(Minghui.org) I became a Falun Dafa practitioner in 1998, and I’ve been quite diligent about doing the three things. But, it has been difficult to eliminate many of my attachments even though I’ve been practicing for so many years. Some attachments kept showing up or reappearing.
Although I’d discovered many attachments based on my understandings of the Fa principles, they would reappear after a period of time. Over the years, I’ve agonized over this and wondered where I’d gone wrong.
I began to memorize and recite the Fa again in 2019 and gradually understood that the real reason why my attachments kept reappearing was that I didn’t remove their root cause. It’s sort of like when one cuts off the leaves of a leek and doesn’t pull out the root, new leaves grow out again.
I only saw what was on the surface of certain attachments and didn’t dig deeper, where the roots were. For example, I found my attachment to showing-off, but I didn’t question why it existed or what was the root cause. The same goes for jealousy, the desire to please others, wanting to hear nice words, and self-interest. These attachments kept resurfacing.
As I memorized the Fa, I understood that this was because I still had a selfish heart—that was the reason the attachments kept showing up. If I pulled out the root, it would be easier to remove the attachments.
I began to pay attention to whether my thoughts and actions were related to “self,” and I immediately rectified myself if they were.
For example, in the past I got upset when my daughter was wasteful. I complained to myself when my son-in-law didn’t pay attention to his hygiene, and I disliked my grandson’s bad habits. I couldn’t calm down until I said something to them.
These things may seem trivial, but it was all about me and to make me feel better. I failed to follow Master’s teachings.
Master said,
“If everyone made sure that he conducted himself well, then everything in society would be good. Whereas if everybody tries to police others, then the more people try, the worse things will get, and more and more friction will arise.” (Teachings at the Conference of Changchun Assistants)
I realized that I didn’t listen to Master, and I wasn’t behaving like an upright practitioner. I didn’t do well.
These factors lead to friction in my environment, so I began to correct and change myself and truly became a full-fledged practitioner.
When I saw my daughter throw things away, I would pick them up and continue to use or consume them. I reminded her that, in traditional Chinese culture, frugality was considered a virtue.
I washed my son-in-law’s dirty clothes and put them back where he stored them. I told my grandson stories from traditional Chinese culture and encouraged him to follow its teachings.
Once I corrected myself and did things the right way, my surroundings changed. My daughter stopped wasting things, my son-in-law started to pay attention to his personal hygiene, and my grandson became more thoughtful and obedient.
I learned from what I experienced that, when it comes to eliminating human attachments, I can’t just stop when I “become enlightened to it.” I actually have to do the hard work of digging it out by the roots so that I can remove my human heart.
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Category: Improving Oneself
