What is liberation? According to the Vimalakirti Nirdesa
sutra, "liberation is the ability to effect any
transformation at will" [1]
To be able to transform anything at will means to be able to
change the old into the new. The Bible says, "For, behold, I
create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not
be remembered, nor come into mind." [2] Plato's god can
emulate the Forms of the universe as they manifest
themselves before his eyes. Through the images of material
forms created by the Original Consciousness, the spirit is
substantiated and the spiritual universe can be used to
replace and alter the original material phenomena. During
this process of change and transformation, however, the
original material object remains unchanged.
The theory of Forms alluded to in the Bible¡¦s Genesis "Let
us make man in our image, after our likeness¡K"[3] has its
origins in Plato¡¦s notions of "ideals" and the power of our
thoughts in the constitution and structure of the universe.
The God of Genesis in the Bible is able to create or "make"
all things in the universe: "In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form,
and void."[4] On the other hand, Plato's god cannot create
anything. Rather, Plato¡¦s god uses the Forms, or archetypal
ideals, to fashion a harmonious physical universe in
imitation of the true universe. All things existing in the
true universe remain intact, but we can, using our higher
consciousness and wisdom, cause the images of all things in
our spiritual universe to have more perfection and harmony
than their original forms. While Plato¡¦s theories of Forms
and ideals do contain a hint of "liberation," they have not
yet attained the ultimate liberation!
As humankind¡¦s Original Consciousness reveals and manifests
itself, "spiritual phenomena" emerge, caused by the
"resonance" between our five human senses and all of the
things they experience in the universe. These spiritual
phenomena will eventually replace the multifarious physical
phenomena in the world, releasing them from their original
states and creating new phenomena. This, in a word, is
liberation. If we can transport ourselves, at will, to dwell
securely in this state of liberation, then we can be said to
have achieved what is called the "Ultimate Liberation."
The phenomena of liberation spring forth from our Original
Consciousness, not from our physical bodies. The Original
Consciousness makes manifest the spirit, as enriched by the
experiences of the body's five senses reacting to and
resonating with all universal beings. This spirit commingles
with matter, unimpeded; hence, what we call the "state of
liberation." Since liberation is the ongoing effect of
change springing forth from the Original Consciousness,
human thought and consciousness must revolve around the
principle of allowing our "Essential Selves" to take
command. To the extent that daily human activities (such as
walking, living, sitting, and reclining) are not hampered,
we must be constantly thinking of our Original Consciousness
whenever and wherever possible, so as to merge with it as
one. Only thus will it be possible to bring about the state
of liberation.
Twentieth century religions worshipped external gods and
this was considered faith. However, faith is one thing and
liberation quite another. Faith is the method of religion,
whereas liberation is its ultimate aim. For the 21st century
religions to attain liberation, a return to oneself, to what
is in one's own mind and heart and consciousness, is what is
needed. Let our Essential Selves take command! Let us leave
off contemplating the external and go inward, and only then
will liberation be possible in this lifetime! It is as the
Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, in the section on the consolation
of the invalid, states: "Manjusri asks Vimalakirti: ¡¥Where
should the liberation of the Buddhas be sought?¡¦
Vimalakirti¡¦s answer: ¡¥It should be sought in the prime
mental and conscious activity of all living beings.¡¦[5]
Through releasing his Divine Light Avatar, Divine Infinite
Self or what he calls "Fen Shen" (literally, "split body"),
Sungchili confirms his own experience of liberation. He uses
his "Fen Shen" as a model to contrast against the
fallibility of an ordinary person, exemplifying the
difference between eternity and brevity. He aims to
demonstrate to his believers and establish the basic idea
that "if Sungchili can [do it], then the believers also
can!" Sungchili's physical body is transformed into a new
form and shape, thus effecting the release of a physically
separate Divine Light Avatar, Divine Infinite Self, or "Fen
Shen." This is liberation.
"Fen Shen" constitutes a liberated image. "Fen Shen"
thoroughly remolds and replaces the physical body. "Fen Shen"
is brand-new, wise, and brilliant - the eternal Dharma body.
By contrast, the physical body is impermanent, dull-witted,
and weak.
"Fen Shen" is akin to the concept of "Logos" ¡V the Word -
expounded in biblical positivism. Logos is God's ideal, His
reason and intelligence. A symbol for Christ, the word
incarnate or "the word made flesh" image of Christ is called
Logos. In everything created by God, here on earth and in
the entire universe, we see the image of Logos. Logos is
imprinted everywhere in the entire structure of the
universe. Logos is translated into the image of Christ and
thus revealed in the structure of the universe. The image of
Christ has already been replaced by the Logos [6] for the
Logos is God's ideal. This is precisely the Platonic
"conception" of the formal cause of the universe
The liberated person can not only change his or her
environment through the function of "Fen Shen," but can also
fit, into the space before one's eyes, the Pure Lands of the
Buddhist realms. Dirt is turned into Pure Land, old heaven
and earth are transformed into new heaven and earth. The
majestic Pure Lands of the Buddhist realms are incorporated
into our lives so that we may dwell securely therein ¡V while
still here on Earth!
