學道修身
Learning the Dao and Cultivating the Self (學道修身, Xuédào Xiūshēn) is a Yiguandao (一貫道) philosophical essay on the nature of the One — the single principle that unites all religions, all cosmology, and all cultivation. The text moves from the concept of seeking the Dao to the mystery of the character "one" (一), demonstrating how Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Christianity, and Islam all take it as their foundation. It then turns inward, to the Mysterious Pass (玄關) where the original nature dwells, and to the cultivation of the heart-mind (心) as the practical path of return.
The text quotes freely from the Analects, the Dao De Jing, Mencius, the Diamond Sutra, the Vimalakirti Sutra, and the Eighth Chan Patriarch, weaving them into the characteristic Yiguandao synthesis — the unity of the Five Teachings within a single thread. The Chinese source text is from the Morality Books Library (善書圖書館, taolibrary.com), Category 52. This is the first English translation. A Good Works Translation from Chinese by the New Tianmu Anglican Church.
To seek the Dao and worship the Buddha is to seek the root of all creation — of heaven, earth, and humankind. Put simply, it is to know the root. To know the root and worship the Buddha is to form a bond with the Buddha.
To learn the Dao and cultivate the self — for as the saying goes, one who does not study does not understand righteousness — is to study the way of the Buddha in order to cultivate one's body and mind.
To know that heaven, earth, and humankind have a root, but not yet how root and branch correspond, how the inner root and outer branches can be brought into their proper use, arriving at last at the resting place of the highest good — this is why, having known the root, one must then learn, and then cultivate.
What is it we know? What is it we learn? What is it we cultivate?
To know that heaven and earth have the Dao. To know that humankind has the Dao. To know that all things have the Dao. To know there is a Buddha-Way that can be sought, a Buddha-Way that can be cultivated. To know that heaven and earth operate by universal principle and truth. To know that heaven and earth are formed from the coming together of causes and conditions. To know that the Buddha-nature and all sentient beings are equal — that all living beings upon the great earth possess the Buddha-nature, and that this nature is both equal and perfectly pure.
To learn is to learn the virtue of heaven and earth. To learn the bond between humanity and heaven. To learn the relationship between humanity and the Buddha. To learn what a human being is in the cosmos, and what all things are in the cosmos — to see through it all. This has not yet been called awakening.
To cultivate is to reform unwholesome habits, to cast off tendencies that were never originally part of one's nature, and to restore one's original face.
How do learning and cultivation relate to one another?
Learning requires awakening. Cultivation requires self-reflection. Learning without awakening does not reach the truth. Cultivation without self-reflection does not reach the true Dao. Therefore awakening and self-reflection stand at the center of both learning and cultivation. These two words — awakening and reflection — may be called the turning of the light back upon itself.
Then where does learning begin? Where does cultivation begin?
The first chapter of the Analects says: "Learning, Chapter One. The Master said: To learn and to practice what you have learned — is this not a joy? When friends come from afar — is this not happiness? When others do not understand you and you are not troubled — is this not the mark of the noble person?"
What does "Learning, Chapter One" mean?
No matter what you study, you must begin from the most fundamental character: one. One is the foundation, the beginning of all number. Spoken of in its fullness, it is the primordial element that gives birth to heaven, gives birth to earth, gives birth to all things. In heaven it is called principle. Endowed in human beings it is called nature. It is the great root of the cosmos. Therefore, when one's study of the Dao reaches complete understanding, this is called awakening.
The "one" of "Learning, Chapter One" encompasses all phenomena. Great or small — when released it fills the six directions; when gathered it withdraws and hides in the innermost secret. This is the wondrous function of the one.
Can the character "one" be called great? It is great. Can it be called small? It is small. Its greatness is beyond all comparison, and its smallness is beyond all comparison. It can neither be called great nor small — it cannot be described. Therefore Confucius described it with the word "center." And this is truly wondrous beyond measure, for even the word "center" is difficult to describe.
