(Minghui.org) After sitting in meditation for 30 minutes one day, I felt pain in my legs that was more intense than usual. I tried to reduce the pain by bending my waist, stretching my head forward, and twisting my body. Nothing helped. I had the thought that the discomfort was an excuse to stop doing the meditation.
I asked myself, “Am I seeking comfort and ease instead of forbearing?”
With more digging, I realized that there were other examples where I sought comfort and ease, such as not getting up to send righteous thoughts in the morning (even with an alarm) because I wanted to sleep instead, doing things at the last minute, being opportunistic, and thinking I could get things done easily because I was smart. As a result, I wasn't doing things as well as I should. All of this was caused by indolence.
I made my life easy so I could avoid hardships. I would take a break and go online or watch TV to relax when I was just a little tired. I wasted a lot of time that I could have used on Dafa projects.
I looked within for the root cause of my laziness. I thought that it might have come from my personal experiences and undemanding environment. My life has been easy and smooth since I was a youngster. I was a good student from elementary school to college. I have a decent job and encountered few hardships in my life. In addition, I am an easygoing person who doesn’t have great ambition, which reflects my conservative personality and lack of initiative. So, I wanted to continue to avoid hardship and uncertainty.
After the Chinese government began persecuting Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999, there were times I wasn't diligent in Fa study. I had unconsciously developed the habit of avoiding discomfort, which was intensified by the old forces.
The idea of bypassing uncomfortable things reflected my laziness, procrastination, and slackness. That thought had a negative impact on my cultivation by causing me to avoid hardship and difficulty. As a result, the old forces took advantage of me.
Although the thought of wanting to be comfortable does not appear to be demonic interference from one’s own mind, it acts like a drug that makes us slow down or even stop our practice. We ruin ourselves and those sentient beings waiting to be saved.
Dafa practitioners have the responsibility of saving sentient beings. How can we enjoy a comfortable life without remembering that sentient beings are relying on us? Just think, a firefighter who goes to a burning building to save people will experiences hardships. In such an urgent situation, would the firefighter slack off and do less work to make his job easier?
In fact, it is not difficult to stop living an easy life if we realize it is an attachment. We should reject any thought of comfort when it appears. Then, it will become weaker and weaker, and its impact will be lessened.
After that meditation session, when I realized I was seeking comfort and ease, I insisted on keeping my back straight at all times.
Whenever I encounter a test, I remind myself to reject the thought of relieving any discomfort, which enhances my righteous thoughts. As a result, I easily pass the test.
This is my personal understanding. Please let me know if there is anything incorrect.
Category: Improving Oneself
