(Clearwisdom.net) Normally, when performing tasks in Fa-rectification, we know we have to maintain righteous thoughts, but in our daily lives, we tend to be nonchalant about our thoughts and desires. Several recent minor events made me attach importance and pay attention to this issue.
I am a Falun Dafa practitioner who has been forced to leave home to avoid persecution. To be able to read "Clearwisdom" daily, I rented a computer. For quite some time I had been worrying that the computer might malfunction. Finally, it actually happened. Around midday, the computer could not be booted, and I felt very dejected. I rested on the bed and searched within myself for an answer, and realized that I was harboring wrong concepts and was restricted by the "old and new" logic of the ordinary person. The righteous thoughts of Falun Dafa practitioners are powerful. I realized that if I thought that the computer should work, it would do so. "Notions changing, the decayed extinguished, the bright light illuminating." (Hong Yin: "New Life"). When I started the computer again, it worked normally. "We have said that good or evil comes from a person's spontaneous thought, and the thought at that moment can bring about different consequences." (Zhuan Falun Lecture 4: Upgrading Xinxing).
Because my Personal Identity card was illegally held in custody, I was afraid of being asked to prove my identity. The more I worried, the more such events occurred. Even passers-by inexplicably asked who I was. This was actually my attachment that allowed the gaps in my righteous thoughts to be breached by the old forces.
Though it was a small matter, it allowed me to understand the importance of a practitioner examining every thought and action. To actually be able to do it, I know that I must alter my way of thinking.
Before I really moved forward in my practice, I was very careless and thoughtless, and would only pick "important tasks" to perform. In fact, cultivation is a very solemn matter. "During today's Fa-rectification the requirements for everything have to be absolutely strict and absolutely upright. This is how it's different from everything that was done in the past." ("Lecture at the Great Lakes Conference in North America") There should not be a consideration of "greater" or "lesser," and we shouldn't, "cherish lofty aspirations while neglecting trivial matters." If trivial matters are neglected, the evil will enter through those gaps and do much damage to Falun Dafa.
Another reason to be guarded is because of, "the heart seeking ease and comfort." I inadvertently formed the concept that constantly maintaining righteousness and a strong main consciousness can be very tiring. So when I was not sending forth righteous thoughts, I was not vigilant. I was under the control of the detestable karma in my speech and action, and was not exhibiting any semblance of being a practitioner. Teacher said, "If we're careless [with our conduct], then there's a good chance we'll cause losses as a result of our conduct not conforming to the Fa. So we really have to pay attention to these things." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
It is without doubt that to be able to control every one of our thoughts, it is imperative that we study the Fa well. After learning the Fa well, I was able to consider problems from the point of view of the Fa, control my thoughts, and measure myself against how a divine being would think. As one important measure, I would consider whether I had thought of others before myself. Once we maintain righteous thoughts, we will certainly know what to do.
Fellow practitioners, at this most crucial moment in history, let us all be aware of our thoughts constantly, and be responsible to all sentient beings as well as to ourselves. Finally, I would like to share with you, "Study the Fa and obtain the Fa, share in learning and share in cultivating, following [the Fa] in everything, compliance is cultivation." (Hong Yin: "Solid Cultivation"), as mutual encouragement!