Letting Go of the Attachment to Previous Lives

(Minghui.org) I had a vivid dream that I was the reincarnation of two historical figures. I searched online for their biographies so that I could learn more about them. In the days following the dream, I thought about the issue of reincarnation a lot. Practitioners should have a clear understanding of this issue.

I respected the personalities and characteristics of the two people I dreamed of. They had wisdom, courage, integrity, a sense of justice and were successful. I realized that these were all things that I’m attached to in this life. When there is something that can’t be satisfied in reality, I look for illusions by reflecting on how these things were in my previous lives.

Reincarnation is a real thing. As cultivators, if we know something about our past reincarnations, it can help our cultivation. However, if we indulge in illusion, the evil will take advantage and it will become interference. A fellow practitioner saw through his third eye that there was a relationship between him and another practitioner in a previous life. He became quite close to her after seeing this, which showed his attachment. Another practitioner held a grudge against his wife after he learned about the karmic retributions between them in previous lives.

The evil will create illusions for practitioners who have attachments to wealth, fame, ability, appearance, social class, etc. Therefore, we should have a clear understanding rather than being attached to our previous lives.

Master has explained things very clearly, but sometimes practitioners might be too attached and forget the Fa. We are here to obtain the Fa, and have been here lifetime after lifetime awaiting this period. We have been actors and actresses playing our parts in our different lifetimes, but they were not our true selves. Who we used to be isn’t important. If we indulge ourselves and think too much about our previous lives, we might become arrogant, which is not good for a cultivator.

Honor in the human world is not true honor and shouldn't be treasured. From the perspective of the divine, “...everyday people are playing with mud...” ( Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)

What is really important is to behave like Dafa practitioners and assist Master. We have the Fa and yet are attached to things like reincarnation—we are holding gold, but are still searching for bricks. This is a reflection of poor enlightenment quality. We must treasure this opportunity, and return with Master when we reach consummation.

Master has shown me different appearances of myself, sometimes as a Bodhisattva, other times as a Dao. It is really hard to know our true state until we reach consummation. Most practitioners cultivate with their celestial eyes closed and everyone should cultivate based on the Fa, as Master says:

“...an exceptional person can depend on his enlightening to reach Consummation.” (“Why One Cannot See” from Essentials for Further Advancement)

We shouldn’t be attached to our previous lives.