PureInsight | January 20, 2010
[PureInsight.org] Teacher said in “Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of the Minghui Website’s Founding:”
“Many Dafa disciples came from high planes, and some are from very high planes; and indeed, Fa-rectification has been completed in those places.”
This paragraph makes me think of something. Twice, a fellow practitioner cited what another fellow practitioner said as a basis to judge another practitioner’s level. I don't know whether this “level” was referring to the practitioner's plane or the practitioner’s current cultivation level. When I heard about it, I was very surprised and couldn't help having some doubt: “How could the practitioner know the level of another practitioner? Even if it is possible, what is the significance of it?”
I believe that we cannot possibly know the level of any practitioner, including ourselves, whether it is the current cultivation level or the original plane he or she is from. Here is the proof based on the Fa principles.
Teacher says explicitly in “Your Mind Must be Right” (Lecture Six of Zhuan Falun):
“Your altered path of life is not allowed to be seen by others.” “Nobody from other schools of practice is allowed to see it, either. Even fellow disciples from the same school of practice are not allowed to see it. No one will be able to tell it correctly.”
This is referring to the tribulations that one encounters on the path of cultivation, which cannot be seen ahead of time by anyone. If we cannot even accurately foresee the tribulations on the cultivation path, how could we know one’s cultivation level or one's original plane? Don't even think about it. It is impossible! When one considers seeing something, it could be just a part of it or a false notion due to one's attachment. So when we arrive at a conclusion about our own cultivation level or a fellow practitioner's level, isn't it absurd for one to make a judgment? Even if the practitioner considers what he or she saw as true, there is no need even to think about it, not to mention telling others. And besides that, one simply cannot possibly see it correctly. Isn’t it human thinking? It will not occur without being influenced by one's attachment.
Teacher said in “Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital:”
“You can never see the side that has been fully cultivated. That side has become divine, and only the side that hasn't been fully cultivated shows itself.”
So, what is manifested in our dimension cannot possibly represent one's cultivation level accurately. Thus, it is impossible for a cultivator in the state of our dimension to judge another's cultivation level.
As a whole, Dafa disciples came from very high planes. Only beings from high planes deserve the undertaking of assisting Teacher to validate Dafa and save sentient beings. Such a task is unparalleled mighty virtue in the whole universe. Teacher said in “Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference:”
“During Fa-rectification I also traversed every final part of what's related to the old forces, yet I discovered that the enormous being who had the one thought that led to gigantic disruptions of the true Fa-rectification is not the final being, and there are lots and lots of elements that are higher than it.”
The gods above the beings of the old forces highest plane hadn't committed any crime against the Fa-rectification and thus will not invite destruction. Beings in the whole universe before the Fa-rectification, including those beings higher than the old forces highest plane, had deviated to various degrees. Many of them looked at the Fa-rectification with their deviated perception. But higher level beings have higher wisdom and divine power that allows them to see further down the road in the salvation of the cosmos and thus made a proper choice. Teacher came down from the highest plane step by step. Those beings Teacher that had met at the earlier time are the beings of higher levels that had the opportunity to follow Teacher and descend and become Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification Period. In view of this, most Dafa disciples come from very high planes.
Humans probably have such a concept that it is better to reach a level higher than their original one. But gods do not think this way. Our original vow was to return to our own world after completion of the Fa- rectification. Teacher said in “Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan:”
“Whoever can manage to cultivate under such circumstances should achieve Consummation, and should have a great celestial rank, for in history there was never something so immensely challenging, and nobody was bold enough to try this kind of path.”
My understanding is that “a great celestial rank” does not imply that our cultivation level is to be higher than our original one. Our original levels are usually very high. If one follows any other cultivation way, we can never return to the place where we are from. Only in this troubled time through cultivation in Dafa, can we return to our original plane. Of course, some fellow practitioners may be able to reach a level higher than their original one. The question of levels shouldn't be our consideration. It is using human thinking to judge high level affairs. Once we have such a thought, it will become an attachment. It must be human thinking when one ponders over the question of levels. Otherwise, one will not have such a thought. Such attachment will evoke more human thinking. One will have the attachment of self-absorption when one considers themselves as being at a higher level and have low self-esteem if one feels one's level is low. One may even have zealotry when one finds another practitioner being at a higher level or have worshipping thoughts in the sub-conscious. Actually, what one saw or heard cannot be accurate or precise. Therefore, one will have false notions, which will lead one down a wrong path and reinforce the attachment.
