(Minghui.org)
(Continued from Part 2)
Cherishing Cultivation, the Opportunity of the Ages
As I gradually improve my xinxing through Fa study, I cherish more and more the precious opportunity to cultivate. From Master's lectures, I came to understand the principle that all the splendor of the world must be traded for one's virtue.
Nothing that one has spent through a lifetime of effort and years of pursuit—happiness, glory, children's success, the perfect family, or wealth—can one take away at death. One will find his life’s wishes and pursuits suddenly nothing as he ages with the passing of time.
One's pursuit of fame, personal gain, and sentimentality is all in vain. Gods have arranged one's losses and gains according to one's karma well before one reincarnates. It cannot be changed easily by any ordinary person. However, a practitioner's efforts can change some things and are absolutely not in vain.
More miraculously, everything that Master has rearranged for us—our cultivation path and our life—is the best. As long as we strive forward, persist through difficulties, and achieve consummation, what's waiting for us is the best.
Ordinary people are not afraid to suffer in pursuit of fame, personal gain, and sentimentality. Despite their suffering, they might not necessarily achieve what they want. Even if they are satisfied, their happiness is only temporary and will soon vanish.
However, things are different for a practitioner. As long as he is willing to face suffering, take it lightly, and elevate his realm constantly, he possesses all the happiness that only a practitioner can enjoy. That is the relaxation and joy at the moment of letting go of human attachments.
Sometimes I would feel the wonder of Fa principles that manifest at different levels and be joyful for having been enlightened to a new level of Fa principles. Not only do I experience spiritual fulfillment, it is also accompanied by the transformation of my flesh body into high-energy substances, which is beyond what I could possibly wish for in this earthly realm.
If we are willing to commit our mind to letting go of our human attachments, the sweetest fruits are always waiting for us. Each breakthrough and improvement is the witness of a practitioner's efforts to cultivate his heart.
I started practicing cultivation late in life. Now, when the Fa-rectification period is nearing its end, is also the moment just before the truth unfolds in the human world and disasters befall the earth. I am not sure exactly when that day will come, but I know that it's pressing for us to save people.
How effectively a practitioner saves people depends on his level. I painstakingly pursued degenerated and modified schools of cultivation before and accumulated many experiences and lessons from crooked paths. I know how difficult it is to obtain a righteous school of cultivation. It's so wondrous to receive guidance from the Master of a righteous Fa.
No matter how difficult it is, I will commit my mind and persist in practicing cultivation until I achieve consummation. After reading Zhuan Falun and Master's lectures several times, I thought I was very clear about the Fa's requirements, but I just couldn't put them into practice.
Of course, I realize that cultivation of a righteous Fa is difficult. At this critical moment in human history, beings in other dimensions of the universe have placed much interference and many tribulations upon Dafa practitioners. They are subtly interfering with us all the time, in line with earthly principles. They are taking advantage of everything on this earth—movies, media, the Internet, breaking news, and more—to distract us.
Sentimentality, human attachments, ties with family, and conflicts at work can also make a practitioner stumble here and there on his divine path of cultivation. With strong perseverance and firm belief, I avoided external interference and was not greedy for human happiness and material indulgence, but when I compared myself with the Fa’s requirements, I identified many shortcomings and attachments.
All those human attachments and ways of thinking accumulated during many reincarnations that are not aligned with the Fa must be eliminated. It is difficult and takes time. My first test was to let go of lust and desire, as well as the attachment to happiness with my husband.
Master said,
“Dafa disciples: I said long ago that sexual attraction and desire are a fatal roadblock that a cultivator absolutely must overcome.”(“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference,” Teaching the Fa at the Conference V)
So I first had to let go of sexual attraction and desire.
I never thought I was attached to sexual attraction and desire because I personally believed that my moral standards were higher than those of most people. When I did become aware and was determined to get rid of them, I was shocked. I discovered that the attachment of lust and desire was actually a sticky and black substance. It existed in my dimensional field for a long time and was reinforced by frequent consumption of movies and media. Whenever I read the Fa, strange and dirty images surfaced and flashed in my mind. It's as Master said,
“A person is like a container, and he is whatever he contains. All of what a person sees with the eyes and hears with the ears are: violence, lust, power struggles in literary works, struggles for profit in the practical world, money worship, other manifestations of demon-nature, and so on. With his head filled with these, this kind of person is truly a bad person, no matter what he appears to be.”(“Melt into the Fa,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
Nowadays words, images, movies, and shows intolerable to practitioners are everywhere. People are used to them, indulge in them, and are not aware of the problems they bring. Everyone is adding fuel to the fire. Such things are rapidly deteriorating the morality of human beings.
After I identified clearly the attachment of sexual attraction and desire, I became aware of how seriously worldly people are contaminated. At that point, I was able to understand why Master said,
“You know, nowadays people are sliding downhill faster and faster, and the morality of people today has declined horribly.”(“Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. International Fa Conference,” Teaching the Fa at the Conference VII)
I spent much time studying the Fa to wash away those bad messages in my mind. I tried my best to eliminate the interference of thought karma. It took a year for bad images to stop appearing in my mind.
