(Minghui.org) A few things that happened recently left me with a deeper understanding of the detrimental impact of Communist Party culture, prompting me to pay attention to removing it from myself. Even though I knew about its harmful nature, I had ignored it. I have cultivated for over two decades, and the influence of Party culture is by no means a simple matter. So I am sharing my limited understanding to remind my fellow practitioners to quickly eliminate it.
The company I work for has a complex environment but I always regarded it as a good place to temper my will and cultivate myself. I struggled to break free of the Party culture and to completely negate the arrangements of the old forces.
When the company leaders planned to promote me to a managerial position, my colleagues got really jealous. They made trouble for me and even threatened that they would resign en masse. I tried to endure and not fight back.
Recently, because the management trusted me, I was assigned to be in charge of a new project. While I was working diligently overtime to move the project forward, the technical person supporting me on the intelligent system portion slacked off and ignored my request. He failed to deliver the results three days before the project deadline. Worried and upset, I went to the department head to complain. Unexpectedly, he reprimanded me.
I was shocked by his reaction and left his office, feeling wronged and isolated. Back in the dormitory that night, my thought karma stirred up an impulse to resign in retaliation and stall the project. However, my rational mind told me that this was a hurdle in my cultivation and I should not run away from it.
Depressed the next day at work, I put in my earplugs and listened to the audiobook Disintegrating Communist Party Culture. The more I listened, the more I enjoyed it. Every example in the book seemed to be talking about me and woke me up. My heart gradually brightened and I had a feeling of immense joy and relaxation.
I reflected on my recent clashes, and it dawned on me that they were all meant for my cultivation and for me to discover my attachments rooted in Party culture. I expressed gratitude to my colleagues in my heart, even the person that caused the delay.
I also realized that I rarely admit my mistakes. Most of the time, I just looked inward superficially to show that I cultivated well. I have been doing some technical support and coordination work with practitioners and have gained their trust. After hearing compliments most of the time, I had become intolerant of criticism and even reacted negatively to their kind advice.
Another practitioner recently stayed in my home for two days for Fa study. When I saw her using an electric toothbrush, I thought that she was showing off and blamed her in my heart for enjoying material things. She brought over some dishes, vegetables, and fruit, but instead of thanking her, I wondered if she’d brought those things because her family didn’t want them.
When my husband asked me why I was so easily irritated, I always had an excuse. After the practitioner left, I asked myself the same question. I expected that, with her studying with us, it would be better to form one body, but my behavior worked against that. Listening to the audio of Disintegrating Communist Party Culture made me aware of my strong Party culture, especially my intense desire to be in charge and have things my way. None of my colleagues were good enough either. The old forces exploited my loopholes to interfere with me.
In the past, when other practitioners shared about paying attention to our every thought, I did not comprehend what they meant even though they were being overly cautious. I felt I was too busy every day to evaluate everything I said and did to see if it aligned with the Fa. It’s only recently that I have grasped the significance of doing this.
Party culture infiltrates every aspect of our lives—our personal lives, our careers, and our cultivation. Ignoring its presence can lead us into its traps. The Party culture that has been instilled in us since childhood can lead us off the righteous path without our conscious awareness. After more than two decades of practice, I have finally identified the root cause of my struggles and am experiencing a newfound joy in cultivation. For the first time, I feel a sense of knowing how to cultivate.
Many practitioners I know share similar struggles: uncertainty about how to genuinely cultivate and improve and an inability to make breakthroughs in cultivation despite daily Fa study and exercises. As the Fa-rectification approaches its conclusion, we find we are not actively ridding ourselves of our attachments like jealousy, competitiveness, personal interests, showing off, and lust. We look inward but struggle to eradicate these deeply-seated attachments completely.
Some practitioners had doubts about their cultivation state, perplexed about how to continue their journey, even though the end of the Fa-rectification has been constantly prolonged for us. Some practitioners slacked off and were taken down by sickness karma, with a few losing their lives. But what is it exactly that is obstructing us?
One practitioner, once active in daily truth-clarification efforts, suffered a stroke a decade ago and has been bedridden ever since. Nowadays, she still gets emotional when she talks about her deceased parents, tearfully cursing them for abusing her as a child. Maybe it’s because she can’t get rid of the resentment that her physical condition has lingered. Her medical expenses have put her family in dire financial straits. When we tried to tell her about her strong Party culture, she dismissed it and said, “Everyone has it.”
I urge fellow practitioners to listen to Disintegrating Communist Party Culture and learn from others who have successfully addressed this issue. Party culture systematically affects people’s normal thinking and mindset and interferes with their behavior, leading to impatience and irritability.
Disintegrating Communist Party Culture helped me understand the influence of Party culture on human beings more broadly and that they do not realize its destructive nature.
With the publication of The Ultimate Goal of Communism, I learned about the impact of communism on the whole world. Studying the book further made me aware of its destructive impact on individual cultivation and on our efforts to save people. Communism is an evil spirit composed of hatred and corrupt beings. To the microscopic levels, it instills the evil element of hatred into our bodies to control us as it pleases. When its influence takes hold, we become disoriented, irrational, and reckless, and can harm ourselves and others.
Party culture blocks our way home and we should not regard the words and behavior it has instilled in us as our own. We should prevent it from controlling us. I have identified and exposed manifestations of Party culture: competitiveness, jealousy, cunning, hypocrisy, impatience, anger, extreme language and behavior, condescension, badmouthing others, grudges, blaming others, complaining, self-protectiveness, circumlocution, egotism, and malicious judgment.
Now I can catch my Party culture-influenced words and deeds and also those of my friends, relatives, colleagues, and fellow practitioners. I actively eradicate these influences and correct myself, contributing to a more positive environment. This newfound awareness has brought unprecedented happiness. I embrace everyone around me, including coworkers with whom I had conflicts. Thank you, Master, for guiding me to uncover the root cause and helping me to eliminate Party culture.
The above is my personal understanding. Please point out anything not in line with the Fa.