Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Washington DC Fa Conference
(Li Hongzhi, July 20, 2003)
Hello everyone. (Enthusiastic applause)
There are so many people at this Fa conference, one conference hall can't hold everybody. Actually, I've already been to four different meetings in a row. (Applause)
Between July 20th of 1999 and July 20th of this year, four full years have gone by. The persecution has lasted for four years, and in those four years Dafa disciples have endured unprecedented trials. We don't acknowledge this persecution, but it has happened. In this persecution, how you, as Dafa disciples, put an end to the persecution that the old forces have forced upon us and negate the arrangements by the old forces, how you manage to walk the righteous path of a Dafa disciple, how you save sentient beings during this persecution--all of these are responsibilities bestowed upon Dafa disciples by history. Dafa disciples must do those things and do them well. And what's happened proves that you have done really well. You've shaken the cosmos and stunned all the beings in the cosmos.
The magnitude of this evil persecution isn't something that people could imagine, and there are terrifying factors behind it. This persecution against the masses is different from the persecutions of the past. The purpose of their persecution and the tactics they've used are so base, cruel, and violent, and they do their utmost to hide it from the world. Rotten ghosts and the world's scoundrels have utilized the regime's power to orchestrate an unprecedented persecution that is the most despicable and base, the most indicative of their evil nature, and disguised by the worst indecency and shamelessness, and it's all based on lies. The persecution against Dafa disciples has been grim, and the persecution of sentient beings has likewise been grave. Humankind feels that this is an abuse of man's human rights, freedom of belief, and basic humanity. In reality, it's severe damage and interference by the evil factors in the cosmos to the Fa-rectification and to the entire cosmos's moving toward the future. All that have taken part in this persecution will have to be held responsible to history, and none that have participated will be able to escape from the future positions they've determined for themselves during this period.
In this persecution, so many of the world's people have been poisoned, and for so many sentient beings, because of the minds of the world's people having been poisoned, the gigantic cosmic bodies that are connected to them have disintegrated. Why did Fa-rectification have to be done? To save the beings in the cosmos--save all the beings in the cosmos, normalize bad beings and turn them into good ones, have sinful beings be rid of their sins, and have those warped beings reconstructed into good ones again. Dafa brings humankind these wonderful things, and it brings the beings in the cosmos these wonderful things. But during this persecution many beings have indeed lost their chances to be saved and have been denied salvation. For Dafa disciples, this suppression that you've encountered is unprecedented. On the other hand, though, because you are Dafa disciples, you're able to confront these things, and you're able to overcome this huge tribulation. What has happened proves that you have made it through, and the evil's momentum is declining fast. In the human world--whether it's in Mainland China or other places--you've seen that this evil drama no longer has the rampant momentum it had back then, and this has reduced the losses suffered by sentient beings and Dafa disciples during this persecution. This wouldn't be possible without the joint efforts of every Dafa disciple. Of course, Fa-rectification's massive force is pressing forward at an even faster pace. But before Fa-rectification's massive force arrives, in order to avoid and lessen the poisoning and harming of Dafa disciples, of all of humankind, and of even broader related groups of beings, Dafa disciples have given so, so much to lessen the losses. Every Dafa disciple on the path of validating the Fa is fully using his abilities and putting to use the skills and knowledge he's acquired in the ordinary society in his efforts to validate the Fa, save sentient beings, and clarify the facts, and they've done really well.
Actually, what ordinary people have suffered in this persecution is even more severe. The propagandizing of the vicious and poisonous lies has caused a lot of people to become unsavable and unkeepable. And along with these people who can no longer be saved or kept, where they came from, the larger and numerous groups of beings at different high levels who sustain their lives, they too will have to disintegrate. When we talk about it, it's only a few words, but these kinds of gigantic changes that are actually, truly taking place in the cosmos are horrific. When far off cosmic bodies disintegrate it looks to people like a magnificent sight and something to explore. But when the celestial bodies right before people disintegrate, humankind won't think it's a magnificent sight. And when those enormous cosmic bodies and gigantic beings disintegrate, how horrific is that? So many lives are in there! Countless and measureless beings will be destroyed, and all of it is the result of what the old factors in the cosmos have done. They have arranged in my Fa-rectification, based on the deviated notions in the cosmos, the weeding out or keeping of what they want--they arranged everything that they want. None of that was my wish, and it has severely interfered with the Fa-rectification and severely interfered with the salvation of sentient beings. So all of those factors that have taken part in it and interfered with the Fa-rectification, all the way down to the evil beings here among human beings, they'll all be held responsible to history and they absolutely cannot get away with it.
