Studying the Tao

 

Cultivating the Tao

Quoted from:

Cultivating the Tao: Taoism and Internal Alchemy, by Liu Yiming (1734-1821), pages 158-159

How sad it is that the students of this world do not reflect on the pursuit of Nature (xing) and Existence (ming), and do not look into the Way of Nature and Existence! They get mired in the study of the Tao and in the cultivation of the Tao; they vainly attempt to ascend to Heaven in a single step, and to achieve sainthood in one instant. It is no wonder that they are deceived by the ignorant masters of the present day, and that they end up spending their lives in the lair of the demons. When one looks at every craft and every art of our world, each of them requires long and careful study; in no other way can there be achievement. How could the great undertaking of Life and Death, which is something rare in our world, be easy to know?

Source: Xiuzhen houbian (Further Discriminations in Cultivating Reality), sec. 26.

 

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