(Clearwisdom.net) Today, if someone asks a Dafa disciple, "Do you believe in Teacher?" I think, the answer from everyone would be, "Yes, I do! How could I not believe in Teacher? Of course, I believe in Teacher and Dafa."
If someone asks me the same question, I would answer the same way. After experiencing tribulations and hardships during the past several years, I feel that it is not even necessary to ask this kind of question. As a Dafa practitioner, who does not believe in Teacher? Who does not believe in Dafa? Not just believing, we firmly believe in Teacher and Dafa with determination.
For years, we have read the phrase "believing in Teacher" many times in experience sharing articles at the Minghui/Clearwisdom website. It has never occurred to me that I may have problems on this issue. Especially during the past few years of going through a difficult journey in the process of validating the Fa, I have progressed well with the development of Fa rectification, relying solely on my firm belief in Teacher, haven't I? I don't think that I need to even answer this question. I would even feel insulted if someone were to ask me this question.
Having experienced so many tests of life and death, and so many hard choices between humans and gods, I have always stayed with Dafa during the huge tribulations and the evil persecution. I have not made any big mistakes or compromised Dafa's principles in any way. I considered my cultivation progress satisfactory and my enlightenment quality quite good. However, today I suddenly realized that I was so far behind in my cultivation and I had major problems. I had no idea that I still had problems that are very serious. For more than seven years, I have not had the slightest idea about this most fundamental problem of mine. What problem? It is the very problem of believing in Teacher.
Teacher told us in his lectures, that his law bodies are behind every practitioner. When talking about the exercise sites, Teacher said that his law bodies sit in a circle surrounding the site. We certainly believe in Teacher's Fa; every sentence that Teacher said is the truth. However, I now realize that this belief is very superficial. It's because Teacher has said that, I knew it. But the real belief is the manifestation in one's realm, and it is accomplished through cultivation. At a group exercise site, Teacher's law bodies sit in a circle. We have to ask ourselves: Do I really believe that Teacher's law bodies sit in a circle? Do I really believe that Teacher's law bodies are truly behind me at every moment, which is as real as a tall and strong protector standing behind me all the time? There are a number of practitioners in my family. Do I really think that an equal number of Teacher's law bodies are in the house? During a small group sharing conference, do I believe that Teacher's law bodies are sitting in a circle? Do I really feel that this is real and natural just like an everyday person who sees things in his environment? No, I have to say I am not at that level.
There is an old saying among the Chinese people, "Respect the gods as if they are really next to you." Have I really been at that level? When I was little, after my parents prepared meals, they did not even dare to taste the food before they had served some to divine beings. If kids made some childish comments about the divine beings, the older generation would get serious and scold the kids with reverence. In their mind, the kids did something horrible. I have cultivated Dafa for many years, it is quite a shame that my belief in Teacher is not even at the level as the older generation's belief in the divine beings.
Thinking about myself with a calm and clear mind, I have to ask myself how firmly do I believe in Teacher? Teacher never requires us to follow any formality in cultivation, and I am not suggesting that we stick to any kind of rituals. Dafa cultivation is "a great way that has no form." We cultivate Dafa while conforming to the ordinary society to the maximum extent, and we are leaving behind an example for the future, therefore this principle is very important. I think, if we truly believe that Teacher is with us all the time, and our belief is absolute, then our hearts should know how to respect Teacher. At least, we should have Teacher in our hearts all the time.
Talking about our firm belief that Teacher is with us all the time, for the first time did I realize the following. This belief is established by simply talking about it; this belief is manifested after one's realm has elevated, and it is a result of our cultivation. Without a long and solid cultivation, one simply cannot reach this level. On May 22, 2006, the Minghui website published an article about a crisis situation (Chinese article link http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/5/22/128444.html). A Dafa parctitioner was feeding her grandson cherry tomatoes. Suddenly, the boy started to choke and in a minute, his face turned blue because he could not breathe and was near suffocation. His struggle gradually slowed down and he finally stopped. The situation was extremely critical. The boy's father didn't know what to do and the boy's mother started to cry. At that time, the practitioner (the boy's grandmother) remained calm and called out at the top of her lungs, "Teacher, please help, let the boy spit out the tomato!" In a split second after she said that, the tomato came out of the boy's mouth and the boy survived.
From this story, I realized this fellow practitioner's firm belief in Teacher. I think, if all our fellow parctitioners, whose lives were taken by the evil either in the form of illness karma or torture, had a rock solid belief in Teacher, if they truly believed that Teacher was standing in front of them, if they could have reached this level of believing, and if they would have called for Teacher to help during their dangerous situtations, then the evil would never have been able to take their lives away.
"One's gong level is as high as one's xinxing level, and this is an absolute truth." ("Lecture One" from Zhuan Falun, March 2000 translation version) Teacher is indeed standing next to us. What are we afraid of? If our trust in Teacher reaches this level, we always think about Teacher first when we are in a crisis situation. How could Teacher not help? Isn't this the issue of believing in our Teacher? We have cultivated for many years, what is the purpose for cultivation? Isn't it to establish the true belief in Teacher?
I feel ashamed that it took me so long to realize this point after so many years of cultivation. I couldn't face our honored Master.
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