Not long ago, many practitioners near my home got arrested because of printing and distributing Dafa (great law and universal principle) materials. Almost all printing sites were damaged, which resulted in great losses. After summarizing the experiences and learning from it, I found that almost all practitioners had a strong premonition before being arrested. Some of them felt the Teacher's hints. However, most practitioners did not really take them seriously, and looked within in time to see if anything was omitted in what they were doing. As a result, Dafa work suffered great losses. In addition to the frenzied damage of the evil forces, I feel, our practitioners' irrationality and inadequate understanding of the Fa-rectification is also one aspect. In summary, I personally feel there are the following inadequacies:1. Work for Dafa Cannot Take the Place of Cultivation Practice
There is one practitioner in charge of printing Dafa materials. He was so busy with this that he almost stopped studying the Fa and practicing the exercises. Later, he almost left the normal household chores untouched. He reversed day and night in his daily life and seriously neglected his Fa-study. During a period of time, almost nothing went smoothly for him. He changed printing machines three times due to their frequent breakdown. Inks he bought were fake products. While in print, there happened to be a power outage, etc. Even in his dreams, he dreamed about his house being ransacked. However, he did not calm himself down and think over all this to see if he had done something inappropriate. As a result, not only he was arrested, and the printing machine was confiscated, which cost him 20 to 30 thousand Yuan [about US$2,400-3,600, US$60 is the average monthly wage], but practitioners in surrounding areas also lost their source of Dafa materials. (Because that place was not developed, only this one practitioner could purchase a printing press.)
I feel he had a wrong understanding at the time, feeling himself doing something extraordinary, and thus loosening strict requirements for himself. Actually, it is inevitable for practitioners in the current circumstances to work for Dafa and clarify the truth about Falun Dafa to the public. But it cannot replace the whole course of cultivation practice. If not making time to study the Fa, our mind is likely to deviate from the Fa, and use our human state of mind to do Dafa work. Once encountering troubles, we forget to look within to see what attachment we still have. If we use only the methods of everyday people to overcome the difficulties and allow the evil demons to take advantage of the loopholes in our mind, Dafa work will suffer losses. Cultivation practice is a serious matter. In addition to the heart that can give up all we possess for Dafa, we should still cultivate ourselves to acquire relative righteous elements. Manifested in specific work, we should be calmer and more rational. With the development of the Fa-rectification, Dafa has more delicate and thorough requirements on us. It is irresponsible to be careless simply because one feels that he is not afraid of being arrested and beaten.
2. The Harm Caused by Complacency
In the beginning, practitioners in many places could be careful in doing things when they were organized together. They could understand things from the perspective of the Fa, and often shared experiences and drew on lessons so that the work could go smoothly. However, after a period of time, their complacency emerged because they had achieved certain effects. They started to become elated. Usually something would happen at this time. Moreover, the complacency is likely to raise one's showing-off attachment. They talked more than necessary while sharing experiences with practitioners in other areas. They revealed specific situations of work and practitioners to people not involved, so the public security department collected some information and came to investigate and this, which finally led to the damage of the printing sites.
3. The "I Don't Care" Attitude is Incorrect
Some practitioners fear neither the Heaven nor the Earth, and are ready to sacrifice themselves for Dafa at any time. It is good to have such a mentality, but it doesn't mean that we should hold the "I don't care" attitude in working for Dafa, and pay no regard to security issues. For example, practitioners at one practice site didn't keep secret the place for printing. One or two persons would be enough to be in charge of the printing, but when they knew that they might be followed, they still went to print materials with many people. As a result, the printing machine was confiscated, and all practitioners were arrested. I feel the issue of "being afraid or not" is worthy to be considered. What is the root for this so-called "no fear" mentality?
If it is because one feels that the Teacher will protect him, such a thought is obviously unacceptable.
Some practitioners may feel: I'm not afraid of being arrested, and I don't care. Even if I am caught, I will not be scared, and I am ready to be arrested at any time. Even though you have got yourself psychologically ready to endure tribulations, you do not have to go through unnecessary tribulations. It carries no meaning to endure the endless persecution of the evil forces. Suffocating the evil is genuinely significant. Shouldn't we view this matter from the perspective of Dafa, and truly accomplish our mission. Stop sticking to our own thoughts. Genuinely base ourselves within Dafa, endure humiliation and maintain well the form of Dafa in the human world in trials and hardships. Let more people know Dafa and learn the truth about Dafa. Do the most significant things to the Fa-rectification and to living beings.
