Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:
- Welcome
- What’s Happening?
- Laziness and a Desire for Comfort Are Obstacles on the Cultivation Path
- Study the Fa, Look Inside
- My Experience Rejecting Sickness Karma
- My Understanding of How To "Study the Fa Well"
- Truly Looking Inward and Elevating with Faith in Teacher and the Fa
- Disintegrate the Attachment of Happiness
- 1. Welcome
We come to the end of the year and it is time for some soul-searching and looking within, so that we can do better in our cultivation.
We still haven’t realized the true value of Dafa - this wonderful gift that we are truly fortunate to get in this lifetime. In order to show our gratitude to Master we must be steadfast in our cultivation and function as genuine Fa rectification disciples.
In this issue, we have a compilation of experience-sharing Articles gleaned from Clearwisdom that always shine through because of their insights and fine quality of sharing. It is important to read the Clearwisdom, Pureinsight and other Dafa sites.
We make an effort to select Articles from the Archives which people don’t go back to and are relevant even today. Contributions are welcome from practitioners.
Heshi! Hope, you like the selection of Articles and gain some new insights!
Note: "All the contents in this newsletter - except for quotations and excerpts of writings of the founder Mr. Li Hongzhi - are only ideas and experiences of practitioners and do not represent Falun Dafa in itself."
Top
- 2. What’s Happening?
Practitioners from Bangalore have had meetings with different colleges and Human Rights organizations for a presentation and screening of Films on 10 December, World Human Rights Day.
Practitioners from Hyderabad Distributed fliers and informed people who came for the 10km run at Necklace Road about the Persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China.
Top
- 3. Laziness and a Desire for Comfort Are Obstacles on the Cultivation Path
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China
(Minghui.org)
For a long time, I had been governed by laziness and a desire for comfort, and I was not diligent in cultivation. As a result, the evil used my weakness and caused me to fall down. This was also Teacher's method of merciful enlightenment. It is exactly as Master said,
"At the mallets drumming one knows to be diligent
The Fa drum rouses those lost in confusion" ("Drum Tower", Hong Yin Vol. II)
Today, I will disclose my deeply hidden attachment, dissolve it, and get rid of it. It is not part of my original, true self. It is the demon characteristic that hinders me from moving forward. It should be eliminated in cultivation.
I used to do the Falun Dafa exercises at night and study the Fa in the morning. When I was doing the standing exercises, the desire for comfort aroseI had been busy for a whole day, so I decided I could stop exercising and just do a little bit of meditation. So I did not do the exercises. Then I thought about "studying the Fa for a while." Holding the book, I could not keep my eyes open after a couple pages. Then the attachment spoke again, "Go to bed earlier. Get up earlier to make up for it tomorrow." The next morning, I woke up and looked at the clock. It was really early. The attachment uttered, "Just lie there a little bit longer." I ended up lying there for a long time, but it felt like just a few minutes. Finally, I got up and regretted it deeply.
Just like that, I was governed by my attachment, taking one step forward, two steps backward, day after day. Just like that, it became an obstacle to my cultivation and hindered my doing the three things well.
Two days before starting this paper in the afternoon, I felt discomfort, like a severe cold. My arms and legs were weak. The cough was so bad that I felt like that my insides would jump out every time. I went home and found that my husband had a severe cold just like mine. He took some medicine and got an injection. I managed to cook for my husband and my child and then read them the Fa. After they went to sleep, I did the exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts. I thought that I would be all right the next day. The second day, I felt as sick as the day before, and I was not willing to get up. My sister and I had planned on visiting a relative, to clarify the truth and urge our relative to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. My sister came to pick me up. When she saw my condition, she said that it was interference. I realized that as well, but I was reluctant to get up even on the third day.
At noon, a practitioner brought me a copy of "Minghui Weekly." I felt ashamed at my below par actions when I read the experience sharing articles from fellow practitioners. For several years, while facing the disturbance from family or social pressure, I always thought that as a member of Dafa, I should shine a light even if it was dim or not as bright as others. Suddenly I realized that I should no longer be controlled by the old forces that made use of my laziness and desire for comfort. I wrote the attachment down immediately, exposed it, dissolved it, and got rid of it.
