走进生命禅院：天国、地球与新时代——雪峰的末世思潮

ivysunday

本帖最后由 652 于 2025-10-19 11:41 编辑 《寒冬》编辑 Massimo 刊登第五篇：走进生命禅院：天国、地球与新时代——雪峰的末世思潮 Inside Lifechanyuan. 5. Heaven, Earth, and the New Era: Xuefeng’s Eschatology 10/17/2025Massimo Introvigne The community’s teachings describe multiple levels of afterlife heavens and hells, and a coming New Era on Earth. by Massimo Introvigne A map of heaven in the Thai Second Home. Eschatology—the study of last things—is often framed in terms of judgment, apocalypse, or divine intervention. In Lifechanyuan, however, it takes on a different tone: one of cosmic architecture, spiritual refinement, and progressive transformation. The community’s vision of the afterlife and the future of Earth is expansive, detailed, and surprisingly optimistic. Guide Xuefeng spent time with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose theology also includes the vision of a future pacified Earth. While there are similarities, Lifechanyuan’s eschatology is more layered and ambitious in its scope of going beyond the traditional religious narratives. Guide Xuefeng proposes a cartography of the afterlife that includes multiple heavens and hells, each with distinct characteristics and functions. Heaven is not a singular realm but a system of ascending worlds. The Thousand-year World is a material celestial body located “nine hundred and sixty light years from Earth.” It is “about ten times the size of Earth” and inhabited by “approximately two hundred million Celestial beings.” Life spans here “about a thousand years relative to Earth time.” It is described as “a world of pure sincerity, kindness, and beauty; one of love, peace, pleasure, and where human nature is sublimated.” The Ten-thousand-year World lies “three thousand, four hundred and eighty light years from Earth,” is “sixteen times the size of Earth,” and is surrounded by “sixteen equidistant suns.” Celestial beings here live for “about thirty-five thousand years relative to Earth time.” Unlike the Thousand and Ten-thousand-year Worlds, the Celestial Islands Continent of the Elysium World is not material. It is the highest and most sacred realm, described as “the Greatest Creator’s backyard”, composed of “eighty billion islands, each the size of Earth”. Each island is inhabited by a single Super Celestial Being, though “fifty billion islands are not currently inhabited” and are reserved for those who ascend through spiritual cultivation. These heavens are not exclusive to Lifechanyuan members. Other virtuous individuals may also enter, though members believe their path offers more precise guidance. Lifechanyuan does believe in reincarnation. Beings in the Thousand—and Ten-thousand-year Worlds may return to Earth to gain merit and ascend further. From the Celestial Islands, reincarnation is rare and only undertaken for missions benefiting humanity. Hell, too, is structured. It is “the general term for inflamed space, frozen space, and the inferno.” Souls in hell do not