(Minghui.org) A fellow practitioner has experienced symptoms of sickness karma for a long time because some serious problems in his cultivation have been taken advantage of by the old forces. However, this practitioner has been covering up his problems. When other practitioners pointed them out, instead of facing the problems or looking within, he grandly quoted Master’s words out of context.
I eventually formed a notion about this practitioner after recognizing his issues a long time ago. I thought that he had a smart mouth, but didn’t cultivate himself solidly, and that his behavior even interfered with other practitioners’ cultivation. Sometimes my “help” for him isn’t exactly from the bottom of my heart. I didn’t realize that I had this notion. I became good at talking about his shortcomings. I even tried to persuade other fellow practitioners to agree with my view of him, calling it “preventing fellow practitioners from getting deceived.”
One day, another practitioner and I went to visit him, hoping to help him see his problems in his cultivation. As usual, he prevaricated and made some grandiose response. The visiting practitioner left, feeling disappointed. I found that the visiting practitioner had a completely different approach from mine. She recognized his merits and didn’t mention his shortcomings, hoping he would be able to identify his problems on his own. It made me realize that I had a stubborn notion. My view of him was totally acquired, and lacked anything from my true self. It dawned on me that my notion had created a barrier between us, which had blocked my help from reaching him. The barrier had also isolated me more and more, as my notion grew stronger. The barrier had seriously affected my cultivation as well.
Why did I form this notion? Reflecting upon myself, I found something deeper. Before I started cultivating, I had already formed a notion about dealing with various types of people. I enjoyed being with honest and kind people, but avoided those who only said smooth but empty words. I judged people according to this notion, putting this practitioner into the latter category. I mistook his outward appearance and behavior as his true self, but failed to measure what was truly right or wrong based on the Fa.
Master told us,
“You are all fellow practitioners. Do you think you’re enemies? You are here on this earth working toward the same goal of saving people, so you should be the closest of kin and be helping one another. Do you find someone annoying? That person’s outward appearance and behavior are only what’s present here in this human world. Weren’t all of you originally divine? I don’t think your divine side would possibly find someone annoying. You need to view things as a cultivator.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the New York Fa Conference Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Dafa’s Spreading,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIV)
I now realize that barriers between practitioners are the reasons we can’t form one body, and these barriers come from our acquired notions. The only way for us to break through the ordeals in our practice is to eliminate these barriers and form one body.
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
