(Minghui.org) I originally took up cultivation in Falun Dafa to cure my illness. This was an attachment that I failed to realize, despite having studied the Fa teachings for a long time. Naturally, my illness was not cured due to my pursuit. I kept asking myself, “Why does my illness linger, while others are cured?”
Guided by Master Li’s teachings, I made my way along the cultivation path arranged by Master. Here, I would like to share some attachments I discovered after looking inward.
1. Jealousy
When I first started cultivating Falun Dafa, a fellow practitioner quoted Master’s teachings,
“For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX)
I did not understand what it meant to look within nor why this was considered a magical tool, despite mulling over it many times; this was because I was using an ordinary person’s mindset to understand the Fa.
One day while at our group practice site, my jealousy towards a fellow practitioner flared up. I realized that I had harbored this feeling for quite some time. While practicing the sitting meditation, I was unable to achieve tranquility and jealous thoughts continued to emerge in my mind. I wondered, “Why am I upset at and jealous of my fellow practitioner?” This practitioner was better than me in everything, having practiced the exercises and studied the Fa diligently. Moreover, the person had a better understanding of the Fa than me. I was jealous because he was better than me in every aspect.
Having reached that conclusion, I silently criticized myself for being selfish. At this juncture, that quote from Master flashed in my mind.
“For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX)
All unpleasant thoughts about that fellow practitioner instantly vanished, and I came to my senses. So, this was what it meant to look inwards, a magical tool to find my own shortcomings! I was overcome with joy.
Thereafter, I kept wondering if I really mastered the ability to look inside. My initial experience had been very superficial. Later I found that when encountering a problem, besides an initial surface realization of the issue, one should continue to examine deeper in order to relinquish attachments from their source.
2. Attachments to Emotions
I have come to realize that when encountering a problem, the first thing I should do is treat myself as a cultivator.
One day, I returned home late, just as my wife finished cooking dinner. When she saw me, she said, “You don’t help at home and stay out all day. I have to rush and cook after getting off from work!” Usually, even if I were in the wrong, I would not tolerate any outbursts from my wife. As a wife, I thought that she had no right to bully her husband. I wanted to reprimand her, “I’m your husband, you aren’t allowed to raise your voice at me.” At this point, I suddenly remembered that I am a cultivator and should practice forbearance. I should not hold myself to the standard of an ordinary person. The anger in my heart instantly faded. At this moment I realized, “Ah, I remembered! I did it!”
I now think from the perspective of a cultivator when faced with conflicts. Although all my issues were peacefully resolved, my cultivation path was not always easy. I keep reminding myself to look inwards in everything I do. Master mentioned,
“I believe that the world will be a better place if we can each work on ourselves and look at our character, or thoughts, to identify the source of any problems we experience, and then make a point of doing better next time and try to always be thoughtful towards others.” (The Ninth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
3. Cultivating Forbearance
As soon as I started cultivating in earnest, Master arranged my cultivation path. Everything I encountered was a good thing, which helped to improve my level.
One morning, I got up and planned to drive to the practice site. However, I was unable to find my car keys despite searching for a long time. Plagued with anxiety, I hastily took another set of keys and proceeded to the practice site. However, my mind kept obsessing over this issue. I wondered if my wife had taken and misplaced my keys. This thought threw my mind into even greater turmoil. Although I was practicing the sitting meditation, my mind was unable to calm down at all.
When I got back home, I continued searching for the missing keys in distress until a thought surfaced in my mind, “Why not look inward?” I began to examine myself and realized one thing: I get impatient whenever I encounter mundane problems. I needed to address this gap and cultivate forbearance. After I had that thought, the missing set of keys immediately appeared before my eyes, as though they were waiting for me to come to this understanding. I pressed my hands together and tearfully thanked Master.
4. Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts in Order to Cleanse One’s Mind
After reading an experience sharing article about sending forth righteous thoughts and purifying one’s mind on the Minghui website, I realized I had to take this next step in order to improve my level. Since then, I’ve put more effort into cleansing my mind. Normally, I would spend the first five minutes of sending forth righteous thoughts calming and clearing my mind. Once I spent 15 minutes clearing my mind. On another occasion, with a specific objective to achieve, I spent 30 minutes clearing my mind. The righteous thoughts sent afterwards were extremely powerful.
Once while sending forth righteous thoughts, my consciousness suddenly expanded, and my mind reached a very calm state. My body felt large, radiating forth strong energy. That righteous energy field covered the entire sky, shrouding the expanse in a red field. Even the evil spirits lurking above this field were annihilated. I was stunned to see this scene, and silently thanked Master. To clear one’s mind is also a form of eliminating one’s attachments.
Looking inwards, letting go of attachments and improving in levels. Dafa’s miracles continue to bolster my faith in cultivation, and I am determined to assist Master on the path of Fa-rectification.
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Category: Improving Oneself
