Wang Wei-i: Clarifying the Way
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Photo: The Great Wall of China by Herbert G. Ponting, 1907.
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There are no words for the subtle primal principle - whatever you may say is all conditioned. Students produce a welter of differing views and do not find out the state before death.
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The enlightening process is uncontrived, in accord with nature - there is no immortality outside naturalness. Always keep one thought, remaining on the middle way, not asking about the primordial or the temporal.
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It is better to comprehend essence before life, for when essence is clear there are no demons in comprehending life. If you want to know where essence and life rest secure - before ideation sprouts you're one with the universal harmony.
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Although the science of life can be transmitted, the science of essence cannot be handed on. The ignorant who practice blindly are truly pitiful. If you don't get personal instruction from an adept, all your psychological manipulations will instead bring error.
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The essential subtlety of our path is in sincerity alone - without sincerity you have nothing, and the Tao cannot be approached. When utterly silent and unstirring, there is no sensation - in the midst of trance you see original reality.
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When human desires have not sprouted, the celestial design is there. As soon as thoughts stir, ghosts and spirits know. Don't ignore even subtle hidden thoughts - be strict and extra cautious. Practice this in everyday life - it won't work if you stray.
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Good and evil both arise in the moment of a thought. Let a single thought slip, and you're obstructed by a thousand barriers. If you know there is no good and no evil, you are calm and serene, standing aloof like a great mountain.
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The Tao is always to be practiced in the midst of daily life. Stop talking about lofty wonders and the empty void. Just carry out the human Tao, and there will be no shame in your heart. When you fulfil your nature, you'll know heaven and earth are the same.
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The myriad affairs of the human world all come from the mind. The mind is basically formless - where will you look for it? Understand before a single thought is born, and then you finally see the real mind.
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The moment thoughts go awry they become afflictions. When the mind is empty, objects are empty of themselves. Empty yet not empty, one is perfectly aware, gazingly clearly, unobstructed, through the great void.
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All things are empty, but essence isn't void. Set to work inside empty voidness - when you reach the point where nothing can be established, gold light fills the room and you see the mystical pearl.
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Before you know true emptiness, do not speak of emptiness. If you cling to emptiness, you will easily lose the inner self. Do you want to know the true state within emptiness? It is all before the differentiation of primordial unity.
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To learn the Tao you must know birth and death. If you don't know birth and death, it is vain to seek immortality. When you know where you are born, then you know death. Free to leave or stay, you leave it up to nature.
Originally there is no death and no birth - the moment a thought goes astray, you see myriad forms, if you know where thoughts spring arise and vanish, the solitary orb of the bright moon illumines the central courtyard.
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Spiritual practice requires that you know the true self. All those who do not know the true self fall into the void. If you can awaken to real eternity, then you attain the Tao - transcending the world, you manifest supernatural powers.
(Wang Wei-i, Clarifying the Way)
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Quote Source and Recommended Reading:
'The Taoist Classics: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary, Vol. 3'
By Thomas Cleary (Author)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
This collection of translated texts includes:
Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook: An extraordinarily rich and diverse collection of Taoist writings from the fifth century BCE to modern times.
The Secret of the Golden Flower: The Classic Chinese Book of Life: Essentially a practical guide to the integration of personality—hailed by C. G. Jung as a link between the insights of the East and his own psychological research.
Immortal Sisters: Secrets of Taoist Women: The writings of six distinguished Taoist women adepts writing between the fourth and twelfth centuries.
Awakening to the Tao: Another treasure from Liu I-ming, this is a collection of one hundred forty-two of the master's brief but admirably lucid essays on living according to the Tao.
'The Taoist Classics: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary, Vol. 3'
By Thomas Cleary (Author)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
This collection of translated texts includes:
Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook: An extraordinarily rich and diverse collection of Taoist writings from the fifth century BCE to modern times.
The Secret of the Golden Flower: The Classic Chinese Book of Life: Essentially a practical guide to the integration of personality—hailed by C. G. Jung as a link between the insights of the East and his own psychological research.
Immortal Sisters: Secrets of Taoist Women: The writings of six distinguished Taoist women adepts writing between the fourth and twelfth centuries.
Awakening to the Tao: Another treasure from Liu I-ming, this is a collection of one hundred forty-two of the master's brief but admirably lucid essays on living according to the Tao.
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