1. Often in my personal cultivation and Fa rectification, there are certain things I don't pay particular attention to, even though Master has told us to mind minor details. This often plays a negative role in Fa rectification and in this regard, improvements haven't been fundamental as a result of my conventional thinking. However, one day I received many hints about this.

One day, I slept late even though I had woken up multiple times early, and then I had forgotten to do some things for one of my classes. When I arrived at the class late, I talked to the professor and explained how I didn't have any of those things. She said to make sure I got it in next week. This was the first hint: namely, if something isn't done well, pay attention to it and remember to do it well next time, even if it is a small matter.

Then while in class, she asked me to do one of the things that needed to be done, and it was done very quickly and I was able to leave early. Later that day, I went to another one of my classes. When I was driving my car, I turned on the lights, as it was getting dark. I was again late for my class and was in a hurry, and forgot to turn off my lights. After class was over, I went out to my car and discovered that the lights were on, but very dim, and my car would not start. This was the second hint, stressing the same issue in a different aspect, that even if I am in a hurry in the Fa rectification and doing things quickly, that shouldn't mean doing them less completely and in an all-encompassing manner. Immediately afterwards, when I headed towards my next class I went to use my cell phone, which almost always resides at my hip strapped to my belt, to call for someone to help. However, this time when I reached down, I grabbed air. My cell phone was not there, and an image flashed through my mind of me taking off my cell phone while changing my clothes and then forgetting it because I was in a rush. This hint further enforced the one mentioned above, and showed that these "little things" aren't actually little, especially when there are many of them, because now precious time had been wasted.

When I arrived at my other class, I found that we were taking a test that I did not study for. I struggled tremendously through the test and knew almost none of the content. This also took a lot of time (because we could leave after the test was finished) and would result in a grade that would not meet the standards of a good student. The professor in the beginning even said that we only had to answer 8 out of the 10 questions to make it easier for us, and later on while I was struggling, he tried to help the whole class by giving hints. This helped to show that on this day I was being given a multitude of hints to truly cultivate away these things. Then as I was almost done, my professor picked up a newspaper to read, which read in big letters on the front page facing out: "This Test Could Help Save Your Life!" At this moment I began to realize all the hints that were given throughout the day and where I need to improve. Then when I was finished, I went up to the professor and without thinking, I said, "Can we leave after we finish the test?" He replied, "Yes."

Posting date: 4/26/2003
Original article date: 4/26/2003
Category: Practitioners' Insights

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