Master Fa Chan’s Teachings 23

Dharma Master Fa-Chan’s Teachings

December 21st 2025, Winter Solstice

1. Linji Ancestor said: “It is only because emotions arise that wisdom is obstructed, and thoughts change that the body differs, thus revolving in the three realms and suffering all kinds of pain. From my monk’s perspective, there is nothing that is not profound, nothing that is not liberated.” From this, we can deeply realize that the greatest difference between us and the ancestral Buddhas lies on the two levels of “emotion” (情 qíng) and “thought” (想 xiǎng).

“Emotion” refers to all kinds of emotional thoughts or emotional attachments; “thought” refers to all kinds of delusive thoughts or false identifications. Ordinary sentient beings all have various emotional thoughts, attachments, delusive thoughts, and false identifications, while the ancestral Buddhas and a truly enlightened person do not have these issues.In fact, emotions and thoughts themselves are not problematic. According to our realization, even if you are an enlightened person, you still have “emotions” and “thoughts.” But they have emotions without emotional thoughts or attachments; they have thoughts without delusive thoughts or false identifications. This is what the ancient virtuous ones meant by “when emotions do not attach to objects, one attains liberation.”

2. Coming into the human world, we have long seen clearly that the three realms and six paths are not what we want. Constantly revolving in birth, aging, sickness, death, and worries, sorrows, and sufferings—what is the point? Therefore, from a young age, we have had an extremely strong aspiration toward the Way, meaning that in this life, we must return to the source of life—the original nature.

Linji Ancestor also said: “The three realms have no peace, like a burning house; this is not a place for you to stay long. The impermanence killer strikes in an instant, without choosing noble or lowly, old or young.” Everyone! While you still have breath, why not make a great determination like us to thoroughly investigate the original nature? Everyone, do not forget: as soon as the breath stops, everything in this dusty world becomes zero for you—only the Way you have cultivated will never be lost. Moreover, the human path is the best for practice. Everyone knows that a human body is difficult to obtain, right? The ancient virtuous ones also said: “Put forth effort in this life to complete it; who can bear the remaining calamities across many kalpas?” For everything in this dusty world, settle it if you can. Having a bit more aspiration toward the Way is always better, isn’t it?

3. Everyone hopes to live each day with a good mood—this is only natural. But perhaps not many people have a good mood every day. Everyone can just ask themselves and know. So how can one have a good mood? Actually, it is very easy, and the key lies in the two words “gratitude.”

When we sincerely give rise to a heart of gratitude, in life and in our existence, we will naturally be filled with feelings of joy or happiness—these good moods—and the effect is immediate. When we know gratitude, in life and existence, the people, events, and things worthy of our gratitude are truly innumerable; the fear is that we take them for granted and do not truly gratitude them from the heart. Living in the world, complain less and gratitude more—naturally, one will have a happy and joyful life.

4. Here, I will also teach everyone a very simple longevity breathing health cultivation method (長壽呼吸養生功法 chángshòu hūxī yǎngshēng gōngfǎ). Adopt a standing posture, feet shoulder-width apart, relax the whole body, then perform the 5-7-8 breathing method (五七八吐納功法 wǔ-qī-bā tǔnà gōngfǎ).

First, inhale for 5 seconds while raising both hands upward to directly above the body, head also lifting upward, eyes looking straight up; hold the breath for 7 seconds, then lower both hands while exhaling for 8 seconds, head returning to normal position. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. Do 12 repetitions as one round; the number of rounds is up to you.After finishing, you can also add the shaking exercise (抖動功 dǒudòng gōng) taught in the previous issue for 3 to 5 minutes. These methods can rejuvenate, promote longevity, and resist aging. As long as practiced consistently over time, though the methods are simple, the effects will truly exceed imagination!