Chapter 3: The Meaning of Receiving Dao
After "The Essence of Dao," and "The Relationship between Dao and Humankind," we can understand that Dao is the most precious gift in the universe, that it governs all matters, creates and nurtures all things. Everything in the universe has Dao. This includes people. For us, as human beings, Dao is our original nature or soul, and it is our source of life. In other words, we can live because we have Dao. Since we already have Dao in us, why do we need to receive Dao? This question forms the basis of this chapter.
1. The Abdication of God or Dao and the Loss of Conscience
In Heaven, Dao is known as the truth. When Dao is bestowed upon humans, it is known as "true or original nature." In The Doctrine of the Mean (Proper Way) it was written:
The Dao bestowed on us by Heaven is known as nature.
Following this nature is known as Dao.
This means that our soul or original nature is bestowed upon us by Heaven. If we act in accordance with our true nature or conscience, then we are acting in accordance with Dao.
It is this soul or original nature that gives us life or spirituality. What is the purpose of having this nature? It is there so that we can manifest or use it as a guide to all our actions. What are the characteristics of our original nature? In Chinese, "character" is written like this (character form). It is made up of two characters — one meaning "growth" or "life," and the other representing the heart.
Growth or life means that heavenly nature contains the essence of growth and the ability to develop, and we inherit this as part of our nature. As a capacity that comes to us from Heaven, growth is inherent in us and need not be learned. It is like other instincts that we possess, such as the urge to eat when we are hungry, or putting on more clothes when we are cold. When there is danger we instinctively avoid it. Heaven bestows all these survival instincts on us. Animals and plants have them too. But unlike animals or plants, human character has an extra quality: the upright heart. This represents the conscience or the godlike nature within us.
The essence of growth is to maintain the life of the body. But what is the purpose of maintaining the life of the body? It is to give us the opportunity to fully manifest our spiritual essence. In simpler terms, the reason we are alive is not just to work and earn money, but it is to allow the true nature, or spirituality, within us to shine. In other words, "We eat to live, we do not live to eat." If we only live to eat, we are hardly different from other animals or plants.
Mencius once said:
There are only minor differences between people and animals.
Saints preserve them, common souls neglect them.
It is evident that people in the world today cling tightly to the satisfactions of the physical life. Generally speaking, people will go to great extremes in the pursuit of material pleasures and enjoyment, but will make little effort to nurture their spiritual essence. Consequently, the upright heart is neglected, and the conscience is lost. In other words, we can say that the God in us has been obscured and, as a result, the wrong heart and intentions are employed in the running of our daily lives. When this happens conflicts arise between people and between humans and the natural world. When we look around us we see not only individual conflicts but also civil wars and strife between nations. There seems to be an endless stream of news stories about people killing each other in the streets and violence within families. Such violence and antagonism creates a very negative force, which disturbs the equilibrium of the earth and can cause terrible disasters. All of this is because we choose to nurture our physical selves rather than attending to our spiritual development. Attachment to worldly pleasures clearly does more harm than good and we will suffer the consequences.
It is for this reason that Dao has been passed to the general public. By receiving Dao we can come to understand the root source of our lives and our spiritual nature. On the one hand we can manifest the virtue within the upright heart by learning the essence of Truth and helping other sentient beings to nurture their spirituality. On the other hand, with this upright heart we can use our bodies to work so that we can nurture our physical lives. With the emphasis on a balance between the physical and spiritual aspects of our lives, we can establish our virtues and also develop harmonious relationships with others and live a happy, fulfilled life.
When we do this we have, in a sense, found our lost conscience and restored the authority of the God within us. Only then can we consider ourselves as people who live according to our true inner nature.
2. Transcending the Cycle of Life and Death
There is no doubt that we all have the spiritual essence bestowed on us by Heaven, that we all have Dao within us and the potential to attain enlightenment. However, without a Dien Chuan Shr it is difficult for us to understand the root source of our soul and the way to transcend the cycle of life and death.
The life and cultivation of Siddhartha Gautama offers a good example. Traveling to the four gates of his city, Prince Siddhartha became aware of the suffering of life and the unavoidable painful phenomena of birth, illness, old age and death. In order to free himself from entanglement and attachment he renounced his throne, left the palace and set out to cultivate as a monk. For six years he lived as an ascetic practicing self-denial. He visited many masters and learned what they had to teach him, but still, in spite of all his efforts and deprivations, he failed to reach enlightenment. It was only when he met another enlightened Buddha by the name of Ran Deng that he received Dao and was enlightened.
In the past, many cultivators journeyed for thousands of miles, over mountains and through jungles, with one intention in their hearts: to find an enlightened master to pass the Dao to them.
