Tempering Ourselves During Fa-rectification Work
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Tainan City, Taiwan
(Clearwisdom.net) Practitioners often remind each other to keep up with
the Fa-rectification process. As the workload increases, we ask ourselves to
expand our capacity and participate in more Dafa related work. As the Fa-rectification
is drawing to the end, are we really keeping up with it in our cultivation?
After going through some tribulations and tests, I feel the need to take a look
at my previous path of cultivation. I was moved by recent sharing with some
practitioners. I looked at how others are cultivating and then reflected on how
I have been doing it. I decided to write down my experience in Fa-study
and cultivation to share with you. Please kindly point out any shortcomings. Study the Fa with a Calm Mind We all know the three things to do in this current stage and we
all know the importance of Fa-study. Yet, how to study the Fa and really take
the Fa into one's mind? A recent article on Clearwisdom.net, "Don't Let
These Be Empty Words: 'Let Teacher be More Pleased and Worry Less'"
(http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/7/4/62544.html) says it clearly.
It is because our problems in this respect are now more evident and we need to
pay more attention. Especially when there are a lot of projects to work on and
our minds are filled with thoughts of how to do the work well, we cannot
concentrate on Fa-study. Often, after Fa-study, our minds are blank, not knowing
what we've learned. Teacher has told us, "Since you are indeed busy these days, with many of you having
volunteered to shoulder a lot of work, this makes it hard for you to focus
when you do Fa-study. You're always thinking about Fa-rectification things and
aren't able to quiet your mind when you study the Fa. Then you're actually
studying in vain. If you can't study the Fa rationally and clearheadedly,
you're studying in vain, and you're wasting your time. So you have to
recognize this." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in
Boston,") Now, in many group studies we discuss the work right after studying the Fa.
We do not hear practitioners talk about how they improve their xinxing
and get rid of their attachments any more. Our cultivation is reflected in the
process of doing Fa-rectification work. Once we have unrighteous thoughts, there
will be a problem. The process of looking within, getting rid of attachments,
and displaying the great power of Dafa in the work we do to validate the Fa, is
the most precious in our cultivation. When we can really study the Fa with a calm mind, read it word by word and
sentence by sentence, the Fa will generate righteous thoughts in us. We will be
able to feel that we are gods standing between heaven and earth with immense
bodies and power. Then we will eliminate the evil that's damaging the cosmos
when we send forth righteous thoughts. In addition, we will have endless wisdom
in clarifying the truth and hence, the sentient beings will be
saved. A veteran practitioner shared that whenever he reads Zhuan Falun,
he reads it as if it were his first time reading the book. In fact, he might
have read the book over a thousand times. His words touched me. When we are
reading Zhuan Falun, we tend to read it fast, because we are already
familiar with the content. As a result, we often do not know what we are
reading. We should reset ourselves to zero and read the book with great
attention, as if reading it for the first time. Think about how we were moved
the first time when we read the book. If we read it with this mindset, it's not
likely that we will let other thoughts go rampant. Only in this way are we
studying the Fa with our heart. The gods in the book will reveal the meaning of
the Fa behind the words, corresponding to our level. Besides, only when we study
the Fa with a calm mind, are we paying respect to Master and the Fa. Doing Dafa Work with a Pure Heart In doing Dafa work, I always follow one principle, namely, that there is no
one individual in Dafa work. Hence, I always remind myself in a conflict to keep
Dafa as the priority. In the process of Fa-rectification in the cosmos, anything
related to the individual becomes so trivial. So in any conflict, I look within
and try to put myself aside. Although I might not be able to get rid of a
specific attachment right away, and sometimes I might feel afflicted and
uncomfortable, I will not let the conflict affect Dafa work. Our assisting Master in the Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings is
carrying out our divine vows. It is not helping anyone else. Therefore, we
should do the Dafa work with the purest heart. In actual practice, are we really
like that? When I feel I was wronged or when things do not go smoothly in the
work, I may start to complain and blame it on others. Looking within, however, I
realize that it is an attachment to showing off. In a word, I found I was doing
the work to validate myself, not to validate Dafa. Such an attachment is hidden
deep and cannot be easily discovered. However, cultivation is a serious issue.
If one's individual cultivation cannot meet the standards, then that layer of
cosmos cannot last long. Our doing Dafa work is to be responsible for the
cosmos. When doing work to validate the Fa, we always hold too many human notions and
miss many opportunities to save sentient beings. If each and every one of the
Dafa disciples can put their purest heart into the work they do, our righteous
thoughts will have great power. Whether it is just pressing one button, saying
one sentence or passing out one flyer, it will have great power. Eliminating Attachments When I couldn't maintain good xinxing, I thought about what Teacher says in Zhuan
Falun, "As you know, when a person reaches the Arhat level, in his heart he
is not concerned about anything. He does not care at all in his heart for any
ordinary human matter, and he will always be smiling and in good spirits. No
matter how much loss he suffers, he will still be smiling and in good spirits
without any concern. If you can really do this, you have already reached the
entry-level Fruit Status of Arhatship." I often think that Dafa disciples are to cultivate to an even higher level.
An Arhat at the entry-level is not concerned about anything. He does not care at
all in his heart for any ordinary human matters, and he will always be smiling
and in good spirits. How far away from that we are! We should be cultivating towards the point where we are unmoved, yet we always blame it on outside factors or other people when there is a
conflict. If we can calm down and examine each and every thought of ours, we
will be surprised. How come I still have such bad thoughts? Why couldn't I get
rid of these attachments? Teacher makes arrangements for us to get rid of our attachments. It is not
easy to pass the test every time. So when the capacity of the heart reaches its
limit and needs to be enlarged, it is really challenging to add even a little
more. At that moment, countless thoughts of self-reproach and depression pop up.
