(Clearwisdom.net)
One Should Not Treat Oneself Like an Everyday Person
At work, I was recently assigned to a position in the financial department dealing directly with money. In the current financial situation, many people are scheming for ways to make money. In my position at work, everyone wants to get money from me for investments or venture capital. The people I deal with include both those from the community, and colleagues working in the same company. They often try to get special favors by offering money or other things as bait. Many of my colleagues have given in to such temptation and have even become involved in crimes. In addition, our salaries are directly linked to our workloads. Those with great workloads will have higher incomes. My colleagues thus fight with each other for customers and performance bonuses, and there is no such thing as being polite.
Because I am honest and don't take bribes, my income is often not even 25% to 350f that of my colleagues. Due to the difference in income, some of my colleagues give me advice or hints, and suggestions on how to fight other people now and then. Amidst various financial interests and the complex situation, I have often been overwhelmed and confused.
In the past, whenever I did the sitting exercise, the fighting and attachments to vested interests came to my mind, and I became very distressed about it. I often asked myself, "What's going on? Why is there so much trouble?" After much Fa study over three months, I found the cause deep in my heart. It was just like what Master said in "Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan,"
"Or seen from another perspective, all of these things that ordinary people do serve to provide you with a cultivation setting. Such is the path that you travel. On such a path, the problem that is most apt to occur is that you slack off and lapse into ordinary ways. And that is especially so in the period of validating the Fa, where you are all the more liable to get discouraged when faced with so much pressure and ordeals of every sort."
For a long time, although I participated in many Fa validation activities, I felt a lot of pressure and treated myself as an everyday person. I slacked off and made little progress in the Fa rectification. Unconsciously, I wanted to make money like everyday people. I told myself that I wanted to make more money to help fellow practitioners with validating the Fa. The truth was that I had an attachment to making money, and I was just looking for an excuse. I also had other attachments such as fame and fighting for self interest.
The complex cultivation environment also made me realize that there are all sorts of temptations for practitioners who cultivate in everyday society during the Dharma-ending Period, especially in the current troubled times, and coupled with the persecution and pressure from the Chinese Communist Party. The battle between good and evil exists in our hearts at every moment. Factors forcing one to slack off are everywhere, including abnormal relationships, fighting for power or money, temptations, and pornography. If one has a slightly unrighteous thought, the evil can cause interference. Only by studying the Fa more can we free ourselves of the interference and the attachment to relaxation, and keep up with Master's Fa-rectification process.
Validating Dafa With My Abilities
Doing the three things well is a Dafa practitioner's duty and an important mission. I work hard to fulfill my responsibility as a Dafa practitioner, and with Master's help, I have been able to do things to save people. I have taken the responsibility to support local practitioners' technical needs. At the same time, I clarify the truth at work whenever it's convenient.
I have computer skills and teach fellow practitioners who need to know about such things, and I thought it was important to share experiences on computer skills. I once met a practitioner who wanted to install a system to get truth clarification materials from the Internet. I went to his home as promised, but when I arrived, there was an electrical power outage, something quite rare in our area. I believe that it was no accident, so I talked with him about cultivation.
He was an honest man, and he had not been cultivating for long. I understood from our conversation that he wanted to set up a truth clarification materials production site because he was worried about being left behind when the Fa-rectification concluded. He worried that he had not accumulated enough good deeds. He said he had strong human notions and was experiencing interference at work. Having practiced for a long time, I felt that Master had given me this opportunity to share with him. I talked about my cultivation experiences and feelings. I told him about the importance of studying the Fa and cultivating xinxing, and helped him understand the situation from the Fa. I told him that cultivating xinxing well is the best way to ensure safety when setting up a truth clarification materials site. I also gave him some examples to help him remember. He realized his shortcomings and said that he would correct it in his future cultivation. Later, I easily installed the system when I visited the next time. I went to his home to help him improve the system several times. At the same time, I reminded him about studying the Fa and system security. I not only taught computer skills, but also was responsible for helping practitioners improve their xinxing. I thought it was necessary for practitioners who had not studied the Fa well, because that is the first requirement for safely operating a truth clarification materials production site.
In summary, I've had many experiences that I would like to write about. My deepest understanding is that Dafa is the foundation. If not for guidance and blessings from Master and the Fa, nothing in cultivation would be possible and there would be no safety. For practitioners, studying the Fa well and maintaining righteous thoughts are the first requirements for cultivating and safely doing the three things.
Original article date: 6/4/2010
