(Minghui.org) Minghui.org recently published an article titled “Thoughts on the End Time for Fa Rectification and Prophecies.” I was a bit shocked by the article initially but soon calmed down. I knew it triggered my attachment to time. Were there to be eight more years before the end of the Fa rectification as predicted in the article, it could be a good thing to me since my cultivation status is not desirable. I have issues to fix in many areas and this could be an opportunity for me to catch up. On the other hand, if there were indeed eight more years, I do not know how much more compassionate Master has to suffer on behalf of Dafa disciples and sentient beings.
After reading the article, I seemed to have let go of the attachment to time, but I knew in reality that that attachment still exists, except that it is now reset to an end point eight years later.
I have also seen some practitioners who are very emotional and resentful about the article. This highlights their attachment to time, too. Regardless of the situation, if we could identify our hidden attachments and human notions on this topic, and correct them, it could be a good thing for us.
Attachment to Time
Some of our practitioners, myself included, are very attached to the Fa rectification’s ending, which is so severe that they may not realize it. I found that nearly all practitioners around me more or less have this problem. They are attached to commentaries from NTD Television, predictions from practitioners, or situations in society. All these could be connected to the attachment to the Fa rectification’s ending.
To make things worse, this attachment has been a major factor that influences how some practitioners do the three things and plan their life or cultivation. Believing that there are few years left in the Fa-rectification, some practitioners refuse to renovate their apartments as planned; some no longer look for jobs, thinking that their savings are sufficient; and some have no plans of getting married. Because of the attachment that things would finish up soon, we have done things that appear irrational to our non-practitioner family members and people around us. To some degree this has prevented them from accepting Dafa.
There are also practitioners who go to the other extreme. When they realize that Fa-rectification is not ending any time soon, they indulge themselves in living a happy and content life. They may still be doing the three things, but it's more like going through the motions without putting their hearts into it.
The attachment to time is also detrimental to our efforts of truth-clarification. When talking with everyday people, some practitioners made casual remarks based on their own predictions. Some urged people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), claiming the regime would be over within a year or a major catastrophe could come any time. While there are practitioners who didn't make such remarks explicitly, they gave off the impression that a doomsday is approaching. Whatever the case, it would be hard for everyday people who have been indulging themselves in an enjoyable life to accept such doomsday talk. In my region, even some people who have quit the CCP are now hesitant to believe such remarks from practitioners.
As I see it, the attachment to the Fa rectification’s ending has become a major obstacle for practitioners. Right now, many people in everyday society have recognized the CCP is evil. But our attachment to time, along with extreme remarks and actions associated with it, has hindered people from understanding the wonderfulness of Dafa and becoming practitioners.
So what is the underlying element behind this attachment to time? If there were no persecution and if we always considered cultivation something happy and precious, would we still hope for a quick end to the Fa-rectification? Probably not. Therefore, it could be our unwillingness to suffer hardship that made us attached to the end time for the Fa-rectification. We have failed to take hardship as joy as Master said. Digging further, what is the fundamental factor behind our unwillingness to endure hardship then? I think it is the attachment to self. Only by eradicating selfishness can we fundamentally let go of the attachment to a quick end of Fa-rectification.
Reborn in Dafa
Being attached to self is not our true nature since we are beings who are completely assimilated to Dafa as Master expected. When choosing us as Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, Master has already fundamentally remade us. Composed of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, our true selves are selfless and harmonious with Dafa. Anything inconsistent with this belongs to the old elements and is not our true nature.
One day in January 2000, several of us practitioners went to a riverbank for group exercises. When we did the second set of exercises, police officers came. Opening my eyes, I found myself gigantic and the police officers were not even as high as my feet. I paid no attention to them and went back home after the exercises. That night I had a dream in which there was a large machine like a grinder. A voice told me to enter the machine and I followed the instruction. The machine started and shredded my entire body, converting it into a microscopic substance with only a little sense left. At that point I woke up. Now I understand Master has remade me fundamentally. From that moment, I had become a being who belongs to the new universe.
Attachment to self is no longer our true nature and instead it is something that impedes us from entering the future. In fact, we have been remade anew by Master, but occasionally we are still being manipulated by the old elements and the postnatal fake self. This is a reflection of poor enlightenment quality. Several days ago when reading “On Dafa” by Master, I realized I had been understanding the first paragraph based on the old universe’s structure. Upon knowing that Master was talking about the structure of the new universe, my thinking changed instantly. When reading “On Dafa” again, I found the inner meaning has changed and everything is new. Based on my understanding at my level, Master has rectified the cosmos to the early period of the “formation” stage.
Some practitioners and I have realized that the true nature of all Dafa disciples have become new beings. The attachment to ending belongs to the old existence and it is something we should let go of. I hope more practitioners can be clear on this. Otherwise, the old existence could manipulate us and affect Master’s Fa rectification.
End Point Without a Finish Line
There has been a scene in my mind. My cultivation is like running on a track with Master standing by the side watching. When I found it difficult to continue, Master always encouraged me compassionately, “Keep it up! The end point is approaching.” I kept running for a few more circles, but still did not meet the end point. Seeing me struggling to continue, Master encouraged me again, “Keep it up! You're almost there.” So I continued running. I also realized I could not ask Master like this again. I kept running. Interestingly, I found my body lighter and lighter, and I also became more and more relaxed. I came to see that it didn't matter anymore whether I reached the end point. I also knew that I have essentially achieved the end point.
I knew this was a hint from Master for me to not be attached to time. I have also come to understand that Master is taking care of everything. To encourage practitioners, Master again and again told us about the urgency of time. This is not for us to develop an attachment to time; rather, it is a reminder for practitioners experiencing tribulations to cherish time and remain diligent. It was me who interpreted that with a human notion and unwittingly developed the attachment to time.
Some practitioners complained and even doubted why there was still no end in sight when we had been told it would end soon. Just imagine that if Master had told us early on that the persecution would not end even as of today, how many practitioners would have fallen behind because they would not be able to endure the lengthy tribulation? In the early years of the persecution, many practitioners had many human notions. Master kept encouraging us so that we could succeed and create a better future.
For example, Master has repeatedly emphasized the importance of sending forth righteous thoughts.
“This is something extremely critical, extremely important. Then if every student is able to do that, I can tell you, with five minutes of sending forth righteous thoughts together, the evil in the Three Realms will never exist again--that's how important this is.” (“Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.”, Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. II)
It is we practitioners who have done poorly that Master has been patiently encouraging us all the time. The longer it continues, the more Master is suffering. It is wrong for some practitioners to misunderstand this and even complain about it.
As Dafa disciples, we should cherish the opportunity and Master’s compassion. Let us discard our attachments to prophecies and predictions, as well as the attachment to time and the attachment to ourselves. Only by saving people with a pure heart are we cherishing Master’s tremendous sacrifice. If we can achieve this, when Fa rectification will end makes no difference to us. Only by then can we be qualified genuine Dafa disciples.
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Category: Improving Oneself
