Everything Changed When I Let Go of Human Notions and Examined My Cultivation

(Minghui.org) Through something that happened to me recently, I understood what Master told us,

“When one is attached to nothingThe path underfoot is naturally smooth”(“Unimpeded,” Hong Yin II)

I also understood another principle of the Fa:

“...the appearance stems from the mind.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. X)

As a cultivator, my surroundings and my attachment to human conflicts are reflections of my cultivation state and xinxing. My environment will change when I truly cultivate ,and this process is validating the Fa.

I also understood that being too busy is an obstacle to aligning with the Fa. Being too busy can cause us to be trapped in a cycle: we enjoy being busy, and we mistakenly take doing things as cultivation. In the end we unintentionally validate ourselves, not the Fa. Thus, no matter how busy we are, we should always keep a calm head and clear mind, and knowingly cultivate and assimilate to the Fa. No matter how important something seems, our cultivation should always be placed first. Doing the three things and saving sentient beings complement our cultivation. Without solid cultivation, things often go contrary to our wishes. Looking inward should be our constant state of mind, not just when some troubles occur. In another words, we should actively assimilate to the Fa.

My husband is from Taiwan. He is kind and honest. He supported my cultivation quietly and helped with Dafa projects many times. He read Zhuan Falun a long time ago. I twice suggested that he practice Dafa as well, but both times he said, “It’s not time yet.”

Last year during the pandemic, my husband lost his job. It greatly impacted our financial situation, and he was in a bad mood. As his wife, I showed understanding. I tried to comfort him and not to complain or add any pressure on him. I paid attention to him and spent more time with him. Since I worked in the media, I often chatted with him about news and current affairs.

In the beginning, things were smooth. But after more than six months, it became a test of my xinxing. Sometimes, when I was too tired or too busy, my human notions and negative thoughts surfaced. Whenever this happened, my surroundings immediately changed, and I had trouble at work or with my husband. One day, when I was telling my husband about some news, he spoke in a bad tone and did not want to listen. I was disappointed and upset.

Then I came across Master’s words,

“Cultivation is a matter of a person’s realm of xinxing as well as how responsible he is about saving sentient beings and what attitude he has towards it.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. X)

“All human attachments and notions that interfere with validating the Fa and saving sentient beings must be removed.” (“The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III)

I looked inward and realized I needed to improve my cultivation.

I found that I was inconsiderate when I chatted with my husband. I did not consider his view or how much truth he could accept. I stated my opinion and tried to force my thoughts on him. I wanted him to agree that my opinion was right. I did not pay attention to my own cultivation.

Master told us,

“Some people express that they think they’re quite pure, when in fact that’s not the case; they have all kinds of extraneous, distracting thoughts and many things that were formed postnatally. Even what you consider to be a very simple thought might—from its starting point to its cause, or the things that accompany it—be impure.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference”)

Eliminating Subtle CCP Influence

When I thought about it, I found that my habit of forcing my views on other people in fact comes from Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. There’s an old Chinese saying, “Think twice before taking action” and “What you do not wish for yourself, do not impose on others.” Forcing one’s idea on others is against the moral standards of traditional Chinese culture.

Master also told us,

“Any work in Dafa is intended for people to obtain the Fa and for disciples to improve themselves. Anything other than these two points is meaningless.” (“Clearheadedness,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

I began to examine what I said and did, starting with the smallest details. Through this process, I came to understand how human notions affected my behavior and surroundings.

As I studied the Fa, I came to understand what it means to truly believe in Master and the Fa. It’s not how many Dafa books I read or how many Dafa projects I’m involved in. It’s whether I measure myself with the standard of the Fa and how much I change myself to align with the Fa. As Master said,

“Let each and every thingbe measured against the Fa.Only then, with that,is it actually cultivation.”(“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)

A true cultivator is confident but not conceited. One’s confidence comes from the righteous belief obtained from the Fa, which leads to inner peace and being calm, considerate, and rational when interacting with people. A conceited person is eager to express himself, tends to draw conclusions, does things for the sake of doing things, is irrational, and often insists on what he thinks is right. In fact, the former is validating the Fa, while the latter is validating oneself.

Truly Aligning with the Fa

After I understood this, I rearranged my schedule and divided my time among projects, my day job, daily life, and my cultivation. I became calmer, more clearheaded, and more considerate. I could also better absorb the meaning when reading the Fa. My human notions diminished.

Surprisingly, my surroundings changed too. Last December, my husband started to read Zhuan Falun. He has since read the book three times. He also started to read Master’s new lectures.

Meanwhile, our family income increased significantly. It was even better than what we had before the pandemic.

No words can express my gratitude toward Master’s constant care and protection. Dafa is amazing!

Another incident also showed me the notions and habits from CCP culture that obstruct our cultivation and validating of the Fa.

During the U.S. general election, I felt strong pressure and disturbances in my dimensional field. I was unable to calm down when I did the exercises or sent righteous thoughts. Irrational negative thoughts occupied my mind. I had trouble sleeping and was unable to get up for morning exercises. I felt pain in various places in my body. One day, while I was meditating, I suddenly had difficulty breathing. It felt like I was suffocating. I had to stop doing the exercise and open a window to get some oxygen. I felt like I was dying.

Fortunately, my mind was clear at that moment. “I will only follow the path Master arranged for me,” I said to the approaching death, “You cannot disturb me. You are nothing.” With this thought, I finished the fifth exercise.

