(Minghui.org) Some problems we encounter in our cultivation look difficult on the surface. But when we change our notions by not following human reasoning and aren’t interfered with by false thinking, we will find that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
I am going to share with fellow practitioners a few small things that I have learned in recent years.
1. Looking Inside When Seeing Others’ Problems, Getting Rid of Accumulated Human Notions
I know a Falun Dafa practitioner who has very strong deviated thoughts. Oftentimes, people don’t understand her words and actions. I have had a bad opinion and a lot of notions about her over the years. I don’t want to keep these notions, but I can’t get rid of them, either. I feel okay if I don’t interact with her, but once I do I get upset for several days. This made me very distressed.
One day, I thought I need to elevate by cultivating my xinxing. Whenever I see her, I should look inside. One day, we were both studying the Fa at our local group. That day I was in a very good state of mind and was enlightened to many Fa principles. After studying the Fa, this fellow practitioner started to share her experience; she repeated the same old stuff without stopping. When I saw her that day I thought I needed to look inside: Am I showing off and expressing myself like she is?
When I looked inside, to my surprise, I did not feel disgusted with her anymore; there were no negative thoughts at all. I was there watching her with joy and felt a bit happy with her. What kind of state was that? It wasn’t that she was showing off and I had to be forgiving of her; nor was it that she was showing off and was pitiable and I had to have compassion for her. I was just cheerfully looking at her talking, without any thoughts, calmly, peacefully and joyfully.
I realized that this can be achieved by studying the Fa and looking inside, by holding the attitude of just looking at myself, instead of looking at others. And there’s no need to discuss right and wrong on the surface human level.
2. When Facing Conflicts, Avoid Human Reasoning and Thinking
Not long ago, my nephew who just graduated from college said a swear word to me without warning or reason. I was stunned and shocked.
I didn’t believe he was targeting me because I never provoked him. It took me two days before I realized that he was in fact targeting me. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. All the bygones were turning up and evil human thoughts kept popping up.
I believe that the evil thoughts in my mind are not befitting of a cultivator; I can’t keep using human reasoning to live my life. If one thinks using human reasoning, isn’t he or she human? I am a cultivator. I have to use a higher level of reasoning and should view things at a very high level.
But I can’t help but feel upset even though I understand the rationale. I asked myself: Are there any ordinary people who curse gods? Surely there are. Will gods be angry? Definitely not. Then as a practitioner walking on the path of godhood, I should be compassionate to all sentient beings. I have to treat my nephew as a sentient being and treat him well. Besides, if a Dafa disciple has a conflict with an ordinary person, it is definitely the Dafa disciple’s fault. I’m sure he had a reason to swear at me, and I must have said something that was not in line with the Fa.
When I thought about it, I realized that it was really because I had done things that were not in line with the Fa; things driven by greed. In addition, for a long time, I had no good feelings towards my nephew. I believed that most children in mainland China are extremely selfish, cold-hearted, and cruel. This notion makes it difficult for me to have compassion for sentient beings, and my evil thoughts manifest as a result. In fact, the evil Party’s indoctrination is destroying him. He is already miserable, so I should do better. If a Dafa disciple does well, he or she can save sentient beings; if he or she does not do well, it will lead to a loss of life.
3.The Power of Dafa, Master’s Immeasurable Compassion
I was forced to divorce when I was persecuted at the forced labor camp and lost my home. A few years ago, my sister let me stay at one of her homes. Then one day, my sister (a widow) told me that it was too cold in the winter, and that her house was too far from her workplace, while it was especially close to mine. She wanted to live with me starting in September and stay for the winter. I agreed verbally. But in my heart, I was very reluctant, thinking, “How can I spend the winter with her here? It’s going to interfere with me!” But the home is hers, so I could not say anything. I felt upset and angry. I knew that it was useless to worry about it, so I might just as well not think about it. There were still two months until September, so we’d talk about it then and I let go of my attachment.
At the beginning of September, my worries had all but disappeared. One Sunday, my sister suddenly moved over her quilts and other things that she wanted to use for her long-term stay. I was busy helping her clean up her room. At night I thought, “She is already here, she is already here. It’s just four months. I would just give up these four months, I want to serve her well so that she can never forget how good I am, I want to show her what a Dafa disciple looks like.” I asked her what she’d like to have for breakfast and what time was good for her.
The next morning I got up, finished my exercises and showed her what time a Dafa disciple gets up every day. I cooked breakfast for her. Before she left for work, I asked her what she would have for lunch and dinner. Soon after, she called me and said that her department was moving to a place very close to her home and very far from my place. She was given half a month to move and wouldn’t stay at my place anymore.
I was so excited and relaxed that I felt as free as a bird flying in the sky. I felt grateful for Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa, for his meticulous care and immeasurable compassion. The arrangement was to have her department relocated instead of having the ordinary person interfere with a Dafa disciple doing the three things.
Not long ago, a fellow practitioner was in the same situation as me. Because her sister was interfering with her, their relationship was falling apart, and she was moving out of her sister’s house. I told her about my story, “Don’t feel that people are always interfering with you, that they can’t touch you. If things don’t go your way, you will think it’s interference. You should think about your sister and understand her suffering.”
After that, the practitioner put aside her ego and was genuinely kind to her sister. Not long after, because of the pandemic, her sister went back to her own home. When she left, her sister asked for an amulet and sincerely begged Master for help in times of danger. In the past, her sister could not have believed in Dafa in this way.
Speaking about this, I remembered that fellow practitioners who have been in similar tribulations for a long time as mentioned above have said something like, “Maybe I owe him, so I’ll pay back the debt!” I feel that this is an expression of hopelessness.
Master said,
“If upon encountering trying circumstances your thinking can be truly righteous, then, when faced with the evil’s persecution and when faced with interference, just one sentence of yours fortified with steadfast righteous thoughts can instantly make the evil disintegrate (applause), and it will make those who are being used by the evil turn and flee, it will make the evil’s persecution of you dissolve, and it will make the evil’s interfering with you disappear without a trace. One thought born of righteous faith is all it takes. And whoever can hold firm that righteous thought and go the distance will become a magnificent god forged by Dafa.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. VII)
In the midst of tribulations, when we can’t disintegrate the interference we should keep looking inside. When we really change our notions and understand the Fa from the Fa’s perspective, the interference will surely disappear immediately.
My level is limited. Please point out with your compassion if there is anything not in line with the Fa.
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Category: Improving Oneself
