It's All the Same

Actually, believing in yourself and deceiving yourself are not contradictory.

Furthermore, they can even achieve each other.

You know very well that the commands you give yourself are sometimes false, yet you can absolutely believe that you've deceived yourself.

If that's the case, then you are not an ordinary person; you are your own god.

You possess the ability to change your perceptions and karmic habits at will.

This means you have the ability to change Karma at will.

For example, when you first started smoking, it was just for fun. But as you played around, you became addicted, and you were aware of this.

The initial "playing" was the cause, and the subsequent addiction was the effect.

But what if you forget about this event? Doesn't that mean it's as if it never happened?

If it never happened, then the previous cause is gone, and the effect is also gone.

The current cause is forgetting this event, and the effect is no longer smoking.

Does that sound both difficult and simple?

If you can't do it, it's difficult; if you can do it, it's simple.

The reason it feels difficult is that you've denied yourself in your heart, implying that you can't do it.

The reason it's simple is that as long as you can tell yourself in your heart that you can do it, that it's not difficult, and persist for a period, then you truly can achieve it.

Isn't there a saying that "the beginning is the hardest part of any task"?

To be honest, if you don't even have the courage to start, then there's no point in discussing whether it's difficult or not.

It's like I have a younger brother. He always envies how well others date, and he's already in his twenties without ever having been in a relationship.

When people introduce him to potential partners, he doesn't even know how to chat. Within three sentences, he's guaranteed to say something incredibly awkward.

With that kind of approach, who would want to be with you?

Sometimes, when he asks me how to date, I tell him to be bold and that he'll get the hang of it by dating a few people.

If you don't even have the courage to interact with others, and you see a single girl you like but don't dare to pursue her, then don't waste your time overthinking future possibilities. That's called dreaming.

If you're not afraid of failure and dare to try, then you might have a chance.

Humans, in many cases, are scared to death by themselves.

The moment they think about doing something, they overthink it, consider this and that, and it's over before it even begins.

In the end, they experience happiness and pain within their thoughts, but in reality, nothing has happened; it's all their own imagination.

Whether it's dating in life or matters of career, the first thing you need is the courage to start.

Only then can you know whether you've won or lost in the end.

In my life so far, when I've found myself achieving things without knowing how, I've always dived in headfirst and absolutely believed in myself.

I just refused to accept defeat. I'm awesome, I can definitely do it, I don't care who's watching, I'm the strongest.

I encouraged myself all the way, refueled my inner strength and courage, and everything became possible.

Cancer can be reversed, and disabilities can be recovered from, all requiring absolute self-confidence and continuous persistence in that confidence.

Isn't faith the same principle? Constantly using the power of faith to give yourself confidence.

Constantly implying to yourself, "The Buddha blesses me, I can do it. God blesses me, I can do it."

"I have gods and immortals, I fear nothing. I have backing! My power is immense!"

Do you understand? All of this is the power of self-confidence!

It's not the power of what you believe in; you've always believed in yourself, the one who gives you courage!

As everyone knows, the Buddha meditated under the Bodhi tree to attain enlightenment. Ignorant people, however, mistook the tree itself for something sacred.

"The body is the Bodhi tree, the mind is the bright mirror stand; constantly wipe it clean, and do not let dust alight."

"The Bodhi originally has no tree, nor the bright mirror a stand; originally there is nothing, where can dust alight?"

Do you understand these two verses? The first half speaks of one's own body as the Bodhi tree, both being a tree and not being a tree.

The second half speaks of two states of the mind.

One is to constantly sweep away distracting thoughts from the mind and not be contaminated.

The other meaning is that the original mind is inherently unstained. Once you recognize this, you will not be corrupted by karmic habits.

They both speak of the same thing but represent two different realms.

Some say Buddha is Dao, while others say Buddha is Buddha and Dao is Dao.

What's there to argue about? Buddha uses the power of awareness to discover the laws of the mind, thereby recognizing oneself and living a better life.

Dao is the law of all things, and the laws of the mind are also Dao.

Our perception of all things comes from the mind; without the mind, we wouldn't know about laws or Dao.

Similarly, without Dao, this mind would not arise.

Regardless of whether Buddha is Dao, or Dao is Buddha, there is no Buddha without Dao, and no Dao without Buddha. Both "Buddha" and "Dao" are adjectives.

Back then, Laozi discovered a certain law in this world. Not knowing what to call it, he forcefully named it Dao.

And Buddha refers to those who can discover this law using the power of awareness and perception.

Damn it! Isn't this the same thing?

They say Buddha and Dao have been fighting for thousands of years, but how could Buddha and Dao fight?

The ones who fight are always human hearts, the struggles for interests between people.

Some praise Buddha and slander Dao, while others praise Dao and slander Buddha. It's all caused by the distinctions in people's hearts.

Anyone who tells you that Buddha is amazing and Dao is not, or that Dao is amazing and Buddha is not, is themselves not amazing.

They haven't even understood the relationship between the two and are just fooling you based on their own imagination.

If you don't believe me, look at those virtuous great masters. They practice Buddhism and also talk about Dao, they practice Dao and also talk about Buddhism.

This is not heresy; on the contrary, this is what true practitioners will tell you.

I've seen many arguments online, "I'm from the Daoist school, you're from the Buddhist school. We're different. How old is Buddhism compared to Daoism?"

"Nonsense, that's your ignorance. Go read such-and-such scripture, it's all written there. Buddhism is billions of years old!"

"I practice both Buddhist and Daoist cultivation. My family also has old immortals, we have our own immortal affinities."

"You're comparing yourself to me? I am Dao, he is Buddha. Where are you from, immortal?"

"Exactly, Daoism is at least thousands of years old, and our Buddhism is billions of years old. How can you, a folk shaman, compare yourself to us?"

"You don't understand. Our immortals are cultivated by both Buddha and Dao, and also by immortals."

"Get lost! You're worshipping two animals like that, it's nothing like our Buddha or Dao! Who cultivates Dao by worshipping folk animals?"

"Right, we who cultivate Buddhism don't do that either, worshipping animals. We worship Buddha!"

"I won't argue with you two. You definitely don't understand. Our immortals are both Buddha and Dao, and they can also cultivate from animals into humans! It's clear you two don't understand!"

A flurry of nonsensical arguments, endless debates, but no one tells you what Dao is, what Buddha is, what immortals are. It's all up to the audience to guess.

"Oh, Daoism is amazing, Daoism has so many gods, and each god is more powerful than the last. Then, when you cultivate Dao, you can even command troops, which is very formidable!"

"What are you talking about? Buddha is the most powerful! Buddha's magic power is supreme. Didn't Sun Wukong cultivate Dao at first? He was beaten into submission by our Buddha, and in the end, didn't he switch to cultivating Buddhism?"

"Right, right! Wasn't Sun Wukong just a monkey before? Then he cultivated both Dao and Buddhism and became a Grand Unity Golden Immortal! So cultivating immortality isn't wrong either?"

Cough, cough, cough, isn't it fun? Hahaha, don't argue, it's meaningless, it's all the same thing.