(Minghui.org) After I registered for a social media account on May 2018, I noticed many other practitioners on this platform, clarifying the truth, and talking about their cultivation experiences. Even those practitioners who often appear on television were on this platform and sometimes our discussions were lively and happy. I gradually added many good friends, uploaded posts, and read other people’s posts. I made many new friends—both practitioners and non-practitioners.
I live far away from my hometown, and there are no practitioners near me. I clarified the truth on social media and depended on it to make up for the loneliness that I felt in my solitary cultivation. For a period of time, I even treated it as a “treasured place” where practitioners exchanged their cultivation experiences. Over time, I noticed some things: One was that I was so attracted to it that checking my social media account became a habit—I often subconsciously opened it. Not only did this waste my time, it also made it hard for me to calm down. Second, I noticed that the field there was not pure. As my cultivation level improved and the people that I met there increased, this feeling became even stronger.
I gradually came to feel that social media platforms are places where good and bad people were all mixed in. Many of the practitioners’ discussions there were not totally pure. Some contained elements of the attachment to fighting with others, showing off, bearing grudges, etc. Some of the words they used were not usually used in Dafa cultivation, sometimes they scolded others. These conversations attract people who have the same attachments and they might not even realize it themselves. When I compared them with the cultivation experience sharing articles that have gone through strict audit screenings before being posted on Minghui.org, in terms of the pureness of the language and inner state of the practitioner and of studying the Fa well, these conversations are of no comparison.
I'm not writing this to criticize those practitioners who clarify the truth or validate the Fa through social media. I also don't think that practitioners should stop using this platform to talk to people. Every cultivation level has its own realm and standards and every practitioner should rationally walk their own path. Whether one uses social media or not can only be decided by the individual. But we should not let it aid the growth of our own or other people’s attachments.
Master said,
“Minghui.org provides Dafa disciples with a forum for sharing and exchanging ideas, while also offering non-practitioners a window into our world. So you can share whatever ideas you have through the site.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.”)
Minghui.org is watched over by Master so there will not be any big problems. The other few limited websites that are set up by practitioners such as pureinsight.org are also fine.
I'm writing this article to expose the problems I see in myself and fellow practitioners on social media that do not match the requirement of the Fa. I'd like to share my thoughts about this matter, my cultivation process of how I grew from liking to disliking social media and finally forsaking it totally. I hope my experiences serve as a reference for fellow practitioners.
Deleting My Social Media Accounts
Last summer, I felt that the environment on social media was too chaotic—I often noticed people scolding or fighting with others, and low-class behavior, including conflicts between practitioners. My attachment to social media had already grown large and it took up too much of my time. I decided to delete all my social media accounts.
Initially, I couldn’t totally let go. I kept thinking of going back to see what other people posted and what the people I usually interacted with said. I felt that if I did not take a look, I would miss out on some good discussions. But rationally I knew that most of these things could sway people’s hearts and cause others tribulations. I firmly decided that I would not restart the application. After a few days, I was able to totally let go and not think about it. One month later, my account was automatically deleted.
There was another important reason for deleting my social media account. I understood that I should not show off to others. Doing the three things quietly without letting people know is the greatest thing to do. I spent the whole day uploading posts—it may seem good to tell others what I did but now I feel that it was just doing extra work. Didn't I have a hidden attachment to showing off? If not, then what was my motive?
I liked using social media because I had many attachments and incorrect notions. Thus when I was together with those people who share similar attachments, I felt good. This social platform provided “nutrients” and a breeding ground for these attachments. After I basically let go of all those filthy attachments, my cultivation level improved. I stopped thinking about my account. Now, when I think about some of the things I said to show I was capable and to show off, I feel ashamed.
In fact, how high others cultivate has nothing to do with me; how well or badly I cultivate also has nothing to do with others. There is no need to keep looking at how others are doing. Of course, cultivation exchanges are necessary but we need to do more looking inward to find our own deficiencies. From Zhuan Falun, we know that cultivation and improving in our cultivation levels all depend on ourselves. Thus, making full use of our time to walk our own path is how mighty virtue is built.
I no longer open the social media app subconsciously every day. I no longer have this disturbance. Instead, I have time to study the Fa. Master said,
“As Dafa disciples, when you have time you should study the Fa, because you are a cultivator—what else do you do if you do not study the Fa? With the time remaining, if you can save more people, that will be good!” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference”)
I now focus on memorizing Zhuan Falun and Master's other lectures. I practice the exercises diligently, increase the frequency of sending forth righteous thoughts, etc. By doing so, I am able to attain a clear and clean mind. I've become more efficient in writing articles to clarify the truth. I feel very gratified.