From the perspective of Dafa disciples' validating the Fa, we don't acknowledge the old forces' arrangements, but I knew that the old forces would come out--it was just a question of which form they'd take. The reason being, the Fa-rectification wouldn't impact just a small number of beings, but the beings in the entire cosmos, no being would be able to escape this gigantic change in the cosmos, so the affected beings would all have their own understandings of the Fa-rectification, and they would thus look at this Fa-rectification affair using their own notions. The higher the level of a participant, the bigger the interference to the Fa-rectification. One single thought or one single move by him will cause total upheaval down below. So this persecution was ultimately caused by the different understandings at the cosmos's uppermost levels. What they wanted has brought about the interference to the Fa-rectification of the cosmos. So I knew all of this would happen, and I knew that the beings at lower levels would, when they were impacted, come out to do their things some way or other. So Dafa disciples' listening to the Fa, obtaining the Fa, cultivating, and establishing a foundation for Dafa in this world--this force--it's exactly for the disciples to save sentient beings during this period and establish Dafa disciples' mighty virtue, and thus become the most sacred, Dafa-forged, beings. Many Dafa disciples made grand vows in history to save sentient beings and do what they should do in the last stage of the cosmos's formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction.
During this Fa-rectification Dafa disciples have been fulfilling their promises and have fully done what they should have. Those who've done well, in particular, have fulfilled their pledges. No matter what, in this persecution, regardless of how much a Dafa disciple has been persecuted, what awaits a Dafa disciple is the most wonderful. That is because what's seen as "life" and "death" in the human world aren't true life and death for a being, so during this persecution however much a Dafa disciple has been persecuted, that's how much honor and glory he'll receive. So looking at it from this perspective, Dafa disciples, strictly speaking, no matter how much you're suffering right now in the persecution, cultivators don't care about the gains and losses of this world, and cultivation is really to seek Consummation and a being's eternal glory. So as Dafa disciples, you have in fact gained an opportunity to temper yourselves, to validate the Fa, and to proudly showcase your mighty virtue as a Righteous Enlightened Being of Dafa in this environment (applause). It's other sentient beings who are really being poisoned, and they will truly lose their lives. Even though those beings who've been persecuted have lost everything in this world, the persecutors themselves will lose everything of theirs forever. The cosmos's Fa principles are just, for sure.
So for Dafa disciples, no matter how harsh this period of history that we're going through is, there's nothing to grieve over. What we're thinking about is saving sentient beings, and you should fulfill [the aspirations of] a being who came for the Fa and the significance of your coming here. So we have nothing to regret, and what awaits Dafa disciples are all wonderful things. The saddest is those people in the world who've been persecuted and the old forces themselves. Their ending is what's truly sad.
We've gone from July 20th of 1999 to today, and even though the time hasn't been that long, it feels to you like it's been forever. You have personally experienced the environment of terror created by the evil forces, and felt the agony and difficulty brought to our cultivators' families and the hardships brought to our cultivators from the psychological pressure, so it feels like it's been forever. But actually, in the overall Fa-rectification of the cosmos it's just an instant. The times of different dimensions have resulted in your sense of the length of time. In one minute or one second, a being can complete a lifetime that feels endless to him, and in ten thousand years a being can complete a lifetime that feels really quick. Actually, over the course of the whole Fa-rectification, a lot of our students thought something back when the situation was really tough, which was, "When is this persecution going to end?" These days there aren't that many people who say that, you're very rational and are more clearheaded when you face the evil, you see what the various evil beings are trying to accomplish, and you understand full well our responsibilities as Dafa disciples.
Actually, when we look back after we've gone through this period of history, the feeling you get really is pretty special. We've made it through such a severe environment, and we've come through the most evil period of human history. That's because it wasn't just humans' doing but the result of beings from the entire cosmos focusing here. The manifestations of this persecution in the human world are manifestations of all of the beings of different levels being here and using human actions here, so what Dafa disciples have been enduring isn't just agony and pressure brought about by humans, but things brought about by the involvement of high-level cosmic bodies, and even the involvement of more cosmic bodies at different levels. All beings in the cosmos are watching humankind intently, and the Three Realms has become the cosmos's focal point.
