Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference

(July 21, 2001)

Hello everyone! You've been working hard!

Maybe now you've experienced how hard cultivation is. Because it's hard, your cultivation can meet with success. Many people in history sought the Dao--they wanted to cultivate, to reach Consummation, and to go beyond the human cycle of death and rebirth. But it was very hard. There's absolutely no way a person can reach Consummation if he doesn't go through arduous cultivation to get rid of every kind of attachment he's developed among everyday people. That's why what Dafa disciples have shown and what they've been able to accomplish in this current tribulation are remarkable, and truly demonstrate what a cultivator is. It's really remarkable that in such an evil environment the vast majority of the disciples have been able to step forward, validate the Fa, and move towards Consummation.

No cultivation way in history was as magnificent as this one today, because no cultivation way in history could truly save people on such a large scale. And in the historic moment we're in, it's not only a matter of Master saving people--you are in a time when the Fa is rectifying the entire cosmos. All Gods are watching what's unfolding in the world at this moment. Many prophecies in the human world have said that when human society reached a certain point in history, even Gods in the heavens would need to be renewed or replaced, and even the cosmic bodies would need to be reconstructed. Whether it be the different prophecies in history or the different stories that have been passed down around the world, they've told of the historic moment people are in today. So in other words, none of the various happenings in today's human society are by chance. What we cultivators have encountered is precisely that moment in history. In the Fa-rectification and in cultivation, the paths you've taken have largely been righteous.

During the process of beings in the cosmos deviating from the Fa, beings came to no longer know the Fa's existence or the Fa's true requirements for the beings at different levels. So this has caused sentient beings, when faced with something as major as today's Fa-rectification, to be unable to handle themselves correctly in relation to the Fa, to Dafa disciples, and to myself. Actually, the old forces that have been manipulating sentient beings and affecting the Fa-rectification are what's truly impeding the Fa-rectification. The beings in the cosmos are countless. With so many beings, think about it, if during the Fa-rectification every being were to display the side of him that's become degenerate, so many beings would be committing enormous sins against the Fa and they'd have to be weeded out. Then sentient beings couldn't be saved, right? And wouldn't the Fa-rectification be done in vain? That's why I said before that I turned the tables and made use of the old forces' arrangement. Because the evil forces run from top to bottom, they are interfering with the Fa-rectification without missing a single level. This has been a concentrated manifestation of all the beings' performances at different levels after their degeneration. In other words, all the degeneration of beings, and all the bad states beings can display during the Fa-rectification period, manifest in a concentrated way in the entire system of the old forces that affects the Fa-rectification. It was arranged that many beings--layers upon layers of them--would not be allowed to participate in the Fa-rectification so as to prevent their arrangement from being disrupted. This was exactly what I wanted, too--to not let those sentient beings directly sin against the Fa so that they could still be saved. They thought their arrangement was ingenious, but it was actually within my control. Those who've had a role in that system are precisely the ones in the cosmos who should be weeded out, and they're the worst, most awful beings. They've also manifest in a concentrated way the worst understanding and conduct at different levels. During the Fa-rectification, today's beings have fully acted on everything they could possibly do. So their bad actions are themselves exactly what truly need to be eliminated during the Fa-rectification. But despite the fact that the old-force beings have affected the Fa-rectification and have even done awful things, they have been given chances time and time again, and only when they became truly impossible to save was it decided to eliminate them completely. As for those other beings at different levels who haven't taken part in interfering with Fa-rectification, they can be saved--no matter how bad they've become over the course of history--since they haven't taken part in the Fa-rectification and done damage. And these beings are the vast majority.

