(Minghui.org) I often made mistakes in cultivation. Sometimes I would regret them, but other times I thought they weren't my fault. I usually felt that mistakes committed by fellow practitioners were not a big deal, but there were times when I was very angry and unable to forgive them.
During a recent Fa-study session, I read specific instructions from Master’s lectures to guide us in this.
Handling One’s Wrong Deeds
When I made a mistake, I was so regretful that it was becoming an attachment.
Master said:
“Some people think that [their failing that test] is a stain upon them, and they really feel terribly burdened by it. But isn’t that another attachment?” (“2012 International Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital”)
“It doesn't matter that you fell down, it doesn't matter! Quickly get up!” (Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference)
“I don't like it when you blame yourselves, it's completely pointless. I'll just repeat what I said: If you've fallen don't just lie there, get up right away!” (Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference)
I realized that it was pointless to keep blaming myself. I knew that I had to look inward when encountering problems. However, I often found that when I was looking within, I gradually started thinking about everyone else’s problems. I dug out two of my faults, and eight faults of others. As I kept digging, I stopped looking for my shortcomings, and instead, found others' mistakes so that I felt I was an innocent implicated person.
I later realized that this was essentially interference by an evil spirit, and also, myself showing off. I was looking at myself superficially, and going through the motions for others, but my real intention was to find others' faults. The old forces and evil specters were being disintegrated in Fa-rectification. How could I allow them to haunt my mind?
Master said:
“Even when an ordinary person goes through something he will draw a lesson from it, and give it some thought. So, all the more so should a cultivator try to figure out why the old forces exploited his gaps. You have got to figure out what your problem is.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference”)
“You really need to earnestly search within, and minimize the chances of the old forces taking advantage of your gaps.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference”)
“Be careful: When a problem arises, do not try to find out who should be held accountable. Instead, you should examine your own conduct.” (“Correction,” Essentials For Further Advancement)
These teachings touched me the most. This was a magic weapon Master gave me, to firmly look inward. If I looked outward, I was embarking on an evil path.
How to treat Fellow Practitioners Who Have Committed Wrong Deeds
I often used my selfish notions to measure the size of a fellow practitioner's mistake to decide whether to forgive or expel her or him from the Dafa practitioners' team.
According to my standard, if a person lied, I would look down on them forever. If a cultivator succumbed to lust, I wouldn't look at him or her at all. If one had sold out a fellow practitioner, I thought he should not be forgiven. If someone randomly spent money donated by Dafa practitioners, or was a spy and had played the role of destroying Dafa, he should not be allowed to cultivate. How could people like these still be Dafa practitioners? I felt that my opinions were very reasonable.
When I calmed down and studied the Fa, I realized that such thoughts had deviated from the Fa. I was actually out of the Fa when I judged practitioners because I did not use the standard of Dafa to measure right or wrong. Instead, I completely used the standard of the old universe. What I was maintaining was the theory of the old universe that is being disintegrated, and the principle was precisely the one used by the old forces to measure and persecute Dafa practitioners.
So what was the correct measuring standard? Every time Master lectured on the Fa, he was so peaceful, calmly taught us the most righteous principles of the new cosmos, the standard by which Dafa practitioners must live unconditionally. Our mindset has to align with the Fa, and be respectful of Master and the Fa. Otherwise, whether I am a Dafa practitioner and able to cultivate, is decided only by me. Wouldn't that go against the Fa and also offend Master? Isn’t that joining the old forces team?
Some acquaintances who had committed unforgivable mistakes, as judged by some practitioners, and were not worthy of being Dafa practitioners in the latter practitioners' eyes, were continuously being persecuted in jail for not cooperating with the evil. However, when other practitioners heard this, they felt that those people deserved to be treated badly, and did not use Dafa’s standards to judge right and wrong. They inadvertently helped the old forces maintain the persecution, and also unwittingly put themselves in danger.
Digging Out the Reasons Behind the Wrong Deeds
How could fake qigong books have been written? Many were written at the direction of possessing spirits that seized upon the writer’s attachments for status and money. My understanding is that the truly wrong deeds were committed by possessing spirits. The attachments to seeking fame and profit are true living beings in another dimension. It was not done by the person’s main consciousness; it was his main consciousness failing to dominate his decisions. Then, how could the wrong deeds have been done by Dafa disciples?
“...and since the old forces have separated the surface and Dafa disciples' original natures, there are a lot of things Dafa disciples can't do anything about, and their surfaces are manipulated by evil beings and have been driven to do some bad things--which is because they have attachments that have been taken advantage of by the evil beings--so I will extract Dafa disciples' original natures.” (Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
“This is because the bad things are really done by the old forces using the evil beings and manipulating people's karma and notions.”(Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
I understood that this bad thing was actually not caused by the main consciousness of a Dafa disciple, but was done when his main consciousness gave up control of his own body. So when a Dafa disciple failed to rectify himself, this sin was done by an evil being. But if the final time arrived, and he still could not do well, and hold himself accountable, he had to bear responsibility for the sin.
