(Minghui.org) Why do all cultivation practices regard sex and lust as a serious hurdle? My understanding is that they are low-level things that do not even exist in the divine world. Thus, whoever has those attachments cannot elevate.
Many of the things in the human world are extensions of the divine world. For example, there is food in the human world, but the food in the divine world is more delicious; human beings wear clothes and accessories, but such things are more splendid in heaven; there are buildings in the human world, but the divine temples are more magnificent; there are things that sparkle in the human world, while the divine world is shining and luminous everywhere; and in our world, women put on makeup to look good, while the complexion of divine beings is naturally smooth and delicate.
These things exist in both the divine and the human worlds. The higher the level of the divine world, the more wonderful and cleaner it is. Many of the cultural elements in our human world have been passed down from the divine.
However, sex and lust do not exist in the divine world. They come from the qing of the human world and only exist at the lowest level of the cosmos. Even everyday people consider sex vulgar.
As cultivators, we want to get rid of all bad things, including sex and lust. They are dirty, bad elements that attract low-level spirits and rotten ghosts and create interference for cultivators.
Cultivation Means Letting Go of Everyday People’s Notions
Dafa created different states and living environments for beings with different xinxing. The environment for gods is completely different from that of human beings—some gods do not wear clothes and some are invisible. As cultivators, we need to let go of all notions, including those regarding sex, that we have formed in the human world.
In The Cultivation Story of Milarepa Buddha, Milarepa was cultivating in a cave for such a long time that all his clothes fell apart and disintegrated. One day his sister found the cave. She saw him naked and felt ashamed. Milarepa put the sweater that she’s brought him over his private part so that she wouldn’t be embarrassed, but he himself had no feeling or attachment about it. “If the protruding part of the lower body is shameful,” he said, “then the hands, the feet, the head, the fingers, everything that protrudes should be shameful.”
On the other hand, while giving up the attachment to sex and lust, as Dafa disciples we should not be afraid to find a mate and get married, since we cultivate and live in the human world. This may be how the people of the future cultivate. The key here is whether we see ourselves as cultivators.
But some practitioners want to continue to behave sexually as they did before, claiming that they are just conforming to everyday people’s lifestyle. They think they can still rise above the Three Realms and reach consummation. I feel that behaving that way is being irresponsible to one’s cultivation.
There is another situation: Some practitioners were on the alert to sex and lust when they first started to cultivate. But after several years, they surpassed everyday people’s level and saw that lust is just a tiny issue. They then went to the other extreme and stopped paying attention to it at all. Some flirted with practitioners of the opposite sex; some started talking about cultivation matters but then went off-track to stir up the other person’s desires; some young practitioners behaved inappropriately while they were dating; and some used explicit sexual language or images in public articles or videos.
After the Fa rectifies the human world, will human beings still do these things? Obviously not. Sexual liberation is simply a massive exposure of demon nature and is not in line with human norms. This deviated concept can lead people to do evil things.
We Dafa disciples should take this issue seriously since it is our responsibility to create the foundation for the people of the future and lead them back to tradition. This is also to safeguard Dafa and to assimilate to Dafa at the lowest level! Whatever Dafa disciples are doing now is for the people of the future to learn from. It is by no means a trivial issue.
A Lesson Learned from Being Stuck in the Mud
I, too, was tempted by sex.
A few days ago, a girl’s image suddenly showed up in my mind. I thought she was “so nice.” Actually, that was just the old forces trying to seduce me.
The next day, I was riding my electric bike home when I slid into a mud hole. It was so thick and deep that it was hard to push my bike out, let alone walk through it. The mud stuck to my shoes and sucked them down, and every step I took was an effort. It took me quite a while to slog out of it. Both the bike and I ended up covered in mud.
I know there are no accidents in cultivation. As I continued on home, I realized that Master was giving me a hint that being attached to sex and lust is just like getting trapped in a mud hole—it is hard to get out.
Just think: On the day of Dafa disciples’ consummation, those who have met the standard will ascend in glory as many gods come down to welcome them. However, those who haven’t let go of their attachments to sex and lust will still be trapped in the mud. How can they face Master, themselves, and their sentient beings?
There could be historical reasons for why some practitioners struggle with the test of lust; some of them may even have been deceived by the old forces to sign a contract to do certain things in this life. The old forces might not intend for them to be successful in their cultivation.
We should not follow any old force arrangements or give up our cultivation. With Master and with Dafa, we can succeed in cultivation if we are truly determined and truly work on enhancing our xinxing.
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 in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“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
