Teaching the Fa at the 2005 Canada Fa Conference
(Li Hongzhi, May 22, 2005, in Toronto)
(Enthusiastic applause) Good morning! (Applause) (Audience: "Good morning, Master!")
I remember that, before July 20, 1999, our Toronto Fa conference was held here. (Enthusiastic applause) At that time, when the evil CCP's suppression and persecution were about to begin, I said something to you: I said that just by remaining unmoved you could handle all situations. (Enthusiastic applause) Of course, some students grasped what I said, while others took it to mean, don't do anything, don't take any action. (Teacher laughs) (Everyone laughs) Being "unmoved" refers to a person's steadfast righteous thoughts and righteous faith being unmoved. It wasn't about ignoring a Dafa disciple's responsibility of saving beings and not even taking the path of cultivating and improving yourselves through ordeals. How could that work? So however it was people did, it's cultivation, after all, so each person had a different understanding and each had taken up Dafa having differing degrees of human attachment; in the cultivation process there are human thoughts that are hard to remove, and this makes for different understandings and grasps of the Fa. So amidst this ordeal, different students' understandings of Dafa and the amounts of their attachments have been fully shown, and you have seen how differently people have acted during the persecution. This persecution was forced upon us and it is not to be acknowledged, but through the persecution shortcomings in cultivation have indeed been seen, just as the magnificent side of Dafa disciples has been seen. For you to have followed Master to this point and come through the persecution, that indeed is magnificent! (Enthusiastic applause)
I've said that if it were not for this persecution, Dafa disciples' cultivation would have taken another form. Of course, what's past is past, and it's basically a moot point now. But with things as they are, in these circumstances, it truly is magnificent when genuine Dafa disciples can really keep firm and improve themselves in the Fa, save sentient beings while negating the persecution, and make it to where they are today. You have seen how wicked, harsh, and underhanded the persecution has been, and on top of that, it has something that sets it apart from the persecutions of disciples of enlightened beings in the past: throughout history, persecutions were done out in the open, whereas today, the evil CCP has in its hands all the wicked experiences and filthy tactics from the persecutions of people in the course of history, so in this persecution and wicked suppression, many unspeakable tactics have been carried out on the sly. So when it comes to helping the world's people learn about this, helping society to become alarmed, having the world's people react in outrage at this persecution, or leading them to voice their support of Dafa disciples--this seems very hard to do. The reason is, the evil has been concealing the truth, and their persecutory tactics have been terribly wicked. Never before has something like this happened. It is the product of the wicked Communist Party having accumulated for over a century the most wicked of experiences, and they are covering up their criminal acts in the persecution in an extremely secretive way.
In other words, this ordeal that was forced upon Dafa disciples is without precedent in history. Back when the persecution first began, the [bad people] did things publicly, and they tried in vain to suppress Dafa disciples with a sinister, overwhelming atmosphere in which it felt as if the world was collapsing. But the evil forces, the rotten demons, and the malevolent Party couldn't succeed. Later on they realized that their approach would, as time went on, draw international attention and aggravate the Chinese people, and the broader public would support Dafa disciples and the effort to thwart the persecution. So they gradually made the persecution into a covert one. Then, for one thing, it looked on the surface like the malevolent CCP had again won a victory, and secondly, it painted a false picture where things seemed calm and harmonious on the surface. Meanwhile, behind the scenes it continued to underhandedly persecute Dafa disciples in a sinister fashion. In the latter stages it has gotten to the point that even the CCP's state-controlled radio stations, television stations, and newspapers no longer mention it. But it has never let up in its means of oppressive persecution. These are the persecutory means of a gangster regime, the likes of which have never been seen before. You have seen that under these circumstances the mainstream media outlets of each country around the world have, for the most part, not reported on the persecution of Dafa disciples, keeping silent while crimes and sins are committed.
Of course, there is another factor, which is that China has now become an economic marketplace for the entire world, and many countries like the looks of the investment conditions there. It's not that the CCP has exceptional resources, or that the CCP has changed for the better and improved China's situation, or that the wicked Communist Party has some great approach, and thereby attracts investors from all over the world. In reality it's quite simple: the CCP has made the Chinese people poor and fearful, and so they want to save up more money; also, the Chinese people's work ethic has led them to work steadily and long term at their jobs. That has attracted investors. In many cultures, once people have made some money they stop working, and they won't work again until they have spent it. But the Chinese people, having been made poor and fearful by the CCP, have this characteristic that they want to keep saving up money, and so, as long as they can keep saving money they will keep working. That has attracted a great many investors who need a stable workforce, especially one of technical personnel. So the wicked CCP has seized upon this frame of mind that the Chinese have, and it has been using the Chinese people and using the investors' funds and massive amounts of financial, material, and human resources to suppress people and persecute Falun Gong. And so it is that many countries, out of economic interest, haven't given a stance on the persecution.
