(Clearwisdom.net) First of all, I would like to talk about the true meaning of being modest. It means not being complacent, being willing to accept others’ criticism, and being willing to learn from others humbly, including not being afraid of asking questions of your subordinates. On the other hand, false modesty means always talking about your own shortcomings, but deep down you are not willing to change those shortcomings. The purpose of mentioning those shortcomings is to keep others from talking about them. When such false modesty becomes a habit for some practitioners, they stray further and further away from true cultivation. Instead, they become more like ordinary persons, and it will severely hinder their cultivation.
This false modesty shows up in some practitioners who tend to say that they do not cultivate well, they do not do the three things well… yet they still remain the same and their hearts do not change.
This resonates well with practitioners who have strong ordinary people’s attachments. However, this kind of false modesty does not conform to the Fa. Behind it hide different attachments. You may repeatedly emphasize your shortcomings, but in doing so, you are giving up part of your main consciousness. You are almost accepting, acknowledging, and strengthening this kind of negative substance. You are building up obstacles for your own cultivation.
It is possible that such practitioners may have cultivated very well in many respects, but they are too attached to their own shortcomings. As a result, some notions have rooted themselves deep in their minds and now seem second nature.
When a practitioner realizes his shortcomings, he should cultivate them away according to the Fa. He should not, instead, bury himself in the shortcomings and only pay lip service to looking within.
Master said, “It doesn't matter that you fell down, it doesn't matter! Quickly get up!” (“Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference”) We should not get attached to false modesty. We should not acknowledge our own shortcomings with words, but believe inside that we are really doing well.
Often after such practitioners show their false modesty, they will express insincere admiration for other practitioners. For example, “You do the three things so well!” or “Look how high your xinxing is!” Superficially he acts very modest and seems not to think too highly of himself. In fact, his attachments of resentment and jealousy are hiding behind his words. When he sees that other people are doing well, he actually feels a sense of loss inside. “People then get upset when something good happens to other people, instead of being happy for them.” (Zhuan Falun)
False modesty may come from elements of the CCP’s culture. This, along with jealousy, are really negative factors for cultivators, keeping us from being diligent in cultivation. When we have such attachments, it is not easy to interact with other practitioners with righteous thoughts. It is easy to foster other practitioners’ attachments of showing off and complacency.
These attachments have become natural in some practitioners’ hearts. If we do not use the Fa as the standard, we can hardly sense the lack of compassion that these attachments bring. It is hard to detect since it causes little damage directly. Instead, it satisfies some practitioners’ attachment to hearing flattering words, thinking that they cultivate very well, and the attachment of vanity. This is one reason why there hasn't been much focus on this issue.
In fact, nothing is minor in cultivation. This kind of attachment may well manifest itself in the huge cosmic bodies in other dimensions that need to be rectified. So from this perspective, we need to cultivate away these attachments so that we can rectify ourselves within the Fa.
