(Minghui.org) I used to only focus on understanding the Fa, but I did not put what I understood into practice. As soon as I identified my attachments, I would stop there and not try to eliminate them.
After I realized I had this problem, I started focusing on one attachment at a time, cultivating myself solidly, and doing my best to reach Dafa's requirements in my thoughts and how I conducted myself.
After I corrected every word and deed, I could feel I had met the criteria of the Fa at a certain level. I could actually sense that I was making breakthroughs as I strove to reach the Fa's standards.
For example, I used to show off my understanding of the Fa to my fellow practitioners, especial those I had just met. I was afraid of being looked down on. After I focused on cultivating myself, I was able to listen to fellow practitioners and sincerely examine myself to see where I fell short. I quit showing off, because I realized that Dafa's principles are our only criteria.
My faith in Master and cultivation comes from my understanding of the Fa, not from anything I see through my celestial eye or in my dreams. I've been able to see the principles of Dafa at different levels and have felt myself improving through solid cultivation.
I've noticed that some fellow practitioners' faith has weakened. I wonder if it's because they have not tried to change after they find their attachments. Identifying our attachments is only the first step--we still have to look for the source of that attachment, level by level. It's a process of solidly cultivating if we truly wish to reach higher levels.
I know I have to suppress and eliminate attachments after I identify them. Sometimes eliminating an attachment may take years of repeated tempering, until one day I finally understand the meaning behind that sentence of the Fa related to that attachment. When I realize that I've passed one step, I suddenly understand why I had those tribulations and the cultivation level I reached. I know Master is always taking care of me, but I actually have to solidly cultivate and walk my own path to reach that level. When I personally experienced the truth in Master's teachings and finally understood what assimilating to the Fa means, no words could describe the depth of my gratitude and my profound faith in Master.
Offering salvation to sentient beings is our primary focus. In the process of saving people, we are continuously cultivating ourselves and raising our levels. We will enlighten to a level of the meaning of the Fa when we reach the requirement of that level. Studying the Fa and solidly cultivating are not separate--they go hand-in-hand. The effect of solid cultivation will be reflected in our Fa-study. Understanding this can speed up our improvement.
Without realizing it, some fellow practitioners keep circling the starting point and are not proactively eliminating their attachments. They are occasionally provoked by what someone else says and suddenly see their attachment. After publishing a sharing article on this, the attachment to showing off might surface, and then they have to work on that attachment.
We are wasting time, and our progress is slow, as though we are marching in place. Time is limited and we must advance quickly. We have to realize that identifying attachments and publishing articles about them are not the criteria to truly cultivating ourselves.
A gap between our actions and the requirements of the Fa still exists. Some practitioners feel good whenever they gain a certain level of understanding, but they don't carry it out in their actions. This has caused many issues, including slacking off, our faith in Master to be weakened, etc.
Based on my experience, the key to eliminating attachments is that our behavior must reach the criteria. Identifying attachments is only the starting point. Following the Fa by concrete action is our goal.
Cultivating is only a formality if we don't put what we've learned from the Fa into practice. The process of identifying our attachments and then determinedly transforming ourselves is solid cultivation.
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Category: Improving Oneself
