(Clearwisdom.net) In the process of cultivation, whenever my thoughts are pure, I can immediately feel the wonder of being selfless, and I can at that very moment discover that everything is so brilliant, so accurate and so clear, as Master has told us.
"The reason that you cannot achieve tranquility is that your mind is not empty and you have not reached that high a level, which can only be achieved step by step. It goes hand in hand with the level of your improvement. When you give up attachments, your level will be upgraded, and your ability to concentrate will also improve. If you want to achieve tranquility through some techniques or methods, I would call this searching for external help." "In genuine cultivation practice one must cultivate the heart: Only when you upgrade your xinxing can you attain a clear and clean mind, and a state free of intention (wuwei). Only when your xinxing is upgraded can you assimilate to the characteristic of the universe and remove different human desires, attachments, and other bad things. Only then will you be able to abandon the bad things in yourself and ascend." (Zhuan Falun)
When we are truly clear and pure deep down in our hearts, only then can we truly see that all things in the human world are so insignificant, and our attachments are also so insignificant and trivial. However, if we indulge in them, then we are just as weak and pitiful, and we will be hopelessly drawn to them. We will be tightly controlled by them and feel agonized by any bit of loss. When we have a fleeting thought and our minds become even slightly impure, we are influenced and we will again not be able to see through things. Our thinking will again become clouded and be buried under and interfered with by crude impurities.
When we see through this and thoroughly understand it from the perspective of the Fa, then we are naturally able to let go of every attachment without pain, without holding back. There is no reluctance, and our letting-go will be well grounded and thorough. However, when we have not truly understood things on the basis of the Fa, and when our minds are not completely pure and calm, under such circumstances, we will definitely not be able to let go of our attachments with an easy heart and willingly, and we are bound to feel the pain from holding back and endure the pain reluctantly. If we melt ourselves into the Fa during cultivation, we will suddenly be able to break through attachments and impurities to reach a state of righteous enlightenment, free from intent, and achieve serenity; whereas if we sink into the mentality of everyday people and intentionally push ourselves to try to get rid of our attachments, then the process will take a long time, show poor results, and we will also find ourselves terribly exhausted.
Why is it that sometimes we feel like we're suffering so much and so tired? The reason is that we did not listen to Master, but rather, unconsciously tried to guide our cultivation according to the human notions that we had developed in the past. However, "The Buddha Fa is the most profound; among all the theories in the world, it is the most intricate and extraordinary science. The Buddha Fa is an insight into all mysteries. It encompasses everything and leaves out nothing---from particles and molecules to the universe, from the even smaller to the even greater" ("Lunyu" from Zhuan Falun). Human notions are the reason that people cannot extricate themselves from the maze. How can these notions guide our cultivation and help cultivators elevate?
The power of the Fa that Master taught us is boundless and the cultivation way Master showed us is most precise and effective: "It is able to truly distinguish what is righteous from evil, good from bad, and eliminate all misconceptions while providing what is correct" (Zhuan Falun). It is only that we are too set in our ways and unwilling to change our conventional thinking, and we are always stubbornly sticking to our own human notions with a rudimentary field of vision.
If we regard the Fa as the Teacher and rely on Master for the most direct way of cultivation, directly cultivate the heart, and directly assimilate to the universal characteristics of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," then what knots in our hearts can't we untie? What postnatal obstacles can't we break away from? We cannot get rid of those things carried by our minds at the microscopic level. These are not merely matters at one or two layers, but involve layers upon layers of cosmic universes. We are weighed down with such immensely huge entities, but yet we try to break away from them with crude, limited and backward human notions. How could we possibly achieve that?
Let's change our notions and let go of our old ways. The Buddha Fa can eliminate all impurities, as Master Li tells us. 'The Buddha Fa enables humankind to understand the immeasurable and boundless world." (Zhuan Falun) The Buddha Fa explains everything comprehensively and thoroughly.
When we have righteous enlightenment, we see wonders; when we have righteous enlightenment, we feel unrestrained; when we have righteous enlightenment, we are closely assimilated to the Fa.
