I Stopped Pursuing Supernatural Abilities

(Minghui.org) Before I learned Falun Dafa, I was attracted to qigong because I wanted supernatural abilities. I did not get any abilities even though I practiced several types of qigong. After I began practicing Falun Dafa and read the teachings, I understood things like supernormal or psychic powers cannot be pursued.

Master said,

“With this kind of practice you have to work on yourself, not on anything else. And yet many people are doing just the opposite, trying to learn one thing after another and even harboring attachments to psychic powers. You see all kinds of motives. Some even want to become energy healers so that they can make money from it!” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun)

I felt ashamed after I read this, and my strong mentality of pursuit faded.

Master said,

“Falun Gong was developed based on the laws of the universe, so all abilities that exist in the universe exist in Falun Gong. [How many of them a practitioner gets] depends on how well he does with his cultivation. The thought of gaining some abilities isn’t wrong, but, overly-intense pursuit is more than a normal thought, and it will have negative results. Someone at a low level would have little use for abilities, save for trying to use them to show them off to everyday people or hoping to become more powerful than others. If that is the case, it indicates precisely that the person’s character is not high and that it’s right not to give him or her abilities.” (Chapter I, Falun Gong)

After I read this I suddenly realized I was reluctant to let go of my mentality of pursuing supernatural abilities. When I read articles on Minghui.org written by practitioners with supernatural abilities, I was envious. If others had supernatural abilities, but I didn’t, I felt like I was missing out. To put it plainly, I still wanted supernatural abilities. Wasn’t my envy of others a psychological reaction of not being able to get what I want? Behind envy was a show off mentality, this is the result of my own desire and pursuit.

What is pursuit? After thinking deeply, I realized that when a practitioner pursues something they deviated from the Fa and their cultivation level dropped.

Why does one deviate from the Fa? It is because of selfishness that one is easily disturbed, does not meet the requirements of the Fa at different levels, and fails to restrain oneself and looks externally. 

We know from Master’s teachings that we should just focus on cultivating ourselves and we should not seek anything. We do well what we should, and everything else will be handled by Master. We should not care about our own gains and losses,when we study the Fa, practice the exercises, send forth righteous thoughts, and clarify the truth. We should let go of our egos and think of others. When we face conflicts, we should look within to see which of our notions and thinking that does not conform to the Fa and eliminate them. As we gradually meet the requirements of the Fa at different levels we are improving our xinxing.

In my understanding, seeking for things externally is the root cause of all attachments. Since we can’t see the manifestation of the Fa, divine beings do not regard our attachments as sin. Master told us this principle. But, if we don’t do what we should, isn’t that knowingly committing wrongdoing? We should hold ourselves to a high standard, get rid of our intentions, and do as Master asks.

Based on each person’s foundation, understanding, ability to withstand suffering, the amount of virtue or karma, and their xinxing level, Master arranges for each of us to reach partial or different levels of enlightenment. We should not compete or even think about it. Instead we should understand that our current state is the best and most suitable for us. We just need to hurry up to save people in order to fulfill our prehistoric vows.

Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s current understanding meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)