Forgiveness

[PureInsight.org] When I heard
entirely different ideas from my own being put forward by a fellow
Falun Dafa practitioner about certain issues related to validating
Falun Dafa, I did not treat these differences as a good opportunity to
upgrade my level and character. I felt that the fellow practitioner had
been unfair to me. My heart could not calm down, and I was disturbed
for a long time by attachments such as the feeling of being
ill-treated, hatred, competitiveness, jealousy, ego, and the eagerness
to prove that I was right.



Although I made multiple efforts to search inside myself and to get rid
of these attachments, I could not eliminate them once and for all. Not
until yesterday when the word "forgiveness" suddenly appeared in my
mind did I realize that I had not included fellow practitioners in my
heart, and therefore I could not accept their comments that were
dissimilar to mine. I only wanted to hear what I liked to hear and
could not forgive otherwise. This was not a good state for a
practitioner.



By studying Fa and searching inside myself, I realized that for
ordinary people, forgiveness reflects the boundary of their minds. A
magnanimous person does not mind other people's errors and mistakes,
nor does he allow himself to be perplexed by others' unfairness toward
him. A narrow-minded individual, on the other hand, finds it hard to
tolerate other people and regards people with jealousy, disdain and
competitiveness. To a cultivator, forgiveness reflects his state of
cultivation. The higher his xinxing (mind-nature), the larger space he
contains. For example, the king of a star or a world contains
everything that is within the star or world that he manages.



Forgiveness reflects "Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance" (Zhen, Shan, Ren).
A person who cannot treat others with honesty and sincerity can't be
expected to forgive; a person who is neither kind nor good-intentioned
will not treat people with kindness and forgiveness either; a person
who does not endure will be diametrically opposed to differences, far
from offering forgiveness. Forgiveness is a reflection of the nature of
the universe, "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." A practitioner
who strictly adheres to the "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance"
nature of the universe can be expected to forgive.



While I was writing this article, I recollected a story from ancient
China, when the tradition was such that several generations from the
same family lived together. One family had more than one hundred people
who lived together and all got along well. The emperor heard of this
and summoned the head of this large family. When the emperor asked him
what he did so that more than one hundred people could all get along,
the man wrote the character "Forbearance" (Ren) more than one hundred times.



I associated the many "Forbearance" characters with "forgiveness" and
remembered Master Li's words, "There is sacrifice in forbearance. Being
able to make sacrifices is the result of improving in one's
cultivation" ("Non-Omission," from Essentials For Further Advancement).



We are Falun Dafa practitioners in the period of validating Dafa and we
are on our way to becoming Great Enlightened Beings. We have been able
to face the evil's fierce persecution with a grand mind of kindness and
forbearance, causing the evil beings themselves to become scared. So,
why can't we forgive some differing opinions among fellow
practitioners? Recalling the earnest encouragement from Master Li in
"Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference in Australia," I felt extremely
embarrassed and ashamed of myself.



Please let go of your own ego and forgive others because this is one of
the most basic qualifications of a Great Enlightened Being!



Translated from:

http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2008/5/31/53114.html