(Minghui.org) I am a young practitioner who began to cultivate with my family when I was a youngster – 20 years ago. My steadfastness in cultivation, yet being polluted in the big dye vat of ordinary society, had led me to be diligent, but also made me slack off at times.
The Dangers of Modern Technology
My most prominent attachment is my addiction to the cellphone, which I use at my workplace, as well as in my daily life. The first thing I do every morning is to check my cellphone for any new messages. I would even check my cellphone while stopping at a traffic light, and during breaks at work. I knew perfectly well that the messages I receive on my cellphone carry negative substances, but due to my boredom, I was reluctant to stop using my phone.
One of my family members, also a practitioner, reminded me numerous times of my addiction to my cellphone. I dd not heed his advice and was in complete denial. I continued to be on my phone, using work as an excuse.
Master said:
“No matter what it is, be it on television or on a computer, it enters once you look at it. As more of these bad things are loaded up in your brain and body, they end up dominating your actions. Your speech, your mode of thinking, your perspective on things—all of it will be affected.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)
At first I wanted to make good use of what I learned to talk to people about Falun Dafa and fulfill my historic responsibilities. Master Li (the founder) has taken much effort to arrange the best path for me. My job is very ideal, the working environment is relatively pure and simple, and on top of that my salary is also very good. As I depended more on materialistic things, I gradually forgot what my true intention was. Upon coming across an issue, I would have strong thoughts to validate myself, forgetting that it is Master Li who has given me everything. As a result, I was deeply submerged in the attachment to fame and fortune.
I once thought that I stood aloof from worldly success and monetary values, but as time passed, I started to look down on people who earned less than I, and became very biased. I would often show off. Whenever my supervisors praised me, I would be very delighted and pleased. When I encountered a problem, I would argue and dispute.
My attachment of holding a grudge and negative thoughts were especially prominent. At this moment, when I pause and recollect, many times when my supervisors assigned me a project, my first thoughts were very negative. The negativity would evolve into holding a grudge against my supervisors. These strong attachments of negativity made me feel very uncomfortable at my workplace, therefore I was unable to cooperate. I would even share these negative thoughts with other coworkers, hoping to justify myself that I was right. My coworkers and friends said: “What happened to you? You never had these things bother you before.”
Dream Reveals My Deviation from the Fa
One evening I dreamed I was on a huge elevator dropping down from the 69th level at a really fast speed. When I woke up, I knew that I had seriously deviated from the Fa. I still could not calm down to read Zhuan Falun, even if I read the Fa, my mind would be polluted with other thoughts.
Master said:
“Dafa disciples go about their lives alongside ordinary people as part of the illusory ordinary society, and are really susceptible to drifting along with the tide in their way of thinking, at least in some regards.” (“What is a Dafa Disciple,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)
I am an example of drifting along with the tide. Master has tried numerous times to enlighten me through my coworker’s words. One day, I met with an issue at work. I started to complain when I got back to my desk: “Why are my clients always so hard to communicate with? They don’t think that I am capable, they would just walk away. Why can’t they be more cooperative? They are so selfish! This is absolutely ridiculous.”
My coworker heard me mumbling and said, “Your clients are a reflection of yourself. You barely listen to the supervisors and always have your own ego and reasoning. Well, now your clients will do the same by not cooperating either. Look at me, I am very obedient, so all my clients are very cooperative. I barely have any problems with them.”
I felt very remorseful after listening. After having practiced Dafa for 20 years, I have become even worse than an ordinary person. All my mindset and actions are distorted, I am selfish and not compassionate. If people were to know that I was a Falun Dafa practitioner, I would be diminishing Dafa’s image. I am hounded by the modern ideology – my ways of thinking are very distorted. For the sake of my reputation, I always tried to present myself as being perfect. However, whatever I wanted to present wasn’t sincere at all, in the end it was just a way to validate myself.
A long time client of mine told me: “When I first met you, I knew you were different from others. You were compassionate and pure. That is why I liked cooperating with you. You were able to help me in many ways. Each time after chatting with you I felt my mind being cleansed. However, I have to say that during the most recent year, you’ve changed. I think you are now no different than the public. If truth be told, you are no longer the person I used to know.”
