The following is an excerpt from a Level 4 text of the Yi Fa Society:
If a practitioner tries to cultivate
without Union, he will only be cultivating for himself. His successes
might strengthen him, but only reinforce his narcissism. He will
start to feel disconnected from the rest of reality around him, and
will reinforce the petty interests of his Inferior Person as if these
were significant. He will develop a sense of greatness he will not be
able to apply to his actual surroundings. In this way, he will
eventually subvert all his own progress.
If a practitioner tries to cultivate
without Discipline, he will practice in starts and stops. He may at
times seek to overcompensate, even practicing in unhealthy ways. He
will fall into excuses for why his irregular practice is not a
problem, or even how it is unnecessary for him to practice. He may
hide in intellect or in emotion, making pretensions of great
spiritual feelings or thoughts, while disdaining simple and basic
practice. This will eventually mean that he loses all his momentum.
If a practitioner tries to cultivate
without Harmony, he will be afraid of his weaknesses, and will put
all his focus on his strengths. He will work with great effort at
things he's already good at, while neglecting anything he is bad at.
He will make a great show of his best qualities, while trying to deny
existence of his worst qualities. In this way he will be unable to
continue generating Virtue, or receive Gong.
If a practitioner tries to cultivate
without Truth, he will delude himself with any fantasy. He may do the
physical exercises, but they will exist in his own little bubble. He
will interpret Virtue as anything he feels like. He will be unable to
receive insight into how to manifest the Superior Individual. He will
be unable to manifest Virtue in the world.
