The Internals and Externals of a Human Life

The following is an excerpt from a recently published book, “The Story of Two Kingdoms,” by Taoist Master Ni Hua Ching. (Available from Union of Tao and Man $14.00. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.)

A. Tao

Tao is the path through which all souls pass in the process of continuous evolution or devolution. Some souls develop themselves further during their life in the world, but some souls diminish themselves by wrong-doing in their daily life.

To attain Tao means to achieve and make progress in one’s personal spiritual evolution. To lose Tao means to miss the direction of evolution and waste the opportunity of life. Tao is totally impartial.

B. T’ai Chi

T’ai Chi itself expresses the unity of the natural order of things in a state of normal balance, which can be expressed as two divisions, four divisions, six, eight or many. T’ai Chi represents the unity of an individual life.

T’ai Chi is the unity of any creation of the human mind with a rightful purpose. Unity is the basic essence of any existence. Movement from the principle of balance as symbolized by T’ai Chi is proper.

C. God-In-Self

The holy one lives on the sacred mountain
which is not far from you.
You do not need to take a long journey
in search of this godly person.
This sacred mountain is so close
to your heart and mind.
It is the sublime altar
where you can attain your holiness
by your own spiritual cultivation.

God is the universal spiritual nature of each individual. God does not discriminate between people or things as humans do. The difference between the godly and the human in a person is only a matter of the limitation or discrimination of mind and form.

God is not limited, only humans are. God has no form, but humans do. God has no gender, but humans do. God does not discriminate, but humans do.

God extends itself to all lives in their beginning. By the principle of corresponding energies, God will either stay with a life or withdraw if the life is not in accord with natural principles. Health, vitality and truth are Godly energies. Lifelessness, illness and untruthfulness are not. By this concordance, God reaches out.

D. The Soul

A soul is made up of a group of spiritual entities or energies that reside within a person. It can be united or fragmented, balanced or unstable.

Soul, in general, is a word used to carry the sense of personality: the totality of its natural health and continual achievement, whether it lives with internal harmony or disorder and whether it enjoys or suffers from life experiences.

Life is an opportunity given by nature to a soul to go upward or downward in its evolution, as determined by its own merits.

E. Mind

The mind is the center of connection among the fourfold energies of an individual’s life being. Whether the mind gives constructive or destructive service depends on its conditioning, training or education.

A good mind is natural and contains the potentials of expressing intelligence and intuition as well as reaching the heights of inspiration, enlightenment, etc.

An overly specialized mind has been limited; its natural fullness and scope suffers from intellectual restriction in only one subject. This conditioning blocks its possibilities for expansion and upliftment.

The dominance of intellectual knowledge in the mind causes the loss of its natural creativity and elasticity. Thus, one who uses the mind in a narrow, intellectual focus would benefit from restoring his natural mind as a part of his daily cultivation.

F. The Body

The body is a small model of nature or the universe. It is an extremely active laboratory of chemical operations; it can be considered an active workshop of alchemy.

The body can serve as a womb for the creation of a spiritual life which is different from the life of the body, its physical shelter. The body provides good support and natural productive energy. Because its life carries Tao, the body must be well attended to and cared for.

G. Society

Society is a fish pond in which people live. Keep it clean and peaceful; avoid disturbing it and causing it to be trouble. At the very least, one should choose independence and remain in peace. Undeveloped people cannot do this; therefore, it is a great spiritual merit to guide others to peace.

Society is a fish pond of human lives. Its impulsive leaders wish to drain the water to catch the other fish or poison them so they can catch all of them, but finally their foolish notions and actions bring about their own self-destruction.

Human society was like a fish pond that belonged to no one; it was natural. Then, strong people came to call it their pond and make other people as their fish. They became the owners of the pond and were titled as this monarch or that monarch.

They assumed the power to eat any fish they wanted. For the most part, monarchy has been destroyed, but now in some regions collective forces continue to eat the fish.

Society is a fish pond that belongs to no one but itself. If an individual in this society retains his sense of being in a fish pond, he is limited to the evolution of a fish.

One must attain spiritual independence from one’s small society as well as from the larger human society in order to evolve, develop and grow.

One’s spiritual growth may not be the same as the rest of the world, so maintain harmony with society and courageously live your own unique way. Most of the time, one needs to conceal one’s light so as not to irritate the surrounding environment.

H. The World

Before you attain your achievement and enlightenment, the world is a refinery that you can use to refine or consummate yourself; if you do not succeed, you will be smashed by the big pressure of time and turned into ashes. There is no mercy.

Do not follow the world; it has so many people at different stages of growth and with different problems. Also do not make the world follow you; if you do, there are two problems which can occur. First, the expansion of your ego destroys your moral perfection. Second, your dominance harms the subtle organism of the world.

However, you can help the world in various ways without extending your ego. The Tao Teh Ching gives us three guidelines: 1) Help its growth without ruling over it, 2) Do your duty without putting it under your title, control or calling it your own, and 3) Do what is creative and helpful because your own nature is creative and helpful.

Do not pursue or obscure your undertakings on the relative sphere, and work only for the worldly reward or payment you receive; virtuous fulfillment is in a different category. Radiate a positive influence in the world through your upright life and in turn, choose virtuous models for your own life. Do not be affected by its slow growth.

I. Religions

Religions have accomplished some good work in terms of taming undeveloped people. However, credit for their accomplishment is offset by the establishment of a false conceptual framework which created God as the ruler of the world.

Religions usurped and distorted the natural spiritual truth that God is within, in the inner nature of the organic world, and can be reached by harmonizing the spheres of our being.

God does not and never will exercise dominance or control over any life. Those religions have their banners on the battlefield because they have fostered unnatural separation among people by promoting allegiance to their own cultural values and placing them above others.

To many individuals, religions are the opium and morphine which numb their senses to spiritual reality. Only the achievement you have attained by means of your own self-effort and internal cultivation is truthful.

Religions are man-made and can be thought of as small fish ponds that someone else lives off of. You can choose to remain there and be raised to be a good fish according to their standards, or you can choose to live in the vast ocean and get your own strength and attain your spiritual independence from nature itself.

J. Self-Cultivation

Even if you are a big fish who lives in the ocean, like a dictator in the world, you are still not safe. Dictators are nurtured in the psychology of fear. Even a king is managed by his physicians, who are managed by the limitations of their education.

Those who look for safety in the corral of religion will not find it there, either; they become like cattle driven by the precepts of religious dominance and sacrifice.

The only healthy way to manage yourself is to develop and achieve spiritual transformability and independence. This is why the ancient wise ones with all their experience and achievement gave us the path of spiritual self-cultivation; it builds a truly mature person. So achieve yourself using all their good methods, wise counsel and example.

K. The Friend of Tao

One cannot become achieved alone. To achieve oneself without extending to others has no meaning; it is an escape. It is fulfilling to have friends with the same awareness and achievement. It is meaningful to work together in friendliness.

But do not let them make you as their cattle, nor make them your cattle, although it is all right to influence or attract people by your good example. So, you can organize groups to study the books of this tradition or join someone’s study group and achieve together.