(Minghui.org) I would like to share some of my recent understandings on the Fa. I hope my sharing will help practitioners who have difficulty in “always cultivating as if you were just starting” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference”) to maintain their diligence in cultivation.
I had a major breakthrough in cultivation through reading the Fa. I found that I was able to see the deep, fundamental roots of many problems. I felt I had wisdom and I became confident. I had some achievements in my career because of the wisdom given to me by the Fa.
I had developed a bad habit. When collaborating with fellow practitioners, I thought that I was able to see problems clearly and that I was able to tell why and how a practitioner had become stuck. Sometimes I felt that I knew the solution to the problems in our project, but I didn't understand why practitioners didn’t do what I suggested. I started looking down on others.
I had developed the notion that I knew how to cultivate. Based on my cultivation experiences, I believed I could use my wisdom from the Fa to solve all the problems I encountered. I gradually slacked off in Fa-study and doing the exercises. I didn’t think it was a problem, because I thought that I had strong righteous thoughts.
I later ran into problems. I found that I was always considering everything from an everyday person’s angle. When I encountered interference I tried to handle the situations by drawing on my prior experiences in cultivation, but often failed to overcome the tribulations. My wisdom was seemingly “used up.”
Even amidst these difficulties, I still didn’t remind myself to read the Fa, nor did I do the exercises diligently. In my heart, I was always in a dilemma, with one part of me holding on to the Fa and the other part holding on to everyday people’s notions.
I once ran into some difficulty and insisted on solving it my way. A practitioner suggested that I read the Fa. I followed her suggestion reluctantly, thinking that after Fa study I would continue to solve the problem my way. But after 15 minutes of Fa study, my thoughts had changed. The difficulty and interference were gone. I realized that “my way” was not the correct way. Only then did I realize that I should read the Fa carefully.
My righteous thoughts were awakened as I opened Zhuan Falun and read the first sentence in Lunyu,“Dafa is the wisdom of the Creator.”
I used to feel that I was very wise, but my wisdom is nothing compared to Dafa. Everything of mine was created by Dafa. I also realized that sometimes I thought I saw the root of a problem clearly, but what I saw was actually based on my human notions.
Deep in my heart, I had the mentality of showing off, being a maverick and looking down on others. I tried to protect my attachments to fame, money, and emotion. I developed the notion that I was always right and that other people were wrong. I did not want to restrain myself.
When reading Master’s teaching in Lunyu, I saw that the root of my human notions comes from “casting out the divine.” My notions are not in line with the divine and Falun Dafa’s criteria. These notions made me arrogant and presumptuous. When I only have myself in mind I am unable to consider beings that are higher than me, and I am unable to think at a level that is higher than that of everyday people.
I realized that no matter how right I thought I was, I should put down my notions. I have been trying to clean out my notions, including those so-called “cultivation experiences” of mine, because those were just my understanding at a certain level in the past. I should not hold onto them forever. I now try to empty my mind and save room for the Fa. I try to assimilate the Fa. If I am always on the Fa, I won’t have any difficulties.
When I realized all of this, I found it easy to put down attachments that had been so hard for me to eliminate. These attachments have occupied my mind for such a long time that I had been unable to put the Fa into this container. If one cannot remove the old stuff, the new treasure cannot come in.
I also hope that practitioners who are intellectuals do not overemphasize the academic analysis skills they have developed in everyday society, because those thoughts do not agree with the Fa, and they are based on “casting out the divine.” Many practitioners, including myself, are good at talking about their understanding of the Fa, but are not good at putting cultivation into action and assimilating to the Fa.
“Dafa is the wisdom of the Creator.” No notions or attachments can compare. When I think of this passage of Fa, I feel the urge to read the Fa and allow the power of the Fa to suppresses all my everyday notions. I have a strong motivation to learn “the wisdom of the Creator.” I realized that I had previously clung to many notions when I read the Fa, and there were some everyday people’s ideas that I didn’t want to eliminate. This had made my energy field impure.
