A 180-Degree Turn

(Minghui.org) Many attachments that I had failed to discover surfaced as I improved and understood the teachings based on rationality. They are all rooted deeply in the selfish mind.

Teacher said,

“We see that in this universe a human life is not created in ordinary human society; the creation of one’s actual life is in the space of the universe. Because there are many substances of various kinds in this universe, such substances can, through their interactions, produce life. In other words, a person’s earliest life comes from the universe. The space of the universe is benevolent to begin with and embodies the characteristic of Zhen-Shan-Ren. At birth, one is assimilated to the characteristic of the universe. Yet as the number of lives increases, a collective form of social relations develops in which some people may develop selfishness and gradually their level will drop. If they cannot stay at this level, they must drop down further. At that level, however, they may again become not so good and not be able to stay there, either. They will continue to descend further until, in the end, they reach this level of human beings.” (Zhuan Falun)

We fell down here from a most beautiful world because we became selfish. Anything we do, we do it to protect this selfishness. We want to protect ourselves and shield our interests from harm. This is how we lowered ourselves here. I decided to eliminate it so that I could return to my original nature.

At night I dreamed about sitting in a spacious bright room, where Teacher was giving a lecture. I sat in the front, listening very attentively. Because I was tall, the practitioners sitting behind me couldn't see Teacher. They asked if I could sit in the back. I was very much into the lecture and didn't want to be disturbed.

I then gave it a second thought, “Because of me these practitioners' couldn't learn effectively. Am I not too selfish?” I got up and walked toward the back. As soon as I sat down in the back, everyone in the classroom was turned 180 degrees and Teacher was lecturing in the back of the room. It turned out that I was still sitting in the front, even closer to Teacher than before. I then woke up.

As I reflected on the dream, I remembered what Teacher said,

“True improvements come from letting go, not from gaining.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.”)

“In other words, what you lose is something bad. Thus, you can return to your original, true self. So what do you gain? The improvement of your level. Eventually you achieve Righteous Fruition and complete cultivation, solving the fundamental issue.” (Zhuan Falun)