Some Understandings of Jealousy

Jealousy is a serious problem. A jealous person cannot tolerate the fact that other people may be superior to him. He would consider anyone who is better than him to be showing off. His jealousy causes him to feel embarrassed by other people's merits and unable to appreciate their merits. On the other hand, he looks down on people he regards as inferior to him. He thinks he is perfect.

Teacher said in "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference,"

"...you shouldn't look at things in absolute terms. And that's especially true when it comes to those crooked principles that the evil in China propagates. For example, they spread, 'if you want others to do well, you have to do well yourself first.' Think about it everybody, is that saying right? Many people hold on to that saying and use it to hide their own mistakes that they don't want to correct. And that's especially so for those who have problems--they take it as the truth and won't let go. I can tell you, though, that this is absolutely wrong. Can't a person who isn't perfect tell you to do well? Can't a person who's made mistakes tell others to do well? What kind of logic is that? How many people have thought this over carefully?"

Through studying this passage, I came to realise that the notion "if you want others to do well, you have to do well yourself first" is a form of jealousy. When other people point out a jealous person's shortcoming or mistake, instead of examining himself, he feels indignant, thinking that he is better than any other people and that no one should point out his problems.

In China many people have a strong inclination to fight and seek revenge against each other over personal interests. They often resort to verbal abuse or even to violence. This phenomenon is also a manifestation of jealousy. The old forces have systematically arranged such a social environment. This bad environment nurtured the emergence of the evil head, who came just to damage Dafa.

The most significant manifestation of jealousy is intolerance. If another person praises himself, the jealous person will feel upset. However, if another person criticizes himself, the jealous person would then correspondingly show some "modesty." When other people criticise him, he would respond, "You think you are flawless?"

Some practitioners may not be willing to admit they still have jealousy. Such unwillingness is a manifestation of sentimentality. We all still have attachments, so this in and of itself isn't the problem. Refusing to face our attachments is the problem. We ourselves are our own biggest obstacles in our cultivation, not others. Our post-natal notions, human sentimentality, and desires prevent us from progressing in our cultivation. Only by removing these attachments can our true selves awaken.

I hope we can all get rid of more attachments and meet the requirements. The above is just my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.