(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, while exchanging experiences with other fellow practitioners, I keep thinking about one question: What have cultivators cultivated? I now respectfully present my personal understanding to fellow practitioners. Please point out my mistakes so that they can be corrected.
At the moment that we were arranged to obtain the universal principle of Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance, as long as we had the wish to return to our original, true selves the benevolent Master bore almost all the karma we created in our past lives. Our karma is as big as the heavens. Master purified our bodies and gave us an incredibly precious golden Falun and the mechanisms needed for cultivation. What have we cultivated?
When sickness karma comes, it is testing our righteous belief in Falun Dafa. When we have strengthened our righteous thoughts and the karma has been eliminated, what have we ourselves cultivated?
When we run into all kinds of conflicts and xinxing (mind-nature, moral character) clashes during the course of our cultivation, by acting in accordance with Dafa, we found our way out and improved our xinxing. Then, all our tribulations immediately vanished like mist and smoke, what have we cultivated?
We have experienced the changing of our benti (true body, original body), the transformation of our Buddha-body, the development of all kinds of "divine powers of the Buddha Fa," as well as the opening of wisdom, the enlightenment to our original true self, and the manifestation of the Buddha Fa at each level. What have we cultivated?
When we are unable to strive forward diligently, and do things poorly or even totally incorrectly, Master gives us hints, waiting for us, and making us get back on the right track. What have we cultivated?
In the magnificent feats of validating Dafa, clarifying the truth, and offering salvation to the people in the world, the consummation of our paradises is behind every step we take. Also behind every step is the establishment of our mighty virtue, the true salvation of sentient beings, and all the other elements we do or don't know of. This has all been arranged and given in a specific way. Again, what have we cultivated?
Among all of these deeds, is there anything that is not done by our great and benevolent Master. He uses his enormous mercy and the power of the Fa (principles, law of the universe) to save us, improve us, and consummate us. I, therefore, understand the deeper meaning of what Master (Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Dafa) said in Zhuan Falun, "I genuinely bring people toward higher levels."
Then, what have we cultivated? My understanding is that, all in all, in our cultivation we have cultivated the thoughts in our minds. We have only cultivated our righteous thoughts, righteous belief, and righteous enlightenment. What we have cultivated is an absolutely sincere heart, dedicated to Falun Dafa. It is a heart with righteous belief that is held by a Dafa particle who wants to completely melt into the Fa. That is the steadfast righteous belief in the universal law, which creates all universes and sentient beings.
During the course of Fa-study and our cultivation, whenever we have questions about the Fa, or feel confused about what the Fa Master taught before, it may involve doubt about the Fa. If the doubt is strengthened and magnified, and we are unable to improve ourselves from the perspective of the Fa, the doubt may be transformed into an evil enlightenment to the Fa. Master said, "As many veteran students already know, you'll have many questions when you read the book for the first time: 'Why? Why?' Much of the thoughts will even be at an elementary level: 'Are these for real?' You might have these kinds of thoughts. But, when you read it for the second time, all those questions or ideas that you had in mind will be answered. At the same time, new questions will come up when you read the book for the second time. Yet when you read the book for the third time, these questions will be answered. So it's a progressive process. It looks simple. In fact, I can tell you: this is what cultivation is all about, because every time you read it, you're improving yourselves." (Lecture at the US East Coast Conference, not the final version, subject to modification)
As for the willful distortion and malicious attacks from the media, and the evil's slandering of Dafa and Master, they are exactly meant to test disciples' steadfast righteous belief in Dafa as well as test their persistence and determination in safeguarding the universal truth.
Master, in his teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference, has endowed Dafa disciples with the sacred responsibility of sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil, safeguard the universal truth, and save sentient beings. Master said, "Incorrect thoughts--such as fearing the evil, wavering in your thoughts when you use your supernormal abilities, or doubting whether they will work -- can affect or interfere with the outcome of the supernormal abilities." What Master says is the Fa! Every word of his is the Fa! (Dafa is consistent and harmonized. We should not quote out of context, or unilaterally understand Dafa.) If we doubt our abilities, the effect of our clarifying the truth, or the power of the righteous thoughts, in fact, we have already doubted the Fa and words said by Master.
While exchanging experiences with other fellow practitioners, I found some of them thought they did not cultivate themselves as well as others. They wanted to wait until their cultivation is almost done, when their thoughts are stable, when they are able to control themselves, and when they are able to pass great tests, before they would say or do the things related to clarifying the truth, validating Dafa, and saving sentient beings (in other words, what a Dafa disciple should do). I think, that their understanding has deviated from the correct understanding of Dafa and Fa-rectification. It is not the righteous enlightenment to the relationship between the Fa and cultivators, nor is this the righteous belief in the universal law. If it were, how could they cultivate to obtain determination in Dafa? How could they cultivate to obtain diamond-like solidity in face of all kinds of tribulations? Aren't the wavering thoughts and the uncertainty about being able to control oneself while passing great tests, something that practitioners should confront and cultivate away? I think, that an inadequate understanding of what Dafa is and what we have cultivated is the reason for having such misconceptions.
Lastly, I want to end my article with the words in Essentials for Further Advancement ("Seeking Discipleship with Teacher"), "... Teacher will certainly have Law Bodies (Fashen) safeguarding [Falun Dafa disciples] quietly. With perseverance, they will certainly achieve Righteous Attainment in the future."
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