“Forging Ourselves Anew” in Solid Cultivation

(Minghui.org) I have cultivated Falun Dafa for 15 years. Throughout this time, I have always been troubled by the fact that I cannot cultivate the true, pure compassion Master requires of us. Many of my human notions and attachments just seemed impossible to get rid of.

However, I finally made a breakthrough after reading Master’s new article “How Humankind Came To Be.”

Master said:

“So that the universe could be saved, the Creator directed a multitude of higher beings and divine sovereigns to descend to the earth and assume human form in this setting, where they would suffer, elevate, atone for their sins, and forge themselves anew—re-ascending to heaven as a result.” (“How Humankind Came To Be”)

The sentence “forge themselves anew” opened up my mind. It made me understand, from my innermost being, the meaning and purpose of life. At that moment, I felt like nothing in the human world was that important to me.

I tried to let go of my attachments before, but I could not. I now understood that what’s important for me is to forge myself anew so that I can fulfill the mission of assisting Master in rectifying the Fa and saving sentient beings.

Master has talked about the meaning of life in many lectures. I understood the Fa principles but could not let go of the attachments in reality. I was holding onto human life while longing for a divine world. When I read the phrase “forge themselves anew,” I realized that these postnatally acquired notions and attachments cannot be mixed into my cultivation at all. If one’s mind is not up to the required standard of purity, one will not be able to return to one’s heavenly home, and one’s own heavenly world will not last long (which is my understanding at my current level). One must unconditionally assimilate to the Fa.

In the past, when I wanted to get rid of certain human attachments, I always recited Master’s Fa and tried to use the power of the Fa to help me clear up these postnatal notions. The attachments were temporarily eliminated, but when I encountered other problems, my resentment, competitive mentality, jealousy, self-righteousness, and other attachments would all show up again. For this reason, I felt that cultivation was very painful and tiring.

I was also reminded of something else Master said:

“You cannot always count on me to eliminate karma for you while you fail to truly progress in comprehending the Fa and rise above human understandings and notions.” (“Cautionary Advice,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

No wonder, even after cultivating for so many years, I still couldn’t get rid of my many attachments. It’s just like asking someone else to clean my room when I don’t know how to do it myself.

After realizing this, I began to see more of my own shortcomings. I saw how big the gap was between my xinxing and Master’s standard. Master gives his disciples everything for cultivation and watches over us at all times––it all depends on how we cultivate ourselves.

I have to take the initiative to remove these attachments and notions that have been formed over centuries, whether they are actively interfering with me or not. The attachments and notions are like a thick layer of dust, and they will just get thicker and thicker if I don’t clean them out. As I remove the dust, I am also restoring my innate nature and transforming the essence of my being into something divine.

When I understood this layer of Master’s Fa teaching, I started to send forth righteous thoughts to clean my own field every day from the moment I woke up. Besides Fa study and doing the exercises, I did not let my myself think of anything else, just sending forth righteous thoughts and cleaning out my field.

Master said:

“You know, why is it that many things, many attachments, can’t be removed just like that? Why is it so hard? I’ve always told you that particles make up particles level by level from the microcosm all the way to surface matter. If you took a look in the extreme microcosm at the material formed by what your mind is attached to, [you’d see that] they are mountains, huge mountains, made of hard, granite-like rock, and once they are formed there is simply no way for a human being to move them.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2004 Chicago Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the WorldVolume IV)

Facing such a huge mountain, I can no longer slack off. Master’s Fa-rectification is reaching the human realm. I don’t know if I can still catch up even if I sprint.

I keep sending forth righteous thoughts to clean out my space and live my existence for others. Master has seen that I am determined to improve and has helped me eliminate much of the degenerate substances as a result. I feel like I have finally started to move out of the human level. Instead of forcibly holding back when I encounter problems or conflicts, now I can do it without being moved or affected. After cultivating for so many years, I feel like I just have barely learned how to. I am sorry, Master, for making you worry so much.

Thank you, Master, for watching over and supporting me!

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)