Many of the concepts derived from primitive religions that we hear in various daily life situations and see others using on various media platforms are misunderstood due to later generations’ cognitive errors regarding the underlying meanings of these concepts. The reason behind this is that when the speaker expresses something beyond the listener’s cognition, the understanding and cognition of listeners from different ages and backgrounds will distort the speaker’s meaning based on their own understanding and cognition. Finally, after many years of being passed down through word of mouth, a consensus is formed on the wrong concepts.
Misconception 1: “Hui Guang Fan Zhao” (literal translation: “Reflecting light back upon itself”).
According to Wikipedia, “Hui Guang Fan Zhao” refers to the phenomenon of a critically ill patient experiencing a short-lived abnormal improvement before passing away. The specific manifestation is usually when a comatose patient suddenly becomes conscious, regains appetite, is able to engage in brief conversations, and even regains mobility. However, in the following few days or hours, the situation deteriorates rapidly, leading to the patient’s passing. Many people’s understanding of “Hui Guang Fan Zhao” is similar to this definition. However, the original meaning of “Hui Guang Fan Zhao” should be “Hui Guang Fan Zhao,” which comes from the Taoist practice classic, “Taiyi Jinhua Zongzhi.” “Hui” refers to entering into a meditative state after letting go of everything, “Guang” refers to observation, and “Fan Zhao” refers to observing one’s body and inner thoughts in a state of “Hui Guang.” In other words, “Hui Guang Fan Zhao” is actually a primitive Taoist meditation practice.
Why do people have a sudden state of clarity before they die? It’s because the brain releases a large amount of DMT (dimethyltryptamine) when a person is close to death. When DMT is released in large amounts, the brain enters a state of abnormal clarity of consciousness, and the person may even see various hallucinations and feel that they are approaching death. Additionally, DMT is found in various plants such as ayahuasca and mimosa bark, and it is also released in large amounts during deep meditation. Therefore, deep meditation is to some extent a “simulated death” state, and the state before death is a state of “deep meditation” (such as abnormal clarity, seeing hallucinations, and seeing white light).
Misconception 2: “Appearance arises from the mind”
Many people misunderstand “Xiang You Xin Sheng” as meaning that a person’s inner state can influence their appearance, that one’s mental state affects their facial features, and that kind people become increasingly beautiful while unkind people become increasingly ugly. In this view, everything about a person’s appearance is a reflection of their inner state.
First of all, “beauty” and “ugliness” are subjective aesthetic standards, and no one can objectively say who is beautiful or ugly. If “Xiang You Xin Sheng (Appearance arises from the mind)” is a truth, then who can objectively judge a person’s external “beauty” or “ugliness”? Secondly, if one thinks that a person is “ugly,” it means their soul is eviler, then society only needs to pre-detain people defined as “ugly” according to certain social standards to prevent many evils in advance, and judges do not need evidence and logic when they make verdicts. By now, readers may have already perceived the absurdity of this argument.
“Appearance arises from the mind” actually comes from Buddhist terminology. The so-called “Xiang(Appearance)” refers to all things you consider to exist objectively, which are all born from the “mind” and have nothing to do with a person’s external appearance. Our human body has many senses that allow us to perceive different aspects of a thing through vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, etc. In primitive Buddhism, it is believed that everything perceived by our senses under consciousness is actually only a stimulation we create for ourselves. For example, the colour we perceive from a flower is actually reflected by the light refracted onto our retina. There is no objective existence of colour. Sound is only perceived through the auditory sensing component in our ears by the vibration of air, and there is no objective existence of sound. Taste and smell are just our sensory mechanisms that allow us to smell and taste different flavours, and there is no objective existence of taste. All of these human sensory functions, if applied to another animal, may lead to different perceptions of objective things due to differences in sensory functions between different species.
Misconception 3: Cause, effect and Karma
“Cause and Effect” and “Karma” are often interpreted by people from different cultural backgrounds as a fundamental logical relationship that applies to all laws of the world. For example, some believe that a person who commits evil deeds will face retribution, or that their “sin” will affect their family or future generations, and they may even be haunted by ghosts, suffer from disabilities or die young in the next life. However, based on my observations, almost everyone’s understanding of “Cause and Effect” and “Karma” is an attempt to forcibly interpret the true meaning of these concepts through a Chinese religious perspective. In fact, these concepts originate from the original Buddhist concept of consciousness, and they have nothing to do with one’s good or bad deeds. In the cultural and contextual framework of that time, the so-called “evil deeds” actually referred to “all actions that lead people away from tranquillity,” while “good deeds” referred to “all actions that lead people towards tranquillity.”
Therefore, “cause and effect” refers to the internal changes in a person’s mind caused by external environmental information. For example, some traumatic experiences during childhood can lead to behavioural deviations in adulthood, or past insults and humiliations can become persistent attachments in the future. These experiences can be triggered by receiving certain information at a certain moment in the future, and even lead to emotional reactions so strong that they can destroy objective rational cognition and deny facts. The inner self changes according to external environmental changes and is uncontrollable.
