(Clearwisdom.net) After studying Teacher’s article “What is a Dafa Disciple”, I suddenly had a deeper understanding about what Teacher has given us. Why should I complain about social injustice? Why should I have low self-esteem based on whether I'm thin or fat? What's the point of obsessing about my own appearance? I have a gold-inlaid bowl, what need is there to envy other people's bowls! In “What is a Dafa Disciple” Teacher said:
“Strictly speaking, what manifests in your life today is the karmic returns of whatever wrongs or good things you did in your previous lives.”
Isn’t that the answer to all problems in the ordinary world? Why should we complain? We should just let go of our attachments.
Teacher has given each of us the answer to the mystery. I know who I am, and because I know what I'm supposed to do, I also feel a heavy sense of responsibility. So we really don't have the luxury to do things at our leisure. We shouldn't spend our energy on everyday people's trivial things, nor should we take the time and energy to indulge in human sentiments or hobbies. We feel how time rapidly passes us by as we attend to trivial human matters, and in the end how much time does that leave us? We must use that time to complete our prehistoric vows! It is a sobering thought to realize that we are running out of time to save people. Even still, sometimes I still find myself embracing everyday people's things. But it was compassion that I was truly lacking, not everyday people's things. In the end, isn't it tiresome to carry around the same burdens as ordinary people? Thinking about my vow, and the karma Teacher is bearing for me, I felt ashamed!
At the Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference, Teacher said, “For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” But I often put this magical tool aside and instead focused on other things. Teacher told us that as Dafa disciples, we should study the Fa more. But I spent my spare time browsing websites on the internet. I know that my difficulty in cultivating a compassionate heart is due to insufficient Fa study. How quickly we improve is closely related to how solidly we can cultivate. One can't just fake it: how well we do is completely based on how much we can dedicate to our cultivation.
After studying the article, I suddenly understood why people are so hard to save! Actually, it is not cultivators who suffer the most, but those trapped in the maze – former heavenly beings. They suffered great pains throughout history just for this time in history, but they are unable to extricate themselves from the world of mortals. Such a pity! I remember a fellow practitioner said, “However much I must endure, I know that I am walking on the path to a divine world. But others are blocked by the old forces and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who have setup many tribulations in order to prevent them from being saved. As a result, they have become trapped in a world where people can't tell right from wrong and good from evil...” Fortunately for us, we have our great Teacher. With strong righteous thoughts, we do what Dafa disciples should do. Actually, it is our great Teacher who makes our righteous thoughts and righteous actions effective. Without Teacher, where would we be?
After I understood this, I no longer complained about how hard it is to save people, nor do I feel sorry for myself when I'm unable to convince my colleagues to quit the CPP and its affiliated organizations. Instead, I realize that in order to really move people, I need to cultivate greater compassion, so that my words are pure enough to move them. Thinking about my own behavior, I realized that in many ways I was just like an ordinary person. Though I was doing things for Dafa, my thinking remained at the level of an ordinary person.
There is not much time remaining. There are still so many colleagues that I haven't persuaded, and many people still lost in the maze. Fellow practitioners, let us all be diligent and move forward together. There are so many people in danger who are counting on us!