(Clearwisdom.net) I have read some articles on Clearwisdom about how some practitioners are playing computer games. In China, many children and young adults like to play them, especially the online games. At Internet bars, most people play computer games, and for boys and girls, a lot of them play games all day long at home. There are many kinds of computer games, and all of them are filled with warped modern-day concepts.
Before practicing Falun Gong, I also liked to play computer games. After I started to study the Fa, I gained an understanding that indulging in this is a warped act, and it can be a very strong attachment that is very difficult to let go. Through studying, I gradually overcame the attachment and eventually was free of it. As a new practitioner, I will now write about the process of letting go of the attachment.
I began to play computer games with my classmates when I was at university. Even when I was doing post-graduate work, I still spent a lot of my spare time playing the games. The games are all designed to encourage the players to spend more money and time to satisfy their attachments.
After I began to work, I used the software “Freegate” to break through the Chinese government's firewall to download the book Zhuan Falun from the Falun Gong website. When I finished reading Zhuan Falun, I downloaded all of Teacher's lectures and recent articles. During Fa study, I realized that playing computer games was an attachment. However, I still failed to let go of the attachment for some time. My righteous thoughts were not very strong during the early days of my cultivation practice. I played for a while and then restrained myself for a while. At the end of each day, I found that the attachment was still there. Therefore, I deleted all the games from my computer, resolved not to play the games in the dormitory and spent most of the evening studying the Fa and practicing the exercises.
This was not the end of the tribulation. Since my colleagues played computer games in the office, I did not delete the games from the office computers. During a period of time when I had no work assignments to do, I began to play the games again. I felt giddy whenever I finished playing. Eventually, I enlightened that I should not play the games anymore and should not waste my time. I downloaded Clearwisdom articles and read them whenever I had spare time instead of playing the games.
Next, I will sum up my experience of letting go of the attachment. First, I had to understand that my problem was indeed an attachment to rid myself of. Teacher said:
“As a practitioner, why don’t you take it as an attachment to be abandoned, and see if you can quit. ” (Zhuan Falun)
Second, I had to realize that playing computer games is harmful. When I played the games, my righteous thoughts disappeared. Moreover, the games are full of the harmful ideas and warped thinking of modern-day people. While playing the games, many players' demon nature is vividly shown, and they behave much worse than in their real lives. The bad things displayed in the games are also a material substance. When you play the games, the bad concepts and images will swarm into your head. If you play the games for a long time, you will even think about them in your dreams. This certainly affects our cultivation.
Third, if we spend our time doing the three things well, our righteous thoughts will be very strong, and we will not want to play. So we must study the Fa more. Teacher said,
“The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts. ” (“Drive Out Interference” from Essentials for Further Advancement II )
Fourth, we must persist in what we set out to do. Whenever the attachment arises, we can memorize the Fa. Please make sure that you not go along with your friends or classmates when they ask you to play. You should suppress the attachment. Since it was formed over a period of time, the attachment exists in many layers. When you want to let it go, it may reoccur, so you must keep negating the attachment. When you are finally rid of it, you will feel very comfortable.
Since I am a new practitioner, please kindly point out shortcomings.
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Category: Improving Oneself
