Removing the Attachment of Craftiness

(Minghui.org) After I became a Falun Dafa practitioner most people considered me an honest and sincere person. But a friend once told me, “You are good for the most part, except for being quite crafty.”

I thought she was joking, so I didn't pay attention to her comment. That was until I was reading Teacher’s lecture Teaching the Fa at the Conference in New Zealand one day and came across this passage:

“Sometimes when we are among everyday people our minds become quite calculating. When others offend you slightly or say things you don’t like even a little bit, you immediately become alert and search for things in your mind to protect yourself and to use as a counter-attack. That’s entirely not the state of a cultivator.” (Teaching the Fa at the Conference in New Zealand)

I looked inward based on the Fa and realized that the above passage exactly related to my problem.

When talking to and working with others, I had formed a habit of unintentionally analyzing other people’s intentions to figure out whether they were opposed to me. If I sensed anything I did not like, I would speak to them in an indirect manner to protect myself. Moreover, I would make a mental note of the people whom I regarded as bad or difficult to get along with, and I would keep my distance from them.

I appeared to have stayed quiet, but I had built many mental barriers separating myself from others to protect myself from harm. Unknowingly, these invisible barriers also separated me from my true self and hid my true nature. Master used my friend’s comment to help me realize my attachment.

I became tired of being crafty, but I also thought that cunning words and behavior were part of social conduct in China. This put me at ease a little, and I did not feel there was anything wrong with my behavior.

My attachment of craftiness also came into play during interactions with fellow practitioners. For example, when I noticed a practitioner's behavior was not in accordance with the Fa, I did not have the compassion to point it out to them.

Outsiders often have a clearer view of certain issues than the people involved. I would rather say things indirectly to protect myself from offending others. As a result, my indirect comments did not help people and sometimes confused them.

Springing from a selfish mindset of trying to safeguard one's personal interests, the attachment of craftiness is an obstacle in cultivation and must be removed. Now that I have realized the attachment, I must get rid of it.

Whenever I sense the attachment, I try to suppress it and try to stop the behavior that it triggers. When interacting with others I no longer analyze their intentions. Regardless of what they want from me, I treat them sincerely. I now have less stray thoughts and have become more relaxed and open-minded.