The sages, in order to help all beings see through to the substance of the Dao, spoke of it as "the Dao," spoke of it as "the center," spoke of it as "the one," spoke of it as "the great," spoke of it as "the small." All of these were spoken to help people understand the Dao.
The truth of this one principle, though it has names and appearances, falls short when captured in words and phrases. If one clings to form and calls it the one, ten thousand kalpas will not suffice to understand this single principle.
Laozi, in order to help people understand this one principle, taught the contemplation of the wondrous and the contemplation of the gateway. He said: "Ever without desire, one contemplates its wonder. Ever with desire, one contemplates its gateway." The truth is realized through emptiness. If the mind is not empty, it cannot align with emptiness, and therefore cannot comprehend it. So the Eighth Patriarch said: "Emptiness has no inside or outside. The dharma of the mind is likewise. When you understand emptiness, you have reached the truth of Thusness."
In the world of form, one is the beginning of all things. From one comes two, from two comes three, then ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, up to hundreds of billions — all begin from the number one. Therefore it is said: one principle disperses into ten thousand distinctions.
Confucius said: "My Dao is threaded through by one." The one can thread through all affairs. If it can thread through all affairs, then it encompasses all phenomena — it penetrates the worlds in all ten directions, the emptiness and the myriad forms.
The ancient sages said: "To know one, two, and three is already to approach the divine." Why? One is the pivotal hub that gives birth to heaven, earth, and all things. Two is the yin and yang that the one transforms into. The Book of Changes says: "The Dao is yin and yang. Yin and yang are the Dao." This is the hexagram of heaven and earth. The Jade Forest says: "When yin and yang meet in harmony, this is called a flourishing age."
Three is the sign of yin and yang in harmony, giving birth to humankind and all things. Therefore it is said: "The Dao gives birth to one. One gives birth to two. Two gives birth to three. Three gives birth to all things."
The truth of the character "one" — in heaven it is called the Dao, called principle, called the mandate. The Buddha says: "Ten thousand dharmas return to one." The Daoists say: "Embrace the origin, guard the one." The Confucians say: "Hold to the center, thread through the one." The Christians say: "In silent prayer, draw near to the one." The Muslims say: "In purity and truth, return to the one." Every religion takes the character "one" as the foundation on which its teaching is established.
This one principle — in heaven it is called principle; endowed in human beings it is called nature. Though this one has names, all its names derive from the transformation of the Limitless. The nothingness of the Limitless has no form to speak of. To cling to nothingness is stubborn emptiness. To cling to existence is attachment to form. Before yin and yang came to be, all was the one.
The space between form and nothingness is called the one. The Limitless moves and becomes one. In the formless primordial chaos, the first direction is one. From one, all things are born ceaselessly. Laozi said: "The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of all things."
Since it is the mother of all things, and the mother is the origin of heaven, earth, yin, and yang, the principle of the character "one" is the very learning by which those who cultivate the Dao come to know heaven and earth.
Those who cultivate the Dao begin with themselves and come to know others. They begin with things and come to know principle. Through the surface and depths of all things, they come to know heaven and earth. Through the waxing and waning of yin and yang, they come to know the Dao. When the great function of the whole is clear in every part, this is called awakening to the truth of heaven and earth.
What does this one principle mean in the human body?
It is the mystery of the Mysterious Pass — the place that existed before the body was born. At the moment when the father's essence and the mother's blood meet and a single point condenses, it is the Mysterious Pass that holds the nature. The Mysterious Pass is the dwelling place of the original nature.
Once the body is born and the nature dwells in the Mysterious Pass, the Daoists further identify the Gate of Life and other centers. From the Gate of Life to the Mysterious Pass, passing through each gate — this is called the Road of Caoxi. To arrive at the holy ground of the Mysterious Pass is called returning to the root and restoring the origin.
