(Minghui.org) Foreword: This article is for fellow practitioners' reference only. Treating the Fa as Master is fundamental for cultivators. When others point out where Falun Dafa practitioners fall short, we should compare our behaviors to the Fa, look inward, correct ourselves, and find the root of not completely believing in the Fa and Master.
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Continued from Part 2
I also discussed another concern of mine with the enlightened being: why have so many practitioners whose celestial eyes are open dropped out of cultivation?
This is roughly what he said: “One would not have this problem if he fully trusts Master and the Fa. Some people doubted the Fa when they first started cultivation, and some people still have doubts on some fundamental issues. These people do not have a solid foundation, so they are not able to correct themselves using the Fa when encountering problems. Gradually, they develop illusions, and they trust in their illusions instead of the Fa.”
“Some people thought that they are the reincarnations of some famous figures in history. They thought that this is the reason why they are smart. Actually, what they saw are usually illusions. The wisdom of a cultivator comes from the Fa, not from being a famous figure in history or from demonic illusions. When they think highly of themselves, they will run into trouble. They will be interfered with by demons bred in their own minds. The situation will get worse and worse. In the end, they will not be able to help themselves.”
I enlightened that Master was using this enlightened being's words to point out our shortcomings. Looking back at my journey of cultivation, I developed a few supernormal abilities when I did not fully believe in Master. Due to the supernormal abilities, my belief in Master and the Fa solidified. Compared to practitioners who do not have supernormal abilities, but fully trust the Fa based on their enlightenment, I am really behind in my cultivation.
Supernormal abilities are nothing to be happy about or be proud of. My celestial eye is open, and I've been tempted by illusions I've seen. I was able to break through the illusions because I got rid of the attachments to curiosity and zealotry. Some practitioners, however, cannot break through the illusions if they feel happy about the supernormal abilities.
Some practitioners even wrote articles based on the illusions they saw. Wouldn't this mislead the readers? Who would be happy if readers are misled? It is demons who generate the interference. Some practitioners failed to judge the illusions based on the Fa. They thought that the illusions were real, and deviated from the Fa further and further. Once a cultivator feels great about himself, demons will take advantage of this loophole and amplify it, making the practitioner more and more arrogant. So, one must get rid of the attachments to curiosity, zealotry, and arrogance.
Master said:
“There are a lot of such people. Even in this class, there are people who think quite highly of themselves right now and speak with a different attitude. It is taboo even in Buddhism for one to find out what one is all about.” (Zhuan Falun)
We really need to remember this, and watch our speech and behavior.
The enlightened being also told me that some practitioners only believe part of the Fa. They do not believe in the teachings in the Fa that they cannot live by. Their belief is based on their own notions. Some people do not have a solid belief in Master's teaching on sickness karma, so they will not experience the power of the Fa regarding this, and therefore their belief becomes even weaker.
He said that some practitioners are capable persons in everyday society, but their enlightenment quality is poor. They do well in organizing Dafa activities, and they look diligent in cultivation. But they do not study the Fa or do the exercises well. When nobody is looking, they live according to their everyday people's notions, and do not cultivate solidly. They cannot take criticism, and try to protect their attachments. Gods really look down on these kinds of people.
His words reminded me of a paragraph of the Fa:
“Divine Being: Some of them have come looking for the aspect of the Fa that they consider good, but they are unable to let go of the aspect that prevents them from having a complete understanding of the Fa. (“A Dialogue with Time” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I never paid enough attention to this paragraph, and never thought that some practitioners have this problem.
Later, I thought about the cultivation story of Milarepa. He never doubted his master. His master arranged a lot of tribulations and difficulties for him, but he never had unrighteous thoughts towards the master. All he did was look inward for his own shortcomings and tried to do better to meet his master's requirements. Because of such solid belief, he attained Right Fruit and became a Buddha.
By contrast, some of our fellow practitioners are self-centered. They develop doubts in the Fa when they have difficulties. One who is well-known among practitioners could not pass the test of sickness karma and went to the hospital. In the hospital, he asked me privately, “Is this Fa real or false? I've always had doubts. Now, look at my situation. The Fa does not work.”
But from my viewpoint, the Fa had already extended his life. He spoke out all his doubts, and would not listen to others. He thought that he had done so much and suffered so much for Dafa, so Master should give him special treatment—remove his sickness karma even if he does not genuinely cultivate. He tried to do business with Master and wanted special treatment without solidly cultivating. He held on to his attachments and doubts tightly. On one hand, he wanted to give it a try and asked practitioners to help send forth righteous thoughts for him, but meanwhile he went to the hospital for treatment.
As a result, he passed away on the second day. Going to the hospital means asking everyday people for help, so the result of the treatment will also be constrained by the laws at the level of everyday people.
The enlightened being also talked about another group of practitioners who have solid belief in Master and the Fa, and have been truly carrying out their oaths. They have done a lot for Dafa. However, they do their work in an everyday people's way. They do not study the Fa or do the exercises well.