Of course, this persecution is something that high-level old beings started plotting ages ago in history. I've said that the Three Realms was created for the Fa-rectification. In the cosmos there was really no such thing as the Three Realms before. Some students have asked me, "Master, do other colossal firmaments have a Three Realms?" I told them that they don't. The Fa-rectification of the cosmos was to take place right here, it was to be done right here, so the Three Realms was created here. Every blade of grass, every tree, every speck of soil, every stone, from people to things--all the beings have come for this Fa. Looking at it from the vantage point of the whole cosmos, the time that's passed is not that long. But, from the vantage point of the beings at different levels of the cosmos, the time has seemed endless. A lot of beings no longer know why the Three Realms was created, and they've forgotten the ultimate purpose of creating the Three Realms. I said before that everything came for this Fa. All of the beings in the Three Realms came for the Fa, were created for the Fa, and were forged for the Fa. But, not all of them play a positive role in their actions. Back then the old forces, with their arrangements, believed that those that wouldn't play a positive role in their actions would make contributions to the Fa just the same, so the old forces thought that those beings should reach Consummation too. I say no! This persecution itself isn't acknowledged in the Fa-rectification, and all of those who play a negative role are taking part in the old forces' persecution and will be weeded out. This is for sure, no matter who you were in the past.
A lot of students have said that Master is so merciful. Strictly speaking, in fact I'm not amidst mercy. Neither am I amidst evil. If I were amidst mercy, the negative beings would be completely weeded out in the cosmos, in which case the balance would be lost in the cosmos, and as a result all beings would find life meaningless. If I were amidst evil, how would the good beings survive? The cosmos would become a demonic body. I don't have any of that, and I'm not amidst any of that. But I know about all of it, I'm able to control all of it, and I'm balancing all of it. The Fa's principles in the cosmos are absolutely just. I came with good thoughts, and I came with the wish to save all beings. (Enthusiastic applause) What's taken place has proven that this is how I've been doing things, and it's precisely the old forces who have interfered with the Fa-rectification.
At present, the old forces have already been completely weeded out. From the ones in the highest forms all the way down to the so-called Gods and warped beings who have, as arranged by the old forces, taken part in the Fa-rectification and affected the Fa-rectification at different levels, all of them have been weeded out entirely. They're gone. And those dark minions who actually carry out specific tasks are being completely weeded out, too. It's not that we aren't merciful. As a result of the damage they've done, enormous, measureless, and countless beings have been destroyed. The reason is, if those beings weren't destroyed, the Fa-rectification wouldn't be able to press forward, and it wouldn't be able to catch up and seize the final chance before the entire firmament ultimately dissolves. So it's a serious issue.
Turning the topic to things here, none of the things we encounter in the human world are accidental, and they aren't just things that happen at this human place. When Dafa disciples validate the Fa and save sentient beings, we can't tell people higher truths of the Fa because human beings aren't able to accept or understand them. So that alone makes it quite hard to save sentient beings. All beings have a side of them that's aware, but they also have a side that's unaware. A person's human surface in this world, which coexists in this world alongside Dafa disciples, is exactly the part that's unaware. And when it comes to that unaware part, as it fights to benefit itself in the human world postnatally, [the person's] mind is filled with bad factors. And this is especially true in recent times, where humankind's morality has declined drastically, and on top of that, the *** Party that's appeared in China has caused the minds of the people in China to become twisted and warped, and they aren't even able to tell what's good and what's bad. All of these things have severely affected the salvation of sentient beings, and they've made it hard for Dafa disciples to cultivate themselves and save sentient beings. But as Dafa disciples you can't give up just because it's hard, and that's because this is a responsibility bestowed upon you by history, and it's a magnificent, grand vow you made and something you've waited a long time for.
While they're clarifying the facts some students often run into people who don't want to listen, don't accept things, or are even antagonistic. You shouldn't let one person's opposition be a mental setback for you or make you lose the courage to save sentient beings. A Dafa disciple... what's a Dafa disciple? He's a being created by the most magnificent Fa, (enthusiastic applause) and he's rock-solid and as indestructible as diamond. How could a few words from an ordinary, bad person count for anything? "However evil you are, you can't change me. I simply must accomplish my historic mission, and I must do what a Dafa disciple should do." That's [how you should be,] because we should be clear that in human society and among the beings in this cosmos, there are ones that can no longer be saved, and there are even a lot who can no longer hear the truth. You'll run into this kind of person when you clarify the facts. You should be clear and rational: we're saving those who can be saved. But as Dafa disciples, you cultivate kindness, so you should be compassionate. Whether they're receptive or not, you should always treat them with compassion, and you can't get competitive with ordinary people or look at sentient beings with human thoughts. Just do whatever you should with compassion, regardless of whether they're receptive or not. Compassion comes from a person's cultivation, and it's not something that's acted out; it comes from deep inside, and it's not something done to show others. It's something that exists eternally, and it doesn't change with the passage of time or changes in circumstances.
