Don't Cultivate on Assumptions

(Clearwisdom.net) A while ago, I read Zhuan Falun aloud, paragraph by paragraph. There was a paragraph that struck me for the first time:

"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."(Zhuan Falun, published in 2000)

I read it several times and compared it with my cultivation state. I was astonished and felt as though I had awoken from a dream.

I obtained the Fa a little late, but I have cultivated for over six years nonetheless. I experienced many hardships and evil persecution. With the compassionate help of Master and his protection, I have made it to today in spite of stumbling frequently. Sometimes, I felt happy and took it for granted. I thought that I had cultivated pretty well. However, compared to the standard of Dafa, I was too far away. Actually, the Fruit Status of Arhatship is the lowest Fruit Status. To reach this level, it means that

"He does not care at all in his heart for any ordinary human matter" and "No matter how much loss he suffers, he will still be smiling and in good spirits without any concern."(Zhuan Falun)

Reflecting on my cultivation state, I had not done well at all and sometimes wasn't even cultivating. Moreover, I could not remove my anger toward the authorities that initiated the persecution or toward the CCP and its followers. Later, after studying the Fa, I found that I was regarding the persecutors as enemies. Due to many years of the poisonous influence of the CCP evil culture and concepts such as "love and hate clearly distinguished" and "hating evil like it is an enemy," I had formed twisted mentalities. Practitioners have no enemies. Nobody is qualified to be the enemy of Dafa disciples. If someone hates the persecutors just like an ordinary person hates his enemies, then does he not lower himself to the level of ordinary people? I recall that, in those days, I often tried to look like a "hero," with a frown and angry eyes, which was actually a degenerate expression of a hero that was propagated by the CCP. It is a stark contrast to the compassion and benevolence required by Dafa. When I felt that I had cultivated very well, in actual fact, I was far away from the level of the entry-level Fruit Status of Arhatship.

Upon finding the omission in my Xinxing, I tried to make up for it by doing the three things well as Master told us, and my Xinxing gradually improved. My hot temper cooled down, and that the enemy in my heart disappeared. I will not be angry no matter what happens, and I will remain smiling and in good spirits without any concerns. I do not even think about how well I cultivate because I understand that "Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master" (Zhuan Falun). You only have to cultivate diligently. I realize that any kind of human mentality could have terrible consequences. It's like a mooring rope and anchor that will keep us in the abyss of misery with "capsized boats and torn sails!" It is only by studying the Fa more diligently that can we find our attachments and recognize our incorrect mentalities and let go of them.

August 20, 2005

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/8/21/108842.html

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version