(Clearwisdom.net) As Falun Dafa practitioners, when we read the Fa, our minds become calm as our xinxing levels improve. For a cultivator, although “calm” is only a relative term, the process of becoming more calm is a process of overcoming selfish motives and a process of cultivation enhancement.
Peacefulness has different levels. Per my understanding, the Fa has different requirements at different levels for cultivators. The higher the level the cultivator achieves, the stricter the requirements are. We think that as veteran practitioners our minds are calmer than the minds of new practitioners when they are learning the Fa. Actually, this view neglects the requirements for being calm of cultivators. When a new practitioner learns the Fa, he feels his understanding improves quickly, while a veteran practitioner may feel static and may feel he cannot come to further understandings of the Fa. One reason for this is that it is more difficult for the veteran practitioner to further improve his xinxing. It is also because the veteran practitioner's mind is not calm enough when learning the Fa. Actually, a calm mind is part of xinxing. To further calm one's mind is to improve one's xinxing.
How can we become more calm? If we only focus on calming our minds or keep thinking that we would learn the Fa only after we have calmed our minds, our minds will never achieve a state of calm. What prevents us from becoming calm are thought karma and attachments. Thought karma and attachments are alive, and they follow “ordinary people” like shadows. Ordinary people are not able to get rid of them, and their ordinary will does not have the capability to eliminate them. Only a cultivator's righteous thoughts can eliminate them, relying on the power of Dafa. Only by studying the Fa more and studying the Fa with a sincere mind can we can achieve calmness. In the process of learning the Fa, we should not be discouraged by our agitated mind. The key is to keep strengthening the determination to cultivate Dafa, to treasure Dafa, and to treasure cultivation.
A cultivator should have a clear mind about the meaning of life, about what a cultivator wants, and about what the sacred mission of a Dafa practitioner is. If we have a clear understanding, we will treat cultivation seriously, overcome idleness and become diligent. Cultivation is discarding ordinary people's notions and mentality, and gradually approaching the state of a divine being. The state of cultivation is to, by our own initiative, discard attachments and reject the thought karma's interference as well as all other interference. If we achieve the determination of practicing Dafa and achieve strong righteous thoughts, Dafa will help us to eliminate our ordinary people's thoughts and notions. This forms a positive cycle. As we become more calm, Dafa will manifest to us more principles. The more we separate from the state of ordinary people, the less those ordinary people's thoughts and notions will dare to interfere with us. This is because our spacial fields gradually become unsuitable for them to survive in, and they do not feel comfortable in our fields anymore.
The above is my understanding. Please point out any of my mistakes.
April 14, 2011
