On Fundamentally Changing Our Way of Thinking

(Minghui.org) Master said: “humankind must fundamentally change its conventional thinking.” (Zhuan Falun) I would like to share my understanding about this.

In order to fundamentally change our thinking, we must first discover the root cause of our attachments.

For example, after some practitioners share facts about Falun Dafa with their friends and relatives, they will then change the subject to ordinary things, such as finding a good school and then a good job for their children. I think this is more than being polite when conversing with non-practitioners. I think it could be a manifestation of practitioners' hidden attachments.

At first, I thought I was going to extremes and being critical of practitioners. I then thought maybe these practitioners were acting properly, and we should perhaps retain some human notions in order to conform to the way of ordinary society.

I looked inward to find my attachments, and I asked myself why I witnessed their behavior. These practitioners were doing a good job clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa to others, which was probably good enough. After all, we all have different cultivation paths.

Looking More Seriously Into the Issue of Conventional Thinking

As time went by, some of these practitioners developed serious sickness karma and would fall asleep when they studied the Fa. That's when I started to look at this issue more seriously. I have been trying to view things in the human world differently since I began to practice Falun Dafa.

At first, I tried to reverse everything I saw and suppressed my human notions. Now I automatically think that what people consider good is actually bad. I noticed that many practitioners look at things the same way as non-practitioners, and I think that this is the fundamental thinking that practitioners need to change.

My understanding is that we should do everything as best we can, but our concepts of good and bad should be different from those of non-practitioners. If we do Dafa projects based on human concepts and notions, we are merely doing ordinary work. We need to change our fundamental thinking when we practice Dafa.

Practitioners Are Not the Ones Making Arrangements

What happened to these practitioners has exposed many hidden attachments among practitioners. Some have made long-term plans for their family and don't seem to realize the time for Fa-rectification is limited.

Sometimes we use the excuse of “we don't know when the Fa-rectification will be over” to cover our attachments. Others say they don't have to worry about anything else as long as they make arrangements for themselves and their family. And there are even those who don't believe in the existence of gods and Buddhas.

Many practitioners don't realize that we are not the ones making the arrangements, and the old forces can use this loophole to persecute us.

We can't always figure out the real reason we encounter tribulations. This is because we are covering our most fundamental attachments and using ordinary concepts of good and bad. As a result, we can only figure out what is preventing us from obtaining good things in the human world, which leads us to try to protect our self-interests.

We may think we are looking for our attachments, but we are actually protecting our fundamental attachments. And these are exactly the attachments we need to eliminate and let go of. One can tell by what a practitioner says and does what his attachments are.

Restricted by Human Thoughts

We are often restricted by human thoughts and cannot see the truth of the universe and the principles of the Fa when we study. We should rectify ourselves fundamentally and make sure our words and actions are not based on the same principles as non-practitioners.

Master said:

“If you want to see words in Zhuan Falun discussing the Fa-rectification things I'm telling you to do today, you'll never see them. As a cultivating Dafa disciple, a Dafa disciple of the Fa-rectification period, when it comes to what you should do, you can comprehend that from Zhuan Falun and you can grasp it from the Fa's truths. Not only can you comprehend things to that extent, regarding what to do specifically and how you can do well, as you continue to read the book more you'll be able to even see the things of the next stage—even they can be pointed out to you. And it doesn't stop there: things of even the final step can be pointed out to you. No matter how high a level you cultivate to, everything is in there. What a Dafa disciple should do is in there. (“Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference”)

I realized another level of what Master meant in this recently. When I study the Fa with no distracting thoughts, I understand what “studying the Fa” really means. In the past, I was able to see some Fa principles sparingly, but now I see a larger area. I also see Fa principles at three different levels simultaneously. I'm able to store questions about Fa principles in my mind and find the answers right away when I study the Fa.

When I made fundamental changes, I experienced noticeable transformation and attained this higher state. Studying the Fa well is not just reading the book. When we study the Fa well, it helps us do a better job saving sentient beings. Studying the Fa calmly does not mean finding a quiet place to study it, but it means reading it with a calm mind and heart. Quality is more important than quantity when we are studying.

I don't share with other practitioners when I enlighten to Fa principles that are beyond the surface meaning. This is not only because I want to cultivate my speech. It's just that, as soon as I say it, the words sound so plain and ordinary. Many of my cultivation states are not impressive, and that is because we need to become enlightened in the Fa and grow our gong solidly and quietly. This is the manifestation of our cultivation state and it cannot be achieved deliberately.

“Study the Fa and gain the Fa, Focus on how you study and cultivate, Let each and every thing be measured against the Fa. Only then, with that, is it actually cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation” from Hong Yin )

I have been cultivating more solidly over the past two years, and I have tried to let go of things that are human. Once I achieved that, I was able to experience the joy of cultivating in the Fa. As long as we follow Master's teachings, when we let go of an attachment, we will have breakthroughs in Fa study and gain more from the Fa. Master has truly given us the best!

This is my current understanding of changing our way of thinking. Please kindly point out anything that is incorrect.