I’ve read in Taoist books that “Selflessness is the secret for the achievement of immortality” and “Egolessness is the key for the attainment of greatness.”   These ideas may have worked in the time of Lao-Tzu or the Yellow Emperor, but they don’t seem to work in today’s complex multi-media “American Idol” stress-filled environment.  Can you explain and amplify? – Pat from Orange County

This is a very relevant question in today’s society where there is a glorification of the ego, and the notion that you can only succeed if you promote yourself as in the various programming in modern day media. This programming is actually propaganda. It promotes this false notion that success or greatness can only be attained through self-aggrandizement, but in reality, success is achieved when the ego is taken out of the equation.

In Taoism, it states that when you flow with the Tao, all things will be accomplished. However, in order to flow with the Tao, you must take the ego out of equation and practice wu wei which is translated as “nonaction”, but it actually means to do your activity with non attachment of your ego. So when they say selflessness will lead to attaining success or greatness, it means that you are able to flow with the circumstances around you and allow the Tao to flow through you so that you can attain success effortlessly. When you are have your ego involved, you are trying to control circumstances which are out of your control. When your ego is not involved, you can still attain your goals while being in sync with your environment. So instead of control, you flow, and through the flow, you attain your goal.

As for the question of immortality, in modern day sense, one can say immortality is the ability to access your true self or your soul which is eternal.  That is your true immortality. For the true self or soul can never die. The only way to access your true self or soul is by being egoless and selfless, because the ego is what prevents you from accessing your true self and soul. When you able to live without the ego controlling you, then you can come from your true being, which is truly immortal. That is one interpretation for modern times when the old Taoist sages say selflessness leads to immortality.

© Robert K. Wu

(To ask a question to Master KJ Wu, email divinedharmatalk@gmail.com or click on icon “Divine Dharma Talk” on the top page to find out more about the website)

Constantly torn between “if it’s meant to be, it will be” and “if you want it, go and get it.” Basically, this is a question of accepting what is and exerting personal will. When do I accept and allow, and when do I intend and create? When do I know when to let things go? – Anita from Los Angeles

The question really addresses the issue between free will and fate, and how the two interact. Nothing is written in stone regarding your future. There is always room to exercise your free will. This is not the issue. The issue is knowing when to exert your free will against the circumstances that confront you that are not in alignment with what you desire. The real question is: Is what you desire in alignment with the circumstances around you? Do you use force to try to enforce your will? Or do you flow and adapt to the circumstances?

This is an issue of force versus inner power and inner knowingness. Force is when you are trying to superimpose your idea on your circumstances; versus inner power is when you truly understand the circumstances and see where your desire and/or will is in alignment with it or is in opposition to it. If your will is in alignment with the circumstances then things will flow easily. If your will is not in alignment with the circumstances, then there will be struggle, opposition and suffering. When it is in alignment, it doesn’t mean that your will cannot change the circumstances. It can change and influence the circumstances and yet it is in alignment with the circumstances. For instance, if the river is flowing downwards and you are in a boat, you can still stir the rudder to guide it. However, if the river is flowing downwards and you are trying to go upwards against the flow, then no matter how much you try to will it, the flow of circumstances will wash you back down to the shore. This is an example of not reading the circumstances and trying to use force versus inner power to get what you want. If you have inner power, you will realize that it is fruitless to totally crash against the flow of the tide. However, when you learn to go in the same direction, you will be able to surf the wave and maneuver effectively and still attain what you want. So ultimately, it is using inner power which is defined as having your will in alignment and in harmony with your circumstances.

© Robert K. Wu

What is the best way to introduce my young adult children (in their early 20’s ) to the teachings and understandings as expressed on Divine Dharma Talk? – Larry from California

This is a very good question for the father to ask about his children, which really can be readdressed as how do I encourage and support the spiritual development of my children? First, you do that by example. Through your living example of spiritual progress, your children who love and respect you will automatically be inspired by the transformation and changes they see in their father as he continues to progress. In this case, the parents are the models for the children to follow. Quite simply, if the parents are exposed to new teachings that result in the expansion of their spiritual consciousness, this will encourage the children to seek more answers. They may not in particular choose the same path of their parents — and this is not necessary — but they will choose a path that is suited for them in that particular time of their lives. For instance, their parents may like oldies music, but the children may prefer more contemporary music. Nonetheless, the parent’s love of music and listening to it in their home will encourage the children to seek their own music. Therefore, children will seek their own spirituality in the context of their particular growth cycle.

