(Clearwisdom.net) Before practicing Falun Gong, I was very attached to cats and dogs. I liked them very much, and I raised them as pets. After I started practicing Falun Gong, although I was not attached to them, I still liked them and raised them as pets. Teacher taught,
"...because animals aren’t allowed to cultivate, and they aren’t allowed to listen to the Law, and even if they do cultivate they can’t achieve a True Fruition. If their gong reaches a high level they’ll be slain by Heaven." ("The Second Talk" in Zhuan Falun, 2003 translation version)
When we studied the Fa, my little cat often came around us. I was very strict with it in the beginning and did not allow it to walk around us when we studied. However, I gradually thought it was not a big deal for it to be present, so I paid less attention to it. I said to myself, "A little cat could not be something (important)." However, I now think it is definitely a serious matter, and as a practitioner I should deal with it seriously. It also reflects whether a practitioner is responsible for all living beings and whether we could be strict with ourselves according to Master's teaching.
For example, I was doing the second exercise one night. When I got into the tranquil state, I saw with my third eye that the little cat was glancing at me. I felt antipathetic towards the cat. I thought, "You should not watch me practice because you could get energy, which is not good for you." But the cat liked watching me practice. I could not even control it. Because of my negligence, the cat often stayed near me when I studied the Fa.
When I was doing the second exercise one morning. Upon becoming tranquil I saw that the cat was dead. Its back was bent and its face was very ugly. I thought that the cat was healthy, so how could it die? My next thought was that the cat must be eliminated because it often watched me when I practiced the exercises or studied the Fa. However, if I did not raise it, it would not be eliminated. So how could its death have nothing to do with me?
The cat indeed died in the afternoon because it ate mouse poison, and the scene of its death was the same as what I had seen with my third eye. How could animals listen to the Buddha Fa? To some extent, it is not respectful to Master and the Fa, and is also an insult to ourselves, as it shows we are not serious about our cultivation. In addition, animals would interfere with our cultivation. As a practitioner, we should not be attached to any animal.
From this situation, I realized that practitioners truly should not raise pets.