When we've passed through this part of history and we take a look back, if every Dafa disciple is able to say, "I've done what I was supposed to do," (applause) then that's the most extraordinary. (Long applause) But, there are a lot of students who've done a disservice to themselves, and who haven't fulfilled what they wanted to do and what history bestowed upon them. The good thing is, this persecution hasn't yet ended completely, so there are still chances. As for how to make amends and what to do, that's up to you. Since the day I began teaching the Fa I've said that what I do is responsible and honorable toward human beings, toward society, and toward all sentient beings. (Enthusiastic applause) Everything I've said will come true in the future, and the vows I made will be fulfilled in the future. (Applause)
No matter how long of a historic process the human race has gone through over the course of Earth's existence, be it thousands or tens of thousands of years, in the eyes of Gods it's been a quick process. It's the time here that has created a difference in time for sentient beings. As beings who came into the Three Realms, as Dafa disciples in the Three Realms, you all know that this Three Realms didn't exist before in the cosmos. As I've discussed a number of times while teaching the Fa, the reason it was created was for the Fa-rectification to make use of it here during the final stage of formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction. If it couldn't truly play a Fa-rectification role during the Fa-rectification, or, in other words, if this Fa-rectification were to fail, or during the Fa-rectification at this human place the human beings didn't show a positive attitude toward Dafa one bit and Dafa disciples didn't perform well, if any one facet didn't go well, then the Three Realms wouldn't exist in the future cosmos. To put it another way, this place here would disappear in the near future. But Dafa disciples have done really well and accomplished what Dafa disciples were supposed to, humankind has shown its positive side, and I've harmonized here what I wanted to have. (Applause).
Even though some beings have taken part in the persecution, and a lot of beings have been indifferent, and a lot of beings haven't been supportive even though they have the ability to do so, the great majority of people, the great majority of all the beings, are sympathetic and supportive, which means they've shown their positive side. With you being able to cultivate here, being able to validate the Fa here, and Master being able to complete what he wanted to accomplish here, the sentient beings here have created opportunities for their future. So in the future the Three Realms will exist forever. (Enthusiastic applause)
Recently we've done a lot of specific things, and you've seen that. You know, I said at a previous Fa-conference that this year would be an eventful year. A lot of things have in fact happened since the beginning of the year. As far as the political gang of scoundrels in Mainland China goes, several high-ranking officials who've persecuted Dafa have been found guilty in U.S. courts, and the head scoundrel has been sued in court; there's the SARS epidemic that you all know about warning humankind, the troubles brought by Hong Kong's Article 23, the huge flood in Mainland China, and notably, the TV station that exposes the persecution airing globally. All of these things have dealt serious blows to the evil. They consider all these things to be disasters, and that includes Dafa's current situation. All of them might appear to be natural manifestations, but if the evil beings hadn't been purged away a lot of things couldn't have been accomplished. That's because there were their factors behind humans, and they were taking the place of humans--they weren't just controlling people, but replacing people. When you were clarifying the facts to people they were controlling people and making them turn a deaf ear to you. It was demons exerting control.
As of today, we can say this: for the evil forces, the old forces, the evil people in this world, for all those factors that persecuted the Fa, they've lost the battle. Looking ahead, the situation is going to quickly go through even greater changes. And that means that this period of history will be behind us soon, and we'll soon enter the next stage of things. Some Dafa disciples always used to ask, "Why aren't there many new students during this period of time when we spread the Fa?" There was of course the factor of the evil exerting control as well as the factor of the old forces blocking them. The reason I didn't demolish those directly is that the next batch of people belongs to the next batch of affairs. This period is for Dafa disciples to become mature in their cultivation, save sentient beings, and validate the Fa. Looking at the current situation, the enormous current of Fa-rectification is soon going to gush over here, so a lot of things are being demolished bit by bit, and the most surface dimension is being reached bit by bit. That's why in some regions new students have started to come one after another. And if that's the case, the overall situation is going to change really fast.
With all of what I just talked about, all the same, we've made it through this part of history, and whether it's been a privileged gain for us or something forced upon us by the old forces, during the persecution Dafa disciples have done what we Dafa disciples are supposed to do. To put it another way, during this persecution you've established the mighty virtue that Dafa disciples should have. You've done what you should for the sentient beings, you've done what you should for yourselves, and you deserve to be the Enlightened Beings you're about to become. (Enthusiastic applause)
I don't want to say more about the more specific things, since recently our Fa conferences have been quite frequent, I've said a good amount, and you're still in the process of trying to understand a lot of things. A lot of the things I talked about aren't just superficial things, so you're still studying them. So this time it's only because this Fa conference of ours is so grand that I wanted to come and meet with our students. And notably there are a lot of students from far away and isolated areas who haven't seen me for a long time, so I wanted to take this opportunity to meet with our students, to see everybody, that's all. (Long, enthusiastic applause)
Editor's note: The translation is subject to further improvement so as to be closer to the original text. Last updated: August 05, 2003.