Respecting Master
In "Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference" Master said,
"All the Fa I just talked about was to tell you one thing: whether you respect me or not, as your Master, I really, truly don't mind. Back then, as I was saving you, a lot of you were cursing at me. There were people who were cursing at me even while at my classes. I don't mind. I just want to save you. (Applause) What I'm trying to say is, personally I don't mind at all how you treat Master. I'm not affected by any factors at any level of the cosmos. But there's one problem, which is, if you don't respect Master, it's wrong according to the principles of the cosmos, and the old forces will take advantage of the gap and destroy you because of this. They'll have seized the biggest excuse to destroy you, since they've seen the entire process of my saving you."
When many of us read this, including myself, we think, "This isn't talking about me, it's those other practitioners that don't respect Master." When we stop and think about it though, could we perhaps be unknowingly disrespecting Master and the Fa due to notions formed after the entire cosmos's deviation from the Fa? Are some of our thoughts, actions and words actually disrespectful, even though in our postnatal notions they seem all right, or even respectful?
In ancient China, it was considered disrespectful to refer to one's master as anything but "master." Many fellow practitioners now use the term "He" to replace "Master."
In the past, monks would bathe and change into clean clothes before reading the scriptures. We all know that they practiced a minor cultivation path. Now we are within the Fa-rectification, and though we have no formal procedures or rituals, we should still be mindful to be respectful of the Fa.
Master has personally taught us the Fa. Master's voice gives the instructions for the exercise tape. When we just go do the movements but our minds are thinking about other things, isn't this also a form of disrespect towards Master?
In "Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A." Master said,
"If we look at it from another angle, when you study the Fa and your mind isn't on the Fa, it's not only a problem of just going through the motions, but also that the person studying the Fa is actually not being very respectful of the Fa. How could the Fa reveal itself, then? So from this angle, I think that you have to calm your mind when you study the Fa, and remember to keep your mind steady during Fa-study when you're busy."
If we closely look at our every thought and action, and instead of using our postnatal notions to determine what is considered respectful, enlighten to what is truly respectful according to the Fa, then the old forces will have no gap to take advantage of, as we will have assimilated to the Fa.
(Rewritten based on http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/6/16/104113.html and http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/6/19/104348.html)
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/6/19/104348.html,http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/6/16/104113.html
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