In the course of learning, when Confucius said "To learn and to practice what you have learned," this is the same as the Buddhist teaching that the Dharma wheel turns ceaselessly, without interruption — always practicing, always reviewing.
"Is this not a joy?" — This is a matter of deep happiness.
"When friends come from afar, is this not happiness?" — This means the human heart has connected to heavenly principle, has fully realized its nature and reached its destiny.
"When others do not understand you and you are not troubled, is this not the mark of the noble person?" — This means one has reached the point of not being moved by human sentiments. Whether known or unknown, the heart of one who walks the Dao does not waver.
To cultivate the self is to cultivate the heart. The human heart is the channel through which one's original nature flows. This nature comes from heaven and is called the heavenly mandate. It is pure, clean, heavenly principle — not a speck of dust clings to it. When it flows into the heart, it is good. This is the state of having left all dust and form behind. But once we fall into the postnatal world and are obscured by temperament and material desire, all manner of hearts arise. The heart is fundamentally one heart — the heart of pure heavenly principle. It is only because the heart moves that the myriad hearts arise. Therefore the Buddha said: "Ten thousand dharmas are nothing but the heart." To ascend to heaven is by this heart. To descend to hell is by this same heart.
What kinds of heart does a person have? There is the heavenly heart, the human heart, and the discriminating heart. The heavenly heart is purely good, without evil. The human heart has both good and evil — though its good is still a good tainted by desire. The discriminating heart is evil without good.
From these three hearts, all good and all evil in the world take shape. Therefore cultivating the Dao is cultivating the heart. If this heart is not cultivated but left to run wild, then all the wrongdoing of the world flows from it. The ten evils and the eight deviations all arise from the discriminating heart.
The movements of the human heart are all transmitted through the six sense-consciousnesses. The tongue tastes flavor. The ears hear sound. The eyes perceive form. The nose perceives fragrance. The body perceives touch. All pass through the thinking consciousness and arrive at the storehouse consciousness. Because the storehouse consciousness is the human heart, and the human heart contains both good and evil, good and evil struggle within it — and the good becomes good, the evil becomes evil.
With so many hearts running wild, the cultivation of the Dao becomes impossible across ten thousand kalpas. Even charitable deeds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, even the giving of the seven treasures, cannot bring one past birth and death. All that remains is the reward of human or heavenly rebirth — nothing more.
The heart of one who cultivates the Dao — to call it empty is not truly empty. To cling to emptiness is stubborn emptiness, and stubborn emptiness is not true. To call it existent is not truly existent. To cling to existence is attachment to form, and attachment to form is not true either. When both emptiness and form are forgotten — even the forgetting is not something to hold. Emptiness is form. Form is emptiness. Without a true teacher to point the way and open the Middle Way in a single flash, this principle is hard to understand. There is no fixed resting place, no set direction, no settled thought — therefore it cannot be grasped.
The Buddha said: "This heart is the dharma. This heart is the Buddha." When this meaning is fully understood, there is no dharma, no Buddha, no heaven, no human realm, and no hell.
Heaven and hell are born from the heart. When everything is fully awakened, there is not even nirvana to speak of — how much less anything called the Dao? Therefore it is said: "The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao."
The human heart changes ten thousand times in an instant. The Buddha said: "Contemplate the impermanence of the heart." Because the heart is impermanent, it is not the original heart. And if it is not the original heart, then what appears is nothing but deluded thought. Because of deluded thought, the true conscience cannot manifest.
Trace it to its cause, and you will find it is all for the sake of an "I." For the sake of "I," every delusion and craving flows forth.
The Buddha said: "If a bodhisattva has a self-appearance, a person-appearance, a sentient-being-appearance, or a lifespan-appearance, then they are not a bodhisattva."
All beings cling to the existence of an "I," and for the sake of this "I" they are confused. In truth, nothing in the world has a self.
Because of this confusion, people create karma. They seek to raise their own power, raise their own position, raise their own wealth, raise their own reputation — to stand above everyone else, to rise above the crowd. And in doing so, they harm others.
