Looking Within Even Though Problems Appear to Be Others’

(Minghui.org) I recently gave the family car to my son after having it thoroughly inspected, but the brakes, ABS, and anti-skid lights all came on shortly after he started driving it. I took the car to the dealership and had a complete inspection done again, but no problems were found.

At the time I was memorizing the section, “Your Mind Must Be Right” in Lecture Six of Zhuan Falun.

Master said:

“You may go ahead and have a physical exam. There is not anything wrong, but you just feel uncomfortable. We have a student who broke a few needles at a hospital. In the end, the liquid medicine squirted out, and the needle still would not penetrate. He came to understand, “Oh, I’m a practitioner, and I shouldn’t have injections.”” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)

I reflected on Master’s words and thought, “I thought something was wrong with the car and sent it for an inspection. I ignored the fact that I am a practitioner. What attachment was the car problem pointing out? Is it asking me to focus on my son’s problems? He does have a lot of problems, and the lights turned on after he began driving it.”

At the same time, the drain in my kitchen sink had been blocked, but I was too busy to take care of it. It was only when it affected my doing dishes and washing vegetables that I realized that everything in my own dimensional field was directly related to my cultivation state and thoughts. The drainage problem must be related to my problem, and it was getting serious due to my negligence.

A thought came to my mind, “Are the car issues also a reflection of my problems? It wasn’t resolved because I didn’t realize it or look inward.” I began to carefully examine my cultivation.

I had formed a habit when I encountered conflicts, especially when I saw the other person had problems. I tended to think I was right and I was meant to help him/her cultivate through their issue. I completely forgot that I am a practitioner and should look inward.

My son had a lot of problems, and the car he was driving had problems, so I immediately looked at him and didn’t even think about looking at myself. Once I made up my mind to look deeply within myself, I found a lot of my own attachments.

I formed a habit of looking at people, things and matters negatively, and I judge others based on my own notions and opinions whenever conflicts surface. As soon as the car began having problems, my notions about my son led me to think of his problems. I forgot to examine myself.

When there are no conflicts with fellow practitioners and no notions about each other, it’s all good, but once a conflict arises or a notion is formed, that notion will jump out and dominate things.

The notion may come from my experiences and conclusions when dealing with people over the years, from my observation of other practitioners, or from others’ comments about fellow practitioners. When I heard comments about another practitioner, although I did not necessarily agree, I did not immediately reject it. The notion remained in my dimensional field, which naturally came into play when a conflict arose.

None of this is grounded in the Fa. My conclusion might be exactly my own notions and negative lessons I should set aside; fellow practitioners’ comments might just be a test for me which were directed at my xinxing. The so-called observation might be an illusion which was meant to aggravate my existing notions.

When I dug deeper, I found that I had certain notions about all the practitioners around me, including myself. I thought this person is careless, that person tries to never offend anyone, this person is capable, that person likes to tell on others, this one knows how to please others, that one has some influence, and that one is competitive, and so on.

I realized that all these notions were bad. Not only did they make me look at the other practitioners in a negative way, but they also regarded my fellow practitioners’ side that did not yet conform to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance as their main issue.

In other words, even if other practitioners had problems, the problem is not their main side; their main side has already been cultivated and separated. The remaining side that is not yet in line with the Fa is still being cultivated. How can I look at other practitioners through my fixed notions and perspectives?

I also have a lot of bad notions about myself and tend to forcefully involve myself in things. On the surface I was trying to do Dafa work more effectively and be more diligent in cultivation, but the way I forced myself to make a breakthrough was not in line with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and lacked kindness, patience and encouragement.

After I identified my problems, I looked at the other practitioners from a new, positive angle. I saw this person never fights with others, that person has courage, this one is good at communication, that one is always giving and considerate of others, that one has a strong Main Consciousness, and does not follow others blindly, and so on.

Master said,

“The negative factors that influence the notions they form in this lifetime are by no means simple—evil specters are behind them. Whether it be Satan or the evil specter of the evil Communist Party, they are ruling the world and controlling people through their evil minions.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the New York Fa Conference Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Dafa’s Spreading,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIV)

I realized that the negative factors are controlled entirely by evil specters. If we do not give up our negative thoughts and negative ways of thinking, then where will our cultivation end up when we hang on to such negative notions?

As soon as I found a few major problems of my own, the car’s problems were fixed, and the kitchen drain was no longer blocked.

I shared the above understanding with local practitioners. Afterwards my dimensional field felt cleaner, and my body felt lighter.