PureInsight | June 21, 2004
[PureInsight.org] My in-laws have a dog, so whenever my husband and I go to their house, we try to remind each other that, although his parents give the dog a lot of attention and at times treat it as being almost equal to humans, we as cultivators can't do that. (My husband and I are Falun Dafa cultivators, while my in-laws are not.) We, of course, are friendly with the dog as appropriate, and are compassionate to it because it too is a being, but try not to get excited by its cute behavior or to think of it as being any more than an animal that is meant to serve human beings. Our understanding is that human beings—and even more so Dafa cultivators—have to conduct themselves in a dignified manner, and we try to bear in mind that human beings are the most precious creatures, because they and they alone were created in the image of gods, and they and they alone can cultivate.
In "Lecture at the Conference in Europe" (unofficial translation), Teacher said:
Let me tell you that gods created dogs to guard people's homes, and absolutely not to become your sons or to become your friends as if they are equal to humans. Humans should never be made equal to dogs. So you should never go too far doing anything. Everyone remember this: Humans can cultivate into Buddhas, no animal can; humans can cultivate into gods, no animal can; humans can go to heavenly paradises, no animal can.
I feel that, for us Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples, behaving properly with respect to pets is an important example for the future, especially since so many modern people seem to have corrupt views and actions on the subject. I think it is our responsibility to show them how to behave properly.
One evening I was surprised at the power of my—what I would call righteous, or proper—thoughts on the subject. It was Christmas Eve, so my husband, my in-laws, and I were sitting around a coffee table by the fireplace, having some special foods. There were a couple of seats on the couch nearby, on which my in-laws sat, and my husband and I sat on the carpeted floor. The dog was there as well, and at one point when it sat down next to my husband, my in-laws remarked, "Oh, that's so cute! Let's take a picture!" My first thought was, "A picture of a Falun Dafa cultivator sitting side-by-side on the floor with a dog would leave a bad reference for the future. They shouldn't take that picture." I was very calm inside, and the thought "you can't take that picture," came up a few times in my mind naturally and firmly.
Well, sure enough, they couldn't take the picture. They kept pushing the button to take the picture, but it just wouldn't work. They turned the camera off and on. They closed and opened the lens cover. But still it wouldn't work. They couldn't figure out what was going on, and wondered what had happened to the camera. Later, when they went to take a different picture, the camera was just fine. And they haven't had any problems with it since.
I hadn't intended whatsoever to have any supernormal effect with my thoughts. But as they kept being unable to take the picture, I realized that it was because of the power of my thoughts. I was really surprised! And inspired, too. I understood that I should be able to achieve the same calmness when dealing with people who are attacking Dafa or who have extremely negative thoughts about Dafa, and that, if I do, my righteous thoughts will arise firmly and naturally. You see, I am someone who often finds herself affected inside when I come across those situations, so it was a good lesson for me to see the power of my thoughts when I'm calm.
The incident helped increase my faith in the power of my thoughts, and also solidified for me the importance of having proper thoughts with respect to the seemingly-ordinary things we come across in our daily lives. So many things in this world have become corrupt, and we have to learn to rise above them, and to conduct ourselves in the dignified manner of a Dafa cultivator at all times.