Where there is a heart that exalts the self, there must be a mind that looks down on others. Where there is a heart that prizes the self, there must be a thought that cheapens others. To elevate myself is to diminish you.
People create karma and become entangled in karma. Karma has a count of thirteen. Laozi said: "The companions of life number thirteen. The companions of death number thirteen." These thirteen are the seven emotions and the six desires. Those free of the seven emotions and six desires follow life. Those bound by them follow death.
For the sake of karma, one labors day and night. The inevitable result is suffering. Those who cultivate the Dao should understand: every pleasure of human life is in truth suffering. All beings do not know this, and so from suffering they produce further confusion, never able to leave suffering for joy. The Buddha called this the gate of transmigration — turning forever without end.
As for those who cultivate the Dao: it is because the human heart clings to an "I" that the cycle never stops. Therefore one must seek out the true self and not mistake the false self for the real. To take the false for the true, to be confused about right and wrong, is to revolve forever in the wheel. Seek a true teacher to point out the true self. Let the true self — the radiance of the Buddha-nature — pour forth, generating wondrous wisdom. Recognize that the suffering of this world all comes from the same source: human suffering is the fruit of karma.
To leave the sea of suffering, one must sever karma. If karma is not severed, the end is always suffering. Many a great entrepreneur has ended up condemned as a criminal, judged in this world — and the law of the underworld will not spare them either. The only way to stop creating karma is to sever confusion. What is confusion? By another name, it is deluded thought. Trace everything to the root and you find delusion. When deluded thought ceases, the Buddha of your own nature appears. Now let us return to the human heart.
Mencius said: "Benevolence is the heart of a human being. Righteousness is the path of a human being. To abandon the true path and not walk it, to let go of the heart and not seek to recover it — how sad! When a person's chickens or dogs run off, they know to search for them. But when the heart runs off, they do not know to search. The way of learning is nothing other than seeking the lost heart."
Human beings do not fundamentally need to be remade, because the original nature is already perfectly good. Mencius said: benevolence is the human heart, and righteousness is the human path. We have merely abandoned the true path and stopped walking it. Therefore those who cultivate the Dao must first recognize their own original heart. The Sixth Patriarch said: "If you do not know your original heart, studying the dharma is useless." This is exactly what he meant.
Mencius said: "Suppose a man has a ring finger that is bent and cannot straighten. It causes no pain and does not hinder his work. Yet if someone could straighten it, he would not think the road to Qin or Chu too far to travel — because his finger is not like other people's. When his finger is different from others, he knows to feel shame. But when his heart is different from others, he feels no shame at all. This is what is meant by not knowing what matters."
That is to say: even a useless finger that does not work properly drives a person to travel the length of the country to fix it. How much more should a heart that has gone astray drive us to seek correction? To feel shame about a crooked finger but none about a crooked heart — this is to not understand what truly matters.
Mencius said: "A person must not be without shame. The shame of being shameless — that is true shamelessness."
In all dealings with others, if one can treat matters that seem to lack shame as though they were shameful — guarding oneself carefully in all things — then one will never in a lifetime experience true disgrace.
The people of today do the opposite. When something shameful is done, they find a reason to cover it and call it nothing. But how can shame be hidden? This too is the disgrace of the Dao-cultivator.
Therefore in cultivating the Dao, the importance of the heart cannot be overlooked. It must be awakened to. It must be noticed. It must be examined.
To cultivate the Dao and attain the supreme Pure Land, purify the heart. When the heart is pure, the original nature is pure. When the original nature is pure, one is a Buddha, one is a sage.
Those who cultivate the Dao, because they still carry the sentient-being heart, can never see the Buddha. Because of this heart there is heaven, the human realm, and hell — and because of it, the road to heaven remains forever blocked, separated by a distance of 108,000 li.
But let us speak the whole truth: it is precisely because of the sentient-being heart that the Buddha-dharma arises. Without sentient beings, there would be no Buddhahood — no Buddha to speak of — and no heaven to be established.
