PureInsight | May 10, 2016
[PureInsight.org] When I was reading the story of “Tang Dynasty Monk’s Journey to the West” or watching the TV show during my childhood, I always wondered why this “Tang Dynasty Monk” was so incompetent, he never seemed to learn any lessons from his encounters with demons. When new demons appeared, the monk just couldn’t detect that something was not right and would fall victim to the demons again and again.
Upon reflecting on Dafa cultivation, I realize that the way some cultivators stumble along on their cultivation paths is very similar to how the “Tang Dynasty Monk” blundered along on his westward journey to get the scriptures. Master has already explained the Fa very clearly to us, we are supposed to do the “three things” and we need to seek inwards whenever we run into trouble. Master has also explained the situation regarding the old forces; however, whenever we are personally faced with difficulties, how many of us can immediately see through the tricks arranged by the old forces? When Master publishes a new scripture on Minghui.org to correct the path for our cultivation, how many of us will immediately look within, following Master’s words completely?
The “Tang Dynasty Monk” was eventually able to overcome all the obstacles, it was because the monk firmly believed in Buddha, he never wavered in his faith when confronted with whatever demons, and he never forgot his mission to fetch the Buddhist scriptures. Now we are cultivating in Falun Dafa today - such a cultivation way has never been seen before, we are essentially helping to create a brand new world; how are we doing then today in a very comfortable cultivation environment?
The most significant issue is the lack of diligence among many cultivators. Many practitioners put their daily lives ahead of Dafa, this is the most dangerous thing. In Zhuan Falun, Master said, “No matter what happens, one must maintain good xinxing. Only through adhering to Dafa can one be truly right. Whether it is your supernormal abilities or your Unlocking of Gong, you achieve them through practicing cultivation in Dafa. If you put Dafa in a secondary place and put your supernatural powers in the primary place, or as an enlightened person you believe that what you understand one way or another is correct, or if you even regard yourself as being great and beyond Dafa, I would say that you have already started to stumble. It would be dangerous and you would become ever worse. At that time, you would really be in trouble, and your cultivation would end up in vain.” I think Dafa practitioners are facing a serious test today.
The root cause of this issue is that one doesn’t pay attention to Fa study, one is thus not able to use the Fa to measure things when running into problems, one is then easily bogged down like an ordinary person.
Back in 2013, there was a local veteran practitioner from our area who was well respected by everyone as this practitioner seemed to have done a great job in her personal cultivation. Later on however, others started to notice that this practitioner didn’t even know what the old forces were about; every time when practitioners visited this practitioner’s house, she was found to be watching some TV show, and she would become excited when talking about such and such wonderful TV shows. In September later that year, this veteran practitioner seemed to fall ill, she was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage; it was quite a blow to this practitioner. When she was hospitalized, her children said they didn’t understand what went wrong. The family started to fight over hospital bills and caring expenses. Other practitioners told this veteran practitioner to look within and to try and find her fundamental attachment, they said that once she found her fundamental attachment, the fake illness illusion would disappear; however, the veteran practitioner said she didn’t know how to look within, she became very pessimistic and wanted to die. Local practitioners learnt a heavy lesson from this incident, they realized the importance of Fa study; Fa study is not a display put on in front of others, rather, one must truly improve oneself from studying the Fa, one should never be measured by how one appears on the surface.
After eighty-one tribulations, the “Tang Dynasty Monk” finally reached the west and retrieved the scriptures; the monk completed such an arduous, dangerous mission with his unwavering faith in Buddha, he never lost his determination throughout the entire journey, he never forgot his initial goal; he understood his mission and took his responsibility seriously at all times. In the very end, the monk accomplished his mission and also reached consummation as a result. As Dafa practitioners, we should do an even better job today, we should cherish our time with Master and strive to accomplish our vows we promised prior to our coming down to earth; we should try our best to do “the three things” so that we can save even more sentient beings. There is not very much time left for us.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/node/151965
