Client: Is it dangerous to face my true self? I always feel like doing so will cause me to lose a lot.

Author: The true danger comes from a lack of awareness. It’s like crossing the street while distracted. Isn’t that dangerous? In fact, everyone is constantly exposed to this kind of danger—it’s just chronic and hidden. It’s difficult to avoid. Life is a constant series of choices, just like choosing which way to go when crossing the street. The reason things go wrong in life—with all sorts of accidents and illnesses—is just like making the wrong choice when crossing the street. And only through awareness can we avoid these dangers.

Client: I understand the importance of awareness that you’re talking about, Teacher. As long as I’m aware, I won’t lose control.

But regarding making choices, I used to think the right way was to go with the flow of life and not make any choices at all. It’s precisely because we believe we have choices—that we can avoid what we don’t want and get what we do want—that we struggle and resist acceptance.

Does the “choice” you’re referring to here mean the choice between awareness and inertia? Or perhaps the choice between acceptance and inertia?

In other words, the path of constant awareness is the safe one.

Author: You can go with the flow of life. But the prerequisite for doing so is that you are aware. If you aren’t aware, you’re merely reacting passively. You have no choice. Only when you are aware can you choose to follow actively. You have many choices, but you don’t have to choose.

……

People always want to control their own lives, thinking that losing control is dangerous. But in reality, everyone lives under the illusion of control. They have never truly been in control of themselves.

For example, a person is sitting there. When they first sit down, they may be aware of it. They know they’ve sat down. Then, without realizing it, they assume a certain posture—they don’t know how their posture came to be that way. Their leg might twitch within a minute, but they aren’t aware of it. He is unconscious and unaware. It’s just his feet. His entire body is, in fact, constantly making subtle adjustments, but he doesn’t realize it. Everyone actually has a form of hyperactivity; they’ve never truly been still. What is this “hyperactivity” all about? Once you understand it, your understanding of life will reach a whole new level.

The body is constantly moving spontaneously—this is actually beyond your control. Because you are unconscious and unaware. So when it comes to taking control of your life, —whether it’s your body or your mind—very few people have truly achieved it. Knowing when to stop is one of the most important forms of wisdom; if you don’t know how to bring something to an end, it’s best not to start it in the first place.

So, have people ever truly been safe? They’ve never been safe. Loss of control is constantly happening. It’s just that this kind of danger is long-term, chronic, hidden, and imperceptible. The dangers people usually talk about, on the other hand, are short-term, obvious, and rapid. We often say, “You need to know what you’re doing.” The “yourself” referred to here includes your entire body, as well as all your emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Only when you are aware of all these things can you truly say you know what you’re doing. Most people are only aware of what their hands are doing or what words they’ve spoken. Their self-awareness doesn’t exceed 5 percent.

The most familiar stranger is yourself. You’ve never truly understood yourself. Understanding yourself isn’t the same as analyzing yourself. Analysis cannot lead to understanding. The moment you try to explain yourself—or the moment you believe an explanation—you lose your vitality. Be yourself with your heart. Feel yourself with your heart. This is the only way to truly understand yourself. There is only one real danger: failing to be yourself—that is, losing awareness of yourself.

When you lose awareness of yourself, danger arises. If you lose awareness of your hands, your hands may be in danger. For example, your hand might accidentally get pinched. If you lose awareness of your feet, your feet may be in danger. For example, you might fall while walking. If you lose awareness of your waist, your waist may be in danger—you might suffer a chronic strain without even realizing it. If you lose awareness of your entire self as a whole, this poses a tremendous risk. People fail to live as their true selves; they fail to live from their souls. This is the greatest risk. There is no greater danger than this. Only when you realize that you are not the body, not the physical form, not the spirit, but rather pure consciousness that is neither born nor perishes, can you attain ultimate peace.