Having 100% Faith in Master and the Fa

[PureInsight.org] As a Dafa disciple during the Fa-rectification period, everyone knows the importance of faith in Master and the Fa. However, it should be a process of continuous improvement and cultivation to achieve 100% faith in Master and the Fa. It is easy for many practitioners to grasp this broadly, but some details are more difficult because of the many human notions that form in people’s lifetimes.

Faith in Master was a critical step in historic personal cultivation. There are many stories and lessons testing one’s full faith in Master. For example, the best-known story is that of Buddha Milarepa: no matter how his Master treated him, he always did as his Master told him without any evil thoughts. Eventually, he achieved fruition and became Buddha. The founder of Chinese Daoism in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling, once asked his disciples to pick peaches from a tree next to a cliff. Many disciples were scared, shaking their legs and sweating. Only one disciple Zhao Sheng said loudly, “We were blessed. What is the danger? Besides my Master is here. Could he watch me fall to my death? If Master wants us to pick the peach, then we definitely can." Then Zhao Sheng jumped on the tree and picked the peaches. Eventually, Zhao Sheng received genuine teaching and flew into the sky in broad daylight.

There were many negative examples in The Appointing of the Gods. When Jiang Ziya went down the mountain, his Master told him very clearly, “Do not respond to anyone. Otherwise, you will be attacked from 36 directions. Also, there is someone waiting for you in the East China Sea. Be careful!”  As you may know, his junior fellow apprentice Shen Gongbao called for and prodded him multiple times. He responded and experienced many life and death tribulations as his Master said. Jiang Ziya’s uncle Master told his own disciples not to leave the mountain by themselves; otherwise, they would be in danger. They agreed but all left by themselves. Eventually, they lost a thousand years’ worth of cultivation experience and were killed.

We should not have any problem if we are 100% convinced by every word Master says, and act firmly as required. Of course, there would be interference from thought karma and external demons if you cultivate among ordinary people. Therefore, we must study Fa continuously to strengthen our faith and eliminate interference from thought karma, human concepts, and the demons. This is also our cultivation process.

Master said in Lecture at the First Conference in North America, “Have you ever thought of the fact that practicing cultivation is the best form of rest? You can obtain the kind of rest that can’t be obtained through sleeping. Nobody would say, ‘The exercises are making me so tired that I can’t do anything today.’ One would only say: ‘The exercises are making my whole body relaxed and at ease. I don’t feel sleepy after a sleepless night. I feel full of energy. It doesn’t seem to bother me at all after a day’s work.’ Isn’t this the case?”

Regarding this question, I can be very strict with myself. But when it comes to my child, I never ask her to keep practicing and forgo sleep. In my opinion, less sleep might influence her growth. Once, I tried to stop her when she wanted to get up early to practice. However, when she asked me if I believed more exercises would be better for her than more sleep, I had nothing to say. I realized I have deviated from the Fa because of human notions and the attachment to my daughter.

Once, my daughter's classmate came to have dinner with us. I put a rib in each of their bowls and put the bigger piece in my daughter’s bowl because she liked ribs. When they came back, they switched seats, and the bigger one was in her classmate’s bowl. I realized Master was telling me to trust the Fa and Master without selfishness. Would a child be guaranteed what I tried to give her? Actually everything is arranged by Master. What we cannot let go are our attachments.

Another example from the Fa in Zhuan Falun, "Speaking of the great heavenly circuit, though you are not allowed to levitate, you will feel that your body is light, as though treading on air. In the past, you would be tired if you walked a few steps, but now it is very easy no matter how far you walk. It is guaranteed to be this way.” I was doubtful about it because I still felt tired going upstairs. I thought it did not work for me. This bad notion makes me still feel tired sometimes going upstairs because I had doubt towards Master and the Fa. Actually it was a fake illusion; the old forces did something in another dimension in order to make me doubt Master’s words. Doubting myself is still a form of doubt. If I could trust Master 100%, the illusion would be gone.

Master said in Suggestions Given at the Beijing Falun Dafa Assistants Meeting, "Throughout the entire course of your cultivation there will be the question of how you fundamentally understand the Fa and whether you can be steadfast—you’ll be tested on whether you are steadfast in the Fa all the way until the last step of your cultivation." Actually all doubts are not from ourselves. As long as we strengthen our main consciousness, we can identify interference. If our faith in Master and the Fa is as solid as rock, all evil will be destroyed.

Chinese version: http://www.zhengjian.org/node/255359