In August of this year, after studying Master's article, "Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles," I paid more attention to the issue of "not being able to take criticism." I reminded myself: Be alert! I must pass the test!
One day, my granddaughter, who is not quite two years old, was throwing a tantrum in front of her mother (my daughter). No matter what, she refused to let her mother sit on her beautiful little sofa. This fuss went on for half an hour, and she could not be reasoned with. My daughter has a stubborn temperament, too. She blamed me while scolding her daughter, "You have not raised her well. She'll be hopeless if she carries on like this!" She also said to me in a stern voice, "Go and read the book Carl Kuwait's Education (a book on children's education) again. You can no longer continue with your methods of raising a child!" I have extensive educational experience, having been a teacher for decades and having become somewhat renowned locally. I thought, "Even though my area of expertise is not early childhood education, you cannot shift all responsibility to me, can you?"
Facing the sudden conflict, I began to calm down. I did not say anything in the moment and did not "get upset as soon as others criticise," but in my mind I was finding fault with my daughter. I thought, "Is this your way to educate? Can you raise your daughter well by carrying on like this? You are not showing your mother respect!" The more I thought this way, the more agitated I felt. I still used the reasoning of the old universe to measure what was happening that day and eventually came to the conclusion that my daughter was at fault. This was what the old forces had hoped for to start with, so it magnified my attachments. The more I harboured this thought, the more I could not abandon "humanness." The incident upset me for days. While I was feeling miserable, my knowing side told me: "Such a small thing has turned into such a situation. It is because you have not studied the Falun Gong teachings well."
After reading a chapter from Zhuan Falun, I studied "Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles." Master told us a long time ago:
"As a practitioner, the first thing you should be able to do is to not fight back when you are beaten or sworn at—you must be tolerant. Otherwise, what kind of practitioner will you be?" (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
However, each time I came across a conflict, I failed to truly look within myself and have not been diligent in cultivating my character.
This time I must genuinely look within myself to find the causes. What am I attached to? What is my fundamental attachment? For a long time I have been attached to hearing praise from others—people around me say I'm good and all I hear is praise. Others respect me, including my extended family members, my children, my colleagues, my superiors and my students. If I still hold onto these attachments, how can I listen to other people's opinions, let alone criticisms? I always think that I'm good at everything and I'm always right. Then, who would want to criticise me or make a suggestion to me? How can I get rid of the attachments to recognition, renown, self-interest and emotion, and the various attachments derived from them? How can I raise my cultivation level and reach consummation?
Master has seriously pointed out our problem—our inability to accept criticism—and at the same time, He has helped us eliminate the bad things that had already taken form.
Master requires of us:
"But you need to correct the tendency you have formed--you must. Be sure to pay heed! From this point on, whoever can't take criticism is not being diligent, whoever can't take criticism is not displaying the state of a cultivator, or at least on this issue." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")
If I do not correct my thought process, then am I worthy of Master's teaching? I will make myself do my best in the future: (1) Under all circumstances, I will be able to take criticism and not be afraid of being criticised, whether at work, at home, or in public; (2) No matter who s/he is, anyone can criticise me. I shall take the same attitude toward anyone, without differentiation. Because I am a Falun Dafa practitioner, I should measure things with higher principles and apply higher standards to myself. After coming to such an understanding, I feel I have stepped forward from the long-standing, mistaken human concept.
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