(Clearwisdom.net) I often hear practitioners say, "Teacher gave me a hint. I realized that I was wrong in doing this and that. Now I have corrected myself...." Others would say, "I had a dream last night that hinted to me on how to deal with something." There are also practitioners who rely on "hints" to help them handle small xinxing tests in their personal cultivation. I have some understandings about this that I would like to share with fellow practitioners.
It is my understanding that Teacher does not give "hints" to practitioners unless they need to avoid a dangerous situation, discover how to handle issues that seriously impact validating the Fa, or when we truly have a big tribulation. In general, Teacher would not tell us what to do because many tribulations and tests are arranged for our cultivation based on our karma. They are for us to improve our xinxing. If we are told about everything, then it does not count as our own improvement, or at least we did not pass the test well or failed the test. And if our xinxing does not have a solid foundation, then the next test will be even more difficult to overcome.
In fact, Teacher has taught us the Fa. As long as we constantly read and study the Fa, many questions can be answered. Even with regard to the tests that you have overcome in the past, you may have new understandings and methods on how to deal with them. At that moment, you are improving. Cultivation is about one's improvement. Once your xinxing improves, the gods and Buddhas will see it. If the practitioner no longer has the attachment, then the test serves no purpose. Thus the tribulation is removed and the test is passed.
A lot of the "hints" that I have seen discussed are not hints at all, as far as I can tell. For example, after a practitioner loses her temper and treats others unkindly, and she then encounters some tribulation, then the practitioner would say Teacher has given her a hint instead of admitting her mistake. If one uses the Fa as the standard, it is very clear--there is no need for hints. It's up to us to give up the attachments and handle ourselves as practitioners.
Some practitioners intentionally search for "hints" and follow what their emotions tell them to do. These types of practitioners seem to get a lot of "hints." This type of pursuit is a loophole that can be taken advantage of by demons. One may be fooled by the transformation of one's own thoughts. Teacher taught us to cultivate clearheadedly and we only need to follow the Fa in everything we do. If we take the Fa as the standard when doing things, then we cannot go wrong. It is okay to do things based on the understandings at our level.
I am not saying there is no "hints" when it comes to xinxing tests. I feel that if one can pass the test on his own, it is better to not depend on them. In addition, when one is given a "hint," he still needs to judge it by the standard of the Fa in order to avoid interference. One should not simply follow a "hint" to do things. At the same time, we need to look within to find our attachments. Even if we cannot completely eliminate them at once, we still need to expose, reject and suppress them. Then we slowly will be able to get rid of our attachments. Only then will we not let down Teacher's arrangement.
The issue that I am raising here currently exists and needs to be dealt with. If there is a warning sign that is not related to our xinxing improvement, then we need to pay attention to it, because it is very possible that it is a "hint" from Teacher.
Due to my limited cultivation level, please point out anything inappropriate.