My speed of memorizing the Fa has also increased. Sometimes I can memorize one entire lecture in Zhuan Falun in a day. I'm now memorizing Zhuan Falun for the 14th time. The more I memorize it, the more familiar I am with it—now I can study the Fa with other practitioners without the book.
My Attachments and Incorrect Notions
1) Show-Off Mentality
Showing off is a prominent attachment that I used to have. This is also the main reason why I could not let go of using social media to make friends, leave comments and upload my status posts. My show-off mentality manifested in various ways. One was to show how many friends I had on my account. I often uploaded my thoughts on cultivation, the experiences I had that day, what nice food I ate, etc.
I even cared about the number of “likes” I or other people had. I also liked to see how other people were doing. I observed which practitioner looked young and attractive, which two practitioners got married, who speaks with “character,” who had more talent and skills, who is different from others, etc.
I uploaded funny and cute posts to attract people’s attention. Subconsciously, I wanted others to notice me. I also wanted others to feel that I was knowledgeable, I complimented myself, etc. Behind all that was a deeply hidden dark and dirty selfish heart. I am just a regular practitioner and I still have many shortcomings. There is nothing to be proud of. Furthermore, we're all just practitioners. If not for Master’s salvation, we would all be following the old universe which would ultimately disintegrate and be eliminated.
Sometimes, I also imitated other practitioners’ way of speaking and their tone. I even paid attention to those practitioners who were attractive or dressed more fashionably. However, I did not use the Fa to judge what is right and wrong. This behavior itself is not correct. In the end, I realized that those practitioners who are glamorous on the surface may not have cultivated well and still had many human attachments. Some practitioners were still attached to fighting and vying with others. They still had not achieved even the basic compassion that cultivators should practice. When I understood that many things that I learned from them were wrong, I immediately corrected myself based on the Fa.
In fact, those practitioners who have cultivated well are usually unpretentious. The attachment to showing off causes people to focus on surface appearances and neglect the true nature. It may even cause other attachments such as comparing oneself with others, and jealousy, to grow. It can even lead to the attachment to reputation.
Most non-practitioners feel that only by showing off is their life meaningful. But after practitioners eliminate this attachment, they will discover that showing off is silly.
2) Attachment to Fighting with Others
The reason I paid attention to those practitioners who are good at fighting with others was because I also had that attachment. I felt happy when I was able to win over people who did not agree with my viewpoint. If someone did not talk to me in a good tone, I would resent that person. I actually lacked tolerance and compassion. I would even fight with the people who were being employed by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) to slander Dafa through social media.
We know that fighting with others is one of the most prominent displays of CCP culture. The CCP uses this element to destroy mankind’s traditional culture and universal values and to annihilate humanity. The Party promotes “fighting with others” and being “shrewd.” This behavior goes against the universe’s characteristics of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. There is no such content in Dafa or the new universe—the great enlightened beings are benevolent.
Dafa practitioners need to cultivate compassion and a high level of forbearance. Forbearance includes being benevolent towards living beings and saving them. People who are unkind are actually harming themselves, so we must either point it out to them benevolently or stay far away from them. Fighting with others will cause us to drop in our cultivation levels.
With regards to how to treat those people who are being used by the CCP to slander Dafa, Master also said,
“If you happen to see the evil badmouthing us online, just do your best to ignore it, of course. It will disappear if you pay it no heed. The more attention you give it, the more it will feed off of that.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.”)
3) Being Unable to Calm Down
Sometimes, I could not stand the loneliness of cultivating alone. I kept thinking of finding someone to talk to. If I helped a person understand the facts about Dafa, I would quickly send a post on social media. It was as if I did not post it, no one would know.
Another practitioner pointed out that finding others to chat with may be disturbing their cultivation. Doing this was committing a bad deed and thus I was not only harming others, I was also harming myself. I did not completely agree. I realized that the “feeling” of being lonely was an issue I needed to overcome through improving my cultivation.
Master said,
“It seems that young people tend to have ambitions in life that are unrealistically high, so they might have a hard time settling down with what they do. But as Dafa disciples, you should be steady and sincere with whatever you are doing, since yours is a spiritual life. People in the past managed to become divine by subjecting themselves to nine years of hardship, where they would refrain from all activity, sitting in meditation facing a wall—and they became divine through it. Although some of our work to save people might be lonesome, you are at least doing something. (Applause)” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference,” Team Yellow Translation)
“People usually want to do things that are more visible, and where others can see what they have accomplished. They’d like it to be seen by others, if not Master. Otherwise it might bother them on some level. But actually, there are so many eyes in the cosmos intently watching you that the number is simply unimaginable. Even a single particle of matter is packed full of these eyes—even the tiniest of particles are. All of the lives in the cosmos are intently watching all that Dafa disciples do. And divine beings are among these. Your every thought and action are being recorded, and more vividly than video recording—everything is recorded multi-dimensionally. So what you are doing is for the divine to see, not man.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.”)
