Teacher said in Zhuan Falun,
"I'll tell you a truth: the whole process of cultivation is a process of constantly getting rid of human attachments."
I have recently become more enlightened to this particular principle. What is cultivation? How do we cultivate? As soon as we find our attachments, we get rid of them. This is cultivation.
Recently I wrote an article on my cultivation and a fellow practitioner commented on it and criticised it. I felt very bad about it. I then realised that that was not the mindset of a cultivator, so I looked inward. I found that throughout my article, I was focusing on how my fellow practitioners did not do well, how they did not measure up to the requirements of the Fa, and how they could improve. The whole thing exposed my attachment--the mentality of showing off. This is what a cultivator should get rid of. The article also reflected my recent state of cultivation: when faced with problems, I have not looked inward; instead I have looked for others to blame. When I realised this, I thanked my fellow practitioners from the bottom of my heart. I was determined to get rid of this attachment. I realised that we should not be attached to personal understandings and ways of doing things. We should harmonise as one body. So I started all over again to write about my experience, following what Teacher said,
"Rest momentarily for self-reflection, add righteous thoughts,
analyse shortcomings explicitly, advance again wholeheartedly
("Be Rational, Awaken," Hong Yin II)
Once, I was clarifying the truth to a stranger, and when he finally understood the truth, he wanted to buy a whole set of Falun Dafa books. When I talked about this with a fellow practitioner, he cautioned me that we should get to know him a bit more before we give him the books; we should just give him the truth clarification handouts for now. After he finished reading them, he still wanted the books and so I told him that I did not have them. Then he asked for the book a few more times. I thought, "Dafa belongs to Master and is the essence of the universe. If a being would like to obtain the Fa, how can I refuse him? Even if he comes with a bad intention, I should let him understand the truth. Some of the practitioners held in prisons can even get the guards and inmates to understand the truth and can save them, why can't we? Aren't we in a better position to do so?" I realised that it was my fear that I should get rid of. When he came again, I gave him a copy of Zhuan Falun, which he greatly appreciated. When I tried to persuade him to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its related organisations, he said that he had never joined, but he would like to do it for his son. He wanted to practise, so I gave him a copy of the The Great Consummation Way of Falun Dafa. Now he is learning the exercises with his son.
Once I talked to a local resident who is 50 years old. He was glad to hear about the truth, but he was reluctant to quit the CCP. The second time I met with him, he agreed. I gave him a Falun Gong card. A few days later, he said to me, "It really worked. Since I got this, I have kept saying to myself, 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good' and 'Falun Dafa is good.' Now my legs do not hurt any more." He was very touched so he even told his friend to quit the CCP as well. His friend wanted some materials. So I gave him a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party .
A few years ago, I talked to someone from out of town about the truth of Falun Gong who asked some very difficult questions. With strong righteous thoughts and wisdom given to me by Teacher, I answered all of his questions to his satisfaction. In the end, he said, "I wish I had known practitioners earlier." At that time, he wished so much for a copy of Zhuan Falun. When I do well in clarifying the truth, I really feel a strong energy field, as if I were sitting inside an eggshell doing the meditation exercises. It feels magnificent.
Every day I see many people, and use every opportunity to clarify the truth. Even though sometimes I do not have time, I still offer a card with truth information, which most people gladly accept. Those who do not understand throw the card on the ground. Sometimes people call to tell me, "Falun Dafa is good. I want to cultivate, too." One young fellow I clarified the truth to says to me every time he sees me, "Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good." I am very grateful to Teacher when I see these people understanding the truth.
Once I wanted to buy some new clothes, but then I rejected the idea because it is a deviated concept to chase fashion trends. As a cultivator, I should not have such thoughts. I used the money I saved to produce truth materials. In one of the Minghui (Chinese version of Clearwisdom) articles, a fellow practitioner said that Teacher was very frugal. He had only two suits and one pair of very old but clean shoes. In order to save time, he ate instant noodles that he bought by the box. As cultivators, we should be frugal, too. Sometimes I have thought about giving my relatives some money. But I realised that our purpose in life and our mission is to save sentient beings. I chose to spend the money on truth materials. As a practitioner, I need to do what a practitioner should do. Our thoughts should all be in the principles layed out in Falun Gong. Only then can we live up to the title of Fa-rectification period Dafa Disciples.
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