PureInsight | July 15, 2002
From the beginning of cultivating in Dafa, I have always kept Master's words in my mind: "In qigong practice, those of you whose qi cannot go through a pass or come down should look for reasons within your xinxing to determine if you are stuck at that level for too long and whether you should upgrade your xinxing!" (From "Demonic Interference in Cultivation" in Chapter Six of Zhuan Falun) Perhaps because I have always remembered these words, I often felt that Master was right beside me, providing hints to guide me toward higher levels.
However, after the initial stage of my cultivation, I no longer felt that I was receiving hints from Master. Though I continued to study the Fa, did Dafa work, and looked within when a conflict arose, I could not perceive any improvement in my cultivation state or xinxing level. Instead, it felt as if my xinxing was slowly dropping down, little by little. After a while, nothing went smoothly, to the extent that health problems were beginning to emerge and everything seemed to be going against me. Then, finally realizing the seriousness of the issue, I asked Master to help me by providing hints once again.
After that, I began to continually notice strong attachments in fellow practitioners. Then one day I picked up Falun Buddha Fa Lecture at the Conference in Singapore and noticed the following quote: "In the past, some people said that it was impossible to succeed in cultivation. How could one succeed in cultivation? [They couldn't succeed in it] because this was the biggest obstacle and nobody was willing to find faults in himself amid problems. When a person feels hurt, or when he encounters misfortune, it's really difficult for him to still examine himself to see if he's done something wrong. If a person can do that, I'd say that on this path—on this path of cultivation—and for the eternity of his existence, nothing can stop him. It's truly the case." Upon reading these words, I immediately realized that it was not that Master had not been giving me any hints. Rather, I had been blind to his hints. When I saw attachments in fellow practitioners or observed conflicts between others, I refused to believe that I had the same attachments. Instead, I felt content and even happy about my ability to evaluate everything and everyone from the Fa, while, in fact, I had exactly same attachments as my fellow practitioners. The only difference was that my attachments were often milder, thus making it more difficult for them to manifest in the form of conflicts. Despite the milder degree of the attachments within me, what would be the point of cultivation if I was to continue to put off the elimination of these attachments from the root?
After I arrived at this understanding of the problem, I no longer regarded the attachments that I observed in the conflicts of others irrelevant to my own cultivation. Now I would search within for the same attachments in order to improve. When I kept reminding myself of eliminating my attachments, I felt my xinxing being upgraded little by little. Moreover, I was no longer distracted during Fa study or studied the Fa without understanding its meaning. I could see the manifestation of the Fa at different levels when I read each paragraph of the Fa.
When I saw my own attachments in the conflicts of others, I became able to see the manifestations of the Fa from a higher level. The minute I recognized my own attachments, I elevated to a higher level of cultivation. Afterwards, when I shared my thoughts and understandings with fellow practitioners, I would actually manifest a higher level of compassion in my advice regarding their cultivation issues. By finding my own attachments through observing the conflicts of others, I have also helped fellow practitioners advance with me to higher levels of the Fa.
In the days that I had failed to see any hints from Master, I was often interfered with by thought karma and felt myself far away from Master. Sometimes, I even became so completely lost that I had no idea whether I was cultivating at all. Now, if I fail to pass a test or feel lost again, I know exactly that it is because I didn't try to advance further by digging out my hidden attachments. In my search for attachments, I can feel that Master is always next to me, watching over me with his immense compassion.
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2002/6/9/16387.html
