Chapter 8: Transforming Customs in the Xuan Gang Lun by Mr. Zongxuan

Original Text Dao and De are the ancestors of Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth are the fathers of all things. Emperors and Kings are the masters of the Three Powers. Thus, Dao, Heaven and Earth, and Emperors and Kings are one. Yet there are differences between the present and ancient times in terms of simplicity and complexity, and differences between the governance of Yao and Jie in terms of order and chaos. Why is this? Dao and De do not rise or fall, but human relations have their times of decline and prosperity. The ancient and modern times do not change, but human nature shifts. Therefore, when the fortune is about to prosper, the true essence of supreme Yang descends to become the master, the virtuous assist, and the treacherous lie hidden. When the time is about to decline, the pure essence of supreme Yin rises to become the ruler, the treacherous assist, and the virtuous hide. The way of Heaven and Earth and the numbers of Yin and Yang thus result in differences between order and chaos. The reason why the ancients were simple and the present are complex is also like how people are foolish in childhood and wise in adulthood. When an infant is not yet able to speak, it resembles the purity of the upper ancient times. As it gradually learns to distinguish, it resembles the middle ancient times which valued benevolence and righteousness. When a child is old enough to learn, it resembles the lower ancient times which esteemed ritual and wisdom. When one reaches adulthood and has many desires, it resembles the late era which competed in superficiality and hypocrisy. The principle of change and the appropriateness of the times thus result in differences between simplicity and complexity. Exploring the cause and tracing the origin, one can see that habits and learning shift nature, and people change with the times, causing simplicity to scatter. Nevertheless, fathers must teach their sons, and rulers must govern the people. Teaching sons lies in the right way of righteousness, and governing people lies in Dao and De. If the right way of righteousness is lost, teachers and friends cannot instruct; if Dao and De are lost, ritual and music cannot govern. Even if punishments are added and whips are increased, it is difficult to control treacherous ministers and rebellious sons. Therefore, showing innocence to children without deceit preserves loyalty and trust. Transforming customs with purity and simplicity brings peace with the natural harmony of Heaven. Thus, those who do not hold Dao and De to comfort the people have not heard of the highest truth. Rough Explanation Dao and De are the ancestors of Heaven and Earth, and all things are born from Heaven and Earth, so Heaven and Earth are the mothers of all things. Emperors and Kings are the masters of the Three Powers. However, Dao, Heaven and Earth, and Emperors and Kings should originally be the same. Yet why are there good and bad emperors in the present compared to ancient times? Dao and De themselves do not rise or fall, but human relations have good and bad. The ancient and modern times have never changed, but human nature changes. So when the fortune is good, the true essence descends to become the master, the virtuous increase, and the treacherous decrease. When the fortune is bad, supreme Yin becomes the dominant layer, the treacherous rise, and the virtuous hide. The way of Heaven and Earth and the numbers of Yin and Yang thus have differences between order and chaos. So the ancients were simple and the present are different, which is like how people are not smart when young but become smart when grown. When an infant is not yet a child, it is as pure as people in the upper ancient times, and as it gradually distinguishes things, it resembles the ancient times which valued benevolence and righteousness. When children grow a bit older and can learn and gain intelligence, it resembles the middle ancient times which esteemed ritual and wisdom. When teeth grow out, desires for food increase, and thus desires increase, resembling the late era where people start to lie. The principle of change is related to the secular era. So there are changes between ancient and modern times. Knowing the key and based on these reasons, one can change habits through learning and let people change with the times. Parents cannot but teach their children, and rulers cannot but govern the people, but teaching children must have the right method, and governing people must rely on Dao and De. If one does not teach children with the right method, it will not work; if there is no Dao and De, then no one cares about ritual and music. Even if punishments are continuously added and severe whippings are given, it is useless and cannot solve the problem of treacherous ministers and rebellious sons. Therefore, learning the state of childhood innocence ensures loyalty and trust, and making the customs of the era simple brings harmony with Heaven. So, not educating or governing people with Dao and De is because one does not understand this highest principle. Practical Cultivation Reference Although this paragraph discusses governing the state and education, it is actually using metaphors for cultivation. In the process of cultivation, it is inevitable to encounter demonic obstacles. The accumulation of incorrect understandings during slow cultivation often forms certain adverse effects, leading to an inability to make progress. Some cultivators find that cultivation not only fails to solve physical problems but also makes them unable to withstand illnesses when they come, leaving them with a body full of diseases that are difficult to resolve. This is like having treacherous ministers causing trouble in the country, wanting to clean them up but unable to do so. Especially after forming the infant, when the infant is nurtured into the Yang Spirit, situations often occur that go against oneself, such as discovering that the Yang Spirit is not yet fully formed and attempting to detach from oneself, temporarily unable to control it. These are inevitable occurrences. However, to resolve these matters, one must start solving from the source, because the situation is complex and each cultivator encounters different circumstances, so flexible solutions are required. Flexible solutions essentially involve firmly grasping the two points of Dao and moral education, rather than blindly focusing only on discovering problems and forcibly using coercive means without considering the source of the problem. For example, if the unfledged Yang embryo tries to detach, one must absolutely not use force to suppress the Yang embryo, but instead immediately enter a state of great stillness, completely without self, handling it like coaxing a child, gradually guiding and educating, slowly pulling it back bit by bit. Only in this way can the problem be resolved. As clearly pointed out in some essential formulas of alchemy, when suddenly one feels a body outside the body jumping out, disliking the filth of the physical body and refusing to return to the red dust and turbid world, at this time one must slowly pull it back. If one forces the will and intent to recall it, it will only cause the connection between the Yang embryo and the physical body to break faster. If one does not do this, the person will suddenly pass away while sitting. This kind of passing away often has some miraculous validations. Those in the world who do not understand may see it and say that cultivation has succeeded, but in reality, the cultivator has suffered a complete defeat, dying with the Dao perishing. Speaking of lower realms, some people cultivate for most of their lives, only to die of cancer or incurable diseases. Even if they were eloquent in life, it is useless. The root of these lies in oneself playing with cleverness too much, causing the body's qi to be unable to be peaceful and harmonious. Even if there is minor success in cultivation, the qi becomes mixed and the body falls ill and cannot be controlled, which is relatively common in the present world. Therefore, any cultivator who is sick and cannot cure themselves is mostly showing signs of playing with cleverness and having excessive desires. Anyone who sees this should take it as a warning.