(Minghui.org) I began to practice Falun Dafa after the persecution started in July 1999.
Due to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) education system, I had been indoctrinated by materialist thought since childhood. Because of this, I tend to separate mind and matter when I come across issues, and often think of things from a purely material standpoint.
Master has dropped hints to me from time to time, encouraging me to break away from these notions. I would like to share some of the things I’ve enlightened to through some of my experiences.
Once, I became very sleepy while driving to attend group Fa study.
“I shouldn’t be feeling this way,” I thought, but I wasn’t sure if it was interference.
I looked into the mirror and saw that my eyes were shining and bright, with no sign of sleepiness. I realized that it must be the old forces trying to interfere with me, so I started to send forth righteous thoughts. Soon, my sleepiness disappeared.
One day, I had a very bad toothache. I went to the bathroom to clean my teeth.
“Why do I have a toothache?” I thought to myself. Then, a line from Master’s teachings came to my mind: “... and the whole body is loose as if composed of sand.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
I realized that some bad beings in other dimensions have breached my loosely composed body. As soon as I came to this understanding, my toothache was gone.
One day, I noticed a leak in the ceiling of our bathroom, and that the water was coming from the drainage pipe upstairs. I bought some leak-proof tape to fix it.
Suddenly, I had a thought: the leak must also indicate that there are gaps in my cultivation. I should look within before fixing the leak.
I realized that when I did the exercises, I often talked to my daughter (a fellow practitioner). There was an element of showing off and validating myself in this act, making it easy for demons to take advantage of these attachments of mine to disrupt our cultivation environment.
As soon as I realized this, I rejected these attachments and let go of them. When I tried to fix the leak once more, I found that the spot that I thought was leaking earlier wasn’t actually leaking, and that the real leak was a bit higher up. If I hadn’t looked inward, I would have fixed the wrong spot anyway. My efforts would have been in vain.
I often received online shopping coupons. Unable to resist the temptation, I spent a lot of time buying things, many of which I had no immediate need for. Moreover, I was frequently not happy with what I bought, so I had to jump through all the hoops of returns and exchanges. A lot of my time was wasted as a result.
I realized that I had fallen into the trap of material things, which has in turn brought me all sorts of tribulations. I started sending forth righteous thoughts to get rid of the attachment, and at the same time, corrected myself by limiting my online shopping. Gradually, my attachment to material possession also became weaker.
Once, I took a look at the things in my house and was overwhelmed by the amount of material possessions that I had accumulated over time.
A guitar, an Xbox, karaoke microphones, smartphones, all kinds of paintbrushes, a sewing machine, a complete set of tools—all of these corresponded to my attachment to amusement and having fun.
There are many, many other things, from robot vacuums to soft, comfortable bedding, from heated rugs to all sorts of snacks and drinks, that reflected my attachments to food, comfort, and modern technology.
Master said,
“It’s just that with the progress of human society, people focus more on the tangible things of our physical world and thus become more dependent upon our modern tools. Consequently, our human innate abilities are degenerating more and more, finally causing these kinds of innate abilities to completely disappear.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
I have come to the understanding that if cultivators neglect the spiritual connection when looking at the material world, they will be trapped by the illusion of material things and will not succeed in cultivation.
I often hear fellow practitioners say things like, “I don’t know how to look within or how to cultivate.”
This notion could be due to how the warped Party culture has severed the connection between matter and mind. As cultivators, if we are able to measure our thoughts against the Fa’s principles whenever we come across an issue, we may have a better understanding of how to look within and how to cultivate in Dafa.
The above is only my personal understanding. Please kindly point it out if you see anything in my sharing that is not in accordance with the Fa.
Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)