I was very depressed and my mind was filled with negative thoughts for many months. I claimed to be oblivious to what Master had gone through for us, but in reality, I was just in denial. I knew that as long as I studied the Fa, Master will push me forward. But due to the lack of Fa-study, and not being able to walk a righteous path, my workload increased tremendously. I yearned for a break from work, so I could focus on studying the Fa. But, when I took a break, I used the excuse of needing to rest and sleep not to study the Fa. When I did have time, I would be glued to the screen, watching movies.
Frightening Dream
I vividly remember a dream. As a matter of fact, it really wasn’t a dream. A skeleton held tightly onto my neck, with its legs crossed over my torso. It wanted to come into my body. It was very frightening. Although my body was sleeping, my consciousness was still very clear. This skeleton had long pointed nails that dug deep into my skin and every piece of its icy bones was glued onto me. I was truly afraid. I did not know how to remove myself. As I turned my head abruptly, I saw my cellphone. A thought crossed in my mind immediately, this skeleton was actually a transformation of the phone that I clung to every day. The longer I am on the phone, the stronger this substance will be in another dimension.
What should I do? With all that is going on, I thought of Master. I used every single bit of my consciousness and yelled: “Master Li Hongzhi, please save me! Master Li Hongzhi, please save me!” I yelled for quite a long time before that substance actually vanished. It was very unwilling to leave, because it claimed: “You are the cause of this.”
When I finally opened my eyes, I was covered with sweat, yet I tightly grabbed onto my blankets. I could still feel the pain from the skeleton’s hands around my neck. Cellphones are truly a transformation of demons that have come to distort and destroy mankind. I would like to remind all young practitioners – be more vigilant with the cellphones you have in your hands. It is the gateway for the huge monster’s poison. At the beginning, it provides you with a convenience in your life and work as you slowly begin to trust it and depend on it. You will unconsciously immerse yourself to a point when you cannot withdraw yourself. It will then control you, take over, and occupy everything from your energy to your time, and your righteous thoughts. For cultivators, its ultimate goal is to demolish you.
CCP Virus Affects Change
When the CCP virus attacked the world in the beginning of 2020, I realized how tight time is. At the beginning I was blindly following the news, at times I would be frustrated, while at other times I would be scared. Because of this pandemic, our break was extended. All my pursuits to life were temporarily on hold. I was finally able to open up and study Dafa books, and everything is slowly heading towards a good direction.
The Attachment of Comfort and Laziness Is Like a “Poisoned Apple” on the Road of Cultivation
Seeking comfort has made me more materialistic. My sleep schedule has also been irregular. I have been waking up late in the mornings and going to bed late at night. I would sleep for 12 hours straight, and a practitioner in my family advised me to do the exercises in the morning. But, I did not remotely consider that.
I listened to an overseas experience sharing a couple of days ago. Though overseas practitioners are not living in the Chinese evil environment where they can be persecuted and illegally detained, many media practitioners in Hong Kong are exposed to teargas grenades while doing a live broadcast. Their stories filled me with admiration. They’ve taken on huge responsibilities and still persisted in waking up early in the morning to do the exercises. As for me, how can I still lay in bed on my break?
Master said:
“Have you ever thought of the fact that practicing cultivation is the best form of rest? You can obtain the kind of rest that can’t be obtained through sleeping. Nobody would say: “The exercises are making me so tired that I can’t do anything today.” One would only say: “The exercises are making my whole body relaxed and at ease. I don’t feel sleepy after a sleepless night. I feel full of energy.” (Lecture at the First Conference in North America)
I have enlightened to the fact that waking up early every morning to do the exercises is also a form of cooperation. I need to relinquish the attachment of comfort and be more cooperative. I started to do the exercises in the morning. I am still doing the second standing exercise for half-an-hour, I will try harder to catch up with other practitioners who are doing it for an hour.
Today I had a dream at 3:50 a.m. I was in a big classroom and was sitting in the first row. The teacher was passing out test results and I scored a total of 89.5 points. Upon looking closely at the test results, I originally scored 86 points but had an extra 3.5 points added, making it 89.5 points.
I understood that the extra 3.5 points were for me waking up at 3:50 a.m. Thank you, Master!
After persisting in doing the exercises in the mornings, my physical state has gotten better. It seems like my compassionate side and positive side have come back. My negative thoughts and all distractions have slowly been replaced by righteous thoughts. Thank you Master for protecting me.
The above experience sharing reminds me and other young practitioners not to let time slip by and to eliminate modern thoughts and actions. Through these toughest of times, we must purify ourselves and cultivate well.
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