PureInsight | March 31, 2003
The Path of the Heart and the Boat over Hardships
Dingping
[PureInsight.org] Master said, "The path for cultivating gong lies in one's heart, the boat to sail the boundless Dafa rides on hardships." (From: "Falun Dafa" in Hong Yin.) I often read this poem with only a general surface understanding of its meaning particularly the part about cultivation requiring a true heart and enduring hardships. Now, I have come to an understanding of the poem's more profound connotation.
What should I cultivate? Isn't it about cultivating my heart? In that case, isn't the path of cultivation equal to the path of the heart? All paths can lead to heaven, but only the path of the heart is the most righteous path to heaven. No cultivation school except Falun Dafa has the mighty virtue to guide its cultivators to directly cultivate their hearts. Teacher has created the fastest, most direct and best path of the heart to reach heaven - all he requires of us is to cultivate our hearts. Those cultivation ways along the periphery cannot grasp the essence of cultivation after enduring so much pain and turmoil. By contrast, we [Dafa practitioners] can reap the best reward of arriving at the all-encompassing and eternal Fa-principles by cultivating our hearts. How fortunate we are!
How fast is the speed of transformation via the heart? A heart is faster than anything else in the human realm when we are accounting for the transformation of a person. What about the speed of the heart of a Dafa practitioner? I believe that when our hearts are in the Fa, we can instantly reach the realm where we originally come from, and we will not be subject to the time factor in any realm below that level. When our hearts are in the Fa, the manifestations in the human realm are from righteous thoughts and righteous actions, from a steadfast faith in Dafa that is as strong as a diamond. On the other hand, I believe when our hearts are not in the Fa, the old forces will separate our original selves from our surface bodies. This manifests in the human realm as lack of diligent progression in cultivation, or even a demonic understanding of the Fa, which I believe lends itself to demonic interferences and evil persecution.
What is the ultimate hardship? Not to be able to obtain the Fa must be the most severe hardship.
In "Cultivating in the Maze" in Hong Yin, Teacher said:
"Everyday people hardly know the suffering in cultivation,
Fighting and contending are taken as joy;
Cultivating until no attachments are left,
With bitterness gone and sweetness coming, true happiness arrives.
So, isn't the most severe hardship for an everyday person not to have the opportunity to obtain the Fa? The hardships we undergo are really not hardships at all. They are the most wonderful blessings. When we endure hardship we purge the worst and obtain the best as rewards. Isn't that a blessing for us? When we see the sentient beings struggling with real hardships in the human realm, isn't it natural for us to offer them a ride on our boat of compassion?
A Falun Dafa cultivator has the greatest fortune because Teacher has taken on the majority of our hardships, thus leaving very little for us to endure. The evil old forces' persecutions against us are forcing hardships upon us, which become hardships forced upon Teacher. I think when our righteous thoughts leave no loopholes for the evil old forces to exploit; Teacher will be able to intervene. But when we leave any loopholes for the evil old forces to exploit, I think we practically shift the persecution toward Teacher.
I think Teacher's poem, "Falun Dafa" has another profound meaning. I think with this poem Teacher tries to tell us to pave a path or create a boat of salvation for sentient beings with our enormous compassion. A kind, everyday person would extend his hand to rescue a drowning man. Shouldn't a Dafa practitioner extend his hand to rescue those sentient beings headed toward destruction?
Dafa is boundless, yet the most direct way to get to it is to take a path of the heart. Teacher's enormous compassion harmonizes everything there is about us. There is no way we can ever repay Teacher. The only way to show our respect and the only mission for us is to excel in the three tasks that Teacher requires of us. These tasks are to study the Fa, explain the facts, and send righteous thoughts. We must take care to pave the path of salvation for sentient beings, and create a boat of compassion for sentient beings to ride in, the boundless Dafa boat. Only then can we live up to Teacher's opportunity of offering us salvation.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2003/3/7/20714.html
