(Minghui.org) One afternoon, another practitioner Ms. Lee visited me when she passed by my home. On the surface she just casually stopped by, but afterwards I realized it was Master’s arrangement for us to share and improve together.
Ms. Lee is one of the coordinators in our area. She survived the brutal tortures in the forced labor camp with her firm belief in Master.
As we chatted, she complained about the conflicts and troubles she recently experienced. She said she felt at a loss and did not understand why she had so many issues. She said, “Master did not give me any hints. When I read the teachings I could not enlighten to the Fa principles.”
I was surprised to hear what she said because it seemed like she was complaining about Master. I reminded her, “Who are you complaining about?” She immediately realized what she was saying. She said that she did not understand why she had tests again and again over the years.
I told her she must have attachments and loopholes that were taken advantage of by the old forces. I asked her to reflect on herself, find the root of her attachments, and eliminate them.
It has been more than 20 years since we started to cultivate, how much effort has Master devoted to us? How much karma did Master bear for us? If we complain about Master it’s not a small matter. As disciples, we should cultivate ourselves unconditionally. We should not complain about anyone, let alone our Master.
Master illustrated a story about a person who condemned Buddha. Master said,
“He evaluates Buddha’s xinxing with an ordinary person’s criteria. How can that comparison be made? How can it work if a person views high-level things with the standards of everyday people? Therefore, this kind of problem tends to arise when people regard their suffering in life as being unfair. Many people drop down this way.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I reminded Ms. Lee about Milarepa's cultivation journey. To eliminate Milarepa’s karma, his master instructed him to build a stone house, disassemble it, and build it again. This went on a few times, during which his master also beat Milarepa and scolded him. However, Milarepa did not have negative thoughts and did not complain. He just followed his master’s arrangement unconditionally. In the past, a cultivator could have such an unshakable belief in his master. Why can't we have such faith in our Master?
Of course, during the Fa-rectification cultivation period, the old forces arranged a lot of interference. So, we should cultivate ourselves better and look within. The old forces will not be able to seize onto our loopholes and persecute us if we have no attachments.
We talked for about three hours, and she finally found the root of her negative thoughts. She said she had an attachment to self. She realized she could not be criticized. She also realized that she had strong attachments to her self-esteem.
Master said,
“There is a story about Han Xin, which says that he endured the humiliation of crawling between someone’s legs.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
I encouraged her to calm down and read all of Master’s teaching. Master said,
“The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.” (“Drive Out Interference,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
During cultivation, we should maintain positive thoughts and cultivate ourselves seriously. We should not complain when we cannot pass a test after a long time. We should realize those negative thoughts are not our true selves. Those thoughts are dragging us down in order to destroy us.
I was grateful for Master's immeasurable compassion and arranging to have this fellow practitioner to share experiences with me. I also worry about practitioners who are still embroiled in tribulations. Many practitioners have the same problem. Some have been persecuted for a long time but still haven't found their attachments.
All of us may have some subtle attachments that we don't see. For example, many practitioners have resentment. When they cannot get through tribulations, they complain about Master, fellow practitioners, and their family members.
I hope this sharing article can help fellow practitioners who have the same issues walk out of this state. I also want to remind myself to believe in Master and Dafa firmly, and take the initiative to cultivate, proactively eliminate attachments, and assimilate to Dafa. The old forces' interference will disappear if we have no loopholes to exploit.
Category: Improving Oneself
