Master Yang Ning writes about her background and her path to perfect enlightenment.
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation Pilgrimage to Mount Wutai — Emei — Jiuhua (1of2) — Five Peaks and the Energy Channels The Master’s second notification was for me to make a pilgrimage to Mount Wutai. This time almost no one in the family objected. Mount Wutai was only about two hours away, and the … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation The Burn and the Detoxification This period of study had continued for more than half a year when an incident brought it to an abrupt halt. One day my husband came home with ten jin of pork fat and asked me to render it into lard. After returning from … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation Reading the Sutras and Learning Medicine After returning from Mount Putuo, everything at home settled back into its place. What I felt had grown most was a greatly expanded openness of heart, and my inner state was becoming increasingly peaceful. During this period I began reading Buddhist sutras extensively. … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation My Younger Brother and the Pilgrimage to Mount Putuo Sure enough, before long the Master informed me that on such-and-such a day I should go to Mount Putuo — to stay there for more than twenty days, then return promptly. Receiving this notice, I had some concerns. First, going … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation Deepening Practice and Household Tensions (2of2) — The Limit of Endurance My cultivation remained diligent, yet my emotions were in terrible disarray, my inner balance often shattered. Sometimes I looked at the dear child, looked at this home, and thought: maybe I should just abandon the practice. Why lose … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation Deepening Practice and Household Tensions (1of2) — The Living Path Even when I was not sitting, I felt the Master’s presence everywhere, at every moment. Every hour of every day I lived in an atmosphere of familiarity, warmth, and care. My heart was as sweet as a girl experiencing … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation First Sitting and the Teacher’s Transmission (2of2) — Eight Days of Learning The next day friends visited all day and there was no time to sit. By past midnight the child and husband were both asleep. Though I was exhausted, my back and waist aching, I could not suppress … Read more
II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation First Sitting and the Teacher’s Transmission (1of2) — A Playful Heart Enters the Void During my very first sitting meditation, I sat in a half-lotus position with my hands resting loosely on my knees, holding a playful, curious attitude. A few seconds after closing my eyes, my body and … Read more
Most people would say that everything we do is driven by some motive or goal. My only reason for writing down my experiences of spiritual cultivation is love — a kind of love that has no beginning and no end, that will never disappear from anywhere, because it simply is. In this love, the self … Read more
Part I: My Journey of Spiritual Cultivation I. The Origin of My Path II. The Journey of Spiritual Cultivation Part 2: Reflections on Practice for Laypeople Part 3: Methods of Cultivation and Realization Postscript: Reflections on the Spiritual Journey