I knew that it was a merciful hint from Teacher. Thank you, Teacher. I will be of my true self, walk straight on the Fa-rectification path, and not disappoint Teacher's benevolent salvation. For the practitioners who have had similar experiences, please learn from my lesson.
I felt agile in mind and body after finishing this paper.
I look forward to comments. Heshi!
Top
- 4. Study the Fa, Look Inside
(Minghui.org)
Respected Master, greetings! Fellow practitioners, greetings!
Today I report to respected Master and share with everyone a bit of my personal cultivation process. Please correct me with compassion if there are shortcomings.
I began “Fa” study in April 1999 and realized the most difficult things to deal with would be ridding myself of attachments. The things I noticed outwardly were my notions of competition and showing off. They were my biggest attachments. It was difficult to find what other attachments hid below these. Even though I knew I had these attachments, I often made mistakes; that is, I made them knowingly. I often felt regretful and I asked myself, “Why do I have to be like this? Is it that difficult to not think like this, do it like this, and to get rid of these attachments?”
Master said, “The Fa can break all attachments.” (Essentials for Further Advancement II, “Drive out Interference”) Master especially emphasizes studying the Fa, studying the Fa, studying the Fa well. I also read the book (“Zhuan Falun”), but how come I was still like this? Why did I have to argue with fellow practitioners? Why couldn’t I listen to other people’s ideas? I told myself to keep silent when the next argument happened, no matter what. But it did not work. For a long period of time, I didn’t put my heart into Fa study. I did not make any progress. I was merely reading the Fa mechanically every day. I felt a need to change my own state, so I started to memorize the Fa. Although I was slow, I again felt the joy of studying the Fa as I memorized it. I felt many of my attachments really weaken.
When I started to memorize the Fa a second time over, I thought it would be faster than the first time, but the more I memorized, the more difficult it became. So, I again switched to reading. I was surprised that after memorizing the Fa, reading was really different. I could often get insights into deeper principles of the Fa. After persisting for a while like this, again it didn’t work, and once again I didn't grow in my understandings. I thought: Should I start to memorize the Fa? But, I ran into difficulty memorizing it. Why? How could I study the Fa well? Every day I read Master’s words, which I had read countless times before, but my thoughts always wandered, and even less did I enlighten to anything. I felt anxious.
Recently a fellow practitioner in our area died. It shook me greatly. Whenever I thought about it, I would feel grief and couldn’t control my tears. However, I had never talked to this practitioner before. I always thought that he had cultivated extremely well, and at the same time he worked on a very important Dafa project. How could a fellow practitioner like this pass away? He had attachments, but who doesn’t have attachments?
Initially I found this difficult to understand. I couldn’t understand it, no matter how I thought about it. My mood was in a mess. I felt I had a serious problem. I was very scared; I was afraid to think further. Just then, a fellow practitioner shared her experience with me. She told me something that suddenly woke me up. I cannot remember her exact words, but she said that any Dafa disciple leaving the human world during the Fa-rectification period is a test for the other Dafa disciples. This moved me. I suddenly became aware of a principle and it frightened me—I found a bigger attachment. I discovered that the reason I couldn’t understand it was because of a deeply buried human notion: Those practitioners who have cultivated well and who are doing important work may get more protection from Master. Although there were practitioners who had died, I felt that it was because those practitioners had this or that attachment or that they weren’t diligent enough, so there were reasons for their passing away. But this practitioner was so diligent. I thought he shouldn’t have passed away.
I discovered another attachment I had never realized—I felt that the more I joined in projects that validated Dafa, the more protection I could get. I finally understood this point. This is actually a selfish mindset.
