Tao (the Way of the Universe) is always present. There is no need for us to cultivate it. However, we do need to cultivate our own connection to the eternal Tao. This is what is meant by “cultivating Tao.” A dharma gate is a method or a path that helps us to find Tao (the Way).

“Cultivating Tao is like going for advanced study. A dharma gate is like a school, and a person who starts cultivating Tao is like a student in the school”. Therefore, each one of us is like a student on the Earth. How to choose a principle gate has nothing to do with what kind of religion the dharma gate belongs to, but everything to do with whether the leader has a “Unity of Heaven and Men” "Religions are not dharma gates; however, dharma gates are associated with religions". We need to understand these two phrases carefully. The general public thinks that the first step in cultivating Tao is finding a dharma gate. If a person is a Buddhist, very naturally, this person will cultivate Tao in a Buddhist temple and think that he/she has found the dharma gate of Buddhism. However, --the reality is--that any temple or lecture hall built by any religion does not represent that religion. It can only represent one dharma gate. For example, different temples have different ways of cultivations. Some cultivate Zen, and some cultivate Land. Some people say that Zen or Pure Land is their dharma gate. It is not so simple as it appears to be. If we can learn Zen, or the dharma gate of Zen, from a Zen lecture hall, and learn Buddhism, or the principal of Buddhism, from a Buddhist temple, then it will make our lives much easier. If this were as trivial as selecting schools for education, there would be no need for us to elaborate on today's topic: "Cultivating Tao and Dharma gate”. We have to understand the following questions first: What is a dharma gate? How can you choose a dharma gate? And what is religion?

First, in selecting the dharma gate it is important to know the attitude of the leader, instead of looking at the banner hanging outside the store. This leader may claim to be a practitioner of Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam; these titles have nothing to do with the dharma gates taught there. For instance, if the leader is a Buddhist master, it does not mean that the dharma gate taught there belongs to Buddhism. If this leader is a Christian, neither does it mean that the dharma gate is Christian. Therefore, in selecting the principle gate it is important to select the leader, not the religion the leader belongs to. The selection shall emphasize the attitude of the leader. What does the "attitude" mean? The essential thing is to see if this person has achieved the Unity of Heaven and Men. In other words, if the leader claims to be a teacher of Buddhist dharma gate, one must ask: does he/she works for Buddha or for Buddhism? This is the key. Many people are not clear about this.

For example, if I am a priest I present myself to be the messenger of God. I can preach to the public, however, deep inside my heart, I may be asking where is God? Who knows? But the mission is right next to me. The mission provides me financial aid, gives me free Bibles, and provides me good advertisements. On the other hand, God gives me nothing. Even though I claim that I am the messenger of God, in fact, I speak for the mission. Due to this profound difference in the attitude of a dharma gate leader, the dharma gate can associate men with God or associate men with the mission. These are very different.

If you didn’t make a clear distinction between working for God and working for a particular religion, you will think that any priest must be one with Heaven, or one with God. I know that some people associated with the Church preach the Bible to the public but are not one with God. When I was a Christian, I believed totally in Christianity and I was an excellent speaker on Christian topics. However, I was not one with God. Therefore, without being one with God, one can still be a priest. Then whom did I speak for? I spoke for the mission, because the mission supported me. Therefore, the religion does not guarantee a specific dharma gate. It is the person who is in charge that really matters. For example, when Buddha started Buddhism, he did not intend to create a religion or a dharma gate. His intention was to reveal the Tao, and make everyone understand the Truth. He wanted to introduce people to the super highway that is connected to the Tao.

Take the I-95 inter-state highway in the United States as an example. This highway has a very profound symbolic meaning and we can use it as a metaphor to understand the Tao. The I-95 highway is in the North-South direction. As we know that in the Tai-Chi figure, the direction of North is the Earth, and the direction of South Heaven. The North-South direction connects the Earth to Heaven for human to travel on this Tao’s highway. Moreover, in the I-Ching, the nine in the fifth place is also a "super highway", or the "Supreme" / "the Tao of Heaven. (Note: In I-Ching’s hexagrams, the fifth place is usually the king’s position. Number nine represents yang, implying a capable and active person or spirit.)

How to find the I-95 of Tao? It requires certain understandings of the reality. You can not equate a religion with a dharma gate, and a religion itself does not provide you with a specific dharma gate. A dharma gate is created when a person wants to study a religion. Naturally, the founder/leader of a dharma gate will have a great influence on the dharma gate in terms of its attitude and preferred literature for study. When the leader of a dharma gate changes over time, even though the dharma gate title remains the same, this dharma gate have already changed. A simple example is the story of the founder of Zen, Master Dar-Mo. When this Indian Buddhist master came to China and become the founder of Zen, he chose Len -Chie Ching for Dharma study. Later, the fifth Zen Patriarch used the Diamond Sutra to replace Leng-Chie Ching. Therefore, the literature in a dharma gate is replaceable, not to mention the basic teachings. Therefore, any dharma gate in religion or in any branch of a religion is prescribed by its leader, not by the religion. This is what is meant by "Religions are not dharma gates" in Religions are not dhama gates; however, dharma gates are associated with religions"

Next, I will discuss what the second phrase "dharma gates are associated with religions means. Today any person who wants to be the leader of a dharma gate most likely will declare a religion with which his/her dharma gate is associated. He/she would not say that his/her dharma gate is independent of all religions. For example, if a person tells people that he is venerable on his own and asks people to follow him, whom do you think will actually follow him? However, if he tells people that he is a Buddhist venerable, then everybody will come to follow him. It is much easier to become popular if you associate your dharma gate with a popular religion. You first can talk about the basic creeds of that religion, and at the end present your own materials. Therefore, when you listen to the dharma gate of a religion carefully, you will notice that even though the priest is talking about the Bible, there is something different in his/her talk at the end. The same thing might happen in Buddhism: a Buddhist priest might talk about Buddhist literature and at the end something different will be introduced. Then you will know that it is actually a different dharma gate. Every temple and every religious organization has its own specialty, or something different. The difference among them is absolutely necessary. If they all are the same, then they are not dharma gates at all.

If you hear the same thing from different churches, then it means that there must be a unified preaching script or standard teacher note, and the priests simply memorize it. For example, if all the priests say the same thing about the Book of Romans in the Bible, then we say that they are setting forth a religion. However, if the teaching of this church and that church has different emphases, then their dharma gates are different. You will be able to distinguish them after a few talks. If you really want to find a suitable dharma gate to cultivate Tao, you can go to different places and analyze their teachings. It is very easy to verify if a group works for God or not.

Next thing we shall check is if the operation behind a dharma gate is controlled by Heaven or by man. Only if Heaven operates the dharma gate, can one advance one’s cultivation. This is an even more important point. From the appearance all dharma gates seem to be operated by people. However, only when the operations are controlled by Heaven, can people return to Heaven through the dharma gates. If a dharma gate is only controlled by people and Heaven has nothing to do with it, then how can people return to Heaven through it? Therefore, we have to know if people are in charge of the dharma gate or if Heaven is in charge of the dharma gate. Here I use an example to demonstrate this point. Say there is a dharma gate that has attracted a lot of followers. Why has this dharma gate become so popular? Because the leader of the dharma gate has some mysterious powers, and he is able to resolve people’s problems. However, a dharma gate of this kind is not controlled by Heaven. Because if it is Heaven in charge of the dharma gate, then all operations for healing or correcting fortune shall be arranged by Heaven. If the leader can arrange everything, then it means that people are in charge of the dharma gate. Therefore we have to be careful in dharma gate selection.