Letting Go of My Fundamental Attachment to Self-interest, Cultivating Compassion and Righteous Thoughts
(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings, Master and Fellow practitioners. Today, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to share my cultivation
experience at the Australian Experience Sharing Conference. In the past, I was
not willing to write my experience of cultivation. Even though I understood the
attachment can be eliminated by writing it out, I still used all sorts of
excuses to delay writing my sharing. The truth is I did not want to write it
because there was a deeper attachment hidden inside, and I did not want it to be
exposed. However, writing out the experience really cleansed me, and through it,
I was able to find my fundamental attachment, look within myself and truly
cultivate. My topic for today is: Letting go of fundamental self-interests and
cultivating compassion and righteous thoughts. 1. Putting the starting point for cultivation in the right place, and
discarding the fundamental attachment to self-interest In the last few years, I have been doing media work. At the beginning I
worked as an editor and reporter, and everything went smoothly. However, since I
became a co-ordinator in 2003, my cultivation environment has been changing
continuously, and I have encountered lots of problems, with some conflicts being
very intense. Although I was prepared for the conflicts that could happen, when
the conflicts actually came they really moved my heart. For a period of time,
some practitioners complained about me, they thought I was too strict with
others, and it was pointed out that I was protecting my personal reputation and
interest. In my defense, I just thought I should point out the behavior which
does not conform to the Fa, because I could see other practitioners'
attachments, such as jealousy, show-off, etc... Once, after a group Fa study, a practitioner pointed at me and shouted:
"You just go against me, you just don't want me to do it..." I felt
very angry although I did not argue with him. Later, another practitioner said
to me, "You did not argue back with him so now don't take it to your
heart." However, Master told us there is no coincidence when conflicts
happen between practitioners, and everyone should look within themselves. I went
back home, and standing in front of the bookshelf, I picked up a book of
Master's teachings and opened it up, and read a question a practitioner was
asking Master: "As a practitioner, how do we let go of our fundamental
self-interests?" I read it many times, but still could not find what my
fundamental attachment was. My only thought was that anger is something I should
not have. I knew that the reason I could not find my attachment was because I
did not study the Fa well. As a result I could always see other people's
shortcomings when conflicts happened, and although I did not have the intention
to be against this practitioner, I could not make my real thoughts understood by
him either, so I just simply did not argue at all. I believed that after all,
every one of us works towards the same goal --and that is to do the media work
well. If I had argued, it would only cause more harm to the whole body. I truly realized through this tribulation that I had not let go of my
self-interest and as a practitioner, this would mean I did not even meet the
standard of a practitioner. I was shocked when I realized that I still had not
found my fundamental attachment after so many years of cultivation. Then how
could I call myself a Falun Dafa practitioner? Whenever conflicts happened, my
heart was moved and all I saw was other people's shortcomings, not mine. I did
not study the Fa well. Why did I not study Fa well? Master said in the article "Towards Consummation": " Studying the Fa with attachments is not true cultivation. Yet during
the course of cultivation a person may gradually become aware of his
fundamental attachments, rid himself of them, and thus meet the standard for a
cultivator. What's a fundamental attachment, then? Human beings acquire many
notions in this world and are, as a consequence, driven by these notions to
pursue what they yearn for. But when a person comes to this world, it is
karmic arrangements that determine his course of life and what will be gained
and lost in it. How could a person's notions determine each stage of his life?
