(Minghui.org) Loneliness is a really big tribulation in cultivation. In the past, I always felt that this tribulation was too big, and it was so difficult for me to face, so I could not overcome it. It was only when the police came knocking at my door that I understood what this tribulation was all about.
I returned home in 2011 after I was illegally imprisoned for my faith in Falun Dafa. People who acted as informants told my family, “That person [referring to me] should not stay at home. It will bring us all trouble.” So for all these years, I did not stay with my family and the police and the informants have not looked for me, either.
In 2024, a police officer called me a few times, asking me to go to the police station to have my photo taken, but I did not cooperate with them. At the end of that year, the police came knocking on my door (they may have found me through tracking my mobile phone location) to have my photo taken.
I had truth-clarification materials about Dafa at home, so I did not open the door. Besides, we should not cooperate with the evil anyway. But I saw that the first thought that came into my mind was fear. I could not pinpoint what fundamental issue had caused this fear, but two days later I learned that I had been fearful because of my attachment to seeking comfort. This attachment was displayed in the form of me watching videos on my mobile phone and television to fight against loneliness.
After realizing this, I turned my mobile phone and television off and my mind gradually calmed down. I was also gradually able to let go of these attachments. After that, I was able to calm down when I practiced the exercises. Although I was not able to enter a state of deep tranquility, I was really able to enter a tranquil state. I was also able to enter a tranquil state when I sent forth righteous thoughts, and I could get out of bed to send forth righteous thoughts at midnight.
This year I was able to understand the Shen Yun performance. In the past, I only felt that the performance was so great, but this year I understood that Shen Yun is performing things from China’s history, a culture passed down by the divine, and from the perspective of salvation of sentient beings and compassion—Master’s compassion and that of Dafa disciples.
I asked myself if I could totally stop watching videos on my mobile phone and television. Even if there was no persecution, I would no longer watch them. During this process, I also realized, “Why would a cultivator keep watching everyday stuff?”
Master said,
“Rather, to quietly cultivate in bleak loneliness, unable to see hope, is the hardest of all.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the WorldVolume IX )
What I understand currently is that I can accept loneliness. I can face it instead of rejecting it. I can cultivate myself and do things by myself, step-by-step. Since loneliness is a tribulation that everyone must overcome, it is a step that everyone needs to take on their paths of cultivation. That being the case, I need to correct my path of cultivation by facing it instead of being afraid of it. This also involves my ability to take on hardship.
Articles in which cultivators share their understandings typically reflect an individual's perception at a point in time based on their cultivation state, and they are offered in the spirit of enabling mutual elevation.
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Category: Cultivation Insights
