No Exceptions on the Path of Cultivation

My daughter has been studying the Fa since childhood. She has been a practitioner for more than 10 years. She always listens to Master's words and is considerate of others. For example, when she shops, she always says to the adults who line up behind her, "You adults are all busy. You can check out before me. It's okay for me to wait a littler longer."

Right before a storm, I discovered that we had run out of steamed bread at home. Therefore, I asked my daughter to go buy some and said, "Quick. The storm will come very soon. This time, don't let other people check out before you. Today is an exception."

However, the things that happened were exactly the opposite from what I expected. When my daughter brought back the steamed bread, she was totally soaked. In addition, she happily said, "I arrived at the checkout counter early. I let a lady with a child cut in front of me. Then, I let an old lady and another lady whose laundry was still hanging outdoors check out before me. They were all busy so I let them check out before me. Sorry, I am late and could not avoid the rain. Mom, do you blame me?"

My daughter thought that her words matched the Fa and her behaviour was right. However, I said to her unhappily, "You created some additional laundry which takes away from my Fa study time! I told you before you left that today was an exception, but you did not listen!"

She did not say anything but recited Master's words to me:

"Compassion comes from a person's cultivation, and it's not something that's acted out; it comes from deep inside, and it's not something done to show others. It's something that exists eternally, and it doesn't change with the passage of time or changes in circumstances." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Washington DC Fa Conference")

I understood that Master was using my daughter's mouth to give me a hint. When listening to the words, it seemed that I saw Master directly. My face turned red. My "exception" is so cheap compared with Master's words, "it doesn't change with the passage of time or changes in circumstances." The Fa exactly reflected my hidden attachment to selfishness. I felt that my cultivation was really disappointing. Although, I had studied all the lectures of Master with my daughter four times in the past year, our realms were really different. How many times did I just focus on the progress of Fa study without really absorbing it into my mind! How many times did I just find excuses for myself without really following the standards of the Fa!

Following the word "exception," I calmly searched inward. Small "exceptions" accumulate and make me stumble in cultivation. For example, when my son came back home from school, which is out of town, I told myself in my mind, "Today is an exception. No need to send forth righteous thoughts. I will make it up next time." If I missed a chance to clarify the truth to a person, I would often comfort myself by saying, "This time is an exception. I will do better next time." When my period comes, I always think, "It's too difficult to practice the sitting exercise. So, I will stop doing it for a day. Today is an exception."

The numerous exceptions were taken advantage of by the evil forces. After starting to practice Dafa, I became illness-free and felt great. However, my old illness suddenly came back. I understood that the old forces attempted to destroy my will to cultivate Dafa and that danger was approaching. When I heard that a fellow practitioner was hospitalized and in need of other practitioners' support with righteous thoughts, I immediately thought that the practitioner had some problem. Later, I realized that the incident was reflecting my attachment.

Numerous "exceptions" kept attacking me like cannon balls. I realized that I was taken advantage of by the evil forces for relaxing in studying the Fa. Actually, there are no "exceptions" on the path of saving sentient beings and cultivation. Cultivation is a serious matter and the Fa of the universe is sacred. We cannot pass tribulations without really letting go of our attachments. Being merciful has no exception. Saving sentient beings has no exception. Cultivating our minds has no exception. Rising in levels has no exception.

Master told us in "Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference",

"But the reality is, each Dafa disciple's life has been tightly wed to, like links in a chain, his cultivation. So when you relax yourself, it amounts to relaxing in your cultivation."

I really felt disappointed and ashamed about the relaxation of my cultivation. I kept relaxing my attitude toward such a serious matter. I could not melt myself into the Fa and had gradually tarnished the general image of a Dafa disciple. Isn't this actually undermining the Fa? I did not realize that it was such a serious problem. Obviously, I really relaxed too much.

I hope that fellow practitioners can learn from my experience, become more determined and steadfast on the path of saving sentient beings, save as many as we can and fulfil our vows. When the grand final judgment comes, we can say confidently, "I did whatever I should. From the bottom of my heart, I feel no shame!"