(Minghui.org) As practitioners, we often talk about validating Dafa, and we say that many things we do in our cultivation are ways to validate Dafa. Because we say it so often, we sometimes forget the meaning and the purpose of validating Dafa, and we forget that it is Dafa we are supposed to validate, not ourselves.
When our hearts and minds were relatively pure initially, we were able to complete specific tasks or overcome tribulations and save sentient beings. After we achieve certain results or reach certain levels, the manifestation of the attachment to “self” can start to appear to varying degrees. We may think that our efforts, or our contributions, or our righteous thoughts have led to these successful outcomes. We may think that we should take credit for these results because of our mighty virtue. We may think we are capable and smart, or have cultivated well, or have strong righteous thoughts, etc. Therefore we feel good about ourselves and may believe that we are better than other practitioners. We are no longer humble and no longer grateful to Master and Dafa, and even less grateful to other practitioners who have helped and collaborated with us in the past.
When we think we are more important than Dafa, we become arrogant and self-centered and may experience demonic interference from our own minds. Gradually, we judge others by our own standards; we become complacent and cannot tolerate criticism. Some people even despise the Minghui website and dare to disrupt Dafa.
It is not a small issue when a cultivator accentuates him/herself. This “self” is embedded in all planes of the person. It is rooted in selfishness. The purpose of “self” is to fulfill one's desires, be it for fame or self-interest. Of course, such self-interests may not be limited to worldly desires—it could be self-interests of different planes. It can disguise itself, leading us to believe that what we are doing is validating the Fa. In fact, this “self” has become a big obstacle on our path of cultivation. That person's irrational behavior and thinking are the result of the old forces manipulating his/her thinking in order to destroy the cultivator.
In the past, I often wondered why the old forces insisted on meddling and interfering with Fa-rectification even after Master had warned them repeatedly. I wondered why there were always some people disrupting Dafa and why they were so irrational. I came to the realization that their big problem is that they could not let go of “self.” Fundamentally, they do not realize how great Master and Dafa are, they do not believe that only Master and Dafa can really save the sentient beings of the old cosmos; they do not understand that, no matter how great, how powerful, or how wise they think they themselves are, there is nothing they can do to escape the final fate of destruction. They do not know that, whatever abilities they have, those abilities are gifts from Master. He has borne and sacrificed so much for us!
“Self” is the reason these practitioners have lost their true wisdom. Being self-centered and having demonic interference also prevent them from studying the Fa with calm hearts, making it difficult for them to assimilate the Fa.
There are many manifestations of the attachment to “self.” From what I see, one of the most prominent is not respecting and valuing the Minghui website, which Master has approved on many occasions.
Many years ago, a practitioner said to me, “Do not blindly believe Minghui.” I was stunned by that. I knew she had submitted quite a few articles to Minghui, but many did not get published and she felt resentful and underappreciated. I had read some of her articles and found them aggressive and intense, plus there were issues with structure. In general, I did not think they were suitable for publishing. But because she was a writer before she took up the practice of Dafa, and some practitioners had praised her extravagantly, it was hard for her to look within and be receptive when others pointed out her issues.
I was very concerned for her. I felt that those words were not spoken by her true self, and that many evil factors were interfering with her already. This practitioner went through many tribulations later. I do not know if she realized that the attachment to self was a main reason for her tribulations.
It is my understanding that our fellow practitioners who work on Minghui are also cultivators. It is true that their work on Minghui has an element of cultivation. However, I do know they always ask for Master's direction on important issues. Moreover, the website is very important and serious; it plays such an important role. Master has always paid attention to it and would correct it immediately if there were any major issue. The editors at Minghui are also given the necessary abilities and wisdom to undertake such roles. The Minghui website has been targeted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since it was first established, but the CCP has never succeeded in bringing it down.
Master has repeatedly praised the Minghui website.
“That’s especially so for Minghui, as it has done excellently in this regard. It has handled things rock-solidly all along, and no major problems have come about; its development overall has been healthy. And in the course of all this, just by being problem-free you have dealt the evil its greatest blow.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of Minghui’s Founding,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. X)
“The steadiness of Minghui, its state of being that’s impervious to interference, and its timely reporting—these things at first made the wicked CCP hate it with a vengeance. And now, it is simply petrified of it.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of Minghui’s Founding,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. X)
“Indeed, however the state of Dafa disciples’ cultivation may be, there will be some who have traveled the path well and some who have traveled it poorly. But whatever the case, Minghui has really achieved a downright outstanding effect with its timely reporting. This makes Minghui something outstanding, and the students who are involved are extraordinary.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of Minghui’s Founding,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. X)
“When Dafa disciples are in the most difficult of circumstances and need to hear a [supportive] voice, Minghui.org is there for them. So think about how extraordinary your work is. You really should cherish it! However hard it may be to do, that is your majestic virtue.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.,” Team Yellow Translation)
I believe that Master and the guardian gods protect the Minghui website with the mighty power and wisdom of Dafa.
In my many years of submitting articles to the website, I have experienced many miracles. For example, if an article contains serious mistakes, it often is not published. When an article was changed by the editors before it was published, I would later discover that whatever the editors had changed were exactly the parts that had mistakes. Many times I wondered how the editors knew, being on the other side of the globe. Could it be explained logically? Is it not because Master and gods are watching and protecting it?
We should not view the Minghui website from an everyday person's perspective. For Dafa disciples, it is a sacred website. It is the attachment to “self” that keeps us from treating Minghui accordingly and from not facing our human notions from the perspective of cultivation. At such times, the old forces enlarge one's attachments and notions to try to separate the practitioner from the one-body of Dafa disciples. Therefore, one must recognize and be on guard and must eliminate the attachment to “self” with righteous thoughts.
No one from the old cosmos can obtain everlasting life in the new cosmos by validating oneself. That's because that “self” was created according to the characteristic of formation, stasis, degeneration, and destruction of the old cosmos. Its limited wisdom and ability cannot change one's ultimate fate of destruction. When one is validating self, one is destroying oneself.
Only Dafa can change the fate of the old cosmos and bring eternal life to those who conform to Dafa. When a cultivator is validating “self,” the beings behind the “self” and other elements can only bring tribulations to the person. But when we let go of “self” and other selfish notions that are hard to detect, we can then validate Dafa.
Category: Improving Oneself