From the beginning I knew that the old forces would interfere with this. Things seem to have no order, but actually they're very well-ordered. The different tribulations and tests our students have gone through in this world are exactly the arrangement of these old forces. The tribulations the students have endured aren't caused by their own karma alone, much less are they obstacles that have been brought to Dafa by human beings--humans don't have the ability to do that. An everyday person is feeble before a cultivator. Today's humans have in fact had tribulations arranged for them by this system of old forces at different levels, and humans have been controlled by the old forces at different levels. This is why they've become so forceful, why they dare to do things to cultivators, and why they dare to be disrespectful to Dafa. Then there's an issue that presents itself in this. With the exception of those evil ones, there are many people in this world who are innocent and who've been deceived by the onslaught of slanderous propaganda. When a person is evaluated with the Fa-principles of the cosmos, if his mind contains negative thoughts toward Dafa, he will be weeded out when the test of Dafa and Dafa disciples is over. Think about it--isn't this kind of person in danger? It's because what he directly opposes is this Fa. In order to utilize this period of history and to create an extremely evil situation in this world's environment, the old forces have used all kinds of methods and have sealed off all media outlets inside and outside China that could reveal the truth. In persecuting Dafa disciples, the Party has made use of all its experiences in every past campaign and struggle, along with evil means of all times and all lands. Meanwhile, it has also utilized the bad things, the cunningness, and the treachery that have formed in the Chinese intellect over the last few thousand years. The means it has adopted are extremely sinister. That's why at the beginning of the oppression many of the world's people were deceived by the lies. As Fa-rectification cultivators, we can't just watch these innocent beings get deceived like this into sinning and be destroyed. This is because once this matter ends, the next stage of human history will begin, and many bad beings will be weeded out. It doesn't matter how vast this entire cosmos is, it was created by this Fa of the cosmos, and beings at every level [are to] comply with the Fa's principles at every level of the cosmos. Even the most fundamental origins of matter were all created by this Fa. If a being is against the Fa that creates all beings in the cosmos, where will he go? Won't he be weeded out? During this period, Dafa disciples have indeed saved many of the world's people by clarifying the truth while validating Dafa. In this severe situation where they're being persecuted, disciples have still managed to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. Isn't this great mercy? As a Dafa disciple, you should show mercy for all sentient beings no matter what situation you're in. Seen from another perspective, the fact that Dafa disciples are still saving sentient beings even when they're in such an oppressive environment demonstrates even more clearly the Dafa disciples' magnificence.

Clarifying the truth isn't a simple matter--it's not only a matter of exposing the evil. When we clarify the truth we are saving sentient beings, and at the same time it involves the matter of your own improvement and your elimination of attachments during your cultivation, and the matter of Dafa disciples being responsible to the Fa in their cultivation, as well as issues like how you fill and enrich that paradise of yours in your final Consummation. If in the future you are a Great Enlightened Being who has reached Consummation, it can't be that there are no sentient beings in your dimension and in the domain of your own paradise. That's why during your cultivation you need to demonstrate that you mercifully save sentient beings, and make your own paradise rich and full. During the Fa-rectification, while I eradicate the old forces' influence on Fa-rectification I am also making arrangements for you. Things appear to be evil and chaotic, when in fact they're all really well-ordered. The old forces made well-ordered arrangements, but I too have done things with much order. No matter which angle you look at it from, there's a way to ultimately resolve these problems. During this period [we should focus on] how we can seize this opportunity to truly demonstrate the extraordinariness and the great mighty virtue of a cultivator. This is also a precious opportunity. Since the old evil forces insist on giving us a chance to eliminate them, make good use of it. History has never seen this before, it's hard to come by.

