The Awakening of Independence and Love

jiejing

Cultivation in the Second Home of Lifechanyuan: The Awakening of Independence and Love

Written by Jiejing Celestial｜December 24, 2025, Lifechanyuan Second Home, Thailand Branch  
Edited by: Xinzhoucao

I. Beginning the Experience of Independent Cultivation

From November 5 until now, more than a month has passed. This month feels like a baptism of LIFE: from conflict and isolation, to cooking and washing independently, to wandering between the mango garden and the merit garden. The Tao did not unfold according to my wishes, yet secretly arranged a deeper cultivation. My legs once grew weak, my heart once felt isolated, but with faith in the Greatest Creator, the guidance of Guide Xuefeng, and the study of Lifechanyuan Values, I walked step by step through tears and confusion, toward strength, toward independence.

II. The Bondage of Secular Routines

In worldly routines, cooking was once the thing I feared most. Its monotony and repetition filled me with aversion, and what unsettled me even more was that people around me often criticized, saying I did not cook well. Each time I entered the kitchen, it felt like stepping into a trial, my heart full of tension and shame. At that time, I would rather escape than face it.

The responsibilities of marriage and the burden of finances further prevented me from expressing myself authentically. Life was filled with bills, expenses, and work pressure, while love and care were often buried beneath these trivialities. When my mother fell ill and lay bedridden, I once cooked and cared for her alone for two months. During that period, my heart was full of exhaustion and avoidance; cooking felt like endless monotony, caring for the sick felt like a heavy weariness.

In worldly life, I relied more on takeout, spending more time in solitude. That solitude was not merely the loneliness of eating alone, but a deep sense of abandonment—as if the whole world had nothing to do with me, as if I had been left behind in a corner. The fear of cooking, the shame of being judged, the hollow emptiness of loneliness—all made me feel I was not good enough, not worthy of love.

Love, in that place, was often entangled with responsibility and burden. It was no longer pure, no longer gentle, but wrapped in financial pressure and family trivialities. Thus, in worldly life, I could not learn true love, nor could I find the dignity of independence within daily living.

III. Learning Independence in the Second Home

Yet in the Second Home of Lifechanyuan, everything is different. Here there are no economic bonds, no family responsibilities—only cultivation and the accumulation of merit. Every detail of daily life becomes an opportunity for practice.

In worldly routines, so‑called “independence” often means bearing financial pressure alone, enduring loneliness, and feeling isolated under criticism and rejection. Such independence is more a forced survival than true freedom.

But in the Second Home, independence is a conscious growth.

From not knowing how to cook, to being able to steam buns, roll noodles, fry sugar cakes, and make rice cakes—these processes are no longer shame or burden, but chances for learning and exploration. I relied on myself to watch videos, practicing again and again, gradually finding rhythm through repeated attempts. The kitchen ceased to be a place of fear and became a dojo of cultivation.

From crying in helplessness to being able to arrange daily routines, cook, wash clothes, clean, mow grass, and promote Lifechanyuan Values online in English—these labors taught me that life can indeed be sustained by my own hands. And this independence brings not loneliness, but strength.

This strength does not come only from personal effort, but also from the Greatest Creator’s blessing, the guidance of Guide Xuefeng, and the nourishing energy of the Thailand branch of the Second Home. It is within such an atmosphere that, through repeated practice, I gradually grew resilience and serenity.

From once despising the life of a housewife, to now truly experiencing its difficulty and value, I began to understand: those seemingly simple repetitions actually contain patience, wisdom, and love.

Here, cooking is no longer dull, but a discipline of cultivation: the proportion of water and flour, the mastery of heat, the rhythm of kneading and rolling—all become details of practice. What once felt like monotonous repetition now transforms into the tempering of the soul.

Worldly independence: isolated and unsupported, sustained only under the heavy weight of finances and responsibilities.
Independence in the Second Home: freedom of the soul, growth within the atmosphere of cultivation and merit, an awakening with dignity and joy.