"Buddha" and "sentient being" are paired terms. Sentient beings are the source of all affliction — and also the foundation of all Buddhahood.
Therefore it is said: all afflictions are the seed of the Tathagata. Without sentient beings, there is no Buddha to speak of.
The reason people cannot return to the root and restore the origin is that the heart binds itself. Without liberation, one remains a sentient being.
The Supreme One in his leisure composed these seven-character verses: "Release the body's form, and all the spirits return." This is the Supreme One's work of liberation — and it is nothing other than the nurturing of the heart. The release of the body's form, the binding and freeing of all the spirits — all arise from the movement and stillness of the heart.
If those who cultivate the Dao can see through to their original heart and generate the Four Immeasurable Hearts, they can accomplish the Pure Land of the Bodhisattva.
The Vimalakirti Sutra says: "The Four Immeasurable Hearts are the Pure Land of the Bodhisattva. When the Bodhisattva attains Buddhahood, beings who have perfected loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity will be born in that land."
The Four Immeasurable Hearts are loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.
The Four Methods of Conversion are giving, kind words, beneficial action, and working together.
Giving includes the giving of wealth, the giving of the dharma, and the giving of fearlessness.
Kind words means gentleness and warmth.
Beneficial action means work that benefits all beings.
Working together means meeting others where they are — blending your light with the dust of the world.
What heart should those who cultivate the Dao possess?
A straight heart and an equal heart. When the heart is straight, heavenly principle flows through naturally. When the heart is equal, there is no high or low, and heavenly principle flows of its own accord. Confucius called this loyalty and reciprocity.
When Confucius was transmitting the Dao, he said: "Shen, my Dao is threaded through by one." This is the heart of loyalty and reciprocity.
Because the heart is of supreme importance, the Great Learning says: "What is meant by 'cultivating the self lies in rectifying the heart' is this: when the heart is filled with anger, it cannot be correct. When the heart is gripped by fear, it cannot be correct. When the heart is carried away by pleasure, it cannot be correct. When the heart is weighed down by worry, it cannot be correct. When the heart is not present, one looks but does not see, listens but does not hear, eats but does not know the taste. This is why cultivating the self lies in rectifying the heart."
Therefore those who cultivate the Dao must begin with the heart. This is the Way.
Colophon
Learning the Dao and Cultivating the Self (學道修身) — a Yiguandao philosophical essay on the character "one" as the foundation of all religions and all cultivation. First English translation from Chinese by Dàomíng (道明) of the New Tianmu Anglican Church, April 2026. Translated from the Chinese in the gospel register — plain, direct, warm. The Analects, Dao De Jing, Mencius, Diamond Sutra, Vimalakirti Sutra, and the Eighth Chan Patriarch are quoted within the text; all renderings are independently derived from the Chinese as presented in the source.
Chinese source text from the Morality Books Library (善書圖書館, taolibrary.com), Category 52, file c52057.htm. The site states: 歡迎轉載，上傳，翻印，流通 — "Welcome to reprint, upload, reproduce, and circulate."
