PureInsight | November 2, 2012
[PureInsight.org] I had several similar dreams recently. In one dream, I was riding a bike on a road which had a ditch. I got off the bike, jumped over the ditch, and walked ahead. After a while, I remembered my bike and was very worried. Then I woke up in a bad mood as if I did lose my bike in real life. Not long after that dream, I had another in which I was in a city for a meeting where I received some gifts. When the meeting was over, I had to pack several bags to return home. There were many people around and my bags were lost in the chaos. Everyone disappeared except me and I was very upset: How could I lose the gifts received during the meeting? Last night, in my dream I saw many coins on the ground and nobody wanted them. I picked them up one after another, and even searched between the stones to get all of them. I was busy like this the whole night and felt very guilty upon waking up.
Looking back, I felt all three dreams were showing me my attachments. Although they seemed to be dreams in this dimension, they happened in other dimensions. I have to take it seriously and look within now.
I grew up in a poor family with seven siblings. We were often hungry and our clothes were usually worn out. I hardly had any money until I began to work and got married. Still, my low salary could not cover my expenses. I was unable to save money despite my thrifty life and became even more concerned about money.
Over the past 10 years of cultivation I thought I had let go of the attachments to fame and material interests. But in fact, my attachment to money still existed and was deeply hidden. I live frugally and make one pair of pants last many years. I also took little money with me when going out to avoid theft. Some friends said I was too stingy but practitioners said I could endure hardship. For me, money is very precious and sometimes is even more important than myself. There were also times when I donated thousands and thousands of Yuan for the production of truth-clarification materials. Although that was something I should do, I was also a little hesitant. Another example is that, since we rented a house the year before last, I always worried about it and thought of finding an additional job to make extra money.
Master told us to let go of our attachments to fame and material interest. But when looking within, I found such deep attachments in myself. In “Cultivators’ Avoidances” in Essentials for Further Advancement, Master said, “Those who are attached to money seek wealth and feign their cultivation. Undermining the practice and the Fa, they waste their lifetimes instead of cultivating Buddhahood.” I really have to do well now in getting rid of this attachment.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/node/112526
