PureInsight | May 2, 2010
[PureInsight.org] Yesterday, a practitioner invited me to a meal, saying two other practitioners would also join us. I assumed it was a meeting to discuss projects in our local area. After arriving there, however, I found the meal was set for an ordinary occasion. Although we arrived early, the guests were late and the entire meal took more than three hours. Here, I do not wish to complain about that practitioner’s arrangement, since it was my fault for not inquiring about the meeting in advance. Had I known this meal would take three hours, I would not have gone.
After I arrived home, my wife and child had not yet eaten. She asked me to cook instant noodles and so I did. My wife complained that I should have used a different brand and that the amount was not enough. I explained that she could have told me how much to cook and which brand to use. But she said I should have checked with her before cooking.
From these incidents, I found my imagination very different from the reality. Very often I did not quite understand other people, but instead followed my own assumptions. As a result, I wasted time and inconvenienced other people.
So, what was I to learn from this?
A similar situation happened at Fa-study, that is, I did not give my full attention to the Fa. For example, when reciting Zhuan Falun one day, I came to the words; “Your xinxing cultivation has already made progress if, for instance, when someone swears at you among everyday people, you do not say a word and feel very calm; or when someone throws a fist at you, you do not say a word and let it go with a smile. Your xinxing level is already very high” [Lecture One]. In the past, I did not pay much attention to these words, thinking it was fairly simple to follow. But when I calmed down and checked my behavior, I found myself far from the Fa. I felt bad even when other people pointed out my shortcomings, let alone someone swearing at me. Thinking about these things, my previous feelings of pride were gone.
When talking with a practitioner the other day, I said I did not have any new understandings when reading the Fa. I often took it for granted that I was doing well and did not really compare my behavior to the Fa. In fact, every word of the Fa is to guide our cultivation, and we cannot consider daily Fa-study as completing an assignment. Instead, we should check how well we are really studying the Fa.
I remember reading an article in the past about a Confucian sage. He said that when he read the scripture, each sentence struck him as if somebody had slapped him hard. From this, I realized that we cannot be superficial when studying the Fa. Otherwise, we will learn only a very little.
Moreover, we are studying Dafa, which requires us to cultivate our hearts and use the Fa to guide ourselves in all circumstances. Only this way can we understand the Fa’s profound meanings. Instead of taking things for granted, we need to read carefully and make sure we understand the Fa. Cultivation is serious and we cannot rely on our feelings or assumptions.
Above are some understandings of mine. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2010/3/16/64944.html
