(Minghui.org) Many of our local practitioners have been slack in doing the three things recently. They have been chasing ordinary lifestyles and pursuing wealth. Master taught us in Zhuan Falun, “Giving up wealth is, of course, an aspect of loss, and a relatively major aspect as well.” We should cultivate as if we were just starting to give up all attachments.
Working for financial resources is necessary, but it should not interfere with cultivation. How much to acquire varies, depending upon one's financial situation. Some practitioners who need to work for a living can still cultivate diligently at work. Practitioners with a stable financial situation can also improve when they make the best use of their time to more effectively validate Dafa and save sentient beings.
In ancient times, many Buddhist cultivators gave up the mundane life by retreating from human society and cultivating in temples or in remote mountains. They knew that the pursuit of wealth would hinder the progress of their cultivation.
Today, Dafa cultivation takes place in ordinary society. It may look easy and superficially nice for some who think they can enjoy life like non-cultivators while exploring the mysteries of the Buddhist principles. Actually, the requirements for Dafa cultivation are higher and more stringent. Dafa cultivators need to conform to ordinary society and eliminate their attachments at the same time.
Frankly speaking, financial problems come when persistent attachments emerge. What we are pursuing will be reflected in our daily lives, from which we can discern our attachments. We should take trifling matters lightly to remove our attachments and improve ourxinxing.
Removing the attachment to wealth is very important, because it can easily breed or strengthen attachments to fame, profit, and human emotion, and turn a cultivator back into an everyday person. It is thus imperative to remove the attachment to material wealth.
True cultivators will have a pure mind and consider how to elevate their xinxing, meet the standards of Dafa, and do things as Master requires. They will do the three things as the top priority in their lives. Heaven will provide enough money to meet their needs. We can cultivate in the Fa only after we truly let go of attachments that everyday people go after.
Although fame and success are not a cultivator's pursuit, it does not mean that we should stay at home and do nothing. If we do not consider ourselves as cultivators, we cannot improve our xinxing and obtain the Fa.
To Dafa cultivators, real success is to follow Master's requirements to do the three things well, save more sentient beings, and ultimately achieve consummation. Nothing happens by accident, and everything has been arranged to get rid of attachments.
Being able to enter Dafa cultivation is an unprecedented opportunity given to us by merciful Master. It is a result of the virtue that we have accumulated from our previous lives. Although we can still continue to remove attachments as we cultivate, time is limited. To fully meet a cultivator's standards, we must be strict with ourselves.