A Lesson Learnt from the Attachment of Seeking Comfort

In the past I always treated the attachment of the pursuit of comfort as an ordinary attachment in our cultivation. That was until recently, when something happened in our area that really shocked and awakened me.

Teacher urged us,

"I hope everyone will do better and better at the end. Be sure not to become lax. You must not slack off, and you must not become apathetic." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")

I searched my conscience and asked myself, "Have you kept in mind Teacher's words? Have you really enlightened to the inner meaning of the three things? Have you reached the requirement that 'The closer to the end, the more diligent you should be'? Have you reached the standard that 'Everyone will do better and better at the end'?" I have much room for improvement.

A few days ago I read an article by a fellow practitioner entitled "The Cancer that Can Ruin Practitioners' Will - the Attachment of the Pursuit of Comfort." After reading the article I had a better understanding of the attachment of seeking comfort. Actually Teacher told us this a long time ago,

"If you are still unclear about what a Fa-rectification disciple is, you won't be able to step forward in the current tribulation, and you will be led by the human world's pursuit of comfort to 'enlighten' along an evil path. Master's heart has always been pained by those who have fallen, and the majority were ruined by that pursuit."("Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples")

In the past when I studied this section of the Falun Gong teachings, the Fa, I had already realised the seriousness of failing to let go of the pursuit of comfort. However, I did not take it as a poisonous cancer that could ruin the will of a practitioner, nor did I keep reminding myself to let go of this attachment. On the contrary, I treated it as an ordinary attachment and failed to be determined to eliminate it. I also used the excuse that we need to conform to the way of society as much as possible to conceal my attachment. I did not want to address it or bring it up with other practitioners. As a matter of fact, I protected this attachment, for which I paid dearly. Here I want to share my experience with fellow practitioners so that they can draw a lesson from it.

This summer my wife, who had been persecuted for five years, returned to my side. It is not hard to imagine the hardships we suffered over those five years, so I surmised that during this last stage a peaceful life must be in store for us. Was this thought on the Fa? In my heart I really cherished this last leg of our journey.

However, what I cherished was the life in this human world instead of the extremely rare opportunity to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. This attachment of seeking comfort was really strong. My wife, who only studied the Fa for a month after her return, was eager to go out to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. I really admired her and was moved by her action, but in my heart I had a very strong mentality of fear. I worried that my wife might be persecuted again. I feared that I might lose her again. Therefore, instead of giving her my righteous support and encouragement to clarify the truth, I sought very hard to persuade her not to go. I even found a lot of excuses from the Fa to stop her. Sometimes to avoid my obstruction she would go out to clarify the truth about Falun Gong without my knowledge. I was in constant worry during the days she was away. I could not calm down to study the Fa and could not concentrate in sending forth righteous thoughts. I could not even do the five sets of exercises properly. Since I did not want to let go of my attachment of the pursuit of comfort and held so tightly to my wants and needs, it did not occur to me that I was creating obstacles for her and also creating interference for myself. This attachment of seeking comfort left a loophole for the old forces to take advantage of by providing them with an excuse to persecute practitioners. Finally, my wife was seized by the police while letting more people learn the truth about Falun Gong.

Under the compassionate care of Teacher and the all-out rescue effort by practitioners both at home and abroad, my wife was able to leave the detention centre with righteous thoughts. I drew a good lesson from the painful experience. The arrest of my wife was directly linked with my attachment of the pursuit of comfort. In other words, my attachment in seeking comfort and the attachment of sentiment and emotion provided the evil with excuses for persecuting her. Looking at it from this angle, hadn't I actually helped the evil forces? What a bitter lesson it was!

I also found that a lot of other practitioners, like myself, failed to be more diligent the closer to the end we have come. More or less they were all affected by the attachment of the pursuit of comfort. They want to live in comfort and peace during this final stage. Therefore they do not want to take any risk or shoulder any responsibility. Whenever there is a sign of trouble, they are at home hiding, with an excuse that they are not in a good state and need to study the Fa with a calm mind for a period of time. They would only step forward to clarify the truth about Falun Gong when the situation changed for the better. What an immense "selfishness" existed behind this pursuit of comfort. Doesn't this conform with the principles and the nature of the old forces? Some practitioners were brought along by the attachment of seeking comfort and could not free themselves from reputation, self-interest, and feelings among everyday people. They were preoccupied with everyday people's things and were indulging themselves in everyday people's life. They kept themselves busy for a moment of comfort or enjoyment. The great historical responsibility and mission of the Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples had long since faded from their memories. Weren't they walking along the path arranged by the old forces?

Fellow practitioners, the Fa-rectification has reached this stage and Teacher has already said everything very clearly in the Fa. It's as if Heaven's secret has already been divulged. How come we still do not understand? What do you seek comfort for? Isn't it a little bit of filthy stuff of the human world? Nothing in this human world is worth anything to us. Only when we "Cultivate, my disciples, 'til no single omission is found" ( Hong Yin) can we really reach consummation! I really hope my fellow practitioners can wake up from the lesson I experienced and be determined to let go of the attachment of the pursuit of comfort, which can ruin practitioners in an instant. Please bear in mind Teacher's warning,

"Be sure not to become lax. You must not slack off, and you must not become apathetic." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")

We must do the three things well and fulfil the grand historical mission bestowed on us, the Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples.

This is my current understanding. For anything I did not understand correctly, please feel free to point out and correct.