(Clearwisdom.net) I am a young, unmarried Falun Dafa practitioner. When I first began cultivating, I thought about whether I could let go of my emotions of “love.” I knew that as a practitioner I should remove all of my human attachments, and I have therefore always regarded “love” as an attachment to remove. I understood that everything of ordinary people is an illusory bubble, so eliminating attachments to lust and love are foremost. However, the process of removing these attachments is very difficult and has been repeated over and over again.
There was a period of time that many practitioners shared their experiences on the Clearwisdom website regarding removing fundamental attachments. After reading these articles, I found great inspiration. I started looking inward to find my fundamental attachments. At first, I didn’t know how to find them, but later I learned from fellow practitioners how to dig further and further to find out what was behind my attachments to lust and love. The answer was that in my heart I pursued comfort: someone to take care of me and provide me with an everyday person’s wonderful life. After discovering one of my fundamental attachments, I felt that Teacher had removed a thick layer of material from my body. I had never felt such lightness before. From then on, I have no longer had the feelings of powerlessness and helplessness. Therefore, I remind fellow practitioners that we must dig out that which is behind the attachments that emerge repeatedly, and thus find our fundamental attachments. In other words, to remove attachments of lust and love, find out the fundamental attachments and dig out the factors behind these emotions – instead of just removing the attachments.
Removing attachments is a process of repetition. When I was still feeling good about finally being able to break through the net of lust and love, I unknowingly fell into another cycle. As time went on, I remained single. People around me seemed to have found their loved ones which often reminded me that I should find one too. Even some fellow practitioners wanted to introduce their friends to me. I also thought that living as a single person was indeed lonely. In this way, my human notions grew again. With this crack in my mindset, my attachments to lust and love found a way to enter my heart again. Driven by my attachments, I made a mistake. Once again, merciful Teacher provided an opportunity to dig out the factors that caused my attachments to grow over and over again. This time, I found that fearing loneliness was my attachment. Once I found it, I suddenly felt light. This was the third time I had dealt with finding my fundamental attachments. We should make sure to look inward continually to find our attachments according to the Fa.
Not too long ago when I shared my experiences with fellow practitioners, I suddenly understood an issue. This was that we all know that we are Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples—living beings created by the Fa. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is the only thing that we want. All other things which do not meet the standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are human concepts or factors imposed by the old forces. In other words, they are not us. When I removed my attachments to lust and love before, I regarded it as a my own thing. My own attachment should belong to me, shouldn't it? Therefore, when removing it, it was just like cutting off my own flesh and bone which certainly hurts and is hard to give up. This is removing the attachments within the attachment, still regarding the attachment that should be removed as my own. What are attachments? Attachments are people's desires and pursuits. All of them are human concepts and they aren't our true natures. As Dafa practitioners, how could we be controlled by human concepts? They aren't our true nature. Why is removing them so painful and hard?
During our individual cultivation practice, we often do not do well, and there are even some things that should not happen. However, I recognized that I should utilize my mistakes to fully expose my human attachments, to truly cultivate myself, and to completely remove the false me. We should only desire our true selves created by the fundamental characteristic of the universe, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
For those who are still trapped in the situations of love and lust, family conflicts, fears, and self-criticisms, we fellow practitioners should dig out our attachments to see what has interfered with us for so long during this precious time. We should utilize our mistakes to remove the human attachments which do not belong to us. They indeed aren't us. We should be clearly aware of our responsibility, and our purpose of coming to this world, to assist Teacher during the Fa-rectification.
The above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Category: Improving Oneself
