(Minghui.org) We all understand that Teacher wants us to become Dafa cultivators. During the cultivation process, we gradually eliminate our human attachments, finally achieving divine status. We don't merely want to become good people in ordinary human society, so we must therefore change our notions. Today, a fellow practitioner shared a dream with us. In her dream, there was a long line of elderly practitioners carrying their grandchildren in one arm and vegetable baskets on the other. I think that a lot of elderly practitioners have a similar problem.
Master said:
“It has been four years since I began teaching Dafa. Some students’ xinxing and level of realm have improved slowly; they remain at the perceptual stage in their understanding of me and Dafa, always being grateful towards me for the changes in their bodies and for the manifestation of supernormal abilities—that is an ordinary human mindset. If you do not want to change your human state and rationally rise to a true understanding of Dafa, you will miss the opportunity. If you do not change the human logic that you, as an ordinary human, have formed deep in your bones over thousands of years, you will be unable to break away from this superficial human shell and reach Consummation” (“Cautionary Advice” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Master endured a myriad of tribulations in order to descend to this human realm and offer salvation to us. He picked us up from hell, helped us eliminate our karma, instilled the Fa principles in us, enlightened us step by step, and looked after us along our cultivation paths, attempting to guide us to return to our true selves and bestowing all things required to become divine beings. However, although we've cultivated Dafa for years and Fa-rectification is nearing the end, there are still a number of practitioners (especially elderly practitioners) who can't rid themselves of their human mindset. When dealing with some issues, they use the standard and understanding of an ordinary person.
One practitioner suffered from the illusion of sickness karma for over three weeks. At first she had a fever, became quite feeble, then couldn't eat anything, do the exercises or send righteous thoughts (let alone participate in projects to save sentient beings). Today, a fellow practitioner and I went to see her at her house. She was so weak that she could barely utter a word or sit upright. When we arrived at her house, she felt a very strong energy field. This was the first time she could sit up for two hours since she got sick. She was still in good spirits after we left. Although this practitioner began practicing in the 1990s, she still couldn't sit in the full lotus position. She told us that shortly after she started the practice, she managed to sit in the full lotus position. Later, because she had to take care of her daughter-in-law who had a baby, she couldn't study the Fa or do the exercises for one month, she couldn't sit in the full lotus position thereafter.
She said that, because her daughter-in-law worked, she was unable to take care of her baby. As a result, this practitioner had to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of her grandchild. From this, we can imagine how much of her time was wasted caring for the baby. How could she have a good cultivation state? Although she still does the three things, it is difficult for her to truly do a great job. With tears in her eyes, she said, “Before I began the practice, I was stricken by sickness. Master gave me a second chance to live. I thank you, Master. I believe in Master and the Fa, and I will cultivate to the very end.” From her words, we can clearly see her gratitude to Master, but her understanding was based on the realm of ordinary people.
There was another practitioner who started the practice in 1996. She was very diligent in her cultivation, and was a regional coordinator. For over 10 years, she was responsible for printing truth-clarification materials and delivering them to other practitioners. Due to her strong righteous thoughts, she managed to escape arrest. Even such a great practitioner became muddleheaded at times. For example, she thought that taking care of her grandchildren was her responsibility and a sign that she was a good person. This led her to spend much of her time taking care of her grandchildren, one after another for the past 10 or more years. At present, one of her grandchildren is just two months old. Some practitioners tried sharing with her and kindly reminded her that this time would be better spent for Fa-rectification tasks, but she didn't seem to accept their views.
As we know, a person's energy and time are limited. This practitioner had to take care of her grandchildren during the daytime. This inevitably affected her doing the three things well. Sometimes, she spent the day taking care of her grandchildren and then rushed to the press to print truth-clarification materials at night. As a result, she couldn't get up to do the exercises the next morning, leading to a poor cultivation state. One day, she developed a fever and was bedridden for seven days. She still didn't enlighten to the reason for her sickness. In dealing with this issue, her starting point was within the thinking of non-practitioners—of trying to be a good person in the ordinary realm. The fact is, whether we want to become a good person or to be a Dafa practitioner, a cultivator, a divine being—that is the fundamental difference. Everyone should ask him or herself this question. As Dafa cultivators, we must do well in all aspects, but not be overly attached to them.
Master said:
“Some people might figure, 'When I take care of domestic things I'm cultivating. It's good enough if I build closer relationships with my parents and siblings.' Then you have developed a new attachment and gone to an extreme. You do have to do everything well, but you can't go overboard; when you go overboard it's another attachment. Also, you need to have the right attitude toward Dafa and truly regard yourself as a cultivator. How you try to be diligent, how you regard the Fa, and how you cultivate--including the length and priority of your Fa study--you can't neglect any of these things, and they are actually more important, for this is your path, the path that you are to take. You are precisely to cultivate out of ordinary human society, and you are precisely to exist alongside the Fa-rectification while it is under way and be responsible to sentient beings. That is why you are to cultivate this way.” (“Teaching the Fa in Canada, 2006”)
From the above passage, I have enlightened that cultivators should try their best to do well with ordinary affairs, but not be overly attached to them. Some elderly practitioners are “overly attached” to ordinary affairs. You must understand that your life is extended because of Dafa. Shouldn't you return your life to Dafa? Even if you do think that your life is not prolonged by Dafa, but now you are cultivating in Dafa, you are walking on a magnificent journey to divinity; shouldn't you dedicate much of your energy and time to your cultivation, not just wanting to be a good person in the ordinary realm?
Some practitioners may argue: “What if no one takes care of our grandchildren?” Think about it, if your life is not prolonged by Dafa, who will take care of your grandchildren then? If your son is so busy that occasionally you have to give him some help, that's understandable. However, if you consider taking care of your grandchildren to be your heavenly duty, then you're totally wrong. Even from the perspective of non-practitioners, it isn't right either. Taking care of grandchildren is not an elderly person's responsibility. Grandchildren are there just to add to their pleasure.
Master said:
“Be aware: I am not asking you to intentionally do something. I am only trying to make you understand the principles of the Fa so that you will have a clear understanding of this.” (“Expounding on the Fa” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
My intention in writing this article was not to imply that from now on, elderly practitioners should stop taking care of their grandchildren. I am just thinking about whether or not we should change our understanding of the Fa. If our understanding aligns with the Fa, then our surroundings may change for the better. Therefore, we must put our foundation in order, truly regard ourselves as Dafa practitioners, come out of the shell of ordinary people, and honor our vows while not disappointing Master and falling short of sentient beings' expectations of us, truly shouldering this remarkable responsibility of saving sentient beings.
This is just my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
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