March 19, 2003
(Clearwisdom.net) I used to be very sad when I clarified the truth to everyday people and they didn't understand me, and thought they would feel regret if they finally did discover the truth.
After upgrading myself through cultivation, one day I realized that I had been wrong. I should not think they might feel regret in the future; I should only wish them the best. As long as they wish to change, it doesn't matter what they have done in the past. I should not think they might feel regret at all. If I were a god, I would even erase all the memory about the things they did wrong. I should just let them live happily by following the universal law. I understood then that compassion is unconditional.
Actually, the sentient beings at different levels of the cosmos are in different mazes. What we can do is to give them the best at their levels. As long as they didn't damage Dafa, we should give them the best, though they may not know it.
The same is applied to the conflicts among fellow practitioners because those parts that are cultivated well still belong to muddle-headed human beings. As cultivators, if we can unconditionally tolerate other practitioners' attachments and mistakes and help to compensate, that is the manifestation of a cultivator's realm.
It is always easier said than done, but once I enlightened to this principle, I kept trying to follow it, coming closer and closer to achieving it. I tried my best to be compassionate to fellow practitioners, eliminating all suspicion and bad thoughts about them. If I started to focus on others' shortcomings, I would think: why did his shortcomings move my heart? Why did I feel so uncomfortable? By trying this, little by little, my bad thoughts became less and less. Actually, human beings are muddle-headed, and so is the part of practitioners that has not cultivated well. If you feel uncomfortable about someone's poor cultivation, and always want to show it clearly, it is time to upgrade your own realm and increase your capacity. Otherwise, you would be at the same level as that practitioner and unable to improve yourself, either.
It is really hard to pass the tests that come up among practitioners. To me, there is only one way to deal with it: just study the Fa. I also continuously remind myself: this has nothing to do with the practitioner who gave me that test; this has nothing to do with ordinary matters; no matter how painful it is, how matter how hard it is, it is meant to make me treat it lightly and let go of my human heart. It would not happen to me for no reason. Usually, when I look back after passing a test, I found that the surface of the objective matter is like a shell, while what's substantial is the human attachment behind the matter. All tests are actually meant to remove attachments.
When Dafa disciples do things, different opinions will usually appear: "This is right" or "that is wrong." Now I realize that, from a higher level, the superficial "right" and "wrong" in the human world are actually caused by practitioners' human hearts. The attachment to ordinary matters' rightness and wrongness, or the attachment to talents or smartness are actually the obstacles of cultivation, resulting in the "I am right" and "You are wrong" approach. Sometimes, when you are obviously right according to human principles, things still don't go right at all. The reason, I think, is that the old forces treat human rightness or wrongness as nothing. They only care about the minds of practitioners. Whether you are right or wrong, if you have that heart, they will turn things upside down. Human beings are just so lost. If cultivators are not careful; they, too, can fall into this trap.
But human matters are not as unimportant as the old forces think. We are doing Fa-rectification work. To offer the salvation to sentient beings is of unparalleled importance to Dafa disciples. It is our responsibility to do well. It would be ideal if we didn't all have tests and tribulations. With one heart, we could do more and more Fa-rectification work, saving more and more sentient beings. But in reality, xinxing problems of individual practitioners and lack of coordination among practitioners do appear from time to time, thereby reducing our power as a whole. Practitioners' attachments and the persecution by the old forces also interfere with Fa-rectification work. I think that only understanding and tolerance among practitioners can help to solve these problems and make things harmonious. Displaying compassion and tolerance is the best way to close all loopholes for Dafa disciples as a whole.
I also want to share a profound lesson from my individual cultivation: Intentionally or unintentionally, most of us actually hurt others while living our human lives. I used to have a strong personality and was very sharp in finding others' shortcomings. Though I was unaware of it, I hurt a lot of people. On two occasions after I started practicing cultivation, the things I did in the past all appeared in front of me. I saw clearly all the pain I caused others, and somehow felt all that embarrassment, pain, torment, depression, anger, and desperation. The things I did to hurt others came back to hurt me. Because I was in the maze I was unaware, and hurt others without thinking. After I experienced this, I cried desperately and didn't know what to do. The things I had done to hurt others could not be taken back. I felt I did not deserve to live, even though when I did those things I was immature and inexperienced to this world.
The experience was acute, but as time passed it faded. The infliction and tests appear again and I have to remind myself repeatedly about the experience and always measure the part of me that is still in the world from the realm I am currently enlightened to. This helps me understand the conflicts and tests.
The Fa-rectification has reached its final stage. There are more and more things we need to do, which requires our xinxing level to be higher and higher. But some practitioners cannot get rid of their attachments. What should we do? We must always remember to demonstrate sincere kindness to make up the gaps. Of course, it is easier said than done, but if we can put the Fa first, think less about ourselves and put the collective body of Fa-rectification disciples first, we can we make it.
After we get over a conflict and put aside the human heart, we find that letting go of the human heart is accomplished not by "doing" but by "cultivating." It manifests in an upgrade of our realm, while in the human world, it seems that we continue working on our hearts and studying the Fa. In the past when I didn't pass a test well, knowing that Fa-rectification doesn't stop to wait for me, I became anxious and angry, with a pain in my heart like being cut by a knife. Now, instead of wallowing in regret I study the Fa as much as possible, and when I look back, I ask myself why I felt so upset yesterday? The truth is so simple.
I didn't have this feeling in my past cultivation. Maybe it is because we are becoming more and more mature as the Fa-rectificaton course gets faster and faster, and when the tests come, we are more and more calm. Although we don't feel much change in this dimension, our improvement is actually fast and big if we look into ourselves during conflicts.
With the above understanding, I think of our overseas practitioners' situation and their problems. As a disciple, I think that our first thought should be how to help our fellow practitioners. Whether those practitioners do well or not is a different matter. Our first thought is the manifestation of our realm. Enormous compassion is the manifestation of an enlightened being's realm. As Dafa disciples, we should care about every particle of the whole body. Although we haven't made it yet, we must remember that kindness and compassion are unconditional. To make it to consummation is to be responsible to our realm.
The above are my personal understandings that are limited. Please point out anything that is incorrect.
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