(Minghui.org) When I was young, I came across the profound fable Ye Gong Hao Long . Ye Gong was so fond of dragons that it reflected in his daily life. A real dragon from the heavens was moved and decided to descend to the human realm to meet him. When Ye Gong saw a real dragon, he was so scared that he fled. In fact, what Ye Gong really liked was not dragons, but just the idea of a dragon. This fable depicted the irony of someone who boasts and brags about something he doesn't even really know.
After I began cultivation in Dafa, I often thought of that story, and asked myself: “Do I share anything in common with Ye Gong?” I study the Fa, send forth righteous thoughts and do truth-clarification to save sentient beings every day. On the surface, it seems that I am doing everything that Master asks us to do. But am I? Or, has the theory come apart from the reality? Has my true self assimilated to the Fa from within? Or am I doing the “three tasks” superficially just to complete the task?
I have been absent-minded when studying the Fa, and lack a calm heart when sending forth righteous thoughts. I have been very passive and lacked compassion when saving sentient beings. I do the “three tasks” as if I am just obliged to carry out a daily routine. I don't look inward when I get trapped in conflicts. How can I be a true Dafa cultivator? Perhaps the term “cultivation” is merely a sacred state of mind that I yearn for subconsciously, or I treat it as a hobby.
Actually, under the beautiful banner of “cultivation,” I do the “three tasks” with an ordinary mindset. My Buddha nature is fundamentally concealed, and it hasn't woken up. I long for the Gods and Buddhas not just because of their beautiful paradises and a desire to go there, but for their breadth of mind and compassion. I know this Fa principle, but why am I unwilling to let go of my human attachments and learn from divine beings at critical moments? Merely worshipping them, or being fond of them, is not enough. I must cultivate my xinxing to reach their levels. That's true cultivation!
Ye Gong Hao Long is also an idiom used to describe a person who pretends to like something when in fact he doesn't. It is caused by his lack of understanding of the thing's true essence.
If a cultivator doesn't have a deep understanding of the Fa and his action is driven by the mentality of showing off and the attachment of zealotry, then he is a hypocrite. He just loves to show off to practitioners and ordinary people. Whatever he does is to show others, so they can acknowledge his determination, sincerity and compassion in cultivation, and Gods will think he is very diligent and cultivates well. However, his true nature will be revealed when he encounters real tests and tribulations. He may not realize what he pursues is sham, vanity, and fame that ordinary people long for, rather than true cultivation. No matter how much he thinks he does for Fa-rectification, he does it with an impure heart. Thus, what he does becomes futile. How deplorable!
Practitioners around me have always talked about “Dafa,” “Cultivation,” “Master giving them hints,” etc. They love to comment on things or people using Dafa terms as if they have a profound understanding of the Fa. Some practitioners carelessly utter, “Oh, their understanding of the Fa is very high. They have good enlightenment quality.” In fact, these people just use their understanding of the Fa to interpret things. True cultivators won't do such things. Only those practitioners who have a shallow understanding of the Fa like to give comments. They don't use the Fa as the sole criterion to gauge their thoughts, speech, and actions. These “Ye Gong-type” people are not likely to look inward. They think they are very pious to Dafa, while in fact they only care about the superficiality or formality.
For example, there is a practitioner in my area who would burn nine sticks of incense when worshipping Master. He would kneel down on the ground and kowtow to Master several times, banging his forehead on the ground to make a sound. He wrongly thinks that Master will acknowledge and strengthen him if he does this.
Some practitioners are overly cautious and afraid of losing their De (virtue), so they go to extremes. Some practitioners treat the quantity of Fa study as a sign of “diligence.” Some practitioners like to evoke certain feelings when doing Dafa work, thinking it will lead them to “consummation.” If the coordinator is a “Ye Gong-type” of person, then it is even worse, because his hidden hypocrisy is misleading and damaging other practitioners. Because he doesn't cultivate solidly and just does superficial things, his attachment to “fame” is very strong. Unaware of it, he leads practitioners astray, resulting in massive persecution by the evil. The lesson is profound!
For example, there is a practitioner in my area who filled his house with Master's photos, and put up a lot of truth-clarification posters in and outside of his house. The local coordinator takes groups of practitioners to visit his house to learn from him. After visiting, some practitioners copy the phrases they “learn” from that practitioner and paste them onto their beds so they can remember them. Some practitioners make copies of those photos and also fill their houses.
Before long, it became a big thing in my area. The coordinator, too, filled her house with a variety of Master's photos. When other practitioners asked why she did this, she said “Don't you feel the energy field is very strong here?” This coordinator also invited a so-called lecturer to help improve practitioners' levels. The lecturer plagiarizes Master and sabotages the Fa, yet the coordinator thinks his level is very high. In the end, many practitioners in the area started worshipping him instead of Master.
Cultivation should bring about changes from within, but a lot of practitioners, including myself, pursue things externally. When we see others are doing something, we think that if we don't follow them, we'll be left behind, completely forgetting that Dafa is the only way to measure right and wrong. Some people just change on the surface, but they remain unchanged inside.
The “Ye Gong-type” practitioners not only mislead others, but also paralytically mislead themselves. They are obviously not in a state of cultivation, but they think they are cultivating well. It is like being bitten by a poisonous snake. One doesn't feel it until the venom diffuses to the rest of his body.Then he starts to know he is dying. I hope that every one of us will re-examine ourselves and see if we have a Ye Gong-type mindset. If we do, we must wake up quickly, and stop deceiving ourselves and others.
We must courageously face our cultivation states, rectify our ill thoughts, and take our cultivation seriously. Understanding the Fa but not cultivating oneself solidly is sham cultivation. We have to unconditionally assimilate our nature to “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” and cultivate ourselves solidly. Only by doing this can we return to our paradises with openness and dignity when the real dragons come in the near future.