A Brief Discussion on the Image of Cultivators

By a Falun Gong practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) The image of a cultivator is determined by his or her inner state of mind. The words and behavior of a cultivator also reflect his or her inner cultivation level and realm. Here I would like to discuss this issue from my personal experiences. Early this year, I had some conflicts with colleagues at work and I argued with someone. I even said that I wanted to beat him up. After calming down I thought to myself, "Aren't I tarnishing the image of Dafa?" This is indeed a shortcoming of mine---I get agitated easily and I lose control of myself once I flare up. The people around me then form impressions about Falun Gong from their interactions with me and I know that my behavior has tarnished the image of Dafa disciples. They do not see the kindness in me that a Dafa practitioner should convey. I bring this issue up because I want to get rid of this weakness of mine.

There was another incident this year. My company conducted medical checkups on their employees. I was diagnosed with mild high blood pressure, mild fatty liver disease, and my liver transaminase levels were elevated. Some of my non-practitioner colleagues did not have any irregular medical results. I did not take these results to heart, but I was worried about how those around me would view me. I thought that if I had a clean medical report, others would have good a impression of me and would have the idea that practitioners have really have good health from the practice. However, I was afraid that now they would think that practitioners had health problems. I realized that the abnormal test results were because of my strong attachment to meat. I just love roast duck, roast leg of lamb, sliced mutton, pork and sausages. I had the impression that since I am a practitioner, there was no need to fear eating these things. My behavior was like what is described in the Third Talk of Zhuan Falun: "I have Teacher Li's protection, so I'm not afraid of being hit by a car."

I think I should pay attention to these things and rectify my behavior. Especially because some people believe the fabricated lies of the Chinese Communist Party and do not have a good understanding of Falun Gong. If practitioners do not do well, we will influence their view of Dafa. Thus, I feel that every word and action and every thought of mine is very important. If I do well, those around me will change their attitude towards Dafa and, as a result, they will support Falun Gong. I hope that practitioners who have experiences similar to mine will pay attention to this matter and cultivate well and maintain the positive image of Dafa.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/11/17/189782.html

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version