Through this experience I understood that in cultivation one cannot “clasp the Buddha’s feet when danger arises.” Only with sustained, solid cultivation can one overcome serious tests.

I looked inward for why this happened to me. It was definitely not random. At the beginning, I thought I was too busy. My seeking perfection when doing things may have provided a loophole.

One day, I suddenly thought, “Maybe it’s a hint telling me I should change some thought or human notion?” The following two incidents showed me my notions formed by CCP culture were hindering my cultivation. CCP elements look for practitioners’ loopholes. If one does not truly cultivate oneself, one may be unintentionally following the old forces’ arrangement.

One day, the built-in microwave oven in my rented home stopped working. The landlord told us to buy a new one and said the cost would be deducted from our rent. While my husband was writing down the total cost of the new microwave and installation fee, I asked him to add a note saying, “Tip not included.” My husband asked why I wanted to add that. I said it was fine if we paid the tip, but I wanted the landlord to know. My husband wrote down what I said. He then asked, “Why do you want to announce to everyone every little good thing you do?”

At that moment, a sentence from Master appeared in my head,

“...absent is the attachment of reporting accomplishments with the mentality of “If I don’t tell people, how will they know”; and for the most part they are free of the Party culture’s logic.” (“Mature,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III)

I later realized it was the CCP’s conception of equality and egalitarianism. It nourishes a combative mentality, jealousy, and pursuit of personal gain.

Rectifying My Cultivation

The following incident told me the notion also nourished the thoughts of differentiating.

One day while I gave a private Chinese language lesson, a teenage boy who was a smart student and had a good grasp of the language, made several mistakes in grammar. When I corrected him, he had a very bad attitude. I got upset, though I did not show it in front of the student.

Why did this happen? Why was I upset? There must be something here for me to cultivate. Afterwards, I looked inward. I found it was a thought of differentiating, derived from the concept of “classes” in communist culture. I felt I was the teacher and they were the students. I labeled students in my mind as “good students,” “well-mannered,” “not working hard,” “does not like to study,” etc. I disliked those students who did not meet my expectations based on my human notions.

I decided to improve myself. It was not easy at the beginning. Negative thoughts kept emerging, such as, “Don’t give more advice. It’s not my business whether you do well.” “If I speak more, he will be angry at me. I better take care of myself.” When I tried to send righteous thoughts, I found my mind was not clear. I was unable to sleep well at night, and I felt constantly tired. My teaching job made me very busy. My body was in pain here and there...

I felt powerless. I wanted to yell at someone. Yet, I knew this was not me.

When I could not sleep at night, I forced myself to get up and do exercises. I required myself to let go of all notions and put cultivation first, no matter how tired I was.

I said sincerely to my husband, “You are right. I still have many bad habits from CCP culture. They seem so natural to me that I don’t even realize them. In the future, please remind me whenever you notice my bad habits.” I was determined to eliminate these bad thoughts and habits and cultivate myself unconditionally.

I required myself to only do the right thing and do things right. I measured myself against the standard of the Fa. If I see other people’s problems, I still point them out, but I keep my thoughts righteous truthful and sincere, without human notions and sentimentality.

Master taught us,

“I have not only taught you Dafa, but have also left you my demeanor. While working, your tone of voice, your kindheartedness, and your reasoning can change a person’s heart, whereas commands never could!” (“Clearheadedness,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

Whenever I had time, I memorized poems from Hong Yin, hand-copied Zhuan Falun, sent righteous thoughts, and did the exercises. I also took opportunities I had in my job to tell my colleagues and students’ parents about Falun Dafa.

Within two weeks, I noticed changes in both my body and my surroundings.

One day, when I was sending righteous thoughts, all kinds of thoughts appeared in my mind. I said to the thoughts, “You go ahead. I will watch you think.”

All of the sudden, time seemed to freeze. Those thoughts disappeared instantly. From that moment, my mind became calm. I also slept much better at night.

Another day while I was doing the first set of exercises, I noticed my thoughts wandering. My main consciousness was immediately alert, and right away my focus came back to the exercise. I heard Master’s voice:

“Bodhisattva Touching the Lotus” (“The Falun Gong Practice System,” Chapter IV, Falun Gong)

While my movements followed Master’s voice, I felt extremely tall, as if I were standing on a lotus flower and colorful clouds were floating underneath. It was so wonderful, beyond what my words can describe.

My surroundings also improved. My landlord sent us a message thanking us. When I was teaching the teenage boy who had a bad attitude previously, I paid extra attention to not mixing in sentimentality, no matter how the student behaved. Soon his attitude changed and our lessons became efficient and pleasant.

My physical condition improved as well. My body returned to normal. I experienced the joy of letting go of human notions and sentimentality. I became relaxed, and my mind opened up more.

I came to understand that Dafa is harmonizing and all-encompassing. When I cultivate myself well, all beings in my surroundings present their positive side.

It’s just as Master said,

“And human notions change,The degenerate things purged,Brightness now shines forth.”(“Born Anew,” Hong Yin)

I understood that my cultivation is a process of aligning myself with the Fa, as well as saving sentient being and validating the Fa in the meantime.

One day when I was doing the exercises, Master’s words came to my mind:

“So, as Dafa disciples go about validating the Fa and saving sentient beings, their attitude, state of mind, and manner of doing things are all critical, for such things can determine what changes take place in this world.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX)