PureInsight | March 12, 2006
[PureInsight.org] The topic of
"past lives" is a popular subject nowadays; many people are very
interested in this subject. There are several ways to recall the past
lives, including hypnosis, practicing trigrams and divination, or the
use of supernormal abilities. The research on samsara in contemporary
western society often applies hypnosis to recall past lives. People
under hypnosis can enter a calm state and are able to recall the things
that happened in their past lives. But the method may not work for
everyone. Generally, people having simpler minds or higher morality
will have a better chance. The practice of trigrams and
divination can work because cosmic changes and the regular movement of
matters follow set patterns. When cultivators reach a certain level and
have mastered the principle of the universe, they could use the
principle of the Book of Changes
or "Eight Trigrams" to deduce the things that happened in the past. But
they only have rough ideas and are unable to know the specific
details. To ordinary people, using supernormal ability to see
one's past lives is more incredible. Through cultivation, one can
acquire supernormal abilities. A cultivator can see or recall clearly
the things that happened in the past lives, depending on the state of
cultivation and the advancement of the person's level.
I had no preconceived ideas about my own past lives in the past. Since
I started Falun Dafa practice, I've cultivated myself diligently and
gradually improved my xinxing level. Like many Falun Dafa
practitioners, I have recalled some of my past lives and would like to
share some of them here.
An incorruptible but stubborn official in ancient China
I was a government official during the Song dynasty (960-1279) in one
of my past lives. I was a high-ranking official in the imperial court.
Although I had high position and power, I faithfully followed the moral
standards of the Confucian School. I wouldn't take any bribes or
pervert justice and refused to wallow in mire with corrupt officials in
the imperial court. When an official had "ways," he would accumulate
wealth. I was one of few officials who refused to accept any
gifts, not even a penny. My household decor was very simple and I
wore the official robes distributed by the imperial court. Those
clothing items weren't made of silk or satin. They looked old and
shabby because I had worn them for a long time. My wife was a
well-educated and cultured lady. We loved each other very much. She was
not only an understanding and helpful wife, but also helped me handle
official business on rare occasions.
Although we were not wealthy and led a very simple life, I didn't
complain because I was proud of the honest and upright life I led. On
the contrary, I was extremely satisfied, because I didn't feel the
slightest guilt. My wife in that life has become my current girl
friend. Several of my servants in that life become my assistants in the
company I am working in.
I handled official duties according to law and had no concern for any
particular person. Once, I sentenced a person to serve several years in
prison. His wife asked me for mercy and not to sentence her husband too
severely. I considered the sentence to be according to the law and not
unjust. So I refused her request. But I was arrogant and sort of looked
down upon this couple. My tone was stern with an air of superiority and
stubbornness. Although it wasn't wrong for me to carry out my official
duty, I wasn't kind when dealing with others. I thus developed some bad
blood with this couple. To end this enmity, they have become my
girlfriend's parents in this life.
A female general in Tang Dynasty
In the Tang Dynasty, social customs were more open and the treatment of
females as inferior to males wasn't as obvious as in other dynasties.
Many women joined the army and went to the battlefields with great
ease. I was a female general then. I wore metal armor and held a long
spear. I led a squad of female soldiers in the front line. We were
engaging in a battle with Tibetans. The commanding generals were Xue
Dingshan and Fan Lihua. Xue Dingshan led the men and Fan Lihua the
female soldiers.
Our troop had won many battles and the morale was very high. After
winning the last battle, Fan Lihua called all the female generals to
celebrate occasion. We drank, chatted, and sang songs. Because we were
returning home the next day, everyone was relaxed. But the happy
occasion hid a vicious conspiracy. A treacherous court official was
jealous of Fan Lihua's achievement and was afraid that she would
overshadow him and affect his promotion. So he put poison in the wine.
All the female generals who had participated in the celebration were
poisoned and died, including Fan Lihua. I thus lived only about twenty
some years in that life.
This event of a treacherous official plotting against the loyal and honest generals hasn't been recorded in the history books.
A Taoist priest who wandered everywhere
In ancient China, cultivation flourished. Many people entered Taoism to
cultivate when they were very young. In that lifetime, I wore a simple
Taoist robe and did meditation in the forest. There were two other
Taoists, one of whom was older than I and the other, younger. The three
of us sat in meditation all day long on the mountain, regardless of
wind or rain. People thought this kind of life was arduous and not
worth it. But I felt differently. Instead, I felt it was a carefree
life. Even though there were material comforts at home, every day there
were ordinary people's affairs to handle. It was really bothersome. My
teacher was an elder master and was different from other Taoist
masters. He was benevolent and didn't beat or scold us. As you might
know, Taoist masters were very stern and very few of them wouldn't beat
or scold their disciples. We followed him until he passed away. Later,
several of his disciples went wandering about everywhere in the country.
