PureInsight | September 20, 2026
[PureInsight.org] On the path of cultivation, if we do not genuinely cultivate ourselves according to the Fa, then when we encounter major trials or severe tribulations, we will not be able to get through them without the righteous thoughts of a cultivator. It is not enough to rely solely on fellow practitioners sending forth righteous thoughts to help us overcome the tribulations in cultivation. If we fail to get through a trial once or twice, perhaps the help of fellow practitioners can get us through it.
In fact, cultivation is something no one else can do for us. We all have the same amount of time for cultivation—24 hours a day. We all study the same Dafa, and Master has given us the same amount. So why are there so many fellow practitioners who have cultivated themselves well and managed to overcome one life-and-death tribulation after another, with unwavering faith in Dafa? Looking at myself, why am I doing so poorly? Where exactly is the problem?
The diligent Dafa disciples around me really are following Master’s requirements. They devote themselves wholeheartedly to cultivation. They are constantly studying and reciting the Fa, constantly cultivating their hearts and character, and genuinely cultivating in Dafa. Most importantly, they put their hearts into studying the Fa! Looking at my own behavior, however, I really don't seem much like a cultivator at all. I have allowed things to become merely a formality. For a long time, I have been just going through the motions in Dafa, wasting my life in comfort and enjoyment. I have not been vigilant at all!
I used to frequently have dreams like this. In my dreams, I would be fishing and there would be lots of fish. When I first started having these dreams, I didn't feel anything about them. Ordinary people say that fish and water represent wealth, so I didn't think much of it. Later, I dreamed that my house was being renovated. I thought renovating the house wasn't necessarily a bad thing, so again, I didn't think much about it. But I know very well whether I am diligent in cultivation or not. Compared with fellow practitioners who cultivate well, there is an enormous gap between them and me. I also wondered: Why do I keep dreaming about fishing and renovating my house? What is Master trying to enlighten me about through these dreams?
Fishing, fishing—fishing in troubled waters, isn't that an idiom? It is somewhat similar to filling a position without having the necessary ability. Only then did I begin to realize: How could my cultivation have become like this—just fishing in troubled waters? I am fishing in troubled waters within Dafa. Doesn't that mean I am merely a Dafa enthusiast, rather than a genuine cultivator? This is far too unserious! This isn't truly cultivation in Dafa either. Then I thought about the dream of renovating the house: renovating, renovating, renovating—couldn't this be a metaphor for pretending to cultivate? Isn't that deceiving myself? Why don't I usually dare to face the true state of my own cultivation honestly? First I am fishing in troubled waters, and then I am “renovating.” If this continues for a long time, won't I eventually become like the sand that gets sifted out?
If a life has had the opportunity to encounter Dafa, how could it be so unaware of how precious this opportunity is? Why does one keep wavering, with one foot inside the door and one foot outside? What is it that makes me so attached to things in the human world? What am I, as a life, living for? Once this precious opportunity is missed, it will become an eternal regret for my life!
One day, while studying the Fa, I came across a passage from Master’s Teachings at the Conference in New Zealand, “Master: If a person has simply gotten close to Dafa but not truly entered it—if he passed by it or has only been watching from the outside—that is the saddest thing! Everything I teach here is to tell you how to be a cultivator. If you can’t let go of your attachments, you will never become a cultivator.”
Why did this passage from Master sound as if it were talking directly about me? What has caused me to become the way I am today? A huge question mark appeared in my mind: Is it because I have not truly taken the Fa into my heart when studying it?
In daily life, if we are trying to climb a slope but cannot make it up, and someone gives us a helping hand at a critical moment, perhaps that really can solve the problem. But the prerequisite is that we ourselves must want to climb the slope and must genuinely be making the effort to cultivate. If we do not truly cultivate ourselves and instead rely completely on fellow practitioners for help, or depend entirely on Master’s support and strengthening, that cannot work in the long run. Problems will arise.
If we can truly let go of our attachments, devote ourselves wholeheartedly to Dafa, and completely immerse ourselves in Dafa, is there any problem that Dafa cannot resolve? Only by having 100 percent faith in Master and Dafa can we follow Dafa’s requirements and truly put them into practice. If we have an attitude of being half-believing and half-doubting, half-cultivating and half-not cultivating, then we are not even taking responsibility for ourselves. How could we possibly have a good cultivation state? Most of our time is spent enjoying ordinary human life, while our spare time is not really used for cultivation. Instead, it is spent making a living, earning money, and pursuing all kinds of desires and attachments. The temptations of the human world weigh more heavily on us than our desire to become enlightened. How could anything be merely a natural phenomenon? There are no coincidences. Good things do not happen for no reason, and bad things do not happen for no reason either. Everything is brought about by our own hearts and thoughts!
Master said in Cautionary Advice from Essentials for Further Advancement, “In practicing cultivation, you are not making real, solid progress on your own, which would effect great, fundamental changes internally. Instead, you rely on my power and take advantage of powerful external factors. This can never transform your human nature into Buddha-nature. If every one of you can understand the Fa from the depths of your mind, that will truly be the manifestation of the Fa whose power knows no boundary—the reappearance of the mighty Buddha Fa in the human world!”
If I cannot recognize that cultivation is a serious matter, and continue for a long time merely going through the motions in Dafa, fishing in troubled waters, how could I possibly muddle through the tests when they come? Once the precious opportunity to cultivate is missed, everything will be lost completely, because my life came here for the purpose of assimilating to Dafa! I must make a tremendous effort in studying the Fa, truly gain the Fa through studying the Fa, take Dafa into my heart, and fulfill the prehistoric vow I made.
Chinese version: https://www.zhengjian.org/node/303733
