Solid Cultivation Is Essential

(Minghui.org) Another practitioner and I went to visit an elderly practitioner who is in her 80s. The silver-haired elderly woman had a rosy complexion and such a friendly smile. The first thing she said to us was: “Solid cultivation, solid cultivation is essential.” I was not sure what she meant and looked at her with a surprised expression. The elderly woman told us her story regarding solid cultivation.

She holds a group Fa study in her home. Recently, there have been some new practitioners joining the study group, and they did not have enough copies of Zhuan Falun for everyone. She and two other practitioners gave their copies to the new practitioners.

Later, she got three new copies of Zhuan Falun to replace the old ones. She went through the new books and noticed some printing problems. She could barely make out the words in the first book. The words in the second book were also faint but legible, and words in the third copy were very clear.

As practitioners were arriving for the group study, two of the practitioners who had given up their old copies of Zhuan Falun for the new practitioners to use, took two of the new books. When the elderly practitioner reached for the last copy of the Zhuan Falun , she was left with the copy that had the poorest print.

Her mind was overwhelmed with thoughts: “I am the oldest here and my eyesight is not very good. You two young people left me with the copy that has the faintest print. You are very selfish.”

Then she realized: “That's not right!”

Master said:

“Some people are unhappy when they meet with unpleasant things. Then aren’t you a human being? How are you any different? When you encounter unpleasant things, it is precisely time to cultivate yourself, to cultivate your mind.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference”)

Master also said:

“I also want to tell you that your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature” from Essentials for Further Advancement)

“We require you to be a completely extraordinary person, to completely give up your own interests and to be entirely for others. What do those Great Enlightened Beings live for? They’re entirely for others.” (“Explaining the Fa for Falun Dafa Assistants in Changchun” from Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa)

She immediately saw the reflection of her own selfishness and jealousy. She then used a very strong consciousness to eliminate those attachments.

When she opened her copy of Zhuan Falun , something very mystical happened. The words on every page were glowing in gold. She could hardly contain her emotions and said: “Magic, magic! How very magical!”