Always Look Inward

(Clearwisdom.net) I have cultivated by the principles of Falun Dafa for more than a year. Sometimes I have overcome tribulations well, but I also easily slip into zealotry, and I have the attachment of showing off. I held my family members, friends, and colleagues to a cultivator's standard or Teacher's Fa. Although I did not say anything to them about this, I looked down on their behaviors that were caused by their attachments. I viewed the people I knew as if how they behaved had nothing to do with me and my cultivation, and I was self-righteous about being a practitioner.

My mentality was so far from Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance! Yet, I fell into this state without realizing it. People who knew me did not think I had become a better person; they just thought I had become disinterested in politics and material pursuits. Later I realized that some people, although they do not cultivate, have good qualities that I do not have, and I need to cultivate to gain those qualities. When my show-off attachment arose, I thought that I had higher xinxing and that I saw deeper than others. My words and actions in those instances hurt the people around me. They did not see Dafa's beauty, but they did experience my criticism.

I have realized that I should keep looking inward if I want to improve myself. I should not feel complacent or proud about my cultivation. Because I can take some issues lightly and have participated in many Dafa activities, I thought I had attained a high level in cultivation, and that's not right.

Furthermore, there are different levels in cultivation. As we improve ourselves level by level, the standards we must meet also increase. So, I think no matter how long we cultivate, only by unconditionally looking inward will we upgrade ourselves. Treating the people around us well is a natural state resulting from cultivation. When we rid ourselves of attachments, people we interact with will naturally feel the beauty of Dafa and we will naturally fulfill our roles in validating the Fa. In addition, more people will be able to truly accept Dafa. We should use our benevolence when we think about others. If my mind has thoughts such as, "Why don't they cultivate themselves? Why are they so lost? Why can't they see the universal law? Their attachments are so ridiculous," I should remind myself that my show-off attachment is tricking me, and I should be humble around others.

There are many principles that I have not enlightened to, or that I took a long time to finally enlighten to. Reading fellow practitioners' articles on the Clearwisdom website to find one's own shortcomings is a good way to improve. There are also hints from Teacher. As long as we can look inward, we will realize our own shortcomings.