Master said,
“They don’t realize it at all; their intentions are deeply concealed. Nowadays people have become very crafty. People today know how to hide their attachments. And then they hide the hiding of their attachments.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Assistants’ Fa Conference in Changchun”)
My mind finally settled down, because I had found the root cause of my problem. At the same time I also felt the joy of looking within. That is, when I couldn’t understand something, my first thought was righteous: I told myself that it must be my problem and that I needed to look within and listen to what Master has said. Therefore, Master gave me hints and helped me find the root cause.
However, I still had other attachments that I hadn’t dug out. How could I find them? As I thought about it, it was as if I had broken through a layer of shell. I began to smile. I thought: Those practitioners whom I usually couldn’t get along with and the problems I had with them—these are good places to start looking for attachments. I began to thank those practitioners from my heart, and at that moment I really had no anger toward them.
When I had arguments with other practitioners in the past I always looked at their attachments. But now I would force myself to think: “Which of my attachments is responsible for this? Why am I so upset?” I learned to look within unconditionally. At the same time I started to study the Fa.
In the first lecture of Zhuan Falun Teacher states,
“ 'When one’s Buddha-nature emerges, it will shake “the world of ten directions.”' Whoever sees it will come to give a hand and help this person out unconditionally.”
I found that as long as I hold onto the thought to look within, cultivate myself, and treat myself as a cultivator in the midst of conflicts, Master will help me. Then every sentence of Master’s Fa hits my attachments; every word displays its new meaning.
Now I often smile as I read the Fa. I think: “Master, it turns out that this sentence also has this meaning. No wonder I couldn’t see it in the past when I was in that state.”
It seems that looking within is really a Fa treasure. I have just experienced it. In the past I had also looked within, but after looking for a long time, I would instead find other people’s faults in the end. Now when I look within, I do it unconditionally.
Master said in Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Europe,
“Whenever you encounter problems you should each look inwardto search for the cause within, regardless of whether you’re to blame or not. Remember my words: Regardless of whether the problem is your fault or not, you should look inside yourself, and you will find a problem. If the matter has absolutely nothing to do with you or doesn’t involve any of the attachments you should break, then that thing would rarely happen to you. If you didn’t have an attachment the problem wouldn’t have come about. I have to be responsible foryour cultivation.Any problem that happens to you, around you, or among you is most likely related to you, and there is something for you to get rid of. No matter whether it’s your fault or not, when my Law Bodies are having you remove your attachment, they don’t care whether it’s your fault or another person’s. As long as you have an attachment, they will try everything to have you run into problems and have you recognize the attachment that makes you fall short. Yet you’re still looking around, 'This isn’t my fault,' or you’re still thinking, 'I’m protecting the Fa.' Meanwhile, the other person is thinking, 'I’m protecting the Fa.' In fact, the conflict occurs because you probably each have faults of your own.”
In the process of joining Dafa projects there will be conflicts among practitioners. Perhaps practitioners’ backgrounds, social strata, family situations, and other things are different; therefore their understanding of the Fa is also different. But I have discovered that when a conflict occurs, the heart-wrenching and agonizing torment is actually a good opportunity to find and rid oneself of attachments and upgrade one's “xinxing”. How can we casually give up this good opportunity? You won’t be able to find it elsewhere even if you looked.
Take our Bay Area cultivation environment for example. There are many capable practitioners here. However, the human experiences we have accumulated and the technical skills we have learned can also become baggage and obstacles in our cultivation. When there are different opinions and when conflicts arise, we should think of related Fa principles that Master has expounded on, calm ourselves, take a step back, look within, and use this opportunity to upgrade our xinxing.
Master mentioned in Zhuan Falun the two reasons why gong doesn’t increase with practice,
“Without knowing the Fa at high levels, one cannot practice cultivation. Without cultivating one’s inner self and one’s xinxing, one cannot increase gong. These are the two reasons.” (“Lecture One” in Zhuan Falun)
In the past I have understood these two reasons separately. Now I am clearly aware that they need to be addressed simultaneously. While studying the Fa, one has to look within at the same time. Otherwise, there will not be improvements.
