LIU I-MING'S COMMENTARY ON CHANG PO-TUAN'S THE INNER TEACHINGS OF TAOISM

Chang Po-tuan, The Inner Teachings of Taoism, Commentary by Liu I-ming, translated from the Chinese by Thomas Cleary (Boston & London: Shambhala, 2001) ("Get rid of anger and hatred. If you do not sweep yourself clean of anger and hatred, You will be full of turbulence, which will obscure the truth." Id. at 37. "Relinquish attachment to the physical body. See the physical body as something temporary and artificial, And naturally there will be a way to seek the real body." Id. at 37. "Do not talk about right and wrong. Everyone should sweep the snow from his own door And not be concerned about the frost on another's roof." Id. at 39. "The Heart of Heaven and Earth: "The first essential step in cultivating reality is to find the heart of heaven and earth. The heart of heaven and earth, the universal mind, is what has been previously referred to as the natural, innocent true mind. This mind is subtle and recondite, and is not easily manifested; it only shows a glimpse when 'light appears in the empty room' and 'within darkness, suddenly there is illumination'." "Heaven is associate with yang, earth is associate with yin; the heart of heaven and earth is the mind in which yin is not separate from yang, yang is not separate form yin, yin and yang are merged. When yin and yang are conjoined, this mind is present; when yin and yang are separate, this mind is absent. It is not form, not void, yet both form and void; it is not being, not nonbeing, yet both being and nonbeing. Form and void interpenetrate, being and nonbeing cannot be established; this is ineffable existence within true emptiness. When you know this mind and keep it intact, the overall basis is already established and the rest is easy." "The ignorant who do not know this all manipulate the avaricious physical heart; some consider the active mind the heart of heaven and earth, some consider the still mind the heart of heaven and earth, some think the mind dwelling on the middle of the torso is the heart of heaven and earth. This is wrong. The avaricious heart is the conditioned human mind with personal desires; the active mind clings to existence, the still mind clings to nothingness, and dwelling mind fixes on form. These minds are as far from the heart of heaven and earth as mud is form the clouds." "The heart of heaven and earth is unified in action and stillness, is tranquil and unperturbed yet sensitive and effective, is sensitive and effective yet tranquil and unperturbed. How could it it refer to the physical, avaricious heart?" Id. at 76-77.).