(Minghui.org) I am a coordinator in my area. Thanks to our esteemed Master’s strengthening, and with local practitioners' holistic cooperation, we have done some projects that have indeed shocked and frightened the evil. We have also created a good environment for saving sentient beings in my local area. Practitioners are all able to step out and save people with face-to-face truth-clarification.
We have formed ten Fa study groups in which practitioners study the Fa together, share understandings with each other, look within when issues arise, and remind each other of his or her shortcomings. Thus our conflicts have been resolved quickly. The practitioners value sending forth righteous thoughts, and consequently any danger is typically muted after we collectively and intensively send righteous thoughts.
My human attachments however, are becoming more and more inflated in the following ways. First, my tone is quite blunt and carries elements of “ferocity and fighting.” Secondly, during experience sharing, I act like a manager. When someone speaks too soon, I stop him or her right away. Such behavior reflects my lacking a heart of benevolence and a mind of kindness, things a practitioner should embody. Third, when others point out my problems, I tend to explain myself a bit. On top of that, I often have a hard time accepting others’ comments.
I am so grateful for our esteemed Master’s timely publication “Watch Out for Breeding Demons in One’s Own Mind.” The article woke me up as if it were a blow to the top of my head.
My understanding is that Master was not simply speaking about specific articles. Instead, Master was correcting a widely-existing phenomenon. When I measure my cultivation as well as fellow practitioners’ cultivation with the Fa, I find some levels of 'demons in one’s own mind'.
For example, I sometimes tell myself, “I will ‘lead’ practitioners to look inside, so everyone will improve.” This appears good on the surface, however this thought has a dangerous human attachment deep down. It is just like Master said,
“Don’t let your human attachments become overly inflated and get out of hand just because you’ve done something or other. The only one who can guide Dafa disciples’ progress is Master.” ("Watch Out for Breeding Demons in One’s Own Mind")
Guiding Dafa disciples to practice real cultivation and looking inside is handled by the Fa and Master, and I have done nothing except what I was supposed to do. Yet the human attachment to showing off and validating myself behind the thought of “leading others” is absolutely not acceptable and must be removed! With the progress of Fa-rectification, the evil has decreased in quantity, and the environment has become increasingly relaxed. This is the result of Master’s boundless mighty power. If my human attachment to supremacy over others is not eliminated, it could be inflated more and more and make me think about how remarkable I am. This attachment is extremely dangerous in the long run.
During experience sharing, I often talk about how well I understand the Fa principles, how strong my righteous thoughts are, how I have performed amidst the evil persecution, how many truth-clarification material sites I have built, how many truth-clarification materials I have distributed, how much effort I have put in, etc. Some practitioners have admired and praised me repeatedly. I did realize that I was showing off and validating myself, but I didn’t realize the seriousness of it. After studying the article “Watch Out for Breeding Demons in One’s Own Mind” and thinking about my cultivation state, I realized that this was very dangerous! Having such a grandiose tone, as soon as the attachments to zealotry and showing off develop, I could be in real trouble!
Similarities also exist in other fellow practitioners. For example, one practitioner sometimes throws a tantrum if others don't follow his ideas, regardless of the impact to the surroundings. His speech and behavior go totally against the standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Some practitioners have remained in this state for quite a few years. In addition, some tend to badmouth other practitioners behind their backs and cannot accept other’s comments.
There have been many cases of persecution in the region since 2011. In some areas, many of those persecuted involved practitioners who appeared to be diligent, and many of these were coordinators. Such practitioners, more or less have similarities to what I described above. Some have been “transformed” by the evil, and some have even helped the evil perform their evil acts.
One female practitioner in our surrounding area handed out truth-clarification materials and persuaded people to quit the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations on the street. She was able to persuade most of the officials and police station officers to do the “three withdrawals.” The police didn’t arrest her even if someone reported her. Practitioners in other towns even invited her to come to their town to share experiences with them. Unknowingly, her human attachments became inflated. After she was arrested by the evil in 2011, she was brainwashed and persecuted. She was not only "transformed" by the evil, but she also reported her contact with other practitioners to the evil persecutors.
Given her example, I warned myself not to let my human attachments become inflated regardless of how much I have done, or how well I have done. I must not badmouth other practitioners behind their backs, and I must not look down upon other practitioners. I must search within myself regarding the shortcomings that I see in other practitioners. Just like Master said,
“It would be good if they could manage to search within themselves for the things that they have been able to find in others.” (“A Dialogue with Time” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
The environment has improved, and more sentient beings are being saved. This is the result of the Fa’s mighty power. Without our esteemed Master’s protection, I would have been killed. And then what would I have been able to achieve?
I hope that those practitioners who are unable to cooperate well with others can let go of themselves, harmonize the one body, do well the three things that Master requires of practitioners, and save more sentient beings.
This concludes my personal understandings. Please kindly point out anything improper.
Category: Improving Oneself