Top
- 5. My Experience Rejecting Sickness Karma
By a practitioner from China
(Minghui.org)
In early 2002, just over one month after my release from a forced labor camp, I began to feel uncomfortable and my body was very itchy. I developed a widespread rash on my body, and later it became more severe. Finally, my body and hands were covered with festering sores. My body was so itchy that I had trouble using the toilet. The pus dripped everywhere that my hands touched. While eating, I was unable to hold chopsticks. Also, it was difficult for me to hold a spoon. In the evening I could not fall asleep due to the severe itching. During that period of time, I was in extreme pain, and I suffered both mental and physical tribulations. The officers of the local street committee and the police station often came to my home to harass me. One time, they attempted to arrest me. At the time, I had a strong attachment of fear. Therefore, I lay in bed most of the time and rarely went out. I studied the Fa and did the exercises less. I also experienced interference while sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the facts. I barely did the three things and experienced tribulations for over one year.
My younger sister was a Dafa disciple as well. She reminded me to reject the illness. I also thought that I should reject it. I understood it in terms of the Fa principles, but how could I reject it? I should not acknowledge it. However, when I was extremely itchy and in pain, I unconsciously acknowledged it. I really did not know what I should do. During this time, I often thought that when I recovered, I would go out to clarify the facts. Nevertheless, I did not recover.
Master told us,
>"Some people may think, 'I'll practice cultivation after my illness is cured.' There is no precondition for practicing cultivation, and one should practice cultivation if one wants to." ("Lecture One" from Zhuan Falun, 2000 translation version)
I realized that we should clarify the facts unconditionally, and the sickness karma should not become a barrier in clarifying the facts. Clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings are the Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples' missions. I studied Master's Fa teachings (lectures in several regions), one after another. In Master's Fa lectures, Master taught us absolutely not to acknowledge the old forces' arrangements, including the old forces themselves. In addition, Master taught us that each disciple should have a job and we should work well. I suddenly enlightened. As a matter of fact, my younger sister reminded me in the past about getting a job, but I did not want to and had difficulty doing so. At the time, I decided to find a job and realized that it was the best negation of the old forces.
A fellow practitioner suggested that I sell socks because it needed little capital. In addition, it would not affect sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the facts. I thought it was a reasonable idea. Therefore, I decided to go to the wholesale market to buy socks the next day.
The next morning, as I prepared breakfast, boiling water spilled on my hands, and I immediately felt terrible, hot pain. The festering, in addition to the blisters, completely covered my palms. My fingers were also covered with blisters.
I immediately realized that it was the old forces' interference. The old forces attempted to prevent me from being diligent, but their efforts were in vain. At that time, no one could shake my determined righteous thoughts. The more the old forces interfered with me, the more I knew I should go. I wore mesh gloves, but the blisters on my hands broke and stuck to the gloves. Despite this, with the help of the fellow practitioners, I bought some socks at the wholesale market. At 4:00 p.m. I set up a temporary stall near my home. When someone bought socks, I took advantage of the opportunity to clarify the facts to them. At 5:40 p.m. I stopped working and went home on time. The gloves were stuck to my hands, so I soaked the gloves with water. As a result, my hands were in extreme pain. At the time, I remembered that Master taught us to negate the old forces' arrangements. Therefore, in spite of the pain in my hands, I washed them as usual and then sent forth righteous thoughts.
At 6:00 a.m. the next morning, after sending forth righteous thoughts, I went out to set up the temporary stall. Two hours later, I returned home. In the afternoon I went out again and returned before 6:00 p.m. As I sold the socks, I clarified the facts. If nobody came to buy the socks I went to the next stall to clarify the facts. I no longer thought a lot about my hands; I just did what I should do. Instead, my hands were gradually healing. In addition, I was more diligent in my studying the Fa and doing the exercises. About one week after I began selling the socks, my hands completely recovered. The sickness karma, which I had for over one year, disappeared in a week.