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: 學道修身
Chinese source text from the Morality Books Library (善書圖書館, taolibrary.com), Category 52, file c52057.htm. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
求道拜佛，為求知天地人之造化之本，簡而言之知本也，知本而拜佛，與佛結緣也。
學道修身，所謂人不學不知義，是學佛以修身也。
只知天地人之有本，如何配合本末之相應，內本外末之功如何善之達用，到了在止於至善之地，故由知有本而後學而修者也。
知是知什麼呢，學是學什麼呢，修是修什麼呢？
知天地有道，知人有道，知萬物有道，知有佛道可求，知有佛道可修，知有天地有公理真理，知有天地有因緣之和合而成，知有佛性與眾生平等，大地眾生皆有佛性，是平等又俱足清淨。
學者學知天地之德，學知人與天之關，學知人與佛的關係，學知人在宇宙是什麼，萬物在宇宙是什麼，統統識透，未之開悟也。
修是修改不好的習氣，去卻本所無的習氣，使其恢復本來之面目也。
學與修的關係如何使其相應否？
學要悟，修要省，學之不悟不達真理，修之不省不達真道，故悟與省，在學與修的中間，佔了很大的地位，故悟省兩字，可謂迴光返照也。
那麼學從何學起，修從何修起呢？
論語之第一篇曰，學而第一，子曰：學而時習之，不亦悅乎，有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎，人不知而不慍，不亦君子乎。
何謂學而第一呢？
就是不論學什麼事，都要從最基本的一字開始，一是基礎，數之始也，說大了就是生天生地，生萬物的總原素，在天曰裡，賦人曰性，宇宙之大本也，故學道至於完全明白了，叫做開悟。
學而第一之『ㄧ』，包羅萬象，此之一大小，放之則彌于六合，卷之則退藏於密，此乃是一之妙用也。
一字可謂大否，其大也。一字可謂小否，其小也，大至無可比，小亦無可比。又曰：不可以為大，不可以為小，不能形容，故孔夫子形容一字曰中，其實妙的不得了，連中字實在亦難於形容了。
聖人為使眾生之識透道體，以道說之，以中說之，以一說之，或以大說之，或以小說之，如是說之，等等皆為使人之明道也。
一理之真，雖有名相，卻落在言句，若以執相為一者，萬劫不能解此一理。
老子為使人解此一理，提倡觀妙觀竅，使學道者能之一理之妙，故曰：故常無欲以觀其妙，常有欲以觀其竅，真理體會虛空，若心不空，不能虛空相吻合，故對虛空不能明白，故八祖雲：虛空無內外，心法亦如此，若了虛空故，是達真如理。
在有形世界裡，一為萬物始，由一而後二，二而三，而十，百千萬，以至於千百億之數，均由一之數而開始也，故曰：一理散萬殊也。
子曰：吾道一以貫之。就是一可以貫通萬事，既然可以貫通萬事，那就是包羅萬象了，就是可以貫透十方世界，虛空萬彙了。
古聖曰：能知一二三即可以學神，何矣。一是生天生地生萬物的總樞紐，二是由一所化出來的陰陽，易曰，道則是陰陽，陰陽則是道，這是乾坤之卦也。瓊林謂之陰陽交泰，斯稱盛世。
三是陰陽交泰，而生人生萬物之代號，故曰：道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物。
一字之真理，在天曰道，曰理，曰命，如是等等。佛曰：萬法歸一，道曰：抱元守一，儒曰：執中貫一，耶曰：默禱親一，回曰：清真返一，各宗教均是以一字作為立教之本也。
此一理在天曰理，賦人曰性，此一雖有名詞，而是從無極而化之名詞，無極之無沒有象可言，執無頑空，執有著相，未有陰陽之前，皆為一也。
故象與無之間稱為一，故曰，無極動而為一，在無形之渾沌的定向為一，由一而後生生不已，故老子曰，無名天地之始，有名萬物之母。
