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My View on Eliminating Jealousy
By a Falun Dafa Practitioner in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province
(Clearwisdom.net) I have recently noticed that many practitioners
around me have exhibited an incorrect state, which is being attached to oneself
and unwilling to accept suggestions from others. Be it positive or negative,
suggestions by others are often not accepted. They also look for shortcomings in
one another. Instead of helping fellow practitioners kindly, they blame each
other. This incorrect state has lasted quite a long time and has created
barriers among practitioners. It has also impacted Dafa projects, causing
concern among some practitioners. When I saw these problems existing among the practitioners, I looked inside
my heart and found that they also exist in me. When I saw that some
practitioners' words and actions weren't on the Fa, I wasn't able to be
completely kind to them and help them, and instead, felt uncomfortable. I often
thought, "How could a cultivator do this? Why doesn't he look inward?"
Although I knew my state wasn't right and that I needed to treat fellow
cultivators with compassion, when actually encountering a problem, I often
lacked calmness in my heart. Sometimes I even felt frustrated. I also told
myself that cultivation is about one's heart, and asked myself why I felt so
frustrated when I saw others' shortcomings. I had tried to change this state for
quite a while but hadn't been able to do so completely. Today, after reading the booklet "A Compilation of Articles Related to
Eliminating the Attachment of Jealousy," (a compilation of articles
published on the Minghui/Clearwisdom website http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/1/28/93737.html)
I realized the source of my attachment was jealousy. Even when I saw it clearly,
the feeling of frustration and those unkind thoughts were still there. Then, I
sent forth a strong thought: I can't let this continue; this jealousy is not me,
and these bad matters and thoughts must disintegrate right now. Immediately, I
felt my heart opening up, and the feeling of frustration disappeared. Replacing
it was understanding, tolerance, and kindness towards fellow practitioners.
Tears welled up in my eyes. Words could not describe how I felt. Looking back,
the shortcomings of fellow practitioners were so trivial and insignificant. When
I shared with the fellow practitioners on the Fa principles, they also changed
their attitude and became much calmer. They began looking inward, too. Again, I
experienced the wonder of cultivating myself and looking inward. My understanding is that when a fellow practitioner points out a problem of
mine, I should look inward unconditionally. If I indeed have this problem, then
I should eliminate it. If I don't have it, I should remain unmoved. Even if this
practitioner's attitude is not good, I should still be calm and look inward, and
should not feel resentful or resistant. Being concerned with how we are treated
by fellow practitioners is also an attachment. If we can't find our attachments
in time, eliminate them, and improve ourselves, the evil factors of the old
forces will take advantage of the situation and strengthen these attachments,
causing even more complications and interference to Dafa disciples' work of
validating the Fa and saving sentient beings. I remember a practitioner once said that our fellow practitioners are like
mirrors. I think this makes a lot of sense. When we see that a fellow
practitioner has a problem, we should not always focus on the attitude of this
practitioner, nor should we only discuss the conflict in an isolated way. We
should look inside our hearts and see if we also have the same problem. When we
find and eliminate our own problems, perhaps the fellow practitioner's problem
will also be naturally resolved. If every practitioner treats fellow
practitioners as a mirror for looking inward, eliminating jealousy,
competitiveness, or frustration, and kindly help others, I believe our
environment will only become better. Master said, "A wicked person is born of jealousy. Out of selfishness
and anger he complains about unfairness towards himself. A benevolent person
always has a heart of compassion. With no discontentment or hatred, he takes
hardship as joy. An enlightened person has no attachments at all. He quietly
observes the people of the world deluded by illusions."
("Realms," Essentials for Further Advancement) My understanding
is that jealousy can manifest in many different ways. It is not only present
when we feel that others are treated better and feel it is unfair. It is
actually the source of all of our evil thoughts. If jealousy is not eliminated,
we cannot even be called a "benevolent person," let alone an
"enlightened person." I suggest that all fellow practitioners search
within to find their own jealousy. This will help us improve quickly and do well
the three things, so that Master can worry less about us. |