Studying the Fa enables us to abandon human thinking and attachments in genuine cultivation and determines how high a level we can achieve. Of course, the state of our cultivation and our final achievable level are directly related to our original level. Since our innate original element is fixed and cannot be changed, there is no point to even thinking about it. Besides, it interferes with our improvement [if we think about it too much]. Thus, studying the Fa and genuine cultivation are what we should grasp firmly. The most important thing in genuine cultivation at present is saving sentient beings. Saving sentient beings is different from personal cultivation. During this extraordinary period of Fa-rectification, if one only cultivates oneself and does not engage in saving sentient beings, they are not helping Teacher rectify the Fa and cannot be considered a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period. Saving sentient beings is our historical commitment and responsibility and our vow made when we decided to come down to this human world. It helps us achieve the mighty virtue [of a cultivator of Dafa]. On the other hand, saving sentient beings cannot substitute for personal cultivation. If one is only saving sentient beings without studying the Fa, it will be considered as ordinary people doing the work of Dafa practitioners. Actually, elevation in cultivation and saving sentient beings are inseparable. The state of our cultivation directly determines the actual result in saving sentient beings. The course of saving sentient beings often exposes our human thinking and getting rid of human thinking is the genuine cultivation process.
Practitioners cannot impose their personal understandings and ways of doing things on others, as practitioners’ cultivation levels and understandings of the Fa are different. The levels, state and base of different gods must be different. Gods do not have human thinking; their differences are a reflection of their levels and the characteristics of their world. The differences among us practitioners are often caused by interference due to our human thinking. Thus, no matter what the differences in understanding, way of doing things, or disagreements in coordination, we need to look at our own mindsets. It will not help us if we just put the blame on the differences in level.
Teacher once said:
“Don't worry about how your base is. When a being has managed to enter Dafa today, his base is not bad. Look at the world's people--there are more than 7 billion people in the world, and how many Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples are there? Yet you are one of them. So why should you still talk about your base?”
(“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference”)
“Of the numerous, abundant, countless living entities, why was it you that became a Dafa disciple? How come you are Dafa disciples right when this massive cosmos is going through a process of renewal and re-creation? That is how great the responsibility of Dafa disciples is, and that responsibility entails saving sentient beings when they are no longer any good and when the world's people have been held hostage by that wretched fiend, the wicked CCP, and have no hope. Furthermore, the sentient beings today came from the heavens, with each, moreover, being the representative of a system of cosmic bodies. Saving one person thus amounts to saving countless, measureless lives, and the mighty virtue that lies behind that act is simply enormous. Would you say that's something an ordinary person could accomplish? Could he be worthy? He couldn't be. Only those who are worthy of being Dafa disciples could accomplish that, and only they could dissolve that wretched fiend.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of the Minghui Website’s Founding”)
Therefore, as the most fortunate beings in the cosmos, it is not important what our original levels were and how high a level we will achieve. This does not mean that it is of no importance as to where our cultivation will reach; it’s just that we should not emphasize it or even think about it. What we should value is the sacred mission of how to help Teacher rectify the Fa and save sentient beings so that we will have no regret later. Cultivating ourselves well is the prerequisite of fulfilling our mission. If we do not cultivate ourselves well, then we can not do well in saving sentient beings and may even be taken advantage of by the evil and create [unnecessary] tribulations for ourselves. Looking at it from another perspective, when we cultivate ourselves well and fulfill our missions, it is only natural that we will reach whatever our levels should be. After we have saved the beings that should be saved, then we can reach consummation and return to our own worlds in the new cosmos, which have been rectified by the Fa. Such Great Consummation is what all beings are looking forward to and also our vows when we followed Teacher in coming down to this world. If we do not cultivate ourselves well, we won't be able to do the three things well and probably will not reach the level that we are supposed to be at and return to our original base. It would be an eternal regret for us and the beings of our original world.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2009/10/6/61899.html
