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Don't Cultivate on Assumptions
(Clearwisdom.net) A while ago, I read Zhuan Falun
aloud, paragraph by paragraph. There was a paragraph that struck me for the
first time: "As you know, when a person reaches the Arhat level, in his heart he
is not concerned about anything. He does not care at all in his heart for any
ordinary human matter, and he will always be smiling and in good spirits. No
matter how much loss he suffers, he will still be smiling and in good spirits
without any concern. If you can really do this, you have already reached the
entry-level Fruit Status of Arhatship."(Zhuan Falun, published in
2000) I read it several times and compared it with my cultivation state. I was
astonished and felt as though I had awoken from a dream. I obtained the Fa a little late, but I have cultivated for over six years
nonetheless. I experienced many hardships and evil persecution. With the
compassionate help of Master and his protection, I have made it to today in
spite of stumbling frequently. Sometimes, I felt happy and took it for granted.
I thought that I had cultivated pretty well. However, compared to the standard
of Dafa, I was too far away. Actually, the Fruit Status of Arhatship is the
lowest Fruit Status. To reach this level, it means that "He does not care at all in his heart for any ordinary human
matter" and "No matter how much loss he suffers, he will still be
smiling and in good spirits without any concern."(Zhuan Falun) Reflecting on my cultivation state, I had not done well at all and sometimes
wasn't even cultivating. Moreover, I could not remove my anger toward the
authorities that initiated the persecution or toward the CCP and its followers.
Later, after studying the Fa, I found that I was regarding the
persecutors as enemies. Due to many years of the poisonous influence of the CCP
evil culture and concepts such as "love and hate clearly
distinguished" and "hating evil like it is an enemy," I had
formed twisted mentalities. Practitioners have no enemies. Nobody is qualified
to be the enemy of Dafa disciples. If someone hates the persecutors just like an
ordinary person hates his enemies, then does he not lower himself to the level
of ordinary people? I recall that, in those days, I often tried to look like a
"hero," with a frown and angry eyes, which was actually a degenerate
expression of a hero that was propagated by the CCP. It is a stark contrast to
the compassion and benevolence required by Dafa. When I felt that I had
cultivated very well, in actual fact, I was far away from the level of the
entry-level Fruit Status of Arhatship. Upon finding the omission in my Xinxing, I tried to make up for
it by doing the three things well as Master told us, and my Xinxing
gradually improved. My hot temper cooled down, and that the enemy in my heart
disappeared. I will not be angry no matter what happens, and I will remain
smiling and in good spirits without any concerns. I do not even think about how
well I cultivate because I understand that "Cultivation depends on one's
own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master" (Zhuan
Falun). You only have to cultivate diligently. I realize that any kind of
human mentality could have terrible consequences. It's like a mooring rope and
anchor that will keep us in the abyss of misery with "capsized boats and
torn sails!" It is only by studying the Fa more diligently that can we find
our attachments and recognize our incorrect mentalities and let go of them. August 20, 2005 Posting date: 8/31/2005 |