Through Fa-study, I clearly realized that true Dafa disciples who had been pushed into the right place by Master, and had reached the Fa’s standard, were the purest. If a person couldn’t keep up with studying the Fa well, his human notions would bury and cover his main consciousness, and he would lack righteous thoughts and easily become controlled by evil to do wrong deeds. These kinds of practitioners are badly in need of righteous help in this case. Other practitioners around such a person should treat him rationally, and not react to his unrighteous words and deeds. True practitioners must clearly know that this is manipulation by the evil, and meanwhile send out righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil in the affected person’s dimension, which could empower the practitioner’s main consciousness. Empowering each other like this is what the evil specter fears the most.
Just like the Monkey King, who knew with a glance that it was a monster making chaos. He then used his long stick to hit the monster. Our flesh eyes may not be as good as the Monkey King’s, but if we study the Fa solidly, the wisdom cultivated from the Fa will enable us to see through anything. Unfortunately, we are in the midst of delusion, and not clear about relevant Fa principles, so when we encounter an evil deed, we will hit a fellow practitioner on the head, which makes the evil laugh.
Viewing Fellow Practitioners’ Wrong Deeds Based on the Fa-Rectification
Now is the period of Fa-rectification, which is different from previous personal cultivation times. The wrong deeds committed by Dafa disciples are caused by evil factors behind them. Whether it is an ailment, an economic crisis, a family tribulation, or direct persecution, it is all imposed first, then strengthened and enlarged by human attitudes, and followed by interference and persecution. It is targeting Dafa to interfere and destroy, so it cannot be handled in a simple way.
From the Fa, I realized that in the present period, anything in cultivation is a major event involving the cosmos’ Fa-rectification. Nothing can be separated from Master’s participation and protection. On the surface, a cultivator had human notions and attachments, and did something against the Fa, but as long as any evil was using the excuse of testing that Dafa disciple – the evil calls it helping, but is actually persecuting – it is causing trouble for Master and damaging Dafa.
Then, as a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period, one should earnestly identify his problems, look at it from the perspective of the Fa, and seriously eliminate the persecution. That is safeguarding Master and the Fa, whether this persecution happens to oneself or to a fellow practitioner. The evil old forces are not worthy of participation. Such a person is a qualified Dafa disciple during the Fa-rectification period.
If a Dafa disciple treats problems with personal grievances or standards, and not from the angle of Master and Fa-rectification, it is dangerous, because he is not guarding the Fa. An article mentioned that some practitioners with heavy human notions did some things that harmed the Fa. The old forces had manipulated another part of those practitioners to oppose them strongly in the name of protecting Dafa, so that internal conflicts were intensified. All practitioners involved were on the persecution list of the old forces and thought that they were all full of human notions, and needed to be corrected.
One local coordinator was arrested while doing a Dafa project. Another practitioner Yi (alias) didn’t get along with the coordinator and exposed the coordinator’s wrong deeds to local practitioners. A few months later, Yi was jailed by the old forces. Practitioner Wei (alias) was very angry with Yi and listed all the bad things Yi had done. The next year, Wei passed away from an illness. Actually, the practitioners’ wrong deeds that were not consistent with the Fa was all controlled by the evil elements.
Dafa practitioners only have two paths to choose from. When we fail to follow Master’s xinxing standard, we are then walking on the path leading to self-destruction as arranged by the old forces, because they don't want us to reach consummation. Instead, they think of every possible way to ruin us. Fellow practitioners who fail to treat other practitioners kindly often cannot reach Dafa’s requirements in many other aspects of cultivation. They cannot cultivate well, harm fellow practitioners, and also harm themselves, causing huge losses for Master’s Fa-rectification.
The New Cosmos
Some wrongdoings committed by a practitioner were unresolved in accordance with the principles of the old universe, so the practitioner had to be weeded out. When we felt something was intolerable and we couldn’t accept it, we were actually influenced by the limitations of past understandings. It was exactly the concept we needed to change. If we refuse to change, this part of us will inevitably disintegrate with the old universe.
A practitioner saw with her inner eye that the evil tightly seized her and shouted at Master that they had seized her shortcomings, and she must die unless Master exchanged his life for her. She saw that Master instantly crushed his flesh, body, and bones, and threw them to the evil in exchange for her life. Master cherishes each disciple so much, so what reason can we have to not be kind? If we are inconsistent with Master’s Fa, can we still be counted as disciples?
I can feel Master’s endless compassion, tolerance, and boundless influence. His fearlessness can fix any problem for us. Can we be open and selfless like that? We have to because we have no choice. We are created like this. Since we are particles of Dafa, we ought to really put ourselves in Dafa, and do things in accordance with the mentality required by the Fa. Only in this way can we save sentient beings and fulfill our purpose.
If each thought we generate is for ourselves, we are in the old universe; if each thought we have encompasses hate, we are being controlled by the evil specter.
When each thought we have is full of kindness for others, we are standing in the new universe. We will surely be tolerant, peaceful, and inevitably gain wisdom. We must be omnipotent because what we want to manifest is the Fa. The enlightened beings of the new cosmos are coming.
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2019/10/10/用什么心态对待犯过错误的自己或者同修-394406.html
Category: Improving Oneself
