On “Coming and Going with Nothing"

[PureInsight.org] In the early years just after I started practicing Falun Dafa, I felt it was easy to get rid of the attachment to money. It was not as strenuous as now. I used to not even care if I lost something, it seemed that I could let go of anything. Sometimes when our truth-clarification materials production site needed money, I would donate hundreds or thousands of Chinese yuan. This is not the case now. Now, I tend to hesitate a bit on whether or not I should donate money to the materials production site. Back then, each day I would study a maximum of four lectures, usually two lectures, and practice all the exercises twice. I was full of energy and improved very quickly, it seemed that nothing could stop me. I just wanted to go home with Master.

However, in the past few years, I feel that I have been improving very slowly; I study one lecture everyday, hardly two lectures a day. It is also hard for me to get rid of attachments. Take the attachment to gain as an example. I gradually came to care more and more about money, and desired to save more money. When I spent money, I would consider a lot before purchasing anything, and would always want to save some more. I paid a monthly social insurance. I looked at the insurance company's newsletter and thought: Well, I am reaching 30,000 yuan now, but it will increase to 50,000 yuan, and then 100,000 yuan by the end of next year.

When I went to the vegetable market to buy vegetables, I would always be looking for the cheaper ones. Once, I bought a lot of cucumbers and peppers for 2 Chinese Yuan. I ate those for several days and felt very satisfied. The next time I went to the market, I was still searching for bargains. Sometimes if the merchant wanted a higher price, I would wonder if I was being ripped off. How far had I strayed from the time when I was diligently practicing in the beginning? I realized that I had regressed. My mind was not clean when I meditated, and sometimes I was just feeling concerned over no apparent reason.

I felt pressure after Master's scripture "Wake Up" was published. Master seems to be alerting disciples: What time is it now? Are you still not awake? I have come to realize: We are at a critical juncture in history right now, every minute and every second seem to be the final opportunities to temper and mature ourselves.

Yesterday I went to a practitioner's house and she asked, "I had a dream, can you help me to understand it? In the dream, I saw my dead relatives, they were all naked. Although people in that dimension are just like that, I did not feel it was wrong or anything when I saw the scene. What do you think it means?" I replied, "Coming and going with nothing, this is to encourage you to let go of human attachments. Have you not passed your tests well recently?"

However, after I finished speaking, I suddenly remembered I had the same dream two days ago, but I did not think too much about it at the time. In my dream, I saw my deceased mother-in-law. She was also naked, with her back to me, leaning on a bicycle. When the practitioner talked about her dream, I suddenly understood: In fact, Master was enlightening me in Falun Gong, Chapter III
Cultivation of Character, “You can’t bring anything with you when you are born, and you can’t take anything away with you when you die.”

This dream was reminding me not to be like my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law was at first very diligent when she was alive. Every time I went to her home, I saw her studying the Fa or practicing the exercises. She often urged me, "Don't take money seriously, it's useless, just cultivate well. Be sure to go home with Master." I used to always regard my mother-in-law as a superior person who hears the Dao, who has good enlightenment quality, and somebody who would cultivate to the end.

However, for some reason, my mother-in-law gradually slackened in her resolve to be diligent upon facing sickness karma. Like a car on a highway driving onto the sidewalk, getting slower and slower. Every time I went to see her, she would ask me, "When will my body get better?" I said, "As long as you cultivate diligently, you will get better soon." She did not want to hear me out. She said, "Who doesn't know that one needs to be diligent? I will be diligent after I've recovered.”

However, I saw that because she studied the Fa less and less, her mind grew wildly like grass. Whatever she said seemed not to be on the Fa. She would start asking me things related to everyday people, such as, “How is that kid” “Why didn't that kid come to see me?” “What is that person doing now?” If I did not answer, she would get upset. My mother-in-law became fastidious about saving money. When she was diligent, she was not attached to money, and she often told me, “Let it go, let it go.” However, during the test of sickness karma, I found that she had become very concerned over her financial situation, and often asked her husband, "How much money is left in the passbook?" Her husband would answer, “Still the same. We haven't spent anything.” Whenever she heard that, she would appear relieved.

When a cultivator is in this state, the human mindset already has the upper hand. The old forces will increase the persecution of you and make you stuck in this state, and your body will only get worse and worse. This is how my mother-in-law was, and nothing of everyday people was taken away with her when she passed away. What is left is regret. Only by taking a leap forward and pushing yourself to return to "the original state" can you escape the dangerous predicament. This is the key point that many people ignore.

Master dropped this hint to me in my dream so as to wake me up, so I can elevate beyond the human mindset, not only in regards to money, but also in my thinking. Master said in Teaching the Fa at the New Zealand Fa Conference, "No matter how much money you have, how high your position is, or how comfortable your life is, you can’t take anything with you. You come here with nothing except for your body, and aren’t able to take anything away when you leave. The only thing that can be taken with you is what’s acquired through cultivation, as that is carried directly on a person’s True Body.”

I looked within and found I had a heavy attachment to gain. Sometimes upon feeling depressed or troubled, I would look within and find it always had something to do with money. For example, once a friend asked for my help to move some things with my car. I felt it unfair that I needed to pay for the petrol with my own money. Another time, someone gave me a few cupboards and sofas, but then the other practitioner wanted all the furniture for himself. Moreover, I needed to find a vehicle to transport those items of furniture to him. I felt a little bit uncomfortable. Once I gave a few near-new items of clothing to a relative. My relative was not grateful, and I felt regretful that I gave my clothes away. Once, my wife told me, "I need some money so I can buy some good clothes." I immediately asked her as if I just got an electric shock, "Don't you have a salary? Why don't you spend your own money?" How many attachments were in my questions? I feel whether one is able to put others first, and how selfish one is, is most discernible when it relates to family.

After receiving Master's hint in the dream, and through sharing with fellow practitioners, I felt that my thoughts had suddenly elevated. I saw that my attachments to money, showing off, fighting, feeling unbalanced at heart, and lust, had all sprung up inadvertently. I sent forth righteous thoughts to completely clear these human mindsets. After doing so, I recalled a song written by a fellow practitioner: "Treasure." I feel touched by the lyrics:

"Spring flowers and autumn moon are joyful, Chasing after fame and fortune, tired are they not, Prosperity and wealth are nothing upon death
And a lifetime of hard work is left to whom?
Cherish the chance to board the boat of salvation
Get rid of human thoughts and return to heaven..."

Yes, the time for "returning to heaven" has come, so what cannot we let go of? I just want to let go of all attachments. There are not many opportunities left, we can only diligently cultivate! Only in this way can we live up to Master's expectations and leave no regrets.

The above is my personal understanding at my current level.

Chinese version: http://big5.zhengjian.org/node/272414