(Minghui.org) I enlightened to a deeper meaning of letting go of attachments while reading Zhuan Falun recently. On the surface, the first lecture seems to emphasize a prerequisite for cultivators: only by removing all human attachments can one be allowed into the door of cultivation.
This prerequisite appears to be consistent with ancient cultivation ways, in which a master passed true teachings only to disciples who had removed all attachments.
On that day, however, I came to another realization that the prerequisite of relinquishing all attachments pertains only to ancient cultivation, whereas with Falun Dafa cultivation, Master takes every student in as long as he or she has the heart to cultivate, long before the student is able to shed human notions.
This enlightenment reminded me of my cultivation journey in the past ten-plus years. I feel immensely grateful that Master allows us to gradually remove our attachments during our cultivation process, but I am also keenly aware that any remaining attachment is a loophole that may be exploited by the old forces.
As such, as Dafa cultivators, we must look within when faced with conflicts or tribulations and work hard to weed out deeply-hidden attachments. My own cultivation experiences further teach me that as we elevate our levels, the requirements for letting go of attachments also become stricter.
It is my understanding that only by looking at things from the perspective of Master, Dafa, and Dafa disciples as a whole, can we truly let go of our attachments.
Below, I would like to share my understanding of the difference between ancient cultivation and Dafa cultivation with regard to removing attachments. I will also present three cultivation stories of mine that enabled me to come to the above understanding of what is truly spotting and ridding our attachments.
The masters of ancient cultivation ways, such as in the Tao school or the Buddha school, set tests for their disciples, such that only those disciples who passed the tests receive the true teachings. The master will also install a system in the disciple's body so that he can cultivate.
Taking Lu Dongbin from the Eight Immortals as an example: legend has it that his master, Han Zhongli, tested him ten times on various attachments. Lu Dongbin was able to pass these tests on attachments to fame, personal gain, and lust. The tests also include the attachment to life and death.
Han Zhongli accepted Lu Dongbin as his disciple only after he passed all the tests, and installed a system of the Tao school so that he could cultivate. Lu Dongbin also received the true teachings and supernatural powers of the Tao school.
However, the requirements are different for Dafa disciples.
Master is immensely compassionate–he treats anyone who wants to learn Falun Dafa as disciples and installs all of the necessary mechanisms in our bodies, long before we're able to remove all of our attachments.
Many practitioners, however, have unwittingly abused Master's compassion. Unable to cultivate solidly and elevate themselves, their lack of determination to work on their attachments become excuses for the old forces to “test” and persecute them. A large number of such practitioners are arrested, detained, or tortured. In my opinion, their failure to relinquish their attachments and negate the old forces' arrangements is partially responsible for their persecution.
I speculate that a huge number of Dafa practitioners are like this. Even if these practitioners are continuously doing the three things, it is only humans studying, humans cultivating, and humans doing things; their actions only conform on the surface but do not carry the solemn, sacred significance of “Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples” doing the three things.
The old forces look down on practitioners who do not meet the Dafa standards. They are ruthless towards these practitioners. They feel that cultivating in Dafa is an opportunity not to be missed, yet practitioners in the human world do not cherish it, nor do they follow the requirements to elevate themselves.
On the contrary, practitioners who have removed their attachments would not be persecuted so easily. I have personally encountered those high-level old forces who admired these practitioners and were not willing to persecute them. Sometimes, they even let these practitioners off.
Of course, letting go of attachments is no easy task. There are different requirements at different levels. A simple look within may help with one situation, but not another. It is my understanding that we must keep our perspective when looking within to identify and remove our attachments.
I've learned from the following three stories of mine that our looking within must be based on the Fa; otherwise, we won't be able to truly identify and remove our attachments.
Once, my whole face was covered with acne, which contained pus. I felt no discomfort, though it clearly made people uncomfortable.
