Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism
In the course of cultivating the Tao, one should guard against six situations: laziness, infatuation, illusion, arrogance, confusion, and demonic delusion.
First, “Laziness”
After devoting themselves for some time, some people cultivating the Tao grow lazier and lazier, lose interest in many things in life, and dodge the responsibilities they ought to bear, feeling that anything they do will interfere with their practice. Little do they know that “sitting and discussing the Tao is not as good as rising and putting it into practice”: learning lies not in talk but in earnest practice.
Fan Zhongyan of the Song dynasty had great talent for governing the state and leading armies, yet his whole life was full of ups and downs. Well versed in the way of the sages, he was repeatedly sacrificed in factional struggles, yet he never lost heart. In low times he filled his heart with the learning of the Tao, becoming more broad-minded and serene, and continued working more calmly for the common people and the Northern Song. After his death he was posthumously honored with the name “Wenzheng.”
Anyone with a heart turned toward the Tao, wherever they are, can cultivate the Tao while working toward their dreams, and so achieve success. So stop using spiritual practice as an excuse to escape from life. People who truly practice only become more resilient and more diligent. If you cannot even deliver yourself, how can you talk of “delivering all living beings”!
Second, “Infatuation”
In the course of practice, many people become so infatuated with Taoist culture that they even develop extreme religious views. Because they study the Tao, they say Buddhism is a fraud; because the Tao they cultivate is the right way, they say other religions are heterodox and all superstition. They only ever believe that what they study is the truth, and that the teachings of other religions are heresy.
Worse still, whatever they are doing in daily life, they are always muttering scriptures and incantations regardless of the occasion, thinking this will dissolve all the troubles of the world. As a result, their relatives and friends grow very worried; not only are their troubles not resolved, but they make a mess of their own lives!
The purpose of studying any religious discipline is to become more broad-minded; one must never lack a tolerant heart. Know that the highest state a cultivator of the Tao can reach is to view the whole great universe, embrace all its myriad phenomena, and give rise to compassion for all living beings. So please practice rationally, and do not let your attachments grow deeper the more you practice, while you remain pitifully unaware of it!
Third, “Illusion”
In the course of cultivating the Tao, some people often even experience “hallucinations.” This is actually not surprising. Just as people who study Buddhism love the lotus and often see clouds in the sky that look like lotuses, or see winds rising and clouds surging and think that purple qi is coming from the east and their luck is about to turn!
There are many, many such examples. When hallucinations occur, composed people, after a sense of awe, face life more positively; but there are always some who instead take the hallucinations as real and neglect what they are doing now, which absolutely must not happen. Hallucinations are also a precursor of mental illness and call for vigilance.
Hallucinations are common in practice, but taking illusion for reality is one's own derangement. Half in jest yet in earnest, let me advise everyone: hallucinations are a precursor of mental illness. You must take care not to go astray and reduce yourself to a state that is neither human, nor god, nor ghost.
In the future, whenever hallucinations appear, first remember a line from the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment: “Know it is illusion and you are free of it, without resorting to expedients; be free of illusion and you are awakened, with no gradual stages.” If you know that all this is illusion, the illusions will naturally fall away, with no practice needed. If you hold on with attachment, knowing it is illusion yet unable to forget it, then you must make an effort and practice with a clear mind.
Fourth, “Arrogance”
After taking up cultivation of the Tao, many people, having read some Taoist scriptures and books, inexplicably become extremely arrogant and look down on everyone but themselves. They even think they have realized the Tao, that they are the spokesperson for both Buddhism and Taoism, worthy of the title “number one.”
Some are not so wildly arrogant, yet grow more and more aloof and conceited, thinking only their own understanding of the Taoist classics is correct and that what others have grasped is all nonsense. They often pose as eminent Taoists to criticize, reproach, and mock sincere practitioners at will. This is the greatest “self-conceit,” and moreover it is committing the evil of harsh speech, which is the greatest of sins. If this happens, one must wake up to it early and correct it.
Fifth, “Confusion”
After practicing for some time, many practitioners become mentally disordered and are less and less able to tell reality from illusion. Some even need medical treatment. Some look fine on the outside, but inside they often waver between reality and illusion, held up only by the last remnants of their ideals.
Many people with schizophrenia are like this: fine one second and not normal the next; speaking properly to one person, then muddled with the next. Practitioners with some experience have mostly seen with their own eyes such patients who have made themselves ill through practice. So I must urge everyone here: you may believe some of the Taoist legends, but do not take them too literally. Better to reflect deeply on the principles within them—that is what we should pay more attention to!
Another aspect is a jumble of practices and the search for shortcuts: refining elixirs today, drawing talismans tomorrow, chanting incantations the day after. Today Zhang San says this method is fast, so you hurry to learn it; tomorrow you hear Li Si say there is a better method, so you switch to that better one. The result is drifting about, clear on no method, wasting years and accomplishing nothing.
Sixth, “Demonic Delusion”
This phenomenon was more common in ancient times. Often, after achieving some small success in cultivating the Tao, some people either believed themselves the savior of the world or grew more and more cynical, spreading rumors and stirring up trouble in society at will. This is truly a case of being off by a hair from the true meaning of Taoism and ending up a thousand li astray.
It is like the Three Demons of Xuanyuan's Tomb in the Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen Yanyi): though they had a certain power and cultivation of their own, they mistakenly thought that “as long as the Shang dynasty falls, we will succeed in attaining the Tao.” So they acted on their own authority, using the edict of the Goddess Nüwa to frame loyal and virtuous officials. This is an error of view. Although it is only an analogy, it is worth reflecting on.
Cultivating the Tao is a long, down-to-earth process of changing one's nature, understanding, and habits. Do not imagine that a short spell of practice can solve all of life's problems. Know that practice can only make your state of mind more open and composed, make you less attached to the turmoil of the world, and let you see all the world's problems from a different angle!
More importantly, the ideas taught by every religion chiefly urge people to be tolerant and to turn toward goodness. I hope everyone will look within and reflect, keep themselves alert, and never go further and further down the wrong paths of these “six great” errors. Remember never to forget your original heart and original aspiration, and study and practice with a mind free of defilement!