(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, many material production centers were destroyed, and many practitioners were illegally arrested. Since this happened, practitioners are looking inwards to try to find our omissions. Several things caused this to happen, but one important reason which has been mentioned multiple times is the attachment of zealotry and the mentality of showing off.
What made us zealous and what were we showing off? Let us dig further to see what is hidden behind the the attachment of zealotry and the mentality of showing off. I would like to share my current understanding on this. If anything is not appropriate, I hope my fellow practitioners will kindly point it out.
What would cause an everyday person to be zealous or happy? When a person gets more than he should get. If he gets less than what he is entitled to, he will be sad, disappointed, and unhappy. If one gets what he is suppose to have, he should be calm and not zealous.
According to this inference, if we become zealous or our hearts are swayed when the situation is getting better and better and when the cultivation environment has become increasingly relaxed, or when some good results are achieved on our projects, does that mean that we believe the persecution is inevitable, so we can be satisfied with the current environment and what we have done so far? Then we are simply allowing the persecution to happen instead of denying it.
The persecution should not happen. Falun Dafa practitioners should not be detained. People in the world should understand Dafa positively and choose what is correct. This is how it should be. There are so many more things that need to be done well when we think about the responsibilities on our shoulders and our mission here. The burden is heavy and the road is long. How could we still be "zealous"?
Another example is that some practitioners think that they have made some great achievements or they have done well, so they are zealous. How should we value those achievements? No matter how much we have done, we should never consider ourselves to be capable or special, and be self-satisfied. It is Master who is making everything happen, it is the mighty power of Dafa that creates wonders. We should not attribute the successes to ourselves.
Have we really done a lot? How do we measure "more" or "less"?
Usually, when a person thinks that he is doing something for others instead for himself, even if he does just a little, he thinks that he has done a lot. But when a person thinks that he is doing what he should do, and doing his share, then he only worries that he hasn't done enough to fulfill what he is supposed to accomplish, no matter how much he has done.
Sometimes we hear others say, "That practitioner has done a lot for Dafa." If we change that to, "That practitioner has done many things to validate Dafa," the meaning will be very different. The first sentence means the practitioner is doing things for Dafa, suggesting that the things he does are not his responsibility; the second sentence suggests that what the practitioner did are things to validate Dafa, and they are his responsibility, because he is a particle of the Fa.
We can be gratified at the successful outcome of validating Dafa, but not zealous. We are gratified because "more sentient beings are saved" and "when we walk out path righteously, Master can worry less for us."
When one thinks he has done well and wants to show off or publicize what he has done, behind the mentality of showing off is the attachment of seeking fame and recognition and to "validating oneself."
Master singled out the the attachment of zealotry and the mentality of showing off in Zhuan Falun. Obviously, getting rid of these attachments is of vital importance to cultivators. If we hold onto these attachments, no matter how many things we have done, we still only think about what "I" have done and how much "I" have done. When we dig further, we can see the attachment behind all this is the attachment of "validating oneself." It is also the manifestation of selfishness in the beings of the old universe.
When one thinks that he has done quite a lot and done quite well, he will be zealous; when one wants to be recognized by others or win a good reputation, he will try to show off; when one seeks fame while doing Dafa work, he will be happy when the result is good or when things go smoothly, but he will be sad and feel dejected when there are tribulations or he is not recognized by others. In order to let others know what he has done, he will be careless regarding security and cultivation of speech; when one cares only about what has been achieved, he will try to do more to maximize his achievements; when one thinks he is quite good, he will neglect Fa study and xinxing cultivation, and later find it hard to hear different opinions from others, and a gap will be created with fellow practitioners.
"The desire to show off plus the attachment of zealotry are most easily exploited by the demonic part of your mind." ("Definitive Conclusion" in Essentials for Further Advancement)
The evil beings find the excuse to persecute us when we have these attachments. It is very harmful. Let's face it and get rid of it. Master said:
"When your righteous thoughts are firm and when you can repel those things, I remove them for you bit by bit; however much you can do, that's how much I remove for you and diminish for you." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference")
