(Minghui.org) I’ve always been proud of my friends, felt a sense of achievement in being their friend, and even considered this kind of relationship a kind of high level spiritual attainment.
On the surface our close relationships seemed to be based on mutual admiration for each other’s strengths. When I examined this thinking, I discovered it was driven by my attachment to fame and fortune. My friends were either highly accomplished or had influential family backgrounds. There’s an old saying: “Birds of a feather flock together,” so I felt my being close to them implied I also had a high social or academic status, which would boost my standing in society.
I always thought my attachment to fame was a desire for good academic grades. However, I realized I also had an attachment to personal gain. This led me to believe that maintaining a good relationship with my friends would be beneficial because they were valuable resources for me. What a filthy thought!
I realized that my attachments permeated every aspect of my life. Under the influence of ordinary thinking, I stubbornly held on to these human notions and was unaware of how much they harmed my cultivation. Cultivation is a serious matter. We must strictly control every thought and action. Otherwise, we can easily be contaminated in this mundane world and go astray.
After I didn’t do well in the college entrance exam I paid attention to my xinxing and let go of my attachments because I felt they affected my performance. When the results were posted, my practitioner mother asked me how a classmate, who was admitted to a top university, did better than I did in the test, despite my having better grades in school. I felt emotionally and mentally distressed.
Obviously, I hadn’t truly let go of my attachments. I just blamed my disappointment on fate, which I can’t control. I kept examining my past experiences for excuses. These thoughts were distractions that the old forces created to interfere with me and prevent me from having righteous thoughts.
Before the examination, I read something online that tried to comfort people who didn’t do well in exams. I thought it was just an excuse for not having a good score. My thinking was clearly a manifestation of attachments to competitiveness, fame and fortune, and atheism.
Master said,
“In particular, a young man still wants to strive to accomplish some objectives in ordinary human society!” (The Issue of Pursuit, Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
I didn’t think it was wrong for a young man to make a great effort to achieve what he wanted. I was puzzled by Master’s words and I prioritized human notions over improving my xinxing. I forgot that ordinary people’s efforts are ultimately futile whereas cultivation can strengthen faith and bring eternal happiness. Falun Dafa practitioners should fulfill our missions without pursuit and be indifferent to worldly desires. For other practitioners my age, we should not allow surface appearances to cloud our vision. We must study the Fa diligently.
We need to clearly understand that Master meticulously arranged our cultivation paths long ago. We should also realize that we need to talk to people outside our immediate circle about Falun Dafa. Most importantly, to become true cultivators, we must have complete faith in Dafa and eliminate our attachments. I am very grateful to Master for his arrangement, which helped me eliminate my stubborn attachments.
Writing experience-sharing articles itself is a good way to examine our cultivation. While I wrote this, I felt my attachments were peeled off layer by layer, helping me gradually return to my original true self. I even uncovered hidden attachments. When an article was revised and published, I found my attachment to lack of attention to details.
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