(Clearwisdom.net) Many practitioners say they cannot find their attachments and so feel the weight of cultivation. I would like to share some techniques I use to find my attachments.
1. The best and most fundamental way is to measure oneself by the Fa. Many practitioners do not know how to do this. I think the essential reason is that they do not think that Teacher's Fa directly addresses issues pertaining to them. I put myself in the Fa and compare myself to the example given in the Fa teaching. If I see a correlation, I look further for the cause of this current state. Very often my own attachments are the cause.
For instance, Teacher told us in Zhuan Falun:
"Let me tell a story. In the book Investiture of the Gods, Shen Gongbao found Jiang Ziya to be both old and incompetent. But the Primitive God of Heaven asked Jiang Ziya to confer titles on immortals. Shen Gongbao felt in his heart that it was unfair: 'Why is he asked to confer titles on immortals? You see how capable I am. After my head is cut off, I can put it back on my shoulders. Why wasn't I asked to confer titles on immortals?' He was so jealous that he always caused troubles for Jiang Ziya." ("Jealousy," Lecture 7 of "Zhuan Falun")
Here is my personal understanding. Shen Gongbao was a cultivator. I, too, am a cultivator. Do I have an attachment of branding others "both old and incompetent?" Yes, I do. I have always considered a certain fellow practitioner too displeasing to the eye and clumsy. This must be an attachment.
Teacher says,
"If someone said something bad about her, she would be upset. This person's attachments to fame and self-interest were all developed. She considered herself better than others and extraordinary." ("Reverse Cultivation and Gong Borrowing," Lecture 3 of Zhuan Falun)
The teaching here points out one of my attachments. Do I consider myself better than others and extraordinary? Yes, I do. The person mentioned in the teaching developed an attachment due to her enlightenment. I developed my attachment because I successfully accomplish things.
Teacher says,
"Let me tell everyone that the animal actually has its own intention, and it would not give you anything without a reason." ("Spirit or Animal Possession," Lecture 3 of Zhuan Falun)
Do I fit the same description and help others out of selfish intentions? Do I help others conditionally and for my own gains?
This is the first technique to finding attachments, namely, measuring every deed and every action with the Fa.
2. Take the initiative to share with fellow practitioners. Once in a while I ask fellow practitioners if they have noticed any of my attachments or shortcomings recently and how could I improve. There is a saying in ancient China, "Bystanders see more than players." Many attachments have existed for a long time and have become natural and thus are hard to perceive. Others may see them more clearly. Those wise, ancient Chinese emperors were all humble and open to admonition. I take the initiative to ask for suggestions and keep the channel wide open.
3. Use others as a mirror to find my own shortcomings. In my opinion, no conflict is accidental and everything I encounter has something to do with my attachments. Therefore, I use everything that happens as a reminder to look inward. Let me illustrate with examples.
When I see two people fighting, I ask myself if I have the competitive mentality myself.
When I see my relatives showing excessive human feelings and emotions, I ask myself if I am the same.
When fellow practitioners show me the attachment of lust, I ask myself if I have the attachment of lust,, too and also if I have the attachment of repugnance and other derived attachments.
When I see ordinary people afraid to read and distribute the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, I ask myself if I have the attachment of fear, which manifests in other areas. When I see ordinary people not care about the Nine Commentaries and not cherish their own lives, I ask myself if I have devoted my whole heart and effort to offering people salvation and whether or not I care enough about people.
This is the third method I use to find attachments. In this very complex world, we should utilize everything and everyone around us as mirrors to look inside ourselves.
4. Teacher said:
"I also want to tell you that your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others--or even future generations--along with Dafa's eternal stability." ("Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature," Essentials for Further Advancement)
My understanding focuses on "egotism and selfishness." All behavior in the human world is derived from egotism and selfishness. We practitioners should directly address the issue of egotism and selfishness and measure ourselves in terms of egotism and selfishness according to the Fa. When we do not like what fellow practitioners are saying, isn't that out of egotism and selfishness? When we try to clarify the truth by arguing with people about who is right and whose argument is superior, isn't that out of egotism and selfishness? When we are stubborn, claiming we are right, isn't that out of egotism and selfishness? When our bodies ache and suffer, isn't that painful feeling related to egotism and selfishness? The examples can go on and on. I think all these are human attachments and we should directly address these issues as coming out of egotism and selfishness.
5. I am a practitioner and was forced to leave home to avoid persecution. When I was persecuted at the beginning, I had to flee my home at night and became homeless and impoverished. My cultivation is in the state of gradual enlightenment. At the time, I asked the old forces, "Why did you force me to lose everything I had?" The old forces answered, "You have attachments to all of these things. If you have an attachment to something, we will make you lose it. Since you are attached to ease and the comforts of life, we will make you lose your comfortable life; since you are attached to money, we will make you lose all your money; since you are attached to human emotions, we will rid you of the emotions by arresting and locking up your elder sister and her husband; since you fear that your Dafa books will be confiscated, we will rob you of all your books; since you are afraid of leaving us any excuses, we will intentionally arrange for all your truth-clarifying materials to be confiscated." I eliminated all these beings of the old forces because I could not let them arrange my improvement at the cost of damaging the Fa. However, it provided me a passive way to look inside for attachments. In other words, when the xinxing test came, I was forced to ask myself what I could lose and what I have lost.
Let me illustrate with examples. When fellow practitioners talked about my shortcomings to others and made me lose my good reputation and prestige among practitioners, I asked myself, "Is it because I am attached to fame and self-interest?" When fellow practitioners harassed half of the local practitioners to talk to me about my cultivation shortcomings, I asked myself, "Is it because I am afraid of being criticized by others?" When the illusion came and I was facing the risk of losing my life, I asked myself, "Is it because I am still attached to this human world and attached to my human life?"
Of course, the old forces are not qualified to test Dafa disciples. However, that does not mean we do not need to measure ourselves with the Fa and cultivate according to the Fa. Correcting our shortcomings is the requirement of the Fa-rectification.
Another reason for us not being able to find our human attachments is that we have a critical weak point, namely that we dare not face, touch upon, or admit the fact that we do have attachments. A practitioner once said, "I do not have any attachments." Really? If you do not have attachments, how come there is something that can cause you to show attachments?
Another issue is that it will be another attachment if you look for attachments just for the sake of resolving the problem at hand. Therefore, even though you could find the attachment and solve the current problem, new problems might surface because of the attachment to solving problems.
Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once said, "Using the brass as mirror, one can adjust one's clothes and hat; use other people as a mirror, one can know loss and gain; use history as a mirror, one can predict the rise and fall of a society." Teacher wrote in the article "Further Elimination of Attachments" in Essentials for Further Advancement, "In being saved, only when you seek righteousness can your attachments be eliminated." I have realized that in order to truly get rid of our attachments, we must study the Fa more and study the Fa well. Only in this way can we have correct thoughts to guide us and can we make judgments based on the Fa about what is right and wrong, good and bad.
The above are my own personal understandings based on my limited level of cultivation. All quotes from Teacher's Fa have deeper and further meanings and connotations. My shallow understanding is just for fellow practitioners' reference.
