(Clearwisdom.net) I have realized that when I'm in a conflict with someone, I shouldn't try to reason with the other person, or argue about who is right or who is wrong. To argue about who is in the right and who is in the wrong is to measure the conflict with an ordinary person's criteria.
When I study the Fa in a noisy environment, isn't it a test of whether I let the noise interfere with me? When I study the Fa with a group where some practitioners read too fast and others too slow, isn't it testing my forbearance? If I no longer had any attachments, I would be able to focus even if others read too slow or too fast. I must think of other people first and be selfless.
When we clarify the truth and local store or business people stop us in our efforts to tell the truth, we must search inward first. We have to think about whether we have a bad effect on their business. We must ask ourselves if we have an attachment to being hostile that causes us to lose our composure. We must put ourselves in their shoes first. For the sake of sentient beings, including these business owners, we must be governed by compassion and have a peaceful demeanor when we deal with these issues. Meanwhile, I think we may send forth righteous thoughts to eradicate the evil beings that might be at work, so that the business owners won't be manipulated into interfering with our truth-clarification work. By doing so, we show our compassion.
During my trip to Hong Kong, a store owner refused to let me clarify the truth in front of his store and accused me of being political. At the time, I was moved and became excited. Then he started to push me away. I became all the more emotional. In the end, he turned violent and told me to leave. He even tried to stop passersby from listening to what I had to say. Then I suddenly became clearheaded and began to regret terribly losing my composure. I learned an important lesson from this experience. At another scenic spot, I eliminated my attachment to competitiveness and was able to treat the management staff kindly. Therefore, everything worked out well. I was allowed to stay in the location to clarify the truth, but other practitioners were not. I have learned that we must not evaluate an issue based on what it looks like on the surface and we must not argue about who is right or who is wrong. We are cultivators and we are expected to follow a higher level of the Fa. Of course, an everyday person can always find the cause on the surface, but that's usually not the root cause for a cultivator. A cultivator will not be able to solve a problem based on surface issues. It is the righteous path to find the fundamental cause in our xinxing.
The same principle applies when chatting with Chinese people on-line. I must not have any attachment to being belligerent, zealous, or complacent. I have to explain things based on how non-practitioners evaluate things and also consider how they feel. I used to explain issues that I thought people should know. Oftentimes they felt overwhelmed and just left the chat room while I was still talking. Haste makes waste. Now I have realized that I have to consider the level at which Chinese people can understand and accept what I have to tell them. When I face a problem, I have to search within first. I have also realized that things that Chinese people say can be illusions at times, because they are interfered with by the evil beings from other dimensions. Once while I was chatting with a Chinese on-line, he suddenly said something foul. When I asked him about it, he said he hadn't said anything, as though it hadn't happened at all.
We need to use the same principle around our families. I used to argue with my children constantly. I thought I was doing what I thought to be best for them, but they often accused me of lecturing and nagging them. They were irritated and rejected what I told them. Later, I realized that I must show my affection in ways acceptable to them. I had a similar problem with my parents. I used to show my filial piety to my parents in the ways I thought it should be done. I considered myself a model of filial piety, but I finally realized that I should have shown my filial piety in the ways my parents liked. If my parents or my children expect me to behave towards them in a way not compatible with Falun Gong's teaching, I will make my position clear to them. After all, everyday people do not know the heavenly law of cause and effect as cultivators do. I may know what would be really good for them, but I can only advise them to be good. I must not be attached to the result of such family discussions.
When I have a conflict with someone, I have to find the attachment that causes the conflict within me. As long as I am emotionally affected, I must search inward for the root of the problem. I must always remember that the situation would not have occurred if it had nothing to do with me. If we eliminate all of our attachments, even passersby on the streets will smile at us and there will be no conflict at all. After all, Teacher said, "If you are not afraid, the factor that would make you afraid will cease to exist." ("Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
During my recent experience of distributing truth-clarification newspapers in Hong Kong, I learned to search inward for my attachments when few people accepted the newspaper. In addition, I decided that the evil beings from other dimensions must not arrange such "tests" even if I have loopholes because their so-called tests would hamper sentient beings from knowing the truth about Falun Gong. Teacher will make arrangements for me, so I can eliminate my attachments. The evil beings should not have any part in it. When this thought came forward, people started to accept the newspapers.
The process of distributing newspapers is also a process of eliminating my notions, such as looking down on the white-collar class when distributing newspapers, finding it difficult to distribute newspapers at a particular hour, or in this or that location, or thinking it will take forever if the newspapers are distributed in such a manner. I must eliminate all of my notions. When I'm faced with an adverse situation, I must be optimistic and calm and I must not think of the result. I should think only of treating sentient beings with compassion. Thus I persevered in distributing the newspapers and it went very well.
If we end the persecution now, we will be able to save more sentient beings. In the past, I had an attachment to zealotry and started to put on airs when I did a good job in clarifying the truth. Wasn't I aiming to "validate myself" by "doing good deeds in the Fa-rectification period?" In that case, wasn't I hoping the persecution of Falun Gong would continue so that I could satisfy the attachment to proving myself? It is not that we have come to validate the Fa and clarify the truth, rather, we are here because the persecution has happened and we need to clarify the truth about Falun Gong for the sake of saving sentient beings. However, I was using the persecution to validate myself. I didn't even realize that I was hoping the persecution would last.
I should eliminate my attachments in order to save more sentient beings, not to elevate my level. If we despair when we fail to clarify the truth well, the evil beings will cheer, because they were successful in their efforts to hamper our work. If we are truly validating the Fa and saving sentient beings, we will not be moved, no matter what happens to us. Instead, we should try when we have not done well to do what we set out to do and do it well. Meanwhile, we deny the evil beings a chance to exploit our loopholes. In the process of validating the Fa, all thoughts that come from wishing the persecution to last must be eliminated.
My understanding is limited to my current cultivation level. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Category: Improving Oneself
