(Minghui.org) Master’s newest lecture, "Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference,” left a deep impression on me. My initial feeling was that time is pressing.
Master used to stress that time is limited but this time Master said:
“...from now on, change the state you are in. You are not acting like cultivators! I brought up these matters long ago. When are you going to do something about it? When are you going to do something about it? Time is running out.”
My second impression was that one should not ease in up one’s cultivation, especially now, in the final phase of Fa-rectification.
Master told us:
“That is why it’s said that always cultivating as if you were just starting will surely result in achieving your ultimate rank.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference”)
This time Master again mentioned, “If you can keep going with that same heart you had at the beginning all the way to the end, you will undoubtedly succeed.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference”)
I understand that this means that we should not relax our cultivation in the last stage.
The following is my cultivation experience in this regard. Please point out anything inappropriate.
I read lots of romance novels when I was in middle school because that kind of fiction was popular among middle school students. I memorized a lot of that stuff and my brain was full of it.
Later, when I began practicing Falun Dafa, that stuff seriously interfered with my cultivation, and I couldn't completely get rid of it. When I saw romance movies, TV shows, or certain actresses, I would imagine that I was the male character in the story.
Master told us in Zhuan Falun that a disciple regretted not passing the lust test in his dream. I also sometimes had the lust test in my dreams, but I always enjoyed that kind of dream. I could pass the test in real life but I always failed in my dreams. Even when I woke up, I regretted waking up too soon. Later I was imprisoned for seven to eight years, in part due to this attachment.
While I was in prison, I kept looking within, but my cultivation state was sometimes good and bad at other times.
I found a management job in a company after I was released. Of the 70 to 80 employees, only three were men. I had to deal with women all day long. I knew it was to remove my lust. I was able to behave in line with a practitioner’s standards – but not my thoughts.
I had feelings for one employee. Soon she sent me a message: “I thought I was alone but I could go with you.” I checked my thoughts to find the reason. I thought it must stem from my improper thoughts. I found the lady and told her that I was a Falun Gong practitioner. I told her the facts about Falun Gong and helped her quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Another employee kept sending me messages with improper ideas. I realized that I had some lust attachment that had not been completely cast off, so I used righteous thoughts to get rid of it. I passed the test. Now I am no longer interfered with by this kind of thing that occasionally surfaced before.
I appreciate Master and the mighty Fa that helped me to get rid of the lust attachment.
Three generations of my family were persecuted by the CCP, so I grew up disliking the evil CCP. When the CCP cracked down on the student movement in 1989, I hated the CCP even more.
I treated all of the prison guards as enemies while I was in prison. After a guard took away my copy of Zhuan Falun, I hated him, and that hatred lasted for a long time even after I was released. I kept thinking about how to punish him or beat him up at least once. Later this thought grew stronger. I kept thinking about it even when I was doing the sitting meditation. I could not even focus to memorize the Fa.
I realized through studying the Fa that police officers and other law enforcement personnel are sentient beings that need to be saved. They were fooled by the CCP propaganda. I used to see the police as evildoers due to my hatred. I did not treat them as average people and therefore I did not have any compassion for them.
Due to my attachment to hatred, I could not improve myself and I didn't do very well when I tried to save sentient beings. Actually, many police offices are being controlled by the evil elements to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. If the evil forces were removed, many police officers would accept the truth.
Master said in the Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference:“Even if he were one of those who has participated in the persecution, one of those who has been taken in, duped, and ended up in a criminal gang, you would still need to be kind to him.”
After I realized how bad the attachment to hatred is, I thought of all of the people in different walks of life who are waiting for us to save them. I was able to release all my hatred and the thing I was not able to previously let go. I now have the wish to help everyone know the truth and be saved. I felt the mighty virtue of the Fa. My confidence in the Fa increased, and I felt the earnest desire to save sentient beings.
I could be myself strict with myself when I first started to cultivate. I either refused to take gifts or gave them away if I had to take them. But now I failed to do that. I was in charge of handing out welfare items for our company employees, and personnel turnover was high. Those who needed items never matched the number of items we received. If one person was supposed to get help, when the time came, he or she had often already left. Sometimes I kept the surplus items in the office. Recently I realized that this was wrong, that it was just like using the items myself.
This attachment to self-interest increased due to my difficulties after I was released from prison. I realized that this attachment was a big stumbling block for Dafa disciples and one we need to improve on to save more people. I realized that this attachment was connected with greed. Master said:
“In order for anything to have a foothold in this world, to be able to hold up, and establish itself, there has to be a key factor: It has to form a field in this dimension, a field that materially exists.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Europe”)
Cultivation is extremely serious. One needs to control one’s thoughts at all times. If any of our thoughts are not appropriate or stem from the Fa, we need get rid of them immediately. Otherwise, they can cause big trouble. If we let up even a little bit and stay close to the human side, our cultivation may collapse.
The human world is a vast cultivation place for Dafa disciples, but as arranged by the old forces, it also contains bad elements to persecute Dafa. If we want to escape this field, cultivate ourselves, and save others well, we need to maintain the righteous thoughts that were present when we began to cultivate. We need to measure everything with the Fa standards and walk our path well.
Master said in “Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference:”
“So I hope that all of you can maintain the state of mind that you have at this very moment, and act like a Dafa disciple should. The situation is pressing, and so many lives are waiting for you to save them. I am extremely anxious!”
Looking back at my own cultivation, I may have let up when I compare how I was when I began to cultivate. I really need to change myself from now on.