In fact, these practitioners do not have the belief deep in their hearts that they can gain wisdom from the Fa for their Dafa work, and that solid cultivation can make their Dafa work easier. They take everyday people's approaches to do Dafa work, so they actually pursue the laws at the level of everyday people. Thus, some everyday people's laws will constrain them, such as rapid aging and death from overworking.
Some who do not solidly cultivate themselves even have the thought that doing Dafa work well is like having life insurance, and Master will help them to overcome sickness karma because of their solid belief in Master. Isn't it dangerous?
There are such practitioners around me. Actually, I found that I have a similar problem, too. I thought that I had solid belief in the Fa, but it wasn't really 100%.
Master said:
“Actually, I've always told you that doing cultivation doesn't compromise your Dafa work, for sure. That's because doing the exercises is the most effective way to get rid of fatigue, it's the best way to quickly make your body recover.” (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference)
Sometimes I felt exhausted from doing Dafa work. Instead of doing the exercises, I went to sleep. Actually, my behavior shows that I did not fully believe in the power of the Fa in this regard. I did not believe that I could recover from doing the exercises. This is a loophole in my cultivation. As a result, I had everyday people's feeling of being exhausted. In contrast, when I diligently do the exercises, I don't feel tired. After deeply looking inside, I realized that I did not have a good understanding of Master's teaching on this issue, and did not have solid belief in it.
I know two fellow practitioners who both had sickness tribulations after being tortured in prison. Neither of them had worries, but they ended up in different situations. The first practitioner was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Local law enforcement officers even paid his family some money, asking them not to file a lawsuit against them. However, this practitioner did well in studying the Fa and doing the exercises. One month later, he completely recovered. It has been several years. He is now doing the three things diligently. The officers witnessed this miracle and stopped harassing him.
In contrast, the other practitioner did not study the Fa and do the exercises frequently, although he was not worried about his sickness, and he did clarify the truth to people. I knew that he did not have a solid belief that doing the exercises would help him. His thought was that Master will protect him from sickness if he diligently tells people about the persecution of Falun Gong. In fact, he did have some concerns about his sickness, and had some hope that Master would help him because of his diligence in clarifying the truth.
Moreover, this practitioner had a short temper. Fellow practitioners often reminded him not to be controlled by demon nature. However, he always tried to cover up his temper, and did not listen. Three years later, he passed away. It was a miracle that his life lasted for three years after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. But he failed to rectify himself in those three years. It is a pity.
Master said:
“As I just said, even if sometime in history you did sign some kind of pact, if today your righteous thoughts are very strong, you don't recognize it, and you insist on not taking part in it, then you can in fact reject it. But this is a bit hard for you to handle in a case like this. What's hard is that the old forces won't let you go that easily, they'll try to take advantage of your gaps, and when you're just a little bit off they'll seize the opportunity.” (Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.)
If one does not have a good understanding of this teaching and fails to realize how serious cultivation is, then the person would not pay enough attention to his or her own cultivation without realizing that they are already in danger. A short temper is an example of a loophole that the old forces can take advantage of. This practitioner did not realize how dangerous it was.
Finally the old enlightened being said to me that he would have died 1700 years ago if he had any of those attachments. In the last 1700 years, if he had developed any of those notions, he would have fallen and died, too.
I have witnessed some practitioners who cannot pass the sickness test and went to the hospital, but lost their lives. For an everyday person, his lifespan is predetermined. When one is diagnosed with a terminal illness, it probably means that his predetermined lifespan has been reached. In this case, how can a hospital save his life?
I've seen many practitioners who study the Fa and do the exercises in a superficial way, and do not really try to rectify themselves. They fail to untangle the knots in their hearts with help from the Fa. They have hidden many everyday people's worries deep in their hearts. When they run into problems, those worries will surface.
However, they did not try to solve the problem from the Fa's perspective. Instead, their worries are magnified by their everyday people's notions. When they look inward, they look only at the surface level. They cover their attachments deep down. When they read the Fa, they have righteous thoughts. But after putting the book down, their speech and behavior are full of everyday people's notions.
While seeing these problems, I look at myself too. I realized that every attachment of mine is a danger and an obstacle in my cultivation, and it can lead to death. If I do not follow the requirements of the Fa rigorously, fail to sever all attachments, and let the attachments build up, I will probably not be able to pass the test of life and death.
We could have avoided many losses. Many fellow practitioners did not have to pass away. It is normal that one has questions in cultivation. But we should not let the questions accumulate. If we have questions, we must look for answers in the Fa, and we must open our hearts to communicate with fellow practitioners. Sharing cultivation experiences can surely help us to improve. If we get rid of the attachment to self, we will be able to find our true selves, whose nature is selfless.
I have shared my understandings. Please correct me if there is anything wrong. Here, I would also like to remind those practitioners whose celestial eyes are open: if you see some enlightened beings while meditating, do not have curiosity or zealotry. One must follow Dafa. Do not try to talk to them. If you develop curiosity and try to talk to them, you will be interfered with, and your gong will be messed up. I would not have talked to that enlightened being if I did not meet it in real life. Let us remember the seriousness of practicing only one cultivation way. Everything needs to be rectified by the Fa for the future.
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Category: Improving Oneself
