[Minghui] A few days ago, I was busy with hongfa (promoting Falun Dafa) activities and decided to push back some of my everyday work. Then I had to catch up with the work I had delayed in order to meet a deadline. As time was very tight, I had to squeeze some from my sleep, meals, and rest. Sometimes I would only have one meal and sleep for about one hour per day. I spent the rest of my time working.

From such an intensive schedule, I enlightened to a few things:

I used to have a very strong attachment: because I had not been jailed, my mind was not at rest. Other practitioners have suffered so much to protect Dafa [The great Law]. In such a harsh environment, they passed many critical tribulations, which targeted their fundamental attachments to the human world. In the process, they built up mighty power. How could I be upgraded? Should I follow their example? As I looked at my situation, I realized I could contribute more if I used other methods. Furthermore, Dafa is most important. Mighty power should be something gained without pursuit. I did not want to use the tribulations of Dafa as a means of gaining something or building up something for myself.

My recent busy schedule made me realize a lot. Working outside of the detention centers and labor camps can also be viewed as suffering. The key point is whether we have put all our effort into it, and whether we are diligent enough to advance forward. A person who does not run fast will not experience exhaustion. When faced with choosing between promoting Dafa and doing my everyday work, between working with practitioners and everyday people, or between pushing forward or stopping to eat and rest -- many times I chose to relax and retreat. In fact, every time, the choice I had to make was between being comfortable and contributing to Dafa. Every time, the trial was to see whether I was seeking an everyday life or fulfilling my wish to go back home.

This too is suffering, but from outside, rather than inside the detention centers and labor camps. There are many temptations. We can get comfortable if we want to; everything is right in front of us, and we can enjoy it at will. And the scariest thing is that when we do not want to give up these comforts, we don't even know we have a problem.

When practitioners are appealing via hunger strikes inside, are we able to validate Dafa even when we have not had a meal? When practitioners are suffering from vicious torture inside, are we able to use the same strong will to surpass our own physical and spiritual limitations, or to overcome that laziness which always exists when we are in a comfortable situation?

It is the same whether we are inside or outside -- the bottom line is whether we are diligent enough to advance forward.

The enemy they face inside is pain, while the enemy we face outside is comfort. The pain inside is designed to destroy the will; the comfort outside gradually and unnoticeably wears out the will.

Cultivation can only be done in this maze by steadfastly cultivating one's Buddha nature. No matter under what circumstances, whether it is to suffer or to have comfort in this human world, for a human being who resolves to ascend, the most painful thing is to be tied up here and unable to return back home.

Either return home, or drift away in the sea of bitterness.

The above is my personal experiences, just for your references.

Posting date: 5/1/2001
Category: Experience Sharing
Translated on 4/26/2001
Chinese version available at http://minghui.cc/mh/articles/2001/4/25/10299.html

 Yearly Archive  Printer Version

_____Related Articles_____ Determined in My Own Righteous Enlightenment [3/20/2001] Some Reflections of Mine As I Clear My Thoughts [6/24/2000] Breaking Through Thought Borders of the Individual's Cultivation [6/12/2000] Cultivate The Great Law By Submerging Oneself Into The Whole, Rectify The Big Environment, And Smoothen The Path For Others To Obtain Falun Dafa [6/8/2000]