(Clearwisdom.net) I am a Dafa disciple who started the practice in 1997. I had always intended to write of my cultivation experiences but avoided it, because I felt that my understanding of Dafa to be still at the perceptual level. In September 2005 I read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. Then the evil elements in my mind disintegrated and were cleared away. When I read the sixth commentary I felt my thinking becoming clear and obstacle-free.
Previously, I often felt my brain was blank when I clarified the truth to others. The results were often not ideal. I realized what interfered with me were the elements from the evil Party culture. Ever since I read the Nine Commentaries I have felt that I am improving fast. I cultivate each of my thoughts and have begun to have new understandings of Dafa's principles and can express my experiences rationally. At this very late stage of Fa-rectification, seeing that some fellow practitioners are still being caught and tortured, I feel the urge to share my cultivation experiences.
From the very beginning of my cultivation, whenever I have had bad or odd thoughts in my mind that I did not immediately catch and therefore let develop, some part of me--my body or my head, a hand or a foot--would bump into something. The pain usually makes me realize that the previous thought was not a good one and does not conform to "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." I realize that Master is reminding me that it is not a coincidence.
I want to take this opportunity to tell how I got rid of my habit of emotions. One day my grandson was sick and taken to the emergency room. I was distraught. My heart was broken and I broke into tears when I thought of his health, his work, and that he did not have an apartment to settle down in. In the depths of my pain I suddenly realized, "I am a practitioner."
Yes, I am a practitioner. The mind of a practitioner should always be compassionate and noble. No matter what the outside elements are, a practitioner should always keep a good cultivation state. Emotions belong to the human world; how can they move a practitioner? It is not my true self. If we can evaluate our every single thought according to the criteria Dafa has set, we will be able to find many negative human traits, such as selfishness, balancing advantages of gains and loss, jealousy, fear, worry, showing off, superiority over others, laziness, avoiding hardships, and other strong emotions. Now I realize that being anxious is also an attachment. One must identify and remove the human mindset. Gradually, the notions and thinking formed over thousands of years are being cleared away. Our main consciousness gets stronger everyday, and we will be able to tell what is the proper thought process for a cultivator as distinguished from a common person. By doing so, our righteous thoughts will predominate and be stronger in Dafa.
Master has said,
"You walk this path of Fa-rectification well, you manage to overcome your limitations in cultivation, you let go of your attachments, you save all beings with righteous thoughts in your mind, and you handle everything you face with righteous thoughts--that is mighty virtue." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference")
I realized that what ties us up are human thinking and our attachments.
Once I overcame some tribulation in a dream. I walked a long distance, very far and difficult. At a very difficult turn a vicious German Shepard stared at me. I immediately disintegrated it with my righteous thoughts. I walked the difficult path step by step. When I awoke I realized that even if I have passed the test with my righteous thoughts, I should not have the desire to show off or become smug or feel that I have achieved something; that would give the evils an excuse for persecution. I am touched by the righteous conduct of some fellow practitioners. They are so graceful when they clarify the truth and offer sentient beings salvation. They think and act righteously before the evil. I understand they have reached this level after removing selfishness, fear, worry, trying to show off, feelings of accomplishment, and smugness.
Human thinking and acting on these thoughts are what will interfere with righteous thoughts and are the excuses and reasons the evil uses for the persecution. Of course, we do not accept any persecution by the old forces and do not acknowledge their existence, as Master instructs us. Nevertheless, letting go of a human mindset and all the notions that come with that is a lesson we must heed on our cultivation path. Removing some stubborn human attachments is just as Master described:
"during this heart-wrenching, agonizing process of removing attachments." ("Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital")
"...when you truly cultivate you have to discipline yourself with that character standard we talk about, you have to really improve your own character, and then, and only then, is it true cultivation. If you just do those movements, your character won't improve, you won't have the strong energy you need to reinforce the whole thing, and that's far from cultivation..." ("The Third Talk" in Zhuan Falun, 2003 translation version)
Once your character improves, when doing the three things you will not keep a human mindset; you will keep a genuine compassionate mind that truly wants to offer sentient beings salvation. When we clarify the truth, what we say is filled with energy, is pure and compassionate, and can reach deep into someone's soul, rescuing the being as well as those within his kingdom.
As disciples during the Fa-rectification we have to break the barriers and become one body, just like the energy channel with hundreds of energy channels connected to become one. I realized what is causing this separation is the human mind.
Due to my limited level, please benevolently point out what is not correct.
