Eliminating the Attachment to “Taking Credit for What Has Been Done by Others”

(Minghui.org) Let me begin with a story:

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Prince Chong Er became Duke Wen of Jin after 19 difficult years in exile. He repaid those who had helped him and stood by him in his hardship by rewarding them. The first-class merit was rewarded to those who followed him in exile. The second-class merit was rewarded to those who had offered help to him, and those who welcomed him back were rewarded with the third-class merit. The edict also stated: “If anyone has been left out, please come forward.”

Jie Zitui, a loyal follower of the duke, didn't go for the reward even though he had always been by the prince's side, and he had even sliced flesh off his leg to make meat soup for the prince when food was scarce during those difficult days. When people asked him why he refused to seek a reward, he said: “Duke Xian had nine sons, and Prince Chong Er was the most capable. It's Heaven's will that he became the ruler. However, some people mistook this as a result of their talent and merit.”

“One is called a thief is he steals things from others. For me, it is even more shameful to seek reward from the duke, as it is no different than taking credit for what has been done by others. How can I possibly take credit for Heaven's will? I would rather make straw shoes for the rest of my life than go and seek such rewards.” Later, Jie Zitui took his mother with him and lived in seclusion on a mountain

Jie Zitui won respect not only for his integrity, but more importantly for his faith in Heaven.

Everything in the Human World Unfolds According to the Will of the Divine

As cultivators, we should know even more clearly the principle that “Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master.” (Lecture One in Zhuan Falun)

Everything we have achieved in cultivation comes from the Fa and the boundless compassion of our revered Master. Dafa practitioners have participated in various Fa-validation projects, and when we do well, we tend to develop attachments of zealotry and showing off. We will never know just how much Master has given us and quietly protected us. We should therefore always be humble with gratitude and never take credit for what has been done by others – we should never regard the mighty power of Master and the Fa as our own ability.

I've noticed some human attachments among local fellow practitioners and after sharing with others about the issue of “taking credit for what has been done by others”, I realized that it's no accident that I heard and saw such attachments. There is also something I need to further enlighten to and rectify myself.

There have been many articles published on the Minghui website in regards to this issue; still, I feel that we haven't gained a clear understanding about it.

Through Fa study and reading sharing articles, I've come to the understanding that man was created by the divine, who also control everything in the human world. Only when what we do complies with the will of the divine, will we be rewarded with capability and wisdom and gods will help us succeed. If one goes against the will of the divine, one will ultimately fail. There is a saying from ancient times: Man proposes, God disposes.

Since all of man's accomplishments depend on the will of the divine, any arrogance or singing one's own praises is no less than taking credit for what has been done by others. That is placing oneself above the divine and validating oneself instead of Dafa.

Behavior of Taking Credit for What Has Been Done by Others

Boasting about what one has done for Dafa or fellow practitioners, intentionally or unintentionally, is really quite dangerous.

One major obstacle that still prevents us from forming one body is our human attachment to validating ourselves, and because we cannot let go of “self”, we discriminate against each other.

The following are some of my own attachments and what I have noticed among fellow practitioners:

1. Keeping a record of published articles I wrote or edited, thinking these articles were written or edited by me, and I have therefore played an important role. Keeping a list of the people I helped to withdraw from the CCP and its associated organizations, thinking I have helped them, so they were saved by me.

2. Often mentioning to others what I have done for Dafa and fellow practitioners, or which projects were started by me, or practitioners in which area were “helped up” by me.

3. When I see that fellow practitioners have improved and are in a better cultivation state, I think this is because they often study the Fa with me and share with me. When things were not going well and incidents occurred, I would think it was because they didn't listen to me and didn't know how to look within, or “they are the ones that don't have much to do with me”.

4. Placing myself above others. I always feel that I'm the one who is “directing” them and I have helped them improve; I have helped them understand the importance of Fa study and how to look inward, etc. I often sound like it was because of me that our local area and practitioners have achieved this or that, and if it weren't for me …...

When fellow practitioners pointed out my problems, I tried to cover them up and said: It's not like what you think. You don't know the situation......

In fact, when fellow practitioners praised me with a human heart, it served as a warning and we should rectify what is not righteous inside us. But more often than not, I failed to realize it and felt quite pleased instead … …

5. When I saw self-validation among practitioners, I failed to detect it and check within, and sometimes I would go along with it. When some practitioners started to look up to and became dependent on someone, I also thought that he had indeed enabled us to improve, and it was he who helped us resolve the fundamental problem; it was he who helped us change … …

In fact everything has been carefully arranged by Master and the Fa. That individual practitioner is only a cultivator and he also has human attachments yet to be relinquished. The way we treated him would only enlarge his attachments or even push him to the edge of danger.

6. We need to be clear-headed about a thought. For example, when I heard someone say, “After I got there, they all changed (for the better)”, I thought: How could they have changed because of you? I know that a practitioner went there many times and another practitioner has also put in a lot of effort. Besides, it's due to their own efforts and their steadfastness, as well as the help as one body with righteous thoughts that they changed. How can it possibly be your merit?

In the past, I didn't realize this thought was wrong, but I now understand that I was also trapped in the mentality of trying to figure out who was “taking credit for what has been done by others” and “who was right and who was wrong”, and I failed to attribute our improvement to Master and the Fa. Everything we have was given to us by Master and the Fa, and if it hadn't been for Master and the Fa, we would not have had anything, even our lives. How can we be talking about our own “merit”?

Letting Go of Human Attachments

We owe everything to Master and the mighty virtue of Dafa. No matter how well we are doing, we are only doing what we should do. In other words: It's our duty to do well, and if we fail to do well, then we are neglecting our duty.

Sometimes, when we fail to let go of our human attachments, we cause certain interference and discord to the body of practitioners and bring about much trouble to Master. I feel really ashamed whenever I think of this. Now I just want to make the best use of time to cultivate solidly and never dare to “toot my own horn” any more.

We must be humble and solidly do well what we should do, be alert and keep rectifying our thoughts and deeds, always place Master and the Fa in the first place and truly revere our Master and the Fa. This is also our duty as Dafa cultivators.

Please kindly point out anything inappropriate in this sharing.