Teacher Le Tzu asked the gate guard Guan Yin:
— They say that a superior man walks under water and does not choke; steps on fire and does not get burned; soars above the whole world - and is not afraid. How to achieve this?
“This is achieved not by knowledge and dexterity, but by maintaining the purity of vital force,” answered Guan Yin. - Sit down, I'll tell you.
Everything that has form and image, sound and color are things. How do things differ from each other, and how are they superior to each other? Shape and color - that's all! After all, things are born in the Formless and return to the Unchangeable. What obstacles can there be for someone who has achieved this? Such a person dwells in the Inexhaustible and buries himself in the Infinite, wanders at the end and beginning of all things. He protects the integrity of his nature, nurtures his spirit and brings his vital forces into harmony in order to be at one with the creation of all things. The heavenly in him is preserved intact, the spiritual in him does not suffer damage. How can external things affect him?
In the same way, a drunk who falls from a cart can hit himself hard, but will not die. His body is the same as others, but he will hurt himself in a special way - after all, his spirit is intact. He did not know that he was riding in a cart, and he did not know that he had fallen from it, dreams of life and the fear of death did not nest in his chest, and now he, having encountered any object, knows no fear. If a person can become so whole from wine, then how much more whole can he become thanks to Heaven?
The wise man buries himself in the heavenly, and therefore nothing can harm him. Can anything harm Heaven?
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru