(Minghui.org) There have been quite a number of practitioners who have lost their lives to strong attachments over the years. In my opinion, one attachment that seems to have afflicted many of these practitioners is the affection for loved ones.
The failure to rise above this attachment towards family was often followed by practitioners’ inability to do the three things to the best of their ability. They were just going through the motions when studying the Fa, sending forth righteous thoughts, or clarifying the truth to people.
The old forces wasted no time exploiting these practitioners’ loopholes. Some of them began to experience sickness karma while others passed away, unable to rectify themselves quick enough.
It is a huge loss if we lose our lives and fail to fulfill our vows to save sentient beings. As cultivators, we should not be attached to human emotion. Instead, we should treasure the sacred predestined relationship that we have with Dafa. Only by cultivating diligently can we let go of our attachments and accomplish our mission.
Attachment to Human Emotion
Master said
“Those who are attached to affection for family will definitely be burned, entangled, and tormented by it. Pulled by the threads of affection and plagued by them throughout their lives, they will find it too late to regret at the end of their lives. (“Cultivators' Avoidances” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
What is sentimentality? As thoroughly described in one article published on the Minghui website, sentimentality is a standard of emotion where a person is willing to lose his life for something or somebody that he likes.
To practitioners, it is dangerous to value emotion over the Fa. We should clearly understand that going back to our original home is our ultimate wish. A good cultivator thus will prioritize the three things over anything else and dedicate all of his wisdom and ability to doing them well.
When practitioners have the persistent attachment to sentimentality, they can be easily distracted by mundane trifles. The old forces would take advantage of this loophole to attack them. As a result, the practitioners may become indolent in doing the three things and develop sickness karma.
Some practitioners may fall asleep while sending righteous thoughts. Some elderly practitioners who long for family fun and yearn for the comfortable life of ordinary people may forget the importance of the Fa and their purpose for coming to this human world. They may no longer send forth righteous thoughts. Others who never recovered from the grief of losing a child may fall to traps set up by the old forces.
From a reincarnation perspective, sentimentality only exists in one life time. No matter how much you love and care for your children, you will be nothing to them when you are reincarnated in the next cycle of life. Only relative indifference to love and hatred can enable a practitioner escape suffering in the long reincarnation process.
Not Becoming Victims of the Old Forces
In “Don't Be Sad” from Hong Yin II, Master taught us to “Remove your human thoughts and evil will naturally die out.” To prevent becoming numb and careless to cultivation, we should routinely ask ourselves if we really believe in this teaching.
Hidden behind each attachment are a large number of evil beings. When we follow Master's teachings to rectify ourselves, the evil will not have any room to grow, and the persecution will vanish instantly. On the other hand, if we give in to these evils, the old forces will intensify our attachments and eventually cause us to become ill or even die.
As the Fa-rectification is approaching the end, these evil factors will find themselves with nowhere to hide, except for in the dimension of those practitioners who are not diligent in cultivation and have strong human notions. Consequently, some practitioners will become victims of these evil factors and are forced to give up their human body. The sentient beings that they wanted to save may also become victims.
Cultivating for the Sacred Predestined Relationship with Dafa
Master's lyrics in “What's the meaning of life? In Hong Yin III” says:
“A hundred years of human life, for whom so busy?Fame, fortune, and feelings toward family arouse deep anxietyWhen the music stops and the drama is over, who am I?Heaven speaks not, leaving us confused”
Because of predestined relationships, this human world is full of hope and gratitude. But no matter how tempting these relationships may seem, in the long history of human life, they are nothing more than a fleeting illusion. Cultivation in Dafa is the most precious predestination because only Dafa can make life eternal. But many people have missed this precious opportunity.
For thousands of years, how many people have adhered to their hope? How many people have found the destination of their soul? Many gods came down to the earth when it was created. How many of them have reached consummation? And how many were confused by illusion and lost their original true selves?
In order to fulfill our missions and not to fail Master, we have to cultivate ourselves diligently.
Diligent Cultivation
The Fa-rectification has a time limit. When the time is over, it will be too late for regret. Master has mercifully been waiting for us to catch up. According to gradually-enlightened practitioners, tens of millions of not-diligent practitioners have fallen behind because of their pursuit of comfort and slacking off in cultivation. Many of them were very high in xinxing prior to the persecution. Master is worried that they are still confused and will not enlighten to further improve their xinxing.
Continuing to indulge ourselves amounts to self-destruction. Let us try our best to catch up and not dwell on the past. To encourage each other, I would like to excerpt some of Master's Fa teachings to share with fellow practitioners.
Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference in Australia
“Have you truly regarded yourself as a cultivator? Have you met the standard? Sometimes in your heart you consider family matters more important than the Fa, what’s on your mind is making money and being attached to affection for family, all of those are given more importance than the Fa, and you don’t want to eliminate your own karma or endure any hardship. Is that a genuinely cultivating disciple? Even after ten years of cultivating like that nothing would change.”
Lecture at the First Conference in North America
“Think about it, everyone: Does it make you a Dafa disciple if you do the exercises of Falun Gong and read the books? If you don’t advance diligently and don’t truly act according to the standards I’ve taught you, how could you be my disciple? Whether you’re my disciple depends on whether I acknowledge you as one. In other words, are you up to the standard for a disciple? If you perform the exercises every day just like doing other physical exercises, if you read the books without assimilating the content, if you don’t advance diligently and don’t act according to the requirements from the books, can you be my disciple? Aren’t you still an ordinary person? “
Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005:
“I just said that the principles of cultivators and those of ordinary people are opposite. Human beings believe that a life of comfort is a good thing, while Dafa disciples believe that having everything be easy is a bad thing when it comes to their improvement and that discomfort is conducive to improvement. (Applause) Have you managed to turn around your fundamental concepts? When you meet with a little bit of hardship or a little something here and there, you can't make it through. And when eventually it accumulates to a very large amount, it becomes a major test, and that test is one you can't pass without letting go of [the attachment to your] life. What could be done, then? The tribulation could even become so great that you couldn't even things out even if you did let go of [that attachment to your] life. The old forces wouldn't let you make it through, and your righteous thoughts wouldn't be strong enough. You tell me what could be done. What would you have Master do? Master has been protecting you unconditionally, yet you are not diligent, even to the point of becoming like an ordinary person! You say, "I am a Dafa disciple," yet your thoughts and conduct are those of an ordinary person. It is Dafa disciples that I am bringing salvation to today, and I can't go and groundlessly protect an ordinary person. The "birth, aging, illness, and death" an ordinary person faces is a law mandated by the heavens, and it can't be meddled with without a reason. Do you know what Master is doing today? I am rectifying the Fa of the cosmos. How am I rectifying it? What am I using to rectify it? Can I rectify the Fa of the cosmos in an incorrect way? Unconditionally protecting an unqualified cultivator--is that being responsible to you? Is that rectifying the Fa of the cosmos? Why do Dafa disciples need to cultivate, pass tests, have strong righteous thoughts, and go through suffering? Only those things can be considered cultivation. In fact, cultivation is about coming here to suffer, not coming here to be protected in the human world. When one studies Dafa he will be protected, but cultivating Dafa also requires one to endure suffering. Some students say, "When we encounter danger, Master will protect us." And yes, that's true! There will definitely be protection when a person has righteous thoughts and actions.”
Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference:
“In the end, when you can't progress to Consummation, you yourself will have to bear the responsibility! Master isn't trying to scare anyone. Whoever misses out on this historic opportunity, whoever misses out on this chance, when you realize what you've missed out on you won't even want to live even if you are allowed to! Don't think that since Master is always merciful you can take Master's mercy for granted! There are standards for Dafa disciples, and the Fa has standards. It's not like everyone can just goof around together and pass muster. Every person's spirit is being hit upon, every person is genuinely cultivating himself, and every person is thinking about how to be responsible to his own existence! Why are some of you not able to do this?! Looking at you, Master is so worried! Looking at you, Master is so worried! Master's words today might have been harsh, but maybe it wouldn't work if I didn't use a heavy hammer. If I'm not able to save you it will be my greatest regret. It would be great if you could be as worried as I am.”
Don't we feel heavy-hearted after reading Master's Fa teachings? It is the greatest disrespect to Master when we learn the Fa, but do not follow Master's requirements. It is shameful when we are not diligent and fail to carry out our responsibilities. Those practitioners who repeatedly hinder Master's Fa-rectification progress will not be able to go home with fellow practitioners at the time of consummation.
An experience-sharing article told a grim story about a practitioner who pursued ease and comfort, and did little in Fa study. She asked fellow practitioners to send righteous thoughts together with her when she developed bone cancer. When her disease disappeared, she stopped validating the Fa and resumed her old habits. She asked fellow practitioners for help again when the illness returned. She went through this cycle several times.
When she reached the end of her life one day, she shouted, “I don't want to follow you. I want to follow Master.” However, it was too late by then.
Only diligent cultivators will go home on lotus flowers after removing their human notions and saving sentient beings. Those who are indulgent to human thoughts will be reincarnated or, even worse, destroyed.
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Category: Improving Oneself
