A Bottleneck in Cultivation: The Attachment to Oneself

(Minghui.org) After reading the article “Flattery and Demonic Interference from One’s Own Mind” by the Minghui Editorial Board, I want to share my observations and understandings.

A few years ago, I made some breakthroughs in cultivation, and I shared some new insights that other Falun Dafa practitioners hadn’t thought of. The other practitioners liked to hear me talk about my understanding of the Fa. I felt self-satisfied and grew full of myself—I did not realize something was wrong.

Someone from a neighboring city came to our area and practitioners praised him. They admired his ability to see things in other dimensions. Some even said that he was already enlightened and made appointments to meet with him.

I also felt that his understanding was “quite high” and different. I even helped promote his viewpoints. Because everyone praised him, he developed an inflated ego. He became arrogant and felt he was the best cultivator in the world. When he started attacking the Minghui website I suddenly realized that he was being interfered with. When others pointed out his issues, he refused to listen. This person still leads a group of people who talk nonsense and they do things that are not in accordance with the Fa.

Looking back on that experience, I feel ashamed—of myself and him. I realized that attachment to self is a powerful obstacle for cultivators.

My self-satisfaction at that time and the interference with that person’s mind were all caused by an old way of thinking about the “self.” This expression of self is an impediment in one’s cultivation and is difficult to overcome. If one doesn’t break through and eliminate it, one cannot progress in cultivation. One might feel that his cultivation has reached the end and feel satisfied with the level of his xinxing. If this thinking develops further, it will cause one to become self-inflated and self-centered, eventually inviting demonic interference from one’s own mind.

For example, if someone brings a mobile phone to a group activity, and others point out that doing this is not safe, instead of realizing his mistake, he accuses others of not having strong righteous thoughts and having fear. Or, perhaps he wants to show that he has strong righteous thoughts and has no fear. This kind of self-promotion is obvious. Everyone can see it.

In another example, one may share how they have broken through the persecution in China and promoted themselves as being brave without examining why they were persecuted in the first place.

Some coordinators urge others to follow them. They use their position or what they see through their celestial eyes to attract practitioners. They enthusiastically promote themselves and forget that everything we have was given by Master. One’s ability to break through obstacles with righteous thoughts, what one sees with one’s celestial eye, the higher principles of the Fa that one enlightens to, and one’s wisdom are all given by Master.

Sometimes, I wonder why some seemingly good cultivators encountered demonic interference from their minds. I found that these people are often self-obsessed because their selfish nature has not been eliminated. This has become an insurmountable obstacle in their cultivation. Once these people receive compliments and flattery from the cultivator community, they feel that they are great, better than others, and even develop demonic interference from their own minds.

In the Dharma ending period, all lives in the old universe have deviated from the Fa, and all beings are in danger. If a person wants to enter the new universe, he must fully assimilate to Dafa. To get into the selfless state of the new universe, one must be able to put others before oneself.

But some don’t want to change themselves. They only want to change others. Their unwillingness to change their nature has become a huge obstacle to assimilating to the Fa of the new universe.

When a practitioner cannot get rid of the attachment to self, he creates a major obstacle which may block him from progressing in cultivation. If this is not removed, his cultivation will stagnate, and he may be unable to enter the new universe.

However, if one realizes they have an attachment to self and gets rid of it, this impediment doesn’t occur, and one’s capacity is expanded. One will find that their original understanding is nothing, very low, insignificant, or even wrong.

In the boundless Dafa, even enlightened beings should not have a high opinion of themselves, let alone a cultivator. If one feels great about oneself, it is a sign that it is time to change and thereby improve one’s cultivation status. A true and solid practitioner is always humble.