In the theory of original Buddhism, what we need to cut off is not the cause or the effect, but “karma.” “Karma” is the connection in “causality.” For example, if you have a fearful heart towards cockroaches, if the “karma” is strong, it means your fear is more significant. Some people may even have physiological effects such as fainting and dizziness. Our ego is all bound by “karma,” and meditation is the means to cut off “karma.” However, not all “karma” needs to be cleared. For example, there is something called “good karma,” which can connect individual “causality” and make the psychological state healthier.
Misconception 4: “Impermanence”.
“無常 Wu Chang’ (Impermanence) is also often misinterpreted by different online media or by certain masters as a kind of spiritual chicken soup for living in the present moment. When disasters or casualties occur, it is often explained that ‘life is impermanent,’ suggesting that people may encounter unexpected misfortunes at any time and need to cherish what they have now. In modern Buddhism, ‘無常Impermanence’ is also regarded as one of the truths, pointing out that all things in the world are constantly changing, and nothing is permanent. Everything exists due to various causes and conditions.
Although both interpretations can provide comfort to people, unfortunately, they are also forced to interpret the original meaning through modern semantic understanding. When understanding “無常 Impermanence” one needs to consider the context of its origin. Indeed, “無常 Impermanence” also originated from Buddhist concepts, but it has also been misinterpreted by modern Buddhism. The original source is:
「觀身不淨、觀受是苦、觀心無常、觀法無我」－《四念住》Four Foundations of Mindfulness
「色者無常，無常則苦，苦則非神；覺亦無常，無常則苦，苦則非神；想亦無常，無常則苦，苦則非神；行亦無常，無常則苦，苦則非神；識亦無常，無常則苦，苦則非神，是為：色無常，覺、想、行、識無常，無常則苦，苦則非神。」－《阿含經》Agama Sutras
The original meaning of “Impermanence” is not to explain the phenomena or essence of external things, nor does it refer to unexpected events in one’s life. Rather, it refers to the impermanence of all things in the human mind, including all perceptions, emotions, desires, and thoughts, which are subject to birth and death. All desires, emotions, and thoughts can arise and cease in an instant, or they can continue to affect us subconsciously without our knowledge, becoming the suffering of our lives. Buddhists need to feel the impermanence within themselves during meditation and remove emotions, desires, and thoughts to attain a state of meditation.
Misconception 5: “Selflessness (No-self)”.
The misunderstanding of “no-self” is even more mystical than the above errors. For example, in modern Buddhist concepts, “no-self” is equated with “I do not exist (there is no self),” “because people are constantly changing, there is no essence. That is, a permanent, unchanging self does not exist.” Many masters even point out that the “contemplation of the non-self in phenomena” in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness means “phenomena are all dharmas, the body is also a dharma, and one of the myriad dharmas, and within all dharmas, the self cannot be found.” These seemingly plausible concepts continuously use Buddhist terminology to explain another Buddhist term to cover up their ignorance of the Dharma, to the extent that they cannot even grasp the concept of “dharma.” （原始佛法概念中的法是什麼 What is the concept of ‘Dharma’ in original Buddhism ?）
The concept of the two words “selflessness” first appeared in the original Buddhist theory “Three Dharma Seals”
諸行無常，諸法無我，寂靜涅槃。
All mental phenomena are impermanent, all mental phenomena (all dharmas) are non-self, nirvana is tranquility.
Many people mistakenly take “no-self” out of context from “all mental phenomena (all dharmas) are non-self,” and forcibly use this fallacy to eliminate the objectivity of human existence. This nihilism has caused very serious consequences for many people. Because the definition of “dharma” in “What is the concept of ‘Dharma’ in original Buddhism?” is detailed as “the attributes of the human mind,” all thoughts, instincts, emotions and desires..etc belong to the attributes of the human mind. Therefore, “no-self” cannot be extracted from “all phenomena are without self” for independent interpretation. It must be explained in conjunction with the four words “all mental phenomena (all dharmas) are non-self,” rather than taking “no-self” out of context to mean “there is no self,” “not-self,” and other seemingly plausible but actually irrational interpretations.
Therefore, the correct meaning of “all mental phenomena (all dharmas) are non-self” is “the various attributes of the human mind do not belong to me.” Because many people have already established an inseparable relationship with emotions and desires, it is difficult for them to independently perceive the relationship between these attributes of the human mind and their true self. There are two levels of understanding “all mental phenomena (all dharmas) are non-self.” The first is the literal understanding, and the second is the realization established through insight meditation, truly recognizing that our thoughts, emotions, instincts, desires, etc., do not belong to our true nature. Our true nature is pure and tranquil.