I had never thought there was anything wrong about today’s society before I started practicing Falun Dafa. The sun rose every day and the turned on its axis, but when I looked back after practicing cultivation, I came to understand Master's teaching:
“Although great changes have taken place in human society, human moral values have declined tremendously. Human morality is deteriorating daily, and profits have become the sole motivation. Yet changes in the universe do not occur according to changes in humankind. As a practitioner, one cannot conduct oneself based on the standard of everyday people. It is not permitted if you go do things simply because everyday people consider them right. When everyday people say that it is good, it may not be good. When everyday people say that it is bad, it may not be bad, either. In this time when the moral values are distorted, if you tell someone that he is doing something bad, he will not believe it! As a practitioner, one must assess things with the characteristic of the universe. Only then can one distinguish what is genuinely good and what is truly bad.”(Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
My second test was to let go of my show-off mentality and jealousy. A genuine practitioner must eliminate these two attachments! I never thought I had them, but as I studied the Fa I gradually became aware that I had every attachment that Master mentioned.
They existed in various subtle forms and weakened my primordial purity. Once I was aware of this, I was determined to eliminate them. When I just started cultivation practice, I could eradicate them only at the surface, but I knew clearly that I had to become purer and purer.
My mind soon became cleaner and clearer. Most of the messy things in my mind were gone. My physical body also became light. I became more focused while doing the five exercises.
I was mild-mannered and seldom had conflicts with others, but things were different at home. I thought I was more well-read than my husband and, as a teacher, very eloquent. When we had conflicts, I would easily win the argument, but as a practitioner, I knew that it was not right.
Master said,
“While working, your tone of voice, your kindheartedness, and your reasoning can change a person’s heart, whereas commands never could!”(“Clearheadedness,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I had always believed that my husband had more shortcomings than I did. So, whenever we argued, I tried to convince and educate him. After I started practicing cultivation, I started to discipline myself with the principle of “not fighting back when beaten or sworn at.” When I did that, I was shocked to notice that my shortcomings were no less than my husband’s.
When he pointed out my problems, I tried my best to be tolerant, not to fight back or quarrel, and not to find any excuses for my behavior. Even if I seemed to be right, I kept a low profile in face of the conflict. After a year, I finally was able to remain unmoved and looked inside unconditionally when others criticized me.
Thank you, Master! Master's Fa taught me how to reflect upon myself. I also found that following the principle of not fighting back when beaten or sworn at enabled me to get rid of many stubborn attachments, such as competitiveness, the show-off mentality, and resentment.
When I looked deep inside for problems, I learned how to look at things from the perspective of others instead of always insisting on my own viewpoints and forcing others to accept them.
Master said,
“As I mentioned before, when you speak to others with your own goals in mind, wanting to change or persuade them, no matter how reasonable your words are, other people will have a hard time completely accepting them. Nor can the words move people’s hearts. Why? Let me tell you: It’s actually because the words you say contain all of your thoughts. Your sentences have complicated thoughts included in them, such as your human emotions and desires, and even those many attachments of yours. That makes your words not so powerful and rather diluted. Also, people often look at things from their own viewpoints when they say things to others, and those might not conform to the Fa of the universe. So in this respect they lack the power of Truth. Moreover, when speaking to others, people add things to protect themselves so that they won’t get hurt. In other words, the intention behind your words is no longer pure, then. And as a result your words get really frivolous. But when your mind can truly become tranquil, when your attachments get less and less, or when the distracting thoughts get less and less, then you’ll find that your words have power.” (Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Switzerland)
Since then, I have made great progress in cultivating my speech and heart. No matter how fierce a conflict is, I am able to remain unmoved and not fight back with hurtful words. My dimensional field is no longer dominated by the attachment of conquering or winning others over. Those bad substances were replaced by tolerance and compassion. I hope that I can bring people warmth and peace instead of showing them how smart and capable I am.
Bathed in Master's Compassion
Dafa disciple's mission is to clarify the truth, so what we say has to be compassionate and manifest a supernormal realm so that people are willing to listen.
Master said,
“Your mind will become increasingly pure as you reach higher levels. What your thinking brings forth then, and what you say, will be extremely pure. The purer and simpler they are, the more they conform to the principles of that level of the universe. The words you speak then can instantly pierce people’s hearts, strike the depths of people’s thoughts, and strike the more microscopic part of their existences. Now isn’t that going to be powerful?! So if you can become tranquil, that ability signifies that you have reached a certain realm.”(Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Switzerland)
I finally understand why Master repeatedly asked us to study the Fa and practice genuine cultivation of our hearts, because otherwise we do not have positive energy to change people's negative thoughts. We can save people only when we have compassion from the bottom of our heart.
In every lecture, Master reminds us patiently to look inward. It was really difficult for me to follow this teaching at the outset! As an ordinary person, one's first response is to look outward in a conflict with others, look for others' problems and their responsibility, and meanwhile look for excuses to minimize one’s own responsibility. It's really difficult to replace the human attachment of looking at others with the cultivation of oneself. When I did that and changed my thinking, I really found my own faults!
