My Realization Regarding Looking Within

By a Dafa practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net)

Teacher points out in lecturing on the Fa that cultivation practice is to cultivate one's heart. When conflicts arise, one needs to look inward and constantly discard attachments. I realize that as a practitioner, looking inward for attachments is as important as our daily bread. We practitioners need to take it as something important that we must do conscientiously everyday. People in ancient times are said to check their conduct three times a day. As practitioners, we should be even more so to make it our daily assignment to look inward to see what attachments we have not yet abandoned.

For the last six months, I paid more attention to looking inward whenever I had some free time (e.g. on the way to and from work) to see if I still had attachments not yet discarded. Because I was conscious of myself looking inward everyday, during Fa study or reading articles in Clearwisdom.net, I was often being reminded of what kind of attachment I had. After I discovered the attachment and discarded it, I experienced the jubilance of the upgrading of my xinxing level, and felt so blessed to be practicing cultivation. It is exactly like what Teacher said:

"Cultivation practice itself is not difficult, and neither is upgrading one's level itself difficult. It is because they cannot give up the human mind that they call it difficult." (Zhuan Falun)

But half a year ago, I did not have that kind of joyful feeling because I did not actively search within myself for attachments on a daily basis. Instead I looked inward only after I encountered some conflict. It was passive, and it was challenging to let go. I experienced the meaning of

"Toiling the body does not count as suffering, Cultivating the heart is most excruciating." (Hongyin)

Later I realized that I should not be this passive all the time and must actively search within. After putting this into practice for half a year, the situation changed radically.There was no pain now as looking within has become part of my daily routine.

"For cultivators at different levels, the Fa has different requirements"

("Non-Omission")

I start to realize that even though each practitioner is at a different level, the Fa requires of him to abandon all attachments at that level without omission to meet the requirements of that level. If every practitioner could meet the requirements at his level, there would be no loophole for the evil to exploit. We would be able to save the sentient beings better and fulfill the mission as Dafa disciples.

Around July 20 this year, the evil once again stepped up their persecution of Dafa practitioners. Some practitioners informed me that the evil had already been following me only that they had not yet taken any action, and that I needed to be more careful. During Fa study later, Teacher hinted to me that the evil would not come. I also realized that by having righteous thoughts and actions, abandoning the attachments, and meeting the Fa's requirement at my level, the evil would have no hole to exploit.

Fa-rectification has reached the final stage, every practitioner needs to pay attention to searching within for attachments, and see if we have "cultivated until no attachment left." If tomorrow the Fa rectifies the human world, have we met the standard for consummation? Have we saved all the sentient beings that put their hopes in us? (Even if we still have only one attachment, there will be many lives in our corresponding cosmic body that get eliminated.)

September 3, 2003

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version