Written by a practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) Thinking back to the reason why I learned Falun Dafa, I realized that it was merely my yearning for "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance," and my desire to reach that realm. It was that simple. Therefore, it has never mattered to me when the Fa-rectification would be completed, whether I'd develop gong or whether my illnesses would be cured. None of these can affect my persisting in Dafa cultivation. I am writing this article today because I feel that some practitioners have the tendency to cover up their true motivation in their articles. This, of course, is my own feeling.

1. Practicing Dafa Because of Having Illness Cured

Some practitioners had many illnesses and suffered a lot of pain before they began Dafa cultivation. Their illnesses disappeared after practicing, and thus they felt gratitude towards Teacher and decided to cultivate to the end. When facing persecution, they thought of their lives being saved by Teacher and that augmented their courage. On the surface, they are very persistent, but I felt their motives lack a rational understanding of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance," and they have the mindset of feeling gratitude towards Teacher. Think about it, if an ordinary physician had a more powerful method in curing illnesses, then this practitioner might have felt gratitude to that doctor instead. And if a practitioner did not have an illness before, then he or she may not practice Dafa.

Many new practitioners began Dafa cultivation after their bodies were cleansed through the practice. They thus felt indebted to Teacher. It is not wrong to feel that way and they can express such feelings when they spread Dafa, but after they gain a rational understanding of the Fa, they shouldn't continue to keep this type of sentimentality. That is the thinking of a non-cultivator. If they continue to embrace such thoughts, it may affect their obtaining deeper understandings of the Fa. They should put their minds on a rational understanding of the Fa.

2. Practicing Dafa Because of Being Able to See With the Celestial Eye

Some practitioners have seen Falun or have had dreams of magnificent scenery, giving them greater faith in Dafa, and they tried harder sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth. They might even change their minds and cultivate in another school of practice if they saw even more magnificent scenery from that school. Conversely, if they didn't see anything, they might not be so persistent in Dafa cultivation. This may be acceptable for new practitioners, but later on in cultivation practice, such a mind-set should be eliminated.

3. Practicing Dafa In Order to Be Free of Suffering

Before they started Dafa cultivation, some practitioners felt that life was full of suffering; that life is filled with unendurable pain and they were unwilling to endure such painful suffering. Later, when they realized that freedom and true, enduring happiness were possible through cultivation, they pledged that they didn't want to be human beings any more and decided to leave this world that is so full of hardship. They become steadfast in clarifying the truth and in facing the persecution. Conversely, many practitioners who are very successful in ordinary human society are also very persistent in Dafa cultivation; they are the people who never thought of breaking away from hardship.

Overall, we are all very persistent in doing the three things Teacher taught us; we merely want to assimilate to "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance," and want ourselves to be beings within "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance." Any other motivations for doing the three things are not important. Those elements, which seem to promote Dafa cultivation, may be helpful in the beginning, but in the long run, they may obstruct cultivation and impede Fa-rectification.

Once, a practitioner was tearful while delivering a speech, saying, "Dafa has saved my family," and expressed that he would be steadfast in Dafa cultivation. Everyone was deeply touched. But I feel this practitioner was too sentimental about his family. If Teacher hadn't saved his family, it is not sure whether he would be a Dafa cultivator. That kind of thinking should be let go of on a fundamental level.

Posting date: 6/12/2005
Original article date: 6/11/2005
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/5/30/102871.html

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