The Importance of Following the Teachings and Looking Within

(Minghui.org) A practitioner in Vietnam actively participated in projects and events to introduce Falun Dafa to people. Because he was eloquent and had good organizational skills, many practitioners praised him. He also organized online discussions and invited practitioners to participate.

However, his attitude toward Dafa changed, and he even publicly criticized Dafa.

Many practitioners, including me, were surprised. From this experience I learned that superficial abilities and influence do not equate to genuine, solid cultivation. As practitioners we cannot just follow others, nor should we judge others based on their ability, eloquence, or how involved they are. Instead, we should always follow Dafa’s teachings.

Looking Within

I was saddened and I felt unsettled but I also realized this was an opportunity for me to look inward.

Discussions are part of our cultivation, and talking about our experiences may help others. But these are not the Fa (teachings). If a practitioner expounds on his understanding of the Fa, some may blindly follow him and use his understanding to evaluate things. This is wrong.

We should cultivate ourselves and look inward. Master has explained the Fa in Zhuan Falun and in his other lectures. When anything happens, we should first follow the Fa and firmly cultivate ourselves.

No Shortcuts in Cultivation

Master said practitioners should look within when facing conflicts, and I learned a lot from what happened. Why was I involved and why was I so moved?

Some practitioners tend to follow those who are eloquent or have strong organizational skills. They may feel those who are eloquent have cultivated well, and they have abilities because their xinxing must be better than others’. They may also believe that participating in projects means they are doing well, and their enthusiasm means they cultivate diligently.

I may have also sought a shortcut in my cultivation. Instead of calmly studying the Fa and looking within, I tended to look for someone who was capable, who I felt could help me when I encountered tribulations. By doing this I may have deviated from Dafa’s teachings. I realized that I needed to calm down, study the Fa, and rectify myself.

Understanding Why Conflicts Happen in the Group Environment

This incident reminded me of what Master said about studying the Fa and doing the exercises with others. It also made me think about how in the group environment, we can better follow and be guided by Dafa’s teachings to cultivate well, coordinate with each other, and improve together.

Master said,

“Being diligent means that he is able to watch his words and actions closely every moment, pay close attention to his thoughts, and is able to be strict with himself, and is usually able to conduct himself strictly. That describes someone who is diligent in cultivation.”

“The conflicts and tensions that Dafa disciples encounter are solely for the sake of cultivation and the sake of validating the Fa. Even though human attachments, the attachment of showing off, the attachments of the individual, and the elements of human beings that want to validate themselves are involved, [Dafa disciples] know about these and once they are discovered, they will fix them. That is completely different from ordinary people. So there will be problems between Dafa disciples, and, moreover, such things play an additional role. Namely, once the conflict or tension surfaces, it will affect other people. Once others take notice of it, the conflict or tension will intensify, which will then make the cultivators involved take notice of it. If [a cultivator] can look within when going through that, he will be able to find his shortcomings. If the conflict or tension were not brought to the surface or didn’t appear, you wouldn’t be able to discover your attachments and identify them. When all is calm and smooth, can you cultivate yourself?” (“Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital”, Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume VII)

I also realize that it’s unlikely our environment will always be peaceful. Conflicts are opportunities for us to improve, and they expose our attachments and human notions. In the process, we can eliminate them. We should acknowledge that we have these attachments, then expose and eliminate them by sending forth righteous thoughts.

Because Vietnam is a communist country, we do not have Falun Dafa Associations like other countries do. This means it is even more important for us to follow Dafa as our guide.

These are my understandings at my current cultivation level. Please kindly point out anything that is inconsistent with the teachings.