(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa cultivation is the process of moving from selfishness towards selfless altruism. Often, the manifestation of selfishness surfaces in the process and the practitioner is not aware of it, thus preventing the state of our practice from undergoing a radical change.
For instance, when fellow practitioners were having discussions, a particular practitioner frequently mentioned that he/she was very good even before cultivating Dafa, and how he/she was praised by everyone before, leading it to the appear that the person was a quite good being before cultivation practice, and there was no big change between the person's past and present. This is one kind of warped manifestation of selfishness: showing-off.
When others mention that the condition of their present body or the way they converse is very different from everyday people, some practitioners will claim that it is because of such and such reasons, completely ignoring that it is cultivation practice causing such good changes. This also should not happen.
Teacher explicitly pointed out the harm of validating oneself over than validating the Fa in "Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference:"
"You know, in cultivation the most prominent sign that a person still harbors human attachments is his doing things that are not to validate Dafa but instead to validate himself! That is playing a destructive role."
Now, we should be able to soberly understand and distinguish the issue of whether our words and deeds are validating Dafa or, in disguised forms, validating ourselves. We all know that, as a practitioner, if there were no Fa-rectification by Teacher, our situation and existence could not be imagined. Then, having practiced to the present, we should at all times handle ourselves well and use all advantageous opportunities to validate Dafa and promote Dafa. This is our sacred mission and responsibility as Dafa disciples. Regardless of how we did before and after attaining Dafa, if we still unconsciously continue to make a point of displaying our strong points, plainly speaking, our selfishness has not been gotten rid of, and we are showing off with self-appreciation and self-satisfaction. This behavior is very dangerous.
The reason that the old forces undergo the cycle of formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction is because "self" has taken center stage. Everything is based on selfishness, and the cycle is an inevitable result of passing through everything with selfishness. As veteran practitioners, we should free ourselves of the fetters of the old forces, unconditionally get rid of all factors of selfishness, fundamentally change the state of our lives, and achieve selflessness and altruism.
Starting now, we should profoundly reconsider and examine whether our behavior is validating the Fa or validating ourselves. Using all opportunities to validate Dafa is a practitioner's duty and the key to enabling all living beings to be saved as soon as possible.
