PureInsight | August 4, 2008
[PureInsight.org] Recently, I discovered that some fellow practitioners often say "different levels have different Laws" (Zhuan Falun, "The First Talk").
Whenever these practitioners hear different understandings among each
other, they don't know what else to say but, "Different levels have
different Laws." They feel that the best explanation for differences in
understanding is that different practitioners have different
cultivation experiences and ways of thinking. The result of this
understanding is to "let it be." Originally, I was not able to
comprehend the difference and thus had to resort to the same
explanation.
This morning I suddenly realized that Laws do have different levels,
but practitioners must transcend ordinary people. That is to say, they
must get rid of the thoughts and ideas that only ordinary people have.
In other words, practitioners should think from the perspective of the
Laws (Fa) that Master Li has taught, rather than from the perspective of ordinary people's emotions and ways of thinking.
I discovered that I tended to use the standard of being "a good person
or a bad person" to make judgments. Naturally, the result was following
a standard below the standard for being a practitioner. This makes it
easier to follow a path that was arranged by the old forces.
Master Li asked us to go beyond an ordinary person. He did not say we
should only go beyond a "bad person." That is to say, a "good person"
is still an ordinary person, while we have decided to take the path of
cultivation to become higher beings. Merely being a good person does
not help us achieve this goal. "So as a higher person you have to hold
yourself to higher laws and higher logic" (Zhuan Falun, "The Ninth Talk").
Although "different levels have different Laws," practitioners must
embrace Fa and stop thinking like ordinary people. A practitioner on
the way to becoming a divine being must hold to higher laws.
For example, before I practiced Dafa (The Great Law), I used to value
"personal loyalty." I was more than willing to help those who were in
trouble, even when it was the first time I met them. For ordinary
people, there is nothing wrong with helping people in need, and this is
doing a good deed. However, a practitioner who has obtained the Law (Fa) at a high level is not supposed to do this in an arbitrary manner.
Master Li told us, "Hardship is the repayment of karmic debts, and things that don't go so smoothly enable your xinxing
to elevate. That holds true for ordinary people as well, in fact-it's
all about removing karma, and when someone is rid of his karma he will
be well-off in his next life. It's just that people don't realize it. A
cultivator is to reduce his karma, improve his xinxing
via cultivation, and in the end achieve Consummation. For a Dafa
disciple, this is the most basic teaching in the Fa and the most
fundamental thing. But some people still, after several years, have not
changed their notions on a fundamental level. How many years have you
been cultivating for? You still fail to look at things that way, and
still can't manage to look at things with a positive, correct view." ("Fa Teaching at the 2008 New York Conference")
We must make ourselves alert. We can't think that it is always a good
thing to help an ordinary person by providing him some money or a way
to alleviate his hardship. The result of such help is probably contrary
to our intention. "Everyone has his own fate." We should not even be
attached to our children's or other relatives' fate.
When we act like an ordinary person, our behavior is driven by a strong
worldly attachment, be it to reputation, self-interest, or emotion (ming, li, qing).
For this reason, when we want to do something, we should ask ourselves:
"Why do I want to do this?" Then it will be easy to discover what
attachment is driving that behavior. If we get rid of the attachment,
we will improve in our cultivation.
In the ordinary world, it is correct if we embrace Fa at this level and
show ordinary people our virtues. This helps us establish and validate
Fa, as well as save ordinary people. On the other hand, the purpose of
our cultivation goes far beyond being a good person. Our Master Soul (Zhu Yuanshen) (Main Spirit) must understand and remember this at every moment.
The above are only my personal understandings, and I appreciate suggestions and comments from fellow practitioners.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2008/7/3/53627.html
