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Letting Go of the Attachment to Selfishness Enables One to Fundamentally Upgrade

Nov. 9, 2006 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province

(Clearwisdome.net) During my cultivation of "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance," I have experienced deeper inner meanings of the Fa by digging out my fundamental attachments through studying the Fa. I can see the bad elements in my realms while in the process of cultivating. I can easily see that I have let go of these attachments through enlightening to the Fa principles. In the past I was negligent in exchanging insights with other practitioners. I also failed to form a one body with fellow practitioners. Therefore I missed many opportunities to upgrade myself along with fellow practitioners due to inharmonious interactions with others. I became enlightened that this resulted from of my attachment to qing and selfishness. I rarely considered other people's feelings, and I acted like an ordinary person when conflicts moved my heart. I was paying too much attention to selfish pursuit and comfort. When my feelings were hurt I would hate others. I was reluctant to face my faults even when I was hurting very badly. If I did not restrain myself, my selfishness would take over. Sometimes I looked for excuses, feeling that I was more compassionate than others during the conflicts. I failed to see the severity of my own selfishness.

Master taught us in "What is Forbearance (Ren)?" in Essentials for Further Advancement:

"Forbearance is the key to improving one's xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator."

I used to seek out ways to be an ordinary good person from the Fa, but now I no longer seek what is human. I base my life on the Fa and godliness. As practitioners we need to let go of all human attachments on our path of cultivation. We must rid ourselves of the attachment to the fear of being hurt or having to endure mental discomfort. When a conflict arises, we must learn to be forbearing, because forbearance is the way to upgrade oneself.

If as cultivators, we cannot reach the standard of a cultivator, we will be taken advantage of by the evil. Selfishness makes other practitioners, friends, and family hurt each other. Because qing is selfish, qing causes conflicts, so all conflicts are formed by qing. If cultivators are not attached to human qing, these attachments could not move us and then we would be able to manifest the grand mercy of a cultivator.

If we use Fa standards to guide us and keep in check our own bad thoughts at all times, as well as eliminate selfishness and rectify ourselves, we can upgrade constantly. The fewer human attachments we have in our cultivation, the more wisdom the Fa will bestow upon us. Then we can experience the freedom that comes from living without qing, and the true power of compassion.

Let us remember what Master taught us in "Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital",

"Then as a cultivator, [you may be thinking,] 'What counts as cultivating?' Well, doing the things that Dafa disciples are supposed to do, such as things that validate the Fa and that save sentient beings, among others, is one's duty-bound responsibility and a part of establishing mighty virtue. But being able to improve yourself is the most crucial. That is because if you don't improve yourself, you won't be able to do any of those things well. So when you are strict with yourself, discover your shortcomings, and constantly get rid of them, then you are cultivating."

We cultivators are one body. If we tolerate and encourage each other, we can cooperate well with each other. Only if we study the Fa well, measuring ourselves according to Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, can we then effectively offer salvation to sentient beings.