My Understanding of Returning to Tradition

(Minghui.org) Whenever I read Master’s teachings on modern notions and behavior, I felt that I did not have any such deviated notions so I never truly gauged myself against the teachings.

Something happened lately that made me realize that I was wrong and that I actually had a lot of modern notions. I recognized the significance of returning to tradition.

The Clash Between Tradition vs Freedom

My mother is also a Falun Dafa practitioner. For a long time, I couldn’t understand why she got upset if I didn’t show up at the dinner table in time after she called me for dinner.

“If I’m not hungry and don’t want to eat at the time, why do I have to eat with you and Dad? Don’t I even have the freedom and the right to decide when I want to eat?” I asked my mother one day.

“When your parents get dinner ready and ask you to come to eat, how can you not come?”

“What if I cooked but did not want to eat yet? Could I not come to the dinner table?” I asked again.

My mother did not know how to reply, and she just said: “Traditional families eat dinner together. I grew up this way myself.”

I was puzzled and felt there was nothing wrong with pursuing freedom.

Traditional Culture–Pathway to Heaven

I thought about our conversation the next day and still could not figure it out. So I began to read the Fa. I came across the first line of the first poem in Hong Yin VI, and it says that “5,000 years of civilization is the way back to heaven” (unofficial translation). This sentence reached deep into my mind and I suddenly realized that China's five thousand years of civilization is the embodiment of traditional culture. If one does not embrace tradition, then how can one return to heaven?

Master said this at the very beginning of Hong Yin VI, so one can imagine how important the meaning this line is trying to convey!

When I read Hong Yin VI in the past, I thought that most of these poems were written for ordinary people, and I did not measure my own behavior against it, so I failed to live up to Master’s expectations. I also understand more deeply the reason why Master always reminds us to study the Fa attentively.

I read slowly this time, reading each poem twice. I might have read more slowly than before, but I learned and understood more. Even though on the surface level, I did not get the answer, I realized that the “freedom” and “rights” I sought were simply modern notions and behavior.

Modern Deviated Notions

I realized that the so-called “modern” China's pursuit of freedom originates from the West. “Freedom” has now become synonymous with “do as you wish, do as you please.” The premise is to be self-centered, to do everything according to one’s own wishes, reject any objections, even disregard the thoughts and feelings of others.

This kind of self-serving idea is opposite to traditional Chinese culture and civilization, and it is even more inconsistent with what Master has taught us in the Fa.

“From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

Therefore, as Dafa disciples, it is all the more important to discard such modern deviated notions in order to meet Master’s requirements.

This brings me to another question that is often talked about in modern society–that parents should not use an authoritarian approach to discipline their children but should communicate and talk to each other as equals, just like friends.

My understanding is that parents should teach and discipline their children as calmly as they can. But parents should maintain their authority and guide and teach their children, and give their children a sense of security.

Children must not put themselves in a position equal to their parents and speak in an unrestrained and rude manner. The so-called “equality” between parents and children these days is a deviant notion.

In ancient Chinese traditional values, children must respect their elders. Even if their parents make mistakes, they must not loudly protest.

It’s said in the book Standards for Being a Good Pupil and Child from the Qing Dynasty that: “When parents do something improper, the child may make them aware of it, but softly and in a pleasant voice so that they may hear the advice and correct their mistakes. If it does not work initially, repeat when the parents are in a good mood. It is alright to be emotional with tears and cry in order to move the parents. Even if they get upset and rough you up, you should take it without complaint.”

For today’s children, imbued with the Chinese Communist Party culture and driven by modern notions, such ancient teachings are deemed as outdated and superstitious. Through Fa study, I came to understand that we need to return to tradition in order to be truly saved.

The number of times that Master mentions “modern notion and behavior” in Hong Yin VI is, to me, amazingly high, and between the lines conveys ardent hope for people and high standards for Dafa disciples.

I could feel that Master is truly concerned for the world, and even more so for His disciples. I feel the urgency to search and abandon my own modern notions and behavior, and return to tradition.

This is my understanding at this level. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.

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 with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)