(Clearwisdom.net) Today I re-read the article "Realm" from Essentials for Further Advancement. In that article, Master Li said, "A wicked person is born of jealousy. Out of selfishness and anger he complains about unfairness towards himself. A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion. With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy." After going through the last two years of tribulations and taking the journey toward the highest realm of a cultivator in the midst of Fa-rectification, I have realized the importance and mighty power of Benevolence (Shan) more than ever.
The Buddha School places the emphasis of its cultivation on Benevolence (Shan). Falun Dafa cultivates "Truthfulness Benevolence Forbearance." Out of "Truthfulness Benevolence Forbearance," the power and realm of "Benevolence" is displayed and harmonized everywhere. A being made up of pure benevolence will naturally be able to distinguish goodness from evil and combine its great wisdom and harmony. A being made up of pure benevolence is unbreakable. He can turn his worst enemies into friends and move all sentient beings around him. In the process of Fa-rectification cultivation, when dealing with others (regardless of whether we are dealing with our fellow practitioners, everyday people or the evil), if we mix in unkind thoughts and violent mentality that are purely human, no matter what kind of intention we hold, the results of our action will never reach the state that a purely benevolent cultivator could reach, a state that is filled with benevolent majesty touching people at the cores of their beings. Pure benevolence could stop a being from doing bad deeds and encourage him to start doing good deeds from the bottom of his heart.
Each person has both Buddha nature and Demon nature. Demons are beings higher than humans. Yet because they could not get rid of their wickedness and cultivate benevolence, they could not reach Attainment Status. As cultivators who cultivate Buddhahood, we not only need to elevate our realms, we also need to continuously eliminate our Demon nature and strengthen our Buddha nature. In the midst of Fa-rectification, we especially cannot use any excuse to allow the part of us that has not cultivated well and still possesses demon nature to run free. Otherwise we cannot reach consummation as great, enlightened beings after Fa-rectification in the new universes. "If mankind does not observe human moral standards, society will enter uncontrollable chaos, with natural calamities and man-made disasters. If a cultivator does not get rid of his demon-nature through cultivation, his gong will be badly disordered and he will attain nothing or follow a demonic path."(from the article "Buddha-Nature and Demon-Nature") When faced with outside interference that uses the part of us that is not pure enough, to cause damage to the Fa-rectification of the cosmos, Dafa disciples are justified to use pure, righteous thoughts to eliminate them. That is also a display of great benevolence of a cultivator.
A being could only achieve genuine benevolence when he is totally selfless. A being could feel no discontent or hatred only when he has a heart filled with benevolence at every moment. In the midst of interference and tribulations, only a being that completely and firmly believes in the power of benevolence can remain unshakable by any external factor, undisturbed by any emotion (qing), and impervious to any human notion. Only then can his words and deeds be filled with the benevolent, supernormal power of a Fa-rectification cultivator at every moment of every day.
Benevolence is the fundamental characteristic of a great, enlightened being. On the journey toward consummation, Dafa disciples all over the world will form a more and more impenetrable body that holds neither selfishness nor the sense of self, one that possesses great benevolence.