The Pure Lands are the ultimate crystallization of the state
of liberation; they are part of a spiritual universe that
can be equated with Plato's vision of utopia (his
"Republic"), a spiritual world of eternal value. This
spiritual universe appears right in front of the eyes of
those who have achieved liberation. Unconstrained by the
present material environment, the Pure Lands embody a sphere
of consummate perfection and unity, and are able to replace
the original material environment completely. This
phenomenon of spirit transforming into matter arises from a
change in the Original Consciousness. Without god's ideal as
its basis, the Forms of the universe would be a sheet of
blurry haziness, and would not resemble what Plato has
described as "moving the universe and placing it in the
space before one's eyes. "[7]
Plato's god creates the spiritual universe by emulating the
Forms, his highest conceptions (or ideals). Plato can see
the spiritual universe formed by his god¡¦s ideals. But, he
has no means to get into it because he has not been
completely liberated, unlike the Logos or word-made-flesh
Christ, who exists eternally in the universe created by God.
Although Plato's own god emulates and transports the
universal Forms, he has not emulated or transported the Form
of Plato and placed it in the spiritual universe. Because
Plato has not been completely liberated, he cannot become
Logos, cannot substantiate the spiritual universe, and hence
cannot bring his own Pure Land to completion and fruition.
It is for this reason that there still exists a universal
demarcation line, a dualism, in Plato's theories. If Plato
had attained the ultimate liberation, then he would have
become a fully perfected, totally self-contained Logos; he
would have been capable of releasing his "Fen Shen" and
replacing the material world with the spiritual universe.
The ability to replace matter with substantiated spirit is
equivalent to liberation. It is from this state of
liberation that humankind derives the physical phenomenon of
and ability to turn spirit into matter and matter into
spirit.
Through the process of introspection, all human beings must
come to a realization of the existence of their Original
Consciousness; that God is in this Consciousness, and so is
Buddha. That God and Buddha exist in the human Consciousness
has forever become an eternal, unchanging truth. When God
and Buddha (the Original Consciousness) are both liberated
and take leave of the human physical body to become Logos,
humankind will suddenly unlock the mysteries of the
spiritual universe and everlasting life propagated by the
doctrines in the Bible and the Buddha¡¦s Scriptures. All
humankind will exclaim, each person to him- or herself, "So
THIS is what it¡¦s like!"
Achieving liberation is not as difficult as we might imagine
it to be. Inasmuch as everyone's consciousness contains
God's logic, everyone can become Logos (everyone has an
Original Consciousness, so everyone is capable of releasing
their "Fen Shen"). The faith of humankind can only support a
brief spiritual life. Only through liberation can we enter
the eternal spiritual universe. Liberation is the prime
condition for exchanging the temporary for the eternal.
Transcending life, transcending the cycle of death and
rebirth, with no more suffering, weeping, or grieving,
experiencing eternal bliss ¡V all of this is only achievable
through liberation!
In the process of our human faith, if we receive responses
from the Buddhas, deities, or bodhisattvas we believe in;
if, we occasionally have visions of such Buddhas, deities,
bodhisattvas or other people, events, places, things,
including even such a trivial, mundane object as a small
cup, we should immediately follow our thoughts and respond
to the object that has manifested before us, then track the
object back to its origins and transform it.
If we see the Buddhas, deities, or bodhisattvas, let us not
cling to their "appearances," but rather transform these
appearances at will into our own image (even if using our
own imagination). The ability to change appearances in
accordance with our thoughts is also called liberation.
When we are in a not-conscious state, all kinds of things
which we have never thought of before frequently emerge,
such as sounds, light, shadows, feelings, images, and colors
and shapes of all kinds. All of these can be transformed in
accordance with one's consciousness, so that the unity of
consciousness and matter is achieved. When our consciousness
can transform matter, then we are liberated, right in this
lifetime!
Liberation is brought into existence by each individual's
own Original Consciousness. If we ignore the occasional
spiritual phenomena that occur to us, and employ scientific
concepts to dismiss the metaphysical, real phenomena
revealed to us by our Original Consciousness, then we will
never attain liberation.
In the course of our daily lives, we can actively bring
about spiritual phenomena. In our mind¡¦s eye, we can produce
a small cup by thinking about it, rendering its color,
shape, and size in accordance with our desires. When the
small cup that we have created with our thoughts appears in
our mind or right before our eyes and it can be seen,
touched, felt, and tasted - its color, smell, and taste all
conforming to our desires - when this happens, then there is
instant liberation!
The Flower Ornament Sutra, section 39.6, on entering the
dharma-realm, states: "I have obtained the method of
liberation from the bodhisattva's boundless store of
benefaction. From such a small container, in accordance with
the various desires and pleasures of all living creatures,
all kinds of delicacies can be produced such that all are
sated to the hilt. Even if there were hundreds of them,
thousands of them, or even the uncountable millions of them
contained in Jambudvipa, even including all the living
creatures in the world in all of its ten dimensions, every
last one would be fully satisfied, having eaten what they
most desired. And there is no end to and no diminishing of
the boundless food and drink. Such food and drink, such
varieties of delicacies...all kinds of garments, divans,
vehicles, flowers, perfume, treasures - all kinds of
wondrous means with which to enrich lives, all these for
their enjoyment at will, so that they all may be fully
satisfied. " [8] |