1. Introduction: The Starting Point — Pondering “Innocence” in the World
My exploration of Xing-Ming-Yun-Dao began with recognizing the many instances of “innocence” in the world. For example: How does a newborn baby—pure and blank—end up being born into a specific family? What is the basis for this? Why are some people born unfortunate, with missing limbs or disabilities?
We cannot force the “karmic theory” onto these questions right away, even if the theory is valid. Knowing “ice is made of water” does not mean one can create ice; this is entirely different from karmic theory.
I once selected a few subjects for experiments, but their cooperation was extremely limited. So, I turned myself into a “guinea pig” and verified some principles.
2. The First Verification: “One Receives What One Desires” — The Law of Sequence and Priority in Mental Power
The idea “one receives what one desires” sounds like nonsense at first glance. But its true meaning emerges when rephrased: To obtain what one wants, one only needs to first have the desire, then act pragmatically—and destiny will naturally deliver.
Example 1: A Man Seeking a Wife
A man sincerely desired to have a wife. Xing-Ming-Yun-Dao “granted” him this wish, and he got married. However, his wife smoked, drank, went clubbing, suffered from various gynecological diseases, played mahjong all day, refused to take care of their children, and only liked to fool around. They argued constantly.
Regretful, the man sincerely thought: “Having such a wife is worse than having none.” As he wished, their conflicts became so intense that they divorced—and he got exactly what he wanted.
This aligns with reality, logic, and metaphysics. Let’s break it down:
When the man desired a wife, he did not specify what kind of wife he wanted. His strongest thought was simply: “I want a wife.”
Xing-Ming-Yun-Dao’s influence on people follows the law of sequence and priority: it first satisfies the strongest mental power, then the second strongest, third, and so on.
Example 2: A Woman Seeking a Partner
When a woman looks for a partner, she usually has criteria (e.g., ① good personality, ② stable financial foundation, ③ loyalty). These criteria are independent, but destiny requires them to be prioritized—which puzzles most people: “All criteria are important; I want them all. What should I do?”
Most people’s solution is not to prioritize, but to combine them into a single vague condition: “A man who is ‘passable’ in all aspects.”
Destiny always “answers requests”: when a certain thought dominates, that thing will inevitably happen. Thus, she gets a man who fully matches her “original intention”—passable, but only passable.
Why “Perfect Lovers” Never Arrive?
Many ask: “Why do I sincerely desire a ‘perfect lover,’ but the people I meet are a mess?”
The answer lies in internal manifestation (内显): When you have a desire, it must first manifest internally—without internal manifestation, there can be no true desire. At the moment you wished for a perfect lover, you must have had an overwhelming thought that crushed all others: I am ordinary; I don’t deserve this; I can never meet such a person.
Desiring something is not like making a wish or daydreaming. Internal manifestation is a reflection on one’s own soul. Humans can deceive themselves, but they cannot deceive “Heaven” (the laws of Xing-Ming-Yun-Dao).
3. The Core Requirement: Inner Standards for Aligning with Xing-Ming-Yun-Dao
Thus, one must be:
- Confident, clear-minded, sincere, and focused;
- Not arrogant, impulsive, hypocritical, or perfunctory.
These are internal standards, not external ones. From inner alignment, one achieves freedom and ease (化自在).
Destiny is like the magical painter Ma Liang: Whatever you depict in your heart will appear around you.
The Root of “Innocent” Misfortune
” Innocent” parents who suffer from their children’s misfortunes (e.g., children born with physical or mental disabilities) often share a common issue: Before or after the child’s birth, the parents had no conscious intentions or internal manifestations—they lived in confusion.
Examples of such careless thoughts:
- While still in the delivery room, feeling troubled by trivial matters, the mother thinks: “Giving birth is meaningless; I’m so tired.” Though a tiny thought, it is like thunder to Heaven. This single thought will make her suffer more hardships later. The more hardships she endures, the more she harbors such thoughts—falling deeper into a vicious cycle, harming herself and others.
- When medical staff hand the newborn (still covered in amniotic fluid) to the parents, the parent thinks: “It looks so ugly, like a dried purple eggplant.” This unintentional thought is like a curse—the child will likely grow up “not good-looking.”
In contrast, those who have positive internal manifestations will see different results. For example, a mother might think: “I’m naturally beautiful; I can’t have an ugly baby. It just hasn’t grown into its looks yet—when it does, it’ll look like me.” Guided by this thought, the baby will gradually transform as it grows, from an “ugly infant” to a cute child.
What Is “Righteousness” in Internal Manifestation?
To align with Xing-Ming-Yun-Dao, one’s thoughts must be “righteous” (正). This does not refer to the “righteousness” of secular morality or rules, but the fairness of Heaven’s laws—distinguishing right from wrong, benefit from harm. With righteousness, one overcomes negativity (克阴) and nurtures more righteousness (养正).
4. Deepening Internal Manifestation: Two Ways to Understand the World
Internal manifestation is like a path—some paths are profound, others shallow; some high, others low. The deeper and higher the internal manifestation, the richer the gifts of destiny.
How to deepen and elevate internal manifestation?
