(Clearwisdom.net) Our Fa-study group shared our thoughts after reading Teacher's "Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference."
There was a practitioner in our team who we all thought had cultivated very well. Practitioners consulted with him and listened to his input when they had problems (learning from someone instead of from the Fa). Practitioners felt that his cultivation state was better; therefore sometimes when they saw his shortcomings, they felt embarrassed to point them out to him. This practitioner has such strong attachments that he does not coordinate with the whole body and instead, he does something differently. It has never occurred to us that perhaps there are some attachments of ours that we should eliminate and that we should look within ourselves--it turned out that we all have the attachment of admiring him. It was the attachment of admiration that harmed him.
In our team there are also two elderly practitioners who have had no formal education, yet after spending only six months learning to read, they are now able to read the book Zhuan Falun. But we are all upset with them for reading so slowly and blame them for not being able to do much reading during our Fa study. Sometimes when it got late, someone would say, "You two stop reading. It's getting late. We will finish reading the rest." We were so selfish and were not accommodating the fellow practitioners at all. One time when the two elderly practitioners did not show up to study the Fa, we even said, "It's good that the two elderly practitioners have not showed up. We are able to study more. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to finish reading the Fa today." Our resentment of fellow practitioners is in fact the old cosmos' nature of being selfish. We did not listen to what Teacher had told us and we held on to it. Didn't it have a negative effect on the Fa-rectification progress? We were so far away from meeting Teacher's requirements.
We resented fellow practitioners. Didn't this bad substance create gaps in the whole body? They were reluctant to come to group Fa-study. Instead of looking within ourselves, we felt that they were not diligent. The evil took advantage of this loophole and the couple encountered a xinxing test that manifested as their intolerance of each other. They both asked the other to look inward and they quarreled constantly. After they had a fight, they came to group Fa-study. We played the role of peace maker for two years, trying to calm both sides and telling them that it would quickly be over if they enlighten from the Fa and look within. The husband said that he did not know if it was the evil's interference or the elimination of karma. Of course, the two practitioners must have had some attachments that they needed to eliminate. However, it never occurred to us that we were the ones that were supposed to look within. They were there demonstrating the problem that existed in our whole body, yet we did not realize it. We forgot that fellow practitioners were like mirrors, and we should take a look to check for our shortcomings. Every one of us failed to look inside ourselves and felt that the two practitioners had problems passing the test. In fact, it was we who did not pass the test. After reading Teacher's new lecture, I understood that we still did not know how to practice cultivation, nor did we know how to look within.
Teacher said,
"What I just said was meant to tell you that no matter what problems might arise among Dafa disciples, they are, for sure, aimed at certain people or the human attachments of a certain group of people. That's definitely the case. The old forces don't dare to harm the Fa-rectification, for if this undertaking were to be damaged the cosmos would cease to exist. Dafa disciples are helping Master rectify the Fa, and their doing so plays a decisive role. And nobody would really dare to undermine that effort. It is just that the old forces want this affair to proceed according to their wishes. Then as you cultivate, how will your human attachments be removed? Master has his ways, while they have theirs. But whatever the case, don't let them exploit your gaps, and make sure to examine yourselves often as you cultivate. No matter what kind of problem arises, first reflect upon yourself and the group you are working with, and quite likely you will find the root of the problem." ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference")
Two days after we studied the Fa, the husband told one practitioner, "That problem has disappeared. It is over." We passed a test that we had failed for two years.
It is indeed good to look within. I thank Teacher for giving us this magical tool of looking within. I regret that I have not been able to practice it because I did not study the Fa deeply enough. In the future we must remind each other to look within ourselves in everything we encounter and not let Teacher worry about us any more.
Fellow practitioners, let's truly look within and eliminate gaps to form an indestructible whole body. Don't be fooled by the evil or misled by those beings that should be weeded out.