The word "sublimation" appears repeatedly in the book, such as in phrases like "constantly sublimating," "he won't let you sublimate," "only then can you sublimate," "able to sublimate a little," "overall sublimation," "sublimating to this higher level," "sublimating," "thoughts will undergo a sublimation," and "sublimating upwards," etc.
In the word "sublimation," "sublimation" means upward, elevated, or leaving its original position, such as "rising." "Sublimation" in classical Chinese is synonymous with "flower," implying essence, brilliance, and the most beautiful and noble part. It can be understood as the essence, brilliance, and most beautiful part, also possessing a luster that emanates from within.
The literal meaning of "sublimation" differs between East and West. In the East, it primarily refers to rising to a higher level and revealing the purest essence or brilliance. In the West, the etymology of sublimation is "sublimation," which literally means crossing an existing threshold or reaching the highest beam of a building. In modern science, it refers to the physical phenomenon of matter changing directly from a solid to a gas without passing through a liquid state.
Sublimation in physics is exemplified by dry ice directly turning into a gas. It offers profound insights into life and spirit: the transition from solid to gaseous state typically requires a "liquid" phase. However, sublimation skips the muddy, melting process of the liquid state, directly leaping over it. This suggests that enlightenment and the elevation of one's spiritual realm sometimes don't require entanglement in petty grievances and trivial rules, but can instead involve a fundamental leap in thinking and perspective.
From a true perspective, sublimation is about refining purity and returning to the origin.
Scientific sublimation aims to obtain the purest crystals. In the realm of "truth," sublimation is the continuous stripping away of acquired concepts, masks, lies, and selfish desires, revealing the most primal and purest nature of life.
With the elevation of one's spiritual realm, one's understanding of the world is no longer limited to the solid material world visible to the naked eye, but extends to seeing through appearances and discerning higher-level, more microscopic cosmic truths. It enables the utilization of electrons, atoms, and other elements.
From a benevolent perspective, sublimation is about transforming the heavy and turbid into the light and clear, an expansion of compassion.
Solid, cold, and hard states represent the closed-off, selfish, or resentful nature of life. Through the melting and sublimation of "goodness," the hardened self disappears, transforming into compassion that is omnipresent, like air and sunlight.
Sublimation into a gaseous state allows for the nourishment of a wider space. The sublimation of life is the liberation from "self-interest" and the move towards "the well-being of all beings," where the power of goodness becomes more expansive and pure.
Measured by forbearance, sublimation requires enduring the forging process, achieving a fundamental leap.
Physical sublimation requires absorbing enormous amounts of heat (energy). In practice, this "heat" often manifests as suffering, conflict, misunderstanding, or hardship. "Forbearance" is not cowardly holding one's breath, but rather, like a furnace, fully enduring these pressures, using this pain as fuel to "burn away" and directly vaporize lower-level attachments.
Sublimation often means letting go of heavy burdens.
Matter transforms from a solid to a gas, appearing lighter.
The same is true of human thought.
When a person's heart is filled with resentment, jealousy, strife, vanity, and attachment, their thoughts become heavy. Even though the events are over, their heart remains entangled.
However, when a person can let go of resentment, excessive conflict, and an intense attachment to fame and fortune, their heart gradually becomes light.
This lightness is neither passivity nor confusion, but a composure born from seeing further.
True sublimation is moving from falsehood to truth, from narrow-mindedness to kindness, from impulsiveness to patience, from heaviness to lightness.
Having encountered the term "sublimation" in an extremely valuable book, I will briefly discuss its surface meaning and its personal implications here. For a deeper and more profound understanding, one must read the original text.