The Eight Prisons of the Human Realm

jiejing

The Eight Prisons of the Human Realm

Xuefeng

September 1, 2025

To be born as a human is to live one’s entire life within eight prisons.

The prison of the mind,
the prison of the flesh,
the prison of emotion,
the prison of kinship,
the prison of tribe,
the prison of family,
the prison of nation,
and the prison of prison itself.

The prison of the mind is the greatest and most formidable. The mind arises from the endless stream of phenomena; through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body, appearances enter consciousness and give birth to thought. With mind come jealousy, comparison, greed, ambition, and endless desires. Thus one is bound tightly by appearances and cannot be free. Unless one enters formless thinking—thought beyond appearances—one will remain forever imprisoned by the mind. Even with wealth and honor, even if placed in heaven itself, one still dwells in the prison of the mind and cannot taste the freedom of LIFE.

The prison of the flesh is the second. The body is material, and its activity requires material energy. Eating, clothing, shelter, travel, birth, aging, sickness, and death—all bind and torment existence. If one cannot transcend the prison of the flesh, one cannot enjoy the freedom of LIFE.

The prison of emotion arises from attachment and sentiment. Once entangled in affection and emotional bonds, one is taken hostage by them. The prison of emotion is also the strongest and most unbreakable of the Thirty-Six Bagua Arrays (Taoist formations of entrapment, each a symbolic maze of human bondage). If one cannot escape the snare of sentiment, one remains trapped for a lifetime, never tasting the freedom of LIFE.

The prison of kinship is built by ties of blood. Parents, children, grandchildren, siblings, relatives—all together form a prison. Most people are bound all their lives by parents and children, unable to escape the burdens of duty, obligation, morality, and ethics.

The prison of tribe refers to the confinement of clan and nation. Though its chains are not the strongest, still one is bound by family ethics and national sentiment. Even abroad, one cannot escape the subtle influence of ancestral customs and cultural identity. Foolish words and acts then arise, spoken with pride as if righteous and glorious—but in truth, one is working on behalf of their own prison.

The prison of family—home itself is a prison. Every family has its scripture of suffering, difficult to recite. Why is it so hard? Because home itself is a place that imprisons LIFE. This prison has long been praised, protected by morality, ethics, and law. Living in a sea of suffering, yet still singing its praises—here human delusion, pretension, hypocrisy, and helplessness are revealed most clearly.

The prison of nation—the state itself is a vast prison. Without a passport, one cannot leave. Without a visa, one cannot enter. A place that restricts free passage—is it not a prison?

The prison of prison—this is the common jail where a nation confines those who break its laws. Everyone understands this obvious restriction of bodily freedom. Yet in truth, prison confines only the body, while the prison of the mind confines LIFE itself. Thus the greatest fear should be the prison of the mind, not the physical prison. But people have it reversed—they dread the visible prison while remaining blind to the invisible one that truly binds LIFE.

Yet the eight prisons cannot truly confine LIFE. Without awakening, they bind. With awakening, they vanish. Even if the body is locked in a cell, it matters not. If the mind transcends all phenomena, then throughout the universe, every place is a field of Tao practice, every place is heaven.