(Minghui.org) Master, the founder of Falun Dafa, said,
“To tell you the truth, the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
Master singled out the issue of jealousy among all the human attachments, which indicates how important it is for practitioners to let go of this attachment.
Forms of Jealousy
I found that jealousy manifests in several different ways in me. If non-practitioners have something good, I do not feel jealous. But if fellow practitioners have something good, I will be jealous. I will give some examples.
When I saw that other practitioners had fewer tribulations in their cultivation, I felt jealous, as I believed that their cultivation was much easier than mine. I admired them, but at the same time I wondered why good things didn't come to me. I know that everyone has a different fortune, and their life journey is different from mine, and that I shouldn't compare myself with them. But I found that my jealousy still exists on this issue.
Another form of jealousy apparent in me is my looking down on practitioners whose cultivation I feel is not as good as mine, and whose understanding of the Fa is also not as good. Such practitioners seem very aggressive and give their opinions randomly.
In addition, if I have something good, I can control myself so as not to show it off. But if others can't control their show-off mentality, I criticize them, either to their face or behind their backs. I believe that this is also a kind of jealousy.
Another form of jealousy is that when something bad happens to me, I feel a big relief if it happens to others as well. For example, one day when I was promoting Shen Yun at a shopping center, I hadn't sold any tickets after half the day had passed. I started worrying about it. Then when a fellow practitioner called me and told me that ticket sales weren't good for them either, and I felt a big relief. I didn't realize that I had this kind of mentality.
I heard one day that someone had encountered certain difficulties. My first thought was, “Luckily it didn't happen to me.” I didn't feel sorry for the person upon hearing about their problem. Instead, I felt fortunate because these bad things didn't come to me.
How to Eliminate Jealousy
We need to pay attention to this issue if we really want to get rid of jealousy.
Master said:
“The issue of jealousy is very serious as it directly involves the matter of whether you can complete cultivation practice. If jealousy is not abolished, everything that you have cultivated will become fragile.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
My understanding is that even if a cultivator has let go of many attachments, but jealousy still exists, this could make all the other attachments strengthen again.
In the process of my cultivation, once I noticed my attachment of jealousy surfacing I immediately took notice and recited Master's Fa about jealousy (per above), and then tried to eliminate it.
It is easier to let go of attachments when I study the Fa well and put my faith in Master and Dafa. Master looks after all practitioners, so whether one loses or gains, everything has its predestined relationship.
Master told us how vast the cosmos is. Though I can't imagine how big it really is with my human thinking, I know that my heart has enlarged. I need to be responsible to the Fa, to my sentient beings, and my life.
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Improving Oneself
