Bestselling author Dr & Master Zhi Gang Sha has released his new book Greatest Forgiveness: Bring Joy and Peace to Your Life with the Power of Unconditional Forgiveness. We recently sat down with him to learn more about how his new book can help readers find happiness through forgiveness.
What do you hope people will take away with them once they finish Greatest Forgiveness, your new book?
I hope people will take away that complete, unconditional forgiveness can bring them inner joy and peace, and that they can do simple practices based on ancient wisdom that can help them get to the root of their problems so they can transform any aspect of their lives. I want people to understand that forgiveness is a golden key to overcoming challenges in life and can clear away obstacles that are holding them back from living with more happiness, well-being, and success. Everyone faces difficulties and makes mistakes in life. To sincerely forgive and ask for forgiveness helps us to learn, let go, and experience more love, peace, and harmony.
Inspiration for authors comes from many areas. What inspired your decision to write this book?
From a very early age when I saw people suffering, I wanted to help and planned to become a doctor. I received a medical degree in Western medicine in China, trained in Chinese traditional medicine and acupuncture in China and Canada, and became a grandmaster of several Eastern arts. I have committed my life to serving others and to teaching Tao (Source) wisdom and practices that can help people heal and flourish in every aspect of life. I received the wisdom that the nature of Tao, the ultimate Creator, is embodied in Ten Greatest Qualities, including Greatest Love, the title of my first book in this series, and Greatest Forgiveness. I have been very inspired by seeing how forgiveness practice has transformed so many peoples’ lives and want to share this practice with as many people as possible through this book.
What role can calligraphy play in spiritual, emotional, and physical health?
Calligraphy is an ancient art that has played a role in nurturing spiritual, emotional, and physical health for centuries in many cultures. Tao Calligraphy is a special meditative form of Oneness writing, with positive messages written in one stroke. It carries the high frequency and vibration of the soul, heart, mind, and body of Tao, and by tracing or learning to write Tao Calligraphy, people can transform the negative information and messages they carry within to more positive and uplifting information and messages. Studies of people practicing calligraphy have shown similar benefits to other forms of meditation, with new brain connections forming and greater emotional balance. A lack of forgiveness creates unhappy states that have been proven to have very negative effects on physical, mental, and emotional health. I personally wrote a Tao Calligraphy that is included in the book: Da Kuan Shu, which means Greatest Forgiveness. Readers can trace this calligraphy to boost their forgiveness practice.
What role does karma play in the forgiveness process?
Ancient wisdom teaches that everyone and everything are made of shen qi jing. Shen includes soul, heart, and mind. Qi is energy. Jing is matter. Together, qi and jing comprise the physical body. Shen is what we are beyond the physical body: mind (consciousness), heart (the core of life, and much more than the physical heart), and soul (our highest essence). In scientific terms, shen is information or message, with soul or spirit being the content of information, heart the receiver of information, and mind the processor of information. (See my book Tao Science, co-authored with quantum physicist Dr. Rulin Xiu, for more in-depth teachings.)
Shen qi jing can be positive or negative. Positive shen qi jing is order, connection, and harmony. Negative shen qi jing is disorder, disconnection, and disharmony. In Greatest Forgiveness, I share why people get sick and have relationship or financial challenges. Challenges in any aspect of life are due to negative shen qi jing. Ancient wisdom teaches the soul is the leader or, as I have taught, “Soul is the boss.” Therefore, the root cause of all challenges in life is soul blockages, which are negative information or messages carried by our beloved soul. In some spiritual belief systems, this is called negative karma, because karma is the information or messages created by a person’s actions, behaviors, speech, and thoughts in all lifetimes. Positive information is created when we serve humanity, animals, and the environment positively, with kindness, compassion, generosity, and more. Positive information brings connection, harmony, and success. Negative information is created when we hurt, harm, take advantage, lie, cheat, steal, and more. Negative information brings disconnection, disharmony, and all kinds of challenges and obstacles in life. We need to do forgiveness practice precisely because of the negative information or karma we have created. Forgiveness practice can transform these soul blockages to transform life challenges. Negative shen qi jing can be transformed to positive shen qi jing. Whatever you believe, everyone can benefit from practicing forgiveness. At one level, forgiveness is letting go of the burdens of anger, vengefulness, guilt, anxiety, fear, or more. But spiritually, forgiveness goes further. Forgiveness can heal the heart and soul. All spiritual traditions teach the importance of forgiveness for living well. I teach, “Heal the soul first; then healing of the mind and body will follow.”
You are a prolific writer, so I have to ask – is there another book coming out?
Yes, I am working with my co-authors on more books in this series and also have another series planned. We look forward to sharing much more of this wisdom and how it can be applied in everyday life for greater vitality, harmonious relationships, success in finances and business, greater intelligence, and more.