(Minghui.org) I have read many experience-sharing articles on the Clearharmony website by practitioners from around the world, but I never found an answer of how to recognize harmful notions and let them go. I would like to share how I recognized and let go of my attachments to harmful notions.
I feel that notions are not hard to detect, because as they surface, our hearts become restless, and we begin to be irrational. In other words, we are not in sync with Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance). The notions, when they come to the surface, actually make us “puppets,” because their demonic nature works through us, stripping us of our humanity and thus making us irrational.
If another practitioner, or even a non-practitioner, tells us something we don’t like, it may move our heart, and cause us to immediately fall out of harmony and become restless. In such cases, it is never the other party who is causing us trouble, but the notion within us. Master said,
“That’s why I tell you that whenever any problems occur or whenever you feel uneasy inside, you should look inside yourself for causes.” (Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Singapore)
In other words, the key to solving troubles and problems is in our own hands, not in the hands of the other person.
No matter who tells us something that makes us nervous, tense, or frustrated, it’s not that the other party wants to upset, insult, or hurt us, but rather the notion within us that irritates us, so we veer off the rails. There is a saying in Hungary: “You pulled the match pin—as on a grenade!” Many don’t understand what this means. It means that the other party has touched on a notion, which rattles us and causes us to become irrational. When our blood pressure shoots up for some reason, that is also caused only by an internal notion, for example when we get angry, afraid, or worried—the list is endless. The resentment, the fears, and the anxieties are actually caused by a negative notion in us and not our true self, in other words, our true being.
I have realized that harmful notions cause pain, difficulties, and discomfort, both when someone brings them to the surface and also when they are eliminated. When we get rid of them, the notions actually cry and grumble, because they are afraid that they will die and be eliminated. In that case, our hearts feel heavy and cause difficulty again. At such times, no matter how bad I feel, I know that I eliminated it successfully.
But that’s not all, because after a series of successful tests, Master keeps pushing karma out of us that we have collected over many years, which is also painful. When I go through such an episode of painful karma removal, I always remember that it was actually a good thing and I got rid of another mass of filthy karma.
We should not blame the other party when our notions come to the surface. They probably didn’t even notice that one of our harmful notions was touched upon.
Master said that we should thank him for exposing a harmful notion, because he actually helped us to have a reason to let it go.
Letting Go Is Easy for Me!
If I do not like something, for example, I know right away that it may be because a notion that irritates my heart has been triggered.
Once, when someone parked on the grassy area under my window, I became very upset about it. I knew right away that Master had arranged this so that I could let go of some notion. It happened a couple of times, and I had to release my attachment to that notion several times. Afterward, I noticed that I was no longer excited. After the successful tests, this did not happen again.
Another time, I asked a fellow practitioner to buy me a cappuccino, because I was already cold, and due to language difficulties I couldn’t do it. This happened after a Fa conference, and we were heading home. But he forgot. Of course, this was not a coincidence. Master arranged it! Then I said to the notion, “If you don’t like it that you didn’t get a cappuccino, then I let you go! I do not need you, and it is guaranteed that I will not miss you! I will leave you to Master’s hand!” I used to say similar things during the process of letting go. I subsequently no longer felt that I missed the coveted, good, warm cappuccino. It was very simple.
Another time a young lady was talking to her boyfriend behind me on the bus, but she had such an irritating voice that I even covered my ears while doing the process of letting go several times. As I got over it, I noticed that her voice was no longer irritating.
There was someone I did not like to see because she always talked incessantly. This dislike was caused by an attachment brought to the surface. I was faced with it several times, and made myself let it go every time. She now no longer bothers me, and she doesn’t even seem to talk as much as before.
A family with small, noisy children lives above me. They run around the apartment, throw balls, etc., sometimes until the ceiling shakes. I knew it was all for me! I once noticed (when Master was removing karma from me, and I was in bed) that I was no longer bothered by the children running around.
There are also notions that I call “dislike notions” that are not as strong, such as notions of self-interest, emotions, things one simply doesn’t like, etc., yet they should not be overlooked. So one should pay attention to every little thing!
