(Minghui.org) After reading the recent Minghui editorial “Starting Point” it started me thinking about my experiences in relation to this article.
I'm quite familiar with the person mentioned in the editorial, because I had a lot of interactions with him a few years ago.
There was an article on the Minghui website alerting us to his mistakes last year. This person claimed that one of Master's articles had been written for him. I have personally heard him say this. The article was a timely reminder for him to keep on a righteous path and not to deviate from the Fa. The aim was to help him make corrections in his cultivation.
However, he did not truly place the Fa in his heart and didn't use it as a guide in his cultivation.
A practitioner's words and actions need to meet Dafa's requirements. It not about having renown among fellow practitioners.
Master said,
“Once they gain renown in this world, they are bound to say good but mean evil, thereby misleading the public and undermining the Fa.” (Essentials for Further Advancement – Cultivator's Avoidances)
This person had been praised and admired by some of his fellow practitioners. As cultivators, we should first use the Fa as guidance to tell right from wrong, and then look within for our own faults.
It's okay to make mistakes, but we have to learn from them and make the necessary improvements in our cultivation.
This is the point of my sharing, as I was one of those who had followed this practitioner during that time. I failed to walk my own path of validating the Fa or gain my independent understanding of the Fa.
An essential question is whether we truly respect Master from the bottom of our hearts.
Some fellow practitioners were so proud of themselves that they failed to truly treat Master with the utmost respect. Some even believed that they had surpassed Master. This thought is easily taken advantage of by the old forces - to slowly lead them astray. Their intention is to eventually make Master give up on them as practitioners.
We should ask ourselves: If the Minghui editorial hadn't been published, and the mentioned practitioner asked us to cooperate with him, would we have looked up to him and actively cooperated with him? If so, it indicates that there are problems in our own cultivation.
What role would we have played in the Fa-rectification process? If we hadn't realized it, we could have played a negative role.
If we can learn from this lesson and become more clearheaded, we will be able to gain a deeper understanding of the Fa and turn this interference into an opportunity for improvement.
Our behavior at critical moments truly test our understanding of the Fa. Cultivation is like sifting sand. It's a tempering process which separates gold from sand. Learning the Fa well and truly cultivating ourselves is the only way to avoid being weeded out.
The above is my limited understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Category: Improving Oneself
