Looking Inward and Dealing With Preconceived Notions

(Minghui.org) In many of the Fa lectures Teacher has mentioned the importance of looking inward and finding notions and attachments, and then eliminating them.

Every practitioner faces many kinds of tribulations, which could cause a lot of confusion. While we all know to look inward, it is not easy to identify the fundamental cause of a problem. If it is not identified and removed, the problem won't go away. It can be miserable and frustrating to be in this situation.

Teacher said:

“Amidst tribulations, it is very difficult for a student to see the cause of a matter; but it’s not that it is impossible. When he calms his mind and evaluates things with Dafa, he will be able to see the nature of the matter. “(“Rationality” in Essentials for Further Advancement II)

Human society is very complex. The Chinese Communist Party is putting practitioners under tremendous pressure through the ongoing persecution, and every human being has emotions, which might interfere with our reasoning. In addition, practitioners have family, work or society issues to deal with everyday. Hence, it is not that easy to identify the fundamental cause of a problem. Indeed, many practitioners are working very hard on their cultivation, but their progress remains quite slow.

A few days ago, a schoolmate told me that a government official wanted him to pass a message to me. The message was that Falun Gong truth-clarification materials could be found all over the place. To me, this meant that I should be more careful. My immediate reaction was that people knew about what I was doing. I questioned myself, “Should I be more careful?” My questioning had raised the issue of fear inside me and I was emotionally affected by the government official's message.

I continued to analyze the situation for a few days. A thought went through my mind: “I have checked on the Internet and found that many more cases of persecution have been reported. This could be the reason why they wanted to alert me.”

I was experiencing a dilemma. On one hand, I wanted to study the Fa diligently, send forth righteous thoughts and tell people about Falun Gong. On the other hand, I was fearful that I might get caught because the authorities knew about my activities.

Holding an Incorrect Frame of Mind

After studying the Fa diligently and reading many articles on the Minghui website, I believe that I had finally come up with a solution. I realized that my situation was not caused by outside events, but was based on my attachment to fear. Also, I held the erroneous notion that the more truth-clarification materials I delivered, the more risk I would be taking.

Actually, the more good you do, the better off you should be, because this is what Teacher has arranged for us. My old thinking was in agreement with the old forces' arrangements. When Jesus wanted to save more people, he ended up being crucified—part of the old forces' arrangement. The new Fa law we are following is not like that. The more people we save, the wider will be our cultivation path and things can only get better for us.

I now understand that the fundamental cause of my problem is fear and my erroneous notion. When I was doing what was best for sentient beings, I was worrying about getting caught instead of feeling good about it. I held the wrong frame of mind from the very beginning.

During those unsettling days, I also quarreled with my wife and tried to blame her for having problems. The blame, of course, caused further complications for me. Now, I understand that all of the problems were caused by my own state of mind.

As a result, everything I did was with fear, because my understanding was not correct.

Teacher said:

“In dealing with relevant, important matters, if a life can really assess things without any preconceived notions, then this person is truly able to take charge of himself. This clearheadedness is wisdom, and it is different from what average people call “intelligence.” (“For Whom do You Exist?” in Essentials for Further Advancement)

I was not able to see things clearly because I held the attachment of fear.

Through the message I received from my schoolmate, I found the source of my many problems. I hope that I can thoroughly eliminate the attachment to fear and assess problems without any preconceived notions. This is the only way to correctly understand a problem and to cultivate to consummation.