It's really easy for a cultivator who's in an environment that doesn't have an evil field to say he can let go of life and death--just like your talking about letting go of life and death in a righteous field like we have here today--since there's no pressure at all. But it's a different matter if in an evil environment, in an environment full of evil elements, you validate the Fa and dare to step forward to expose the evil. Then, although this environment is very evil--think about it, everyone--isn't it precious and hard to come by? It is truly precious and hard to come by. After this period there won't be any opportunities like this. You are able to come upon this kind of opportunity only because you are Dafa disciples. Nothing like this happened in ordinary cultivation or individual cultivation in the past. Of course, going back in history, Jesus and Sakyamuni also ran into enormous tribulations. The tribulations aimed at them back then were also quite evil, historically speaking. But never before has anyone utilized this kind of modern mass media that we have today to breed this kind of evilness in such an overwhelming manner, on a scope as large as the entire world. The extent of the evil has been so enormous that when it started on July 20, 1999, it was as if even the heavens were collapsing. Outside Mainland China, few people besides Dafa disciples knew what Falun Gong was all about, and all the governments and media around the world listened to the groundless propaganda from Mainland China's media. People listened to China's deceitful propaganda and believed it, and so they had a bad impression of us. So why do you feel that today's environment has become easier? It's because in your clarifying the truth you've clarified the truth about the persecution against us to the world's people, to the media, and to governments around the world; and it's also because your kindness and mercy in the ordinary human society and your righteous, Dafa disciples' performance have both been affirmed by the people of the world and been affirmed by Gods. These are what make the environment we have today possible. Remarkable--truly remarkable. You've withstood the slanderous propaganda from the propaganda machine of an entire nation and an enormous government--a government that's manipulated by the most scoundrel and most evil ones. Every Dafa disciple who's been able to keep up with Dafa's progress has done what he should do. By contrast, how could those people who haven't come out of their homes but who still think of themselves as cultivating possibly be considered cultivating? Of course, human thoughts manifest themselves in different ways in ordinary human society. When someone who's learned Dafa goes down the wrong path, it's because he has attachments that he hasn't been able to let go of. And these attachments are sure to be controlled and taken advantage of by the evil beings. The evil beings look specifically for your thoughts that contain attachments in order to strengthen them and achieve their aim of taking control. After being used by demons, these people "enlighten" along an evil path but still think that they're right, and look in the Fa for excuses by taking things out of context to defend themselves.

Looking at the Fa-rectification's overall situation right now, the change that the greater cosmic body has undergone is huge. The vast new cosmic body is incomparably huge and more wonderful than ever. The very final stage of Fa-rectification is taking place, because the systems of cosmic bodies are incredibly colossal--they're unimaginably enormous--and a system this enormous is still made up of tens of millions of gigantic systems like these. It's true, I have no way to tell you about this structure using the ordinary human language anymore--it's reached the point of being indescribable. This is true, but don't underestimate yourselves. Perhaps the future Consummation that awaits you will be a truly magnificent realm. (Applause)

Clarifying the truth is something each and every one of you Dafa disciples must do. I'm telling you this again. Anyone who tries to make excuses for himself and who's never stepped forward is wrong. As for how much longer this tribulation will last, I don't think you should think about these things much. And don't think about whether you can reach Consummation, either, because any desire you have can become an attachment and can be used by the evil. As soon as that kind of thought emerges, the evil might conjure a false image for you, and this will then cause interference. Cherish the present time and make the best use of it--this time is meant for the disciples. While you cultivate, do Fa-rectification, and move yourselves towards Consummation, you also need to save sentient beings; you are creating everything for the future. Everything Dafa disciples do today is extremely important, and the righteous path they take might become a reference for beings in the future. In the meantime, they've laid a foundation in human society for humankind's future way of existence. You know, what's presented on our PureInsight Website is the future humankind's new concepts, and it represents the new humankind's future thinking and correct views. The state, the mercy, the kindness, the purity, the righteousness, and the great forbearance displayed by Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period is helping to shape the future society. In addition to Dafa disciples going through the process of cultivation in the current period, there will also be future people obtaining the Fa in a time to come--this undertaking is done in two stages. Originally, the old forces' arrangement was that there would be a total of twenty years, divided into a Fa-rectification period and a period in which the Fa rectifies the human world. During the first ten years, Master would do Fa-rectification and Dafa disciples would cultivate during the Fa-rectification period; during the latter ten years the future people would obtain the Fa. Then it would enter the new era, and at that time the new future would begin. But I've revealed this because things have changed, although not too much. Don't get too happy about this. Those of you who haven't done well, in particular, should know that time is pressing. Don't think about anything else. In everything we do we need to be responsible to the future. Meanwhile, during our clarifying the truth, the future people have truly been saved. In particular, the understanding and support the people outside Mainland China have shown towards Dafa has laid an excellent foundation for their obtaining the Fa and entering the future human society.

