(Clearwisdom.net) Even after cultivating for quite some time, I found that in my heart I still harbor human attachments that try to take advantage of Dafa for the sake of personal gain. Today, I would like to share my understanding with fellow practitioners.
Let me quote what Teacher's said:
"If you do not change the human logic that you, as an ordinary human, have formed deep in your bones over thousands of years, you will be unable to break away from this superficial human shell and reach Consummation...Your ways of thinking, your understanding, and your appreciation towards me and Dafa are the product of ordinary human thinking."("Cautionary Advice" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I have asked myself many times, "What exactly is this human logic formed deep in our bones over thousands of years?" Recently I gained a new understanding of this issue.
Ordinary people live for personal gain. Although there are some people who appear to put the interests of a group or of society above their own personal interests, fundamentally, they are still seeking personal gain. In the process of pursuing personal gain, people will take advantage of others to achieve their goal. In order to realize their dreams, some use their pretty appearance, some use knowledge, some use power, some use their family connections, some use society and nature, some employ gangsters, and some will go so far that they will die in pursuit of it. Although on the surface it might not be clear that one is pursuing personal gain and it might look like some other pursuit, in actual fact it is always selfish at the root, since this is the nature of ordinary human society. There is a proverb that says, "Take advantage of the mountain if you live near a mountain: take advantage of water if you live near the water." This is a true reflection of how human beings use nature and society for their own purposes.
Has this kind of human logic or attachment manifested in me since taking the path of cultivation? After looking within, I discovered that I also have this human logic. I found that in my heart I still took advantage of Dafa and selectively quoted Teacher's lectures in attempts to validate my own thinking. For example, because Teacher said that those who could practice Dafa are fortunate, I thought that I should have good fortune. Because Teacher once said that a true cultivator of Dafa is not supposed to get sick, I thought that I should never get sick. Because Teacher said,
"The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities." (Zhuan Falun)
I thought that my family members should benefit from my practicing Falun Gong. Because Teacher said that he would protect Dafa practitioners, I decided that I should always be safe.
Thoughts such as these were in my mind on a daily basis, and I did not distinguish whether they were right or wrong according to the Fa. If something happened which didn't conform to my understanding or idea, I did not look within. I did not search for the problem within myself, but just the opposite, I began to doubt Dafa. Some people even give up cultivation because of such thoughts, or go to the opposite side. I've met some who have gone astray. These people are just like that, as they attack Teacher and Dafa for not delivering on the teachings, when the true problem is their own failure to look within and not following the Fa. When they studied the Fa, they were no different from ordinary people -- they studied the Fa for personal gain. They only accepted the part of the Fa that benefited them, and could not accept Dafa as a whole.
The Buddha Fa can offer salvation to sentient beings and is supernormal. The Buddha Fa's teachings are above the theories of the human level and cannot be taken advantage of by anyone. As a cultivator, one should strive to assimilate to the universal principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance without setting conditions.
How should we as cultivators address this issue? In Teacher's lectures, he mentions in some sections the benefits a cultivator can derive from the Fa. What Teacher told us are the different states of sentient beings at different levels of the Fa. As practitioners we should not pursue benefits, but give up the thought of gaining benefits and living an easier life. Master told us,
"Pursue nothing and gain naturally!" (Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference)
If it is something that belongs to us, we will get it. If it is something that does not belong to us, pursuit will not help us get it. If we overemphasize these human benefits, it is actually the manifestation of our human attachments. We are then seeking from the Fa and trying to validate ourselves by using the Fa.
While studying the Fa, I enlightened to the fact that when problems happen to me, or when I feel unhappy, I am given the opportunity to raise my xinxing. It's a wonderful opportunity. I should be happy about it. When I am suffering or undergoing hardship, I'm paying back my karma. When my legs are extremely painful during meditation, I know another piece of karma is being eliminated. When my fame or interests are threatened or my feelings are hurt, I should look within and search for my attachments to find out why I fight for fame or money and why my heart cannot be pure. In my opinion, when involved in activities that have to do with personal interest we should not gain too much. Instead, we should lose more than gain. When we come across a dispute among people, we should not get involved. A cultivator should focus on the three things Teacher asks of us and save sentient beings.
When I look at different problems by taking the correct approach described above and taking Teacher's teachings as my guide, there is no test that I cannot pass, and there is no difficulty that I cannot overcome. Now I truly understand the benefit of dissolving into the Fa. When we follow the Fa, it is also difficult for the old forces to interfere.
Bad thoughts expose my fundamental attachments and make me see my selfish nature. I sincerely hope that fellow practitioners who have this attachment can learn what I learned and change their human ways of thinking as soon as possible so that we can elevate together.
The above is my understanding. If there is anything incorrect in my thinking, please kindly point it out.