A Zen master by the name of Zhi Gong, who was the spiritual advisor to Emperor Liang, once said:
If one does not meet an enlightened master,
It is futile to take the medicine of the Dharma.
The “medicine of the dharma” means the teaching that the Buddha left behind after 49 years of preaching and teaching. The Zen master stated very clearly that it is useless to learn all this material and gain the knowledge it contains if we do not meet an enlightened master to pass the Dao to us. Finding such a master is critical.
(The text then recounts the full story of Budhidharma and Hui Ke, preserved exactly as in your source, including their dialogue, confrontation, and the lesson about the “paper biscuit” and the necessity of true dharma for transcending birth and death. It concludes with Hui Ke receiving Dao and composing his poem.)
From this story, we can see the crucial importance of having an enlightened master to pass Dao on to us. Now that we have all received the key to the Door of Wisdom, it is really up to us to open that door and fully manifest and utilize the essence that lies within.
From this chapter we can see that we need a Dien Chuan Shr to initiate us and to uncover our long-lost conscience. Then we can come to understand the true, original nature bestowed on us by Heaven. Furthermore, we can manifest its virtues, help to save all sentient beings and eventually return to our original home.
What We Really Receive in the Dao Ceremony
We have all received Dao. Of all the things we do or achieve in our lives, receiving Dao is the most significant and the most worthy of congratulation. It is the culmination of all our searches and what we find will be ours for eternity. Can you remember the day you received Dao, in the pure and peaceful atmosphere of the Dao temple, surrounded by the radiant warmth of divine spiritual energy and the compassion of our predecessors? For many of us the reverence and tranquility of the Dao Ceremony makes a very deep impression, and yet, at the end of the ceremony, the only tangible things we carry away with us are books and an apple. What, then, did we really acquire when we received Dao?
Once, in a higher teaching, our Heavenly Mother communicated the following teaching to us:
Imparting the mystical heavenly secret of the final period.
Receiving the Pointer that opens the golden lock to reveal the golden body.
Firstly, the Ancient Contract is passed on to give you the credentials you need to return to the origin.
Secondly, the Heavenly Gate, the righteous way of the white period, is pointed out.
Thirdly, you are given the Holy Mantra, the spiritual mantra that links you with Heaven.
Think of the mantra and the divine spirits — Buddhas and Immortals — will protect the body of the child.
Once a person has received Dao, their name is recorded in the Heavenly Scroll.
The person's accounts in the Book of Life are settled and they can transcend the Wheel of Suffering.
With this one point, a person may receive Dao in the morning and die in the evening with no regrets.
The priceless jewel is pointed out and returned directly to its origin.
This passage helps us to understand what we received in the Dao Ceremony. It tells us that the propagation of Dao is carried out in accordance with the Heavenly Decree, or the Will of Heaven. This work is not done in order to benefit any particular individual or to secure personal gains of any kind. What is transmitted in the Dao Ceremony is the most precious spiritual teaching that has been available to human beings since ancient times. It is the mystical heavenly truth, the ultimate treasure.
When we receive Dao, the Dien Chuan Shr unlocks our Heavenly Gate — our "true self" or "true Buddha nature." In the ceremony, the Dien Chuan Shr first passes the Holy Hand Seal, or Unification, to us on behalf of the Divine Patriarch. This gives us the necessary credentials to approach the Heaven of Truth, our origin. Secondly, when the Heavenly Gate is unlocked, we can begin to see our true Buddha nature. This one point reveals our true selves to us and also transmits the same ultimate truth that was passed down from generation to generation of saints and sages in the past.
Next is the transmission of the wordless sutra Holy Mantra. This mantra, passed on to us by word of mouth but imprinted in our hearts, is the spiritual mantra that connects us with Buddhas. In this final period we face many tragedies and disasters — floods, earthquakes, famines, civil wars, AIDS, environmental disturbances like the greenhouse effect, and the pollution of our air, earth and water. Due to the compassion of our Heavenly Mother and the great vow of Maitreya Buddha, we can use the Holy Mantra to help us in life-threatening situations.
Since we have received Dao, our names are recorded on the heavenly scroll. If we cultivate our hearts and nurture our souls in accordance with truth, contribute our efforts with sincerity, and establish our virtues, we can be absolutely certain to transcend the cycle of suffering.
Confucius once said:
A person who receives Dao in the morning may die in the evening with no regrets.
What did he mean by that? He meant that receiving Dao can lead us back to our origin and allow us to break the wheel of sorrow. This is made possible through the Dien Chuan Shr transmitting the ultimate truth. That is why this precious essence we receive is known as the priceless jewel of the universe. So let us cultivate with sincerity so that we may all return to the kingdom of truth.
This is the teaching and guarantee given by our Heavenly Mother that we can one day return to our true home.