(Minghui.org) I am a young female practitioner and thought that I was diligent. I went to a tourist spot recently with other practitioners to let people know the facts about Falun Gong. Some of the practitioners there showed very obvious human notions, such as competitiveness and an eagerness to get results. Some ordinary people could not understand what we were saying and even said bad things about Dafa.

Master had arranged for us to clarify the facts there and had given us the opportunity to cultivate, so we should take this opportunity and cultivate ourselves well. Instead, ordinary people spoke ill of Dafa and chose to stay away from us. I was very upset and immediately sent righteous thoughts.

Another time when I was clarifying the facts, three people started calling me names and said bad things to me. I answered peacefully, “You are verbally abusing me, but I will not do the same to you.” The other person became even angrier, and said, “Do you think that only you have a good education?” I did not say anything and remained calm, but wondered why people would be so horrible to me.

I shared my experiences with fellow practitioners who have a better understanding of the Fa principles, and they kindly explained why I encountered these problems. This helped me improve, but why couldn't I see this for myself? One practitioner told me that it was because practitioners should look inward whenever they encounter problems. They then asked, “Did you do that?”

But, how should I look inward when the situation is related to other people’s faults? The practitioner patiently explained to me, “In the first instance, when you found others’ shortcomings, instead of looking inward to find any attachments that you need to eliminate, you complained about how bad the others were. You study the Fa not for cultivating yourself, but use it as an excuse for complaining, and you found excuses not to cultivate yourself. Among the things that you have said, only one line sounded like you were looking inward. You said, 'Master had arranged for us to clarify the facts and had given us the opportunity to cultivate ourselves.' When you said 'ourselves' though, you apparently did not include yourself.”

The practitioner continued, “In the second example, when you were insulted by ordinary people, the first thought was not to validate the Fa to them. Instead, you thought about how much better you were compared to them. You did not think of Master's words, “...not fight back when you are beaten or sworn at—you must be tolerant.” (Zhuan Falun)

As a true practitioner, the first thing we should do is to look inward unconditionally and look at our problems with righteous thoughts.

Master said:

“When you look at a matter, don’t look at it while you’re bogged down within it, don’t evaluate the matter in isolation and within the specific matter. Jump out of it and take a careful look at it, see if it’s in keeping with Zhen-Shan-Ren. How would someone who’s cultivated well, or a God, a Bodhisattva handle it? Think of it this way, and as soon as the righteous thoughts emerge you’ll know.” (“Teaching the Fa at a New York Meeting”)

I realized that all these issues showed up because I did not do well, and I was not behaving in-line with the Fa.

Master said:

“...if you do something wrong yourself, it will create a kink, a discordance with others, and everything around you will seem to be out of sorts. And interpersonal relations will become tense. At that point, look inside yourself for the reasons and correct your mistake. You will find that everything becomes harmonious and right again.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Switzerland”) 

I did not look inward, and instead looked for the shortcomings of fellow practitioners and ordinary people. I did not cultivate myself. When we truly look inward and find our real problems, then the issue will be fixed.

I also learned that we should treat everyone with compassion. When we see a problem in fellow practitioners, we should point it out kindly at an appropriate time, to help them find their attachments and improve their xinxing. When ordinary people insult us, we should help them find their kind nature and thereby save them. We should do all these things without any human attachments.