Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Cultivation of the Nine Hearts 修九心 xiu jiu xin

This post came from my friend Annie Pecheva who graciously gave her permission to share it from her Facebook page, posted August 11, 2016 Thank you, Annie!


Daoist Master Zhuang 莊陳登雲 (19111976) is one of the most highly respected Daoists in the history of Taiwan. Here are his excellent commentaries on the Cultivation of the Nine Hearts 修九心 and their symbolic meaning in the Luoshu 落书 (magic square) and Hetu 河图 (magic circle), shared with us by prof. Michael R Saso:
MAGIC SQUARE, MAGIC CIRCLE

修九心 xiu jiu xin – cultivate the “nine hearts”

1. 公平心 gong ping xin –let the heart treat all with just compassion
2. 平等心 ping deng xin – let the heart treat all with love
3. 忍辱心 ren ru xin – the Dao realized heart loves those who scold and revile us
4. 包容心 bao rong xin – the Dao realized heart forgives everything
5. 慈悲心 ci bei xin – the Dao realized heart is filled with mercy for everyone
6. 救苦心 jiu ku xin – the Dao realized heart alleviates all suffering
7. 布施心 bu shi xin – the Daoist heart gives good things to everyone
8. 忠孝心 zhong xiao xin – the Dao heart is loyal to friends, filled with love for family, benevolent to all neighbors, prays for the deceased. (忠孝仁仪礼)offers food, drink, and respect to everyone.
9. 智慧心 zhi hui xin – The Dao of wisdom heart is aware of the needs of “now” reality.
(Nine is the symbol of the Magic square 落书, the dance that Yu the Great used to stop the floods. The Magic square becomes a Magic Circle 河图 of ten(completion) when Dao presence is felt.
10. 无为道,在下丹田 -Ten is the symbol of the Magic Circle, ie when the nine steps are realized, then the Wuwei Dao is felt as present in the very center of all human beings.

For more, see chapters 5 and 6 in the book "Teachings of Daoist Master Zhuang" by Michael R Saso, Oracle Bones Press,2012.

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