(Clearwisdom.net) Everyone has a basis for everything he or she does. Different bases lead to different results from doing what seems to be the same thing.
Many people have come to learn Dafa, participating in group practice and Fa study. Some came with the intention of curing their illnesses, some with the thought of improving their moral character, some with the wish of finding a Shangri-la, and yet others with a heart of obtaining the Dao. Not surprisingly, the results for disciples with different intentions are different, although on the surface they may seem to be doing the same things. Some disciples have upgraded themselves rapidly, some have lingered at one level for years, and others have yet to find the door to true cultivation.
A lot of disciples have been working on the three things, which are Dafa practitioners' missions in the Fa-Rectification period. Some practitioners do the three things for the purpose of validating themselves and reaching consummation, which is no different from everyday people's selfish desire for personal gain. By their logic, their work for Dafa is an investment that will bring consummation; however, they also worry that their investment could end up in vain and that they might lose the chance to “enjoy” material life, all for nothing. Their minds wander between fear and opportunism because their logic is based on greed: they want both the benefit of being human as well as the benefit of being divine. Indeed, this thought is the opposite of cultivation. Cultivators value “loss,” as Master said, “...for the loss we discuss is one in a broad sense. During the entire course of cultivation, we should lose all everyday people’s attachments and various desires.” (Zhuan Falun) The greedy thought is to try to gain. In a divine being's eyes, it might be even worse than everyday people's greed because that thought is using and insulting divine beings.
In doing the three things, we should be selfless. Our standpoint should be all for sentient beings – offering them precious salvation and validating the Fa. We need to cultivate diligently to get rid of our attachments, especially the desire for the comfortable life of everyday people. Only when we eliminate self and all attachments and do the three things with righteous thoughts can we call ourselves enlightened beings assisting Master in rectifying the Fa. Master said, “Certain things appear to be the same as what everyday people do. Yet they do those things for self-interest and for ordinary human purposes, whereas you do them for Dafa—the basis is different.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America” from Guiding the Voyage)
In summary, I realize that we must have the proper basis for cultivating ourselves, rectifying the Fa, and doing the three things well. Only cultivation that follows Master's teachings is true cultivation.
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