(Minghui.org) Every once in a while, I ask myself, “What is cultivation?” It seems similar to Sakyamuni's path during his 49 years of cultivation. He continuously discovered that his previous understandings were wrong.
Misunderstood Reality of Cultivation
When I first started to cultivate, I thought I was a cultivator. When Dafa was slandered, I thought I was a cultivator, because I continued to practice. During the persecution, I thought I was a cultivator, because I did not give up even when facing arrest and detention.
But after all these years, I found that I did not understand the meaning of cultivation.
Master said:
“Be it the TV station, the Epoch Times, or other media companies, from now on, change the state you are in. You are not acting like cultivators! I brought up these matters long ago. When are you going to do something about it? When are you going to do something about it? Time is running out.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference”)
I did not realize that Master's words were addressed to me. My thoughts were too far off when compared to a true cultivator. Yes, I studied the Fa, did the exercises, and worked hard on some Dafa projects. But this did not guarantee that I reached the standard for a Dafa practitioner.
I did not become a person who lives for others only. I could see that selfishness occupied my dimension, which affected my thoughts and notions. If something touched my notions, I felt that I was right. Because of this, sometimes I argued or even fought with other practitioners. How could I align myself with the Fa if I always felt I was right? I used the Fa to measure other people. Was I a cultivator at all?
I had not thought about this issue until I started to write this article. However I had a wish in my heart: I wanted to be a true cultivator, a selfless person in the new universe.
I began to change. In my Dafa work, I reminded myself to be considerate and help other people. When others were of a different opinion, I tried to hold back on my remarks. When I was angry, I knew that I was wrong regardless of what happened.
The starting point for me to become a true cultivator is to consider others first.
Boundless Tolerance and Compassion of Dafa
Since the first day of doing the sitting exercise, I thought we did not have to sit for the full hour, because somehow I recalled that Master said to sit as long as one can.
A few days ago, when I was doing the sitting meditation, I suddenly understood that Master meant we should sit as long as possible.
I then felt the boundless tolerance and compassion of Dafa, which allows practitioners at different levels to cultivate. There is no set standard for all.
From this I also understood that during our team cooperation, we should be tolerant of different opinions, so that all of us can understand and respect each other. The standard for work can be the same, but we should treat others with compassion.
Result Different if I Would Have Done Better
“He's right,And I'm wrong,” (“Who's Right, Who's Wrong”, Hong Yin III)
For a long time, I did not fully understand Master's words. Recently, because of several incidents, I indeed saw that I was wrong.
At times, it appeared that other practitioners did not do certain things well and thus created bad results. However, when I carefully thought about how I could have done better, I found that the results would have been different if I did better on my part.
While working together on a project, my collaborator kept making mistakes. I could not find a way to solve the problem. Then one day, while sending righteous thoughts, Master let me see things from a different angle. Although this practitioner kept making mistakes, in fact, among the 15 errors, he tried his best and fixed 10 of them. But my sight was only focused on the 5 that he did not do well on. In a god's eyes, he was a great cultivator who did all he could.
On another occasion, I used my standard to measure a fellow practitioner. I judged him as wrong. I came to understand later that the practitioner's act was a reflection of our larger cultivation environment. As Master said:
“Nobody should blame others for it, as everyone has added fuel to the flame.” (Zhuan Falun)
Putting Down Notion of Right or Wrong
During a conversation with fellow practitioners, a practitioner had some negative thoughts. I shared my thoughts on the topic, but the practitioner did not accept my view. I knew that part of the reason was because I had a competitive mentality.
Then another practitioner shared her view. When she spoke, it was like a spring rain, moistening and nourishing everything in my heart.
I saw the difference, and I understood the Fa more. It was not important how reasonable my words seemed to be. What was important was my purpose when I spoke and how pure my heart was. When that practitioner spoke, she was modest and sincere. She had no notion of who was right or wrong. Because she was aligned with the Fa, the Fa dissolved all negative elements.
Master let me see, in contrast, what strong notions I had. I paid so much attention to right or wrong on the surface. I ignored the purity of my heart, which actually determines the penetrative power of my words. In other words, what I said was for the sake of “expressing myself” instead of “doing good for others.”
One day, some practitioners thought the drought in the local area was caused by “dividers” among the practitioners. I said I did not think I had any division from others. A practitioner then said a “divider” in English could mean “disagreement.” I suddenly understood that when I was critical of the others, I created a “division.”
Master told me to get rid of my notions - all the notions I accumulated, from this life, and from past lives. None of those notions were the truth but were based on my ego. They were obstacles stopping me from going to higher levels.
Unbreakable Body
Once I had an argument with a fellow practitioner. That same night I had a dream. In the dream, a fight between two practitioners created a demon of lust, which disturbed another practitioner who witnessed the fight. From this I understood it was not a small matter when I lost my temper. It might create hardships among practitioners as well.
One Saturday morning, all salespersons were meeting in the office. I was not a salesperson, but I came to Portsmouth Square to do the exercises. During the exercises, I thought that it was a pity that those in sales could not be here to validate the Fa through doing the exercises in public. As soon as this thought appeared, I felt that there was a thread connecting me and those in the meeting.
I immediately enlightened: I was not only representing myself. I was here to represent all media practitioners as one body. Each individual does not have to do everything, but each of us needs to reach the standard for doing the things he or she does. In this way, we become an unbreakable one body.
Re-Positioning Myself
At my current stage, I understand that we should assimilate ourselves to Dafa unconditionally. Yet I found myself not doing so all the time.
A non-practitioner once visited our office and a practitioner read the Fa with him. When I saw he kept falling asleep, I criticized him harshly. Later the person said he will not learn Dafa anymore and the practitioner was angry with me. I was stunned. I then realized that scolding people was not that far from breeding demons in ones mind. I did not behave like a cultivator.
Another symptom was having my own notions when studying the Fa. I accepted the Fa when it seemed to align with my notions, otherwise I just skipped it. I did not assimilate myself to the Fa unconditionally.
When I looked at my attitude towards Dafa projects, I discovered that I subconsciously had the thought of using Dafa to make my work easier. I wanted to use cultivation to replace my having to learn the professional knowledge needed for the work.
I knew Dafa is good. I did not mean to use Dafa to achieve what I needed. When I could not get rid of certain attachments, I calmed myself and looked within. That is when I discovered that I did not position myself correctly with the Fa.
Category: Improving Oneself
