- Chapter One: Prologue
- Chapter Two: Doctrine
- Chapter Three: Practice
- Chapter Four: The Way of Humanity
- Chapter Five: Cause and Effect
- Chapter Six: Doubts Clarified
- Chapter Seven: The Principle of the Nature
- Chapter Eight: Buddhahood
- Chapter Nine: Sending on Spirits in Transition
- Chapter Ten: Belief and Dedication
- Chapter Eleven: Maxims
- Chapter Twelve: Exemplary Acts
- Chapter Thirteen: On the Order
- Chapter Fourteen: Prospects
- Chapter Fifteen: Entrusting
Dictionary
The Scripture of the Founding Master
Chapter Six: Doubts Clarified
11
A disciple asked, “In the Buddha of the past's teachings, it says that in the celestial realms there is a Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Is that heaven arrayed rung by rung in space?” The Founding Master said, “The heavenly realms are posited only to distinguish the levels of one’s practice. Whether it is in heaven or on earth, those places where there are highly attained practitioners are the heavens.” The disciple asked again, “Also it says that the higher one climbs in that heaven, the taller one becomes in stature and the lighter one’s clothes in weight. What does this mean?” The Founding Master said, “To say that one becomes taller in height means that, as the strength of one's virtue grows, so does one's spiritual energy. To say that one's clothing becomes lighter in weight means that, as the strength of one's virtue grows, so does one's turbid energy subside and one's spirit become lighter. However, even those heavenly beings who reach the apex of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three will retrogress once their merit is exhausted, unless they have attained great, perfect, and right enlightenment.”
The Scripture of the Founding Master
Chapter Six: Doubts Clarified
11
A disciple asked, “In the Buddha of the past's teachings, it says that in the celestial realms there is a Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Is that heaven arrayed rung by rung in space?” The Founding Master said, “The heavenly realms are posited only to distinguish the levels of one’s practice. Whether it is in heaven or on earth, those places where there are highly attained practitioners are the heavens.” The disciple asked again, “Also it says that the higher one climbs in that heaven, the taller one becomes in stature and the lighter one’s clothes in weight. What does this mean?” The Founding Master said, “To say that one becomes taller in height means that, as the strength of one's virtue grows, so does one's spiritual energy. To say that one's clothing becomes lighter in weight means that, as the strength of one's virtue grows, so does one's turbid energy subside and one's spirit become lighter. However, even those heavenly beings who reach the apex of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three will retrogress once their merit is exhausted, unless they have attained great, perfect, and right enlightenment.”
