(Clearwisdom.net) I have seen several practitioners who often selectively quote Teacher's lectures to cover up attachments of theirs that they have not eliminated. When other practitioners point out those attachments to them, they use these seemingly dignified excuses: "Teacher said that our paths are different but are all in the Fa. This is how my practice state should be," "The conditions in my family and elsewhere differ from yours," or "Our levels are different and hence we might have different understandings." These remarks sound reasonable, however, they are in fact excuses that blind us and allow the evil to exploit our gaps again and again.
The following are some examples:
Practitioner A wanted to clarify the truth to a certain group and needed practitioner B's help. Practitioner B tells A, "Our practice paths are different and what you want to do may be related to your practice path. You do your job and I will do mine. We are all walking our own paths." This left practitioner A, who needed help, with very little manpower, more difficulties, or no ability at all to clarify the truth.
Another example is when a practitioner never really worked on clarifying the truth, always holding the excuse, "We have different paths of practice. My situation is too special. I can see my gong (energy) being like this and that, so I am different from you." What he really meant was, "I am in a higher enlightenment state than you." I personally feel that even if this was not an evil enlightenment, it could not be far from it. Many practitioners who ended up having serious problems (those with demonic interference from their own minds, those who dropped levels because they wrote the Guarantee Statement for the evil, and those who often caused losses and damages amongst practitioners) were often those who liked to brag about how high of a level they had reached.
These practitioners often didn't feel urgency in their practice and in clarifying the truth. For example, they would take one to two hour naps in the afternoon, and some of them still spend a lot of time reading magazines and novels. They often claim, "I am used to it," or "I can't fall asleep without it. This is my state of practice. We walk different paths in the practice." Another practitioner was fairly well off financially but would not even buy a CD/DVD player for his family to watch truth clarification CDs, let alone buy a computer to set up a personal information station. He used his excuses to cover up his cultivation problems, and the excuses themselves were ordinary human reasons such as, "We might move soon. We'll think about it after we move," "My house needs some remodeling. We'll think about it later," "My spouse does not want to buy it," and "If I buy it, my child will play games with it every day." None of these were based on the Fa. In fact, all of these excuses resulted from that practitioner's complacency and unwillingness to contribute. If this practitioner really wanted to clarify the truth to his family and really cherished sentient beings, all of the above "can't do" reasons would have been seen as totally different situations. Digging into the real reason, it was still because they feel that they are different than others. Once, I even heard one such practitioner ask, "Why don't I feel that I have such a great historical responsibility?"
A practitioner who didn't have to work and felt he had plenty of time would always do some time-consuming work at home. Some practitioners suggested that he study the Fa more, to which he replied, "When I hear someone say he has studied the Fa one or two hundred times, I do not feel like listening to him. The amount of times one studies the Fa does not matter." This was the evil using his attachment to comfort and laziness to find excuses for reducing the amount of time he studied the Fa. Some practitioners suggested again that he study three chapters of Zhuan Falun a day, but he only responded, "Everyone is different. Those who study three chapters a day are those who don't work or don't have anything else to do. Besides, I can't take in more even if I studied more."
Another practitioner declared, "I can't study more than one chapter a day. I cannot do it and this is my state of practice." Other practitioners suggested, "Overcome this thought. Insisting on continuing to not study the Fa is an attachment itself." He replied, "If my state is not good, any more learning is a waste. I am different from you when it comes to studying the Fa."
Group Fa-study has a large impact on practitioners' improvement as a whole. Most practitioners agree with the format, yet there is one practitioner unwilling to attend group study. However, he knew he couldn't deny that group study was good, and hence he found excuses to cover up his unwillingness to join the group study. As a matter of fact, unwillingness to join the group study was wrong and part of the attachment that needed to be removed. That could not be the thought of his true self, and the evil would implant excuses in his head to help him hide the thought of not wanting to go to group study. He would think, "It takes too long to do group practice. I have other engagements," "I don't like the sound of you reading the book," or "I have arranged my own schedule. Group study prevents me from doing truth clarifying work."
One practitioner divulged, "Before nine o'clock in the evening, I only watch TV. I study the Fa later. I am different from you. I don't have to work, and I have time." He sounded like he had too much time and could not make full use of it. Another practitioner was very attached to his TV and had the excuse, "We have to know our enemy to fight the battle." He sounded as if we couldn't practice anymore if we didn't listen to the evil propaganda.
In summary, we do have different paths in our practices, but the urgency to save sentient beings is the same and our hearts of wanting to improve proactively should be the same. As one body, we must cooperate, aid, and take care of each other. My fellow practitioners, wake up and stop "covering up" with more "covering up."
The aforementioned discussion was not meant to condemn anyone. I intended to show compassion for my fellow practitioners and responsibility for the Fa. At the same time, I want to expose the evil in front of all practitioners and expose the barriers arranged by the old forces so that they will no longer have places to hide.
The above is my current understanding. Please point out any mistakes.
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