Where Do Our Attachments Come From?

(Minghui.org) I have worked as a delivery driver for a Chinese restaurant in the U.S. for several years, and my income mainly comes from customers’ tips. Most customers will give 10%-20% of the price of the food. When some give a very small tip or not even a penny, I get upset. It costs gas, time, and effort to deliver this food. Sometimes, it’s windy, rainy, or snowing. Whenever this happens I feel troubled.

Every time I have this reaction, I know that, as a practitioner, I should look inward. I do calm down, but the next time it happens I have negative thoughts again.

Master said,

“Everything will involve a cultivator’s self-interest, and anything can affect you as a person, your thoughts and emotions, your xinxing, and the things that you are attached to inside.” (“Teachings at the 2004 International Conference in New York”)

In my daily life, I often encounter small things that stir up my attachments, tugging at my mind. Because I don’t know how to cultivate myself, my attachments have piled up even though I’ve practiced Falun Dafa for more than 20 years. I know my well-cultivated part is partitioned from me, and I surely must have removed many attachments. But I still feel my attachments are endless. For a long time I’ve asked myself, “Where do these attachments come from?”

I believe that attachments stem from various human notions formed over time after we are born. I am almost 60 years old and have developed many deeply-rooted human notions. I always thought, “I can’t do much. It takes time to eliminate these attachments.”

One day I discussed this with my wife, who is a fellow practitioner. I learned that the character “我”(I) is composed of a “hand” holding an ancient weapon. Chinese characters come from divinely-inspired culture. When the divine created this character, they told people that “我”(I) was selfish; It fights with others for its own benefit with a hand holding a weapon.

At that moment it dawned on me that all selfishness comes from “I.” The “I” produces a lot of selfish notions. Those layers upon layers of notions protect themselves so that they do not suffer and do not take any loss so that they can live comfortably. These selfish notions produce many attachments. Therefore, all attachment comes from this selfish “I” (我).

This “I” has countless outer layers, like clothing, tightly wrapped in “selfishness.” This “I” is unpredictable. Sometimes when it’s exposed, it fights to protect itself. It doesn’t allow itself to be hurt and it cannot lose. Sometimes, it’s very deeply hidden.

It also plays tricks to tempt and mislead you, so that you are trapped into chasing fame, profit, and sentimentality. The “I” will continue to produce new attachments, replacing the old ones.

For cultivators, the “I” pulls you down and keeps you from ascending. The root of all attachments comes from selfishness How can I eliminate it?

Looking Inward Is the Magical Tool

Master said,

“True spiritual practice means cultivating your mind, working on yourself, and reflecting on your role in things rather than blaming your circumstances.” (The Ninth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

“When something upsetting happens, something that angers you occurs, or there is personal gain at stake, or your ego suffers a blow, are you able to look inward and cultivate yourself, searching for your own shortcoming, and even when you find yourself in such a situation and you’re not at fault, are you able to have an attitude of, “Oh, I understand—I must not have done well in some regard. Or if I really didn’t do something wrong, perhaps it’s that I’m paying off karma that I owe. I’m going to handle it well and pay off what I should.” And as you continually encounter such things, you should continually cultivate yourself. Then, if a cultivator can handle things in that manner, using true principles to cultivate himself, then aren’t the unpleasant things that you experience in the ordinary world good things?” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)

From Master's teachings I realized that, whenever a practitioner encounters anything that moves their heart, it must be this selfish “I” at work. The stronger one’s selfishness, the more the mind is moved. When this happens we should immediately look inward to identify our selfishness and our attachments. Especially when we have conflicts with others, we must look for our own problem. As Master pointed out:

Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong

As a cultivatorOne always looks for one’s own faults‘Tis the Way to get rid of attachments more effectivelyThere’s no way to skip ordeals, big or small[During a conflict, if you can remember:]“He’s right,And I’m wrong,”What’s to dispute?(Hong Yin III)

In regard to people not tipping when I deliver their food, I should also look inward: Maybe I care too much about money. The customer’s not tipping is meant to remove my attachment to self-interest. Or perhaps I mistreated this person in a previous lifetime. When I view the situation from the Fa’s principles, it’s easy for me to put down the attachment.

Consider Others Before Doing Anything

Master said,

“Tense situations with others will come up unexpectedly for those of us who practice. How can you be prepared, then? If you can always be compassionate and calm, you will handle the issues that arise in your life well since you will have a buffer, in a sense. Things will work out well if you are always compassionate and good to others, thoughtful towards people, and handle whatever situations you get into with people by first pausing to consider how well your actions will go over with the other party and whether anyone will be hurt by them. You should hold yourself to high standards and raise the bar still further as you practice.” (The Fourth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

Practitioners often have attachments because of the selfish “I.” The first thing we must do is to get rid of this selfish “I.” To achieve that, we have to follow Master’s guidance and think of others first. That way, the ego will be diluted and no attachment will arise.

As cultivators we strive to achieve the standards of higher realms which are “selflessness and altruism.”

Master said,

“In religious practice, Buddhists have traditionally stressed the concept of “emptiness,” teaching adherents to keep the mind free of thoughts and to shun the secular world. And Daoists, likewise, have stressed the idea of “nothingness,” asking followers to forgo material possessions and to not want or try to get them.” (The Second Talk, Zhuan Falun)

I understand that “emptiness” and “nothingness” means completely eliminating this selfish “I.” Then one is able to reach the realm described in Master’s poem:

Abiding in the Dao

Present, but the heart elsewhere---Perfectly reconciled with the world.Looking, but caring not to see---Free of delusion and doubt.Listening, but caring not to hear---A mind so hard to disturb.Eating, but caring not to taste---The palate's attachments severed.Doing, but without pursuit---So constant, abiding in the Dao.Calm, but without strain of thought---The truly wondrous can be seen.”(Hong Yin)

In this realm, the “I” does not exist, one does not care about anything, and nothing moves one’s heart. So one is happy about everything, reaching the state of “selflessness and altruism.”

The postnatally acquired “I” is not the true self. As practitioners, we are fully assimilated to Dafa and live for others. When Master established us as Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period, Master recreated our fundamental lives. Our true self is a brand new life composed of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, which is a life that is fully compatible with Master’s wishes and assimilated to Dafa. Anything that is not in line with Dafa is a false self that was arranged by the old forces. As we cultivate, we need to remove anything that the old forces imposed on us.

If we hold onto this false self, we will not able to enter the new universe. Everything in our fundamental life is brand new. But sometimes, we are still swayed by the old factors and the false self. Only when we realize that the true self of all Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period is a new life can we gradually relinquish the notions of the false self.

Learning the Fa by Heart

Master said,

“You must study the Fa well, for that is the fundamental guarantee that you return to your position. (Disciples applaud) This isn’t just something that I casually thought up: what Master is imparting to you is the Fa of the cosmos. What I just said was to tell you that you absolutely must not slack off in your cultivation, you absolutely must not slack off in your Fa-study, and that you definitely must do it with all due sincerity. If previously you didn’t study well, you definitely should, once you leave here today and having heard Master address this again, really earnestly study and cultivate, and not let your mind wander.”(“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)

Practitioners must study the Fa every day wholeheartedly. In the process, the selfish “I” will be peeled away like an onion, and the roots of our attachments will be gradually dug out and eliminated.

The above is my understanding. Please correct anything inappropriate.

Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)