(Clearwisdom.net) In the recent "Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference," Teacher specifically told us not to take away bad things from our experiences. I realized that whenever I encountered a problem, I didn't look inward to examine my conduct from the perspective of the Fa, but instead used human notions to try and find ways to protect myself, thinking that I was being smart. When a practitioner was transferred to my workplace, my human notions were strengthened when I drew on the negative thoughts from this practitioner.
This practitioner often told me that some practitioners had betrayed her mother, causing her to be arrested. She told me that some practitioners were bad and to be aware of them. I accepted what she said and started to stay away from practitioners, and confined myself to only a small network of practitioners. I isolated myself from the outside world and lost the precious environment of group Fa study, as well as regular contact with fellow practitioners.
When this practitioner was bullied at work, she usually complained that people today were really bad. She realized that she may have said something wrong to another practitioner, which might have made them be more suspicious of her. As practitioners we should correct our behavior according to the Fa, but this practitioner started to protect herself more and strayed from the principle of truthfulness. When a practitioner asked her to point out some of her attachments, she would say, "A practitioner always has problems during cultivation." She said this to protect herself and keep her attachments concealed. Due to my human attachments, practitioners around me avoided her, and more importantly, my xinxing had dropped and tribulations from life, work and society came at me one after another.
I suffered because I didn't understand the Fa well enough and actually heightened my negative thinking. I would like to remind fellow practitioners that no matter what problems we encounter, we must unconditionally look inward and let go of our attachments. We must examine ourselves in accordance with the Fa and understand that
Teacher was referring to us, and not others. We should never require others to be in accordance with the Fa. When we encounter any problem, we should be careful of our thoughts at that moment. If our heart is moved, then that's our problem. If we really don't have any problems, then we may point out other practitioners' problems compassionately. If they do not accept our advice, then leave them alone. We do not need to be attached to their attitude.
We should be strict with ourselves in cultivation of speech and heart, and shouldn't speak ill of any practitioner behind their back. Whenever conflicts arise, we should be alert at the very beginning and immediately look inward to examine our own thoughts. If every practitioner can do this, we will definitely create an environment in which everyone could accept criticism and look within. We will be more efficient, and the old forces will not be able to take advantage of any loopholes.
This is my personal cultivation experience sharing at my level. If you find anything inappropriate, please point it out compassionately.