(Clearwisdom.net) I was deeply moved recently after reading an experience-sharing article titled "Eliminating the Selfish Mentality of Exploiting Dafa" on Minghui (the Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net).

I unexpectedly found that I also had hidden thoughts of exploiting Dafa, which were manifested as always wanting to gain something in human society through cultivation. Although I was not attached to reaching Consummation, I always wished to lead a smooth life, finish my Dafa work smoothly, enjoy good health, upgrade my xinxing (mind or heart nature, moral character) rapidly, etc. I felt that achieving these goals was guaranteed after my cultivation in Dafa. After several years of cultivation practice, my xinxing has been upgraded and my personality has become better. My relationship with others, my family and work environment, and my quality of life have all noticeably improved. I often felt pleased with myself because my living environment underwent favorable changes and my relationships with others improved.

While I kept upgrading my xinxing during my cultivation, I realized that my hidden attachment of exploiting Dafa for various personal gains in human society was increasingly exposed. Behind my good feelings there were many forms of complacency of which I was unaware; I felt complacent with the huge changes that my Dafa cultivation had brought to me. In fact, these good feelings had already generated very serious attachments. I had failed to treat the sacred Fa-rectification period cultivation practice with the most sincere and purest heart.

Looking back at my own situation when I initially began cultivating in Dafa, I had many serious and obvious attachments which manifested in human society, such as always having inharmonious relationships and encountering conflicts with others, both at home and at work.

However, at that time, I had a very sincere and pure heart towards Dafa, and my only goal of cultivation was to return to my original true self. After I gradually relinquished many attachments, I felt that it would be easy to get along with others in society, and that I could easily create a harmonious living environment. However, under these conditions I developed a new attachment; I mistakenly considered this sacred cultivation practice as a human skill in ordinary society. Therefore I was unable to correctly position myself in relation to Dafa and Master.

This manifested as my motivation to cultivate became weaker and weaker, I developed a strong attachment to seeking self-comfort and I felt a little numb in participating in Dafa activities, whether they were group Fa study or truth-clarification efforts, and I felt better doing some Dafa work that could make better use of my capabilities. I mistakenly considered a cultivator's xinxing improvement during cultivation to be the same as an ordinary person's improvement of mental quality and personality. I indulged myself in various personal gains in human society which originated from my xinxing improvement. Sometimes I in turn took these personal gains as evidence of my improvement in cultivation, and thus became intoxicated with self-satisfaction.

I now realize that my cultivation is not solid. As some aspects of my xinxing were upgraded, they were re-contaminated in human society, which distorted the pure heart I had in my early cultivation. I mistakenly took the personal gains brought by my cultivation in human society as the goal in improving myself, and as being more important than cultivation. I thus forgot the fundamental goal of my cultivation. The concept of "going home" became weaker and weaker, and I unknowingly mistook cultivation as something very profitable. These attachments were so hidden that I usually could not find them, although I felt something was wrong. But I did not know what was wrong. Now I realize that the fundamental cause is that the goal of my cultivation was impure. From the bottom of my heart, I did not want to temper myself in Dafa, and on the contrary, I tried to obtain various personal gains by exploiting Dafa. How awful this kind of mentality is! With this dirty mentality, however diligent I was in learning Dafa and clarifying the truth, it was only superficial. How could I truly upgrade myself this way?

A while ago in a Dafa project group, there was a fellow practitioner who had the attachments of seeking fame, showing off his accomplishments, etc. We all clearly saw his attachments and felt bad. Was I in fact, the same as this person? Although my attachments were different, the mentality of exploiting Dafa for personal gain was similar. As Fa rectification nears its final stage, we should pay even more attention to purifying ourselves, and should dig out and examine our own goals of cultivation, ensure we have a pure and clean heart towards Dafa, and rectify ourselves as diligently as possible.

Cultivation practice should be a process of forsaking superficial formalities and looking at one's heart. No matter how many years we have cultivated, how much Dafa work we have done, how important were the roles we played in doing Dafa work, and how much we have sacrificed in truth clarification, we cannot capitalize on these and compare ourselves to others, and still less develop complacency within ourselves. Otherwise, we could be in a very dangerous situation, going further and further away from the Fa-rectification period cultivation requirements.

From this, I recalled a story discussing the issue of one's purity in their desire to cultivate. The story goes as follows: A butcher ran into two people who were cultivating Buddhahood. The two people said that they were on their way to the West to see the Buddha, and tried to convince the butcher to go with them. The butcher said, "I'm just too filthy and not worthy. But please, take my sincere heart with you." So the butcher took out his own heart and gave it to the two people. The two people who were cultivating Buddhahood agreed and took his heart to the West. After they came into the Buddha's presence, the Buddha pointed to a giant pot filled with boiling water and asked them if they dared to jump in. The two people both felt a lot of hesitation, so they thought: Maybe it would be best to throw that heart into the pot and see what happens? So they threw the butcher's heart into the pot, and it became a golden Buddha. Seeing this, the two people immediately jumped in, too. The outcome was that they became two pieces of fried dough, the reflection of their inner being's realm.

Not even a bit of duplicity can be carried into cultivation, which has very strict xinxing requirements and does not allow even a bit of divergence from these requirements. The heart towards Dafa is particularly important. I wrote this article hoping to encourage fellow practitioners. Let us use our purest and most sincere hearts to treat Dafa and this unprecedented cultivation opportunity.