(Minghui.org) The article titled "Fame: A Crucial Test in Cultivation" was authored by me and submitted to Minghui a while ago. I have a new understanding of fame and I would like to share this current understanding with fellow practitioners.
What is “Fame?” It is a deep attachment that makes people feel they need to be praised. Most people naturally feel good when they are praised. It is also natural to feel bad when being criticized. People who are trying to gain fame may think that others look down on them because they have not proven their worth, and this can make them miserable. To seek fame is to seek praise and that can also be interpreted as seeking happiness.
Fame has a variety of faces and can bring about a good feeling of self worth or a bad feeling and lack of self-respect. The most common type of fame is when people seek a respectable social position, such as being the boss, the leader in a community, an official, etc., to make themselves feel important. In the novel A Dream of Red Mansions, it stated, “Where are the famous kings and generals? They can be found in tombs covered with grass.” This passage points out that fame is only temporary.
Another type of fame is when a person seeks some sort of rank. They want to feel better than others. In a private institution, government office, or even at home, there is a pecking order to establish rank. People will naturally seek a higher rank so that they can give orders instead of take them.
Fame can be shattered when people loose the respect of others, such as when they are demoted, fired from a job, criticized, etc. This can bring about a loss of self-respect and the respect of others. This can be really difficult to endure.
Letting go of the attachment to fame is difficult, because seeking fame is a natural tendency. It is so natural that most people don't recognize they are seeking it. Losing the respect of others and one's self-respect is also very difficult, because a person may then have trouble letting go of feeling bad. The attachment to fame will endure if the person continues to reach for something illusive to feel better.
When a true cultivator reaches a certain level, the attachment to fame will not exist. The only way to reach consummation is for a cultivator to let go of fame, benefits, and emotions. Otherwise, the cultivator is only validating himself.
This is the understanding that I want to share. I hope it is useful to some fellow practitioners.
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Category: Improving Oneself
