As one begins his journey, he does not know how many pirate ships that sail in this sea. One minute he sinks and the next he floats. Floating and sinking seem to be the daily affairs and will happen to the one who tries to seek his way across the desirous sea. If desires are not overcome, the search is still far off. The worst desire of man is greed for which many have died.

Throughout man's life, his eyes are opened by the greedy desires. Extinguish this thought and there will be no need to fight otherwise desire is the word that brings down all downfalls. My Master Jigong dictated a wonderful poem as below:

"Hard to fill is the sea of desires! While its bitterness is boundless, its short-lived pleasures are followed by sadness. Wind drifts and clouds disperse, likewise are the prosperity and decline of affairs. Suffering and happiness not equally shared, anger and folly are thus flared. Although having one's striking writings compiled and annotated, it is not as good as being wordless and save a dot of trueness. The lost (ignorant) ones have thousand hills and ten thousand waters to give them barrier. The realized (enlightened) ones turn their heads and find their homes."

What is wordless and what is a dot of trueness? In the teachings of Tao of Heaven, wordless refers to one of the Divine Three Heavenly Treasures which is a "five-word mantra". Dot of trueness means the divine third eye which is the divine true self. The dot of trueness is where the soul resides. It is a micro-space or hole within which one's inner being or spiritual body lives. It is also known as the right door, mystical door or the Door of the soul. Being enlightened to this is better than the one whose striking writings are compiled and annotated. It is the enlightenment or awakening of the inner soul which allows one to turn his head and find his home (Heaven).

The Great Saint Arya Bodhidarma composed a poem as below:

"Bringing all downfalls, 'desire' is the word. Onto the inner battle, conquer all. Deeds of the past as experience to the present. Holding onto the right thoughts, one must learn. In a dream-like stage, one searches for the Truth. Duration may be long but worth its while. Arise now and begin the joy of searching. Remain in a calm stage and recall all deeds. Much is the work of desires that man cannot escape from. Arrange for the practice of inner stillness and you may see".

It is therefore said, "a Saint is without desire, a sage has very few desires, a normal person has many desires and an ignorant person is totally overwhelmed by desires". In order to restore the true self to its purity, one must overcome all desires and emotions. The heart must be determined to put out the fire of desire. Although it is easier said than done, one has to control all desires of greed so that one can only board into the right ship. A person who cannot control his own desires will remain in this dreamy sick and painful land. As bags of silver and gold only appear and disappear, a life time is gone and one may not know why.

Author: T.A Chew