People haven't come to this human world for nothing, because there has never been a humankind like today's in this environment of the Earth. As you know, I often talk about alien beings. Why do I talk about alien beings? Because in the past they were the real human beings in this environment of the Earth. During different periods of history and in an even more remote history, they were the proper inhabitants here. It doesn't matter how many times the Earth has been replaced, in each period the beings on Earth, the human beings, had a different form and appearance--the differences among them were huge. But all of them were the proper inhabitants of this place. So why has our humankind in this period taken on this appearance? It's because, you know, the Fa of the cosmos was to be taught here, so in a remote historic time all of the groundwork was being laid for the future spreading of Dafa. Things that look like animals wouldn't be allowed to come listen to the Fa--that would be an insult to Dafa. So Gods created today's humans in their own image. People in Western religions know that Yahweh created man in his image; people in the East know that Nü Wa created man in her image. And there have been other Gods who created other humans. If in the past the beings in Earth's environment were created to look like Gods, it would have been an insult to Gods, the greatest show of disrespect to Gods. So creating human beings here in the image of Gods was forbidden. Although today's humans have been created in the image of Gods, Gods refuse to think of human beings as their kin, because the way humans live is completely different from Gods. Only humans' external appearance resembles that of Gods. There's more to it than this. Why have Chinese culture and civilization throughout history been so different from those of other places? The countries in all other regions have the concept of a country, and in all other regions their national leaders have taken the form of kings. Only in China's history was there no such thing as a country--it took the form of dynasties, instead. Historically speaking, China's emperors were very different from the kings in other countries. The truth is, while the foundations of those cultures were being laid, predestined relationships with the cosmos's beings were continually being established. In every period of history, beings from different paradises have come to the land of China to establish their relationship, and they've each represented their own cosmic system. Dafa students, too, have come from different cosmic systems. Their reincarnations at different levels were their courses of life at those different levels. Ultimately, they come from remote cosmic bodies. You know, "a dynasty's emperor has that dynasty's courtiers"--that's something people say. There are more sayings like this "a dynasty's emperor has that dynasty's courtiers," there are also, "a dynasty's sovereign being has that dynasty's people," "a dynasty's culture...," "a dynasty's dress..." In the past, when the dynasty changed, the culture would immediately change, too, and the differences in dress were also substantial. All of this was brought by beings from different levels. That's why in China, the culture, or, its food, its dwellings, its clothing, its way of life... every aspect of the culture has been very different from that of other regions. This was caused by the accumulation of cultures brought to humankind by beings from many, many different systems. Then, over time, the number of people would have outgrown the capacity of this land of China. So after the relationship was established, people reincarnated in other regions in their next lives.

