(Minghui.org) A recently published article about a prophecy has attracted the attention of practitioners around the world, and they all have different understandings.
The Article Points Out My Attachments
After reading the article, I thought it must have been published on the Minghui website for a reason. When I re-read the title, I suddenly realized that it pointed to my two attachments—one is to when the Fa rectification will end and the other is my attachment to prophecies.
A few days before this article was published, I realized that I’ve had an attachment to the end time for Fa-rectification the entire time I’ve cultivated. From the beginning of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Dafa in 1999, I looked forward to the Fa rectification ending every year. Every time Master gave a Fa lecture, I wondered if he would mention this. This strong attachment was deeply hidden.
Master said,
“Compassion is the Divine’s eternal stateYet time passes in a twinkling”(“Why Do You Reject It,” Hong Yin III)
With my mindset, how could my compassion reach the eternal state Master mentioned? I realized that I wouldn’t reach it by being attached to when Fa-rectification would end. I should not be attached to consummation. Instead, I needed to focus on doing the three things, look inward, and fulfill my vows. This would make my efforts in assisting Master pure and I would be able to save more people.
I decided to eliminate my attachment to when Fa-rectification would end. When I had this thought, I felt a great deal of inner turmoil. I knew that it was the hidden attachment that felt uncomfortable. When this article was published a few days later, I was a little surprised by the time frame mentioned, but I was not overly shaken.
I like to read prophecies and I sometimes use them to clarify the truth. If I tell people absolutely when something will happen but then it doesn’t happen, won’t it damage our efforts to save people? If certain practitioners use prophecies to encourage people to quit the CCP and then the prophecy doesn’t come true, won’t these people think practitioners are lying and go to the opposite side again?
I’ve already learned my lesson in this regard. I understand that we can only use prophecies as a reference when we clarify the truth. We definitely must not use them as a reference for our cultivation! Whether it is the prophecies of ordinary people or something a practitioner said, we should not be attached to them.
Focus on Cultivating Ourselves Instead of When Fa-rectification Will End
When asked her opinion about this article, one practitioner said, “No matter what happens, I just do the three things Master asked us to do. I always look inward. I don’t care about anything else.” I think she is in a really good state of cultivation and is striving forward diligently.
Master said,
“I have talked about the principle whereby a school student who does his schoolwork well will naturally be admitted to college, whereas a school student who is attached to being admitted to college but who doesn’t do his schoolwork well won’t be admitted.” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s),” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Instead of focusing on the number of people saved and whether the overall state of cultivation meets Master’s requirements, we should seize the time to cultivate diligently. We should look inward unconditionally, cooperate with fellow practitioners, and try to save as many people as possible.
The published number of people who have withdrawn from the CCP is also not representative of the people who have been saved, because many people have not joined the CCP organizations. Only Master knows the number of people who have been saved in the entire human race. We should not think about when the Fa-rectification will end. We should just steadfastly follow Master, assist him in the Fa rectification, and save as many people as possible. We should maintain righteous thoughts, believe in Master and the Fa, and always look inward unconditionally.
This article probably has no effect on those solid and diligent practitioners who can always take the Fa as teacher, but it can inspire some practitioners with many attachments to seriously reflect on their attachments.
The above understanding is only at my current cultivation level, and may not necessarily be correct.
[Editor's note: Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions, for which the author is solely responsible. Readers should evaluate the article's merits on their own.]
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Category: Improving Oneself