I now feel that I don’t read enough even after reading one or two lectures. I feel a strong energy that constrains my everyday notions. I also understand that this power that constrains our bad thoughts will also be able to constrain everyday people’s bad thoughts. If we radiate this power, it will help us save people. In order to save more people, I should cultivate even more powerful strength to control my everyday thoughts and purify myself. In a short period, I feel like I have renewed myself.
Master said in Zhuan Falun:
“I was also told: “You’ve made their cultivation too easy. People only have that little bit of hardship of their own. There is only that little bit of trouble among them. They have a lot of attachments that they still can’t give up! It remains a question of whether they can understand your Dafa itself while they are in the midst of confusion and tribulations.””
My understanding is that if we feel it's difficult to be diligent in cultivation and we struggle with our everyday people's notions, we should try to find the fundamental root of the problem. Is this because we still have some remaining attachment? Or is it because we haven’t seen what Dafa really is?
Master said:
“... the energy fields I emitted were evenly distributed and the energy could be directed.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Founding Ceremony of the Singaporean Falun Dafa Association” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference I)
I want to receive this energy. I used to be unenthusiastic about doing the exercises, but now I want to do exercises without being pushed. It is driven by my heart. I want to learn the Fa and learn more from “the wisdom of the Creator.”
I thought of a picture. On the top was Master, and all the Dafa disciples were sitting at the bottom. Every one of us was like a container, and Master wanted to pour his wisdom into us. If we can empty our notions at different levels, the wisdom and the power of the Fa will come in and we will be able to truly become particles of Dafa. Only this way will we reach Dafa’s standards and help Master rectify the Fa.
If we hold on to our old notions and everyday people’s thoughts while feeling complacent we will probably act against the Fa. These notions include our understanding of the Fa. For example, practitioners often say, “If everyone of us is motivated, then we can accomplish anything.” Sometimes what is behind this is the everyday notion of strength in numbers. My understanding is that we should all improve in our understanding of the Fa and collaborate with each other. It is not simply a matter of gaining strength in numbers.
Because of “casting out the divine,” we are often self-centered and arrogant. We often do things from our own angle and don't try to consider whether it is what Master wants. So sometimes it looks like we are trying to help Master, but we end up creating many obstacles for ourselves.
This reminds me of all the problems we have had running the media enterprises and other projects. I often see that practitioners try all means to solve the problems, but some of us have become stuck pursuing money, while others pursue power and fame, some look down on others, and some do not trust others. My understanding is that all of these issues stem from “casting out the divine.” We tend to then overemphasize our own abilities and ideas.
When we run into problems, if we can assimilate to the Fa and let “the wisdom of Creator” pour into our minds we will automatically know what to do and how to help each other. If we stick to our own ideas we will not accomplish what Master wants. When we improve ourselves, our situation will improve. If we look for solutions externally, we will probably get the opposite of what we want.
Master said in the poem “The Awakened”:
“Ordinary people know me not,
I sit amidst Mystery;
Where there is profit and desire,
there I am not,
After others pass away,
only I remain.” (Hong Yin)
I have new understanding of “Where there is profit and desire, there I am not …” I believe it is useless if our media pursue profit and ask Master for help to achieve this, because Master is not amidst profit. We should continuously assimilate to the Fa and reach Master’s standard. Otherwise, no matter how good our ideas look from an everyday person's angle, they might not be what Master wants.
As I wish to assimilate to the Fa and read the Fa I gain new insights. When I truly want to learn from “the wisdom of the Creator” I feel a powerful energy, and all my human notions are suppressed. When I have difficulties or feel bothered, I just read the Fa. I don’t think about whether my problems will be solved or not. I only want to empty the chaotic thoughts, and save room for the Fa. Often my problems are solved by the Fa effectively.
I hope that every practitioner will pay attention to studying the Fa and eliminate the atheistic notions of modern science. I hope practitioners will not read the Fa while holding onto everyday people’s notions. The old forces are hiding in our notions, because those are their arrangements. When we empty ourselves and let the Fa in, the notions will be suppressed and the old forces will have no place to hide. Our power to save people will be strengthened and the evil can be eliminated.
Category: Improving Oneself