Sometimes I failed to do this and pointed out the faults of others. I stumbled here and there before getting back on track. Gradually I learned how to pay attention to every thought of mine. While in a conflict with others, I looked inside to identify my own faults, even though I seemed correct. In this way, I could figure out if I had any attachments that caused the problem and could alert myself to improve.
My level is very limited. In order to improve faster, I read Minghui articles or listen to Minghui radio every day and compared myself with other practitioners. I asked myself: If I encounter a similar situation, what should I do to align myself with the Fa?
I drew lessons from other practitioners' experiences as well as their unselfish realms. I regarded other practitioners as a mirror to identify my own problems. In this way, I pushed myself to be diligent. I really appreciate Master's efforts in directing practitioners to establish the Minghui website.
I was often moved to tears by articles about practitioners who recalled their time with Master. I saw a compassionate and great Master sacrifice unconditionally for his disciples and treat everyone in the same compassionate way, whether they were high-ranking officials or small vendors, business owners or peasants, rich or poor.
Master said,
“Whatever their reason for coming here millennia or eons ago, they have, all the same, been awaiting this final time. We cannot decide against saving them just because they conducted themselves poorly in one lifetime or did some particular thing wrong. When Master looks at a living being, [what he considers] spans the entire course of that being's existence. If someone did a lot of great things in history, and even had many great achievements in service of validating the Fa, can we not save him just because he has behaved poorly in this lifetime?”(“Fa Teaching at the 2008 New York Conference,” Teaching the Fa at the Conference VIII)
Everyone has committed sins during their many reincarnations. Even if one is a beggar in this life, he might have been an honorable king in a previous one. When Dafa is widely spread today, as long as one takes up the practice, Master will save him and unconditionally resolve all of his karmic debts in previous lifetimes.
Master is not physically beside us, but every genuine practitioner can perceive his fashen's hints and help. During times when I was confused, I would open the book Zhuan Falun or Master's lectures, and the answer would be there. It was really amazing.
When I encountered trouble and prayed to Master for help, external interference disappeared. I was once late to an event, and I prayed to Master for help. I arrived at the destination in five minutes, when the journey would take an average person 30 minutes. Such miracles happen frequently to Dafa practitioners.
Many practitioners whose celestial eyes are open shared on the Minghui website that they saw Master in another dimension watching practitioners with a smile. Some practitioners saw Master sitting on a lotus flower in another dimension with a serious look when they did things wrong or had conflicts with others. When practitioners did well, Master encouraged them by placing mystical Udumbara flowers in their homes. Some practitioners can see wonders in other dimensions when they are at an elevated realm. Master is watching us all the time.
When I am not doing well or am get stuck at a certain level, I dare not look at Master's photo while opening Zhuan Falun. However, Master always encourages us.
He said,
“Stand up when you fall, and that is the most remarkable. Start again and do well!”(“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference”)
How compassionate our Master is!
We all know that Master is working hard in rectifying the Fa and saving sentient beings, but we have no idea how hard. Master has never mentioned the tribulations and interference that come from other dimensions of the universe in the course of saving sentient beings.
Practitioners whose celestial eyes are open have witnessed some scenes related to the universe’s disintegration and regeneration. It's shocking even to read their descriptions about the fierce battles between the good and the evil in the universe. Now I know the reason why every Dafa practitioner strives to carry that kind of unconditional compassion. It comes from our great Master.
As a new practitioner, I spend most of my precious time doing the three things. I have trained myself to shorten my sleep to four hours so that I have more time to save people. I try my best not to waste time on earthly things. Meanwhile, I also follow Master's teachings.
Master said,
“So things are not merely as you envision them as you go about cultivating. Though you are to regard cultivation as primary, you can't think no other things are important, thinking your family is unimportant, society is unimportant, etc., and that nothing else is important. Balancing all of those parts of your life well is the path that you are to walk. I've said that in your cultivation you should conform to the way of ordinary society to the greatest extent possible.”(“Teaching the Fa in Canada, 2006,” Teaching the Fa at the Conference VII)
My understanding is that I should temper my xinxing and will during my daily contact with people and not go extremes by avoiding contact with others. I have to fulfill my responsibilities at home and in society.
Master said,
“A cultivator must be a good person wherever he or she is.” (Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Houston)
Two years after I started practicing cultivation in Dafa, I finally participated in a nine-day lecture class. I met a group of compassionate practitioners. They hold the class every month and, of course, teach the exercises for free.
They have been doing this for ten years, rain or shine, and not for fame or personal gain. I really appreciate their unselfish sacrifice. I participated in three nine-day classes. With their help, my movements became more accurate. Now I assist them and work as a volunteer to help new learners. I appreciate Master's arrangements that have given me such a good opportunity to cultivate diligently with veteran practitioners.
I also want to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks for the Minghui website. For me, the Minghui website is a golden light in this earthly world. It presents the inner world of practitioners using the simplest language, the neatest web design, and the most readable layout.
The above is my personal sharing at my limited level. Please point out compassionately if you find anything inappropriate.
(The End)
Category: Improving Oneself
