PureInsight | August 20, 2001
Teacher Li has specifically addressed the issue of jealousy in Zhuan Falun. I recently had an insight into the significance of jealousy at different levels. Please regard this as merely a portion of my current personal understanding from the Fa and feel free to point out and correct any deviated notions.
“From the perspective of a higher life, the development of human society progresses according to the specific law of development. Therefore, what one does in life is not arranged based on one’s abilities. Buddhism believes in the principle of karmic retribution. One’s life is arranged according to one’s karma. No matter how capable you are, if you do not have De (virtue), perhaps you will have nothing in this life” (Lecture 7, Zhuan Falun)
For beings at different levels, their existence has been arranged by beings at even higher levels. In the human world, this manifests through different arrangements made according to the principle of karmic retribution (“good is rewarded with good and evil is requited with evil”), is managed by various Gods, and is entirely fair.
As I understand, jealousy includes feeling uneasy when witnessing others’ successes and abilities, and also coveting what one does not have and the like. Furthermore, feelings and thoughts of unfairness when faced with the realities of what one is presented with in one’s life (as opposed to accepting it to varying degrees, through understanding karmic retribution) are also an aspect of jealousy that is often harder to detect.
Humans’ rejecting the principle of karmic retribution is deviated from the Fa, as it is a strong expression of a disbelief in Gods. This leads humans to believe that they know better than Gods what they should do in their lives, and this in turn has led to politics, power struggles, violence and other expressions of demon-nature. However, it seems apparent that this is rooted in jealousy.
Without jealousy, humans accept and understand that their lives are pre-arranged based on their own past and can have at least some understanding of the principle of karmic retribution. Teacher Li mentioned, “Virtue (De) is accumulated in past lives. Becoming a king, an official, wealthy, or nobility all come from virtue. No virtue, no gain; the loss of virtue means the loss of everything. Thus, those who seek power and wealth must first accumulate virtue. By suffering hardships and doing good deeds one can accumulate virtue among the masses. To achieve this, one must understand the principle of cause and effect. Knowing this can enable officials and the populace to exercise self-restraint, and prosperity and peace will thereby prevail under heaven” (“Wealth With Virtue” in Essentials For Further Advancement).
For example, emperors and kings could just be born as emperors and kings, with no need for struggles, fighting, or notions of humans’ artificially choosing rulers. Of course, such rulers would surely have the well-being of the people in mind, as with great virtue they would be closer to the characteristic of the universe (Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance), and thus more benevolent, kinder, and wiser than average people. Thus, in turn, the people would not resent their ruler and would be more willing to contribute to the society they live in.
Seen from a higher level, when a being first deviates from its original position, jealousy can be seen as a strong factor. If a being develops a notion of jealousy, it manifests as coveting other’s abilities etc., and the seed of a notion of self – and eventually selfishness – is formed. I understand that when a being develops any trace of jealousy it is in fact rejecting the arrangements of higher Gods, in essence turning its back on those Gods – and ultimately on the Fa itself.
This is because this being, too, has decided that it knows better than the higher beings that have created it, and thinks that it ought to decide for itself what position it should occupy, what capabilities it should have and what tasks it should do. In Zhuan Falun, Teacher mentions, “Let me tell a story. In the book Investiture of the Gods, Shen Gongbao5 found Jiang Ziya to be both old and incompetent. But the Primitive God of Heaven asked Jiang Ziya to confer titles on immortals. Shen Gongbao felt in his heart that it was unfair: “Why is he asked to confer titles on immortals? You see how capable I am. After my head is cut off, I can put it back on my shoulders. Why wasn’t I asked to confer titles on immortals?” He was so jealous that he always caused troubles for Jiang Ziya.”(Lecture 7, Zhuan Falun)
It is my sincere wish that all beings will accept the positions they have been created and placed at, which indeed is the best possible for them, and not fall down anymore. For human beings in the society, strive hard to cultivate virtue and to try to understand why you are here! According to my experience, reading Zhuan Falun and cultivating Falun Dafa is the best and most rapid way.
