(Clearwisdom.net) The Falun Dafa materials sites* and Internet access points that I know of have been set up by young and middle-aged practitioners. Most of them are single people that were forced to leave their homes and move from place to place to avoid being arrested. These men and women voluntarily get together. They have suffered pain that most people could hardly imagine, endured great pressures, and have been doing the great things that Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioners should do. Their deeds have played a decisive role in clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings. Under the present vicious environment they sometimes need to regroup or make some new arrangements. They live a relatively confined and lonely life. If they slacken the demands on themselves, the evil will use the opportunity to interfere in some way. Some of our fellow practitioners are very good in every aspect; however, they cannot let go of their attachment to sentimentality between the sexes. This is because they cannot improve their understanding on the issue from the Fa principles. As a result they have been interfered with and their levels have dropped. It is a great pity.

The Clearwisdom editors recently published two articles: "On the Basis of Fa-Rectification Cultivation, Safeguard the Stable Operation of Materials Sites and Internet Access Points in Mainland China" and "On the Relationship between Members of the Opposite Sex and the Issue of Marriage," which dealt with this very serious topic and were very good and very timely.

I think that whether we evaluate ourselves using the declined human moral standards or using a practitioner's standards is extremely important. We are all Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioners; therefore we must live by the standards required of Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioners. Now that the Fa-rectification has come to the final stages of the final stages, we must set higher standards for ourselves.

There is a young woman practitioner working with me. In everyday people's words, "She is young and pretty" and she is single. She is also in a very good cultivation state and proficient in computer technology. For a variety of reasons, the two of us formed a new materials production site. We studied the Fa, sent forth righteous thoughts, and produced truth-clarification materials together. From the very beginning, I felt very grateful to our Teacher for letting me see my attachment in this aspect and arranging for this practitioner to work beside me to help me to let go of my lust. I also thought it was a very good opportunity, for if I could not let go of my lust, I would drop down a level. Because I thought about the situation that way, when we worked together we felt open-hearted and aboveboard, and when we shared experiences we also felt relaxed and unrestrained.

The mind is very active. Being contaminated by the dye vat of human desires, dirty thoughts would pop up from time to time. However, I always reminded myself that I was a cultivator, our Teacher's disciple, and that I had a mission in coming to the human world, so I always made a clear distinction and sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the dirty thoughts. Sometimes when the bad thoughts flew I would suppress them and never give them any excuses to leave behind a dimensional field. As long as one's righteous thoughts are strong, these bad thoughts will become weaker and weaker and finally be eliminated. This is cultivation; therefore I had a better understanding of Teacher's words:

"Human society is a good place for cultivation, since everything here can lead to attachments".

("No Politics" Essentials for Further Advancement II)

If we cannot let go of attachments, then we are human beings; but if we can let go of attachments, then we will be divine beings. As a result, the two of us cooperated very well and did not give the evil any loopholes to take advantage of. We did have conflicts, but each time we solved them through sharing based on the Fa. Because we maintained a relationship between fellow practitioners and did not allow other interfering factors, we got along very naturally and we liked working together.

Actually, whenever an outstanding fellow practitioner of the opposite sex appears beside us or when we have favourable impressions of a particular fellow practitioner of the opposite sex, we should all enlighten to this issue. When we see sentiments from fellow practitioners of the opposite sex we should indeed think about if it is time for us to let go of our attachment to feelings. Nothing that happens around us is accidental. If we cannot enlighten to this issue, and only look at it from the human point of view and think it is only natural, think that it is an opportunity, or think about another practitioner's thoughts of "Because I am practicing here, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is rewarding me" (Zhuan Falun), then we will be ruined by the evil. We have already seen many examples of this happening. If our righteous thoughts are very strong, we can look at the other person from a practitioner's viewpoint and consider the situation to be an arrangement by Teacher, see this as a sacred predestined relationship for us to validate the Fa together, and at the same time we can let go of our attachment in this aspect. "I am not an ordinary person, I am a practitioner." (Zhuan Falun) In that case we would also be seen as "This kid is teachable". (Zhuan Falun) One thought can bring about different consequences.

I will share a cultivation story that deeply touched my heart. In the early days of Sakyamuni's spreading his Fa, his step-brother Nanda stayed with him to cultivate. Nanda had a young and beautiful wife and they lived a very happy life. When the Buddha spread his Dharma, Nanda simply could not cultivate diligently. He would often sneak back home to unite with his wife whenever the Buddha went out. Seeing Nanda's attachment, the Buddha took him to a forest where they came across an ugly black monkey. The Buddha asked Nanda, "How does your wife compare to this monkey?" Nanda replied, "This monkey is so ugly. How can it compare with my wife?"

Then the Buddha took Nanda to Heaven where a group of fairies lived in a magnificent palace. One of the fairies said, "We heard that on earth there is a Buddha whose brother is called Nanda. The Buddha persuaded him to renounce his family and become a cultivator. Because he renounced the family his merits and virtues would allow him to be reborn as a heavenly being after he dies." Nanda was very happy. The Buddha asked him, "How do these fairies compare with your wife?" Nanda replied, "It is just like comparing my wife with the monkey; there is no comparison."

After that, the Buddha took Nanda to Hell where they saw a huge iron pot in which human beings were being boiled. One of the officers in Hell said, "There is a Buddha whose brother is called Nanda. He will be reborn to Heaven because he is trying to cultivate his karma. However, after he finishes his enjoyment in Heaven, he will come down to Hell to face punishment." Upon hearing this, Nanda was terrified. Then, he realized that all worldly pleasures such as wealth, sex, love, and power were just illusions, and that to get out of the cycle of suffering he must follow the teachings of Buddha. Thereafter he adhered to the Buddha's teachings and cultivated diligently. Finally he enlightened to the fruit status of an Arhat.

Why would practitioners still regard human sentiments as important and forget about the vows they made so many eons ago?

This is just my personal understanding. If there is anything improper please kindly it point out.