(Minghui.org) Many articles published recently on the Minghui website pointed out that many practitioners have not yet walked out of human notions and have not done enough to save sentient beings. Looking within and reflecting on some issues in our area, I have a few understandings to share with fellow practitioners.
Breeding Demons in One's Mind
Master talked about “Breeding Demons in Your Own Mind” in Zhuan Falun:
“It doesn’t matter how high you’ve cultivated to, once this problem comes up, you’ll fall all the way to the bottom and you’ll be totally ruined.” (Zhuan Falun, The Sixth Talk)
I was afraid of being “totally ruined” so I had reminded myself not to breed any demons in my mind. But after more than a decade of cultivation practice, I noticed many different ways that practitioners may breed demons in their minds. The instances manifest differently on the surface, but all I believe are rooted in selfishness.
Here are some examples.
Someone felt superior to other practitioners and became proud. This practitioner later developed self-deception, and came to believe things about him or herself that were not true.
There were practitioners who had practiced longer than others and began to divide fellow practitioners into groups by the number of years they practiced, such as separating new practitioners and old practitioners.
Some practitioners made some good contributions in this way or that way and couldn't resist receiving praise from other practitioners. They developed a sense of superiority and often brought up their past contributions.
Others had been steadfast during the persecution and thus began to show off unintentionally when sharing their experiences.
Practitioners pass many tests after practicing for a while, and we develop some correct understandings of the Fa. But we must be aware that any understanding is still a human understanding. We can't take our understanding as the ultimate truth or enlightenment. To do so would be holding onto a very low level of understanding. You would start to judge other practitioners based on your own perception instead of based on the Fa or Master's teachings.
A few practitioners had studied the Fa diligently for a while and participated in some Dafa projects. They then felt they had accumulated enough virtue to take a rest. They slacked off. When other practitioners pointed out the issue, they didn't awaken to it or attempt to catch up, but instead found excuses to defend themselves.
Some even fell prey to an illusion like, “I don't need to worry about slackness. I can quickly catch up by studying the Fa more and doing more Dafa work.”
They fell behind in saving people and were just waiting for the time when the Fa will rectify the world.
In my understanding, all of the above phenomena is rooted in selfishness. When a practitioner starts to believe that he or she is better than others, and expects other practitioners to praise him or her, or starts to feel that one has contributed enough and can slack off, this practitioner is breeding demons in their mind.
Following Master's Arrangement
There are always some practitioners who can't understand the changes at different stages of Fa-rectification. They held some objection to promoting the “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” many years ago, and they now hold some objections to the lawsuits against dictator Jiang Zemin.
Master is “taking all students as disciples” (Zhuan Falun, The Third Talk) and Master has a standard for Dafa disciples. We must know that the standard is the same for every practitioner. Master has grand compassion for every student, but a student must meet certain xinxing standards to be a Dafa disciple.
Master told us about “the things your teacher gives his students” (Zhuan Falun, The Third Talk). Every one of us has known about and felt some of these gifts.
When Master has done all a teacher can do, we must do what a student should do.
What must we do? Follow Master's instructions, deal with issues based on the Fa, look within in the face of conflicts, suppress our bad thoughts. We must be humble to Master and Dafa. This is the foundation to improve in cultivation practice.
Master has a detailed arrangements for disciples. Many of these are published on the Minghui website, for example, group Fa-study and group exercise practice, submitting and reading articles on the Minghui website, small-scale materials printing sites in China, teaming up in Dafa projects, and saving more people.
I think we, as Dafa disciples, should not spend time thinking about when dictator Jiang will be tried in court or about when Fa-rectification will end. We should simply follow Master's arrangements.
The situation is changing quickly. Any human notions or thoughts about altering Master's arrangement are very dangerous.
Category: Improving Oneself
