(Clearwisdom.net) It has been 13 years since my husband and I began practicing Falun Dafa. It was April 30, 1995. Since July 20, 2008, we have endured many tribulations brought about by the persecution through our strong belief in Teacher and Dafa. Over the years we have endured tribulations that tested our righteous thoughts and our xinxing. To this day we still have many attachments to remove. Through continually studying the Fa, looking inward and doing well the three things requested by Teacher, we have matured and acquired deeper understandings of the Fa as our xinxing levels elevated.
I understand that Dafa practitioners should always look inward when faced with tribulations. However when fellow practitioners pointed out my attachments I accepted their feedback only on a superficial level. It was never from the heart. Instead I pointed my finger back at them. Deep inside, I must have resented their criticisms and was only open to compliments. After studying the Fa and looking inward, I discovered that I had the attachments of showing-off and validating myself. I also didn't do well in the cultivation of my speech. Whenever we shared experiences I dominated and judged things subjectively. I would commend other practitioners just to show off. Later as I progressed in my cultivation I realized that I was not grounded in the Fa, and that I should look inward. However I found it extremely difficult to remove these thoughts completely. These thoughts surfaced every so often and when it happened I usually felt very upset for having such impure thoughts.
Teacher said,
"Nothing you encounter is simple, accidental, or an ordinary thing. It must have to do with your cultivation and your improvement."
"Cultivation is about looking inside yourself. Whether you are right or wrong, you should examine yourself. Cultivation is about getting rid of human attachments. If you always reject reproaches and criticism, always point your fingers at others, and always refute others' disapproval and criticism, is that cultivating? How is that cultivating? You have grown used to focusing on other people's shortcomings, and never take examining your own self seriously. When others' cultivation one day meets with success, what about you? Isn't Master hoping that you are cultivating well? Why won't you accept criticism, and why do you keep focusing on other people? Why not cultivate inward and examine your own self? Why do you get agitated when you are criticized?"
"Who is capable of never making mistakes, anyway? And what do mistakes count for? We just need to correct them, don't we? The crux of the matter is your attachments. Aren't you supposed to cultivate away your human attachments? If you always try to be evasive, keep things from being hit on, and are unwilling to get rid of them, that is a big problem."
"Dafa disciples, all the way until their last step to Consummation, will be tested as to whether they can make it. There could be very, very critical tests for you all the way until you are just one step away from finishing. That is because every step becomes more and more critical to your cultivation and your tests, especially toward the end."
"So the closer it is to the end, the more serious and crucial the tests will be." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")
Teacher also said,
"As a human being cultivates into a god, during this heart-wrenching, agonizing process of removing attachments--think about it everyone--what kinds of things might he be capable of exhibiting? It might be that he is capable of anything." ("Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital")
From these articles, I realized that looking inward should start from deep within. I must eliminate my attachments, not just on the surface but from the roots.
In other dimensions, all matter in the universe is alive. When a practitioner overcomes his/her attachments by looking inward, it is in fact a process of obliterating them in the other dimensions. Attachments will try to distract practitioners from escaping from their extinction. Hence it is important to study the Fa diligently, reinforce our righteous thoughts and shoulder our responsibilities as Dafa practitioners. We must also listen to feedback provided by our fellow practitioners. A third person can undoubtedly see our flaws more clearly than ourselves. After all, our own attachments can only distract us but can't influence another person. We need to understand our Teacher's requirements of us and be able to differentiate the path set by our Teacher and that of the old forces. We need to completely deny the path of the old forces.
Teacher said,
"Cultivation is your own affair, and nobody else can do it for you. The teacher can only tell you the laws and principles on the surface. It is your own responsibility to cultivate your heart and mind, let go of your desires, attain wisdom, and eliminate confusion." (Essentials for Further Advancement)
"Steel your will,
eliminate karma,
cultivate xinxing," ("Cause and Effect" from Hong Yin)
From my understanding "Steel your will..." indicates that removing our attachments may be a heart-wrenching and agonizing processes. But ultimately our cultivation state is based on how well we study the Fa. Thereafter, everything will just follow the course of nature. We should strive forward diligently and not get anxious. We should understand what Teacher requires of us, have a better understanding of the Fa principles, truly improve our xinxing levels, and measure up to the requirements of Dafa. Dafa will surely and skillfully sculpt the Buddhas, Daos, and Gods of the new universe, one after another. Cultivation has reached its final stage. We shouldn't cause any more worries for our Teacher. We must study the Fa diligently, look inward, dig out attachments from their roots and give up our human mindsets. Only this way can we be sure that we will succeed in cultivation.
