The Awakening of Spiritual Awareness (8)
The manifestation of spirituality. The journey from initial awakening to full enlightenment can be smooth sailing for some, with abundant blessings and good connections, allowing them to reach the path of awakening in a short time.
However, others may lack the roots of goodness and blessings, facing a rugged and bewildering path, taking ten or twenty years without finding the way to awakening. Why is this so?
Spontaneous spiritual seekers. Those without religious beliefs often believe there is something wrong with their body or mind and seek treatment within medical systems.
Those with religious beliefs may turn to their faith for help. Yet, if what they seek is not genuine, many find themselves stuck in place for ten or twenty years.
If one has not walked this path themselves, they cannot truly understand its nuances. How can they guide others out of emotions like fear, resentment, doubt, confusion, and helplessness?
The goal is to stabilize both body and mind as they gradually walk the path to awakening. Without such experiences, relying solely on classic teachings will yield limited results.
Moreover, those who are newly awakened often have limited patience. Thus, they seek information from various sources that are more diverse and complex but lack deep confidence.
They may hesitate halfway through their journey and often feel lost. This only leads to greater confusion and instability in their minds. They might be led astray by others,
deviating from the essence of human nature and moral principles while pursuing an illusory life filled with thoughts of spirits or ghosts that leave them disoriented.
Night and day become restless for them. There are also those who have specific desires but seek help from others who claim to awaken spirits; their motivations are already skewed.
They only wish to gain supernatural powers or sensations—not to understand themselves—but rather to acquire special abilities through external forces (the spirit world) to satisfy personal desires.
If one’s own cultivation is insufficient and their concentration weakens their ability to control their heart,
their obsession with external supernatural powers can lead them into bondage instead.
Everyone inherently possesses body, mind, and spirit. The spirit has been our true self since time immemorial—it exists neither within nor outside us—formless and intangible,
colorless and tasteless; it is a form of existence.
The spirit does not need cultivation but rather reveals itself; it exists freely in everything we do—eating or sleeping—it simply remains unrecognized by you (the true self/spirit).
If one’s consciousness isn’t long-term immersed in a state of confusion,
the spirit would not take a dominant position in one’s life.
The emergence of spiritual awareness requires the mind’s acceptance: “to recognize it” “to resonate with it.” One must be aware of its existence; the heart serves as the gateway to spirituality.
A scripture states: without understanding one’s true heart or recognizing one’s true nature,
studying doctrines is futile. If one understands the function of the heart,
then they can find a pathway into the realm of spiritual wonderment.
The time until awakening is not far off. Another scripture states: upon seeing one’s nature begins cultivation;
the moment of awakening marks truly walking on the path of practice—to transform habitual tendencies into innate qualities,
this indeed becomes a significant task in this life. If these habitual tendencies remain untransformed,
then ultimately everyone remains just another sentient being.
by – Teacher Liu Hongming