Talking About Selfishness

By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Mainland China

(Clearwisdom.net)

Selfishness is a basic characteristic of the lives in the old universe. A Dafa practitioner must reach a level of understanding that is selfless. As cultivation proceeds within the Fa-rectification, my understanding about selfishness has also progressed.

At the beginning, when I had just begun to cultivate, I thought that selfishness was an act that put others in jeopardy for personal benefit, while selflessness was the act of letting go of personal gain. At time I felt that, as a human being, I was not selfish.

Later, Master Li mentioned in one lecture that our intrinsic nature is based on the concept of self. Then I realized that whether one is selfish or not is not an external representation, but rather a real manifestation of one's inner being. I also learned that our original lives, no matter from how high a realm they came, are not free of selfishness.

Some time later, Master Li mentioned in another Fa lecture that, for many practitioners, their cultivation and Dafa work were based on the concept of self and that they always considered, "What do 'I' want to do?" Through cultivation, however, they saw themselves as particles of Dafa and did whatever they ought to do as Dafa practitioners. At that point, I came to a deeper understanding about selfishness and realized that, whatever we do, we should not do it out of self-interest, but because it is what we should do as Dafa disciples.

In a later Fa lecture, Master Li discussed the intrinsic nature of the old universe and the characteristics of lives in the old universe, and I came to understand something new: In order to overcome the attachment of selfishness, to not resist when the Fa rectification touches our selfishness, and to assimilate and harmonize according to the requirement of the Fa-rectification are the requirements of the Fa-rectification for future lives. I also truly felt the magnificent mercy of Dafa and the beauty of lives existing unselfishly.

Now, although I truly understand the principles of the Fa, I have found that many times I still have to deal with selfishness. Master Li asked disciples to do the three things well. Whether we can do them well is a representation of whether we are responsible for the Fa and for ourselves. Taking responsibility for oneself and doing things that a Dafa practitioner should do is not being selfish. I understand this point. However, I often neglect another point. That is, in doing many things, my first thought is that I should be responsible for "myself": how can "I" do things well, how can "I" keep up with the progress of the Fa-rectification, how can "I" do the three things well, which things have "I" not done right, what should "I" do to make up for it, etc. So many thoughts centered on myself reflect a state that is not selfless, but rather a concealed selfishness. I then came to realize once more that whether one can consider everything on the basis of Dafa and only for harmonizing what Master Li wants is the critical measure of selflessness or selfishness. If one cannot get rid of selfishness, even though he may think that he is doing work for Dafa, he is still saddled with that concealed selfishness.

When I had written to this point, a thought suddenly came to mind, "Would 'my' writing be published?" Actually this is another incorrect mentality. First, even though an article for sharing and discussion is written about personal cultivation experiences, in the current of the Fa-rectification it is first an article for Dafa disciples to share experiences. It is not "mine." Next, the goal of writing an article is to share experiences with others, not for the purpose of being published.

Only by placing the emphasis correctly can we truly be responsible for ourselves and truly do the three things that Master Li asked us to do well.

March 3, 2005

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/3/4/96590.html

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