Letting Go of the Attachment to Ego

(Minghui.org) I recently realized that I had developed the pursuit of success and fame in doing Dafa projects all these years.

The attachment grew so strong that cultivation became less important to me. I was full of myself and enjoyed the praise from fellow practitioners, but I couldn’t take any criticism or differing opinions.

When fellow practitioners brought up something I didn’t like to hear, my jealousy, vanity, and competitive mentality would surface. As a result, I had some conflicts with fellow practitioners, which affected the things we were doing to save people.

Master said:

“Pacify the External by Cultivating the Internal” (Falun Dafa Essentials For Further Advancement)

Master also told us:

“For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume IX)

But I failed to look within when conflicts arose, and allowed my attachments to interfere with the Dafa projects and fellow practitioners. When I failed to maintain a pure heart, but tried to seek return from the Dafa projects to satisfy my attachments, I was not qualified to be a Dafa practitioner at that moment.

Now that I looked within and identified my omissions, I also recalled what Master said:

“Actually, it is the Fa that saves people, and only Master can do this thing.” (“Don’t Make Wild Statements,” Falun Dafa Essentials for Further Advancement)

My understanding is that we should not harbor any kind of attachments to ego. We do Dafa projects not to validate ourselves, but the Fa. Only by letting go of our attachments to ego and validating the Fa can we be worthy of ourselves as Dafa practitioners and fulfill our vows to save sentient beings. After all, we are not in this world to pursue fame and enjoy vanity.

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)