(Clearwisdom.net) Recently I visited another practitioner. Upon seeing me, she said, "You are busy, yet you still make your own steamed buns." I knew she was trying to criticize me for spending precious time on making the dough from scratch and cooking the steamed buns. I immediately put up my guard and protested, "As a matter of fact, since you can make a big batch at a time that lasts for several days, it doesn't take any longer to make steamed buns than to buy them." She then tried to persuade me that it was better to buy them than to make them myself. I disagreed and continued to protest. I left without resolving our disagreement.

When I got back home, I continued to assure myself that it really wasn't any quicker to buy the buns. However, the crux of the matter wasn't related to buying buns or making it. It was Teacher who made use of the fellow practitioner to tell me that I should not be attached to the taste of food, as I thought the buns I made tasted much better than the buns you can buy. Instead, I should concentrate on how to validate the Fa and save more sentient beings. When I realized this, I was glad that I came to understand the meaning of my fellow practitioner's words.

Whenever we hear any opposing views or criticism, it is usually due to some attachments we have. These views or criticism are usually exaggerated in the situation or may not entirely agree with the facts on the surface level. If we judge things based on our human notions, and use that to decide whether something is right or wrong, it is very likely that the more we think about it, the more we believe we are right. In fact, when we feel wronged, we will become even angrier over the situation. Actually, it is then that the attachment has been exposed, and it is time to eliminate it. But, when we cover it up and protect it with our human notions, we are nourishing and nurturing the attachment. We talk about "searching inside" and "looking inward", but actually we often search outside ourselves for solutions. Time after time, we continually push aside opportunities for us to upgrade our Xinxing. If we cannot improve ourselves, our power of compassion is then not as powerful. In turn, we would not have mighty power to eliminate evil and save sentient beings. As a result, Teacher has to endure more and suffer more hardships for us, while the old forces laugh at us and take advantage of our attachments.

Regardless of whether the situation on the surface looks right or wrong when a conflict arises, we should immediately look inward to see what attachment of ours it points to. We need to make a habit of looking inside ourselves whenever situations reveal attachments for us to remove.