既是萬物之母，母為天地陰陽之原始，故一字之理是修道人知天地的學理也。
修道之人，由己而知人，由物而知理，由眾物之表裏而知天地，天地之陰陽消長而知道，所謂全體之大用無不明者，謂之開悟天地真理。
一理在人身何謂？
玄關之妙也，未生身之處所也。父精母血交溝之一點凝結，在於玄關之為性，故玄關是人之性的住處。
生了身，玄關住性，道家在分為命門等等，由命門而至玄關，通過各關口，謂之曹溪路，達到玄關聖地，曰返本還原。
所以在學的過程中，子曰：學而時習之，此乃是佛家的法輪常轉，無有間斷，時時溫習也。
不亦說乎，這是一件快樂的事情。
有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎，這是人心已經通天理了，盡性以至命了。
人不知而不慍，不亦君子乎。這是達到不被人情所動，所以知不知，不動道人心也。
至於修身者乃是修心也，人之心本是自性之流通，性乃出於天，曰天命，是純清純淨之天理，一塵而不染，流之於心則善，故乃是絕塵離相，只是落後天受氣稟物慾之蔽，故有種種之心，心本一個心，純然天理之心，只因心之動而生種種心，故佛曰，萬法為心，上天堂為此心，下地獄仍是此心。
那麼人有什麼心呢？有天心，有人心，有識心之分也。天心是純善而無惡，而人心則有善有惡，此善仍是有慾之善，而識心者惡而無善也。
由此三心而形成了萬善之心，或是萬惡之心，故修道就是修心，此心不修，任其奔馳，社會之造孽作惡，由斯而出矣。
有如十惡八邪，都是由識心之出矣。
人心之動念，皆由六識之傳入，有如口之有味，耳之於聲，眼之於色，鼻之於味香，身之於觸，均由意而送達未那識而到阿賴耶識。
因為阿賴耶識是人心，人心有善惡，故經人心知善惡鬥爭，而善者為善，惡者為惡矣。
因有那麼多的心，任其奔馳，則修道萬劫難成，有再多的善德，如恆河沙數等之七寶佈施，仍不能超生了死，將來就是人天福報而已。
修道之心，說空本非空，執空頑空，固非空，說有非有，執有著相，固非相，空色之兩亡，亡又非亡，空則是色，色則是空，不求名師指點，而豁然貫通中道真理，難明此理，無有止處，亦無定向，亦無安慮，故不能得耳。
佛曰：是心是法，是心是佛，了達其義，亦無法，亦無佛，無天堂，無人間，亦無地獄矣。
天堂地獄，由心而生，一切開悟了，亦無有涅槃之可言，何來知道否，故曰：道可道非常道。
人心瞬間萬變，所以佛曰：觀心無常，因無常心，則非本心，非本心，則所露者均是妄想心，因有妄想心，所以真良心不能實現。
究其原因，莫不是為了一個我，為了我，一切之妄想貪念由斯而出矣。
故，佛曰，若菩薩有我相，人相，眾生相，壽者相，則非菩薩。
眾生因執著有我，故為我而迷惑，實則世界之物，實無我也。
因為我之迷惑，故造業，皆想提高我的勢力，提高我的地位，提高我的財富，提高我的人格，而要在眾人之前高高在上，而出人頭地，因此而坑人，而傷害到眾人。
因有尊我之心，必有下人意，因有貴我之心，又有賤人之意，故高我必賤他也。
人造業了業，業有十三數，老子曰：生之徒十有三，死之徒十有三。此十有三是七情又六慾，計有十三，無七情六慾者是生之徒，有七情六慾者是死之徒，亦如是也。
為了業，早夜之忙碌，當然的下場就是苦，修道人應該知道，人之一切享受，皆是苦惱，眾生不知道，所以就由苦又再生惑，永遠不能離苦得樂，故佛曰：流轉門，永遠在流轉。
至於修道士，因為有我之人心，以致流轉不停，所以應該找出個人之真我，不要以假我作為真我，認假作真，顛倒是非不明，永遠輪迴其中，找名師指點真我用真我佛性之流露，生發妙智慧，認識世間之苦，皆從那來，原來人生之苦是由造業來的。
所以要脫離苦海，必定要斷業，業不能斷，畢竟是苦。所以有甚多之企業家，到頭來還不是成了經濟犯罪者，在世間受人指罪嗎，將來之陰律仍不能容也，所以不造業，唯一就是斷惑，惑是什麼，換個名詞就是妄想心也，追根到底，仍是妄想，故不起妄想，自身佛可現矣。現在再討論人之心吧。
