Cherish Time, for Life Is Truly Brief - Inspired by a Child's Question

By a Falun Gong practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) One day my child asked me how many days there are in a year. I told him, "There are 365 days in a year." The question inspired me to do some calculations; to figure out how long a man's lifespan is in days. Suppose a man can live for one hundred years, then he has about 36,000 days of life span. My annual salary is about 20,000 yuan. Then I suddenly realized that my life is as limited as my annual income. Spending a day now feels like spending several yuan, until I run out of money.

I am a young Falun Gong practitioner. I have always felt that I have a long way ahead of me and I have a lot of time at my disposal. For the longest time, I have been very lethargic in my cultivation practice and attached to my comfortable life. I didn't want to move forward in cultivation because I felt I have had a very hard and exhausting cultivation practice. When I did the calculation, a phrase suddenly popped up in my head: "Life is truly brief." Indeed, life is truly brief. How can I be lethargic in my cultivation practice? Instead of grasping the limited time at my disposal to cultivate and to validate Falun Gong, I have been addicted to a comfortable life and have difficulty parting with comfort. I don't want to stay up late. I don't want to sacrifice my sleep. I am afraid that I won't be able to clarify the truth well because I am introverted and not eloquent. I am afraid to meet my husband or other people's suspicious or sneering looks. Each time I run into an obstacle, I walk around it instead of trying to overcome it. I never seem to be able to respond to everything with righteous thoughts or a mind determined to save the world's people.

Like a child who keeps falling when he is learning to walk, I have taken so many falls that I am afraid of walking altogether. But I know I must not stop walking. Otherwise, how will I ever be able to develop my own path?

Teacher has endured so much for me, but it never seems to occur to me that I ought to continue my cultivation path with solid steps in order to repay Teacher, who has done for me a service as great as a mountain. It never occurred to me that I should contribute to Falun Gong! I am deeply in debt to Teacher! I have let Teacher down! What should I do? Perhaps studying the Fa solidly with a tranquil mind is the only solution to my problems. I must treat myself as a cultivator at all times and cultivate myself well while continuing to validate the Fa and fulfill my pledge. I must constantly strive forward on my journey to godhood!

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/8/26/109209.html

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