(Minghui.org) My human attachments were exposed when I recently worked with a fellow practitioner on legal cases to rescue imprisoned Falun Dafa practitioners.
I hadn't worked on such cases in the past 10 years, so I humbly asked the practitioner for her opinion. In reality, I felt I was more capable than she was because 10 years ago I had a lot of success in such cases and had more experience dealing with lawyers.
But over time, the practitioner bluntly pointed out my mistakes, blamed me for not being thoughtful, and for not cooperating with her. I did not agree with her. We each wanted to do things our own way and have the other follow our lead.
I pondered why problems occurred between us. I found the issue was not whether the matter itself was right or wrong. Rather, friction between us was caused by my attachments. Master said,
“There is sacrifice in forbearance.” (“Non-Omission,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I realized that we are removing our attachments when we are able to forbear a given situation. The reason the practitioner treated me unkindly was because I was unwilling to give up an attachment.
I began to look inward. I found I was attached to the friendship between us. We had become friends because we often worked together, dined, and had tea together. I also felt dependent on her. She is intelligent, and I often asked her to accompany me to meet with the lawyers. I was also used to her flattering me since she was respectful to me. In addition, the old forces interfered with us and created a division between us.
Master said,
“It is extremely dangerous to add anything human to cultivation practice.” (“Digging out the roots,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I decided to remove my attachment to our friendship. I also understood that I did not need to depend on her, since I have Master Li, who will give me everything I need.
Master said,
“Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
I became confident again.
After I found my attachments, I calmly explained my thoughts to her. She was receptive and told me that she would assist me in the future with practitioner rescue cases.
Our conflict was successfully resolved. I truly experienced the wonder of looking inward.
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Category: Improving Oneself