I deeply realized that this period of time is very precious. If I had been diligent immediately after I was released from the labor camp, these phenomena would not have occurred at all. If I could have improved my understanding based on the Fa, after the sickness karma occurred, it would not have lasted so long. If I had cultivated myself unconditionally and clarified the facts, and was worthy of being a genuine cultivator, I would not have run into this long-term tribulation.
Top
- 6. My Understanding of How To "Study the Fa Well"
By a Mainland China practitioner
(Minghui.org)
On the topic of studying the Fa, I would like to talk
about my experience and discuss this with everybody.
After I broke out of detention with Master's protection, I was quite puzzled
over some practitioners' giving in to the pressure of persecution. At the same
time, I thought about how to be firm.
Later, a practitioner reminded me of Master's words, "the Fa can strengthen
righteous thoughts" ("Drive out Interference," Essentials for Further
Advancement II ) Yes, this is the answer. From then on, I started to study
the Fa more.
Later, I found that I was going after quantity, instead of paying attention
to whether I had learned something. I made some improvement, and started to read
out loud. In the past I could finish 3 lectures in two hours. Now I finish only
one lecture. But I make sure that I understand what I am reading. The result has
been rather good.
After some time, I found that I had been reading only Zhuan Falun.
Master has over 20 books. Then I made a plan. Every day after I finish a
lecture, I would arrange some time to study other books. I read the other books
in turn, and then start from the beginning again. I found the result is even
better.
A practitioner told me that besides studying the Fa, I should cultivate
firmly, which was a wake-up call for me.
Another practitioner said, "Actually studying the Fa includes many things
already. It also includes cultivating firmly, because the Fa is capable of all
things." I felt this statement is right too. Then I made a summary, and felt
that if I want to "study the Fa well," I have to study the Fa more, read the
book with concentration, and do as told by Master. Then it is to "study the Fa
well."
One day, when I was reading the section of "A Clear and Clean Mind," (Zhuan
Falun) I suddenly came to understand a deeper meaning of "read the book with
concentration." There is no external method that one can use to settle down the
mind. Only by getting rid of attachments can we truly settle down the mind.
Isn't this cultivating firmly?
"Sincerity is a prerequisite if you are to rectify your heart." (Chapter III
Cultivation of Xinxing, Falun Gong) A sincere attitude is critical. After
I studied Master's Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the
U.S. West Fa Conference, I realized that as Dafa disciples, we should seek
to assimilate to Dafa, and follow Dafa's requirements unconditionally. We cannot
look for something according to our attachments.
Top
- 7. Truly Looking Inward and Elevating with Faith in Teacher and the Fa
(Minghui.org)
Respected Master, fellow practitioners, today is the 13th anniversary of Teacher's lecture in Chenzhou. I thank Teacher and fellow practitioners for this opportunity to share my experience and hope that we can elevate as a whole body and advance diligently.
1. Enlightening to the Importance of Looking Inward for the First Time
I remember once I had an ulcer in the corner of my mouth and it lasted for more than a month. Fellow practitioners asked what happened to me. I was too embarrassed to let them see me. I looked inward, asking myself: "Am I always truthful? Am I really following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance?" I tried to correct my behavior, but the ulcer still did not heal. I did not see anything wrong with myself until I was asked by someone to speak to another practitioner who had somewhat deviated from the Fa. He liked to read famous books authored by ordinary people and enjoyed quoting from them when he shared with fellow practitioners, instead of quoting from Master Li. He would not listen to others share their understandings. They hoped that I could talk to him.
I pointed out his attachments from the Fa's point of view, but he just shrugged it off and became defensive. When I got back, I asked myself: "If I was truly kind to him, wouldn't he listen to me? What is my problem?" Then I remembered Teacher's Fa in A Dialogue with the Time "It would be good if they could manage to search within themselves for the things that they have been able to find in others." Have I done something that has deviated from the Fa? Why did I see only his problems?
