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We Can Completely Remove Our Attachments Only When We Aren't Too Attached to Human Affairs

March 19, 2012 |   By Xiao Nan

(Minghui.org) When I studied the Fa a few days ago, I enlightened to something that I wanted to share.

“Life is a drama!” This saying is very true. Everyone plays a role according to what's arranged for them. But don’t be mistaken! The roles that we play are not our “real” selves.

All of our roles are different. Some are bad; some are good; some are docile; some are aggressive; some are selfish; some are kind; some are not good with people; some work well with others; etc.

Many reincarnations have led us to be to different people with different personalities. All of our roles were prearranged. We just played them out. Nothing is without reason. All roles were subtly crafted.

When we manage to see what’s true, there is no need for us to feel happy or sad about whatever roles we have played in the course of history or for us be resentful or angry about how practitioners have performed.

Reading the Chinese classic Investiture of the Gods, I learned that Emperor Zhou was a very cruel person who committed a great many sins. In the end, however, he was elevated to a 'god.' I didn't understand why. Wasn't he a bad guy? How could he become a god? I thought it was very strange.

But now I understand the reason. Emperor Zhou was just an actor in the course of history. He just played the role of a “bad guy” in that lifetime. But this was not the true manifestation of his real self.

When I see practitioners looking within, I, too, try to be like them. I find I have a lot of attachments. It's hard for me even to remove one attachment. No matter how I try, I feel I can't remove them. I don't know how to do it. Now I understand why I can't.

It is like a person who tries to clean his feet while standing in the mud. When he finishes cleaning one foot, he puts it down and starts to clean the other. But no matter how carefully he cleans them, he can never get them clean because he is standing in the mud. Only when he gets out of the mud can he really clean them.

Likewise, only when we step out of the boundary of our “roles” can we truly get to know ourselves. Only when we get rid of our attachments, acquired notions, and our so-called habits of thinking can we be restored to our true natures.

I recently read several practitioners' articles on the Minghui website. They all talked about the attachment of resentment. I agreed with them for the most part, as I also have that attachment buried deep inside me. I have also noticed the attachment of resentment in practitioners I know.

If we can step outside the confines of our own roles, we will see that everyone is playing pre-arranged roles. Because we live in a maze and therefore in delusion, we may react with pleasure or resentment to see how others lead their lives. That would show us that we are too attached to our roles and too immersed in playing them.

If we know that, for whatever reason, that's how this or that person with this or that personality would cause him or her to act this or that way, then we can live with it. The feeling that this person is good and that person is bad doesn't exist anymore.

For cultivators, nothing happens by accident!

No matter how close we are to our relatives, colleagues, or friends, we can't be too attached to these human relationships. As cultivators, the people we meet, the things we encounter, the words we say, and the thoughts we have are all there to help us cultivate. They serve to expose our attachments and human notions.

We might ask why some people have treated us well and then, all of a sudden, they treat us differently or even make us feel unhappy. This all happens because we have attachments that we haven't let go of. That's why we have tests. No matter what happens to us, it happens for a reason. The thing is, when it happens, are we moved by it or not? We have to know why it moves us. Then we can dig out our attachments.

If we step out of the situation and observe it like a spectator, then our hearts will not be moved, because we do not know everything. We came to this earth to assist Master to rectify the Fa. Doing the three things well is the most important thing for us. Then how can we manage to escape this limitation? Master told us to study the Fa earnestly.

“Leaving one side of the net open,” Master wants to save all sentient beings regardless of their past wrongdoings. Master only looks at sentient beings' attitudes toward Dafa. Some practitioners think it is not fair just to look at one choice that a person makes in this life. I personally don't think so.

Everyone's role was prearranged. We have all come for Dafa and Fa-rectification. All sentient beings have played their roles life after life. The virtue or karma that sentient beings have accumulated in the course of history have forged the kind of people they now are. At present, this is the final stage of the play and the last (determining) choice that sentient beings must make for themselves. This is the choice for our true selves. Perhaps the choice in itself is inevitable.

This is just my personal understanding. Please compassionately point out anything inappropriate.