My family members bought medicine for me, but I refused to take it. They became worried and wanted to drag me to the hospital for treatment. I looked within many times, but this did not solve the problem. The acne worsened instead.
I paid attention to this issue only when my family really wanted to take me to the hospital. I sat down one Sunday morning and recalled every one of my thoughts and actions since waking up to determine whether they are in accordance with the Fa. If they were not, I would suppress and remove them. At the same time, I apologized to Master and allowed my life to be rectified in the Fa.
I recalled my thoughts and actions from that day to two months before. I entered a state in which I didn't have any other thoughts, including those of wanting to resolve my own tribulations or wanting to resolve worldly tribulations. This left me with only one pure thought of cultivating myself.
At about five in the afternoon, a scene suddenly came into my mind: it was two years ago, when the pressure of the persecution was enormous. I had a thought that when the environment becomes more relaxed, I would go for a nice vacation.
It was this thought that caused the tribulation. As a Fa-rectification Dafa disciple, I should be thinking of assisting Master in validating the Fa. Instead, I developed this attachment to comfort. Thus, the old forces exploited my gap.
As I had found the cause, the acne disappeared on the third day. My complexion became very smooth. The people around me was surprised to see my speedy recovery.
Dafa requirements change as we elevate in cultivation.
One practitioner did not pay attention to the issue of safety. He drove my car for some truth-clarification work, and the police spotted him. Two plainclothes officers came to my home the next day to carry out their investigation secretly. When I learned of this situation, I informed other practitioners. They suggested that I leave quickly to avoid arrest.
I remembered loitering on the streets for more than an hour, contemplating if I should stay or leave. If I stay, I might be arrested. However, I was unwilling to leave, as I had finally helped my friends and family understand Dafa after so many years of persecution. All of those efforts would be in vain if I left.
I recalled that nothing is coincidental. I needed to look within to find the problem.
I calmed down and found a place to sit. I looked within and found 20 to 30 attachments, but could not find the root cause after an hour. I became a little frustrated, as I was unwilling to leave home to avoid the persecution.
Determined to find the cause of the problem, I looked within twice. On the third attempt, I finally changed my point of view and thought about it differently: it was due to the practitioner who did not pay attention to safety that brought this tribulation to me. Does this mean that I have issues related to safety? Did I pay too much attention to safety?
I finally found the reason. I saw my divine body becoming bigger, radiating golden light that eliminated evil in the surroundings.
I knew that everything had been resolved, and that nothing will happen. The plainclothes police did not appear again, and the investigation had stopped by the time I went home. Other practitioners also returned home.
I enlightened that, although it is not wrong to pay attention to safety in the human world, too strong of such a thought will create a substance that obstructs us from elevating.
I went into another cultivation state after a few years passed. At that time, I had some conflicts with other practitioners, causing great interference from the old forces.
As I maintained my xinxing, Master gave me encouragement and showed me a scene: in another dimension, my “heart” was burning. It burned all the rumors, gossip, lies, accusations, and criticism from practitioners. Finally, that “heart” became brighter and brighter.
Another scene was shown to me as I was able to think of the whole body and other practitioners: I saw a cone-shaped magical tool in front of my chest. This magical tool was “looking within.” When I truly started to look within, that tool drilled into my heart and destroyed layers of hard substances. Finally, it reached the “heart” area–a bright and beautiful dimension.
I understood that the layers of hard substances are attachments manifested in another dimension. Each attachment consists of multiple layers of hard substances that block the heart.
This magical tool, “looking within,” can change its shape and is also itself a life. It is very pure and moves based on the cultivator's consciousness. When Dafa disciples are diligent in cultivating, it is full of energy and drills through the hard substances very quickly. When Dafa disciples do not look within or see things only from the surface, the tool is not as effective.
Master has installed many things for us. I enlightened that looking within is also part of the system. If Fa-rectification Dafa disciples think from Master's and Dafa's point of view and think for the whole body, we would reach the state of “selflessness and altruism.”