So those so-called "beautiful dreams and wishes" become pursuits
that can never be realized, despite painful attachments." I shared with another practitioner, and his words touched me and made me
realize my problem. He said to me: "You are too idealistic. This is
cultivation, so of course the problem will be exposed, and that is what we need
to cultivate." When I heard his words and thought about Master's articile
"Towards Consummation," I remembered that when I first started
cultivation, it was the thought that Falun Dafa is good, Master is great and
cultivators are kind, that brought me to Dafa. I started practicing in China in 1998. I still remember clearly the wonderful
experience and feeling at the time. In Zhuan Falun, Master
taught us profound principles with simple words, which is exactly what I had
been looking for. The environment and states that practitioners in China reached
by truly cultivating made me feel that is what I had been looking for. However,
many years have passed and I still have these same thoughts in my mind. I did
not truly cultivate myself and did not melt into the Fa. If could not let go of
this fundamental attachment and could not understand the Fa based on the Fa, how
could I cultivate? I always complained about others whenever tribulations came;
I always looked at other's shortcomings, using the Fa to measure other
practitioners' cultivation and that is why I could not find my own fundamental
attachment. Since I found my fundamental attachment, I have been able to return to the
right starting point in cultivation. I gradually searched inside according to
the Fa. I was able to cultivate myself and examine my own thoughts. I learned
how to look inside, instead of judging others all the time. 2. Looking within to rid myself of attachments to fame, self interest ,and
sentiment while cultivating compassion and harmony As I always yearned for nicety, I felt annoyed when I saw that some
practitioners behaved with ordinary people's thoughts. I thought "How can
Dafa practitioners behave like this?" Being lofty and arrogant made me not
want to meet some more practitioners. Especially after I worked as coordinator
for the media, these thoughts became stronger, and resulted in more conflict. I
did not wish to be close to others, and always thought I was right. Isn't this
the attachment to reputation, self interest and sentiment? I mistakenly thought
that I was measuring with the Fa who cultivates better and who did not, that I
did not follow anybody and I was following the Fa, etc... Master asked us to study Fa well, gave us the path for cultivation, but I
always thought I was right. Even if I was right I should have still looked
within myself, and I would have discovered the attachment of validating myself,
and would have been able to get rid of the attachment to safeguarding
self-interest. To not be affected by what other people say, whether good or bad,
is easy to say but difficult to achieve, because it needs a process to be able
to do that. I know that I need to cultivate tolerance and benevolence, to my
fellow practitioners, to my family, and to all people in my environment Master said in "Dafa Is All-Encompassing": "In high-level cosmic bodies, Great Enlightened Beings' paradises and
lives are born of righteous Fa-principles or are consummated through
cultivating with righteous Fa-principles. Everything of theirs conforms to the
righteous Fa-principles. An Enlightened Being is also the King of his
paradise, but he doesn't rule in the way humans think of ruling--he
benevolently takes care of all sentient beings in his paradise with the
Zhen-Shan-Ren righteous Fa-principles; whereas humans' conquering the world
with military force and the strong being heroes are the principles that the
cosmos's Dafa has for this human level." Some practitioners pointed out to me that when I have something negative in
my mind, then all I could see were the bad things. Now I understand that by
following the higher standard of the Fa, we do not accept the bad negative
things, we just do what Master asked us to do. After learning to study the Fa calmly now, I realized in the past I always
read the Fa with ideas in mind, I always used what I learned from the Fa to aim
at others instead of myself. When I could not study the Fa calmly it was because
I was scared that my attachment would be exposed. I did not realize that it is
the ordinary people's attachment to not be tolerant to others and to not look
inside myself. It is also the attachment of jealousy that made me judge others
as not good being enough. I often had ordinary people's thoughts, but I still
insisted my understanding of the Fa was correct. This is not cultivating myself
at all, it is the effect of the negative notion of being selfish. The old forces
just want us to look at each other's shortcomings, so that there will be
segregation between practitioners. However what Master told us is to look inside
ourselves, and treat others with great benevolence and tolerance. When I understood the Fa clearly, my attachment to striving went away, and I
became able to understand others and look at the strong points of others more.
Every practitioner is in the process of cultivating, we are studying the same Fa,
we all work for one target --- clarify the truth and save people, what Master
looks at is our diligence to cultivate ourselves. My narrow beginning in
cultivation was not only negative, but one-sided, and did not conform to the Fa.
