Ren Xue Teachings from Yuan Tze
Life on the Treadmill
"We get out of bed earlier than the rooster and go to bed later than the cat. In between we run around like a greyhound. Where are we running? It’s because we want to change life for the better. We have imagined a better life." - Yuan Tze
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REN XUE TEACHINGS
What do you really want? from Seeing Your Original Face, Part 2.
The Illusion of Separation - a lesson from a tea cup. Heart-based Problem solving
Ren Xue Teachings
What do you REALLY want?
We can continue on this treadmill of seeking happiness from the outside, but in the end, we will need to come back to ourselves in order to find true happiness and fulfillment.
[Excerpted from Seeing Your Original Face, Part 2, student's notes.]
If you can easily find a good reason for not making an effort to transform your life for the better, you need to be very careful. For example, I’m not ready yet. I need more time to get ready. This is sugar-coated poison and a typical manifestation of the pattern of Avoiding and Hiding.
You can ask yourself when you will be ready. How much longer do you need? How many years have you lived this life? Still not long enough for this preparation? The youngest person here is fourteen, which is not a short time. Do you think your preparation has been limited to only this lifetime? Do you know how many lifetimes you’ve lived as you? You’ve spent all of these lifetimes getting ready. You may not think that you have had past lives.
There are so many things we don’t know, like Qi. Even thought it is the fundamental base for the formation of everything in the universe, not many people know about it.
Likewise, many people are not aware of their true heart and true nature, despite the fact that everyone has them.
Have you spent long enough getting ready? How much longer do you need? Do you really want to change, or do you really not want to change? Are you really happy with your life, to the point that you don’t see any room for improvement?
Are you so happy that no change is needed? It’s possible to feel that way because we have no idea of the true potential of a human life, the true qualities that a human life can manifest. When we don’t know of those possibilities, we don’t see a need for change.
There’s also a possibility that we come to that conclusion because we compare. We are constantly comparing. I have more than before – more money, a house, car, family, children, more power, status. When we compare with the past we see that we have more and conclude that we don’t need to change.
We also compare ourselves with others – our friends, family members, other people with respect to what we have and what they have, and we can feel good about ourselves by doing that. Many people gain a sense of satisfaction in this way even though it’s brief and not deep.
This is what happens when we don’t know ourselves, when our true heart and True Self can’t be in charge of our lives. We have to go outside to seek fulfillment and meaning and to know where we are. This is what keeps many people going, this comparison on the external level. This is how happiness is determined. This is built upon stupidity and ignorance. This is also how all our problems have come about.
We can continue on this treadmill, but in the end, we will need to come back to ourselves in order to find true happiness and fulfillment, to make change to life in a true way. Most people want to change. Many people are tired. Why do we all do this?
We get out of bed earlier than the rooster and go to bed later than the cat. In between we run around like a greyhound. Where are we running? It’s because we want to change life for the better. We have imagined a better life.
Has this worked out well? If we do a fair assessment of our lives from the time we were born up to now, are we getting closer to health, happiness, sense of wellbeing, growth and making contribution? Or are we further away?
The five things we just mentioned are the most important things for human life. It’s where the true interest for human life is. What are you living for? Why are you working so hard? Is it for gaining self-interest? Those five things are the true interests in life. Can you see that? We call these five things the Ren Xue High Fivebecause they are the common interests of human life.
Are you working hard enough? Human beings have been working very hard since the beginning of the species. They’ve always wanted to make life better. We all have very good intentions and aspirations but the way we pursue what’s important in life is through the external, by getting more and more.
Those five things are the natural qualities of your heart and Xin. They are already there within you. You just need a way for them to become present. There’s no need to go out and find them. We need to recognize that we need to work internally.
We need to be careful because there are many methods and disciplines for the internal work, but not all of them can deliver what we want to achieve: shedding the false self to reveal the True Self.
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Ren Xue Teachings (Totality)
The Illusion of Separation
a lesson from a tea cup
[This was an "aside" during a talk at the France Retreat, Seeing Your Original Face, Part 2., student's notes. Before Yuan Tze explained what happened, as described below, he cupped his hand over the bottom of the tea cup before he took a sip.]
"...When I just picked up the cup to drink some tea, I saw something very big and round under the cup and felt something sticking to the bottom of it.
The cup and the table are a totality, and when I picked up the cup, the Qi of the table was still there. Because I wasn't focused on it, for a moment I thought the table was attached to the cup, so I automatically brought my hand to the bottom of it.
The world that most people see is made of individual, separate objects but that’s not true reality. True reality is totality. Everything is connected to everything. What our consciousness sees is not true reality. It’s not how reality truly is. It is false, including how we see ourselves..."
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Heart-based problem solving
Focus on stabilizing and deepening the natural heart state rather than seeking the solution.
Have you ever felt hopeless when trying to solve a problem? Have you ever felt lost when faced with a tough decision? Are you familiar with the sleepless nights these situations can bring, and the wish that someone would just fix the problem or hand over the answer? If only there were such a thing!
One of the main difficulties is that we focus on the outcome of our decisions. There seem to be so many possibilities and gaining certainty is almost impossible. Focusing on the outcome triggers fear. What if it doesn’t work? What if it makes things worse? The more fear we experience, the more we feel the need to find the ‘right’ solution or make the ‘right’ decision, and the more we feel the need to take control. We find ourselves going in circles, getting nowhere and feeling more and more stuck and frustrated.
This is how it is when we rely only on our consciousness to find a solution or come to a decision. A solution or decision is based on how and what we see, and how and what we see is mainly determined by the patterns of the consciousness. Patterns by nature are restrictive. This means it is unlikely that we will form a clear picture of what we are dealing with, which inevitably will limit the solutions we can see.
Looking at this on a deeper level, these limited patterns themselves may very well be at the root of our problems or dilemmas. In other words, we are hoping the ‘culprits’ will clear the problems they have created. But these ‘culprits’ are extremely determined to hold on to what they have created.
Is there a better way to find a solution? Yes, by inviting the heart to be in charge of the effort. What can the heart do? It can be a bridge to help you reach your True Self. Why would we want our True Self to be involved? Because when our True Self can function normally, its realization and wisdom will deactivate or even clear the unhealthy patterns of the consciousness. This means the problem is eradicated at the root level. Most importantly, the solution our True Self provides will be truly beneficial for ourselves and all. There will be no place for fear. There is no more suffering from the problem and from trying to find a way out. We will be free. This is the power of the infinite creativity of the True Self.
How can our heart access this infinite creativity? By being in its natural state. We help the heart maintain this state by cultivating the presence of its natural qualities such as trust, openness, love, gratitude and Gongjing (true respect).
This approach is different from problem solving. Instead of busting your head on a problem, go into your heart to restore your heart to its natural state. Trust is often a good place to start. You can try asking your True Self to help. This is done with unconditional trust, meaning you have zero expectations as to what your True Self will offer, only trust.
This alone can bring you immediate relief and calm. Focus on stabilizing and deepening the natural heart state rather than seeking the solution. When you have settled in this state consistently enough, you give your True Self the chance to process all the information you have gathered and more. When you are calm and your heart is in a good state, you will be able to receive what your True Self delivers. Clarity will start to emerge. You will find yourself standing on a new horizon, leaving the problem behind. What awaits you is a brand new reality beyond what you can possibly imagine.
I encourage you to try this approach. There is no limit to the difference that creativity of your heart and True Self can make in your life. Be ready to be surprised.