孟子曰：仁人心也，義人路也，捨正路而弗由，放其心而不知求，哀哉，人有雞犬放，則知求之，有放心而不知求，學問之道無他，求其放心而已矣。
人本不必修，因為自性本是純善之東西，故孟子雲：仁是人之心，公義是人當行之路，只是放棄了正路不去行正路而已，所以修行者，必須先認識自己，是自己的本心，六祖曰：不是本心，學法無益，就是這個意思。
孟子曰：今有無名之指，屈而不信，非疾痛害事也。如有能信之者，不遠秦楚之路，為指之不若人也。指不若人，則知惡之，心不若人，則不知惡，此之謂不知類也。
就是說，現在有個無名指頭，從大拇指算起來第四指，謂無名之指，此指頭叫沒有用，故曰，無名指，如果此最沒有用的無名指，屈而不能直伸，但也不妨礙做事，如果有人能把此不直的無名指，醫好起來，不論到楚國或秦國知遠途，亦要把不直的無名指醫好起來。
所謂人的指頭，與人不一樣，則能知道厭惡，而心與人不一樣，怎不能厭惡呢，這就是不知好歹之人了，故叫作不知類之人了。
孟子曰：人不可以無恥，無恥之恥，無恥矣。
就是說，人不以沒有羞恥之心，所以做人在待人接物之間，能把沒有羞恥之事，能當作有羞恥一樣的小心對待處事，則能終身不會有羞恥之心了。
現在之人反之，羞恥者，尋個理由來掩蓋羞恥，作為無恥，試思怎可為無恥耳，這都是修道之恥也。
故修道對於人心之重要，乃是不可不認識明白，不可不悟，不可不覺，不可不省也。
所以修道欲得無上淨土，當淨其心，隨其心淨，則自性亦淨，自性既淨，是佛是聖。
修道之人，因有眾生心，所以永遠看不見佛，所以有天堂人間地獄，更不能見到天堂，所以天堂之路，永遠間隔在十萬八千里之間也。
話要講回來，因有眾生之心，才有佛法之生起，離開了眾生更是無佛可成，亦是無佛之可言耳，並沒有天堂之可以建立。
佛與眾生，均是對待之名詞，所以眾生是煩惱的淵藪，亦是成佛的基礎也。
是故當之一切的煩惱，為如來之種，沒有眾生，就沒有佛之可言也。
人之不能返本還原，皆是心之自縛，故不能解脫，不解脫就是眾生也。
太上閒居作七言，解脫身形返諸神，此謂太上之解脫功夫耳。
這都是心之調養也，身形之解脫，諸神之繫縛，莫不由心之動靜也。
修道之人若能識透本心，發四無量心，則能成就菩薩淨土。
維摩經曰：四無量心，是菩薩淨土，菩薩成佛時，成就慈悲喜捨眾生來生其國。
四無量心是慈悲喜捨之心。
四攝法是：佈施，愛語，利行，同事。
佈施乃是財施，法施，無畏施。
愛語：是柔和之意。
利行：利益眾生之事業。
同事：合其光同其塵。
修道之人，該備什麼心？
一直心，平等心，心之直天理自通，心之平等，自無高下，天理自然流露也，這孔夫子謂之忠恕。
孔夫子傳道之時曰：參乎，吾道一以貫之，這都是忠恕之心也。
心之有重要性，故大學曰，所謂修身在正其心者，身有所憤懥，則不得其正，有所恐懼則不得其正，有所好樂則不得其正，有所憂患則不得其正，心不在焉，視而不見，聽而不聞，食而不知其味，此謂修身在正其心也。
故修道之人，必須從心修起，有道也。
Source Colophon
Chinese source text from the Morality Books Library (善書圖書館, taolibrary.com), Category 52 (一貫道經典二, Yiguandao Classics II), file c52057.htm. Encoded in UTF-16LE with BOM. The site explicitly encourages reproduction: 歡迎轉載，上傳，翻印，流通 — "Welcome to reprint, upload, reproduce, and circulate." Accessed April 3, 2026.
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