(Clearwisdom.net) The common ways of thinking and acting in society are often opposite to those in cultivation. Because people do not understand the principle that matter and mind are one thing, they feel helpless when bad things happen to them.
A cultivator understands the Fa and knows that many things are a result of one’s own thoughts. Therefore, a cultivator knows to look inward when things happen. Sometimes it appears on the surface that a problem occurs spontaneously, but if the cultivator can truly find and eliminate his attachment, the situation becomes clear. However, when a cultivator stubbornly looks for a solution to the problem instead of looking inward, often times, the answer never comes. It is like a western dentist; he appears very professional, has sophisticated tools and follows strict procedures. Even though he is very serious and careful, sometimes he makes mistakes.
When a cultivator runs into a problem, the first thing he should do is consider whether or not his thoughts are righteous, instead of trying to figure out who is responsible or who should be blamed. For a cultivator, nothing happens by chance. Regardless of the situation, it is related to his cultivation. Otherwise the problem would not be allowed to interfere. It is very likely that the root of the problem lies with the cultivator's own thoughts. Here are some examples.
A few years ago, many practitioners put their hopes on a particular non-practitioner to end the persecution. As a result, that person turned bad. In other cases, practitioners in some areas followed the lead of one particular practitioner instead of doing things based on the Fa. As a result, the old forces persecuted the practitioner that others followed. Saying it in another way, it was our own attachments that caused harm to those people.
In another example, practitioner A had a strong attachment to her son, but her son did not want to study the Fa. Later, practitioner A got busy with doing Dafa things and forgot about it. One day when she returned home, she was surprised to find that her son had been studying the Fa and practicing the exercises at home by himself. Practitioner A shared her experience saying, “It was my attachment to my son that delayed his cultivation”
In my personal experience, I noticed that practitioner B was falling behind in his cultivation. In addition, he had strong feelings about saving face and did not want to hear criticism from others. When I talked to him about it the first time, he acted coldly and didn't respond. I decided to talk to him about it again, but whenever I thought about how he would react, I felt a little scared. Then I asked myself why I was scared. It was because I was afraid of being misunderstood and getting my feelings hurt. When I let go of this thought of protecting myself and went to see practitioner B, he was all smiles and talked about his thoughts openly and honestly. We had a very good exchange. I realized that it was all caused by my own thoughts. The first time, when I had the thought about protecting myself; the result of course was not good. This time, I went there with an open heart, and he also opened his heart.
As you can see, first comes the thought, then something happens. The original thought is the cause, whatever happens is the result.
Therefore, a cultivator ought to look inward at every opportunity. Many things are the result of one’s own thoughts.