(Minghui.org) During all these years of cultivation, I had always been obsessed with learning as much as possible and as soon as possible any news regarding Master, cultivation, or Fa-rectification activities. As such, I was enthusiastic in collecting new articles published by Master or new stories concerning Master’s Fa-teaching.
Of course, Master does not publish new articles every day, so there weren’t always “new” things for me to know all the time. Moreover, I wasn’t able to gain new understandings of the Fa since I wasn’t focused enough during Fa-study.
Annoyed that there was nothing new to stir up my interest, I began to look outward, and for a period of time even buried myself in hunting up fancy stuff, including articles talking about supernatural capabilities.
My Attachment to Pursuing Novelty Grows
This attachment of mine became stronger and stronger, and I began to have more and more trouble calming down while studying the Fa. Nearly every day I searched for and read fellow practitioners’ “interesting” articles or even non-practitioners’ news items.
Even though those things excited me for a short time, I gradually realized that they were not helping my cultivation. For example, my xinxing did not improve at all after reading those articles. On the contrary, in my pursuit of "excitement," my mind was wandering and I had difficulty concentrating.
I felt very tired as a result and subconsciously struggled to pull myself out of this state of mind. However, when I did not read those things, I felt a void in my heart, and the resulting loneliness again drew me back to the same old habit.
Realizing My Attachment
I realized that I knew enough Fa to keep cultivating, but I had failed to really follow the Fa to do the three things well.
I knew how to do many things to help save sentient beings, but I just wasn’t willing to put in the effort. I began to have a deeper appreciation and admiration for practitioners who had never slacked off in doing the three things.
Rain or shine, they went out to clarify the facts to save people, no matter what difficulties they experienced at work or with family. I realized their behavior was indeed a manifestation of their gong potency. Many of the elderly practitioners I knew had very little to say, and what they did say was modest but always reflected a deep understanding of the Fa. In fact, the one thing they often talked about was listening to Master and how to save more people.
Letting Go of My Attachment by Studying the Fa with a Calm Mind and Saving People
I worked hard to get rid of my heart of looking outward. I calmed down to focus on Fa-study and used whatever free time I had to save people. I no longer pursued fancy or exciting everyday people's news, because I knew that everything is encompassed in the Fa.
I was confident that, as long as I studied the Fa wholeheartedly without pursuit of higher-level principles, my xinxing would naturally improve and the Buddhas, Daos and Gods at higher realms would reveal higher-level Fa-principles to me. If my xinxing wasn’t high enough, then I wasn’t worthy of knowing more. After all, one’s xinxing determines his or her realm.
Little by little, external things no longer affected me as much, and I just wanted to save as many people as possible before Fa-rectification ended. I keenly felt time was running out and that every opportunity to be saved could be someone's last. Therefore I greatly cherished the time and opportunities Master gave us. Sometimes I didn’t have enough time during the day to clarify the facts, so I then went out in the evening.
With my heart filled with the wish to save people, the loneliness I had felt in the past gradually dissipated. I just felt there were too many people to save in such a short period of time, and I didn’t even have time to be lonely.
My Change
Looking back at my recent cultivation path, I see that I really have changed. In the past I knew a lot of about what was going on, yet did little to follow the Fa to save people. To put it bluntly, I wasn’t willing to cultivate myself solidly and just wanted to find a shortcut. However, what worked for other people may not have worked for me at all, since every practitioner has a distinct cultivation path.
I realize that we only need to follow Dafa’s requirements to cultivate ourselves solidly. There is no need for us to try to enlighten to more or higher principles. Master has made it very clear to us that all we need to do is the three things. Everything placed in front of us is arranged so that we can do the three things. Any fancy stuff we try is actually straying from the Fa. Our path is very narrow and any slight deviation will lead to disasters.
Advice to Practitioners Not Solidly Cultivating
Among the practitioners I've met, some are very articulate and eloquent and seem to have enlightened to very high-level Fa principles. However, their cultivation is not solid at all, and they are actually loath to suffer hardships and just prefer easy things that please their minds. Worse yet, some are even plagued by everyday people’s struggles with fame and interest. My heart is really pained when I see that they have wasted so much precious time.
I urge such practitioners to pay attention. After all, cultivation is not about paying lip service or to gain knowledge, but to solidly cultivate our hearts.
I’d like to remind everyone of the following passage of Master’s Fa:
“What I least like are those who are all talk and no action. Nor do I like those who are cunning. What I like are those who are honest and simple, sincere and down-to-earth.”
(“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference”)
