Chatting with Dr & Master Zhi Gang Sha about How Forgiveness can Create True Happiness

Greatest Forgiveness: Bring Joy and Peace to Your Life with the Power of Unconditional Forgiveness is the newest book from bestselling author Dr & Master Zhi Gang Sha. In this book, he takes readers on a journey, one that helps them find happiness through forgiveness. We recently sat down with him to find out more about him, and his new breakout book.

Can you tell our readers how forgiveness can be the key to overcoming challenges in life?

Forgiveness is vital for transforming challenges in every aspect of life. Through forgiveness, people can get to the root of their problems and even prevent them from recurring. When we understand how soul, heart, mind, energy, and matter can carry negative messages and information that block our well-being, the significance of forgiveness for transforming our lives becomes clear.

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 the 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, financial, and other challenges. Challenges in any aspect of life are due to negative shen qi jing. Ancient wisdom teaches that 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. Positive information is created when we serve humanity, animals, and the environment positively, with kindness, compassion, generosity, 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 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. 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.”

How is Tao Calligraphy different from traditional calligraphy and how can people use it to achieve a higher level of wellness and forgiveness?

Calligraphy is practiced in many cultures. Chinese calligraphy has been revered for centuries not only as an art form, but also as a meditation in motion that cultivates the life force (qi or chi), well-being, and happiness. Traditionally, Chinese calligraphy is created by numerous brush strokes. In 2013 I learned the unique one-stroke form of Chinese calligraphy called Yi Bi Zi from Professor Li Qiu Yun, who learned it from Tai Shi (“supreme teacher”), the teacher of the emperor’s and royal family’s children during the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty in China. After mastering Yi Bi Zi, I went on to create Tao Calligraphy, a form of Oneness writing, to help people heal and transform their challenges. Each Tao Calligraphy is created in one stroke and is infused with the most positive messages and blessings that carry the high frequency and vibration of Tao (the Source). Through the meditative tracing and writing of Tao Calligraphy, people can absorb these positive messages and remove negative information within soul, heart, mind, and body that are blocking wellness and flourishing in other aspects of life.

In Greatest Forgiveness, I have included a Greatest Forgiveness (Da Kuan Shu in Chinese) Tao Calligraphy for readers to use to open their hearts to forgiveness, adding a boost to the other simple but powerful techniques presented in the book. Following the ancient wisdom that says, “You become what you chant,” when you trace and write Tao Calligraphy, you become what you trace or write. The message of forgiveness can transform blockages in health, relationships, finances, and any aspect of life.

People often want to forgive themselves or others but find it hard or even impossible to do so. How can your book help them overcome that barrier?

It can be very hard to forgive. I believe the wisdom in this book will give readers a deeper understanding of forgiveness and how vital it is for transforming physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual conditions. In Greatest Forgiveness, we offer specific practices and a special Tao Calligraphy that everyone can use to become more open to forgive and to ask for forgiveness. People will learn how they can develop their own brief, simple, and powerful daily practice that will help them forgive. Forgiveness is not a one-time event. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught, “Forgiveness is not an occasional act. It is a permanent attitude.” I hope that readers will be inspired by the many testimonials in the book from people who have used these forgiveness practices to transform situations that seemed hopeless. They will learn about how people have reunited with family members and friends after years of separation, how a mother forgave someone who had seriously harmed her son, how co-workers let go of their conflicts, and much more. The stories are very heart-touching.

There is a Chinese expression, “If you want to know if a pear is sweet, taste it.” I invite people to apply these practices to discover for themselves that they can overcome their resistance to forgiving or asking for forgiveness and free themselves of the past.

What is your favorite part of the book and why?

I am dedicated to sharing ancient and modern wisdom and practices that can help people become healthier and happier. It makes me most happy to read the moving testimonials of how people have transformed a wide variety of difficult situations and have freed themselves from anger, resentment, shame, and guilt and have brought more joy and peace to their lives.

I know you are just releasing the new book Greatest Forgiveness, but I’m sure your fans are wondering what is next for you. Is there another book or project in the works?

