(Clearwisdom.net) I often read articles on the Minghui website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net) regarding asking Master for help. Here are some of my thoughts on this topic.
As a new practitioner, when one can think of Master at a critical moment, asking Master for help shows that his or her xinxing and faith have improved (as some practitioners do not think of Master at a critical time). As a veteran practitioner, however, thinking of Master during a difficult time should be second nature. At that point, though, constantly asking for Master's help doesn't seem right, either. It is like leaving tribulations and difficulties for Master.
Some practitioners ask Master to support them when they go out to explain the facts about Falun Dafa, persuade people to quit the CCP , send forth righteous thoughts and even when they print informational materials and burn informational DVD's. Isn't this also an attachment?
When we met with tribulations and asked Master for help, when we suffered physically and asked Master for help, Master is the one who endured our tribulations. Master has endured so much for us already, especially since July 20, 1999. It caused great damage to Master's physical body. Master has no tribulations, so why has he endured so much? Master endured for us! Can we still have the heart to ask Master to endure more for us?
Everything has its karmic relationship. The tribulations we meet in our cultivation have to do with our past karmic debt. When we began to cultivate, it was impossible for us not to endure some. Otherwise, how do we pay back the debt? How can we reach Consummation without repaying the debt? In actuality, we have only endured a little, and Master handled the majority of it for us. We should try our best to overcome our tribulations and difficulties, negate the old forces' arrangements, and walk well on our cultivation path.
The purpose of asking for help is hoping to minimize the difficulty and hoping to pass the test smoothly. This does not accord with cultivation. Master said,
“If you always get your way among everyday people and cannot pass this test, you will not make progress. If you live very well among everyday people, how can you practice cultivation?” (Zhuan Falun)
Cultivation is to cultivate through tribulation. We have to have the mentality for enduring hardship and overcoming difficulty. Some practitioners still have not changed their notions. They believe that they should be comfortable and have things go smoothly while cultivating. How could one cultivate this way?
Each tribulation and difficulty is an opportunity to elevate our xinxing, and only by looking inward can we pass the test. When asking Master for help, is it not looking outward? Master said,
“In genuine cultivation practice one must cultivate one’s own heart and inner self. One should search inside oneself rather than outside.” (Zhuan Falun).
We will not improve by looking outside. It is a human attachment to be asking for help whenever difficulty arises, and it also shows a lack of righteous thoughts. If that is the case, even if Master wants to help, he might not be able to because of our lack of righteous thoughts. Master said,
“Fa-rectification is utterly solemn. When you first took up cultivation Master at that time did for you everything that should have been done. Now it's up to you to battle through tests with righteous thoughts. Master can help you when your righteous thoughts are sufficient.” (Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles)
Master also said,
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughts Master has the power to turn back the tide” (Hongyin II, “The Master-Disciple Bond”)
Master can help those disciples with ample righteous thoughts, as those disciples have no fear, are solid as a rock and the old forces dare not persecute them. Isn’t that the result of Master's protection?
During the Fa rectification, the old forces had their own arrangement and forced it upon Master and created serious interference and harm for Fa rectification. If we ask Master for help often, will that not also cause interference for Fa rectification? We have to pay attention to this issue. We all claim that we have come to help Master do Fa rectification, but if we keep bothering Master to do this and that and keep adding difficulty to Master, how are we helping Master?
Master arranged our cultivation path, and each individual's tribulation and difficulty was arranged according to his or her specific situation. If we keep asking Master for help, aren't we interfering with that arrangement? We better pay close attention to this matter. In actuality, when we meet tribulations, even if we do not ask, Master's fashen will protect us at every moment. As long as we have the determination to pass the test and elevate our xinxing, Master will always help us. If our purpose of asking for help is to have a good life in the human world, Master will not be able to help us. Master arranged the path for us to reach Consummation.
I do not mean that we cannot ask for help anymore. I asked for help several years ago, and I personally and deeply understand the difficulty for those practitioners to ask for help. The main issue here is that if our xinxing was up to par, we would be able to overcome the difficulty without asking Master for help, and we would not do it even if we were asked to. I hope those practitioners who are frequently asking for help will be more diligent on their cultivation path, have righteous thoughts, do the three things well, and break through to higher levels.
