Remember to Eliminate Every Human Notion

By a practitioner in Southern Taiwan

(Clearwisdom.net) A small-scale experience sharing conference was recently held in Pingtung, Taiwan for the Internet Working Group. All practitioners were first reminded to be mindful of Internet security. Then, several practitioners shared about their personal experiences in dealing with family conflicts, the importance of studying the Fa, letting go of sentimentality, maintaining righteous thoughts, and other topics. Some practitioners also emphasized that we should all cherish having such experience sharing opportunities.

One coordinator talked about conflicts with his daughter. Even when she was in elementary school, he had always judged her and made requirements using only his own ideas. As a result, their relationship had been stringent. Soon after he started practicing Falun Dafa, he learned to look within. During one incident, he felt that he had not done well, so he apologized to his daughter, and he and his daughter gave each other a big hug. His wife was so amazed by how he had changed, that she started to practice Falun Dafa as well.

Conflicts however, still existed even after the whole family was practicing Falun Dafa. For instance, after his daughter started middle school, she wanted to have a cell phone, and the conflict became heated. As this coordinator talked about the incident, he became so emotional that he could hardly talk. Everyone listening believed that he must have been put through quite a xinxing test. From his family's cultivation experiences, this coordinator realized that the notions he carried manifested as conflicts between himself and his daughter. Thus, he gained a deeper understanding of the concept of "human notions" that Teacher wrote about in "Lunyu."

He also used another example. One time, a fellow practitioner's computer kept breaking. No matter how it was fixed, the computer stopped working soon after. Another nearby practitioner tried to help her, but the computer still didn't work. The coordinator then decided that this practitioner's cultivation state was not good, resulting in her computer often breaking down. Because that practitioner is responsible for some very important work, the coordinator visited her home. After checking the unit, he found that the hard drive was defective. He immediately looked inward, and realized that he had viewed this fellow practitioner with a strong notion. He thought negatively about the practitioner and almost delayed the computer repair. After this experience, he now reminds himself no longer hold any human notions in any situation about anyone. Isn't eliminating human notions a part of our cultivation?

When practitioners divided up for smaller group discussions, one practitioner who had been explaining the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong on the Internet for a long time talked about her experiences. She said she had many cyber-friends and was eager to save people. As a result, she spent less time taking care of her household, and her non-practitioner husband had a hard time understanding this. Even though her husband agrees that Falun Dafa is good, he did not agree with her behavior. As a cultivator, she knew that she had not arranged her time well. She thought that she didn't even have enough time for studying the Fa, and wanted to hear others' experiences.

An older practitioner also shared her experiences. She said that although saving people is important, the most important activity is studying the Fa. She said she was able to study three lectures from Zhuan Falun every day when she first started practicing Falun Dafa. But as time went by, she became involved in more and more projects. She clarifies the truth over the phone and on the Internet, and she also participates in local activates. As she became busier, she studied less. After a while, when she realized that the results of her phone calls to China were not as good as before, she knew the situation wasn't right, so she adjusted her schedule. She resumed studying three lectures of Zhuan Falun every day, and she also extended her exercise time. She found that when she was calm, she was able to concentrate better when sending forth righteous thoughts. And she was able to do everything because she needed less sleep.

One practitioner said she used to balance her job and a lot Dafa work well. However, when her practitioner husband became a coordinator for a project, he also became very busy due to unfamiliarity with the work and time pressure. He often has endless phone calls and works past midnight. As a result, she and her husband had a big conflict.

During the conference, two practitioners from the same team as her husband were sitting behind her. When the two people started talking about Dafa work, they naturally mentioned how dedicated the project coordinator was and what good work he was doing. When she heard the comments, she wondered, "Is my husband really that good? Why don't I feel that way?" She then stopped focusing on her perception of her husband's faults. As a cultivator, she knew she had this attachment, and when the conflict arose, she didn't want to change herself. Yet, there are no coincidences in cultivation. There are always factors that help us to get rid of attachments. How can we not take these opportunities to improve?

Most talks in the morning were about how to arrange one's time and balance various projects while cultivating. There were many excellent and touching sharings. This was the first time many of the practitioners had participated in a conference, and they shared their experiences. And through the sharing, were able to see the differences, compare, learn, and become more diligent in their cultivation.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/9/24/186456.html

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