(Minghui.org) After reading an article on the Minghui website, I felt it important to share my experience regarding predestined relationships.
During our group Fa-study, a lot of practitioners will leave right after we are done reading Master’s Fa. That is not what Master planned for us. We should discuss our experiences and create an environment that will help us elevate our levels.
Master said:
“Study the Fa and gain the Fa, Focus on how you study and cultivate,Let each and every thing be measured against the Fa.Only then, with that, is it actually cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)
After we study the Fa together, practitioners will share their cultivation experiences and how they can improve to meet the standard of the Fa, or how they enlightened to something new during the week. This can serve as a reference for other practitioners who face similar tribulations or tests. Studying together and sharing our cultivation experiences is the true purpose of group Fa-study. When one really focuses on Fa-study, one will be able to hold themselves to the standard of the Fa when dealing with any kind of issue. They will also be able to judge whatever they see or hear with the standard of the Fa.
Understanding Through Similarities
Our situation is similar to that in the Minghui article, A Wake-up Call for Each of Us—Lessons Learned from the Death of a Fellow Practitioner. The article mentioned that if fellow practitioners had kindly told Ms. Chen that climbing out her window on the fourth floor was an idea imposed by the old forces and not thoughts a righteous practitioner should have, she may not have passed away after falling from a four-story building. They could have shared experiences and helped her elevate in her cultivation state. Because Dafa practitioners are one body, helping each other to elevate is our duty. I don’t want to blame anyone, but just hope we can do better on our future cultivation journey.
Everyone knows that it hasn’t been easy to arrive to today, especially for the practitioner in the aforementioned article. Ms. Chen went out to clarify the truth daily and did a great job, but she missed out on some key aspects of Dafa cultivation, which are to study the Fa, look within, and cultivate oneself. Her fellow practitioners should not only listen to how she escaped from prison by holding righteous thoughts but should also help her figure out why she was constantly arrested by the police. Only by figuring out why she was constantly harassed, either by looking within on her own or with the help of other practitioners, would she be able to elevate and reject the persecution by the old forces.
We must not praise fellow practitioners when they are doing well, and we need to point out their faults when we see issues.
Old Forces Plan
One day after Fa-study, Mei [pseudonym] asked me to share with another practitioner after Mei heard that the practitioner was going through sickness karma. I told Mei that she should talk to the practitioner. The practitioner with the sickness karma was very capable but often did not pass the individual cultivation test. I pointed this out to that practitioner many times, and I even got a little annoyed, because Mei and other practitioners were relying on me too much.
Perhaps I came off a little too strong, and no one pointed it out to me that this could be the old forces’ plans. That night, I dreamed that a person dressed in black said to another person dressed in black: “She [i.e., me] will be the first to go.” The next morning when I went out to clarify the truth, I did not reject the dream and thought, “I am still here, aren’t I?” I decided to save more people, so I took double the amount of truth-clarification pamphlets than I normally would. When I was almost finished distributing them in an apartment complex, I noticed a camera on the first floor. I sent forth righteous thoughts so that the camera would not see me. I left the apartment complex and went to another area.
Even though this did not affect my clarifying the truth, not all the residents in the area had the chance to be saved. On my way home, I ran into a guy and decided to clarify the truth to him; then I realized that he was a psychotic patient.
I thought, “Something was off today. Normally, I would see or know which floors in the apartment complex have cameras because practitioners all have supernormal powers. But somehow I didn’t see it today, and I did not reject the dream I had last night. Dafa disciples don’t belong to any other gods. The old forces do not have the right to test Dafa disciples. So, why did I have this kind of a dream?”
After looking within, I realized that I took other practitioners' trust as a burden and reliance on me, and I put myself above other practitioners. I thought that a cultivator wouldn’t be persecuted by the old forces because they have cultivated well. Since I accepted this thought, I was persecuted by the old forces. After sending forth righteous thoughts for many hours to eliminate that bad thought, I went out the next day, and everything was back to normal.
Seeking Advice
When Mei sees a problem with another practitioner and seeks a third person to talk to that practitioner, there is nothing wrong with that. If there is a problem, isn’t it an opportunity for us to cultivate? If we don’t do it well, aren't we losing an opportunity to cultivate and elevate? Cultivation isn’t about how much of Fa we’ve studied, how many truth-clarification projects we’ve done, or how many people we have saved, it is about how we look within and cultivate when dealing with conflicts, and whether or not we can guide our behavior and measure others’ behavior with the Fa. If we can measure everything with the Fa, it means that we have truly learned the Fa. When Master sees that we have elevated our character, he will help us grow our gong columns and elevate our levels. When a practitioner wants to find other practitioners to help with an issue they see, at least he/she is thinking of others.
There are some practitioners who come to Fa-study several times a week but do not see any problems. They are categorized into two groups. One never does the three things well, has a hard time telling what is right or wrong, and doesn’t have righteous thoughts. The other group is very diligent in cultivation, but their human emotions stop them from going forward to point out any issues. They need to let go of their human attachments and emotions before they can elevate.
When we talk about caring, some practitioners often offer money or things, or provide living assistance. This is caring but is not truly caring. To those who are in the middle of an illness tribulation, we should help them strengthen their righteous thoughts and look inward for the root cause. When they elevate their xinxing, they will walk out of the fake mist naturally and jump out of their human notions. Master would then remove the bad substance, and their body would be rectified. We shouldn’t ignore a simple reminder and encouragement.
Master has told us in each of the lectures, to study the Fa more and that we should really understand the Fa. Only when we understand the Fa, can we absorb the Fa and apply it to guide us when dealing with conflicts and issues. If practitioners study the Fa well and learn it, everything they do will be fine, but if one does not study the Fa well, then everything will be off.
[Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)]
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