The other aspect of this question really addresses how young adults can develop a deeper understanding of spirituality. While the parents provide a stimulus, how do they begin on their own spiritual journey of awakening? If they are steeped in an institutional religion, they may not necessarily find the answers there, so it is the questions that will propel them on the path of self discovery. When they realize there is something out there that they cannot grasp, yet it exists as something very real that brings them joy and happiness when they are able to connect to this consciousness, then they will begin to pursue it by investigating different forms of spirituality. Divine Dharma Talk is a stimulus. Even though it answers questions, it will actually raise more questions. So for young adults to read this blog and ask questions in the blog, it will provide additional answers and stimulus for them to continue on their own path of spiritual discovery. Ultimately, there are many different paths to the summit of the mountain, and each individual will resonate to the path which is most suited for him or her whether he or she be a child, a young adult or an older person. It is not a function of age, but a function of awareness.

© Robert K. Wu

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What is the purpose of life on earth? Why are we here, in our bodies, hurtling through space? — Jim from California —

I want to address this very profound question which is why we are on this planet earth which is hurtling through space through the cosmos. There are two layers to this question. First, what is the real purpose of one being incarnated on the planet earth?  If you understand this more general question, you will then understand the question that you pose. For earth is a special school. It is a school of duality. It is a school  that allows the soul to progress on its evolution back to the Divine. Without duality there is no *leela, or divine play. There is no white and black, good and evil, dark and light. Without duality, there is no divine play, because in every play, there has to be an antagonist and a protagonist.  Since we are in a play of divine comedy, it will have a happy ending; versus a divine tragedy which is a contradiction in terms which can never happen. So through working out the conflicts that arise through this duality, every soul has its own divine leela. Ultimately, the resolution of these conflicts will lead to a higher consciousness, eventually to a divine consciousness when the soul incarnated in a person will see everything as part of the Divine. From which point, he or she would have graduated from this special school in the cosmos.

(*Leela is a Sanskrit meaning for play)

Why does it seem so difficult for individuals, cultures, and humanity as a whole transcend duality and experience oneness? Will there even be a time when all mankind awakens? – Rita from Oregon —

As I mentioned before, the purpose of life on earth is not only a school for the evolution of the individual soul, but also of the group soul, whether that group be a community, a nation, a culture or all of humanity. The nature of this school is based on duality. The question is will humanity as a whole ever evolve beyond the duality to reach the oneness which is based on returning to the Divine which is the One. As we have evolved from the different *yugas, from darkness back towards the light, there will be a time in the far distant future when we shall return to the *satya yuga and be one with the Divine. At which point, duality on the planet earth will cease to be a condition for learning. In its place, there will be only divine love, harmony and peace.

(*Yuga is the name of an epoch or era within a four age cycle)

(*Satya yuga is a Vedic term which means when humanity is governed by gods, and every manifestation or work is close to the purest ideal and humanity will allow intrinsic goodness to rule supreme.)

© Robert K. Wu

What is Divine Dharma Talk?

Divine Dharma Talk is a blog allowing others to communicate with Divine guidance.  These spiritual messages are received through Master KJ Wu in his deep meditations and shared on this blog.  The purpose is to address many of the spiritual questions and modern day issues that people have as they seek to find answers in their lives. Feel free to post your general non-personal questions on the site or email question to divinedharmatalk@gmail.com, and Master KJ Wu will try to answer as many as he can, Through knowledge and understanding of the dharma, one can reach a state of inner peace and outer harmony in the world.  Blessings.

How can I find true love after a series of less than ideal relationships? — Alice from Palm Springs

“Archangel Raphael” replies: Love is one of my expertise… When we look for love anywhere outside of ourselves and not within ourselves and with our divine self which is part of the Divine, then we will always have less than the ideal relationship and we will always be disappointed.  No matter how wonderful your partner will be, at some point you will be disappointed because you are looking outside of yourself. God and the Divine will never disappoint you. If you can look within and can develop a love relationship with your own divinity, then when you engage in any relationship with others, you bring that divinity, that divine love into that relationship and it transforms it into the ideal. You do not look for the other person to fulfill you, but you look for the Divine in the other person to resonate with the divinity in you so that you share together a divine relationship based on divine love.

© Robert K. Wu