The Unity Between Individuality and Generality in Lifechanyuan

Xuefeng

I will take the example of celestial being's life in Thousand-Year World to talk about the unity between individuality and generality of the Second Home in Lifechanyuan.

Without individuality, life would be pallid. If a garden is overgrown with only one kind of flowers, it will be boring and monotonous; if it is a riot of colors with countless flowers in full bloom, the garden will then be lively and splendid. Every Chanyuan celestial should have individuality, must have characteristics distinct from other Chanyuan celestials. And we should protect, support, accommodate such individualities. We should not expect others to be exactly like ourselves. We should not set down requirements for others or find fault with others on the basis of our own habits and values, we should not bind others up or make indiscreet criticisms of others with standards that we ourselves think are correct.

Without generality, everything will be in a state of disunity like a sheet of loose sand, and chaos and confusion will reign supreme. It will be easy for us to get into conflict, and friction, and energy will be exhausted by internal strife. Thus it will be difficult for us to achieve joy, happiness, freedom and blessing, and accordingly it will be even more difficult for us to demonstrate our individuality. As a result, we will have more afflictions, and run into one after another trouble. With the passage of time we may slide into the secular world, the animal world and until into hell.

Generality should embody individuality, and individuality should embrace generality. Only with the perfect unity between generality and individuality, can we guarantee a vigorous and dynamic life in which there is both uniform will and pleasant feelings of individuals.

Generality should accomodate individuality. Generality that does not allow the existence of individuality is inhuman, cruel, despotic and dictatorial. Lifechanyuan should consistently be on guard against this trend. When individuality gets into conflict with generality, individuality should give way to generality. The individuality that does not conform to generality is a law onto itself, is immoral and radical, and will do harm to the collective. Such individuality is a morbidity that reflects a distorted soul and indicates the deformity of nonmaterial structure.

The reason that people in the Thousand-Year World live a more joyful and pleasant, and freer and more blessed life than people in the human world is because of the perfect unity between individuality and generality. The fewer conflicts and contradictions there are between generality and individuality, the better the quality of life will be, the more interesting a life everyone will have, and the greater the freedom will be. The more conflicts and contradictions there are between generality and individuality, the lower the quality of life will be, the poorer the character of LIFE will be, and the more afflictions and troubles everyone will have.

The generality of human society is maintained mainly through constitutions, laws and statutes, army, and police. Without these compulsory measures, human society will be plunged into confusion and chaos and will be governed by law of the jungle existing in the animal world, by which the strong prey upon the weak.

The generality of Lifechanyuan is maintained mainly through Lifechanyuan values. No constitution, laws and statutes, or army and police are needed. The generality is realized completely by the same-frequency resonance of soul under Lifechanyuan values, and completely by everyone's free will and volition. No compulsory and mandatory measures shall be employed.

Everyone who conducts self-refinement and self-cultivation in order to live in the better spaces of LIFE must have a good understanding of the perfect unity between generality and individuality, and must maintain individuality and at the same time conform to generality. Anyone who places excessive emphasis on individuality can never reach the higher spaces of LIFE. The more individuality a place emphasizes, the farther it is from the paradise and the closer it is to hell; in the same way, the more generality a place emphasizes and the more individuality it strangles, the farther it is from the paradise and the closer it is to hell.

Everyone should understand that human society is a place that emphasizes individuality. You come from human society, so it is only natural that you want to fully exhibit and maintain your individuality. However, if you don't pay attention to generality and cannot fully display your individuality, you will be distressed, you will be furious, and you will be revengeful. You will mistreat others as well as yourself, and you will even kill yourself. Thus, as a member of human society, we are innately psychologically deformed, and innately handicapped in the nonmaterial structure of our LIFE.

Then what should we do?

