Five Lessons

"Mirror is the heart." Guan Yinzi said: "Those whose hearts are obscured by good or bad fortune will be captured by spirits and ghosts; those whose hearts are obscured by men or women will be captured by lust and ghosts." Those whose hearts are obscured by deep sorrow will be subdued by ghosts. Those who are distracted and unrestrained will be captured by wild ghosts. Those whose hearts are obscured and who curse are captured by strange spirits. When the mind is obscured by medicine and bait, it will be captured by evil spirits. Such ghosts either take Yin as their body, or the netherworld as their body, or the wind as their body, or the qi as their body, or the clay figurines as their body, or the colorful paintings as their body, or the old animals as their body, or the ruined utensils as their body. One exerts its essence, and the other exerts its essence. When the two essences contend, the spirit responds. Those who are possessed by ghosts may interpret strange, extraordinary or auspicious events, and they are proud. It is not said that ghosts should be bowed to oneself, but that the way should be bowed to oneself. Over time, either wood, metal, rope or well will die. Only the sage can be divine but not divine, control all things and grasp their functions, can understand them, can disperse them, can control them, respond to all things every day, and his heart is still. It is said: Without a single mind, the five consciousnesses converge simultaneously, and the mind cannot be unified. Have no modesty, possess all five elements, and the heart must not be empty. Without a calm mind, all changes are subtle and the mind cannot be at peace. If one can be borrowed, then two can be used. When energy is empty, the real will be filled. When one can remain calm, one will be shaken. Only the sage can condense all things in a single breath; nothing can match my clarity and comprehensiveness. Disperse one breath into all things; nothing can separate my clouds. It is said: Fire can be extinguished in a thousand years, and knowledge can be erased in a thousand years. It is said: "What flows is a boat, so what flows is water, not a boat." The transporter is a cart, so the one transporting it is an ox, not a cart. Thinking is the mind, so what is thought is the intention, not the mind. Not knowing why it is so and yet so, only because one does not know why it is so and yet so, thus there is no way to come and no place to go. Its origin is unknown and its destination is non-existent, thus it can be in harmony with the original state of heaven and earth, neither ancient nor modern. It is said: When one knows that the mind is free from material things, one knows that things are free from material things; when one knows that things are free from material things, one knows that there are no material things. Knowing that there are no material things, one does not follow outstanding actions and does not be alarmed by subtle words. It is said: When the object and the self interact, the mind arises. When two pieces of wood rub, fire rises. What cannot be said to be within me, what cannot be said to be within that, what cannot be said to be not within me, what cannot be said to be not that is not that. To hold on to that and me is foolish. It is said: If one does not rely on what you call right and wrong, and what you call right and wrong, can one truly understand right and wrong? Even the sage does not recognize or know this, let alone you. It is said: The dreams of the night may grow longer than the night itself. The mind is always born of the state of Qi. All that the mind sees is the State of Qi. Then there are the states of Song, Chu, Jin and Liang. The existence of the mind is different and the mind has no direction. It is said: "Those who are good at archery learn bows but not Yi; those who are good at rowing learn boats but not Yi?" A kind-hearted person should learn from the sage rather than the sage. It is said: Right and wrong, good and ugly, success and failure, fullness and emptiness, all are predestined by the creation of things. They all exist because of the private consciousness's attachment to them. Thus, they remain unrestrained, non-existent and non-unrestrained. There is no such thing as Mo Mo, no such thing as hun hun. Just like when I visited again in the past, the memory remains vivid. This cannot be forgotten or let go. Those who are good at understanding transform knowledge into wisdom. Do you know the saying of transforming knowledge into wisdom? It is said: To think is like thinking of a ghost; to be alarmed is like thinking of a thief; to be terrified is called consciousness. Just as those who mistake millet for sorghum and jade for stone are aimless and boundless. Just as seeing strange things gives rise to strange thoughts and strange perceptions. This thought and this consciousness are not rooted in me. For instance, today is just