I hate the "me" who cannot cultivate well, but this "me"
just keeps following me around like a shadow. Every minute is a torture.
However, Master is benevolently taking care of the disciples. When I was
studying the Fa, I read the following: "This is also to say that during your cultivation there will be
conflicts and tests, and there will be things like ordinary human thoughts
that you can't let go of. This is cultivation. Human thoughts are eliminated
layer after layer in Dafa cultivation. You know that it's just like the skins
of an onion being peeled off one by one until eventually the core is
reached." ("Lecture at the Conference in New Zealand") Everyone knows the pain of getting rid of attachments, especially the strong,
deep-rooted attachments. They are even harder to get rid of, so they cause more
pain. I have to keep reminding myself and telling myself that those notions are
not mine. I do not want to think about them. I want to draw a distinct line
separating me from them. In some of my experiences of getting rid of
attachments, I can feel that it is benevolent Master who helps me to eliminate
the mountain of attachments. Sometimes it's after studying the Fa, sometimes it's after doing the
exercises, that the wound in my heart which was afflicted from not giving up a
certain attachment, will be healed. I feel no more pain at all and so light that
I could float. I even forget what I was attached to. "...There are many things that you can't do but that Master can. And
so how does Master do them? It's not like as soon as we come into contact I'll
remove them. When your righteous thoughts are firm and when you can repel
those things, I remove them for you bit by bit; however much you can do,
that's how much I remove for you and diminish for you. (Applause) But
since you're a cultivator, you have to truly hold yourself to the requirements
for a cultivator. Even though sometimes you still can't quite get there yet,
you've got to at least have those righteous thoughts, and you've got to
cultivate yourselves." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference") We are in the last phase of the Fa-rectification. It seems that everything is
targeting our fundamental attachments. I found it was like that with other
practitioners, too. Even some practitioners, who are unanimously recognized as
cultivating well, have admitted that they have never encountered such conflicts
in work and family life since they started cultivation. I have just walked
through that process and I am fully aware of the suffering. When I study the Fa more and have strong righteous thoughts, I feel that I
have gotten over it. After some time, however, the conflicts come back again.
Sometimes I feel I did not behave like a practitioner and dare not face Master. Master says, "So in other words, cultivation practice must genuinely change a
person's heart. If you want to reach high realms, if you want to reach the
realm of a God, you must reach a God's realm of mind. If only your surface is
changed while your nature remains the same, that's fake. At a certain time or
at a critical moment, it will still show up. So if a person's heart isn't
changed, that's just covering up with a false appearance. Changes must occur
starting with your nature -- only that counts as genuinely changing yourself.
In other words, you have to be responsible to yourself in cultivation, and you
have to genuinely change yourself and let go of the bad things that you're
attached to deep inside--only that is genuine letting go. If you seem to do
everything right on the surface but deep inside you still guard and hold on to
the things that you don't let go of, that's absolutely unacceptable."
("Lecture at the Western United States Fa Conference, Feb. 21 and 22.
1999, Los Angeles") Indeed, it was because I didn't really change myself fundamentally. In order
to do that, I have to assimilate to Dafa and rectify myself in the Fa. View the Barriers in the Work from a Dafa Disciple's Perspective Since we are Dafa disciples doing Dafa work, I remembered to treat the Dafa
work with righteous thoughts when I first participated in Internet related Dafa
work. At that time, I didn't know much about computers. I often contacted
practitioners who are computer experts, to hear from them how the evil blocks
the Internet and how they broke through. I tended to care more about the related
technical information, forgetting that technology is nothing compared with Dafa
disciples' righteous thoughts. Many practitioners who know the technology have
been really working hard. They have spent a great amount of time and effort
breaking through the Internet blockade, so that the precious Chinese people can
know the truth about Dafa. Their efforts are certainly appreciated and they have
helped save more sentient beings. Recently, a practitioner reminded us, "There is no constraint between
this qi and that qi."(Zhuan Falun) He asked us not to forget that we
are Dafa disciples while doing the Internet related work. Whenever we encounter
a problem, we cannot always look for technical ways to solve them. If we put all
our attention into the technical stuff, we are fighting the evil with
technology. Are we not on the same level as they are, then? If we focus on
studying the techniques of technology and neglect Fa-study, this omission is
very likely to be taken advantage of. As a result, it might affect Dafa work, as
well as our saving sentient beings and our own cultivation. I am not denying the efforts of practitioners who know computer technology. I
just want to remind practitioners that whenever you encounter a technical
problem, you might want to put the work aside for a while. No matter how urgent
it is, you should study the Fa and it will give you wisdom. The problems will soon be resolved, because "one's gong level is as high
as one's xinxing level" and "cultivation depends on one's own efforts,
while the transformation of gong is done by one's master." (Zhuan Falun).
When your level is raised, the things you do will not be restricted to this
human dimension and you are in a divine state, capable of anything. Who can stop
you? If Dafa disciples remember to look within and put Fa-study and cultivation
as the first priority, our righteous thoughts will display their power. Then we
can really do things that non-practitioners cannot do. It took me more than a week to write this article. I worked on it several
times. It looks totally different from the first draft. The process of writing
is indeed a process of cultivation, peeling off one shell after another. There
is no specific theme in my article. It's just a collection of some of my
understandings. Thank you. Written on July 5,2005
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/7/6/105553.html
Yearly Archive
Printer Version
feedback@clearwisdom.net