reincarnate directly as humans. They may first return as animals or certain plants to repay karmic debts. However, “insects and many plants belong to another reincarnation system of LIFE and will generally not reincarnate as humans”. The ultimate goal is to reach the Celestial Islands realm of purity, solitude, and divine proximity. One member told me in Thailand, “We are not escaping Earth. We are refining ourselves to be worthy of the Creator’s Garden.” While the Thousand-year World, also called Millennium, is a celestial heaven, Lifechanyuan envisions a millennial kingdom on Earth. From a scholarly perspective, this can be called, by borrowing the terminology of American scholar Catherine Wessinger, “progressive millennialism”—a belief that the world is gradually entering a new era of peace and unity, not through cataclysm but through transformation. The movement sees its Second Homes as seeds of this future. Guide Xuefeng has proposed the establishment of hundreds of such communities worldwide as prototypes of the coming civilization. A seed of the future: the Thai Second Home. “On the first day of 2018, humankind entered the New Era, namely, the Lifechanyuan Era. The symbol of this is that we have prepared a huge theoretical system for humanity to enter the New Era; we have obtained successful experience of resolving all problems in practice.” The New Era is marked by social indicators: rising numbers of single people, increasing divorce rates, and more open visa policies. These are seen as signs of humanity shedding outdated structures. “Families, states, political parties, and religions seem very strong, but even they will inevitably collapse when the wind of the New Era blows; nothing is indestructible.” The world will be unified in this future through gradual spiritual alignment. “The whole of humanity can have only one government, one belief system, and one order… Only when all dharma, laws, and regulations are unified into the Greatest Creator’s will and all religions, beliefs, and schools of thought are unified into one uniform belief system, and the whole world becomes one family, people can hold the Oneness.” Leadership will be entrusted to single individuals, who are seen as more selfless and less encumbered by familial ties. “Single people should be chosen as leaders in all regions. Single people are more selfless and open-minded, and they are less tied and troubled than those who have their own families.” The author with Two Celestials at the Thai Second Home. The New Era also brings changes to daily life and cultural practices. Lifechanyuan funeral ceremonies involve cremation and the scattering of ashes in nature. “This dispenses with the building of tombs, the keeping of ashes, the establishment of memorials, and all marks and traces of the deceased.” Birthdays and religious days such as Christmas are no longer celebrated. Instead, only natural festivals are observed. “There are no celebrations or festivals