Even when I became old, I still wandered everywhere begging for food. I
only thought of preaching the Taoist theory to good people and to save
them. I often couldn't get food but I didn't take it seriously, because
a cultivator didn't need much food anyway. There was actually an
exception. A wealthy landlord who was also a government official and
his wife invited me to stay with them and so I stayed with them for
half a month. I told them about Taoist cultivation principles and the
reason why people needed to cultivate. They thus developed the
inclination to cultivate. In this life, they become my parents. They
now are practicing Falun Dafa.
A scientist in Europe
Once I was reincarnated in Europe. In that lifetime, I devoted myself
to scientific research, mainly in hydraulic engineering, canal systems,
dams, and the like. I had my own lab. There were many 17th and 18th
century instruments and laboratory equipment in the lab. There was also
a model to simulate a canal system. I was very serious in my research.
I often had many ideas and did research in many subjects. I developed
many formulas and kept records in my notebooks. Those formulas now
appear in today's textbooks.
Although I was in charge of the research lab, I didn't have a superior
manner. I, by and large, was kind to the staff in the lab, unlike the
official in Song Dynasty that I had been. Some of those research staff
members have become my colleagues in my company now. My work now is
also to do with research in hydraulics. In that life, I gave a lot of
attention to a young assistant in our lab who happened to the smartest
in the whole lab. But his shortcomings were that he never conceded
defeat and he didn't follow rules. I had always reminded him that he
needed to know the importance of morality and conduct. He became my
master's thesis professor in this life. He is smart and extremely
talented and also has the same personality that he had in his past time.
Recollection of a prehistoric time
I have been reincarnated for many lives. I remember that I was once
reincarnated during a prehistoric age into a highly developed technical
society. Their technology was much more advanced than ours today. Many
of the technologies we now consider impossible were common occurrences.
For example, they manufactured a moon to shine in the dark night on
earth. I was an engineer at that time and I was involved in
constructing the moon. I remember that the moon was not only hollow but
also filled with all kinds of precision control instruments and gear
systems. The degree of precision of the machine was far ahead of our
most advanced science and technology today. These machines were able to
maintain the moon to accurately revolve around the earth. They also
used a very high-density energy source to keep the moon continuing to
encircle the earth without stopping. The frontal surface of the moon
was so polished at that time that it reflected the light at night.
There were control instruments on the backside of the moon. That was
why the frontal face is always facing the earth and we are not able to
see the backside.
Many contemporary painters and artists have created imaginary
prehistoric works. Some of them are very vivid. Actually, these works
represent the remnants of their memories from their lives then. The
human prehistoric civilization was certainly very advanced. They could
put a city in the sky. Their flying machines were not limited to
airplanes; they made gigantic ships to fly in the sky. They used pure
and high-density energy sources that didn't cause any environmental
pollution. Modern people have found only the stoneware left over from
the ancient civilizations. Therefore, people now think the prehistoric
humans only used stoneware. Since there isn't any evidence of
prehistoric people using "electricity," modern people conclude that
there wasn't any civilization in the prehistoric age. It's really a
prejudice based on contemporary science.
Some people think that the contemporary human beings are the sole
exemplars of civilization and are the most advanced people in human
history. Actually, it is exactly the opposite. Our contemporary
civilization is a base, lowly developed civilization. The prehistoric
humans valued the power of spirit. They knew that mind and matter is
one thing. They often used their power of minds to strengthen the
development of materials, unlike contemporary humans who only emphasize
technology.
For example, they purified their thoughts. When their minds became very
pure, they could strengthen certain kinds of energy. After they
assembled the moon that I talked about earlier, they installed machines
made of some kind of crystal. (Actually, it wasn't a crystal, but some
kind of pure ore instead.) They meditated and used their thoughts to
strengthen the energy level of the ore. The moon rose into the sky and
entered its orbit. Then they proceeded to assemble and build a huge
scaffold while in orbit. Numerous spaceships shuttled back and
forth. The spaceships were either for a single person or two people.
They wore light space suits and worked day and night incessantly. They
looked extremely lively.
Concluding Remarks
I hope you won't be lost:
Going through thousands of samsara,
I was born into the human society,
As I look back over a long time,
Who can remember who is whom?
I use this poem as my concluding remarks to remind everyone that
everybody pursues the goals in life they consider glorious in this
human society. But who can obtain what they are chasing? Even you have
obtained it, can you bring it with you to your next life? Let me also
ask everyone who can remember his previous life who he was? In their
bygone years they yearned for and pursued things, they worried, they
loved or hated. We have difficulty remembering them now. Your lover at
that time is ignoring you now. You may have to spend your whole life
together with your enemy. Some people said: "You ask people what
sentimentality is? They may say they are willing to trust their lives
to it." My own enlightenment is: "You ask people what sentimentality
is? I'll say people have forgotten they have gone through many samsara
and have forgotten where they are from." My opinion is that people are
living as if on stage. I have performed hundreds of plays and I do not
care that much any more.
The important thing is that we cultivate Falun Dafa. We need to follow
the standard of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance" in
our daily lives. We can then correct the things we didn't do well in
the past lives and truly take the most important opportunity of our
lives and follow the bright path to return to our homes.
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2006/2/21/35767.html