Collective life is the best venue to cultivate the way. We must cultivate and refine ourselves by blending ourselves into the collective life, and get rid of the individuality that does not conform to generality in the same way as we prune the superfluous branches from a tree. When you live alone, when you are single, when you live in the secular family, you may feel wonderful, you may feel you are perfect and flawless; however, once you live in the collective, you will have your defections and deficiencies exposed, you will feel completely incompatible with the collective life, you will find it difficult to get along with people harmoniously, you will cause distress to others, and you will feel that others do not love you and do not care for you. When such things happen, you should find problems in yourself instead of in the collective.

For example, when everyone is having a good time but you choose to go to sleep and then complain that others have made noises and interrupted you, that's where you have gone wrong, because your individuality is not incorporated into the generality. On the other hand, you are equally wrong when everyone else is having a rest but you choose to have some fun and make a lot of noise.

Maybe someone would ask, I do not want to be a part of the collective, and I do not cause distress and troubles to other people, I only concentrate myself on my own cultivation, and I only go to the place that I yearn for, isn't that permissible?

Yes, it's permissible. The space for LIFE is infinitely expansive, and whatever consciousness you may and you will go to the corresponding space for LIFE. But you cannot go to the paradise, because in the paradise there is no place for a lonely ranger. Even if you can do whatever you want in Celestial Island Continent, you must still follow the generality of Celestial Island Continent, you must associate with the collective, you must live peacefully with any celestial being, you should not behave as in the human world, getting along well with only a few good friends you have choosen but ignore others.

Even if you are a star, you must exist in a galaxy, and you must observe the generality of the galaxy, otherwise you will be doomed.

The more one stresses individuality, the more distress and trouble they will have, the greater destruction they will bring to society and collective, the more lonely and solitary they will feel, the more easily their soul will be distorted, and the more abnormal mentality they will have.

The less conflicts and contradiction a person suffers in individuality and generality, the more pleasant and happier they will be, the more serene a mind they will have, and the more likely they will achieve the spiritual state of a celestial being and Buddha. A person who suffers greater conflicts and contradiction between generality and individuality will become devils, monsters and demons.

The generality of the universe is Tao, the core of Tao is the Greatest Creator. Worshipping the Greatest Creator and following his way means the perfect and harmonious unity between your own individuality and the universe's generality. Only people who have harmoniously and perfectly united their individualities and the universe's generality are clear-headed people and can have a bright prospect. If you have deviated this general principle and direction, you will not have a beautiful prospect no matter how much effort you have made for your own cultivation.

The generality of human society is fame and gain. Every pursuit of fame and gain, by whatever means, is compatible with the generality of human society. And any departure from this generality of human society will cause great difficulty, setbacks, and endless distresses and troubles for one's life. Therefore, as a man, one should pursue fame and gain, and in this way one can combine his own individuality with the generality of human society and thus will have a relatively smooth and free life.

The generality of animal society is the strong preying upon the weak to satisfy desire. If a person lives only to satisfy his own desire and follows the law of the jungle, then he has organically unified his own individuality with the generality of human society. Outwardly you are a man, but inwardly you only have the consciousness of an animal, and you will go to the animal world in future life.

The generality of Lifechanyuan is the way of celestial being. Anyone who seeks joy, happiness, freedom, and blessing, looks forward to Thousand-Year World, Ten-Thousand-Year World, and Celestial Island Continent of the Elysium World, and enthusiastically involves himself in pioneering the era of Lifechanyuan is a person who has perfectly and harmoniously united his own individuality with the generality of Lifechanyuan.

Everyone has his individuality. And generality exists everywhere. Gangsters have gangster's generality, criminal syndicates have their own generality, bees and ants have their own generality, and wolf packs and fox flocks have also their own generalities. Birds of a feather flock together. No matter in what community, only those that can perfectly and harmoniously unite their own individualities with the generality of their collective can reap the greatest benefit.

Chanyuan celestials in Lifechanyuan are going to the Celestial being's world, so Chanyuan celestials should perfectly and harmoniously unite their individuality with the generality of Chanyuan values. In this way, they can accomplish the sublimation of their LIFE within a short time, and achieve the state of celestial being and move toward Celestial Island Continent.

Sept. 26,2008