In the past, when I read our Teacher's words, "Believing comes first, and seeing comes next," my understanding was that it was impossible to talk about seeing anything [supernormal] in cultivation without completely believing in Dafa itself. Now, I have a stronger feeling that nothing is more important in cultivation than "believing." Teacher once mentioned that Jesus taught disciples, "Whoever believes in me will obtain eternal life." I heard a story about a Dafa practitioner with relatively little education. He said his firm determination in Dafa came from one thing: following Master's words. I pondered this for a long time.
There was a TV show about Boddhidarma (a famous Buddhist cultivator from India in ancient China), in which he cured a young girl of leprosy. Later on, she regained her courage after learning the meaning of life from Boddhidarma, her Master. However, I really take exception to what she did afterwards. Because she was full of gratitude for Boddhidarma, she became his disciple. But when demons produced troubles for Boddhidarma by fabricating false charges and rumors about him, the girl hesitated, sometimes believing in Boddhidarma, and sometimes believing the demons. One of Boddhidarma's younger disciples, by contrast, never wavered in his belief, no matter how the demons spoke ill of his master.
After watching this show, I said to my family, "That girl's enlightenment quality is poor, but that younger disciple's is great." Meanwhile, I was angry at the girl because she could so easily give credence to the demons' lies.
I began to associate this story with Dafa practitioners. In the past, when authorities had a positive attitude towards Dafa, people entered the gate of cultivation and gained health for themselves and harmony for their families; but, when an evil person in power slandered Dafa with his media control, some people actually believed the groundless fabrications. I really feel a deep pity for them.
One day, I became tired after writing envelopes to send out truth-clarifying information so I stopped to practice the meditation and enjoy the Dafa music of "Pu Du" and "Ji Shi." As I listened to the music, I couldn't help but shed tears. In my sadness (I cannot find a better word to describe the feeling), I saw blood and wounds all over our Teacher's body. A practitioner once told me, "Teacher has endured so much that his hair has turned gray." After that, I became even sadder, trying my best not to burst into tears. I repeatedly said to myself, "We shouldn't be like this, we shouldn't be like this..." Our Teacher has endured pain beyond imagination for us. What excuses will we still find if we relax our efforts in cultivation?
The above are my personal views--please point out anything that may be improper.
