(Clearwisdom.net) Today, almost no Dafa practitioner would think that he or she was not steadfast in believing in Teacher and Dafa. We all think that it is only the small things that are left to cultivate away. I have thought this way as well, but as my cultivation progresses, I become more and more aware that I have not given Teacher and Dafa one hundred percent of my faith.
It is obvious that Dafa practitioners are very clear about the big issues: they all believe in the existence of gods; that Teacher is the sole savior of the cosmos; and that Dafa is the utmost truth, and our purpose for coming to this world. However, when it comes to the smaller issues, practitioners' actions are often like those of everyday people, and not based on Dafa's requirement.
For example, Teacher said: "practicing cultivation is the best form of rest." (Lecture at the first Conference in North America) Some practitioners, however, won't do the exercises when they see that it's too late, fearing that they may not get enough rest if they do the exercises. Teacher said that "Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful," but some practitioners regard sending forth righteous thoughts as an everyday routine and don't really think much of it because they cannot see the effect they are having. They know that Teacher said that he would rearrange his disciples' course of life, yet they still rack their brains trying to come up with a plan of their own. They know that Teacher's Law Bodies are with every Dafa practitioner at all times, but they still indulge themselves in their wild imagining, forgetting that Teacher is there right beside them watching. The most notable manifestation is that they don't believe that they have been pushed to their highest positions by Teacher and that they should do what Dafa practitioners should do. Instead, they always think that their level is not high enough and that they do not have the mighty power or the ability to do everything strictly according to Dafa. In actuality they are hoping that they can bear fewer responsibilities and lead a more comfortable life.
Cultivation is about making progress bit by bit. If we only believe in remote goals and ignore the tiny things going on around us, we do not really have faith in Teacher and Dafa. Some people take Teacher's lectures as ordinary theories, believing that each paragraph only illuminates a single point, and it is good enough to just grasp the central meaning. They don't regard every word of Teacher's as the heavenly Fa that must be followed. When they didn't do well and didn't encounter serious problems, they thought it was because they had done quite well, and therefore slacken in their cultivation. They fail to realize that Teacher bears practitioners' karma. Teacher bears his disciples' karma out of his great mercy and compassion so that His disciples can have the opportunity to improve.
Of course, the reasons why practitioners do not have one hundred percent belief and one hundred percent faith in Teacher and Dafa is because they still have human mentalities. If they could absolutely and one hundred percent believe in Dafa, they might have already achieved consummation. Therefore, to believe in Teacher and Dafa or not is a test that exists every minute on our path of cultivation. I hope that, under any circumstances, fellow practitioners can have firm faith in Teacher and Dafa. I recently realized that believing in Teacher and Dafa is the most righteous thought of all. Let's remember Teacher's words: "This is a principle of the universe: Believe first, see later."(Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Canada (1999))