I've said that no country in this world exists by chance--they all exist with a meaning and a purpose. Actually, people are all waiting for the Fa. Many students have really felt this; namely, when some people read the Fa, they say, "I've been searching for this my whole life," or "This is exactly what I've been looking for." Why can't other sentient beings obtain the Fa immediately at the present stage? It's because they've been restrained in this regard. The reason they can't enter now is that once they entered, their own karma and all kinds of complicated elements that they've formed in society--things on their negative side--would follow along as well, and that would increase the difficulty of Fa-rectification in its first stage. So we can't let those people come now. But you must do Fa-rectification and clarify the truth, because in the process of doing this, if someone has done the exercises or has learned the Fa--although it's not in depth--he's already laid the foundation for his obtaining the Fa in the future. That's why you must do this. In other words, I'm telling you that many situations aren't without a reason. Everything in the world came for this Dafa, was formed for Dafa, and was created for Dafa. The many Fa-principles and the many true secrets I've told you weren't even known to Gods before. Even when they heard these things it hit them as a sudden realization. Their realms limit their understanding of higher levels and of more remote historic periods, because however high a person cultivates to is however high the principles he enlightens to and however high the truth of the cosmos he enlightens to. So in today's world, we can't not be responsible for other sentient beings, we can't not be responsible for other sentient beings' obtaining the Fa in the future, and we can't not lay a foundation for other sentient beings to obtain the Fa in the future, because they could well be beings from your system. In order to spread the Fa in China, and to not let average persons hear the Fa, many, many Kings of different paradises and beings from very high levels--many of whom I've been looking after throughout history--were gathered to reincarnate in the land of China. Of course, in terms of obtaining the Fa today, everyone is treated the same, whether they were looked after or not. So, there's even more reason for us to save the people there. In the midst of the overwhelming, vicious propaganda, what those people have committed are no longer ordinary sins. Some of them are fated for destruction, regardless of where they came from, and regardless of what kind of predestined relationship they have or how high their levels were. Isn't it a pity for this to happen to a being? There's nothing we can do. It's not that Master isn't merciful. It's because during the Fa-rectification beings at different levels are all repositioning themselves--it's not a question of being merciful, nor one of saving people. Wherever a being's xinxing is, that's where he's positioned--this is a standard, this is a principle of the Fa, and this is something established for the future, and it can't be broken or violated at will.

Everything that the Dafa disciples outside China have done and shown while clarifying the truth is no less remarkable, it's a magnificent feat. When it comes to cultivation levels and progress towards Consummation, there's no difference between you and the students in China at all. It was arranged for you to obtain the Fa here, and it was arranged for you to cultivate here. Many disciples are highly educated, and the vast majority of the disciples outside China have advanced degrees. Why is this the case? It's precisely to have you put to full use at this crucial time what you've learned among everyday people and are good at, to have you validate the Fa using the everyday people's skills Dafa created for people in this world. In practice you've done this very well. Judging from the articles on the Clearwisdom Website and Dafa disciples' articles on the Xinsheng¹ Website and in other media, I'd say that some of the articles you've written are masterpieces--they are well-reasoned, their ideas are backed up, they demonstrate clear thinking, and their logic is strong. They have truly had the effect of shocking and intimidating the evil, and their caliber is high. When those lie-breeding media in Mainland China are measured with the standard we have now, I'd say they're no good. One student said, "There's no capable man in the royal court."² I think that's true. Who would exhaust himself in helping the evil to lie, and in slandering and framing us in a scoundrel fashion? As Dafa disciples, we are fully demonstrating what we're supposed to do--this is your responsibility, this is what Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples should do, and you have done extraordinarily well. While suffering tribulations and enduring the agony of the persecution, the students inside China have been clarifying the truth to sentient beings, which has displayed the Great Enlightened Beings' magnificent feats before they are born. Sometimes when I read the PureInsight Website, I feel that the new beings and the new humankind have truly begun now, because your understanding is already able to align with those of the new historic period and those of the most righteous beings. Dafa disciples are establishing for humankind a foundation for the future.

