(Minghui.org) I am a 21-year-old college junior. Growing up under the influence of the Chinese Communist regime, I picked up a lot of unreasonable notions about romantic relationships even when I was little. Popular society in China today is crazy about the latest fashions and celebrates bad behaviors. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) teaches atheism and denies the value of moral virtue. As a result, my generation has grown up surrounded by unhealthy sexual ideas promoted by the media. I have always wanted to purge these bad notions about sex, but I didn't have anyone to steer me in the right direction.
Since I started practicing Falun Gong, I have learned that the meaning of life is to return to one's true, innocent self. Lust is a type of demon, but sexual intercourse was created so that mankind could procreate. If I aim to transcend humanity and attain divinity, I must overcome the demon of lust. I have been repelling and eliminating my attachment to lust during my daily cultivation practice, and I really feel that my desires and feelings for the opposite sex have been significantly mitigated.
When I first started practicing Falun Gong, I passed each and every test on lust. I felt that my mind was being purified continuously. However, I gradually became complacent. I let my guard down, because I was constantly exposed to seductive images in public. From time to time I would have lustful thoughts and fail to pass the test of lust, or I would check out attractive women and I would have impure thoughts when I did the Falun Gong exercises. One day I woke up feeling very frustrated with myself because I had failed to pass a test on lust in my dream. That morning I was too embarrassed to offer incense to Teacher, or even to look at Master's photo. I was ashamed of myself. I promised to eliminate my attachment to lust and elevate my level of cultivation. I became very serious about the issue of lust. As soon as I had a bad thought, I repelled it right away. When I faced interference from the demon of lust, I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate it. It took a strong will to eliminate my attachment to lust. If, every once in a while, a cultivator does not care about failing a test on lust, he will not meet the standard. He must persevere if he wants to have any success in eliminating his attachment to lust! I have learned from my experiences that if I fail one test on lust, I will have more difficulty passing the next one, because lustful feelings will accumulate and increase in intensity.
Teacher said,
"If one who fails the test does not care about it, it will be harder to pass later. It is definitely this way." (Lecture Six in Zhuan Falun)
One day I realized that I still had thoughts of lust, although I tried hard to eliminate them. One of the reasons was my work environment. I am a young man and work as an intern teaching art, so I am often in touch with female colleagues and students. Another reason is the degenerated society in China. Sexy images of women are nearly everywhere. The minute I let down my guard, I quickly developed thoughts of lust. Ultimately, I am responsible for this gap regardless of what type of environment I am living in. I failed to cultivate myself solidly, and I lacked sufficient righteous thoughts. After I finished searching inward, I was determined to eliminate my attachment to lust even though I live in China.
Teacher said,
"Lao Zi once made this statement: 'When a wise person hears the Tao, this person will practice it diligently.' When a wise person learns of the Tao, he thinks: 'Finally I’ve obtained a righteous cultivation method. Why wait and not start to practice today?' The complex environment, in my view, is instead a good thing. The more complex it is, the greater the persons it will produce. If one can elevate oneself above and beyond it, one’s cultivation will be the most solid." (Lecture Nine in Zhuan Falun)
Ever since I made this declaration, I have been constantly keeping powerful righteous thoughts and paying close attention to my thoughts to eliminate lustful thoughts and desires. I used all my willpower to repel these bad thoughts. I also tried to keep away from friendships with young ladies.
Because I constantly try to eliminate all interference from the demon of lust, I feel that my attachment to lust has been significantly mitigated. One night I dreamed of sensual, young models in skimpy clothes walking around in front of me. I couldn't help but to check them out, but I immediately realized it was the lust demon trying to tempt me. I stopped looking at them and remembered that I am a Falun Gong practitioner with a mission to assist Teacher in the Fa-rectification period. I immediately repeated, "The Fa rectifies the Cosmos; the Evil is completely eliminated. The Fa rectifies Heaven and Earth; immediate retribution in this lifetime." I woke up after a short while and knew I had just passed a test on lust in my dream. I came across the following passage of the Fa the next time I studied Zhuan Falun.
Teacher said,
"This practitioner’s xinxing had improved very quickly. At that point, he became alarmed right away. The first thought that came to his mind was: 'I’m not an ordinary person. I’m a practitioner. You shouldn’t treat me this way, for I’m a Falun Dafa practitioner.' Once this thought emerged, everything suddenly disappeared since they were all transformed anyway." (Lecture Six in Zhuan Falun)
I felt very proud of myself for having passed the test on lust, but I realized I had been overcome with another attachment – zealotry. I immediately eliminated zealotry from my mind.
I feel calm, steadfast, and free after having let go of my attachment to lust, desires, and romance. When I used to try to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to young women, I would have thoughts of lust from time to time. Sometimes I even talked to them with a flirtatious smile. The end result was poor. Most of the young ladies I spoke to either refused to believe what I said or pretended they didn't understand. Some of them even reprimanded me or told me to get lost. If a cultivator clarifies the truth with impure thoughts, it is only natural that the results will be poor.
Teacher said,
"When the thoughts that you project are unrighteous, how could you do that task well? It's the same as assisting the evil, then." ("Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference")
Now that I make a constant effort to eliminate my attachment to lust, I find myself becoming very calm and pure-minded when I clarify the truth to my female friends. I genuinely see them as sentient beings to be saved. They are very moved and agree with what I say. They agree to quit the CCP and/or its two student affiliates. I have witnessed in my cultivation the difference between the state of mind of men and that of divine beings. I have learned that a cultivator must cultivate both his thoughts and actions for the degenerated elements and attachments to be purged and eliminated. Only then will he be able to attain a higher level of cultivation. Only then will the three things he does become sacred and effective.
Teacher said,
"In fact, let me tell everyone that matter and mind are one thing." (Lecture One in Zhuan Falun)
I urge all young fellow practitioners, as well as practitioners that still have attachments to lust, to let go of their attachment of lust and to keep elevating themselves to high levels of cultivation. I speak from my own experience that it feels very solid and calming to be free of any attachment to lust. It is a sacred and noble state. It is important to know that cultivation is a serious matter. It is important to know the meaning and the goal of cultivation. Cultivating is a process of a human being continuously eliminating his humanness to attain divinity. Let's cultivate solidly and diligently together, save sentient beings, and fulfill our prehistoric grand pledge.
My cultivation insights are limited to my present level of cultivation. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate in my humble understanding. Heshi.
Category: Improving Oneself