When I found my attachment and let it go then tolerance emerged and I grew able
to consider others with a tolerant heart and look within myself during
conflicts. As cultivators, we should not harmonize what we want, but should
accord with the Fa as one body Master said In " Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Singapore": " So what does it mean to "fulfill the Fa"? Many of our
cultivators might not know. Since this Fa is so great--it can save us, it can
allow us to reach different levels and realms through cultivating, and can
lead us to Consummation--why does it need people to fulfill it? As a matter of
fact, you might have thought about something: Ordinary human society, too, is
a manifestation of the boundless Dafa of the cosmos at this lowest level, that
of ordinary humans. Every form manifest in ordinary human society, too, is
given and created by this Fa. So we are, as cultivators, using this
environment to do cultivation. Although ordinary human society is bad when
viewed from different levels, it too is a level and realm created by the Fa.
Then, if in your cultivation you're clear on how to break out of this level
and how to free yourself from the various behaviors and notions of ordinary
human society, you can break through those barriers and rise to a higher
level. That's what you have to achieve in cultivation." Yes, both the notion of ordinary human society which appeared among
practitioners and the form of working and living environment in ordinary human
society are given and created by the Fa. As cultivators, we need to truly
cultivate ourselves in this environment. Only by getting rid of the notion of
selfishness, will tolerance and compassion emerge, and righteous thoughts reach
our hearts. When I changed my mindset, I noticed that the practitioner who
complained about me before also started to change his attitude. Especially in
recent truth clarification projects, all of us co-operated with each other and
forgot about the past experience. Every practitioner is cultivating, and
everyone has certain strengths. All of us are harmonizing the entirety,
fulfilling Master's requirement for the disciples of the Fa-rectification
Period. More important, every practitioner is participating in the Fa
rectification, and all Dafa disciples are returning to their origins. Recently
some practitioners said to me: "Your team is making concerted efforts, and
cooperating so well with each other." As a matter of fact, this is the
power of compassion. This is the embodiment of tolerance and mercy after we let
go of selfishness. Dafa disciples' goal is the embodiment of being one body, so
we can do the Fa-rectification better. 3. Letting go of notions and attachments, and clarifying the truth with
righteous thoughts After the publication of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist
Party, helping people withdraw from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party)
and its affiliated organizations became a very important aspect in Fa
Rectification. However, at the time of doing it, there were lots of notions
which blocked me, so I could not even open my mouth to talk. I was afraid the
listener would not agree with me. Many practitioners also felt that it was very
difficult to clarify the truth to family or relatives and to help them withdraw
from CCP. Through studying the Fa, I realized it was my existing notions and
sentimental attachments that blocked me. I could not have strong righteous
thoughts with all these sorts of notions in mind, therefore the effect was not
good. One time I failed to persuade someone to quit the CCP, but my son did it
with only a few words. Afterwards I asked him: "How did you make him
withdraw from CCP only with a few words?" He said, "You think too
much. Actually it is very simple, you just tell him withdrawing from the CCP is
good for him!" The child did not have notions and has a pure heart. Whereas
I had always thought about my family's attitude and what they would say even
before I talked to them. This meant that I was accepting the old forces'
arrangements. And also I had sentimental attachments to my family and even
though I worried about them, I did not have righteous thoughts and compassion,
so how could they withdraw from the CCP? When I let go of these notions and got rid of the sentiment, the effect of
clarifying the truth to my family changed accordingly. In the past, my husband
did not want to listen to me. Later I tried to treat him as one of the sentient
beings and did not care about his attitude. I only had one thought, "Human
beings can only have a future if they withdraw from the CCP." With my
change, my husband was also changing. At that time, the Service Center for Withdrawing from the CCP was just set
up. One weekend, I went to the Service Center. Not long after, my husband called
me, saying, "Our son told me you went to tService Center for Withdrawing
from the CCP today. You joined the Service Center? You are really capable.
