(Clearwisdom.net) Every genuine practitioner has to pass the test of the attachment to fear. Whether or not a person has this attachment can be a dividing line that determines whether he or she is an everyday person or a god. Nonetheless, even today there are still many practitioners who dare not step forward to validate the Fa due to the attachment of fear. This has significantly impeded the progress of their cultivation.
The reason we hold onto the attachment of fear is due to the extreme pressure of the persecution. Many practitioners were tortured or subjected to abuses in the past, and those traumatic experiences still cast a shadow over them. Even practitioners who have not been persecuted have seen these situations and have started to worry that, if they step forward to validate the Fa, they will also be persecuted. Another reason is that many practitioners tend to "sympathize" with those who have been persecuted, thinking it is natural for these practitioners to have a certain level of fear.
Based on the understanding of the Fa, however, the reason we were persecuted in the past is because the old forces took advantage of our omissions. One main omission was, indeed, the attachment of fear. The more afraid we are, the more the old forces will persecute us, using the excuse of "helping us to let go of attachments." Therefore, in the process of opposing the persecution, we should seriously look within, identify our omissions, and rectify ourselves with the Fa. We also need to oppose the persecution with righteous thoughts. Master is taking care of us, and the old forces are not qualified to intervene, regardless of our cultivation status. When we are clear on these issues, the vicious persecution will end.
Then, should we sympathize with fellow practitioners' attachment of fear? If we consider it normal for practitioners to have the attachment of fear, we are actually acknowledging its existence. In other words, we are pursuing this attachment for these practitioners. The old forces tend to take advantage of our omissions, and our "sympathy" and will eventually harm fellow practitioners. We know that it takes time for practitioners to improve, but we should not consider it "natural" for them to have the attachment to fear. It is normal for everyday people to have fear, but practitioners should not hold onto such attachments. To truly help other practitioners, we have to help them based on the Fa. Having true compassion means helping practitioners to let go of attachments and thus no longer be persecuted.
As we know, some practitioners consider the attachment of fear to be a part of themselves. This is indeed wrong. This attachment of fear is not part of our true self, but instead part of the notions that developed in human society, or elements that the old forces arranged for us. Since such an attachment has to be let go of anyway, so isn't it a good opportunity to do so when it is exposed? Holding onto the attachment is actually following the old forces' arrangement. In fact, they are afraid of practitioners forming one body; they prefer to create barriers between practitioners, for example, through the attachment of fear. Then, they in turn use further persecution as an excuse to "help" practitioners let go of such attachments. We have to see through such plots and realize that the safest approach is to only follow the Fa.
When practitioners are holding onto the attachment of fear, their minds are actually in pain. It is just like having a headache: The main consciousness feels pain and so does the para-consciousness. In fact, when our main consciousness has the attachment of fear, countless beings in our microscopic dimensions are also fearful.
Fear will bring big losses to our cultivation. Because of fear, we dare not distribute materials, clarify the truth to save people, or interact with other practitioners. This creates barriers between practitioners and prevents us from forming a strong, indestructible one body.
Fear also brings us unpredictable danger. In fact, practitioners who hold onto the attachment of fear are already suffering such dangers. Master mentioned:
"Should you have fear,
it will seize upon you
If thoughts are righteous,
evil will collapse" ("What's to Fear?" in Hong Yin Vol. II)
In my understanding "seize" here does not only refer to physical arrest, but also refers to the endless persecution the evil forces upon us when we hold onto such attachments. As long as the attachment of fear exists, the evil has an excuse to persecute us and go even further and further.
For a Dafa disciple, the attachment of fear is just a display that evil set up in order to further persecute us. Would a god have the attachment of fear? No, only a human being has it. We can send forth righteous thoughts to specifically target the attachment of fear. At the final step in the Fa-rectification period cultivation, nothing should stand in the way of practitioners saving sentient beings. Letting go of this attachment should be as easy as brushing dust off a table.
Whether or not practitioners have the attachment of fear also reflects the status of their cultivation. The more practitioners hang onto selfishness or attempt to protect themselves, the easier is will be to have such an attachment. On the other hand, the more we consider others first, the better we conform to the mechanism of the new cosmos. For an enlightened being with righteous thoughts, where can the attachment of fear hide?
Whether or not we have fear also reflects the basis of our cultivation. When our basis is an attachment to self, we may consider it a slow, gradual process to let go of such attachment. Doing that is actually acknowledging it, as well as the accompanying persecution. This gives such an attachment room to exist. If our basis is selflessness, we will think such attachment should not exist at all. Then, with such strong righteous thoughts, the evil will be scared and the attachment will have no basis to exist. A truly enlightened being is a safeguard for the cosmos, one who would sacrifice everything for sentient beings. Will such an enlightened being hold onto such fears?
At the final stage of Fa-rectification period cultivation, almost all the evil has been eliminated. If we still hold onto the attachment of fear and dare not to step forward to validate the Fa, we will lose this unprecedented opportunity. Doing so will not only destroy ourselves, but also countless numbers of sentient beings--a regret and sorrow that can never be remedied.
Whether or not we have been persecuted in the past, holding onto the attachment of fear is usually because we are afraid of being persecuted and are afraid of losing so-called happiness in the ordinary world. This should not be an excuse for us to hang on to such an attachment.
