Truly Put One's Needs Aside and Consider Others First

(Minghui.org) My sister asked me to take care of her child while she was on a trip. This child did several trivial things that I thought were selfish. For example, she saved the best part of a water melon for herself and was not happy that she had to do things for herself.

When I exercised the next morning, I remembered Teacher’s Fa:

“You should always be benevolent and kind to others, and consider others when doing anything. Whenever you encounter a problem, you should first consider whether others can put up with this matter or if it will hurt anyone. In doing so, there will not be any problems. Therefore, in cultivation practice you should follow a higher and higher standard for yourself.” (Zhuan Falun)

I was very shocked! I realized my shortcomings immediately. I believe that Teacher’s Fa is asking us to consider others first, no matter what we do. When we encounter conflicts or problems, we should unconditionally review our inadequacies instead of accusing others and pointing fingers at others' shortcomings.

It is not very accurate to use the term “unconditionally” to describe what I thought. Rather, I believe that it is a state of cultivation to look inward automatically. I have been cultivating for nearly two decades, and I have not reached this basic cultivation state. I am concerned that I fell short on my cultivation progress.

Looking Inward

Before this incident, I believed that I had good comprehension of the Fa, and I knew how to cultivate in Dafa. Now I know my understanding toward cultivation and the Fa has been very shallow and only touched on formalities. Thus, my niece’s behavior was meant to help me find my shortcomings.

However, I used all kinds of excuses, and even used Teacher’s Fa to measure others, and to cover up my own inadequacies. This should not be a cultivator's mentality. It is the same as what the old forces do: They use Teacher’s Fa to measure others but not themselves. Given this notion, how could I assimilate into the Fa?

Teacher taught us to consider others first. Yet, when it comes to my niece, I only thought about myself.

Now, I know that to truly think of others means to take their interests over our own. This means that we should change ourselves, and when we encounter problems, we should look inwards regardless of what others do. I am still far off of this requirement and only do so occasionally.

I now realize that practitioners are to assimilate into the Fa. Teacher asked us to study the Fa well, send righteous thoughts, and tell people about Dafa. These are the methods and processes necessary to assimilate into the Fa.

If we do things based on human conventional thinking, then we cannot assimilate into the Fa. Therefore, we may not be part of the Fa-rectification process.