My Understanding of Selfishness

(Clearwisdom.net) I understand that the selfishness characteristic of the old cosmos penetrates to the most macroscopic and to the most microscopic particles in the firmament. The new cosmos is selfless and considers others first. I understand the fundamental difference between the old and new cosmos' to be selfishness versus selflessness. Only when we remove selfishness will we be able to enter the new cosmos.

We are lives born in the old cosmos, where selfishness penetrates everything. Even at the origin of life, selfishness was mixed in. Hence, selfishness is deeply rooted in lives born in the old cosmos. We wouldn't have noticed it if we didn't learn Dafa today. Think about it carefully: in every thought of yours, in everything you do, there is an element of selfishness.

The various attachments we form among everyday people, such as jealousy, showing off, zealotry, struggling, wanting to consummate, wanting others' recognition--they all come from selfishness. Why be jealous? Because I am upset about others being better than me. What is there to show off? Because I am better than others. What is there to be excited about? Because I gained something and I am better off in some way. Without selfishness, would there be this many attachments?

Sometimes we unknowingly take selfishness as our motivation. We are motivated to do things when our interests are being served and our selfishness propels us with the hope of personal gain. We will not be motivated if we do not benefit, and will be unhappy if our selfish needs are unsatisfied. Why do we do what we do, and what is the final purpose? There might be selfishness in it. Because the origin of lives from the old cosmos is mixed with selfishness, we have carried it into our cultivation. Why did we start the practice? Some people wanted to heal illness and others wanted to reach consummation. If we think about it clearheadedly, don't these motivations carry the ingredient of selfishness?

Most practitioners gradually become aware of these fundamental attachments, and are eliminating them to make their minds purer and purer. However, many practitioners have not and bring selfishness into truth clarification work. Many practitioners think, "If I don't do such and such, I won't catch up with the Fa rectification process," "If I don't do it, I won't improve fast enough," "I will establish great mighty virtue once I do it, or this person might be a being in my world." These are some of the motivations we have in clarifying the truth. Aren't they all borne of selfishness? Aren't we using the Fa to reach consummation? Using the Fa to meet our selfish desires, what an awful attachment! Teacher mentioned the old forces' mentality many times in his words. Teacher said,

"The fact is, these old forces, strictly speaking, aren't trying to destroy this Fa-rectification, and they don't dare to destroy it. Their purpose, although it's impure, is also to have this Fa-rectification succeed, it's just that they want all of this to follow their requirements--they want Fa-rectification to follow their requirements--which is absolutely prohibited."

"When they're helping me, at the same time they hide their selfish intention of protecting themselves. They all want to change others but not themselves--no one wants to change himself--and they even try to preserve as much as possible the things they're attached to and won't let go of." ("Touring North America to Teach the Fa")

When we use selfishness to motivate ourselves to clarify the truth, aren't we concealing our attachments to consummation and trying to meet our selfish needs as we try to help Teacher? How are we different from the old forces in this way?

Some practitioners might think, "Isn't the final goal of our practice to reach consummation? When we do the three things well, we can improve faster. Through clarifying the truth, are we not establishing great mighty virtue?" That is true. However, what Teacher told us is that consummation is the final result, not a target for us to pursue. This is not an ordinary objective that we can obtain through pursuit. We need to do what we are supposed to do without the attachment of pursuit. When we do the three things with the attitude of "non-action," we won't miss a thing that is supposed to be ours.

Cultivation in Dafa is supernormal. As practitioners, we will never succeed if we think about it all day long; we will never increase our level if we try to increase our levels, and we will not establish much mighty virtue if we attempt to do things that can establish our mighty virtue.

In addition, the old forces would interfere with our cultivation because our hearts are not pure and we are doing Dafa work with selfishness. They would think, "You have selfishness and so do we. You want to use Dafa to establish your mighty virtue and reach consummation; how are you different from us fundamentally? Why is it that we have to be destroyed, and you are heading toward consummation and magnificence?" The old forces will not accept it.

In other words, the old forces can manipulate and persecute us because we do things following the principles of the old cosmos. No matter how much we do, if we hold various forms of selfishness and fear, we are still following the old cosmos' characteristics and will therefore be restrained by them.

If our level is above the old forces, they will not be able to persecute us. Human beings cannot even imagine persecuting Buddhas and gods. If we have the mindset of responsibility toward sentient beings, and we save them selflessly according to the characteristics of the new cosmos, how could the old forces dare to persecute us? How can lives from the old cosmos that are destined to be weeded out control the fate of lives of the new cosmos?

I feel the process of reducing selfishness is the process of expanding our hearts. A non-practitioner has his mind on his family or country. As a result, his family or country becomes parts of him (selfishness). This even applies to gods or Buddhas. I remember once Teacher said in one of His lectures that the reason why Sakyamuni entered into nirvana and Jesus was sacrificed on a cross, is because they couldn't untie the knots attached to their physical bodies. Selfishness from the old cosmos penetrates everything.

If we can assist Teacher in rectifying the Fa and saving sentient beings selflessly, then the volume of our hearts and energy fields will assimilate to the new cosmos. Upon full assimilation, we will be omnipotent and indestructible. We will become what Teacher said in Zhuan Falun, "I am rooted in the universe. If anyone can harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe."

If we take rectifying the Fa and clarifying the truth as our highest priorities without any selfishness, then our powerful righteous thoughts will intimidate all evil, since they can see we are different from them fundamentally. The evils will not dare to persecute you. As soon as they get close to you, your righteous thoughts will dissolve them. Of course, thoughts of selfishness will emerge constantly, but we need to diligently identify them and eliminate them.

If all Dafa practitioners can rectify the Fa selflessly and think of others first, the old forces and all evil elements will vanish.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/8/5/134810.html

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