Ridding Ourselves of Postnatal Notions and Attachments

(Minghui.org) Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, said:

“...other than a person’s innate purity and innocence, all notions are acquired postnatally and are not a person’s actual self.” (“For Whom do You Exist?” Essentials for Further Advancement)

My understanding is that postnatal notions and attachments are easiest to be triggered during three situations as described below.

During Fa-Study

Master repeatedly emphasizes that Dafa practitioners must have a calm mind while studying the Fa so that we won't be distracted. During Fa-study, any thoughts that try to distract us from concentrating on what we are reading are not ours and should be repealed immediately.

Such thoughts are human notions and attachments, and they should not be allowed to keep evolving and developing, no matter how wonderful the scene may appear. If we immediately refocus on Fa-study, we are repelling and getting rid of those notions.

Sometimes, when one is in the middle of a tribulation and can't focus on the Fa while reading silently, it may help to read the Fa aloud.

During Meditation

During the early Fa lectures, Master taught us, many times, how the thoughts that make us unable to calm down during meditation are actually not our own. Occasionally, we can look at the thought and identify what it really is, but we should not let it evolve. We should immediately come back to meditation.

When we focus on listening to the exercise music, we are actually repelling extraneous thoughts.

Master said:

“I know a Buddhist monk who understands this facet of cultivation. He is the abbot of a temple and has many tasks, but once he sits down [to meditate] he separates himself from those things. He’s sure not to think of them, and that is an ability.” (Falun Gong, 7th Translation Edition)

During Conflict

Master requires us to maintain our xinxing during any situation. When conflicts arise, and our attachments and postnatal notions are stirred, if we maintain our xinxing the karma can be transformed and our xinxing improved.

Master said:

“What makes Falun Dafa so powerful is that we integrate together all three of the universe’s highest qualities—zhen, shan, and ren—and work on them all together” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun, translated by US & UK Practitioners)

We must also pay special attention to cultivating our compassion and thinking of others first. During our everyday life, we need to keep a calm mind and prevent all kinds of postnatal notions from taking over our thinking and evolving such thoughts.

Master said:

“From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others—or even future generations—along with Dafa’s eternal stability.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature,” Essentials for Further Advancement)