I thought about some truth clarification work that I had done recently and the positive feedback I received from other practitioners. My zealotry and attachments to showing off emerged without me noticing them. When I shared with fellow practitioners, I did not quote Teacher, but told them what I enlightened to as Master's original words. No wonder the corner of my mouth had been bad for so long. I was even looking reasons at the superficial level. My enlightenment quality was poor. Teacher had tried to guide me, but I failed to realize it. Therefore he made me see the problems in other practitioners so I could enlighten.
After realizing this, my mouth was all better the next day. When I met with the practitioner, he did not talk in an ordinary people's way. We could both see things from the Fa. I came to understand the importance of looking inward.
2. Truly looking inward, Dafa will harmonize everything
When I read about how practitioners received and promoted NTDTV, I thought we should do the same in our area. It is an excellent way to clarify the truth and to persuade people to quit the CCP. However, we did not even know how to install a satellite dish, so how could we promote it? When I had this thought, Master made arrangements for me. A practitioner visited from out of town. He downloaded the technical information and said, "Let's go buy the equipment." I was hesitant and unsure, but he said, "It can be done. It's very simple. We can do it for sure."
I realized where I was lacking, I did not have enough faith, as he did. I did not have faith in the Fa. As long as we do it righteously, Teacher will give us the wisdom. With this thought, we succeeded. However, during the process, I found many of my human mentalities. When I stayed with them to work on the project, I was being negative. They asked me to be positive and I even said that I was just being truthful. I thought he was in denial. A few days later, I could not stay any more, I said to him, "Do it yourself, teach me when you succeed" and left.
When I got back, I knew that I was not right. I sat back and looked inward. I saw my human mentalities, and had no righteous thoughts. I was afraid of physical hardships and had no patience. Because we did not know what we were doing, we bought a dish that's 1.5 meters. For the first two days, the dish was taken apart and put together, back and forth a few times. We had to move it from one place to another. And yet, I gave up when fellow practitioners needed my righteous thoughts the most. I said negative things without considering how he felt. I was always saying something negative to undermine his confidence. In addition, there was interference from other dimensions. I enlightened that these negative thoughts were not me. They are ways of thinking from living in the culture of the CCP. Without knowing that we are Dafa practitioners, I looked at it from an ordinary person's standpoint.
When I realized this, I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the bad stuff, to rectify the distorted mentalities, and eliminate the interference from other dimensions in order to strengthen the righteous thoughts of practitioners and trust that Teacher will help us and Dafa will harmonize everything and we will succeed. When I called the practitioner, he told me that he had gotten the satellite system working. When I heard that, I understood what Master said, "Cultivation is up to you, gong is up to the master. "
3. Look inward and enlighten to the seriousness of cultivation
Not too long ago, I had gotten lax in my cultivation. I could not keep my mind calm when sending forth righteous thoughts. When I studied, I felt something wrapped around me that separated me from the Fa. My mind was not clear when I was doing the exercises either. I was just mechanically doing things to validate Dafa. I looked inward, but did not know what the problem was. I had too many attachments, but did not know where to begin to find them.
Looking back at my cultivation in the past few years, I became diligent only after reading Teacher's "Touring North America to Teach the Fa (March 2002). I could not express how shaken I was. I could not believe how important the mission of Dafa disciples was, so I did not dare to lax off in my cultivation and realized the seriousness of cultivation. We should not take lightly the sentient beings' lives. I further enlightened to Teacher's infinite grace in saving everybody in the universe. In the ensuing days, I know that as long as I focused on studying the Fa well; looked inward at whatever happens and had faith in Dafa, I would be able to harmonize to what Teacher would like us to do. At that time, I tried hard to follow what Teacher required of us. In those days, I put into action whatever I enlightened to and tried my best even when I faltered. For example, I remember when I first sent forth righteous thoughts, I dozed off. Fellow practitioners pointed it out to me that "cultivation was serious.", and asked me how I could be like this.
Studying the Fa I kept reading "Cultivation is serious." Teacher was reminding me. Since then, I did not fall asleep when I sent forth righteous thoughts until again just recently. So, why did it happen again? I slacked off and did not look inward when things happened. I did not treat cultivation seriously.
