Towards Consummation
Studying the Fa with attachments is not true cultivation. Yet during the course of cultivation a person may gradually become aware of his fundamental attachments, rid himself of them, and thus meet the standard for a cultivator. What's a fundamental attachment, then? Human beings acquire many notions in this world and are, as a consequence, driven by these notions to pursue what they yearn for. But when a person comes to this world, it is karmic arrangements that determine his course of life and what will be gained and lost in it. How could a person's notions determine each stage of his life? So those so-called "beautiful dreams and wishes" become pursuits that can never be realized, despite painful attachments.
Dafa has boundless inner meaning and has created everything at each level of the cosmos, including, of course, everything of humankind. So with the exception of those wretched humans who have been used by sinister, old, evil forces--which are themselves being eradicated--to persecute the Fa, people are able to see in the Fa things they consider good. Some truly see the Fa-principles of Dafa; while many other students have found with their human notions various yearnings and wishes in Dafa, and, compelled by these human attachments, they have come to practice cultivation in Dafa.
Some people think that Dafa is in keeping with their own understanding of science; some people think that it agrees with their own code of conduct; some people think that it speaks to their own dissatisfaction with politics; some people think that Dafa can salvage humankind's degenerate morals; some people think that Dafa can cure their illnesses; some people think that Dafa and Master are righteous, and so on and so forth. It isn't wrong for human beings in this world to yearn with these attachments for beautiful dreams and wishes. But a cultivator definitely shouldn't be that way. You may start on the path of Dafa with those thoughts, yet over the course of cultivation you need to regard yourself as a cultivator. During the course of cultivation, however, through reading the books, studying the Fa, and diligently making progress, you should clearly recognize what your thoughts were when you first came to Dafa. After cultivating for a period of time, are your thoughts still the same? Are you continuing on the path because of those human attachments? If so, you cannot be counted as my disciple. It means that you haven't gotten rid of your fundamental attachments and that you are unable to understand the Fa from the Fa. Those who have been weeded out during the evil tests that Dafa has encountered in China are all people who have not gotten rid of those attachments. At the same time, they have had a negative effect on Dafa.
Despite this, and the situation in which a large number of disciples who are true cultivators are suffering severe hardships, the time of conclusion has been repeatedly postponed so as to wait for those people to recognize their own fundamental attachments. This is because many among them are predestined and have the potential to reach Consummation.
Do you know that one of the biggest excuses the old evil forces use at present to persecute Dafa is that your fundamental attachments remain concealed? So in order to identify those people, the tribulations have been made more severe. If you're attached to Dafa's consistency with humans' science, they manipulate wicked human beings to spread lies that Dafa is "superstitious"; if you're attached to Dafa's power to heal illness, they manipulate wicked human beings to spread lies that Dafa forbids people to take medicine and that this has led to 1,400 deaths; even if you say that Dafa isn't involved in politics, they have wicked human beings spread lies that Dafa and Li Hongzhi have foreign political forces behind them, and so forth; if you say that Dafa collects no fees, they say that Master has sought to accumulate wealth through dishonest means. Whatever you're attached to, they have evil ones concoct lies about that. Even if you're afraid that Dafa is being damaged, they fabricate articles allegedly written by Master. Think about it: the enormous test at present is exactly to see how Dafa fares and how students conduct themselves in Master's absence. How could Master speak out? How could I again tell you what to do? Additionally, they manipulate wicked human beings to examine Dafa and its disciples, putting them through a comprehensive and destructive test that targets all human thoughts and attachments. Had you truly been able to get rid of those fundamental human attachments in your cultivation, this last tribulation would not have been so vicious.
Even now some people still can't concentrate when it comes to reading the books. Those of you who do work for Dafa, especially, shouldn't use any pretexts to conceal your not reading the books or studying the Fa. Even if you do work for me, your Master, you still need to study the Fa every day with a calm mind and cultivate yourself solidly. When your mind wanders all over the place as you read, the countless Buddhas, Daos, and Gods in the book see your laughable and pitiable mind, and see the karma in your thoughts controlling you, which is detestable. And yet you cling to delusion and fail to wake up. Some volunteers go long periods of time without reading or studying the Fa. How could they do Dafa work well? You have unwittingly incurred many losses that are hard to recover. Past lessons should have made you more mature. The only way to prevent the old, evil forces from taking advantage of the gaps in your mind is to make good use of your time to study the Fa.
What's unfolding at present was arranged long ago in history. Those disciples who have stepped forward to validate the Fa in the face of pressure are magnificent. When I questioned the last group of high-level beings who are about to be weeded out why they have been concocting lies about me and Dafa, they replied: "There's no other way. The path you have taken is so righteous. How else could Dafa and your disciples be tested?" Those who damage Dafa are only a handful of evil forces. All they are doing is using those evil beings who they, too, think should be eliminated. The immeasurable and countless Buddhas, Daos, and Gods in the cosmos and the beings in even larger cosmic bodies are all watching everything on this tiny speck of dust in the cosmos. Dafa has already consummated everything in the cosmos. The mighty virtue is magnificent and everlasting. Those disciples who have come through the comprehensive and most rigorous tests have laid a rock-solid foundation for Dafa in this world, have displayed in the human world the true manifestation of Dafa, and at the same time have consummated their own most magnificent positions. The evil will soon be completely eliminated, the vile ones in the human world will receive due retribution, and sins can no longer be allowed. Disciples are waiting to reach Consummation, and I can wait no more. Everyone's behavior, good or bad, fully reflects the outcome he will obtain. Sentient beings, your future positions are chosen by you, yourselves.
Li Hongzhi
June 16, 2000
(Translator's Note: This translation is subject to change. Latest update: March 20, 2002)