PureInsight | February 21, 2002
In our daily cultivation practice, we run into all kinds of "custom-made" tribulations in order to upgrade our xinxing, especially during this special historical period of Fa-rectification that we are in today. Because we have not been able to eliminate all of our attachments as well as the all of the evil, these tribulations often manifest themselves in the form of interpersonal conflicts among Dafa practitioners while doing Fa-rectification work. We are precisely supposed to become tempered and mature through all these conflicts.
Dafa practitioners are definitely not everyday people. That is because when encountering interpersonal conflicts, we are able to search inward for areas to improve ourselves. In contrast, everyday people often lose themselves in these conflicts, arguing endlessly and refusing to give ground. Because of this difference, we are able to transcend the level of everyday people, are allowed to participate in the sacred and unprecedented Fa-rectification work, and are blessed with the opportunity to reach a magnificent state of consummation.
After reading Master Li's "Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.", I realized that the reason that my state of cultivation had not been so good lately was because of my own problem. It was because I lacked pure, righteous thoughts. This very problem was pointed out by Master Li in "Expounding on the Fa" in Essentials For Further Advancement, where he says, "Having humanly fostered the evil demons, you allow them to capitalize on the loopholes in the Fa." Recently, I had opportunities to interact with other Dafa practitioners who were doing Dafa work. I realized that I am not the only one who has this problem. Even some Dafa practitioners who are in the positions of responsibility and whom I admire a great deal have this problem as well.
Through observing others as a bystander and through self-reflection, I was able to recognize other practitioners' attachments as well as those of my own. These attachments were so strong that I not only could see them clearly but also felt great discomfort from them. Sometimes I would shed tears during the sitting meditation, thinking of how much karma our Teacher had borne for us so we could have the opportunity to obtain the Fa and cultivate during this lifetime. I cried for Master's sufferings on our behalf and the poor enlightenment quality that we have. When I first started cultivating, I was still living in China, and the government had not yet started persecuting Falun Gong. I remember a veteran practitioner telling a fellow practitioner who cared a great deal about food and clothes, "We should be thankful to Master Li for having any food on the table!" I had just attained the Fa back then, and didn't quite understand what she truly meant or why she led such a simple life and had so few desires. Now, when I finally understand what she was trying to say, it is as if the two of us are living in two totally different worlds. She is serving a two-year sentence in a labor camp and enduring inhumane treatment there, while I am so far removed from the extremely difficult environment in China where the evil still runs rampant.
During the past two years, fellow practitioners in China have had many close encounters with death while traveling the road of Fa-rectification. The speed of their transformation from human beings to Gods has been very fast. Many practitioners now do not have a single attachment. But they still maintain the state of cultivation among everyday people while fulfilling their pledges of "assisting teacher in the human world." They are waiting for those of us disappointing fellow practitioners with poor enlightenment quality who go up and down, yet refuse to make forward progress in our cultivation.
I often saw two practitioners argue endlessly and refuse to give ground. It seemed that both made valid points and yet both felt wronged. I became very puzzled, and my mind was filled with questions without answers. I kept on asking myself, "Who is right? What should I do? How can I tell who is right? Master, if only you could just tell me that, how wonderful it would be! It seems that both of them are right and yet both of them are wrong!" I was still using my human thinking. But Master Li told us, "Zhen-Shan-Ren is the sole criterion to discern good and bad people." (From Lecture One of Zhuan Falun.) Therefore, I studied the Fa. Even though I did not find any direct answers to my questions, I felt enveloped by a benevolent power while studying the Fa. I became peaceful and tranquil. I quietly told Master Li, "Master, your disciple understands now!"
Yes! Instead of continuing to argue the way that everyday people do, why can't we use our heart-felt "Shan" to eliminate arguments, doubts and jealousy among one another? Even those everyday people with noble and forbearing spirits are capable of tolerating different opinions, treating people with sincerity and impartiality, and using rational arguments to persuade other people. How could we as Dafa practitioners who understand higher-level principles and live by the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance not do that? In addition, our cultivation is targeted directly at our human hearts, and we should look inside when encountering conflicts. Then, when arguing endlessly and refusing to give ground, have we thought about "Shan" and "searching inward?" It seems that we all have valid points and use Master's Fa to support our own points of view. But I can see that we are all searching for faults in other people and not in ourselves. When conflicts arise, the key is not who is right or wrong on the surface. It might appear on the surface that you were right. But since a conflict takes place, it definitely has something to do with your heart. Therefore, we have to search inward and look for our own attachments. This is the only way for us not to let down Master Li and not waste his careful arrangements, and the only way for us to cultivate and improve through conflicts.
In my opinion, if we regard our Fa-rectification work as ordinary work instead of cultivation, we will not only make no progress in our personal cultivation, but also hinder the progress of Fa-rectification. Moreover, we should consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to do Dafa work, as we are building a foundation for the culture, way of life and other vital matters for the people of the future. But if we do it with any ordinary human mentalities, such as the mentality of showing off, the attachments of zealotry, feeling accomplished, and pursuit, we will just be doing ordinary human things, and not cultivating. Cultivation is arduous and serious.
There are no rankings among disciples. As Master's disciples, we are all equal. We might have different inborn qualities, different experiences in order to eliminate our attachments, different paths, and different final attainment statuses. But there is no such thing as who is higher or lower than anyone else. No practitioner can order others around or force others to do anything. Everyone does cultivation out of his own free will. Nobody should monitor anyone else. Everyone should only be concerned with cultivating his own heart. But during Fa-rectification, all the practitioners should maintain an environment where they can encourage one another and improve as a whole. So we need to treasure our cultivation environment. It does not matter who gets to do what. The important thing is how we can work together to do it well with the mentality of a cultivator while conforming to ordinary society to the maximum extent possible. We need to set perfect examples for the future. Therefore, every single thought, every single word and every single deed of ours has to live up to the title of "Dafa disciple." We need to be responsible to the future.
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2002/1/31/13612.html