Internal manifestation means “manifesting the world within oneself”—including oneself, others, and all things in the world. This requires first understanding the world: The more you understand, the more detailed and real your internal manifestation; the deeper you understand, the broader and more profound it becomes.
Way 1: Reading and Learning
Everything in the world is covered in books—even places you have never visited (their people, scenery, customs, food, and tastes) and people you have never met (ancient sages, poets, emperors, generals, peddlers, and ordinary folks).
Critics may say: “Books are just one person’s perspective—hypocritical and misleading. Blindly trusting books is worse than not reading them.”
My response:
- One person’s perspective is indeed narrow, but reading ten thousand books is like listening to ten thousand people’s views. If you still cannot gain wisdom after listening to ten thousand voices, then there’s really no hope for you.
- While authors may whitewash themselves or slander others, their biases do not distort facts about other eras or people. For example, reading books from the Ming Dynasty to learn about the Yuan Dynasty, or studying Han Yu’s works to understand Liu Zongyuan’s achievements—where is the hypocrisy here?
- The saying “Blindly trusting books is worse than not reading them” assumes you know books first. Without knowing books, you cannot truly “not trust them.”
Way 2: Thinking-Acting-Adapting (Practice Is the Criterion for Testing Truth)
Understanding the world does not require reading—reading is just a shortcut. For example:
- If you don’t know how to date, date more; if you don’t know how to flatter, practice flattering a few times.
All instances of “not knowing” stem from a lack of successful experience, which traps people in their comfort zones. If flattering a few times leads to a promotion and raise, it’s hard not to enjoy socializing—don’t claim “I’m naturally unsociable.”
However, this “hands-on cultivation” has limitations. For example, you cannot learn to manage a marriage by marrying, divorcing, remarrying, and redivorcing—the cost is too high. Thus, you must think thrice before acting , where “three thoughts” are:
- Think of dangers: Anticipate potential risks and flaws.
- Think of retreats : Plan how to respond if risks arise.
- Think of adaptations: Adjust and improve when problems occur.
Missing any of these leads to mistakes:
- Only thinking of dangers = paranoia;
- Only thinking of retreats = selfish cowardice;
- Only thinking of adaptations = unreliability.
Example: Applying “Three Thoughts” to Dating
When you first meet a boyfriend:
- Think of dangers: Identify potential flaws or risks in him to avoid being hurt later.
- Think of retreats: Plan how to deal with those risks if they materialize.
- Think of adaptations: With a response plan, you gain confidence to engage wholeheartedly. If he has flaws, help him improve; if you have flaws, reform yourself.
After dating a few people, your understanding and abilities will grow—and you will have no worries.
Apply this to all areas: Use work to understand work, dating to understand dating, marriage to understand marriage. Reflect when things are calm (not when crises arise)—reflection is self-improvement, not overthinking.
The Optimal Path: Combine Reading and Practice
Alternate between the two paths, or take them together—ideally, read (learn) while practicing. This is the best path for ordinary people’s daily cultivation, applicable to all matters, not just relationships.
5. The Incurable “Disease”: Laziness
There is only one incurable “disease”: laziness.
Imagine telling someone: “Dig a hole, plant a peach sapling, water it once a day—and in three years, you’ll have more peaches than you can eat.” But instead, he runs around the market looking for ready-made peaches. He complains about the high prices, but still buys them. He spends half his life earning money to buy peaches, never eating his fill—and on his deathbed, he says: “What kind of destiny is this? I can’t even afford peaches…”
Is he lazy? He works hard and is tired. Is he diligent? The solution was right in front of him.
6. The Illusion of “Quick Fixes” and the Essence of Change
Life’s pain, disasters, and misfortunes are not like illnesses—you can’t just pay money, get an injection, lie down, sleep, and recover. Yet, people always seek “quick cures” , waiting for pie to fall from the sky. Even if pie did fall, they wouldn’t fear choking on it.
There are ways to solve “innate” abnormalities and problems, but I detest and resent such laziness—I would not share those methods even if I had them.
So, what’s the point of my words? What use am I?
At the very least, I have told you how ordinary people can change Xing-Ming-Yun-Dao within their capabilities: Cultivate sincere, positive desires .
7. Is “Cultivating Positive Desires” Easy for Everyone?
Truly—can everyone do it?
Consider a Buddhist who sees a butcher killing a cow: The butcher hits the cow with a hammer; the cow foams at the mouth, trembles, falls, and spits blood. How many people would not think: “This is cruel! The butcher will surely suffer karmic retribution later…”
This is a small evil, not a positive desire. They sympathize with the cow but fail to see the whole picture.
The correct internal manifestation should be:
“Poor cow, may you be reborn into freedom in your next life, free from being killed for food. May the butcher soon find a better job, leave this work of killing cows, and accumulate blessings.”
The wisdom here lies in seeing evil, stopping evil, but not condemning evil.
How to distinguish between “seeing, stopping, and condemning”?
- Seeing (见): Be honest with your heart. There is no unprovoked evil—judge the butcher’s intentions to understand the truth.
- Stopping (止): Help the other person change, not make empty demands like “You shouldn’t do this” (which is just laziness, waiting for things to improve without effort).
- Condemning (诛): There is no justification for condemnation.
Such is the way of Xing-Ming-Yun-Dao.