In Lecture 4 of Zhuan Falun, I read the following,
"This is even more true for somebody who's born with a good base. He feels that his gong is coming along nicely and his practice is going well. How come so much trouble suddenly comes up? How come everything goes sour? Everybody treats him badly, his boss looks down on him, and things at home get tense. How come so many problems suddenly come up? He still hasn't understood it yet. His base is good, and so he was able to reach a certain level, and now this kind of cultivation state appears. But how could that be the ultimate Perfection standard for a cultivator? His cultivation has still got a long way to go! You have to keep improving yourself. It was the result of that little base you brought with you--that's why you were able to reach that cultivation state. If you want to improve further the standard has to be raised."
I realized that the reason I had that unfavorable state was because during the past few years I thought I was doing so well in my cultivation. I had passed all the tests with faith in Teacher and the Dafa. I thought I was so remarkable. When fellow practitioners praised me, I was filled with zealotry. I was attached to my achievements and did not want to improve myself anymore. With the attachments to comfort, showing off, zealotry, and jealousy, I was not respectful to Teacher, and my faith in Fa was not as solid.
The old forces take advantage of this once you deviate from the Fa. They will do everything in their power to undermine your will. One of their tricks is to make you feel that you cannot advance in the Fa. This happened to me. I was hesitant in whatever I did, with no righteous thoughts. I complained a lot about my fellow practitioners, without looking in at myself. I forgot that when I actually put my heart into it, I had Teacher protecting me. In fact, I did not study the Fa correctly. I missed many opportunities to improve my xinxing. I was not truthful when I was sharing with practitioners and could not be part of the one body. So my cultivation did not improve.
Without knowing it, I had come to a horrible stage. Now I realized that even if we become lax in just one thought, we might become trapped in a desperate situation. It's very important to have faith in Teacher and the Fa. Only if we let go of human attachments, and have faith in Teacher and the Fa, will we walk our paths well. We cannot let Teacher down. I hope fellow practitioners who have had similar experiences will awaken, too.
Top
- 8. Disintegrate the Attachment of Happiness
By Jingxin
(Minghui.org)
I was shocked, ashamed and felt so anxious that I shed tears when I read what some practitioners have seen in other dimensions. They saw the ugly demons of sentimentality and lust, as well as the horrible plight of those lives in hell who did wrong as far as lust was concerned. Therefore, I wanted to write this sharing to expose the attachment that I found difficult to let go, but was then able to completely disintegrate.
In whatever circumstances, my husband always took very good care of me. In the current circumstances when public morality is declining with each passing day, many of my girlfriends admired me, saying that I was lucky to have a husband who was so affectionate towards me. I told them that our family also had differences of opinions and even conflicts. We also had tests of outside temptation; however, we could look inward at ourselves to find the things that were not righteous and in line with the Fa. This mechanism of looking inward and reminding each other made it possible for us to think about the other side in any circumstance, be able to make a clear distinction between right and wrong, and keep righteous thoughts. Anyone can change for the better fundamentally if he or she really respects Falun Dafa and measures himself or herself with Dafa. This can also influence family members and colleagues. True harmony of family and society can be naturally realized. (Of course this is not the purpose of cultivation practice.) Some close friends gradually came to practice Falun Dafa.
Looking inward at myself, I knew I looked indifferent, but in essence, I felt complacent. "Look, I don't want to have anything, but I have everything."
The status of our life is the result of personal feelings and retribution. However, if we get lost in it, the old forces could use it to ruin a cultivator. The happiness everyday people envy is an attachment a practitioner needs to let go of. It could be an opportunity for us to clarify the facts, but we should not let it become a demon that would keep us from fulfilling our mission so that we would fall into hell. When writing this, I felt a secret laugh coming from the substance hiding in some kind of a dark corner. My hands became heavy and I slowed down. However, I do not stop, but continue to expose it and disintegrate it. I must soberly keep mindful of my mission here and be ready to recognize and let go of any dirty attachment. Therefore, I must be a truly righteous cultivator, be diligent and genuinely practice cultivation, as well as fulfill my mission rationally, wisely and compassionately.
