(Clearwisdom.net) Master said:
"When I teach the Fa, I often bring up the issue of jealousy. Why is this? It is because jealousy is displayed very strongly in China. It is so strong that it has become natural and one does not even feel it." (Lecture Seven from Zhuan Falun 2000 translation version)
Just as Master said, I have a strong attachment to jealousy. I developed an introverted character and a feeling of inferiority. In addition, I am inarticulate and aggressive. Therefore, the manifestation of jealousy is more obscure, strong, long-lasting, and persistent.
Then, what is jealousy? It is just as Master said:
"Jealous types look down upon others and don't allow others to surpass them. When they see someone more capable than they, their minds lose all perspective, they find it unbearable, and they deny the fact." (Chapter III in Falun Gong, 4th Translation Edition)
"If someone's good news is made public, others will right away become very jealous. Some people are afraid of mentioning their awards or some benefits from their workplaces or elsewhere, lest others feel uneasy upon learning the news. Westerners call it 'Oriental jealousy' or 'Asian jealousy.'... This jealousy is somehow related to the absolute egalitarianism that was once practiced: After all, if the sky falls, everyone should die together; everyone should have an equal share if there is something good; everyone should have an equal wage increase, regardless of the percentage of the raise.... Because the two temperaments are different in mindset, they bring about different consequences when doing things. If a Chinese person is praised by his supervisor or given some good things, others' minds will be uneasy." ("Lecture Seven" from Zhuan Falun)
In everyday human society, jealousy has been displayed very prominently, is all-pervasive, and seems to be present everywhere. Strong jealousy makes people narrow-minded and intolerant. It also makes people irrational and abnormal. After reading the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, I realized how obvious Jiang's jealousy is and just how wicked and destructive it is. The Nine Commentaries- Part 5 states: "The CCP was extremely jealous of the way Falun Gong was spread and managed" "When the founder of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi, who was born an ordinary citizen, gave a lecture, the lecture hall would be filled with professors, experts and Chinese students studying abroad. Many people with doctorate or masters degrees flew thousands of miles to listen to his lectures. When Mr. Li lectured eloquently on the stage for several hours, he did it without using any notes, and afterwards the lectures were transcribed and made into a book to be published. All these things were unbearable to Jiang Zemin, who is vain, jealous and petty."
Everyday people exhibit jealousy over personal fame, profit, and sentimentality. Therefore, they have conflicts with, hurt, and fight with one another. Jiang Zemin, who is stupid, wicked, and lies, is jealous of Falun Dafa and Master Li Hongzhi, and afraid of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," so he hates Falun Gong. Therefore, this clown was taken advantaged of by the old forces and wicked beings, and used to carry out the unprecedented and most evil persecution of Dafa and Dafa disciples.
I have a strong jealousy of fellow practitioners. It is so strong that it has become natural and I do not even feel it. For example, I am jealous of practitioners when they accomplish important Dafa work and I am too far behind to catch up with them. I am jealous of the practitioners who obtained the Fa early and cultivated well and have great experiences. When I know that some practitioners attended Master's Lectures I am envious and jealous of them. Over the past few years, because I did not relinquish fame, self-interest and sentimentality in cultivation, I did not cooperate well with fellow practitioners and did not do the three things well. Thus, I have run into the tribulations for a long time.
In recent years, the practitioners in our region have not cooperated well. Some practitioners in one region separated into several groups and the incessant, complex conflicts were severe for a long time. After watching Master's "Fa Teaching Given to the Australian Practitioners," we were greatly shocked and found huge disparities and severe issues among us.
Over the past year, I have studied the Fa with a calm mind and relentlessly looked within. As a result, I am gradually seeing myself clearly. Jealousy makes me selfish, resentful, narrow-minded, and prone to being swayed by considerations of gain and loss. I complain that I am treated unjustly and then I feel inferior and depressed and denigrate myself. In addition, I do not believe in Master and Dafa at all and even complain about Master. The evil demon of jealousy leads me to the brink of danger.
After studying Master's "Further Elimination of Attachments" (from Essentials for Further Advancement), I more throughly understand Master's words: "Some people really will leave you disappointed by not fulfilling their potential" and "...don't want to leave a single person behind" in "Fa Teaching Given to the Australian Practitioners." Master's boundless benevolence has deeply moved me, and Master's earnest advice has made me feel too ashamed to show my face.
Recalling that painful experience, I am grateful that Master's "heavy hammer" woke me up. I must see clearly the roots of my jealousy and all kinds of manifestations of this jealousy and its relationship to other attachments from the point of view of the Fa. Then I can eliminate jealousy completely. I realize that endless human desire and the competitive mentality and jealousy interact with and strengthen one another, so it is difficult to let them go. I understand that the heart that insists on comparing leads to jealousy and a feeling of inferiority. Not eliminating the attachment to competition can easily lead to jealousy.
As a cultivator, it is really terrible to regard personal cultivation as the most important thing, to care so much about the levels and Consummation in cultivation, and to pursue reaching higher levels. It will lead to demonic interference from one's own mind. If this cultivator cannot achieve his goal and despairs, he will drop down, even though he has already reached a certain level. The gigantic trials and tribulations he has incurred will be unendurable and will destroy him. In fact, these are the excessive thoughts of beings in delusion.
Fundamentally, all human feelings are the manifestations of a cultivator's fundamental attachment--being attached to self--and come from the fundamental attribute of the old cosmos, which is "selfishness." As Master's disciples, we should listen to Master's words, let go of human attachments, and seize the day to save sentient beings. As Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, we must validate "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," and forge Dafa in the new cosmos. As great enlightened beings in the new cosmos, we must exhibit the attributes of the new cosmos--selflessness and altruism.