There is another thought, "what should occur will definitely happen; what should not occur will definitely not." I don't think this kind of thinking is quite right. What is "should occur"? Should the evil's persecution of Dafa "occur"? Nowadays, Dafa practitioners can be wantonly detained, beaten and sentenced; Dafa literature and Dafa materials can be arbitrarily destroyed. It has already violated the heavenly principles, and been unacceptable by Dafa! The Teacher does not accept the arrangements by the evil forces. We should also be sure that we cannot allow the evil to go on with its evil deeds. We cannot tacitly approve the existence of the evil, simply because it can be a contrast to the greatness of Dafa practitioners. What enables us to improve ourselves in different circumstances is the Fa, but not the so-called arrangements by the evil forces.
In order to safeguard Dafa and eradicate the evil, we can sacrifice our lives, but it doesn't mean that we have to be bitterly tortured by the evil. We really should not allow such things to occur again and again. All that we do is just prevent the evil from recurring, but not to validate Dafa and the greatness of Dafa practitioners under the cruel oppression of the evil (they are not worthy of it). Certainly, we can conduct ourselves well under any tribulations. This is only the nature of us as particles of Dafa. But it is also our nature that allows no existence of such an evil in the sacred cosmos. Therefore, the mentality that takes the evil's persecution of Dafa practitioners as an inevitability, has unconsciously turned out to be a kind of passiveness.
4. "If I am Imprisoned This Time, I Will be Waiting for the Arrival of the Fa-Rectification in the Human World."
Quite a few practitioners hold this thought. I feel it is not quite so. Does it mean that the mission has been accomplished if one was sent to the labor camp or sentenced to jail terms? Will it be all right only if one can keep up until the end? Or does it involve connivance to the evil? If each practitioner resists at the risk of his life while being arrested, the evil may more or less have some worries. Otherwise, if the evil catches one practitioner, and sentences one, it will feel too easy and natural. While in prison, passive waiting is endurance; active protest is also endurance, why not go on with the Fa-rectification? Certainly different people have different enduring abilities, but one can deal with the situation according to his own capability. We cannot say: Anyway it is close to the concluding time, I will simply wait for the end. Don't they realize that this way is obstructing the Fa-rectification? In addition, as for when this matter will be concluded, if one thinks too much of this, it will become an attachment, further it will prevent one's righteous thoughts from functioning.5. Do Everything with Rationality
I feel some practitioners are a bit blind in doing things, it seems that their affection towards Dafa is more than their understanding of the Dafa principles. This situation is worrisome. Reviewing the lessons from former experiences, many practitioners who were "transformed" in labor camps had such similar states of mind. Some practitioners had been to appeal and safeguard Dafa several times, and they were beaten and went on hunger strikes. They behaved quite well. But now they have lost the fundamental righteous faith in Dafa. Having deep thought over their former behavior, they were all overzealous. However, they didn't fully understand the true meaning of our stepping forward to validate Dafa. The similar behavior on the surface manifested the completely different realm of mind. As we know, human beings also have compassionate thought, and they will do extraordinary compassionate deeds in the eyes of humans. But after all, it is human. It cannot last long and cannot be pure. However, we cultivate Dafa, what we should achieve is the state of genuine Gods, who are completely different beings from humans. Therefore, we must be very clear in terms of principles. "Not all that glitters is gold." On the surface, it may seem to be ordinary. The requirement in the realm of mind, however, is scrupulous. It is truly compassionate and rational.
As a whole, I feel over the past one year plus, we have been advancing toward maturity, and we should be more mature. The basis of cultivation should become more pure. Looking back at the path we have taken, I find we are likely to have wrong understandings if we view things from the standpoint of our personal cultivation, however, when we evaluate matters from the perspective of the Fa, we are likely to see the essence of the matter. All that is obstructing us from immersing in the Fa-rectification is the part in us that hasn't assimilated to Dafa. When we constantly rectify this part, and continually immerse ourselves in the Fa-rectification, until we are completely dissolved in the Fa and ultimately reach perfect harmony with the Fa, at that time perhaps it is when we really advance towards Consummation, and the time the Fa really rectifies the human realm.
Above are my personal understandings, please correct me if there is something inappropriate.
A Practitioner From China
January 7, 2001
Category: Perspective
