(Minghui.org) When we evaluate things with human notions, it’s a manifestation of not putting ourselves within the Fa. In fact, it’s the same as not respecting or cherishing oneself, and disrespecting or even insulting Master and the Fa. This is no small issue. If one is accustomed to being in this state for a long time, it would invite huge danger upon oneself.
Countless lives in other dimensions have their eyes fixed on us. They are looking to see whether we are qualified to be Dafa disciples and whether we accept Master’s teachings and put them into practice. Are we aware of this, and do we keep it in mind? Do we know the consequences of not doing well? When accounts are settled in the end, we will see that when we are attached to self-interest, we don’t gain more fame or “benefits” for ourselves; rather, we betray our true selves and the beings who pinned their hope of salvation on us, and we take Master’s boundless saving grace for granted.
We won’t talk about practitioners who took up cultivation after 1999. But for those who joined the ranks of Dafa disciples before 1999, some of them still say things without thinking, such as, “I never learned to work as a child,” “I always have loose bowels after eating certain things,” “I had back and leg injuries before,” “I never listened to my parents when I was little and they couldn’t do anything about me,” or “I had been wanting to live such-and-such kind of life since childhood.”
It’s common to see practitioners use these excuses to defend their ordinary people’s behaviors. This amounts to not treating oneself as a cultivator on these issues. They are attached to human emotions and are particular about their own losses and gains. They may also be jealous, competitive, and attached to fame and gain. They may feel that they’ve been treated unfairly, look outward, and push responsibility onto other people. They hold on to so many attachments and treat them as part of themselves. These practitioners should think about how long they’ve cultivated for, what Master has told them, and why they don’t measure themselves against Master’s Fa and hold themselves to the Fa’s standards.
There are also many practitioners who like to quote their coworkers, classmates, and family members, as well as ordinary people’s theories, to support their own ideas. But is what ordinary people say the same as the Fa? Take lying as an example. Modern society sees lying as a sign of “sophistication” and an essential life skill. It’s so ingrained in China that practitioners there rarely submit fully factual information when filling out applications for their children to attend Fei Tian Academy of the Arts.
In contrast, Master taught us in Zhuan Falun that we should not teach our children to “do whatever it takes to come out on top” or teach them to do bad things. Then which standard should we use to guide ourselves? If we choose ordinary people’s way, then the people in China who have been corrupted by the Communist Party since 1999 would be considered exceedingly “sophisticated” and “smart.” They don’t have any moral boundaries in pursuing profits for themselves. Would you want to be one of them or a Dafa disciple who assimilates to the Fa?
Human attachments, human notions, and human emotions often lead people to develop unrealistic expectations. They may think that it’s justified no matter how much they seek from others, and they take it for granted when others do things for them. This includes how Master scooped us up from Hell, eliminates karma for us, settles the extremely complicated debts that we owe, cares for and protects us around the clock, and helps us elevate our realms when we show improvement in our xinxing. When we don’t get what we ask for, we pursue things in the human world and complain about not getting what we want. These are also substances of human notions, emotions, and attachments that have accumulated for a long time, not the true thoughts from ourselves as Dafa disciples.
If we are led by our human notions every day, pursue things outwardly, and resent others when our wishes aren’t fulfilled, then we would be in a state of humanness. When our true selves surrender, we are no more than a human being. How can we fulfill our vows of saving sentient beings then?
When we encounter things in our daily life, is our first thought a human notion, attachment, or emotion, or is it what the Fa requires? Do we look inward or outward? This is the best way to tell the difference between a human being and a cultivator. Of course, as we are still cultivating, we won’t be able to eliminate human notions completely; otherwise, we wouldn’t need to cultivate. But if we can quickly realize where we fall short, are willing to let go of our human thinking, and rectify ourselves, then that would make us a true cultivator who is worthy of being cherished by Master and the efforts Master has quietly put in for every one of us.
How can we recognize and remove our postnatal human attachments, notions, and emotions? How can we find our true thoughts? How can we have our true thoughts shine through? This is a topic we cultivators should think about every moment of every day.
Some practitioners have been around Dafa for many years and feel they have seniority, so they don’t hesitate to comment on anything, as if they know everything. They could spend a long time talking about ordinary people’s things and enjoy it. Whenever some practitioners talk about doing things related to Dafa, they first think about what rewards they can get out of it; they bargain for personal gain and judge things with their human notions and emotions. Others around them also encourage them to do so, as if they are helping them, without realizing that the conflicts they witness are shown to them so that they can cultivate themselves.
When ancient people attended school, they were taught to respect their teachers and follow the Way. They strived to achieve academic excellence while cultivating their character. But nowadays, when someone goes to school, he might think that because he paid the tuition, the school and teachers are obligated to let him graduate and give him a degree. Society has been corrupted to the core with no moral standards left. If we use societal norms as the standard to follow, there would be no way for us to elevate in the Fa or return to our origin. Is Master obligated to save us and take us back to our heavenly homes? How much do we have to do and how many contaminants do we have to remove from ourselves before we are worthy of the divine positions Master wants to give us in the new universe? Every one of us who wishes to truly cultivate ourselves and return to our origin must face this issue with due seriousness and rationality.
These words may sound heavy, but in fact, the weight comes from the subjects discussed. Ancient people said, “Good medicine tastes bitter, and unpalatable advice helps us improve our behavior.” But modern people advocate building connections for the purpose of currying favor. In ancient times, people had to travel afar with great difficulty to hear even one or two sentences of a Buddha’s teaching; some even had to give their lives for it. In the West, a saint agreed to pay the price of being flayed for turning people to God. For us, it has been so easy to obtain the Fa. Master has expended so much effort to find us, bear the karma we built up lifetime after lifetime, cleanse us with Dafa, and help us improve, only to have us not cherish everything we have been given. This may bring enormous karmic retribution upon us. It’s not something any of us would want. If you are a true cultivator, then wake up quickly. No one should see themselves as an exception.
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Category: Cultivation Insights
