By a practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) In Zhuan Falun, Master said, "The ability to achieve tranquility is gong, and the depth of ding indicates one's level."

In Fa studies, exercises and Fa-rectification work, I sometimes felt I could not achieve tranquility, which greatly affected me and caused me to waste much time. Although on the surface I was studying the Fa and doing the exercises, my mind was not focused; therefore I could neither attain the desired state, nor achieve the expected effect. This was especially so during Fa-rectification work, when I had frequent discussions with other fellow practitioners. My mind would not stay calm, and I would be less strict with myself. As a result, human notions would come out, and the more they did, the easier I would have conflicts with fellow practitioners. Since my mind was not tranquil, I could not truly and deeply look into myself, despite all my efforts. Thus, the conflicts remained unresolved, and I did not make the improvements that I should have made. When the conflicts accumulated and became more intense, it was even harder for me to calm down in Fa studies and exercises. Hence, a vicious cycle arose.

The less calm I was, the less steady my mind would be and the weaker my righteous thoughts would become. I could not even concentrate when sending forth righteous thoughts, much less think about using supernormal abilities for Fa-rectification. This gave the evil beings opportunities to take advantage of these loopholes.

What should we do to address these problems? There are no shortcuts, other than solidly studying the Fa and working hard to cultivate our hearts. In our daily lives, we should discipline our minds and not let them wander all over the place or indulge in "imagination." This itself is a cultivation process. Master said,

"The heart unattached--
        To be in harmony with the world.

Look but see not--
        To be neither confused nor tempted.

Listen but hear not--
        To be mentally undisturbed.

Eat but taste not--
        To be free of attachment with food.

Do but pursue not--
        To be on the track of Dao always.

Tranquil but think not--
        To see the mystical wonders that come out."

(Hongyin, unofficial translation)

In order to attain a state of tranquility and have a stable mind, we need to study the Fa more, get rid of more attachments, and strive forward vigorously in the Fa. In Zhuan Falun, Master says, "the fundamental reason for one's being unable to achieve tranquility is not an issue of techniques, but that your mind and heart are not clean. In ordinary human society and in interpersonal conflicts, you compete and fight for personal gain, all kinds of human sentimentality, and your attachments to desires. If you do not let go of these things and take them lightly, how can you easily achieve tranquility?"

In addition, I notice that when our fellow practitioners gather together, their minds usually are not calm. Sometimes all kinds of human notions come out. Instead of forming a tranquil and peaceful field together, some practitioners eagerly try to get attention by pushing themselves forward to speak first and force their opinions on others. Now I remember what Master said in his book, "On one occasion I had my mind connected with four or five great enlightened people and great Taos from extremely high levels... But how peaceful were their minds? Their minds were tranquil to the point of being scary. It is possible for one person to reach this tranquility. But with four or five people sitting over there with tranquility like that, it resembles a pond of still water with nothing in it. ... Everyday people could in no way imagine or feel it; it was completely free of attachment and empty" (Zhuan Falun, Lecture Three).

What we Dafa practitioners cultivate is the universe's fundamental principle. When we are together, shouldn't each of us maintain a cultivator's mind? Shouldn't we remember that every environment is for helping us to improve in our cultivation? When our minds are on cultivation and when we set high standards for ourselves, everywhere and at all times, our minds will be able to achieve complete tranquility. By doing this, we can also easily identify our attachments, and the whole environment will become peaceful and noble. Of course, this environment is achieved by our cultivation and it is totally different from that of everyday people, which is created intentionally through social skills and external methods.

Posting date: 1/25/2002
Original article date: 1/13/2002
Category: Views on Cultivation
Translated on 1/17/2002
Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/1/13/23086.html

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