(Minghui.org) Practitioners know that our cultivation in the Fa- rectification period has reached the end. The available time that we have to improve in our cultivation is decreasing. In this last critical period, as practitioners, we constantly make choices between divine and human notions—whether we look towards the divine or we are lost in the maze of ordinary people. We are on this path that Master arranged for us to transform from human to divine. I think we should make fundamental changes, be it our thoughts, actions, notions, or how we treat everything that we encounter.
I’ve recently placed more attention on using the righteous principles that I learned from the Fa to measure the things that happen and the conflicts I’ve had with others. I want to change my notions and transcend beyond human principles.
I’d like to share two stories to explain my current understanding. I sincerely hope this serves as a humble catalyst and helps other practitioners look inward.
Genetic Disease
My husband’s family has a history of hereditary health conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. My husband’s sisters and their children all have these diseases.
A few years ago, my husband suffered a sudden stroke brought on by these conditions and passed away after two weeks in intensive care. The sight of him paralyzed and unconscious terrified my son and I, and I could not help but worry that my son might face the same fate. Although my son is young, he’s already shown symptoms of high cholesterol and high blood pressure. His wife and in-laws are also worried about his health, and constantly urge him to take precautions.
My human attachment was also moved because I worried that he might become like his father. So I often reminded him to be careful. I realized that Master already explained very clearly why human beings get sick. So, how could I still be trapped within the confines of medicine, treating the issue through the lens of ordinary medical concepts? Didn’t this show I lacked trust in Master and the Fa?
After understanding that, I immediately let go of these human notions and my affection for my son. I no longer gave him advice but just told him, “People get sick because of they have karma. If you have karma, you will have to go through tribulations.” I told him to do more good deeds, preserve his virtue, and endure hardship to get rid of his karma. In that way, he will be able to avert disasters and enjoy a blissful life. My son is not a practitioner, but he listened to me reading the Fa when he was very young.
Conflicts With Ordinary People
When my daughter-in-law first entered our lives, I could not stand the sight of her or her mother. I disliked the way they dressed. I also thought they were vain and materialistic, because they placed so much importance on wealth and social status. I looked down on them.
From the time they married to the birth of her child, my daughter-in-law and I got into many conflicts. I felt constantly agitated. When I saw her and her mother dressing my one-year-old granddaughter in what I considered bizarre outfits, I was deeply upset. However, to keep the peace and avoid conflict, I remained silent. Instead, I complained to my son, and he became annoyed.
I eventually cooled down and looked within. I found my attachments and kept eliminating them. After a few rounds, I gradually realized I should stop focusing on what they did wrong. No matter how right I felt I was, it was based on human principles, and as a practitioner, human principles were what I needed to go beyond. I kept measuring my daughter-in-law and her mother with my own standards, so when their words and behavior did not align with my notions, I complained and resented them. In fact, my resentment was caused by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) elements that made me self-centered and caused me to place myself above everyone else.
As I looked within, I gradually realized that when I lived with my family members, each and every conflict was arranged by Master to expose the attachments I hadn’t yet eliminated. The people around me were here to help me improve my cultivation, and I should thank them. I went from complaining and resenting them to feeling grateful. Now I am really thankful to them from the bottom of my heart. I think that I changed fundamentally in the process.
Master said, “If you do not change the human logic that you, as an ordinary human, have formed deep in your bones over thousands of years, you will be unable to break away from this superficial human shell and reach Consummation.” (“Cautionary Advice,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
We have reached the time when we, Dafa practitioners, should shed our outer human shell. We need to jump out of human understandings and notions in our every thought and action, and thoroughly change the human notions that we formed throughout our past lifetimes.
From the Fa, we know that the human principles are opposite to the true principles. We cultivate in ordinary society, but we need to cultivate based on the righteous principles and progress upward against the tide.
Ordinary people seek comfort, but we don’t. We take hardship as joy. Ordinary people like hobbies, but these are the attachments and desires that we need to eliminate. Ordinary people go after enjoyment, while we should stop pursuing gain and emotions.
Cultivation is difficult, but we are beings created by Dafa. Master is great, and Dafa is powerful. We need to study the Fa more, learn it well, keep replenishing our righteous thoughts, let our righteous thoughts become stronger and stronger, let our main consciousness really control ourselves, and at the same time keep cultivating as we seriously require ourselves to attain the standards of the Fa.
As long as we steadfastly cultivate and persist, we will definitely be able to change ourselves fundamentally and not let down Master’s benevolent salvation.
Category: Improving Oneself
