(Clearwisdom.net) A practitioner couple lived near me. We used to have a Fa study group at their home. Last year, due to some different understandings on a few things, conflicts arose between us. I felt that it was difficult to endure, so I left the Fa study group. A little while ago, I began studying the Fa with a new group. That was when I heard that the husband of the couple had died of an illness. I was very shocked and sad. This was a big loss to us practitioners as a whole. The loss of one practitioner means the loss of many beings that have not yet been saved.
The next morning, I went to their home. The wife said she still had attachments and had not cultivated well. I also knew that I had all kinds of shortcomings, so I tried to be understanding and tolerant and offered her comfort. I think that being understanding and tolerant was the most important under the circumstances.
A few days passed, and I decided to visit this practitioner again. I was not just going through the motions. I wanted to have a heart-to-heart with her. We needed to eliminate what was dividing us and harmonize as one body.
Perhaps Master saw my pure heart. Saturday morning, after sending forth righteous thoughts at 6 a.m., I began memorizing Zhuan Falun. Master said in Lecture Two,
"Sakyamuni also spoke of the theory of three thousand worlds."
"A grain of sand is thus just like a universe, with people having wisdom like ours, planets, mountains, and rivers. It sounds quite inconceivable! If so, think about it, everyone: Is there sand in those three thousand worlds? And are there another three thousand worlds in any one of those grains of sand? Then, is there sand in those three thousand worlds? Then, are there still three thousand worlds in any one of those grains of sand? Accordingly, at the level of Tathagata, one is unable to see its end."
I understood that even in a grain of sand, the worlds are boundless. And in these worlds there are countless and various beings. As a cultivator of the great Fa, we should be able to contain these countless and diverse beings, let alone our fellow practitioners. Which practitioner is flawless? Why can't we be tolerant of others? At that moment, I felt as though I had broken through a shell of humanness. My heart was broadening. I understood what "boundless tolerance" meant. I also came to realize the sacredness and responsibilities of the words "fellow practitioners."
As fellow practitioners, we should cultivate in Dafa together, remind each other to do well, harmonize each other, and progress together. We should hold each others' hands and assist Master in the Fa-Rectification. It is truly as Master said, "Cultivation is up to you; Gong is up to the master." When Master saw that I had the desire to eliminate the separation between this practitioner and me, he enlightened me on the Fa. I thanked Master for his compassionate salvation.
When I arrived at the practitioner's home, there was no conflict between us. There was no thought of who was better or who was worse. I didn't have the desire to change her or insist on my own ideas. I truly let go of myself and looked inward unconditionally.
I talked with the practitioner about several xinxing tests I had with her late husband. In the midst of conflicts, my attachments to fame, self-interest, and emotions were stirred up. Sometimes the pain was excruciating. When I studied the Fa with a calm mind, shared with fellow practitioners, looked inward for attachments, and gradually let go of them, the situation turned better. I felt as though it was all an illusion. Actually, everything in the human world is an illusion. Conflicts between practitioners are no exception. Everything happens to help us eliminate attachments and improve in cultivation.
I realized that, last year when the practitioner was suffering from sickness karma, I didn't look inward when we had a conflict. Instead, I held on to my own ideas. When what he said sounded unpleasant to me, I didn't want to bear it and walked away to avoid conflict. After that, I grew indifferent. I was busy with my own work, life, and cultivation, and did not care about the other practitioner. I didn't send forth righteous thoughts for the fellow practitioner for long periods of time.
Suddenly, this practitioner was gone. This shocked me greatly. This was absolutely not what Master wanted. I had actually followed the arrangement of the old forces. The old forces arranges conflicts between practitioners in order to separate us and weaken us as one body. Then they try to harm the practitioners one by one. We have about a dozen practitioners in our area. Some of them are imprisoned, some are in forced labor camps, and one passed away. Fellow practitioners, it's time for us to be completely clearheaded. We need to let go of our selfishness, fully deny the old forces' arrangements, walk the paths arranged by Master, and form one indestructible body. This way we will have no gap for the evil to exploit.
As I shared with the practitioner, she agreed with me on the importance of removing the things that separated us. We also realized that the predestined relationships between practitioners are quite precious. Recently, through Fa study, I came to understand that nothing around us is a coincidence, but everything is also an illusion. We should not get lost in them. Instead, we should transcend them, using the situation as a mirror to find our own attachments. This is how we transcend this complicated ordinary human society.
Sometimes I think about how Master is watching every Dafa practitioner at every moment. He is always with us, watching our every thought and action. We have been scooped up from hell and saved by Master. We should always remember what Master's wishes are. When Master sees his disciples being separated by the old forces and unable to form one body, and thus are persecuted, he is deeply pained. When Master sees that our every thought is for our self-interest and not our cultivation, how can he be pleased? Doesn't Master want all of us to improve in cultivation? Practitioners often say that we don't want Master to worry about us, yet for us, Master has given everything. In "Fa Teaching Given to the Australian Practitioners," Master talked about having hopes for the practitioners but was met with disappointment. Whenever I think of Master's words and his expressions when he said that, my heart weeps, because I know I have let Master down.
For a while, I was not very diligent in my cultivation and slacked off a bit. Sometimes I was unable to meet high standards. Sometimes I had attachments to comfort, competitiveness, and jealousy. I would like to expose all of them today to completely disintegrate them.
Fellow practitioners, in Master's boundless mercy, let us truly cultivate ourselves, purify ourselves with every thought, harmonize Master's wishes with every action, do well the three things, and make rapid progress, so that we can return home with Master!
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