Alright, all our family will withdraw from the CCP, including me." This
time, my husband who always clashed with me in the past, voluntarily withdrew
from the CCP. As a matter of fact, everyone in human society has their clear
side. The Fa made me change and rise to a higher level in cultivation, and my
family benefits as well. Not long ago, my husband's sister and brother-in-law
who are Christians also withdrew from the CCP. My husband even helped me clarify
the truth to help them withdraw. At the same time, he introduced some other
people to me for my truth clarification. Because my working environment changes all the time, I have chances to meet
more people. I used all the opportunities in my living and working environment
to do truth clarification. From CEOs and managers of big companies to clerks,
whenever I have a chance, I clarify the truth. I think, since I meet new people
often, this is the chance that was given to me to save more people, to let them
know Dafa, to know the truth. A colleague, not long after I joined the company,
talked to me about the disharmony between her husband and her, and she was
planning to leave home. I told her the Fa of "Truthfulness, Compassion,
Forbearance" at a level she could understand. Gradually her dejected heart
changed, and a smile came back to her face. One day I gave her a truth
clarification video and told her to watch it at home. The next day, she told me
happily that her husband did not argue with her, and the whole family sat
quietly and watched the video to the end. She said her child had never been so
quiet and her husband had never been so serious. She couldn't believe it; it was
so miraculous. In fact, every time I clarify the truth to other people, it is a test of true
cultivation. When I first joined the company, a certain colleague did not have a
good attitude and never smiled. I was very calm inside. I cared for her, helped
her, and gradually she developed trust in me. I know this is the power of
compassion of the Fa which influenced her. Wishing that she would have a good
future, I send out compassionate thoughts no matter when, to let her have the
chance to know Dafa. Master said in "Teaching the Fa at the conference in
Singapore": "To fulfill the Fa, you must first of all be a good person. When
you're being a good person, that is an act of fulfilling the Fa. But since
you're cultivating among everyday people, after all, you need to go still
higher than all of these things. So when you can truly understand the Fa,
cultivate in the Fa, and be an upright and true cultivator, you are fulfilling
the Fa. Which means, you are safeguarding the Fa as well. That's because the
conduct of each student in everyday people's society represents Falun Dafa [in
people's minds]. Isn't that right? If we don't conduct ourselves well, we'll
undoubtedly tarnish Dafa's image, and it couldn't be said that we're
fulfilling the Fa." There was another Chinese lady who works at management level. When I gave a Nine
Commentaries CD to her, she said immediately: "I have seen this, and I
think it is too extreme. Don't give me that. There are good sides and also bad
sides to every country." I talked about the evil nature of the CCP, saying,
"What you said is reasonable, however, there isn't any country in the world
that has murdered 80 million people in half a century. Today, in the 21st
century, the CCP persecutes hundreds of millions of people, and commits the
crime of live organ harvesting. This is not only bad, it is evil. Why do you
still want to stay in this kind of Party?" She replied: "I have never
joined the Party." I talked to her while sending righteous thoughts at the
same time: "You have joined the Youth League and Young Pioneer's League,
right? You should withdraw from them too." I also told her that when people
swear upon joining the CCP and its affiliated organizations, they are marked
with the beast's imprint. If they do not quit it now, they are still a member of
it. I urged her, "How about I help you quit today?" She nodded and
said: "Alright, I quit it." I understand that every time I clarify the truth, it is a test for me, and it
is also the process of getting rid of attachments. The reason for not being able
to speak out is that the self-interest is at play. I always worried about
whether the listener can understand me, whether my work will be affected, how
other people think of me, etc... These are all notions caused by self-interest.
Every time I cannot speak out, the first thought that comes to my mind is a kind
of notion. Realizing that, I send righteous thoughts before I do the truth
clarification or at the time notion comes to my mind. On the way back to our origin, we have to study the Fa continuously, do the
three things, and regard the Fa as our teacher. Only then are we
able to look inside ourselves, and cultivate benevolence and righteous thoughts.
If we can rid ourselves of the attachment to fame, self interest and sentiment,
then we can let go the notion of selfishness, harmonize the one body of Dafa and
reach the level that the Fa requires. Above is my sharing, which is limited by my cultivation level. Pleases point
it out if anything is not right. Thank you Master. Thank you fellow practitioners.
Chinese version available at
http:// minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/12/4/143800.html
Yearly Archive
Printer Version
feedback@clearwisdom.net