There's a very evil factor in the persecution of Dafa disciples. Namely, the old forces can't get over the fact that some students will reach Consummation and become Fa-rectification disciples; they think that these students have obtained it too easily, because even they can't be Fa-rectification disciples; and for this reason they manipulate evil and utilize wicked persons to beat our students--insisting on beating them to the point where they say, "I'll stop practicing." Isn't this evil? Could a God be like this? The cosmos is being rectified by the Fa, and the number of beings weeded out at every level is quite large. The number of us who'll reach Consummation is, as I see it, far from enough. I had originally planned to have at least fifty million--I've never told you this before. (Applause) Right now we don't have enough. But we do have a pretty large number already. No matter what, though, as a cultivator, you shouldn't get too happy about anything you hear. Maybe what Master just said is itself a test for you. Get rid of any attachment you have, and don't think about anything. Just do everything a Dafa disciple should do, and everything will be covered. Although the evil seems awfully vicious, it has now exhausted its tricks, and can merely keep escalating the labels it puts on our practice and keep using the media to fabricate things; with its sick mind, it keeps forcing students to write so-called "repentance statements" and to sign its stuff. It knows very well that that's all fake and can't change people's hearts, so why does it insist on doing that? Why does it insist on having you sign that paper? Why does it insist on having you say, "I'll stop practicing" before releasing you? One person says "I'll keep practicing," and they slap him with a sentence; another one says "I'll stop practicing," and just for this they set him free. The difference between these is unbelievable, isn't it? Is this normal? It's not. Isn't that obvious? They just want to make you fall, they just want to make you say those words. Once those words are said, even if they're not from your heart, it leaves a stain. For a Fa-rectification disciple, that's a disgrace. What's more, if you've done things that have harmed Dafa and you aren't able to truly remedy all of it later on amidst the Fa-rectification and make up for the losses you brought Dafa, it will really be serious. One thought can determine whether you make it through. Whether you can step forward to validate the Fa is a test that can't be passed just by following the crowd and its momentum. Some people have thought that they'd wait on Tiananmen Square, and figured that "if everyone steps out of the crowd, then I'll step out." When they don't see many practitioners stepping out, they stroll around and then head back. This is because when everyone steps out, it's that momentum that brings you out--you aren't stepping forward as a result of letting go of life and death deep down within. Cultivation is an individual matter, and following the crowd won't do it. Each person's improvement must be well-grounded. Of course, our students outside China don't all need to go to Tiananmen. If you all went there, there would be nobody doing Fa-rectification things outside China. This was all arranged in history.

You are one body, just like Master's gong. Of course you and gong aren't the same thing, I'm just giving an example. It's just like my gong, which does different things at the same time. Some of it is continuously charging through the immense cosmos with tremendous force into the microcosm, toward what's higher and broader; the force is so massive and the speed is so fast, transcending all times as it rectifies the colossal firmament. Some of it, after this charging, eliminates the sinful karma of the beings at different levels and balances all the interwoven relationships among beings at different levels. Some of it assimilates beings, and some of it is repositioning beings. It's doing different things even at the beings' most microcosmic levels, at every level. Some of it does things in low dimensions, some of it protects the students, and some of it is cleaning out the evil--every facet of my gong is doing these things. In other words, one body doesn't necessarily do one thing. But no matter what you do, you need to be worthy of being called a Dafa disciple.

That's as much as I'll say today. Your sharing experiences and understandings is important, too. Under any circumstance, in any period, and no matter how busy you are with your work, you can't stray from your Fa-study, as this is what fundamentally ensures that you will improve and reach Consummation. You can't do Dafa work without studying the Fa, or it would be an everyday person doing Dafa work. It has to be Dafa disciples who do Dafa work--this is the requirement for you. If everyday people help with Dafa work, of course it's a good thing, but what I'm talking about are Dafa disciples. You must be a Dafa disciple doing Dafa work, because your Consummation is of primary importance. Right now, your Consummation is first and foremost. Of course, your being responsible to Dafa and saving sentient beings is part of your Consummation. I'll tell you this: you're all saying that Master is saving all sentient beings, but when you all reach Consummation and look back, you'll see all the sentient beings you saved back then. When you clarify the truth you are saving sentient beings.

That's all I'll say. Now you can resume the conference.

1. Xinsheng--A Chinese language web site run by Dafa practitioners that is intended for the general public. Its name can be translated as "New Life" or "New Existence."
2. An ancient Chinese idiom about a certain state of government.

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