(Minghui.org) Recently, after I had dinner with a fellow practitioner, my gums were swollen and I felt very uncomfortable. I thought it must be because I said something wrong. I looked inward and initially thought it was a combination of joy and the desire to show off, as I felt relaxed while chatting with a trusted practitioner.
But, I felt as if I wasn’t finding the true reason. While participating in group discussions and reading other practitioners’ sharing articles on the Minghui website, I realized that I had a tendency to “impose my opinions on others” — I thought my way of doing a project was better, and I hoped other practitioners would follow my lead.
Every practitioner is at a different level, and their personal experiences reflect their understandings at that level. You can’t impose the principle you’ve realized to others or use it to guide their cultivation; you must not forget that the principles you see only apply to your own level.
What Master tells us is the Fa. The understanding we gain from the Fa is Master’s hint, which helps us improve at different stages. We cannot use the principle we have realized to guide others in their cultivation, or regard our own understanding as absolutely correct. If this continues, it will earnestly disrupt the Fa.
The Minghui website published a sharing article that warned some practitioners who are feeling good about themselves, reminding them that this sentiment is a demon that has destroyed many Dafa practitioners.
“Feeling good about oneself” is reflected in many aspects, such as feeling that one is good at learning the Fa, one is good at validating the Fa, one is diligent, or one is able to endure hardships. This feeling has become natural for some practitioners.
I found that arrogance and self-importance are the root of “feeling good about oneself” and “imposing one’s opinion on others”—a tendency to overestimate oneself without realizing that all things come from the Creator. If we can maintain reverence for Master and the Fa in everything we do and everyone we deal with, we will be able to keep a humble and peaceful mindset, embodying Master’s immense compassion and the wonder of Dafa.
Whenever I have conflicts with fellow practitioners or look down on ordinary people, I need to realize that these are all manifestations of my lack of faith in Master and the Fa. I would respect this person very much instead of rejecting him, had I remembered that he was once a great divine being in heaven who bravely came down to the world because he firmly believed that Dafa could save him. I would also respect him very much had I remembered that he is also a precious life created by the Creator.