As of today, I have cultivated for over ten years — meditating, experiencing out-of-body states, and reading scriptures. Around the spring and autumn of 2020, I attained the Dao — enlightenment.

The Journey Before Enlightenment

My early path was similar to most practitioners’. I sought all kinds of teachings, aiming to become a deity, a Buddha, one with the Dao. I practiced while maintaining an ordinary working life, studying in my spare time, and occasionally sharing what I learned with others.

During the year leading to enlightenment — around the 2020 pandemic — I lived alone for several years, seldom going out. Every day I meditated, read scriptures, and occasionally experienced out-of-body journeys.

Meditation and Inner Awareness

True meditation begins when you can enter stillness and observe your own thoughts. At that time, I did not yet realize this awareness was my Inner Heart — what some call the Heart of Dao or Heart of Buddha. In deep meditation, I could see my brain’s thoughts from another perspective — another “self.” Observing this daily was the correct path.

Out-of-Body Experience

Not everyone can easily achieve this. I will explain it more in future writings. Briefly: wake up two hours early, stay awake for half an hour, then return to sleep. When half-awake, half-asleep, the out-of-body experience occurs naturally. It allows you to see another layer of existence through a different perspective.

Understanding the Scriptures

During that half-year, I focused on two books — Dao De Jing and Diamond Sutra. Don’t overanalyze their words. Instead, feel their meaning.

I summarized their essence as follows:

• Dao De Jing: “I am the Dao; I am not the Dao.”
• Diamond Sutra: “I am the Buddha; I am not the Buddha.”

The Moment of Attaining the Dao

After about half a year of quiet, devoted practice, love began to arise within me — pure love overflowing from the heart, full of light and the wish to help others selflessly. When purity reached its peak — when love felt as if it would overflow — one or two months passed.

Then one day, realization came: “I am the Dao, and I am not the Dao. I exist between both.”
“I am the Buddha, and I am not the Buddha. I exist between both.”
I felt unified with the Dao — I was the world, and yet not the world. This state lasted two or three months.

Understanding the True Meaning

At that point, I realized — this is enlightenment. The state described in the scriptures, the feeling of the ancient sages — I now truly understood them. I let go of cultivation, let go of the Dao itself. Breaking through the Dao, one attains the Dao. After attaining, one transcends it again.

My journey was natural — not forced, not deliberate. Looking back, every coincidence and moment feels divinely arranged.

After Enlightenment

In the months after enlightenment, I felt sorrow. There was no longer a path ahead. The scriptures ended at this very point — beyond that, no more guidance.

After several months, in 2021, I gained new realization. I discovered my Inner Heart — born from enlightenment itself. Now I clearly see: my body, brain, and inner heart are three separate parts. The inner heart often leads me forward; its power is strong and unstoppable. Perhaps one day, when only pure inner heart remains, body and brain will no longer lead — I may no longer be “me,” but another version of me — entering the next stage.

Living After Attaining the Dao

Since attaining the Dao, I no longer “cultivate” in the usual sense. I rarely meditate or read scriptures. I have let go of cultivation itself. I know that I am the Dao and not the Dao — both being and non-being are released. Even letting go has been let go.

While writing this, I suddenly felt: attaining the Dao depends on destiny. Writing this article is destiny. You reading it is destiny. This is both cause and effect.

Perhaps not seeing through the future is the future. Yin and yang, cause and effect — all flow as one. And that feels perfectly right.

Edited on July 27, 2021