Master Has Paved Our Way Back Home

(Minghui.org) When I read Journey to the West as a youngster, I often felt sorry for Shad Monk, one of the characters who accompanied Monk Tang to the west. As I saw it, he made the smallest mistake among all the characters while in heaven but received extremely severe punishments.

For example, he broke Jade Emperor’s glass jar by accident, and was whipped 800 times and relegated to a lower realm. His rib cage was also pierced by flying swords a hundred times every seven days.

Back then, I couldn’t understand why he had to bear all of that. There were countless treasures in the heavenly realm, and why should one be punished so harshly for breaking a glass jar?

Later I read another story: There was a child in the heavenly realm who one day misplaced the Bodhisattva’s instrument and was also relegated to the earthly realm to be reincarnated numerous times. And again, I thought the punishment was too heavy.

But as I slowly elevated in my cultivation in Falun Dafa, I came to see the deeper meaning behind these two stories.

The Deeper Reason Behind One’s Mistake

Master taught us:

“When you see someone not having righteous actions, in fact it’s that he doesn’t have enough righteous thoughts, since a person’s mind guides his actions. When your righteous thoughts are strong enough your actions will definitely be righteous, and when the righteous thoughts aren’t strong enough the actions won’t be righteous.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the WorldVolume III)

I understand that for beings at different levels in the celestial realms, their thoughts conform to the standards of the Fa at that level, and their behaviors are in line with the level. The mistakes in their behaviors are due to deviation of their thoughts from the standards of that level. The main reason why they were relegated to a lower realm was not that they misplaced an instrument or broke a glass jar, but because their life was no longer pure and failed to meet the standard of that level.

During our cultivation in Falun Dafa, we often mistakenly think we encounter tribulations because of the wrong words we said or the wrong deeds we did. But I believe that is only the superficial cause. We need to measure ourselves against the Fa, identify our deviated thoughts, and rectify them. Only by assimilating to Dafa can we fundamentally resolve the problem and improve ourselves.

Eliminate Attachments

During my cultivation, I worked really hard on identifying my attachments. From discovering the surface problems to accurately finding the root cause behind the attachments, I had to go through a long and arduous process, but was usually able to remove my attachments thoroughly.

I take it seriously to find and get rid of my attachments. I use the degree to which I can eliminate my attachments to gauge whether I really respect Master and believe in the Fa. If I truly do, I should abide by what Master required of me.

Illness

I used to be a neat freak and had to wash my hands countless times daily to combat invisible viruses and bacteria, which created numerous conflicts with my family members, and wasted much time and opportunities for me to cultivate and save people.

I made up my mind to change myself. I began truly looking within. It’s a scientific concept that viruses and bacteria could cause illnesses. As cultivators, we know karma is the main reason for illness. Should I believe in Dafa or science?

What’s more serious is that if I think that viruses and bacteria can make me sick, I actually don’t believe that Master has purified my body. It would be the same as asking, “Is this Dafa true? Is what Master said true?” Behind this is suspicion and a great disrespect to Master.

Because I searched this attachment thoroughly, I was able to completely get rid of it. When the pandemic broke out, I was no longer anxious about catching viruses and worked hard as usual to clarify the truth and save sentient beings.

Master told us:

“If a cultivator can let go of the thought of life and death under any circumstance, evil is sure to be afraid of him.” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s),” The Essentials of Diligent Progress II)

When I got rid of the attachment to illness, the old forces could not find any loopholes to persecute me.

Resentment

I had been harboring resentment for a long time. I wasn’t aware of it until it got so bad that it began to control me and prevent me from studying the Fa. Master awakened me. If I held on to resentment, how could I be a better person? I must distinguish the resentment from my true self. It took me a long time to eliminate it since it grew so strong. But as I began to work on it, it became weaker and weaker, and I eventually could catch it before it formed into more complete thoughts.

Jealousy

For a period of time, I was envious of practitioners who did exercises more often and had their bodies transformed well. Particularly seniors, if they sported dark hair, I would always try to get closer to them to check the roots of their hair. If the roots were gray, it meant that the hair was dyed, and I would feel a bit relieved. If the roots were black, it meant that the elderly practitioners had cultivated well, and I would feel a bit lost. I knew it was jealousy, but I did not know how to get rid of it.

One day, I thought how difficult it was for Master to save us. Master has worked so hard to help us, and he must have hoped that we could all succeed in our cultivation. If my fellow practitioners did well, I should be happy for them. After all, I am here to assist Master in rectifying the Fa. If I see fellow practitioners’ shortcomings, I should think of ways to harmonize it and gently remind them in the meantime. Slowly, my jealousy dissolved and disappeared. It turns out that compassion melts away jealousy.

With more and more attachments abandoned, I find that all attachments have the same root, which is selfishness. All attachments are derived from selfishness, and they in turn nourish selfishness.

Further Purify Myself

With the improvement of cultivation, the standard of respecting Master and believing in Fa is also raised. Some subtle impurity of mine was gradually exposed. I became more aware of my ignorance and arrogance. I saw an arrogant self behind some naturally formed thoughts.

For example, when I was thinking, “I eliminated certain attachments,” I failed to recognize that as a person who cultivated in delusion, what power did I have to remove those stubborn granite-like substances that had been formed over thousands of years? I was just like the old man who moved mountains, shovel after shovel. In the end, his sincere heart moved the divine, who moved away the mountain for him. For me, only when my due sincerity and determination is up to par, will Master help me remove the mountain of attachments.

Another thought I had was: “I saved many people through clarifying the truth.” I was still relying on Master to save me, so who could I save? I did only superficial things; it’s Master who really saved everyone.

Another example is the thought that “I enlightened to a certain Fa teaching.” In actuality, it was Master who saw what attachments I had cultivated and then revealed to me the principles of the Fa that I should know at the level I was now at.

I must be very clear that everything is done by Master and Dafa.

So what is it that we cultivate? I realized that what we cultivate, from the beginning to the end, is our respect for Master and our faith in Dafa. With this respect and faith, Master leads us upward.

If we lose our respect for Master and our faith in Dafa, it is equivalent to leaving Master and going down the path arranged by the old forces. At this point, Master can only look at us with sadness. For those who can walk back, Master will still take care of them. For those who are too lost and too far gone however, their final outcome may fall into the dangerous hands of the old forces.

Cherish My Cultivation

I know very well that I am still far from Master’s requirements. Master has given every true cultivator everything he needs in his cultivation, but we still have to practice it in our actual cultivation.

There are many ancient sayings reminding people not to get lost, and that they should find the true meaning of their life and live to return to their true selves.

For example, I enlightened that the word “reassurance” (literally translated as “letting the heart go” in Chinese) tells people that it is karma that determines one’s fortune and that one needs to let go of the human mind and follow the law of the cosmos; to pay one’s karmic debts.

Master told us:

“Do you know what a magnificent thing it is for Dafa disciples to Consummate? Master has to take care of everything all around you. Is there any need for you to worry about anything?” (Teachings Given on Lantern Festival Day, 2003)

Let's think about this: in all dynasties, from ancient time to modern days, and in all countries, who has ever given such a clear account to his disciples? Why should I still be worried? What attachments do I have that I still can’t let go of?

In the 5,000-year-old divinely bestowed culture, many words, sentences, and stories contain hints about returning to heaven. I understood through those stories the compassion I felt: to pave the way back to heaven for all sentient beings.

I learned through my cultivation to cherish everything in the world and every life that comes into the world, including my own body. It is a great blessing bestowed by Master to receive the Fa teachings delivered by Master personally at the latter days of the cosmos. Doing the three things well is the best way to cherish one’s body and one’s cultivation.

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)