As We Strive Forward Together, We Must Become More Forgiving and Understanding

By a Practitioner from China

(Clearwisdom.net)

I have come to realize that I have the mentality of being unable to tolerate others' behavior that is not in accordance with the Fa, and I am often critical of others and seek perfection from them. This is manifested in many incidents with the people around me.

Practitioners A and B have not been able to cooperate with each other for over six months, and I always tried to mediate between them. At last, I talked to each one separately, "It is not coincidental that you have the opportunity to do Dafa work right now. Teacher said that things were arranged for this final great event even at the beginning of the creation of the universe. So do you think it could be coincidental that we are able to do these things at this time? If another practitioner has shortcomings in his xinxing [mind or heart nature, moral character], we cannot say that he is unsuitable to do Dafa work. That he is doing such a thing today was arranged long ago, and it has been arranged according to many factors. Maybe before we came to this human world, we had pledged to do Dafa work together, in this period and in this area. How can we force our arrangement of another's cultivation path based on our own notions and determine whether we shall let him do this work or not? We can point out his shortcomings, but as long as it is Dafa related work, we shall try our best to cooperate instead of just focusing on his shortcomings. We must base everything on the overall situation of Fa-rectification. If we cannot cooperate well, we may cause a loss to Dafa work in our local area. Looking at it from another angle, we are behaving in a sinful manner."

However, what I said had very little effect. I just could not find the root cause of the discord, and I worried about their conflict very much. What was my problem? Which of my attachments could have caused this situation?

Later on, I found a problem: I was too attached to others' attachments. In "Towards Consummation", Teacher told us, "Even if you're afraid that Dafa is being undermined, they fabricate articles allegedly written by Master." I realized that when I saw the situation between these practitioners, I just could not put down the "fear" of being afraid of a loss to Dafa. I also could not put down the "worrying" mentality upon seeing others unable to improve in this big issue for a long time. At the same time, I also realized that "worrying about the loss to Dafa" was an excuse to cover up my own attachments.

Although I had come to this realization, the situation was still not improved much. Actually I was not able to truly eliminate those attachments. I realized that, at a deeper level, the capacity of my heart needed to increase.

The day before yesterday, I met a practitioner who told me how she had conflicts with her daughter. Upon hearing this, I felt that she was unable to give up her attachments, which bothered me, and I didn't want to hear about it. I tried a few times to interrupt her to tell her my thoughts. She cut short all my attempts, and I felt uncomfortable and agitated. Then I realized that I must have had some problems: why do I have the mentality of always trying to interrupt others when feeling stirred? Is it really myself who is being so impatient and intolerant? I then put down those mentalities and waited for her to finish. Then I frankly told her my thoughts. Although it was the same as what I wanted to say a moment ago, the effect was totally different. This time I felt that we were in a harmonious, compassionate field, exchanging understandings of the Fa. Each of the three people in the conversation felt that they made great improvements.

In the past, it was my insufficient patience and understanding that intensified these interpersonal conflicts. I did not have the serene heart to treat other fellow practitioners' shortcomings in Dafa projects with compassion, and therefore could not understand and consider their difficulties and shortcomings of xinxing. That was why the more I tried to handle something, the worse it became. But once I had enough forgiveness and understanding, not only would the other party feel that I was truly acting for their benefit, but also I was uplifting my own xinxing in the serene and benevolent field. On the other hand, my previous behavior probably only let the other parties feel that I was just blaming and picking on them C even though what I said was the same.

During the process of truth clarification, if we can have more consideration and understanding for all people that we come in contact with, we can better "assist Teacher in the human world."

Even though we might be thousands of miles away and have never met each other, as Dafa practitioners, we are the closest family. Let's "strive forward together" and welcome the great moment when the "Fa rectifies the cosmos."

Chinese version available at http://minghui.cc/mh/articles/2002/3/10/26364.html

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