(Minghui.org) I would like to share my understanding about what it means to truly follow Master's words as a Dafa practitioner. Let me start by sharing a story of an apprentice learning martial arts in a mountain cave.
Someone told me a story when I was a child about an apprentice who learned martial arts from his master in a mountain cave.
Building Cooking Fires
The master didn't teach him anything at first. He just ordered him to build cooking fires.
His master first told him to burn sorghum stalks, but he had to break them into short pieces with his bare hands before putting them on the fire. He did what his master ordered.
It was quite difficult for him to do it at first. His fingers and hands swelled up and were so painful that he could barely tolerate it. But he continued to do the same thing, day after day. In time, it became easy for him to break the sorghum stalks into pieces, and his hands were no longer swollen.
His master then told him to burn bamboo the same way. He obeyed his master's words and broke the bamboo into short pieces with his hands before putting them on the fire. After another period of painstaking work, he could easily break the bamboo with his bare hands.
Later on his master told him to break wood into short pieces to keep the fire burning. He again did as his master said, 100 percent.
Several years flew by. He spent every day doing the same thing. One day he suddenly realized that he had done nothing but tend the cooking fire, yet his master still hadn’t taught him martial arts. He pleaded with his master to teach him martial arts.
His master smiled and said, “Now it's time for you to leave the mountain.”
He didn't say anything, and just left the mountain and returned home.
Returning to His Home Village
People in his village asked him, “What martial arts did you learn at the mountain all those years?”
He thought for a while and replied, “I learned to build cooking fires.”
They laughed at him, saying, “You didn’t need to go to the mountain just to learn how to build a fire. You could have just stayed home and learned it yourself.”
People thought he was a fool and slow-witted, and they looked down on him and insulted him.
Defeating Bandits and Protecting the Village
One day, bandits came to the village and robbed people. No one dared to stop them and just stood by, watching the bandits take advantage of them.
When the bandits got to the apprentice's home, he stood up and resisted. One of the robbers came at him with a staff. The apprentice grabbed the stick and broke it easily.
The bandits surrounded him, but he was fearless and fought them off. He had no trouble destroying their wooden staffs. The bandits were intimidated and fled the village.
He had protected his fellow villagers, and everyone marveled at his abilities and regarded him as a hero.
He wasn't aware of his own extraordinary martial arts ability until then. He recalled his time with his master in the mountain cave. He now understood his master's heart and could appreciate his master's efforts to train him.
The above story illustrates a very important issue in cultivation: following Master's words 100 percent.
Get Rid of Pursuit and Believe in Master 100 Percent
If the apprentice's master had revealed at the very beginning that breaking bamboo into pieces is actually practicing Kung Fu, he would have done it with the attachment of pursuit and wouldn't have reached the level that he did.
Moreover, he had to be tested to see if he had firm belief in his master and could obey his master's words. It was a key element as to whether or not he could learn real skill from his master.
We know that by practicing Falun Dafa, a practitioner can reach beyond the realm of human beings and ultimately achieve consummation. It's a most solemn thing.
Whether a practitioner can believe in Master 100 percent and follow Master's words to do the three things well determines if he/she can achieve consummation.
Cherish the Precious Opportunity to Cultivate Dafa
Some practitioners that I know still do not see the importance of cultivation and do poorly as practitioners.
Some think that Fa study is boring and find excuses to avoid it. Some do not want to do the exercises for fear of pain. Some haven't done the exercises for several years. Some have trouble doing the exercises at all. Some do not sit in meditation and still cannot sit in the lotus position. Some sit in meditation for only 20 to 30 minutes at a time.
Some practitioners only distribute truth-clarification materials occasionally. They see that as cultivation.
Such practitioners do not cherish the precious opportunity to cultivate in Dafa. They are wasting the extra time that Master has provided us by enduring tremendous suffering. It's coming to the end, but they still do not cherish the time.
When Fa rectification comes to this realm, when genuine Dafa practitioners manifest their divine powers, will such practitioners be able to achieve consummation?
Every practitioner's path of cultivation is paved by Master's heart and suffering. Who can really understand it?
Master wants to endow us with the best things in the universe, but some practitioners just do not want to go forward for fear of pain and suffering. They are not following Master's words, but always follow their own thoughts.
We should always keep in mind: It's Master who is saving people, and we need to follow his lead.
The above is only my personal understanding. Please point out anything you find inappropriate.