(Clearwisdom.net) I am concerned about several issues regarding practitioners in our local area. I am writing them down so that we can all improve together. Please kindly point out anything improper.
1. Some practitioners are unwilling to interact with other practitioners
Some practitioners are unwilling to interact with other practitioners, and this has impeded their improvement. Teacher said,
"The cultivation practice form that I have left for Dafa disciples ensures that disciples can truly improve themselves. For example, I ask you to do the exercises as a group in parks in order to form an environment. This environment is the best way to change the surface of a person. The lofty conduct that Dafa disciples have established in this environment--including every word and every deed--can make people recognize their own weaknesses and identify their shortcomings; it can move their hearts, refine their conduct, and enable them to make progress more rapidly. Therefore, new students or self-taught disciples have to go to the practice sites to do the exercises." ("Environment" in Essentials for Further Advancement)
I think that, through interacting and communicating with other practitioners, we can find our shortcomings quicker and improve together. Diligent practitioners especially need to take the initiative to interact with those who have been severely persecuted by the evil. By sharing understandings of the Fa, we can find the omissions that the evil has taken advantage of and improve.
2. Some practitioners follow others instead of the Fa
Some practitioners tend to follow those whom they think cultivate well, and just do whatever they are told without even thinking. In the past, my attachment of fear was severe and I did not dare go out to clarify the truth. However, despite doing poorly myself, I was even jealous over those who cultivated well and made sarcastic remarks, "With pursuit for Consummation, regardless how many things you have done to prepare materials and clarify the truth, you cannot improve nor reach Consummation." In this way, at my own xinxing level, I was commenting on others without paying attention to speech, which misled others and made excuses for my not going out to clarify the truth. Now I regret this whenever I think about it. In Zhuan Falun, Teacher said,
"But if you want to be a cultivator, your cultivation all relies on your own mind, and your understanding all relies on your own self, there aren’t any role models." (Zhuan Falun)
Now I have come to understand that as practitioners who are following Dafa, some appear to cultivate or understand better. However, what we are enlightened to is still limited to our levels. If a practitioner cultivates well in certain aspects, he or she may not necessarily cultivate well in other aspects. Every one of us has a different situation regarding work environment, family, karma, as well as attachments. Therefore, Teacher has arranged different cultivation paths for each of us. We should follow the Fa, rather than other practitioners. I can recall how some practitioners in Shandong Province launched a Minghui School, as well as held large-scale experience-sharing conferences, which led to many practitioners being arrested. These are examples of following fellow practitioners rather than the Fa, and we should learn from these lessons.
3. Some practitioners are attached to dreams
Some practitioners are attached to dreams, and even do things based on what they see in the dreams. In Zhuan Falun, Teacher said,
"…when you look at things with your Third Eye, if you calmly observe with no thoughts added in, what you see is real. But as soon as you use your mind, even if it’s just a little bit, everything you see will be false, and this is ‘breeding demons in your own mind," which is also called "transforming according to thoughts.’"
"So once you have an attachment it’ll generate this demonic illusion, and it’s really hard to break free from it." (Zhuan Falun)
My understanding is that we are cultivating the main consciousness, and we need to be clear-minded. Many of our dreams are related to our attachments. For example, when my attachment of fear was severe, I sometimes saw scary scenes in my dream. That is to say, wherever you have attachments, evil will take advantage of them in those areas. The more we are attached to dreams, the more we may be interfered with through that channel. Therefore, no matter what we see in the dreams, we cannot use them as guidance.
Finally, I hope that all practitioners can start writing articles and submit them to the Minghui websites. In the past, I also thought my education level was low. Later, based on the Fa, I realized I needed to write. After seeing my articles published, I was very encouraged. Now I have come to understand that we are Dafa disciples and different from everyday people. An everyday person with a low education level may not be able to write articles, but we can, since we are Dafa disciples.
Take the example of reciting the Fa. In the past, I used to make excuses for myself, saying that I had a bad memory. In fact, it was just laziness—thinking reciting was too tiring for me. Later, after reading practitioners’ articles, I was very impressed and realized that reciting the Fa can help us improve quicker based on the Fa. Thus, I started to recite the Fa. It was not easy at the beginning. A short paragraph took me several hours, and sometimes it even took me days to memorize one paragraph. I did not give up, but continued. Reciting the Fa became easier, and I was able to memorize a paragraph in a short time. During this process, I was enlightened to many understandings. There were many parts of the Dafa which seemed completely new to me. Through reciting the Fa, I did see faster improvement.
There was always plenty of interference when I was writing articles. I came to understand that I needed to write no matter how much interference there was. Every time I wrote something, I would improve. Of course, the purpose of our writing articles is not just for our own improvement. Meanwhile, even if our articles are not published, we should not be upset, since this is part of cultivation. I think the Minghui website is a place that practitioners all over the world can use to share understandings for the purpose of improving together. Just like what a practitioner said in an article, the Minghui website is our own website, and each of us should support and safeguard it.
