Chapter 1: The Source Message of the Mystic School

    When you are calm and stable, careful of attention, the
    celestial design is always clear, open awareness is
    unobscured; then you have autonomy in action and can deal
    with whatever arises.

The Absolute

The absolute is movement and stillness without beginning, yin and yang without beginning.

Buddhists call this complete awareness, Taoists call it the gold pill, Confucians call it the absolute. What is called the infinite absolute means the limit of the unlimited. Buddha called it "as is, immutable, ever clearly aware." The I Ching says, "tranquil and unperturbed, yet sensitive and effective." An alchemical text says, "Body and mind unstirring, subsequently there is yet an endless real potential." These all refer to the subtle root of the absolute.

So we know that what the three teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism esteem is calm stability. This is what a Confucian master called being based on calm. When the human mind is calm and stable, before it is affected by things, it is merged in the celestial design; this is the subtlety of the absolute. Once it is affected by things, then there is partiality; this is the change of the absolute.

When you are calm and stable, careful of attention, the celestial design is always clear, open awareness is unobscured; then you have autonomy in action and can deal with whatever arises. With the maturation of practice of calm stability, one spontaneously arrives at this true restoration of the infinite, where the subtle responsive function of the absolute is clear and the design of the universe and all things is complete in oneself.

Balance and Harmony

Balance and harmony are the four directions centered on reality; in action all is balanced.

The Record of Rites says, "When emotions have not yet emerged, that is called balance; when they are active yet all in proportion, that is called harmony." Not having emerged means being careful of attention in the midst of calm stability; therefore it is called balance. Kept in attention yet immaterial, it is therefore called the root of the world. Proportion in action means being careful of what is manifested in action; therefore it is called harmony. Balanced in all actions, it is called arrival at the Way for the world.

Truly if one can be balanced and harmonious in oneself, then the being which is fundamentally so is clear and aware, awake in quietude, accurate in action; thus one can respond to the endless changes in the world.

Lao-tzu said, "If people can be clear and calm, heaven and earth will come to them." This means the same thing as the saying, "Effect balance and harmony, and heaven and earth are in place, myriad beings grow."

Balance and harmony are the subtle functions of sensitive efficiency, the essential workings of response to change, the totality of the cyclic movement and stillness of the flow of production and growth spoken of in the I Ching.

Allowing and Following

Allow the body to be tranquil, the mind to be clear, society to be integrated, events to be spontaneous. Then body, mind, society, and events follow the order, way, time, and design of nature, in responding to people, things, changes, and opportunities.

Body, mind, society, and events are called the four conditions. All worldly people make these into entangling bonds; only those who allow and follow can deal with them. Always dealing with them, yet always calm, one is no longer entangled.

What is allowing? It means allowing the body to be tranquil, allowing the mind to be clear, allowing society to be integrated, allowing events to be spontaneous. What is following? It means following the order of nature, following the way of nature, following the timing of nature, following the design of nature.

When the body follows the order of nature, one can therefore respond to people. When the mind follows the way of nature, one can respond to things. When society follows the timing of nature, it is therefore possible to respond to change. When events follow the design of nature, it is therefore possible to respond to opportunities.

When one can allow, can follow, and can respond, then one is free and clear in the midst of the four conditions. Those who see this way are always responsive yet calm, always clear, and always pure.

Shining and Wandering

The shining mind is always calm; in action, it responds to myriad changes. Even when active, it is essentially always calm.

The wandering mind is always stirring; in quietude it produces myriad thoughts. Even when quiet, it is basically always astir.

Of old it has been said, always extinguish the stirring mind, don't extinguish the shining mind. The unstirring mind is the shining mind; the mind which does not stop is the wandering mind.

The shining mind is the mind of Tao, the wandering mind is the human mind. When it is said that the mind of Tao is vague, this means it is subtle and difficult to see. When it is said that the human mind is in peril, this means it is insecure and uneasy.

Even in the human mind there is the mind of Tao; even in the mind of Tao there is the human mind. It is a matter of persistently keeping centered and balanced in activity and stillness, so that the shining mind is always present and the wandering mind does not stir. Then what was insecure will become peaceful, and what was vague will become clear.

At this point, the errant mind comes back, and the error-free Tao is accomplished. This is what the I Ching calls "coming back to see the heart of heaven and earth."