(Minghui.org) After reading Master's comments to articles written by practitioners in response to " If the Attachment to Showing Off Isn’t Eliminated, the Danger is Great (With a Comment from Master)" and "Are You a Cultivator? (With a Comment from Master) " on the Minghui website, I came to the realization based on the Fa that cultivation is indeed very serious.
The old forces can use even the smallest sliver of an unrighteous thought to lead us down a deviant path and cause us to stumble in our cultivation. We should be very cautious, not be deceived by the old forces' praise, and thus deviate from the Fa.
I recently thought I was doing well in cultivation by practicing diligently and letting go of attachments. However, I would sometimes hear, “This kid is teachable.” I felt pretty good about hearing this and thought that Master was encouraging me. I told myself that I should not have the attachment to complacency. Nevertheless, another attachment came up in my mind when I heard myself say, “I might have come from a high level.”
While I was sitting in the lotus position and sending forth righteous thoughts one day, I calmly looked at this attachment of delight to “coming from a high level.” Master's words appeared in my mind,
“For a cultivator, all the frustrations he comes across among everyday people are trials, and all the compliments he receives are tests.” (“A Cultivator is Naturally Part of It” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I suddenly understood why I was hearing this. Why did, “This kid is teachable” occasionally come up in my mind? Master told us that nothing happens without a reason. It was obvious that the old forces were using Master's words to take advantage of my loopholes. The loophole in this case was to strengthen my show-off mentality and that, in turn, led to my attachment of complacency. Master said, “...and all the compliments he receives are tests.”
Aren't the old forces using the statement, “This kid is teachable” to fool me, and unknowingly lead me down their path, where I would deviate from the Fa, and in the end be ruined? I told myself that I must have a clear mind. I had previously allowed myself to be led by someone who had deviated from the Fa for 12 years. That lesson had a huge impact on me and I was determined not to be fooled again. I understood immediately what I must do and eliminated my attachment to believing that I had come from a high level.
Master said clearly in "Are You a Cultivator? (With a Comment from Master),"
“As for whether you can make it in cultivation or not, as long as the period for cultivation is ongoing there are opportunities for you to make it, but on the other hand, unknowns abound as well.”
My current understanding of these “unknowns” is that the old forces will take advantage of every attachment we have while we are cultivating, and try to ruin us. If we do not genuinely elevate ourselves based on the Fa, and if we do not search within to eliminate our deeply hidden attachments, we could fall into the old force's trap and take a deviant path and stumble. We would then lose our chance to return to our true home.
I hope that my sharing will remind fellow practitioners to stay alert in regard to the old forces using words from the Fa to fool and praise us. We must not go down a deviant path or let our guard down as we near the end.
This is my current understanding. Please point out anything inappropriate. Heshi.
Related articles:
"If the Attachment to Showing Off Isn’t Eliminated, the Danger is Great (With a Comment from Master)" (http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2013/3/8/138412.html)
"Editorial: Are You a Cultivator? (With a Comment from Master)" (http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2012/12/21/136744.html)
