(Clearwisdom.net)
Along with the quick progress of Fa-rectification, I often feel Teacher is pushing me to upgrade my level, with xinxing tests coming one after another. My cultivation seems to have difficulty keeping up with Teacher's requirements. Can our level keep pace with the progress of Fa-rectification? I am writing down some of my recent enlightenment to share with everyone.
Recently, the evil started a new round of interference with Dafa practitioners. After I realized this was happening, my first reaction was to send forth righteous thoughts so as not to allow the persecution of Dafa practitioners, completely rejecting the old forces' arrangement. Still, I always felt a little uneasy while sending forth righteous thoughts, as if something were pressing on my heart. Although I felt some hard to identify fear was hiding deep in my heart, I just went on studying the Fa. During the process of Fa study, I suddenly thought of looking inward to see if I still had any attachments that had not yet been given up. I asked myself if it was my purpose to live an ordinary person's life when I came to this world. If not, was there anything in the world I could not give up? Looking further inward, I searched for the cause of the fear? Was it because I had not let go of fame, interest, or sentimentality? Did I still have some selfishness left? I felt that I had a little bit of everything mentioned above, but I still could not identify the root cause. Through two days' Fa study and looking inward, I finally realized that I was far from being "complete sacrifice" ("Perfect Harmony --II", Essentials for Further Advancement) and I was not able to reach the status of "Non-Omission" (Essentials for Further Advancement by Li Hongzhi). After I found my attachments, and was able to let go of them, I felt my heart become light, pure and calm. I also felt my heart become indestructibly firm, leaving no loopholes for the evil to get in. Then I sent forth righteous thoughts again and truly experienced the great power that Dafa grants us when we are able to give up attachments.
I enlightened that we should give more importance to our self cultivation as the Fa-rectification accelerates. We should strive forward vigorously in cultivation of the Buddha Fa. Whenever we encounter any incidents, we should first look inward, cultivate our hearts, always keep a clear head, abandon all attachments, and purify ourselves, so that we can do better at saving sentient beings.
"The things of Dafa disciples surpass personal cultivation, such as our currently validating the Fa, clarifying the truth, and saving sentient beings, and all of these are actually based on a foundation of personal Consummation, so if it's not possible for you to reach personal Consummation then everything else is out of the question." (Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the US West Fa Conference)
When we hear fellow practitioners' praise for doing well in cultivation and Fa-rectification work, do we feel complacent? Or, do we remain clearheaded and have the thought that what we have done is only what a Dafa practitioner should do, and in fact something we should do well?
When we help fellow practitioners, and they express their gratitude, or even shed tears, are we moved or do we just stay calm and clearly understand that the thanks should go to Teacher for his compassionate help and his arrangements. Although we are assisting Teacher in this world, it is always Teacher helping us rather us helping Teacher. Without Teacher's help, we could not have done anything.
When we see some practitioners undertaking more work and taking on more responsibility than we have, should we consider them as models? Or, should we regard the Fa as Teacher and walk forward on our own path according to Teacher's requirements, learning from fellow practitioners' experiences and thinking of how we should be responsible to the Fa to better save living beings? Or do we go to the other extreme and not respect other practitioners' experience and not learn from the lessons they learned, holding on to our own attachments, claiming to walk our own path, and risking repeating the lessons, along with repeating the damage, that others have already been through?
When we argue about Fa-rectification work, should we just refuse to budge, or should we first look inward, regarding it as an opportunity to give up attachments, and upgrade our xinxing (character)?
As we upgrade in our cultivation, do we continue to have thoughts of showing off our personal capabilities or do we recognize when dissolving into the Fa, that the more we cultivate, the more we feel the boundless power of Dafa. Do we recognize how tiny we are, and how great and benevolent Teacher is? I think that should be a more natural indication of our true self than everyday people's gratitude, because Teacher told us that the attachment to everyday people's feelings toward Dafa is a mountain in the way of our progress. Even ninety miles is only part way to arriving at one hundred miles. As my cultivation upgrades, I feel that the remaining attachments are more difficult to detect because they are very deeply hidden, and sometimes appear to be "natural." However, the closer it is to the end, the more diligent we should be. We should not treat them lightly or be relaxed about them. Instead, we should place more importance on our own cultivation, constantly looking inward, always staying clearheaded, catching up with the requirements of Fa-rectification, walking well every last step, truly become capable of avoiding false appearances, and seeing the essence through a false front. Let us all avoid leaving loopholes for the evil, minimize the losses, save more people, and fulfill our great prehistoric vow.
The above is some recent personal enlightenment. Please compassionately point out anything improper.