related to gods, Buddhas, Celestial beings, people, states, political parties, religions, or militaries, including Christmas, Buddha’s Birthday, and so on.” Gift-giving will be discouraged, and religious buildings will no longer be constructed. “In the New Era, churches, Buddhist temples, mosques, and Taoist abbeys will no longer be built.” Interestingly, Jehovah’s Witnesses also reject birthday and Christmas celebrations, though their reasons differ. Lifechanyuan’s goal is to remove ego, hierarchy, and distraction—to live in harmony with nature and the Creator’s will. Lifechanyuan’s eschatology is not apocalyptic, although it does predict that evildoers will perish in wars and natural calamities and will not enter the New Era. Heaven is not a distant reward, but a destination mapped in stages. Earth is not a fallen world—it is a garden being replanted. One member told me in Thailand, “We are building heaven here, and preparing to enter it there.” Link: https://bitterwinter.org/inside- ... efengs-eschatology/ 中文翻译： 走进生命禅院 · 第五篇：天国、地球与新时代——雪峰的末世思潮 2025年10月17日 马西莫·英特罗维涅（Massimo Introvigne） 该团体的教义描绘了多重天堂与地狱的层次，以及地球即将迎来的新时代。 末世论，本是“终极之事”的思索，常裹以审判与末日的阴影，或神明干预的威仪。而在生命禅院，却化作另一番景象：宇宙有序而深邃，精神缓缓升腾，万物在渐进的转化中悄然流转。来世与地球的未来，在他们眼中，既辽阔精微，又意外地光亮而乐观。 雪峰导游曾与耶和华见证人的信仰有所交会，彼时的神学也描绘着和平未来的地球。然生命禅院的末世论，层层分明，如宇宙般深邃，不囿于传统宗教的叙事，反而放眼更广阔的时空，彰显出一种意想不到的宏愿。 雪峰导游勾勒出一幅来世的“地图”，层叠着多个天堂与地狱，每一重都有其独特的风貌与使命。天堂不再是单一的境界，而是逐级升腾的世界体系，如同光影交错的阶梯，引领灵魂缓缓攀升。 千年界是一颗物质天体，距离地球九百六十光年。它约为地球十倍之大，栖居着两亿仙人们，其寿命相当于地球一千年。这里被描绘为纯真善良、美丽祥和的世界——爱与和平流淌，喜悦充盈，灵魂在此得以升华。 万年界，横亘于距离地球三千四百八十光年的星海，体积十六倍于地球，十六颗等距的太阳环绕其周。仙人在此寿命悠长，如地球三万五千年，岁月在光影与星辉中缓缓铺展。 极乐界，异于千年界与万年界，不属于物质世界。这里是至高神圣之境，被称作“佛祖上帝的后花园”，八百亿座岛屿如星河般散落，每座岛屿皆如地球般广阔。天仙栖息其间，而五百亿空岛静默守候，只为那些经修行升华而来的灵魂而留。 这些天堂并非生命禅院的独享之地，有德之人亦可入驻，然而成员的修行之路，更似精确的指引。轮回在生命禅院信仰中恒存：千年界与万年界的灵魂，或归返地球，以积功德、再向升华攀升。自极乐界仙岛群岛洲启程，则轮回罕至，唯有承载造福人类的使命时，才再踏尘世。 地狱同样有序，如火炼层、冰冻层与阴间层层分明。灵魂在此，不直接归于人类，或化作兽，或寄生于草木，以偿业力。唯有昆虫与许多植物，循另一轮回之道，难再转生为人。 终极归向，是极乐界仙岛群岛洲——纯净、孤寂、近乎神性的所在。一位成员在泰国曾言：“我们并非逃避尘世，而是修炼自身，使灵魂得以配上佛祖上帝的花园。” 千年界（亦称千禧天国）本为天界的圣境，而生命禅院亦设想在地球上建立人间的千禧王国。学术上，可借用凯瑟琳·韦辛格的“渐进千禧论”之说——相信世界正缓缓迈向新的和平与统一，不靠末日浩劫，而依循渐进的转化与升华。 这个团体视其第二家园为未来世界的种子。雪峰导游曾设想，在全球播撒数百颗这样的种子，使之生根发芽，化作新文明的雏形。 “2018年的第一日，人类迈入了生命禅的新时代。这一时刻象征着，我们为新纪元铺就了宏伟的理论之路；在实践中，我们也悄然积累了解决万事的智慧与经验。” 新时代的痕迹，悄然显现于社会：更多的人独自前行，婚姻的枷锁逐渐松动，世界的边界愈加宽阔。此种变化，被视作人类从过时结构中走出、迈向新生的象征。 家庭、国家、政党与宗教，曾显得巍然不动；然而，当新时代的风徐徐吹起，它们终将化解于无形——世间万象，皆无永恒。未来的世界，将在灵魂的共振与精神的相融中，渐次成一。 人类终将归于一体——一个政府，一个信仰体系，一个秩序。唯有当一切法、律与规章，汇入佛祖上帝的意志；当所有宗教、信仰与学派，融成同一源流的信念；当世界化作一个无垠的家园——人类方能真正抵达“合一”。 未来的领导权，将由单身人士承担——那些不受家庭羁绊的人，被视为更无私、更澄明。正如教义所言：“各地的领导者，应由单身者担任；他们心境清朗，少受尘世纷扰，方能以更宽广的心胸引领众人。” 随新时代而来的，是生活与文化的转化。生命禅院的葬仪，焚身为灰，让灵归自然——不筑墓、不留碑、不存迹。尘归尘，风载魂，一切痕迹皆融入无形。 在新的纪元中，世俗与宗教的节日悄然隐去，只留下自然的节律得以庆祝。不再有为神佛、国度或宗派而设的欢宴——圣诞、佛诞皆随风而散，唯春花秋月仍在述说时间的恩典。 新时代不再以礼物为情的凭证，也不再以殿宇为信的所在。教堂、佛寺、清真寺与道观皆止于此刻——信仰自此无形，却遍在天地之间。 有趣的是，耶和华见证人亦摒弃生日与圣诞，只是缘由不同。生命禅院的追求，是去除自我与层级之隔，使生命与自然、与佛祖上帝的意志谐然共鸣。 生命禅院的末世论并非毁灭的宣告。虽言恶者将于战火与灾变中消亡，无法步入新时代，然而天堂并非遥远的奖赏，而是一段可循的旅程，一层层可抵的境界。地球亦非堕落之所，而是一座正在被重新栽植的花园。 一位成员在泰国曾言：“我们正在此地建造天堂，也在默默准备自己，终有一日步入那里。”