By a practitioner in Mainland China

(Clearwisdom.net) Yesterday and this morning, I read two of Teacher's recent lectures: "Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles," and "Teaching the Fa in Canada, 2006." Two passages from these lectures really touched me:

"Your true improvement will always be first and foremost, and the consummation of your cultivation is always first and foremost." ("Teaching the Fa in Canada, 2006")

and

"You shouldn't allow any of the things that happen as Dafa disciples cultivate, clarify the truth, save sentient beings, and work against the persecution to interfere with what's first and foremost for you. You must handle this well!" ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")

In these lectures, Teacher mentioned "first and foremost" several times. He saw that we were unable to step beyond humanness and were stuck in human notions, and he was worried for us. Even now, there are still too many fellow practitioners who are unable to let go of their attachments to their children, spouses, and grandchildren. Some practitioners have pointed this out very clearly on the Clearwisdom website. This problem is even more serious right before reaching consummation. It is very dangerous when human qing is not severed. When I look at the practitioners around me, some of them are making progress, but when they need to make a choice between Dafa and their families, they still choose trivial familial matters and do not regard Dafa as first priority. Fellow practitioners, Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, we need to quickly break through our human notions and this human shell. We must allow this "first and foremost" Fa into the most microcosmic particles of our beings and think about it with every one of our thoughts. When we reach that level, the trivial matters among ordinary people will be very easy to overcome.

Why is it that many practitioners still cannot reach a peaceful state when they do the sitting meditation? It is because our thoughts are not pure, not quiet, and we have too many other thoughts. I, too, have this problem. When I read the line, "Step forward from humanness, and we will become gods" from Clearwisdom, I remembered sharing the same thoughts with a fellow practitioner this morning. At the same time, I hope the practitioners, after reading this sharing article, can truly awaken and become gods.

With Teacher's care and protection, we have come this far since July 1999. The process has not been easy. If we are still unclear about the purpose of cultivation and slack off, and if we want to become gods but can't let go of humanness, when the great wave of the Fa-rectification arrives, it will be too late to regret. Because if we have not been diligent and have not cultivated well, we will be unworthy of what the Teacher endured for us and gave us. Some practitioners think that as long as they distribute truth-clarification materials and the Nine Commentaries, do the exercises, and send forth righteous thoughts, they will be able to reach consummation because they are doing the three things. Actually, it does not count as cultivation to remain ordinary people while doing Dafa things. In Zhuan Falun Teacher clearly tells us, "the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments." which is the process of eliminating the attachments to fame, wealth, and emotions.

Our process of clarifying the truth to people, working against the persecution, and even leaving our homes to avoid persecution and do Dafa work, is also a process of giving up human attachments. Teacher has intently arranged our cultivation. When an attachment is pointed out, we have to realize it and get rid of it. This is the fastest, most solid way to cultivate. In Zhuan Falun, regarding those who cultivate by wandering about, Teacher said,

"He goes about everything as a practitioner, he keeps his interactions with people in the proper perspective, he guards his character well, constantly improves his character."

The recent instructions on changing the characters in the Chinese version of Zhuan Falun and the publication of "Thoroughly Dissolve the Evil" indicated that Teacher has removed many evil factors that blocked practitioners from each other. At the same time, the time left for us to cultivate through clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings is also more and more limited. Many practitioners around me are awakening, deeply and solemnly reflecting on our cultivation process, and truly looking inward to cultivate.

I hope those practitioners who are still attached to pleasure among ordinary people, who have many fears, and who are attached to comfort can truly step forward out of humanness and become gods. Any excuse that distracts us from diligent cultivation can destroy this "once-in-a million-years" predestined opportunity to cultivate.

Posting date: 1/6/2007
Original article date: 1/6/2007
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/12/23/145286.html

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