4) Being Attached to Changes in Human Society
When the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement began in Hong Kong, I watched the unfolding events every day. After more than a year, not only does the Valiant Frontier disappear, there is no Democratic Party in Hong Kong's legislative council. The CCP passed the National Security Law for Hong Kong, which is used to arrest many people. The CCP resorts to extreme measures to control the coronavirus epidemic so the confirmed cases and fatalities in China seem few. On the surface it looks as though the CCP has “succeeded.” I told people that Trump would definitely be sworn in on January 20, 2021. In the end, Biden was sworn in.
When political events happened, my heart was stirred. Many matters which I kept following up with basically all ended up with nothing definite. Only when all my expectations and hopes were dashed did I realize that I was actually childish. I wrongly treated the changing situation as the final result. How can we know which day Fa rectification will end? If we know the answer, won’t the biggest mystery be disclosed? Will our cultivation after that still count? Therefore no practitioners will be able to know when that day will come.
One practitioner posted an update about the dream he had and I was very excited most of the day. Others talked about prophecies which did not come true in the end. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. My heart went up and down such that I could not quiet myself down nor could I sit still.
5) Jealousy
I often criticized the current CCP leader. Some practitioners defended him and I just could not contain my anger when I saw their comments. Later, I realized that my complaint and hatred was jealousy. Now, no matter what I hear other people say about him, my mood no longer gets affected.
We cannot see the truth and we should not draw any conclusions. As cultivators, people who are walking the path towards divinity, we should not scold people or get angry no matter what they do. The divine ones do not complain about others, instead they are forever in a benevolent state.
Only when one does not have any jealousy, he has no complaints or hatred. Instead, he has great tolerance for others. With true compassion he is able to save people—he will only think of wanting people to become good instead of having negative thoughts about them.
Some Practitioners’ Issues
Some practitioners cultivate more diligently, while others are less diligent. Some cultivate more in-depth, while others cultivate on the surface. There are also veteran and new practitioners. On top of that, they have different attachments, differences in their understanding of the Fa, suspicions, and misunderstandings, which are loopholes the old forces can use to create disturbances.
I feel this is why practitioners’ environment on social media is so complicated. I also think this is due to some practitioners not being rational and not studying the Fa well enough.
When some practitioners’ attachments are provoked they become very agitated and indignant. Some of their posts reflect too many human attachments and these practitioners will keep following the posts, arguing non-stop even trying to prove that they are correct using distorted ways. These behaviors tarnish the image of a Dafa practitioner. When there is a sentence that does not match one’s opinion, he will "unfollow" and even block that person, which are displays of unkindness. Some make a fuss over other practitioners’ mistakes.
What is worse is that some practitioners openly talk badly about others behind their backs. When they see something in a practitioner whom they do not know well, they make assumptions and say negative things about them (this may be due to jealousy).
Master said,
“You are all fellow practitioners. Do you think you’re enemies? You are here on this earth working toward the same goal of saving people, so you should be the closest of kin and be helping one another. Do you find someone annoying? That person’s outward appearance and behavior are only what’s present here in this human world. Weren’t all of you originally divine? I don’t think your divine side would possibly find someone annoying. You need to view things as a cultivator.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the New York Fa Conference Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Dafa’s Spreading”)
Master also said,
“I often see some people who, when right, won’t let others be; when this type of person is right he has finally found grounds for mistreating others. Similarly, we shouldn’t stir up conflict if we disagree with certain things. The things you dislike might at times not necessarily be wrong.” (Chapter III: Cultivation of Character, Falun Gong)
Conclusion
Using social media exposed many of my attachments. Now I feel that these platforms lure cultivators in, and inflate their attachments. I am really grateful to Master that I no longer have the urge to use social media.
I feel it’s fine to use social media to clarify the truth and validate the Fa but we must be mindful and make sure we meet the standards for practitioners during the process and we must also get rid of our attachments. Practitioners should not openly criticize or fight with each other on these platforms. If we notice that someone has a problem, we can point it out privately.
We must study the Fa more and try our best to understand the Fa well, maintain the rational and benevolence of a Dafa practitioner and an attitude that tries to understand everything with kindness. We should not let social media become a stumbling block to our cultivation.
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Category: Improving Oneself
