In the teachings of Tao of Heaven, God is addressed as Lao Mu and this is what Lao Mu said about the beginning of human in this cycle of Heaven and Earth.
There are billions of "Kuan Yin" (Goddess of Mercy) in homeland, Heaven. At the beginning of this cycle of Heaven and Earth, there were neither men nor women on earth and all the righteous souls were with Lao Mu in Heaven. On Earth existed other sentient beings waiting to be reincarnated into human, cultivate, accumulate sufficient merits and then return home. Lao Mu had no choice but to instruct the pure souls to descend from heaven and be human on earth so they could multiply, rule the earth in peace and return home after that. With repeated instructions and discussions, none were willing to descend to earth because all feared to be human as they knew the sufferings.
Then Lao Mu devised a plan. She bit her middle finger and made wine from her dripping blood. In front of Tri-Peaks, Lao Mu lured the pure souls to get drunk. Tri-Peak is where God and humans first get separated. Tri-Peaks refer to the point of separation of the three domains in order to see God.
The pure souls got drunk just like human in Tri-Peaks and like lay people who were lost, could not find the way. The pure souls lay in the Grand Immortal Pool. Lao Mu then took away their divine apparels and flying shoes back to Heaven. Every pure soul played and bathed in the pool not realizing that Lao Mu was about to part from them. Lao Mu was reluctant to let go the pure souls but had no choice and no one understood Lao Mu's intention.
In the Heaven Palace, Lao Mu looked back and tears with blood ran down because she knew the sufferings and along the way many would be trapped by emotions and desires and might not return to Heaven. She saw the pure souls wailing mournfully and at that time could not bear to see the expression of the pure souls after they sobered up. The pure souls were still in the pool after they sobered up and could not find their divine apparels and flying shoes. They looked all over, searched the mountains, shouted in the forests but still could not find Lao Mu. They all sighted in sorrow, cried aloud, mourned and wailed to Heaven and Earth and cried,"Lao Mu, where are you?" Hair disheveled and foot bared; they were hearts broken. Without the divine apparels they shivered in cold. Thirsty and hungry, they could not find a place to settle. Up above were high mountains and down below were deep abysses, nobody dared to move. Holding each other's hands they wailed mournfully and none dared to leave.
Woefully sobbing and sighing in front of the Tri-Peaks, they heard the growling of the wild tigers echoed in the mountains. They had no place to go but cried Heaven. They cried aloud the name of Lao Mu time after time.
Then Lao Mu cried out loud from the clouds and consoled them. "My children; eat conifer seeds when hungry; drink spring water when thirsty. Make hats and belts from conifer leaves and branches. Cover your bodies with leaves and branches against the cold. Wait until the water return to the Western Sea, I will descend the Patriarch to the mortal world. There is no grain on earth. Plow, sow and then reap, wait for the home coming day." The pure souls' eyes were all filled with tears. They wept out loud to Heaven. The pure souls became men and women on earth.
They asked hopefully when would they reunite? Lao Mu sonorously reminded them from the clouds, "Be the origin of mankind on earth and constantly keep Lao Mu in your hearts. Do not ever blame that Lao Mu mercilessly forsake you children. My children, be not overly attached to the Immortal Home. Descend to rule the mortal world, and Lao Mu will never forget her lovely children. Lao Mu will one day descend to the mortal world to ferry her children back home."
"Ferry us Home in the Final Catastrophe Years?" they asked.
The children said, "Is there any proof to comfort this bitter and lengthy wait?"
Lao Mu sonorously answered in the clouds, "Ten fingers cross tightly and do not let air leak. At that time when hearing of the letter from home; do not lose your True Selves. Eliminate affections and love and cut bonds, then we will meet. The sooner you arouse, the sooner you'll receive peerage and return home. Be not enchanted by the mortal world or you'll fall into the bitter well."
Lao Mu became so worried that tears dropped from her eyes but it was to save the lost souls trapped on earth.
Then the children said, "We are willing to obey Lao Mu but we do not know the road to the mortal world. Without the divine apparels we cannot travel over mountains and ridges. Without the flying shoes we cannot ride the clouds and fly in the sky. Crying aloud, Lao Mu if you desert us, our lives will be in peril. Without the five grains to eat and clothes to wear, how can we survive?"
The children knelt down wailed endlessly. Beseeching Lao Mu, "Don't forsake us but save us! To descend to the earth, there are thousands of mountain and river to cross. High above are mountains, down below are waters; we cannot go forward."
Lao Mu said, "I can only send you off to a certain distance with a mystic way and hand you several treasures to commence 'qian' and 'kun'. 'Qian' is a chart used to represent male, the sun, Heaven or the True Self. 'Kun' is a chart used to represent female, the moon, earth or life. Later on when you give birth to your off-springs, remind them to do good deeds and study the true sutra diligently so that they too can go home."
The children cried in desperation. They kneeled down on the ground and could not stop tears from running down.
Author: T.A Chew
Website: http://www.white-sun.com
T.A Chew, an accountant by profession, was a Christian for 15 years from 1977 to 1993. As a Christian he realized that God made man in the image of God, meaning human came from Heaven. We are then part of God and hence we all have Godly Nature which is called the "True Self" in Tao of Heaven.