(Clearwisdom.net) Our revered Master published an article titled "A Will That Ebbs Not" on September 18, the day of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, in which He benevolently instructed us:
"Disciples of Fa,
"Be diligent, with a will that ebbs not
"The countless years of hardship were all for this time"
Twenty days later, benevolent Master published another article, "The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be" in which He conveyed solemn teachings regarding a small number of practitioners who have grown despondent and who are no longer diligent.
After studying the new article I realized that Master is again solemnly pointing out our shortcomings in cultivation during this last stage of Fa-rectification cultivation. He told us the Fa principles regarding the issue of diligence during cultivation. He also compassionately pointed out to us how to be solid and righteous on the last leg of this journey, so we will fulfill our predestined mission from countless years ago.
Recently, I often hear practitioners say that they are in low spirits and are not as diligent as they used to be. They feel as if many attachments and human notions still exist despite years of cultivation. They forgive themselves of their shortcomings and constantly find excuses to justify being lax.
When clear-headed though, they feel they are not in a good state, and it seems quite difficult for them to break through it. They have also demonstrated non-diligent behaviors such as placing Dafa work above Fa study. They justify not studying the Fa well with "I'm busy and don't have time." Some practitioners have trouble ensuring the quality of Fa study and merely go through the motions'. In fact, unless they study the Fa well enough, they can't truly do well with Dafa work. They can't get up at 6:00 a.m. to send forth righteous thoughts and are not as active and attentive now as they used to be when clarifying the truth, as their will to save people has eroded.
A few practitioners even devote large amounts of time and energy doing ordinary people's things and living well the ordinary people's life, such as enthusiastically watching long TV series, and other things.
Master clearly points out in the new article,
"They haven't realized that this is an attachment to the duration of Fa-rectification, or is caused by interference from incorrect, acquired notions, which results in their gaps being exploited by interfering factors that the old forces left behind early on in the surface of the human dimension, wicked specters, or rotten demons--things that have magnified and strengthened those attachments and human notions--all of which has brought about this despondent state."
[...]
"...most disciples who are in this state are that way because, at the beginning, they didn't realize that they had subtle attachments or were being interfered with by their own notions, and so the evil has exploited this gap and magnified those factors." ("The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be")
So, which of our attachments or acquired notions were taken advantage of by the evil?
Are we satisfied with what we have contributed in our cultivation and validating the Fa, thinking that we can now relax? Do we presume that we have cultivated ourselves very well and should simply wait for cultivation to end? Is it because the timeframe for the end of cultivation has exceeded what we had our minds set on, and therefore we have started to wrangle over self-interest in ordinary society? Are we attached to a comfortable lifestyle, no longer willing to make unconditional sacrifices to cultivate ourselves? Are we misinterpreting cultivation and making arrangements in a way to suit our own desires? Are we following our notions instead of always regarding the Fa as the teacher in cultivation? Are we abusing Master's compassion to forgive our shortcomings again and again, and indulging ourselves in our heart, thinking that Master will never give up on us? Are we thinking of the end of Fa-rectification with our degenerate notions about time and wrongfully conclude, "We still have time" or, "There is always tomorrow if I don't things well today?"
Master told us in the Fa that any problem that arises in cultivation is the result of human attachments and notions. If we can't follow Master's teaching, solemnly and truly look inward by judging ourselves with the Fa, firmly get rid of human notions and attachments that must be eliminated through cultivation, then we would be leaving gaps for the old forces, rotten demons and wicked specters to exploit. If we shun, cover up, make up excuses, speculate about cultivation or deceive ourselves with our own concocted imagination to comfort ourselves, we would equally permit the old forces to disrupt Fa-rectification and tolerate the evil to wantonly destroy sentient beings.
During discussions, some practitioners express dissatisfaction with their despondent state, yet they feel powerless to break through it, or that the results of their efforts to break through have been less than optimal. We understand from Fa principles that solid cultivation means cultivating in the Fa and eventually eliminating attachments. If a cultivator says, "I know this is a test, but I just can't give up my attachments;" if he doesn't have the resolve to make solid progress, pass tests and make improvements; if he is attached to or deluded by the so-called real world, full of temptations; if he looks at cultivation and cultivation principles with human notions instead of cultivating and improving according to the righteous principles of Dafa, then he will not reach consummation in Dafa.
In fact, the various attachments and notions are not from our true selves, yet they interfere with and disrupt our cultivation. So, why not eliminate them? When our righteous thoughts obtained through Dafa cultivation truly come into play, these notions will have no place to hide.
Every Dafa disciple knows that this one opportunity has come after countless years and is incomparably precious; we know that the glorious fruition we will achieve through Fa-rectification cultivation will be unprecedented and will never happen again. Only we truly walk a path toward godhood, and we do so under Master's guidance. Yet, all of this magnificence manifests through Master's Fa-rectification, through melting into the Fa, through fulfilling our mission to validate Dafa and save sentient beings, through discarding all human attachments and notions that interfere with validating the Fa and saving sentient beings, and eventually reaching godhood.
The difficulties we encounter in cultivation appear to be tribulations and things to be avoided to everyday people, but to cultivators they are,
"[...] an outstanding opportunity to remove karma, be cleansed of sin, purify the body, elevate your plane of thought, and rise in level--it's an extraordinarily good thing." ("The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be")
Only by believing in Master and Dafa and firmly following the righteous Fa principles of Dafa in cultivation, fundamentally changing our ordinary people's way of thinking'', eliminating interference, restrictions and barriers brought on by the inverse principles of human society; only then will we 'not leave behind any regrets that we will never be able to make up.
