(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, many fellow practitioners were feeling unwell. When I first heard about this, I just simply thought that it was either because the practitioners had attachments or their righteous thoughts were not sufficiently strong. So I tried to assist them in a positive way by looking for their attachments. If the practitioner did not develop strong righteous thoughts within a short period of time, I began to have the negative feeling of having no other way to help and didn't know what to do. We practitioners began discussing this issue and exchanged ideas. Although it was difficult to utilize this health problem as the main subject, I felt that there must be some Fa principles to reflect upon in these occurrences that would provide a way for us to deal with what the individual practitioner was experiencing and that there must be a common link in the various tribulations.
Why This Is a Problem of the Whole Entity
Teacher told us to look within ourselves when we are confronted with problems; but initially, I could not clearly see what the other practitioners' tribulations had to do with me until I noticed a passage in "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.". When Teacher touched on the subject of the old forces, he said:
"The goal behind those problems is this: the old forces think that some students believe that once they cultivate Dafa they have nothing to worry about, 'As long as I'm a Dafa disciple I won't be in any kind of danger.' So they saw this and thought: 'We can't allow this. Isn't this like getting some kind of insurance? Once they learn Dafa they're not worried about anything. Isn't that a huge attachment in and of itself?' So those old forces caused trouble in Dafa."
From this, I realized that in this persecution, the old forces are using not only the xinxing of the practitioners experiencing the tribulations, but also perhaps directly taking advantage of those practitioners who have thought this way and have developed widespread xinxing loopholes (such as the "getting some kind of insurance" mentality). In using the high sounding "in order to have Dafa disciples become supposedly matured through tempering" as a front, the old forces were using tribulations to impede the practitioners from participating in the Fa-rectification process. They even tried to create instability amongst the practitioners by devious means, so as to achieve their aim of preventing the Fa-rectification practitioners from completing their duty of saving all sentient beings. This reflects the fact that the tribulation of an individual practitioner is indeed a test directed at the whole entity.
Since the persecution has been directed at the whole entity, every particle within the entity is duty-bound to participate in the eradication of the arrangements of the old forces. On the one hand, we must explicitly and thoroughly deny the arrangements of the old forces, collectively focus and send forth righteous thoughts, and assist those fellow practitioners in overcoming their tribulations. At the same time, all of us in the entity must look within ourselves, and consider carefully whether our mentality conforms to the Fa, with mutual consultations, to improve on and elevate the xinxing of the entity.
In fact, to hinder the Fa-rectification, the old forces have deliberately been dividing Dafa practitioners in virtually every region, even to the extent of practitioners inhibiting coordination of each other. Teacher in his "Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference" told us: "The next person's things are your things, and your things are his things." I feel that since Fa-rectification has reached this phase, and fellow practitioners have sealed the gaps generated by regional, psychological, cultural, environmental and other differences, and as other practitioners' things are our things, a tribulation of one practitioner is an impediment that we must eliminate together. We should not allow the evil to interfere with or persecute our fellow practitioners. This will form the requirement of all Dafa practitioners being an impregnable collection of particles within the entity. A practitioner made an analogy: a single chopstick can be easily broken, but it is very difficult to break a bunch. That is really true!
When facing particular tribulations, some fellow practitioners understand things in the following way: cultivation is a personal matter, and so assistance from others will not be effective. While in the period of self-cultivation, such thinking would not be a problem, but it is now the Fa-rectification period mingled with the element of damage by the old forces, the conditions have changed. An article from Clearwisdom shook us tremendously. It described a practitioner that had incorrect thinking after being brainwashed. Another practitioner would have difficulty exchanging experiences with her, as she would interpret what the Teacher taught in an opposite manner. In the end, a group of practitioners decided to inform all practitioners that were available, to send forth righteous thoughts towards the brainwashed practitioner every hour on the hour for three days to eliminate the evil elements behind her. A practitioner whose celestial eye was opened clearly saw a fairly large converging field from the righteous thoughts heading towards her home. The evil life forms quickly began to leave as the field enveloped and annihilated them. After three days of the practitioners sending forth righteous thoughts, this brainwashed practitioner asked her husband for a copy of Zhuan Falun to read, thereby returning to the Fa-rectification.
With such thinking, it was not possible for that practitioner to truly have righteous thoughts, and if we had continued to confine ourselves with the notion of "cultivation is her own business", then she would have lost her chance of being rescued. Nevertheless, the combined strength of fellow practitioners was able to disintegrate the evil elements besieging her. She was thus released from the interference, and her original nature was brought forward and enabled her to study the Fa again. With similar conditions, and under such great tribulations, while the body is under great stress, to be able to be conscious and remain steadfast in righteous thoughts is certainly difficult. Therefore, the fellow practitioners surrounding her needed to strengthen the righteous thoughts they were sending forth. Also, we must be considerate and think about those practitioners that are in difficulties, let them know that everyone is genuinely being encouraging and supportive. This will be of great assistance to a practitioner in difficulty.
Furthermore, it is hoped that the practitioner in difficulty will look upon the tribulation from the angle of Fa-rectification, and not see it as a personal concern, trying to bear it alone with great difficulty, and not letting fellow practitioners know about it. Be brave and exchange experiences with fellow practitioners and combine our strength to eradicate the arrangements of the old forces. That is because the ultimate aim of the evil is to impede our Fa-rectification, to deny us the opportunity to complete our duty of clarifying the truth. Therefore, it cannot be an individual undertaking.
This is only my shallow understanding to share with you, and if there are mistakes, kindly point them out to me so that I can correct them.