We need to check to see if our thoughts are human or divine. We should realize if that idea is good or if it is inconsistent with the Fa, then we have to let it go if it is not appropriate.
When the notion suggests harmful thoughts, then one will always be filled with unpleasant feelings due to having negative thoughts. We know that negative thoughts are associated with negative feelings, while positive thoughts affect us in a positive way, which may also make our mood better. This should indicate if you are dealing with notions. There are also notions that do not want us to practice, but rather prioritize some human activities. In such cases, we should immediately catch them and eliminate them.
So it’s not easy to cultivate, but it can be done!
I have noticed many times over the years that the notions that I have let go of in my cultivation are really no longer present and are not missed. As I used to say, “I will let you go! It is guaranteed, I will not miss you! I will leave you in Master’s hands!”
In fact, I enjoy more and more freedom after letting go of notions, and my life has become much less tiresome than before. One of the first tests was letting go of the notion of illness, and I have since been truly illness-free. I characterized the notions as intruders infesting my body like ticks, and if we don’t eliminate them, they will create karma. I subsequently decided that I didn’t need such disgusting things, and it was easy to let them go. As Master explained to us, if we do not remove them, they will rule over us, which they actually did before we cultivated, and therefore we were blind as a bat, because they were hiding the truth from us.
I’ve been in a state where I get out of sync with the Fa, and I know right away that it’s caused by a parasitic notion inside me, so I let it go right away. It is now sufficient to say, “I let you go,” because Master knows that I truly wish it to be removed from me. Even if I am in a conversation with someone and touched by a notion, it is enough to say, “I let you go!”
I told Master in the past that in no way do I want to leave any notions in myself. I really and seriously said that, so I no longer have a problem with letting them go. If a practitioner sincerely wants to eliminate harmful notions, then this method really works.
If Our Righteous Thoughts Are Strong, Anything Is Possible
I would like to tell the new practitioners that at the beginning of cultivation you may have trouble looking inside. I spent a lot of time, without knowing what notions needed to be eliminated. I realized later that it was not important to know the exact notions, but it’s still important to get rid of them. There are so many notions that some don’t have names. Interestingly, when I don’t worry about them, sometimes the eliminated notion comes to mind. My little niece solved it with childlike simplicity, saying, “Whatever hurts me, I let it go!”
When I go to work or go shopping, I always feel fresh and ready to go, and despite my age of 72, I feel as if I am in my thirties. I can do my work in half the time and with half the effort. If someone had told me this ten years ago, I would not have believed it. Outside the apartment, I have no problem, but as soon as I set foot inside, Master will take action and push my karma out of me. I guess that is why it’s so hard sometimes to do the exercises and meditation.
Master said:
“…just one sentence of yours fortified with steadfast righteous thoughts can instantly make the evil disintegrate…” (“Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. International Fa Conference”)
“I’ve said that even people’s thoughts are substances. What you think can materialize and your words, what you say, have a form.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Eastern U.S. Fa Conference, New York 1999”)
I put these two quotes on my computer many years ago. However, if there is any problem, I usually say, “There is no problem! There’s no need to worry!” So the problem will automatically disappear.
These quotes from Master have helped me many times when viewing a problem as a deity and solving it as a disciple.
For example, three years ago my younger brother came home drunk when his children were present. He broke my monitor after I said to him, “Is that the example you want to set for your children?” The strange thing was that I taped the pieces of the monitor together, and even though something was hanging out of it, I said to it, “You are fine! You are healthy! You assimilated to the Fa!” Miraculously, the monitor has worked fine ever since. The same thing happened with the washing machine, but I told it the same thing I told the monitor. I haven’t had a problem with it since, because I had no worries in my heart.
As an ordinary person I experienced many times that when I didn’t worry about something, it always got resolved. Many times I wondered how that could be since I did nothing to resolve it. As a cultivator, I know that the key to solving the problem was that I didn’t worry about it.
I hope my experience can help others. I wish everyone the best on his or her cultivation path.
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Category: Improving Oneself
