Treat Every Day Like It’s the Last Day

(Minghui.org) While I’m not familiar with the situation discussed in Master Li’s (Falun Dafa’s founder) most recent Jingwen “A Strong and Urgent Warning,” I took Master’s teaching as a warning for my own state and a sign to look within.

Master said, 

“The final hour by which a Dafa disciple must have fulfilled his mission is imminent. Think about where you want to end up, and do what is in your best interest! While in this world, a Dafa disciple is to do well in spiritually developing himself and fulfilling his historic mission of helping me to save people.” (“A Strong and Urgent Warning”) 

The word “imminent” really stood out to me and reminded me that time is indeed very short. I wondered, “Is my cultivation state consistently that of a practitioner? Do I always look within to uncover my own attachments and notions, or do I sometimes look outward, blame others, harbor resentments over this or that, try to outdo others, show myself off, look down on others, and not view and handle things in accordance with the Fa?” 

As I reflected on my own state, I saw that there were still many things I had not yet let go of. In fact, I sometimes found myself correcting one attachment I’ve uncovered by using the thinking of yet another attachment. I thought, “What am I waiting for? What is so important that I cannot let go, when these things will only tether me here? And why is my sense of urgency sometimes not what it used to be?”

That’s when I recalled a dream I had several years ago, just a few months after I obtained the Fa. It made such a strong impression on me that I wrote it down as a sharing but never submitted it. 

While only Master knows when things will end and Fa rectification of the human world will begin, I believe this dream happened as it did to remind me that I must be diligent in my cultivation, so as not to have any regrets later.

A Hint Within a Dream

I am a new Western practitioner. I know that I am most fortunate to have obtained the Fa, thanks to Master’s benevolent arrangement. 

I would like to share a recent experience.

Yesterday we practitioners participated in a holiday parade in our area, which served as a great way to share the beauty of Dafa. It was wonderful to see the smiles on people’s faces as they read the words “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” on our banner, and as they felt the positive energy field from practitioners as they demonstrated the exercises on our float. But due to my busy schedule, I didn’t do all the three things yesterday.

Because of my busy holiday schedule, the night before the parade I was up until nearly 2 a.m. so I could do all three things. The morning of the parade I had to get up quite early to get there on time. After the parade was over, I ran some errands, drove the hour back home, and had a busy day doing more errands and family things.

By the time we returned home that night, it was nearly 11, just in time to send righteous thoughts. After that, I began to read a Fa lecture and had planned to read Zhuan Falun after that. But after only a couple of minutes, I began to nod off. I repeatedly tried to focus my mind on what I was reading, but after only a few words, I would nod off again. I finally had the thought that I was just too tired to retain what I was reading and should just go to bed.

That night, I slept very soundly. When my alarm went off in the morning, I told myself that it was ok to rest my eyes for a few more minutes since I’d had such a long day the day before. I followed the notion that I needed a certain number of hours of sleep in order to be well-rested. As I drifted off to sleep again, I had a dream that was very vivid and clear.

In the dream, I was out with another practitioner I didn’t know well. I went over to her while she was talking to a stranger about Dafa and clarifying the truth to her. The lady was open to learning more about Dafa and agreed with everything the practitioner said. Knowing that the lady had good thoughts about Dafa, I felt very happy.

The following day, this same practitioner and I were in what seemed to be a very crowded airport. There was a lot of hustle and bustle; everyone was in a big hurry and moving very quickly. It was chaotic and rushed, and no one seemed to have any time or interest in slowing down. Then we ran into the same young lady. She and the practitioner struck up a conversation in the middle of all the noise and chaos. As they talked, I heard the practitioner tell her that the day before was the last day for practitioners to have any xinxing tests. She said that over the years, each of us had been tested daily and that the day before was like a comprehensive exam that was to be turned in, evaluated, and graded. There would be no more tests and no more chances to improve.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My mind raced as I tried to make sense of what this meant.

Not only was the day before the last day for us to improve ourselves, but it was the last day we could help save sentient beings. People could no longer be saved if we clarified the truth to them—their fate was sealed, just as ours was. As the practitioner continued to talk, I became very upset.

I was shocked by what she said, but I didn’t want to ask her in front of the stranger how she knew about this. So as soon as their conversation ended, I rushed to catch up with her. She moved very quickly through the bustling crowd, and it was all I could do to keep up with her, but I knew it was important not to lose sight of her.

When I was finally able to reach her, I asked how she’d learned this information. She said, “The date has been in several practitioner sharings. They have seen the specific last date for things.” I got upset and said, “I had no idea things were going to end so soon.” I wondered why no one had shared this information with me so that I could have been better prepared. But the practitioner just smiled and continued rushing through the crowd as I scrambled to keep up.

Then it dawned on me: I hadn’t done all three things the day before. I realized it was my last opportunity to be tested and that I’d not done everything. I was extremely upset with myself for not making time to do what I was supposed to do. Instead, I had given other things priority, and let my attachments and interference control my thinking and actions. While I felt like they were all things I had to get done that day, I hadn’t given priority to what I should have—studying the Fa.

I was worried and wondered what would become of me. I asked the practitioner when the Fa rectification of the human world would take place, and she replied, “From what we understand, it should be in about a month, maybe two months.” I ran it all over in my mind, trying to grasp the situation.

I always thought I’d have more time—more time to improve myself and more time to help save more sentient beings. Now, everyone’s fate was sealed, nothing more could be done. My heart was heavy with regret.

I knew I hadn’t done enough. I began to think of family and friends that I hadn’t yet clarified the truth to, either because I hadn’t yet found the right opportunity or because I hadn’t made the time. Still unable to comprehend it, I said to the practitioner, “But that doesn’t mean people really have no more chances to be saved, does it? You mean they will really be destroyed?” She just looked at me with a compassionate half-smile and kept rushing through the crowd.

As I pondered the gravity of things, I remembered that my brother was one of those I hadn’t yet clarified the truth to. I was overwhelmed with a sense of sadness, and the regret was so deep that I began sobbing.

As I sobbed uncontrollably in my dream, I woke up sobbing so hard that my body was shaking and tears streamed down my face. As I recalled what happened and wiped the tears away, I felt just as distraught awake as I had in my dream.

I knew that what I’d experienced was a hint from Master. I had allowed myself to get so busy with things that I hadn’t made time to study the Fa, and instead listened to interference and my attachments to comfort, laziness, fear of hardship, complacency, and procrastination.

I believe Master used this dream to tell me that I must hurry to catch up in my cultivation and not waste any time when it comes to helping save sentient beings.

Things are moving very quickly and could end at any time. I must cultivate myself well in order to fulfill the vow I made to Master, so I must genuinely study the Fa every day.

We have waited untold numbers of years for this period in history to arrive. May we not miss this precious opportunity to do what we should do as practitioners, and may we treat each and every day as if it’s the last day—for someday soon it will be.

Please kindly point out anything that is not in line with the Fa.