(Clearwisdom.net)
Master says,
"Studying the Fa with attachments is not true cultivation" ("Towards Consummation" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
We are the lives created in the old cosmos, and self-interest is a major characteristics of the old cosmos. When we stepped through the gate into cultivation, we also came in with selfishness. For example, some people want to treat their diseases and some want to obtain a Falun or become a Buddha or a Tao and solve the problem of life and death. Some practitioners do not have a clear understanding of cultivation practice in their minds and do not assimilate to the Fa during the process of cultivation.
Master says in "For Whom Do You Practice Cultivation" in Essentials For Further Advancement:
"The greatest reason for religions being undermined is the degeneration of the human mind. People worship Buddha not to cultivate Buddhahood, but to seek Buddha's blessings so that they can make a fortune, eliminate adversity, have a son, or lead a comfortable life."
Think about it, how many practitioners had these kinds of thoughts around July 20, 1999? Having the mindset of curing diseases to become healthy or of being a heavenly being and not paying off their debts while still accruing a lot of karma makes self interests the basis of cultivation.
A few years have passed since Master published the article Towards Consummation. I suggest that those practitioners who still have not understood the article memorize it--learn it by heart--and compare themselves to the Fa. Fundamentally we do not admit the existence of the old forces at all, however, the old forces are making use of our loopholes. If we study the Fa with the same attachments as when we started cultivation and don't change ourselves, we are simply making use of the Fa for personal benefit and are not assimilating to the Fa. We will then be easily controlled by the old forces and interfered with by them.
Our cultivation is to achieve selflessness by constantly improving ourselves and letting go of selfishness. By cultivating well and dissolving the evil by denying the arrangements of the old forces, we walk on the path that Master arranged for us. We then will be able to assist in rectifying the Fa without letting the evil take advantage of any loopholes.
March 17, 2007
