The Six Realms Are in Fact the Direction of Thought

📖Master’s Reading

The Dharma's teaching on the "soul's exit" is not only the cosmic mechanism at death but a precise reflection of how thought works. The truth of the dharmadhātu is: those whose soul exits from the soles all go to the hell realm; from the knees, the animal realm; from the belly, the hungry-ghost realm; from the heart, the human realm; from the throat, the asura realm; from the forehead, the god realm; only exiting from the crown is the buddha-path.

The most important revelation of this dharmadhātu secret is that "the six realms are in fact the direction of thought." Our present body simultaneously holds the entrances and exits to the six realms. Where the soul finally exits is not decided at random but wholly drawn by your everyday thought and karma. When a person's mind is always full of greed, hatred, fear and worldly clinging, life's energy is heavy as lead and naturally sinks downward. At death, the consciousness easily, led by karma, leaves from the lower body and falls into the three lower realms.

As Taishang Laojun said: "The light floats up, the turbid sinks down." The soul's load determines its future destination. If in ordinary time we know to let the mind abide in the Dharma and light, no longer letting the soul drift blindly with worldly passions, the soul-body becomes light and pure. When life reaches its end, the soul can leave from the crown chakra and enter the highest state of the buddhas and bodhisattvas without fear. Remember, the great pass of life and death is never decided only at death but is the accumulation of every thought in ordinary time.

Practice is in fact training the direction of the mind. Where the mind abides, there life draws near. Do not let ignorance and desire drag the soul down; keep compassion and clarity always, and you can freely master the course of life's ascent.

🌱Reflection for Daily Life

• The light floats up, the turbid sinks down.
• The six realms are in fact the direction of thought.
• The soul's exit is never decided at random.
• Grasp that the light floats up and the turbid sinks down.
• Let the mind abide in the Dharma and leave from the crown.