(Clearwisdom.net) Recently I ran into some trouble with everyday matters. This interfered with the salvation of sentient beings, and I found out that it had something to do with my slacking off in personal cultivation.
As Fa-rectification Dafa disciples, Fa-rectification cultivation is what we are supposed to do. However, if our personal cultivation has not met the required standard, we are not able to do well in Fa-rectification cultivation, or we may easily experience interference, and as a result we aren't able to save people. Teacher has talked about the relationship between personal cultivation and Fa-rectification cultivation many times, but sometimes I still slack off and am not strict with myself.
Some time ago I wanted to buy a used car, and my friend purchased one for me from another friend. When the car was transferred to my name, my friend (a non-practitioner) suggested that I write down a lower price to avoid paying extra taxes. I didn't think it was right, so I said, "Isn't that cheating?" But I didn't insist on paying the original price because my friend said that everyone does that when a transaction is conducted between two friends. I thought to myself that since the money I was saving was less than a hundred dollars, it wasn't such a big deal. Actually, I was not strict with myself, and this incident exposed a loophole in my personal cultivation. The car ended up breaking down several times after I had it for only a few months. The money I spent on fixing the car far exceeded the money I had saved from paying less taxes. On top of that, I wasted a lot time trying to get the car fixed.
Nothing a Dafa disciple encounters is by chance. If our actions are righteous, situations like this will never happen, because the money and time Dafa practitioners spend is for saving people-- and this is the most solemn thing in the universe. How could I run into interference like this? Didn't this problem arise from the fact that I did not let go of the attachment to personal gain? In addition, Dafa practitioners' actions will be followed by people in the future. What kind of example are we setting for those people if we consider acts like this just a minor detail and don't pay attention to them? People in the future will say that Dafa practitioners tried to evade taxes back then. Is that right?
There was a period of time when I was under great duress because I was so busy dealing with constant interference from everyday people. It was either work-related or a family issue. If I didn't handle it, others would say that I failed to fulfill my responsibilities. I worried that this would affect Dafa practitioners' image. Yet, if I did handle it, it would keep me so busy from morning to night that I wouldn't even have time to study the Fa and practice the exercises. I was very upset. I searched within myself and realized that this was the result of my not cherishing my time well. I usually spent my time surfing the Internet for fun things, and sometimes I even watched TV or slept in. In short, I had the mentality of seeking comfort, so evil forces had an excuse to interfere with me: "What you are engaging in is not righteous anyway, so let me arrange for some people to bother you." If I had been able to truly utilize every minute well and use it completely on the three things, would the evil dare to come and interfere with me? It is like how Teacher said that it was because we didn't cherish the Dafa books that the evil used it as an excuse to confiscate or destroy them.
If we don't cultivate well personally, not only will it affect our Fa-validation, but also others and our whole body. In Teacher's recent lecture video, Falun Dafa--Teaching the Fa to Australian Falun Dafa Practitioners, Teacher talked about some problems practitioners are having. For instance, practitioners' not trusting each other or not cooperating well with each other is all because of the evil taking advantage of practitioners' not cultivating well enough, and this has had a negative impact on Fa-validation and the salvation of sentient beings. Of course, Teacher is compassionate and always takes into consideration the perspective of being understanding to practitioners and said that it was the human thoughts that we had not cultivated away that was having this effect. Nevertheless, we should not use Teacher's compassion as an excuse to slack off in cultivating ourselves.
When we have problems dealing with fellow practitioners, my understanding is that we should make an effort to look at it from the perspective of Fa-rectification cultivation, and look at the positive effect they can have during this precious Fa-rectification period. In particular, when they encounter a tribulation, we should understand that they should not accept the old forces' arrangement and test, because Teacher is looking after practitioners. And as for ourselves, we should try hard to not use Fa-rectification cultivation as an excuse to neglect our own personal cultivation. Yet, we tend to do the opposite. For example, we can see problems in other practitioners' personal cultivation very clearly, and we even criticize or blame them. But when it comes to the tribulations we encounter ourselves , we often blame it on "interference" and neglect to look inside for the fundamental problem.
As Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, personal cultivation is the foundation for doing well. We should calm our minds to study the Fa and establish a habit of strictly conducting ourselves based on the standard of Dafa. In doing so, we'll naturally and constantly be in a state of cultivation. Fa-rectification cultivation is the prehistoric oath we took and the historical mission bestowed upon us for coming into this human world, and it must be completed. Just as Teacher said,
"Aside from what you as individuals need to go through and establish on your final road to Consummation, what is most important for you and most significant right now is to save people."
("Fa Teaching at the U.S. Capital")