Fellow practitioner Xiao Lian said the purpose of his writing stories of reincarnation was for people to not indulge themselves in the past karmic relationships. That would only make people become caught up in sentimentality. I became very much interested in reincarnation stories because of my attachment of sentimentality. It was very much similar to the scene of my childhood when I would sit quietly and read Song Poems. I could see the beauty of the poems even though they were full of heartbreak. The bad affect of the attachment reflected in my truth-clarification. Recently when I clarified the facts to someone I had just met, I talked about hypnotism and stories of karmic relations in the book "Sketches of Yuewei Humble Cottage" in an attempt to get rid of his atheism. However, the result was not good. He had been very courteous at the beginning, but showed his disgust and contempt saying that I was talking nonsense. I realized that it was not that I did not choose suitable materials, but that I had some kind of hidden sentiment toward the stories. This was the result of the impurity of my inner heart.
Another part I felt hard to write about was my fear toward lust. I tried very hard to get rid of it. When facing my husband's frowning brows and angry eyes, I adopted the human method of forcing my opinion upon him. The result was that the conflict deteriorated and I had a rash all over my body. I enlightened that the evil forces persecuted me by using my mentality of fear. I strengthened my Fa study and negated it. The rash disappeared two weeks later. After reading the article, "Cultivate Your Heart And Mind, Let Go of Your Desires," I knew gods had no human thoughts so everything was just an excuse.
With the improvement I made in doing the three things, my xinxing seemed to reach the state of being able to remain unmoved. However, my attachments of sentimentality and happiness made me become out of control with my husband. When my husband, who only studied the Fa occasionally, read the Fa with us, he flared into a rage twice while reading the chapter "Attracting Demons in Qigong" from Zhuan Falun. He said that I was going to extremes and was not in line with the Fa. He quoted what the book said and also said that he was a new practitioner and his desire was a lot less than before. As a result, we could not continue the reading. I asked him to calm down and said that we must take desire lightly and eventually let it go.
Now it is the final stage, and we should not set a low standard for ourselves. He had his tests, but I should not look outward. I realized that fundamentally I was satisfied with the fact that he set Falun Dafa as his standard and acted like a gentleman because it met my attachment of having a "happy family." I failed to really cherish this life of predestined relationship, help him to dissolve interference and eliminate the demons that controlled him so that we could be diligent in the Fa together. Because I was not doing well, he seldom studied the Fa and I felt his understanding of the Fa remained at the everyday people's level. Because I only sought solutions from the surface of improper conduct, I was trapped in retribution and was unable to free myself. I was actually blaspheming Falun Dafa and doing harm to this life. Since I could not let go of my attachment, the sentient beings in my world were suffering in the swamps and were sinking shamefully. What a sin I had created!
Recently, after I had a lack of righteous thoughts and failed to set a strict standard for myself, I lost my heart. I mingled human attachment with righteous thoughts. I decided to negate the interference and go out as planned to clarify the facts after studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts. Comparatively speaking, the result in clarifying the truth was far from that of normal days. On returning home, I began to sneeze and suffered from a runny nose. I rubbed my nose until it was scratched and I also felt a bit giddy. This reminded me of similar symptoms I experienced about a little more than a month before. At the time, I was rubbing my nose all the time and felt dizzy and weak. At the same time, I felt I was filthy so I dared not to step forward to clarify the truth.
Anthills can destroy a thousand mile long dike. Therefore, we should be diligent in cultivating our thoughts. The demons are eying us menacingly and gods are also staring at every practitioner. "Why do you stay in this world? Have you been truly cultivating? How long do you want to hide your attachment?" If we cannot let go of our fundamental attachments, then our personal security will also become a problem. It could be even more difficult to save sentient beings. We will be upright when we do not have desires, and only when we have righteous thoughts will we not attract demons. Let us hurry up to cleanse and remove the bad things from ourselves.
Top
|