The Attachment to Comfort Can Destroy a Cultivator

(Clearwisdom.net) I had a dream one night that I fell down from a very high place into an abyss, inside which was a sea. Had I dropped further, I would have been dead. At that moment a piece of cloth fell from the sky. I caught the cloth and shouted loudly and hurriedly, "Master, I know I am wrong. Please give me another chance." I woke up, still feeling frightened. Then Master's Fa appeared in my mind, "Master's heart has always been pained by those who have fallen, and the majority were ruined by that pursuit." ("Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)

I know that this refers to my attachment to comfort. I can feel that my cultivation state is not good right now, especially since the beginning of summer. As soon as I get home I lie down on the bed and turn on the electric fan; except for studying the Fa, I lie down even when reading Dafa-related materials. Practicing the exercises seems like a burden, and I am unable to finish all the exercises each day. I am also not as active as I had been in clarifying the facts to people. I know clearly that according to Fa principles, suffering is a good thing for one's cultivation advancement. Although I always want to change my cultivation state, and although I have sent righteous thoughts to eliminate my attachment to comfort, the result was not good at all. I always feel that something exists that I cannot overcome. I also rarely send righteous thoughts at midnight (one of the four set times for practitioners around the world to send righteous thoughts together).

This desire for comfort has severely affected my cultivation and my efforts to offer sentient beings salvation. This state of being cannot only lead me astray in my personal consummation, it could also threaten my life. Master has rescued us from hell. Remembering the frightening scene in my dream makes me I feel that I would be irresponsible for my life if I still do not have the will to eliminate the desire for comfort. Even ordinary people emphasize the importance of doing exercises during the hot summer and cold winter. I had not realized the severity of my seeking comfort. It would be too late for regrets if my life were annihilated due to my attachment.

Master said,

"Going through hardship and suffering is an outstanding opportunity to remove karma, be cleansed of sin, purify the body, elevate your plane of thought, and rise in level--it's an extraordinarily good thing. This is a correct and upright Fa-truth." ("The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be," October 8, 2005)

When Master lectured in Jinan City (Shandong Province, China), it was very hot and some audience members were fanning themselves. Master said that it was not easy for one to find hardships to suffer. However, I have developed, over many lifetimes and hundreds of years, a deeply-rooted notion for seeking comfort. With such a large attachment to comfort, how could I reach consummation, and where would my sentient beings be saved to? Master also mentioned that the old forces have tried all kinds of tactics to pull us down, and that those with overly strong human notions would be possibly pulled down by the old cosmos' elements.

I feel regret now, and I should strive to do well again. In my dream I also saw someone else dropping down. I guess other practitioners might have the same desires. I wanted to write this down, to warn fellow practitioners. As we reach the end of our cultivation path, we should make sure we control ourselves well and cultivate even more diligently.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/7/21/182437.html

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