(Minghui.org) Several veteran practitioners said that they didn’t cultivate like they had just taken up the practice. I’d like to share my own observations on this matter.
Regard Oneself as a New Practitioner
After I contacted some veteran practitioners, I felt that they didn’t look within enough. They often regarded themselves as veteran practitioners who had weathered a lot of tribulations. They were like teachers who were guiding other people, instead of improving themselves in the Fa.
When they had just started practicing Falun Dafa, they didn’t put themselves above others; instead, they were eager to study the Fa and asked other practitioners to point out where they fell short. Now some of them act as if they are on a pedestal above the Fa, yet they don’t realize it. They even made up new terms and passed them on to new practitioners. Shouldn’t practitioners look within first and act according to the Fa?
The Heart Must Be Righteous
Master said:
“What’s not a righteous mind? It refers to a person’s inability to always treat himself as a practitioner.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
I saw that some practitioners sought to live well and didn’t want to bear hardships. They wanted their children to have good spouses, and their families to be wealthy and happy. They wanted to live better than other people. When they came across hardships, they either became pessimistic or said that the old forces persecuted them. Their minds were not focused when they studied the Fa. They felt distressed and were not in the same cultivation state as when they had just started practicing Falun Dafa.
We don’t seek hardships, but we should behave like practitioners under all circumstances. Some practitioners lived affluently, so they just enjoyed it. They had a lot of free time but didn’t study the Fa. They overslept, played and visited restaurants a lot and enjoyed life. They didn’t realize that becoming relaxed in cultivation was also a form of persecution.
They didn’t want to lose anything. One practitioner was fined 100 yuan for a traffic violation. He was able to get out of it due to his connections. He argued that it’s also a form of persecution if Dafa practitioners are fined, but I saw his pursuit of personal gain.
When we had just started practicing Falun Dafa, we were thinking of eliminating attachments. Now some of the veteran practitioners are thinking of gaining everyday people’s happiness.
Fully Believing in Master and the Fa
I like studying the Fa. I make full use of my free time to study the Fa. I like to listen to Dafa songs before I go to sleep. I listen to the Fa audio recordings on my way to work. I repeat “Falun Dafa is good” when I am busy at work. One day I was so focused on studying the Fa that I saw nothing in my dimensional field but Master’s Fa in my dimension. Nothing other than the Fa could enter into my field.
I do whatever Master tells us to do. Whatever things Master talked about, I had them. For example, Master mentioned that there were eyes in the sweat pores and also the big eyes. I believed that I had them, but I didn’t want to experience it. I didn’t want anything that was not in line with the Fa in my mind. When I sent forth righteous thoughts, I saw eyes all over my body and saw a big eye on my face.
One day several practitioners were sharing how bad the old forces are and that they must do well to avoid persecution. I said, “You are too complicated in your thinking. There is only Master’s Fa in my dimensional field. I do whatever Master asks us to do. You always mention the old forces. We don’t cultivate for them. We completely negate them.” They felt what I said was correct. They said that I cultivated in a simple way.
Sometimes I felt that practitioners liked to force their own ideas on others. My understanding was that we should be guided by Master’s Fa. If we truly look within and are considerate, would we try to control others?
I’ve practiced Falun Dafa alone all these years and studied the Fa all by myself. One everyday person once said that he would have committed suicide if he went through what I have experienced. Initially I cried when I was wronged and shouted, “I am a disciple of Master. I must do well.” I became dizzy when going through a round of cleansing and felt like I couldn’t bear it anymore. I felt a big hand pat me softly on my head. I instantly felt better. I was wondering why Master let me feel it? He might have wanted to let me know that I shouldn’t be afraid and know that Master is with me.
When I was going through painful tests, Master’s photo appeared in front of me. He was looking at me seriously, yet compassionately. When I watched Master’s video lectures, I felt I was so lucky that I could see Master. I admire those practitioners who’ve seen Master in person. One day when I was watching a video of Master’s lecture, I entered into the scene on the video and saw Master in person. When Master left the hall, I cried and said in my heart, “Master, please don’t leave.”
Master said that whatever happened to us was a good thing. I was happy every day. People who caused trouble for me or even hurt me have been saved. They were playing positive roles and even wanted to learn Falun Dafa.
The Issue of Studying the Fa and Obtaining the Fa
Practitioners often share how to study the Fa and obtain the Fa. How do we study the Fa? Some practitioners hand copy the Fa or memorize the Fa. I feel that it’s crucial that we not only study the Fa a lot, but put it into practice and reach the standard. We study the Fa every day and want to enlighten to something in the Fa, but how much have we put it into practice?
My child once read the Fa and said, “You people study the Fa every day. But how many of you could really achieve ‘As a practitioner, the first thing you should be able to do is to not fight back when you are beaten or sworn at—you must be tolerant. Otherwise, what kind of practitioner will you be?’ (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)” I was speechless.
I’ve tried to do what Master asked us to do since then. Master asks us to look within. How many practitioners first think of looking within when encountering conflicts? If we don't elevate ourselves and can’t reach the basic requirements of the Fa, how could we possibly know the high level principles?
Don’t Be Attached to Sentimentality
Many veteran practitioners have practiced Falun Dafa for almost 30 years. Most of them are over 55 years old and have become grandparents. Some practitioners would rather study the Fa or do the exercises less, but spend more time looking after their grandchildren. They didn’t realize that they harmed themselves and caused their grandchildren to commit misdeeds. I saw some veteran practitioners worry about their grandchildren too much and were too emotionally attached to them.
Master said, “If you cannot give something up, isn’t it an attachment?” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
I raised several pots of flowers. One day I looked at the flowers for a long time and the flowers shouted, “You’d better hurry up to study the Fa. Otherwise we will be committing a misdeed for delaying your studying of the Fa.” If we are attached to someone, we would be hurting them, right? If we were really good to someone, we’d better let them study the Fa.
Please kindly point out anything that is not in line with the Fa.
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Category: Improving Oneself
