(Minghui.org) After the Chinese Communist Party's 19th National Congress I hoped that the new Party leaders would arrest all the people who have persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. Every day, I searched for news about this on the Internet. Although this thought is not particularly strong, it kept surfacing now and then.
A few days ago, a practitioner said, “Many practitioners hope that the persecution will end now, and that our time to cultivate will be over. They hope that the new Party leaders will restore the reputation of Dafa. Even if they don't restore our reputation, we want an easy cultivation environment. Some practitioners have downloaded the new leaders' pictures on their phones, and some even wrote poems to praise them and they've posted them on social media.”
I know that practitioners in other areas are also having such thoughts. I believe that this is a serious issue, and it conflicts with the principles that a cultivator should follow.
We know that it has always been Master who decides when our cultivation will end. I looked inward for the reason why I long for the end. I found that the fundamental reason is selfishness. I've endured a lot of pressure over the last few years, and many hardships. I feel tired. If the persecution ended today, I could relax, even if many people still don't know the truth about Dafa.
I realized that all of these thoughts are selfish.
Master said,
“This undertaking has already come to the last stage, and I am extremely worried, yet you still do not treat it seriously. In the end, however, it will be too late even if you cry.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference”)
Yesterday, a practitioner said to me, “I know that I have not done well in my cultivation, and I'm afraid that it will end now. I still have so many attachments. If it ends now, I won't have any more chances to eliminate them. Where would I go?”
Another practitioner said, “I hope that Master will end it later, so that I have time to cultivate myself better, and save more people.”
When I compare myself to these practitioners, I feel that my level is really low.
When I saw that Minghui.org called for submissions for the online Fa conference, I wrote an article. I thought it would be published, because I felt that I'd cultivated well. I checked every day, but I didn't see my article. All the articles were great. When I compared what I wrote to the articles that were published, I realized that I still had a long way to go.
When I had this realization, I saw that I was very self-centered. I was so eager to validate myself! Is this how a cultivator should behave? I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate that “self”. By the end of the online conference, I felt that the “self” in my heart was almost completely gone. This was one of the biggest gains I got from the online conference.
Time is passing quickly. When I slack off a little bit, I may miss Fa-study, or doing the exercises, or sending forth righteous thoughts that day. Although I am busy every day, I don't do the three things enough, and I can see my human notions. Although I try my best to eliminate them, they still exist, and some of them are pretty serious, such as fear, lustful desire, or attachments to money. My cultivation level is so low, what will happen if the end really comes now?
It is now 2018. Time is going by too fast. Master has told us that the end of the Fa-rectification may come very soon.
Master said,
“This instant is precious beyond measure. Completing the last leg of this journey well is what's most magnificent.” (“Teaching the Fa in the City of Chicago” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference VII)
So, I remind myself to cultivate well and not long for the end. I must do my best to keep up with Fa-rectification. On the last leg of this journey, I must eliminate more human notions, and save more people.
Finally, let's read Master's teaching:
“Only those Dafa disciples who fall behind in Fa-study will display a lack of diligence and feel dejected during this period of time, even to the extent that they don't know how precious this time is and don't seize the time to do what Dafa disciples should do.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference IV)
This is my understanding. Please kindly correct me if I've said anything inappropriate.
Category: Improving Oneself