Yes, there are a number of books in process. Greatest Forgiveness is the second book in a series that presents the power and significance of the Ten Da, the Ten Greatest Tao Qualities. The first volume is entitled Greatest Love: Unblock Your Life in 30 Minutes a Day with the Power of Unconditional Love, and there will be more to come.

I also have another series planned that will address how the Tao teachings can be applied to practical problems in our everyday life.

Forgiveness can be a hard concept for some people to apply in their day to day lives. How can they get a better understanding of why they need to forgive themselves and others?

Forgiveness is vital for removing the root causes of all kinds of challenges we face in life. A lack of forgiveness has a negative impact not only on our thoughts and emotions but also on our physical health. Lowered immunity, heart problems, and high blood pressure are some of the effects of holding onto anger and resentment. Scientific studies support the wisdom of all spiritual traditions that advise practicing forgiveness for well-being and happiness. Through forgiveness, we can remove the negative information we are carrying in our souls, hearts, minds, and bodies that are causing challenges in our life. Practicing forgiveness brings great benefits for every aspect of life, including health, relationships, business, finances, and more.

The news has been reporting on the fires in the Amazon, and the effects of climate change. How can forgiveness practice help save the earth?

There is a saying based on ancient spiritual wisdom that expresses the connection between humanity and Mother Nature: “The big universe and human being join as one.” When humanity and nature are not aligned and joined as one, there can be natural disasters, such as the fires in the Amazon, and wars, diseases, and political and economic challenges. Ancient wisdom also teaches that everyone and everything is made of shen qi jing. Shen is soul, heart, and mind. Qi is energy. Jing is matter. Humanity and Mother Earth are made of shen qi jing. Through practicing love and forgiveness, we can help clear the shen qi jing of Mother Earth and of humanity and bring them together as one.

On a practical level, the Love Peace Harmony Foundation that I founded in 2010 has launched the Plant A Million project to help heal and restore Mother Earth. We have partnered with groups in the U.S., the U.K., India, Thailand, Bhutan, and more to plant trees. Through this action, we ask for forgiveness for not being in alignment and at one with nature and dedicate ourselves to serving Mother Earth. You can learn more about Plant A Million and our other humanitarian projects at https://lovepeaceharmony.org/

You have also developed a very special type of calligraphy. What was the inspiration for Tao Calligraphy, and can it be used in a forgiveness practice?

From a very young age, I began seriously studying the Eastern arts and became a grandmaster of tai chi, qi gong, feng shui, and the I Ching. The Eastern art of Chinese calligraphy has been revered in China for centuries not only as an art form but also as a meditative practice that nurtures well-being. In 2013, I had the unique opportunity to learn the special one-stroke form of Chinese calligraphy called Yi Bi Zi from Professor Li Qiu Yun, who learned it from Tai Shi (“supreme teacher”), who taught the emperor’s and royal family’s children during the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty in China. After mastering Yi Bi Zi, I went on to create Tao Calligraphy, Oneness writing, that is infused with Tao light, blessings, and the positive messages of love, forgiveness, compassion, gratitude, and much more. By tracing or writing the Da Kuan Shu (Greatest Forgiveness) calligraphy that I include in the book Greatest Forgiveness, readers can boost the power of their forgiveness practice. As you trace the Greatest Forgiveness calligraphy, you absorb the vibration and frequency of the message in the writing and deepen your ability to forgive unconditionally and ask for forgiveness.

Practicing Tao Calligraphy is a unifying practice that fosters oneness, cultivates health and longevity, and creates an internal stillness and peace that enhances every aspect of life.

Your book has just hit bookstore shelves and it is already a bestseller. How did you feel when you heard the news that it had become a bestseller so quickly?

I felt a great amount of gratitude that the book Greatest Forgiveness quickly became a bestseller because my goal is to reach as many people as possible with these teachings. I am honored to serve, and am dedicated to sharing this wisdom and these practices so that people can live happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. As the testimonials in the book demonstrate, forgiveness is a golden key to transforming many different kinds of situations in life. Forgiveness can help heal the world and brings people together into one global world family.