2/7/2003
(Clearwisdom.net)
From time to time we all had noticed that some practitioners tended to complain about things during our group discussions. I have also experienced such conditions myself. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to share my understanding of the attachment to "complaining."
Since I was an assistant at our practice site, I often spent a lot of time and effort working on Fa promotion and local organizational issues at the expense of my Fa study. Towards the end of my third year of practicing cultivation, I started to notice that I often got into arguments with my fellow practitioners on issues waiting to be resolved, and I often insisted that my point of view was correct. After a while, I also noticed that some other practitioners also had similar experiences. Whenever we had conflicting opinions at our practice site, some practitioners tended to hastily seek solutions to problems by looking externally. For example, they would call practitioners in another city and ask for help to resolve conflicts, complaining that others were failing to look within. They would wonder why no one wanted to discuss with them, or why others didn't understand their point of view. We must realize that other practitioners cannot serve as "conflict moderators" for us in helping to resolve the problems we come across during our cultivation. How could we ever enlighten to the Fa and raise our levels in cultivation if this was the case?
I realized that Teacher has already taught us in the Fa that we must enlighten to things ourselves in our cultivation and not look externally. We must devote large amounts of time to Fa study and treat Fa study seriously since all the answers to our questions are within the Fa. Cultivation means always raising one's own Xinxing (mind nature), conducting oneself with the high standard of a practitioner, and never deliberately seeking out the shortcomings of fellow practitioners.
The manifestation of the argumentative mind is largely caused by the attachment of fame and the attachment of wanting others to listen to and adopt our own ideas. We are Dafa practitioners and our energy field of compassion should radiate in all directions. People should be happy to be around to us and Dafa under the influence of such a compassionate energy field. If our compassion is replaced with "complaining about others," then the opposite will occur and people will not enjoy being near us. Teacher said in the Fa Lecture at the Conference in Singapore: "I'll definitely point them out to you. All of your attachments will be exposed for you. Even if I myself don't point them out to you, I'll have others do so."
I realized that "complaining" is a deeply hidden attachment. Those evil forces that had escaped from the cosmic space cleansed by the Fa-rectification are using this attachment to interfere with Fa-rectification.
Once I noticed such a state of mind in myself, I felt I was no longer qualified to promote the Fa of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance" because I was unable to demonstrate the compassion that all Dafa practitioners should possess. I felt my unfriendly attitude could only push people away from Dafa so I voluntarily resigned from the position of assistant so that I could devote more time to Fa study, raise my Xinxing and purify myself.
I feel that there are many different ways to get rid of our attachments through Fa study. We can study the Fa in a group at our practice sites, or can study the Fa by ourselves on a daily basis. What's most important to realize is that only by studying the Fa well can we get rid of our attachments. Back then it was not only I who had "complaints" about other practitioners; several other veteran practitioners at our practice site also had "complaints" as well. Thus it became impossible for us to work together to eradicate our attachments since we did not even have a common language. So I left the practice site temporarily and practiced by myself. This way I could only complain to myself. Since I could not complain to others, I had more time to study the Fa. This way the problem was gradually resolved after a while.
The only way to resolve the problem was to intensify Fa study. Regardless if I was at home or at work, I would study the Fa whenever I had time. Each day I would study 2 --3 chapters of Zhuan Falun, and some days I would study 4 chapters. After two months, I noticed that I had become more compassionate. I no longer had the urge to insist on my own opinions and it became much simpler when I tried to convey my own ideas with others. Half a year later, I noticed that whenever I tried to talk to my fellow practitioners, there was one thought that came first, "Do not force your ideas upon others; let them decide what to do based on their own understanding and enlightenment level." Thus after a whole year of intensified Fa study, compassion replaced enmity. Now I feel that I am again fit to promote the Fa to others.
I decided to share my own experience in this regard because I noticed that some of the practitioners who first demonstrated such attachments to "complaint" have still not made improvements and have not elevated their levels in this regard. Even though they work hard in clarifying the truth and promoting the Fa, they spend very little time studying the Fa. This has caused them to linger in the same cultivation level for a long time without being able to see this attachment, which can only cause damage to Dafa. I have realized that how much a practitioner does is not as important as having the heart of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance" when he does it. Furthermore, whether we have learned how to look inwards throughout our cultivation, whether we rid ourselves of our attachments of "complaint" as well as our impatience with fellow practitioners and our arrogance, selfishness and tendency to argue as soon as possible is also very important.
I hope my own experience can be of help to those practitioners who have exhibited this similar attachment to complaining. On the other hand, I believe that we must never forget one important point: all practitioners have their own levels of enlightenment and Xinxing. We all hope other practitioners can enlighten as quickly as possible and improve, so sometimes we try to force them to understand and want them to understand what we have enlightened to. This is exactly the excuse used by the attachment to complaining. We often like to force other practitioners to enlighten to what we think is correct, but perhaps others would need some time to enlighten the way we did because of their karma and other attachments.
Personally, I believe that whenever we discover that we do not meet the requirement of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance," we must be sure not to let our human sentimentality get in the way and not seek externally. The causes of conflicts (though the old forces also interfere with us) are right here within us. Teacher has constantly imparted to us that we must learn to look within. So whenever we encounter conflicts amongst ourselves, we must really settle down and study the Fa, and seriously strive to fill our hearts and surroundings with the radiance of compassion, even if we have to temporarily drop some of the tasks at hand.
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