(Minghui.org) I am a Falun Dafa practitioner who obtained the Fa in 1998. Master has compassionately protected me for the past 20 years, and my childhood memories are all filled with Dafa. I wanted to share some of my cultivation experiences, especially with young practitioners who are still slacking off in cultivation, because we have all come for the Fa!
I met a practitioner named Uncle Ma a couple of months ago. We shared our cultivation experiences, and since Uncle Ma has been to many places, he told me that he’d rarely seen young practitioners studying the Fa. He told me that I ranked among the top few in persisting to study the Fa and that I should persist until the end. My self-esteem became inflated and I thought that Master was using this practitioner to encourage me. However, while writing this experience sharing article and recollecting what Uncle Ma told me, I no longer felt so full of myself. We have all come for the Fa and it is truly a pity to be deluded in the big dye vat of ordinary human society!
I ran into Uncle Ma about two weeks ago and we shared our cultivation experiences again. He asked, “Why do you think Master mentioned young practitioners who were about 25 years old in his lecture?” I answered, “This was because this group of practitioners were born when Master taught the Fa. They came down to earth wanting to assimilate to Dafa.”
Master said,
“From then on, this happened every year and Gods have been coming down. By the time I started to teach the Fa, those Gods came down like snowflakes—it was just that many. I calculated their ages now, and from when I started to spread the Fa till now, they would be young people around twenty-five years old, many of whom really have not been saved. They were all Gods, coming down to Earth, and they scattered to all areas of the world. Some could not become humans, as there were not that many human skins, so they became animals or plants. Why does the current society have such a high requirement for animal and plant protection in recent years? There are reasons for sure, and it was arranged and led by Gods. No humans see these things clearly, but none of them are simple.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference” )
Eliminating My Attachment to Cellphones
My attachment to cellphones was less prominent when I was diligent in practice. Conversely, I would constantly be on my cellphone when I was slacking off in my cultivation. It was like a drug and I would not be relaxed if my cellphone was taken away. Even after I deleted many applications from my phone, I’d still look for my cellphone to pass time. I grabbed my cellphone as soon as I woke up and would still be on it by the time I went to bed at night. I would think about my cellphone whenever I studied the Fa and I was thus unable to study the Fa with a pure heart. Right after studying the Fa, I would grab my cellphone and start swiping away.
I knew this was something I needed to correct, but I never had any true intention to eliminate the attachment. I did what I felt like doing and was always on my cellphone, never feeling tired of it. However, when it came to studying the Fa, I would feel drowsy after reading just a few pages.
I was reading about one’s false self and one’s true self one day.
Master said,
“In this world a person merely goes about enjoying the course of life. I have said in the past that people are pitiable, for all that a person is doing in this world is merely enjoying the feelings and sensations that are brought to him by living the course of his life. My putting it this way is quite accurate. And why do I say so? Though people think that they are in charge of themselves, deciding what they want to do, the truth is, they are merely pursuing certain feelings as a result of postnatally formed habits and attachments that stem from their likings. And that’s all it is. Whereas what’s really at work, leading that person to want to do something, are factors behind the scenes, which are utilizing the person’s habits, attachments, notions, desires, and such things. Such is the true state of the human body, with the person merely enjoying those feelings and sensations that come about as a result of the life process: when you are given something sweet, you experience the sweetness; given something bitter, you feel the bitterness; given something spicy, you taste the spiciness; you feel awful when suffering befalls you; and you know joy when you are blessed with happiness.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)
I do not want to be a pitiable person who is controlled by feelings and sensations. My true self has been blinded and needs to be in control of myself. I resisted my attachment to using my cellphone and studied the Fa more. I wasn’t as attached to using my cellphone anymore and it was truly like what Master said.
Master said,
“The Fa can break all attachments,...” (“Drive Out Interference,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Eliminating My Attachments to Fame and Profit
My father and I own a tutoring center. As time passed, I began to care about how many students enrolled in my center so that I could make more money. When school reopened in September, I was especially anxious and could not sleep well at night. I was afraid that too few students would enroll in my center. I told people that I didn’t care how many student enrolled, but deep down inside I cared a great deal about it. The more I cared about it, the stronger my attachment became. I was unable to eliminate my attachment and the framework for my tutoring center became narrower and less appealing. I found the root of my problem and realized that I had not changed myself from within. Without changing myself from within, nothing on the surface would change. I began cultivating away my human notions as I studied the Fa more.
