(Clearwisdom.net) We have learned from the Fa that all thoughts not Fa-based are arrangements the old forces have made. Those thoughts are from the old universe and formed in everyday society. There are attachments behind those thoughts. We need to recognize and eliminate them.
I would like to cite several examples
Pure Mind
Practitioner A made beautiful copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. She told herself to do the best.
One day she said to me, "The copies I made are so beautiful, but I don't know who will get them and hand them out to the public. If the practitioner(s) don't have pure hearts when they hand these out, will the copies offer salvation to sentient beings?" I told her not to think like that. "You should let go of this thought and any worry. The copies you made are beautiful, but you are adding unrighteous thoughts to them. You are also subjecting practitioners to an unrighteous field. How can the copies you make then offer people salvation? You should add righteous thoughts to the copies you made, let your energy help fellow practitioners who are distributing those copies, let your energy help the sentient beings who are going to read the copies." She agreed and corrected her unrighteous thoughts.
Belief
We have learned from the Fa that throughout our cultivation journey, there will always be tests to challenge our belief in Master and the Fa. Practitioner B had some incorrect thoughts while correcting Chinese characters in Zhuan Falun. She said, "We have changed some of them once already, but now we have to change them back to what they were." She was angry but immediately realized it was her demon nature making her angry.
She spoke to the demon nature, "You made me have that bad thought. I will eliminate you. I will also eliminate the thoughts that make me complain about correcting the words." But the thought was not purged. Moreover, she had bad thoughts about Master and the Fa. She kept sending righteous thoughts to eliminate the demons and told them, "You are not me, though you are in my mind. I won't let you trick me. My true self believes in Master. Master asked me to correct the characters in Zhuan Falun, so I did, and Master asked me to change some of the words back to what they were. I will do it. I will do whatever Master asks me to do!"
It took Practitioner B half a day to completely eliminate those bad thoughts, and in the process ridding herself of the demon nature that made her have these angry thoughts. She then felt physically and mentally at ease.
Master's words appeared in her mind:
"In the Fa-rectification, there's a principle: however I handle something, it's righteous. Remember these words from Master: however I handle something is righteous, and those who are dealt with are always wrong. (Applause) The reason is, that's the choice of the cosmos, the choice of the future." ("Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")
Getting Rid of One's Ego
When other practitioners praised me I felt good about myself and told myself, "You are good." I knew that it was demonic interference from my own mind, based on my attachments to recognition and showing off. When I saw that others were doing well, I felt somewhat uncomfortable. I knew it was jealousy. I tried to eliminate those thoughts but eventually discovered that my ego was still strong.
Our egos, our desire for recognition and reputation, coupled with demonic interference, make us have these thoughts: I am good; I need to compete with others; jealousy; I feel uncomfortable because my suggestions were not acted on; others don't measure up and I feel uncomfortable around them; I need to try to change others and measure them against the Fa; I prefer praise and avoid criticism.
Many attachments are ego-based. Selfishness is the fundamental reason that the old universe is going to crash. We Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period must get rid of selfishness. Actually, everything of ours is from the Fa. We cannot achieve anything without Master. "Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master." (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun, 2000 translation version) After I realized this, I purged any selfishness I was able to detect.
The Basis
Though we might do similar things, sometimes our basis and starting points are different.
For example, sometimes I thought I needed to read the Fa more; otherwise, I might be persecuted. Reading the Fa for that reason was based on self-protection. I needed to purge that thought. Fa study is for assimilation into the Fa, for cultivation, and for offering sentient beings salvation.
Another example: sometimes I thought, "No matter how scary it is, I need to explain the truth, otherwise I cannot reach consummation." This again was based on selfishness. I needed to get rid of that thought, because the purpose of our truth clarification efforts is to help Master rectify the Fa and offer people salvation.
The third example: sometimes I thought, "I need to send righteous thought more intensely or else I will be persecuted." This again was based on self-protection. I needed to eliminate this mindset, because the purpose of sending righteous thoughts is to protect sentient beings from the evil and offer more of them salvation.
The last example: sometimes I thought, "I need to look inward or else I will be persecuted." In this case, I admitted the arrangement by the old forces. Looking inward is the way we cultivate. It is what Master taught us. Every cultivator should do it unconditionally.
Two Paths
It appeared that Practitioner C did the three things very well. He clarified the truth to dozens of people every day. But one day he was arrested. Practitioner D also appeared to have done the three things very well, but he got sick and finally died.
Certain practitioners were moved because these two practitioners were persecuted, although they had done very well. Many non-practitioners also had misunderstandings.
According to practitioners who knew the two well, Practitioner C had a short temper and was attached to lust while Practitioner D had fear and often complained about other practitioners.
The reason for their plight seems to be that they were condoning the old forces, and not because of their truth clarification efforts. Superficially viewed, they studied the Fa but had not assimilated into the Fa and had not corrected their thoughts. They took how many things they had done as cultivation. They followed their attachments.
We Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period must have a clear understanding that we are faced with two paths--one arranged by Master, on which we will help Master to offer sentient beings salvation, and the other one arranged by the old forces, who take personal cultivation as an excuse to persecute practitioners and call the persecution a "test."
If we run into difficulties, get "sick," or get arrested, it means that we haven't cultivated well. The old forces have thus taken advantage of our loopholes. In those cases, we took the path the old forces arranged.
If that happens, we should not think that the tribulations are arranged by our Master to raise our xinxing and that suffering is the way to eliminate karma. We should not acknowledge the persecution. We should deny the old forces' arrangements. We will correct ourselves but should not allow the old forces to persecute us. We should send intense righteous thoughts and then look inward for our attachments. Looking inward for our loopholes is not admitting old forces' persecution but is the way to cultivate ourselves.
Correcting Ourselves
We are particles of Dafa. We should not only study the Fa every day, but also assimilate to the Fa. We should think of the Fa whenever we run into difficulties. We should measure our thoughts and actions against the Fa and purge the incorrect thoughts which do not conform to the Fa. If we don't correct them but follow them, they will be stronger and control us. Then, the old forces will have the excuse to persecute us, because we have followed their arrangement. So, we should follow the Fa at every moment.
If every particle of Dafa can look inward at every moment, then the whole body will be able to look inward, and we will cooperate well. We will fully use our divine powers to eliminate the evil and our truth clarification efforts will have the best effect. The sentient beings will see the divine power of the Fa, and we will save people.
November 13, 2007
