is beautiful is that all who live there are selfless. The more selfish people are, the closer the domain they create comes to hell; the more selfless people are, the closer their domain comes to heaven.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Life · Selfishness Is the Cancer Cell of LIFE's Gene, 2021-12-09)

When angels and bodhisattvas gather together, they can create heaven. When the extremely selfish gather together, they can create hell.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Life · Selfishness Is the Cancer Cell of LIFE's Gene, 2021-12-09)

II. The Three-Tier Judgment — The Boundary Between Heaven, Human, and Hell¶

Those who are selfless belong to the life of the Kingdom of Heaven; those who have selfishness belong to human life; those whose selfishness is heavy belong to the life of hell.

(New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Ed. · Concept 353)

Selfishness is the root of all suffering and the first ticket to hell.

(New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Ed. · Concept 105)

Selflessness is the ticket to the Kingdom of Heaven.

(New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Ed. · Concept 110)

III. The Paradox — "Those Who Live for Others Are the Most Selfish"¶

The world has always praised those who live for others — and that is why the world is full of lies and deception. Those who claim to live for others are the self-serving ones, the hypocrites, the "criminals."

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Inverted Thinking · Those Who Live for Others Are the Most Selfish, 2010/7/3)

Only those who are responsible for themselves can be responsible for others. Only those who live for themselves can truly respect, understand, and empathize with others. Only those who have first lived their own lives well can bring others joy, freedom, and happiness.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Inverted Thinking · Those Who Live for Others Are the Most Selfish, 2010/7/3)

Here is one paradox: you can only live for others by first living for yourself. Once you achieve that, you can achieve a second paradox: you can only fulfill yourself by letting go of yourself.

(the Xuefeng Corpus · Warning · "If I Don't Look Out for Myself, Heaven and Earth Will Strike Me Down", 2008-04-18)

In Lifechanyuan, everyone must say: "Everything I do, I do for myself — for the Greatest Creator and for myself." Never say: "Everything I do, I do for everyone else." Everything we do is done of our own free will. We owe each other nothing — not in deed, not in feeling.

(the Xuefeng Corpus · Warning · "If I Don't Look Out for Myself, Heaven and Earth Will Strike Me Down", 2008-04-18)

IV. Selfishness at the Level of LIFE — From "Every Molecule Must Be Selfish" to "If a Celestial Being Is Selfish, Heaven and Earth Will Strike It Down"¶

Every molecule defends its own structure with full force — it must be selfish, or the universe would revert to the state of Wuji. Every LIFE must protect its own existence with full force, or LIFE would vanish altogether.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Inverted Thinking · Those Who Live for Others Are the Most Selfish, 2010/7/3)

Selfishness is one of the thirty-six trigram barriers. "If I don't look out for myself, Heaven and Earth will strike me down" is one such barrier formation. To be born human is to be inevitably selfish; to enter the world of samsara is to be inevitably selfish — and this traps people firmly inside the barrier of selfishness, unable to escape the six realms of reincarnation, unable to transcend the Three Realms. If you wish to escape the barrier of selfishness, you must remember: if a Celestial Being is selfish, Heaven and Earth will strike it down.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Life · Selfishness Is the Cancer Cell of LIFE's Gene, 2021-12-09)

Whether Buddha, Celestial Being, angel, bodhisattva, or any life of the Kingdom of Heaven — once selfish, they will be struck down and fall back into samsara. Whether emperor, beggar, professor, or laborer — anyone who is truly selfless will enter heaven.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Life · Selfishness Is the Cancer Cell of LIFE's Gene, 2021-12-09)

V. The Consequences and Manifestations of Self-Centeredness¶

Look down at the human world — who suffers most? Those with the heaviest selfishness suffer most. Who is hardest to deal with? Those with the heaviest selfishness are hardest to deal with. Who is most heartless? Those with the heaviest selfishness are most heartless. Who is most cunning and treacherous? Those with the heaviest selfishness are most cunning. Hell is overcrowded — all because people's selfishness is so heavy.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · The Meaning of No-Self, Selflessness, and Non-Attachment, 2024-06-21)

In any social group — two people, three, four, seven, hundreds, thousands — the ones manufacturing anxiety, suffering, worry, and fear are the selfish ones. The more selfish a person is, the more falsehood, evil, and ugliness they produce.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Life · Selfishness Is the Cancer Cell of LIFE's Gene, 2021-12-09)

Marriage and family are the breeding ground and soil of selfishness, the root cause of a person's suffering and misery, and the source that drives people to make mistakes and commit wrongs.

(New Era Human 800 Concepts, 4th Ed. · Concept 617)

As long as everyone is selfless and resources are shared, that is life in heaven. The more selfless everyone in a group is, the higher the quality of life and the more fulfilling and happy it becomes. Conversely, once everyone is selfish, life together fills with conflict and struggle, with lies and deception — the heavier the selfishness, the more life resembles hell.

(the Guide's Other Articles · 2023 · Second Home Life Proves That Selfless Sharing Is Heaven)

Notice this pattern: in any group of people, if everyone is selfless, they get along harmoniously and joyfully, one delightful day after another. If everyone is selfish, that group will be full of endless conflicts and clashes.

(the Guide's Other Articles · 2023 · More on the Principle of Least Resistance and Removing Selfishness)

Lives of the Kingdom of Heaven are selfless and ego-free. The moment any person holds anything as their own, heaven will not receive them. Thus even the tiniest drop of selfishness or self-interest is an obstacle on the path to heaven.

(the Guide's Other Articles · 2022 · The Tiniest Bit of Selfishness Blocks the Path to Heaven)

Only when every Chanyuan Celestial in the Second Home has truly given up everything will there be the foundation and possibility of possessing everything.

(the Guide's Other Articles · 2022 · The Tiniest Bit of Selfishness Blocks the Path to Heaven)

VII. The Path of Practice — No-Self, Selflessness, and Non-Attachment as a Trinity¶

What is it like to work and live with a selfless person? Does it feel like living in heaven? It does — because heaven is made up of selfless people.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · The Meaning of No-Self, Selflessness, and Non-Attachment, 2024-06-21)

With self: life is a brutal competition and battle. Without self: life is an interesting journey. With self: you tend toward the lower realms of LIFE. Without self: you move toward the higher realms. With self: everything looks like a struggle for gain. Without self: everything looks like an enjoyable game.

(the Chanyuan Corpus · Cultivation Practice · No-Self Is LIFE's Higher State, 2024-06-23)

Selfishness and ego are the great taboos on the path to the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who are selfish and ego-centered can never taste the fragrance and beauty of the Kingdom of Heaven. The most exquisite things belong only to the most exquisite lives…

(the Guide's Other Articles · 2025 · I Repent for My Own Selfishness)

Demonic Nature (Moxing) · Arrogance (Aoman) · Ego-Clinging (Wo-Zhi) · Humility · Gratitude · Repentance · Letting Go · No-Self, No-Form · Becoming a Celestial Being and a Buddha · Raise Vibrational Frequency