Master has said,
“...In the face of tests one’s true nature is revealed...” (“True Nature Revealed,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
When school started in the beginning of September, a parent called me and asked if I was a Falun Dafa practitioner. I told her I was a practitioner. She said that she had known for a long time that I was a practitioner and some parents were considering sending their children to another tutoring school. She asked if I could avoid saying things about Dafa. On the spur of the moment, I told her I was unable to explain the situation very clearly over the phone and shrugged off the matter while hurrying to a cultivation sharing conference at a practitioner’s house.
After coming home from the cultivation sharing conference, I began to think that everything happens for a reason. Perhaps I had a shortcoming somewhere? I began to ask myself if it was righteous to help my students quit the Chinese Communist Party and its youth organizations, or am I afraid to lose in profits over the loss of students? No, I was not attached to losing profit since I know that I am doing the most righteous thing. I continued asking myself several questions and realized that I’d never clarified the truth to the parents. This might be a loophole in my cultivation. Everything happens for a reason so I realized that Master had arranged for me to clarify the truth to her. Thank you, Master! My body felt at ease after I found my attachments. I was very happy and felt like all of the cells and molecules in my body were smiling.
I called the parent the next morning and arranged a time to meet up. I asked for Master’s assistance to save this sentient being. When we met up, the parent began the conversation and I slowly led the conversation to Dafa and clarified the truth to her. After witnessing many Falun Dafa practitioners being illegally detained or persecuted to death, the parent gave me the cold shoulder as I clarified the truth to her. I slowly explained any questions she had, and in the end she still did not support Falun Dafa.
Many students began enrolling in my tutoring center after I let go of my attachment to fame and profit. I felt that Master was encouraging me to walk a righteous path. As long as I believe in Master and believe in the Fa, Master will give me everything that I need. What we let go are all negative things. Everything happens for a good reason. While our gong is increasing, our karma is also being eliminated.
Eliminating the Attachment to Lust and Desire
The more I was exposed to the internet, the stronger my attachment to lust and desire became. I’d watch fitness and diet videos on how to lose weight. I’d also watch skincare videos and buy many skincare products to make my skin look better and fairer. I’d glance in the mirror whenever I came across one. These habits were precursors to a strong attachment to lust and desire.
I had an attachment of wanting to be in a relationship. I knew that being in a relationship would cause one to be fettered by many trivial things and cause one to slack off in cultivation, but I still couldn’t control my desire. I’d be very picky when people arranged for me to go on blind dates. I was introduced to a practitioner’s son one time and contemplated whether to go meet him or not for a week. I had a haircut at the hairdresser during that week and my hairdresser cut my hair very short, like a boy’s style. When I went for the blind date, I didn’t really have any feelings for him but after thinking about how his mother was also a practitioner, I felt a desire to start my own family. When I got home, I was hoping that he would contact me. Some time later, I was told that he I met did not like girls with short hair. I started to feel very upset and all sorts of negative thoughts cropped up. What nerve did he have to look down on me? I hadn’t even liked him either! I was quite upset for a few days and then suddenly realized that this was not my true self. I began eliminating those thoughts and they were gone after a couple of days. I knew that my mentality of “saving face” was hindering me from improving, since my attachments to lust and desire were not relinquished.
Although I’ve realized my attachments, I was never able to eliminate them at the root. I’d always hoped I might meet someone suitable. Perhaps Master saw my attachment and sent Uncle Ma to talk to me. He gave me many examples of young practitioners who had slacked off in cultivation right after marriage and how the old forces were trapping them deeper and deeper within their grasp. Uncle Ma’s last sentence enlightened me: “Why are we here in this human world?” I know that we have come to assist Master in validating the Fa and we shouldn’t be indulging in comfort and seeking happiness. This isn’t true happiness. Then what is true happiness? Being immersed in Dafa is true happiness! Thank you Uncle Ma for enlightening me. Thank you Master for your protection.
Master said,
“Some practitioners have a strong desire for and a strong attachment to eating meat—they usually eat a lot of meat. When others find meat very sickening, they do not feel so and can still eat it. In order to remove this attachment, what should be done? This person will have a stomachache upon eating meat. With abstention from meat, he or she will not have pain. This situation will happen, and it means that one should not eat meat.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
We should study the Fa more often and abide by Dafa’s principles at all times. We need to eliminate our attachments and guide ourselves in accordance with Dafa. Similarly, we know that the attachment to eating meat is something we cultivators have to eliminate. We cannot procrastinate until the last minute until we feel pain in our stomach. Cultivation is not difficult, but it can feel difficult if one cannot give up human notions.
There are still many young practitioners like me who’ve come for the Fa. We shouldn’t be deluded in ordinary human society. Will we be worthy of our true selves and Master’s compassionate salvation if we aren’t diligent? Let’s be diligent and be a pillar of strength while assisting Master in validating the Fa.
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