Talking With the Mentality of Showing Off

By Dafa practitioner from China

(Clearwisdom.net) After I began practicing Falun Dafa ten years ago, my mind and body quickly underwent great changes After studying the principles of the Fa, I was able to find answers to many questions which had always puzzled me before. But when looking back over my cultivation path and checking my shortcomings and attachments, I can see clearly that I often had an attachment to showing off. For example, when communicating with others, I kept talking about my understanding of the Fa, and sub-consciously I felt that my understanding of the Fa was higher than that of others. Thus I didn't listen to others patiently and I sometimes even interrupted others who were trying to share their understandings, and I imposed my opinions upon others. While helping to coordinate projects for Fa-validation, I always thought that my way or my ideas were the most comprehensive, and therefore should be the ones implemented. So I would refuse to listen to further discussion or suggestions for changes. Whenever I contributed articles, I talked a lot about what kinds of articles I had written and which ones had been listed as the ones recommended by the Minghui website, or which ones had been published by "Minghui Weekly," as well as which had been republished, etc. Even when I talked about these calmly, I could still hear the attachments to fame and showing off in my voice. Some practitioners reminded me to be careful about the security of my cell phone, but I pretended that I didn't care, so that I could show that I had no attachment to fear. On one occasion I made an appointment to meet with a fellow practitioner using my cell phone, but when we met, both of us realized that something was wrong and we quickly left.

I also realized that my attachment to showing off might surface at any time if I didn't keep my thoughts righteous. During this period of Fa-rectification, this irresponsible behavior can be very harmful to fellow practitioners, to myself, and even to the whole body. Accompanying the attachment of showing off, there is the attachment of complacency and jealousy. These attachments may be hidden within or attached to many other aspects of Fa-validation. In the long run, practitioners may form some complicated notions and attachments which are very difficult to detect or discern. The heart of showing off can very easily cause a practitioner to be destroyed in a crucial moment or to fall short in a test. So the attachment of showing off can be a great obstacle to a practitioner. When practitioners see that other practitioners have such an attachment, we should kindly point it out. We must remind each other what our mission is, as Dafa disciples. We cannot cause more losses. We are here for Fa-rectification and we must save even more sentient beings, especially during this final period of Fa-rectification.

Actually there are different forms of showing off and they might bring serious consequences to our cultivation. Master instructed us from the beginning:

"But no matter what unfolds, you have to keep up your character, and the only way to truly do it right is to follow Dafa. Whether it's your abilities, your Unlocked State, or whatnot, you got it by cultivating Dafa. If you make Dafa secondary and your divine powers primary, or now that you're Enlightened you think that some understanding or other of yours is correct, or if you even think you're so great you've gone beyond Dafa, I'd say you've started to fall, and you're at risk, and you're getting worse and worse. Then you're really in trouble, you've cultivated in vain, and chances are you'll fall and end up cultivating for nothing." ("The Sixth Talk" from Zhuan Falun, 2003 Translation Version)

We should remember what Master has so clearly told us, and always follow His guidance, as our cultivation is the the most sacred thing in the universe and is most solemn. We must study the Fa more and study it well. We need to eliminate all of our human attachments on our path of cultivation and progress forward diligently, with stable and righteous thoughts.

April 9, 2008

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/4/13/176195.html

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