(Clearwisdom.net) Some practitioners around me have recently become confused while undergoing tests. One practitioner had sickness tribulations and could not tell whether they were the old forces' persecution or cultivation tests. Seeing other practitioners passing tests with their firm belief in Dafa and Master and experiencing miracles, she was also trying to endure hardship, however she was thinking of cultivation issues with human notions. While still holding on to her human attachments she also asked Master for help, but miracles did not happen. The tribulation became more than she could endure and she passed out. She was taken to a hospital by her non-practitioner family members, which caused a negative effect. She later said she was confused and even her practitioner family member was confused. In fact, she could not overcome the tribulation because she did not fully believe in Master and Dafa. She thought that even though she hung onto her attachments regarding the issue, in order for people to be saved, miracles should still have manifest for her! She did not search within to see if she was completely following Master's requirements and regarding things from the standpoint of the Fa. Instead, she had the thought of negotiating with Master in her mind.
Some practitioners saw that others experienced amazing changes after they started the practice. Their hair changed from gray to black, they became young looking and more attractive, and they thought that this was a way of validating the Fa. Therefore, these practitioners also kept looking for signs that they were becoming younger, and waited for miracles to happen even though their cultivation had not reached that state.
Because I know this practitioner very well and I had strong attachment of sentimentality to her, I also thought that it would be great if miracles happened to her. That way, people who do not believe in Dafa would have nothing else to say. I thought that my way of thinking was to save more sentient beings. At the time I truly did not understand why miracles did not take place.
After studying Master's new lecture “What Does it Mean to 'Help Master Rectify the Fa'?” I suddenly became awakened. Master said,
“But what Master wants done is in fact what is required by the Fa’s rectification of an incalculable number of cosmic bodies. Though this plane of mankind may be lowly, it is nonetheless a manifestation of higher lives at a lower place, expressed in the forms of this lower plane, and is at the same time the heart of Fa-rectification—the focal point of everything. However great your idea may seem, it is limited to only this one plane of existence, this singular spot, and that one particular matter. And could you possibly know what impact that thing which Master wants done is meant to have at countless, immeasurable planes of utterly massive cosmic bodies? If you, as my student, truly want to 'help Master rectify the Fa,' then you should concern yourself only with how to best fulfill what Master wants. This alone is what you should be doing, yet you want instead for Master to help you? How could you use Dafa during the Fa-rectification to instead help fulfill your human ideas?” (“What Does it Mean to 'Help Master Rectify the Fa'?”)
We should indeed follow what Master has asked us to do. How could we use our limited human notions to ask Master to help fulfill our own human ideas? We have not reached the required standard. When we do not reach the standard, how can we expect miracles? Only when we truly follow the Fa's standard and cultivate ourselves diligently, will we be able to truly validate the Fa. Why did miracles happen to some practitioners, but not others? It was not because Master favors some practitioners over others. It is because the Fa requires every practitioner to reach the standard.
Master said,
“For cultivators, though, when it comes to raising the requirement on your xinxing and letting go of your attachments, there's absolutely no wiggle room, and the standard can absolutely not be lowered, because we need to be responsible to the future, and to the cosmos and the sentient beings of the future.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in 2003”)
I realized that although each practitioner's cultivation path is different, the required standard for each is the same when facing tests and tribulations. If we do not see the expected effect, we should unconditionally search within without any human notions and see where we have fallen short and not reached the Fa standard. Even if we can not identify our areas of omission, we should still firmly believe in Master and the Fa. As the saying goes, “Having heard the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening.” If we change direction and no longer practice after experiencing tribulations, it would be most sad!
Our cultivation paths are all different. We don't have any models to follow. If there is anything for us to follow, I would say that it would be the firm belief in Master and the Fa! We should unconditionally search within and unconditionally listen to Master in all situations. We should never use our own human notions and hope that Master will make our cultivation paths easier. Every practitioner should steadfastly and righteously walk the cultivation path arranged by Master to the very end.
This morning while I was doing the standing exercises, I had one thought in my mind, “Master! There is no way I can ever repay Your immense compassion in saving me. But I will surely follow the cultivation path You arranged for me, and continue to walk it diligently no matter how hard it is.” After I had that thought, I burst into tears.
These are my own personal understandings that I share with fellow practitioners for our mutual discussion and improvement. Please point out anything improper.
