Chapter 37: It’s All The Same Thing
Actually, believing in yourself and deceiving yourself are not contradictory.
And they can even achieve each other.
You clearly know that the commands you give to your own heart are sometimes false, yet you can absolutely believe that you have deceived yourself.
Then you are not a mortal; you are your own god.
Possessing the ability to arbitrarily change cognition and habits.
Thus, you possess the ability to arbitrarily change karma.
For example, when you first started smoking, it was just for fun. As you continued to play, you became addicted, and you knew this.
The initial act of playing was the cause, and the subsequent addiction was the effect.
But if you forget about this matter, doesn’t that mean it’s as if it never happened?
If it never happened, then the previous cause is also gone, and the effect is also gone.
And the current cause is forgetting about this matter, and the effect is not smoking anymore.
Does it sound both difficult and simple?
What cannot be done is difficult, and what can be done is simple.
The reason it feels difficult is that you negate yourself in your heart and suggest to yourself that you cannot do it.
The reason it is simple is that you only need to suggest to yourself in your heart that you can do it, that it is not difficult, and persevere for a period of time, and then you will truly be able to do it.
Isn’t there a saying that the beginning is the hardest part of anything?
To be honest, if you don’t even have the courage to start, then there’s no point in discussing whether it’s difficult or not.
For example, I have a younger brother who always envies others for having such good relationships, and he’s already in his twenties and hasn’t had a single relationship.
When others introduce him to potential partners, he doesn’t even know how to chat, and within three sentences, he says something incredibly awkward.
With that, who would want to be with you?
Sometimes when he comes to ask me how to date, I teach him to be bold and that he will get the hang of it by dating a few people.
If you don’t even have the courage to interact with people, and you see a single girl you like but dare not pursue her, then don’t overthink future matters; that’s called dreaming.
Not being afraid of failure and daring to try is the only way to have opportunities.
People, you see, often scare themselves to death.
When they think about doing something, they hesitate, overthink, and by the time they haven’t even started, it’s already over.
In the end, they experience happiness and pain in their thoughts, but in reality, nothing has happened; it’s all their own fantasy.
Whether it’s dating in life or matters in one’s career, the first thing is to have the courage to start.
Only then can you eventually know whether you win or lose.
In my life so far, when I found myself accomplishing things without knowing anything, I would just dive in headfirst and absolutely believe in myself.
I was just defiant, thinking “I’m awesome, I can definitely do it, I don’t care who else, I’m the strongest.”
Continuously encouraging myself, recharging my inner strength and courage, and everything can be accomplished.
Cancer can be reversed, and disabilities can be healed; both require absolute self-confidence and continuous perseverance in this self-confidence.
Isn’t faith also based on this principle? Continuously drawing confidence from the power of faith.
Continuously suggesting to oneself, “Buddha blesses me, I can do it; God blesses me, I can do it.”
I have gods and immortals; I am not afraid of anything. I have a backing! The strength behind me is immense!
Do you understand? All of this is the power of self-confidence!
It’s not the power of what you believe in; what you’ve always believed in is the self that gives you courage!
As is widely known, the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Ignorant people, however, mistook this tree for a real tree.
The body is the Bodhi tree, the mind is the bright mirror, constantly polish it, do not let dust alight.
Bodhi is originally not a tree, nor is the bright mirror a stand; originally there is nothing, where can dust alight?
Do you understand these two lines? The first part says that one’s own body is that Bodhi tree, and yet it is not a tree.
The second part speaks of two states of the mind.
One is to constantly sweep away distracting thoughts in the heart and not be contaminated.
The other meaning is that the original heart itself is unstained. Once this point is recognized, one will not be contaminated by bad habits.
They both speak of the same thing, but they represent two different realms.
Some say Buddha is Dao, while others say Buddha is Buddha and Dao is Dao.
What is there to argue about? Buddhism uses awareness to discover the laws of the mind, thereby recognizing oneself and living better.
Dao is the law of all things, and the laws of the mind are also Dao.
All cognition of things comes from the mind; without a mind, one would not know about laws or Dao.
Similarly, without Dao, this heart would not arise.
Regardless of whether Buddha is Dao or Dao is Buddha, there is neither Buddha nor Dao, and without Dao, there would be no Buddha. The words “Buddha” and “Dao” are both adjectives.
In the past, Laozi discovered a law in this world, and not knowing what to call it, he forcefully gave it a name: Dao.
And Buddha refers to those who can use the power of awareness and perception to discover this law.
Damn! Isn’t that the same thing?
They say Buddhism and Daoism have been in conflict for thousands of years, but how can Buddha and Dao contend?
Those who contend are the human heart and the struggles for benefit between people.
Some praise Buddha and slander Dao, while others praise Dao and slander Buddha; it is all caused by the discrimination of the human heart.
Anyone who tells you that Buddhism is powerful and Daoism is not good, or that Daoism is powerful and Buddhism is not good, is themselves not good.
They haven’t even understood the relationship between the two and are just deceiving you with their own imagination.
Don’t believe me? Look at those virtuous great ones; they cultivate Buddhism and also speak of Dao, and cultivate Dao and also speak of Buddhism.
This is not heresy; on the contrary, this is what a true cultivator would tell you.
I have seen many arguments online,
“I’m from Daoism, and you’re from Buddhism, so we’re different. Buddhism hasn’t been around for that long, how can it compare to Dao?”
“Nonsense! That’s your ignorance. Go and read such-and-such scripture; it’s all written there. Buddhism has been around for hundreds of millions of years!”
“I cultivate both Buddhism and Daoism. I also have an Old Immortal at home; we have our own immortal fate.”
“You want to compare with me? I am Dao, he is Buddha, where are you from, Immortal?”
“Exactly, Dao has at least several thousand years, and our Buddhism is also hundreds of millions of years old. How can a folk shaman compare to us?”
“You don’t understand. Our immortals cultivate both Buddha and Dao, and they also cultivate.”
“Go away! You’re bringing animals to worship, that’s not the same as our Buddha and Dao! Who cultivates Dao and worships folk animals?”
“Exactly. We who cultivate Buddhism don’t do that either, bringing animals to worship; we worship Buddha!”
“I won’t argue with you two. You definitely don’t understand. Our immortals are both Buddha and Dao, and can even cultivate from animals to become humans! It’s clear you two don’t understand!”
……
A lot of jabbering, endless arguments, but no one tells you what Dao is, what Buddha is, what Immortal is; it’s all left to the audience to guess.
“Oh dear, Daoism is powerful. Daoism has so many gods, each more powerful than the last, and when you cultivate Dao, you can even have troops to command, which is formidable!”
“What are you talking about? Buddha is the most powerful! Buddha’s magical power is supreme. Didn’t Sun Wukong start by cultivating Dao? He was beaten into submission by our Buddha, and didn’t he eventually switch to cultivating Buddhism?”
“Right, right! Wasn’t Sun Wukong a monkey before? Then he cultivated Dao and Buddhism and became a Great Golden Immortal! So cultivating immortality isn’t wrong either?”
……
Cough cough cough, is it fun? Hahaha, don’t argue, it’s meaningless, it’s all the same thing.
