修道四十九関 The 49 Barriers of Cultivating the Dao: 後語 Postface

修道四十九関
The 49 Barriers of Cultivating the Dao

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後語
Postface
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By Xing De (Li Shi Fu)

羅列以上四十多條，皆是學人要命關口，擋路大魔，須要關關打通，方好進步，事如考試，若有一關考不過，即被一關擋住，雖不能遂然皆通，須漸次著力，終有考過之日，修眞之道，乃上天之道，天下第一大事，天下第一難事，非大志願，大苦行、大功德方能為。
修道之事，非寥寥數語所能盡知，非平常之人所能明，所能行。譬如上學，一年有一年的課程。幼兒、小學、高中、大學豈可一室而教。學知有長短，悟性有快慢，縱是老耶釋呂在世誰敢一刀切之。
如今大化之時，物資豐富，垂手可得，科技發達，信息無阻。足不出戶，丹經史書一覽無遺，有明理助道之益。
須知有利就有弊，有得就有失，易流于安逸而喪志，起私欲而逐外，失内守而亂真。在‘時間就是金錢’‘效益就是生命’張揚自我，人人逐利的今日，連在世為人都難，更不用說修道了。修道之人能不被物牽，不被欲纏，處污泥而能拔節不染者更是九牛一毛，有意修道者敢不三思而慎之！觀此瘋言瘋語，同者自同，異者自異，欲海無邊，法度有緣。咦，佛祖道祖歷代得道仙師豈非俱是瘋子，師言；不知不瘋，不瘋不成！

【 完 】

【武當山天馬峰杜興德於凌晨5：45分】

The treatise above contains more than 40 sections, which are crucial barriers for students [of the Dao]. They are great demons obstructing the path, and only when they have been opened up, barrier by barrier, is one likely to advance and progress. The affair [of cultivating the Dao] is like taking tests and examinations, for if a barrier is not overcome, one is obstructed [from progressing] by that very barrier. Although one may be unable to open up all of them, one must still try hard [to do so] gradually and put in effort, until one finally arrives at the day on which one can pass the exam. The Dao of cultivating the Truth is, thus, the Dao of ascending the Heavens the greatest affair under the Heavens and the most difficult affair under the Heavens. Only by having great determination, aspiration, ascetic practices, and great Gong and virtues is one able to achieve it.
The matter of the cultivation of the Dao cannot be exhaustively make known [to others] in a few words, nor is it something which ordinary people can be illuminated by or are able to practise. This would be like going to school for just one year’s course [of study]. How could kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and university all be taught in one classroom? [Some students] have their strong and others their weak point in learning and knowledge; some are fast, while others are slow at awakening their Inner Nature. Even if Lao Zi, Jesus, Shakyamuni and Lü Dong Bin were still in this world, who [among them] would dare to impose uniformity?

Today is a time of great transformation. Material resources are abundant and plentiful, and one can obtain them simply by letting one’s hands hang down. Science and technology are flourishing, and information is unobstructed. Without placing a foot outside, the alchemical scriptures and historical books are in plain sight. These have the benefit of illuminating the principles and assisting the Dao.

Nevertheless, one must know that where there is advantage, there is also] disadvantage, and where there is gain, there is also loss. It is easy to drift along in comfort, to lose one’s aspiration, give rise to selfish desires and pursue them on in the outside [world], failing in one’s safeguarding of the internal and [bringing] disorder to the Truth. Today, with [the mottoes that] ‘time is money’ and ‘efficiency is life’, when people display the Self ostentatiously, and person after person is in pursuit of profit, it is difficult enough to conduct oneself in this world, and so it is utterly useless to speak of cultivating the Dao.

Among people who cultivate the Dao, those who are able to resist the pull of material objects and do not get entangled in desires, or can be situated in dirt and mud yet able to [begin] the jointing [stage] without being contaminated, such people are [as rare] as one hair on nine oxen. For those with the intention of cultivating the Dao, can they dare not to think three times in apprehension! Observing these mad words and mad talks, the like-minded of themselves will agree, and the dissidents will of themselves disagree. The Sea of Desires is boundless, and the Law delivers those who are predestined. Among all the Buddhist and Daoist ancestors and past generations of immortal masters who attained the Dao, were not all of them lunatics? The masters said:

If one does not know [about the Dao], one is not crazy.
If one is not crazy, one does not succeed [in attaining the Dao].

 

The End

Mount Wu Dang
Heavenly Horse Peak
Du Xing De
In the very early morning 5:45 am
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PS: The 49 Barriers of Cultivating the Dao are as of now scheduled for an end of March release. You can find two more Barrier excerpts, the foreword and many appendix entries on this website.
The 49 Barriers will be embellished by 49 illustrations as well as the front and back cover of the book by Jen King, whose prints of the Barriers and her Nei Jing Tu can be ordered under: www.jenniferkingstudio.com.