today. As for the future, one's thoughts and consciousness are unpredictable. But when it comes to the future, one's thoughts and consciousness come one after another. All of this is due to birth. It is called thinking and consciousness. For instance, when a rhinoceros looks at the moon, the moon's shape enters its horn. This is because of the birth of consciousness, and thus the moon's shape is formed. However, the true moon is not at the horn at first, and the same is true of all things in the universe within its chest. Those who understand this statement see neither external things nor internal emotions. It is said: Things arise from the earth and eventually change from the earth; events arise from the mind and eventually change from the mind. If one only understands one's will, then sometimes it is right, sometimes it is wrong, sometimes it is good, and sometimes it is evil. The mind may change, but the heart remains unchanged; the mind may be aware, but the heart remains aware. Only the mind, then the mind is the coming and going of dust, and the events are the 欻 arising and ceasing. There is a great constancy in my heart. It is said that emotions arise from the heart, and the heart from one's nature. Emotions are like waves, the mind is like flow, and nature is like water. Those who come to attack me are like stone and fire. If I accept them with my nature, my mind will not be restless. It is said: The wise and the foolish, the true and the false, there are those who are wise and those who are not. Although there are wise and foolish, true and false, what is called wise, foolish, true and false is my understanding. All knowledge is formed by understanding, so even if it is true, it is false. It is said: The mind senses things, but the mind gives rise to emotions; things interact with the mind, but things do not give rise to consciousness. Things are not true yet. How much more so for consciousness; Even knowledge is not true, let alone emotion. And that delusional person, in the midst of nothingness, holds the belief that there is. In the midst of constant change, hold fast to the constant. When one emotion is recognized, it accumulates into ten thousand emotions. All emotions, when recognized, accumulate into all things. Things come and go without end, but my heart has boundaries. Therefore, my conscience is subject to emotions, and my true emotions are subject to things. It can be sent out, it can be sent back, but in the first place, it is not mine. To be enslaved by nature, there is no rest. Little do they know that although the universe is vast, it can control the tangible but not the intangible. Although Yin and Yang are wonderful, they can control the presence of qi but cannot control the absence of qi. Where the heart follows, the qi follows; where the qi follows, the form responds. Just as the vast void transforms into all things in a bowl, yet that bowl is not called the vast Void. One of my hearts can transform into qi and form, yet my heart has neither qi nor form. If I know that my mind is without energy or form, then the Yin and Yang of heaven and earth cannot control me. It is said that when a person sees extraordinary things in his daily life, it is all because of the accumulation of his mind. When a person is ill and suddenly sees something extraordinary, it is all due to a sense of remorse in their heart. If one knows that one's heart can reveal the existent in the non-existent, then one knows that one's heart can reveal the non-existent in the existent. But if one does not believe it, one is naturally not divine. Some say that when one's consciousness is lost, who could not believe it? I responded: Just like a snake catcher, if his heart is not afraid of snakes, even if he dreams of snakes, he will not be afraid. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor said, "The Dao has no ghosts or gods; it comes and goes alone." It is said: My thoughts change day by day. What makes them change is not me but fate. If one only knows fate, one will not see oneself externally or one's heart internally. It is said: Just like the two eyes, one can see all things in heaven and earth, but for a moment, there is a reflection of light, and for a moment, there is no sight. It is said: The more one sees the carving, the more one is hurt; the more one hears the symphony, the more one is hurt; the more one has a brilliant mind, the more one's heart is hurt. It is said: Do not judge others by your own mind, but judge them by their own mind. Those who understand this can handle affairs well, practice virtue, understand the way, make friends with others, and forget themselves. It is said that the principles of the world, when small, cannot be controlled but become large; when large, cannot be controlled but become unmanageable. Therefore, those who can control one emotion can cultivate virtue, and those who can forget one emotion can follow the way