Cultivating in Our Day-to-Day Life

(Clearwisdom.net) I was buried in household chores all day long. Oftentimes when I hurried to finish these tasks, I had the wish to get them done as soon as possible so that I could spend time studying the Fa and doing the three things. My attachment to finishing these tasks was so strong that sometimes when it was time to send forth righteous thoughts, I couldn't stop what I was doing. The result was that my work seemed to pile up and never ended. The more I did, the more work seemed to accumulate. Finally, when I finished everything, I was exhausted and extremely sleepy. The next day, it was the same routine all over again. Fortunately, I had some flexible time at work, allowing me to study the Fa. Through studying the Fa, I realized that there was a problem with my cultivation.

We cultivate among everyday people. The jobs we do or the lives we lead are not cultivation itself, yet our cultivation state is reflected through them. If we can use the Fa to measure these things, then we are actually cultivating. Many times, we look at doing the three things or look inward only when problems occur during cultivation.

The fact of the matter is that our cultivation is interwoven throughout everything we do. Take the household chores for instance. If I kept a kind heart, an attitude of doing without pursuing, then I would be able to actively cultivate myself. Yet oftentimes, I was huffing and puffing in anger. How much Fa-study time had been wasted! Had I never been married, all this trouble would never exist! Why is my husband so lazy? How could he claim to be a practitioner while I did all the work? I must have been blind to pick him as my husband. At other times I would think: Hurry up! It doesn't have to be perfect. I need to spend time studying the Fa. While doing the chores, I allowed myself to flounder among a jumble of thoughts. Hatred, jealousy and the desire for comfort all surfaced. I failed to improve my xinxing. These thoughts were the true manifestation of my xinxing. Saving time for Fa study had become an excuse to hide my attachments. The same thing happened while I was making truth clarification materials. Seeing how many Fa-rectification activities I could accomplish became the way I measured how diligently I cultivated.

Of course the more we clarify the truth, the better. However, we must base those actions upon a pure heart of saving sentient beings. Our xinxing is being constantly tested during the process of making and distributing these informational materials, while at the same time coordinating well with fellow practitioners.

A few days ago, I heard that two practitioners were arrested while they were sending forth righteous thoughts near a labor camp. Sending forth righteous thoughts in close proximity was something suggested by Master in his lectures. Then why were they stopped? Was it because their hearts were not pure? If we could treat our practice with righteous thoughts, our truth-clarification with righteous thoughts, and sending forth righteous thoughts with righteous thoughts, then who would dare to persecute us? As long as we have strong righteous thoughts, we are safeguarded by Master's Fashen and other protective deities. It is our own attachments that lead the old forces to find loopholes in our cultivation, leaving no grounds for the righteous deities to help us.

In order to have solid righteous thoughts, we must study the Fa well with a calm mind. Also, we must continue cultivating ourselves and maintain righteous thoughts in our daily lives--through the work we do and the people we interact with. Only when we build a solid foundation of steadfast cultivation, will we be able to follow this upright path and never get lost. Cultivation itself is not hard. What makes it hard is our inability to study the Fa well with our hearts, and to use the Fa to guide our every word and action. The above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything improper.