PureInsight | August 4, 2013
[PureInsight.org] An experience at work recently made me see that I still have serious attachments to fame and money.
I received a high employee evaluation score from my employer not long ago. Some company shares were given to me in addition to a wage increase and my normal bonus. As a result, I was somewhat on “cloud nine,” and my once weakened ambitions towards fame and money began to resurface; I found myself fantasizing about career development and the path to success. However at that point I found my boss no longer valued me as much as I originally thought. Instead, his attention turned to some colleagues with less work experience and some things that were originally my responsibility were assigned to them. I was quite bothered by this, though I did not speak up about it, and subconsciously I began to have a passive attitude towards my work. I thought this situation would change quickly, but there was no improvement even after a couple of weeks, even though I tried to be mindful of my speech and demeanour. What on earth was going on?
I had to think about it from the viewpoint of cultivation. I recalled one time when studying the Fa that I had understood that it is a cultivator’s fault if they are not getting along with ordinary people. Then was it my fault the way my employer and colleagues treated me? If I were an employer, should I only favor one employee and neglect fostering others in the workplace? If I were a member of an organization, what would I think if one colleague received all the opportunities from contributions made to the organization? Thinking about these things, I felt deeply ashamed of my pursuit of fame and gain.
It’s not wrong for me to improve my speech and demeanour so as to improve my employee-employer relationship, but a cultivator’s standard is different from that of an ordinary person. Accolades would be of no help in resolving fundamental issues were one not improving from one’s heart. After all, human society would disintegrate during the process of decay were it not for Dafa—no amount of human knowledge or wisdom could save it. Master has said in HongYin in “Success at Consummation:” “Fame, gain, emotion—cultivate each away, And ascend to the Firmament at Consummation.” How can I be successful in cultivation with so many attachments? I also know that I have to do well in saving sentient beings. But even when my employer was already treating me well, I was still unsatisfied and wanted more, and this was quite far from my original will when I began my cultivation, as well as being far from a Dafa disciple’s standard.
During group study in the evening, I was still thinking about this, worrying about why I was still like this after cultivating for more than 10 years. We took a group picture after Fa study to wish Master a happy new year. Seeing fellow practitioners queuing in line, I suddenly realized that all my opinions about them had disappeared. It felt like every fellow practitioner was so lovely and respectable. At the moment when everybody said, “Happy New Year, Master,” I felt everyone’s heart was very pure and beautiful. Then I realized that one shouldn’t fear having inadequacies in cultivation. As long as we have the Fa in our heart, we can amplify and prolong the pure and beautiful moments, so that we can accord with the Fa, purify ourselves at every moment, and save sentient beings.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/node/116850