Independence is not merely eating and washing by oneself—it is the awakening of LIFE’s dignity and freedom. For the first time, I felt that even within the details of daily living, strength and tranquility can arise.

IV. How the Second Home of Lifechanyuan Taught Me to Love

A deeper transformation is learning how to love.

In worldly life, I often thought I already understood love. Yet looking back, that love was always entangled with responsibility and pressure. What was called love gradually became another burden: to maintain, to bear, to keep giving. Thus, in relationships I was easily impatient, often critical, hiding my insecurity behind arrogance. Such love was heavy and unfree, leaving me lonely—for under pressure I could not express myself sincerely, nor feel the gentle flow of affection.

But in the Second Home of Lifechanyuan, love reveals an entirely different face. Here, worldly bonds have faded, the weight of family no longer exists, and cultivation and merit have become the core of LIFE. Love still carries responsibility, but no longer as a heavy burden. It is a voluntary offering, an exchange and nourishment between souls. In such an atmosphere, responsibility and love merge into one—real yet light, solemn yet tender.

I began to learn to express myself gently, no longer hiding vulnerability behind anger.

I began to try speaking dissatisfaction truthfully, without hostility, but with honesty.

I began to cherish and feel the care and affection of my lovers, no longer doubting whether I was worthy.

When my arrogant little self appeared, my lovers still communicated calmly, still offered care. They did not withdraw because of my irritability, but responded with patience and gentleness. In that moment, I truly realized: I too am worthy of being loved in this way.

In such an atmosphere, the once irritable self grew gentle, the once critical heart began to learn gratitude.

In worldly life, love is often mixed and consumed;
In the Second Home, love is purified and nourished.

It is here that I first learned: how to love, and how to be loved.

V. Closing Reflection

A month of cultivation feels like a journey of LIFE.
In this journey, I have learned two things:

I can live independently—not merely relying on others, but finding dignity and freedom in the details of daily life. Cooking, washing clothes, cleaning, mowing grass—these seemingly ordinary tasks have become steps of inner growth, allowing me to experience resilience and strength in the everyday.

I have begun to learn how to love. Love is no longer a burden mixed with responsibility and pressure, but a gentle and genuine expression, a way of cherishing and feeling, a communion and nourishment of the soul.

The Second Home of Lifechanyuan has shown me wonders unreachable in worldly life. It has not only let me taste spiritual ecstasy, but also guided me, within the atmosphere of cultivation, toward independence and love. Life here teaches me how to discover dignity in the simplest labor, and how to experience freedom in the most sincere exchanges.

This period of practice has made me understand:
Independence is not loneliness, but growth upheld by faith and energy;
Love is not a burden, but a gift of LIFE, a miracle of the soul.

In the Second Home, I have begun to truly know myself, to learn how to live with others, and how to embrace LIFE.
This month is a new beginning, a new awakening. It has shown me that dignity and freedom of life are found in every detail, in every sincere offering, in every gentle exchange.

About the Author: Jiejing Celestial
  
Born in 1989 in Huai’an, Jiangsu Province, China, Jiejing Celestial once worked in foreign trade, education, and customer service. Her life was deeply marked by depression, severe insomnia, and a painful struggle with plasma cell mastitis. After undergoing eleven minimally invasive surgeries on her chest, doctors advised a double mastectomy. Her weight reached 95 kilograms, both parents had passed away, her marriage had collapsed, and she was on the verge of emotional breakdown. Had she not returned to Lifechanyuan—had she not encountered Guide Xuefeng and the Second Home—she might have spent her final years alone in a psychiatric hospital.Since entering Lifechanyuan International Family Society Thailand Branch in April 2023, she has gradually rebuilt her body and soul through the nourishment of nature and Lifechanyuan Values. Her weight naturally returned to 60 kilograms, her emotions stabilized, her illness eased, and her spirit was reborn.With gentleness and resolve, she continues to meet life’s questions with grace.  At Lifechanyuan—a university for soul cultivation—she walks the path of awakening and healing.