Through the persecution we've seen that nothing advocated for in human society is reliable. There are many people around the world who talk about human rights, and there are many countries that pay lip service to freedom of belief, to the point that seemingly everybody the world over takes these things to be life's most basic needs, a person's most crucial rights. But when the CCP persecutes the Chinese people and tramples on their human rights and freedom of belief in a terribly evil and severe way, many governments and media throughout the world have remained silent. In other words, when material gain is at stake, all of that talk about freedom of belief and human rights suddenly means nothing to them. As for people's consciences, well, we can see that in this circumstance people's so-called consciences likewise become nothing. It turns out such things are promoted just as a means to guard certain people's practical, vested interests. Dafa, on the other hand, is the real Truth of the cosmos that you have come to understand through cultivation. It is forever unchanging and immutable. Its upright teachings are to be upheld in all situations and circumstances; they are what people need to follow no matter the situation. In any circumstances, as long as the cultivator's righteous thoughts are strong, he can gain improvement, guidance, and assistance from it, thereby strengthening his righteous thoughts and helping him to ward off interference from whatever human tactics or evil temptations might come his way. This is the cosmos's Law and man's righteous belief in gods, and it is the manifestation of the Truth as cultivators progress in elevating themselves. Nothing that ordinary people tout for the purpose of guarding ordinary people's interests can compare to it. In other words, all of this transcends ordinary people, and that is why Dafa disciples can make it through the persecution.
Along with those two reasons, there is actually another factor at the most fundamental level that is behind the many governments and almost all the major media around the world not taking a stance. And that is, the old forces' factors in the old cosmos have been blocking off all of the world's people who haven't obtained the Fa, not letting them get involved in this affair. Their goal is to have the Dafa disciples be "tested" in certain locales. If the world's people did get involved, then the "tests" of Dafa disciples wouldn't be that wicked or reach the goal of determining, through the harsh, cruel "tribulations" that they designed for them, whether Dafa disciples are up to par. That's the ultimate reason why they have done this.
No matter what, though, throughout the persecution Dafa disciples and I have fully resisted the persecution. So while we completely resist this persecution, to follow your Master's requirements, my requirements, and maintain the unique cultivation state that you have, and to do well everything you are responsible for as a Dafa disciple--that is what it means to be diligent. I've told you before that, when it comes to cultivation, any cultivator in the past would, like you, have a tough cultivation predicament, one of grueling, long-term tests. And especially when a person cultivates with things that benefit him in practical ways right around him, that's truly hard. Many chances to gain are right there, tempting cultivators, and when you let down your guard just a little bit, your thinking, your understanding, and even your human thoughts will lead you to drift along with the current. So this form of cultivation is very hard. But because it's hard, seen from a different angle, it shows that the Dafa disciples today are able to cultivate to high levels. If the environment were not so trying, then the direct tests of the cultivator's human surface and of the main body of that person's being would not be so intense.
You know, whether it was religions or the various cultivation forms in history, they weren't responsible for the outermost surface of the person, the true figure, in the person's cultivation. In other words, it didn't matter to them whether the person's master soul (zhu yuanshen) could succeed in cultivation. That's why most of them involved cultivating for extended periods in a state of stillness (ding). The various states that manifest when attachments are removed in stillness can act only upon the cultivator's subordinate soul (fu yuanshen). But this form of practice, one in which Dafa disciples cultivate in human society, has the cultivators' remaining human attachments and the many temptations of self-interest for the person at the surface manifest in a most direct way. And this leads to an emphasis on the cultivation of the cultivator who is at the surface, thus making changes in the surface human side the key. This then becomes the most challenging point of emphasis in cultivation. On top of that, the premise is that the person's main body is the target of salvation and what is to be improved, so the true cultivation of the person becomes what is foremost, and the cultivation way is such that the surface of the person is tested directly. The tests of the subordinate soul and the other beings present in the human body are not so direct, for they are all breaking through the delusion to some extent, whereas the person [at the surface] is being directly tested by all the things that could benefit him in a practical way. That is what's unique about Dafa disciples' cultivation. And that is what I meant when I said, "Human beings can now truly cultivate into gods." I said that, "In form it is now truly the person himself who is cultivating," because the human body has become the primary body in the cultivation process.
Back when this Dafa was first taught, a lot of gods didn't understand, and therefore said, "You value humans too much." The implication was, "Instead of focusing on us, you are focusing on humans." Who ever took humans seriously in the past? Human beings have so many attachments, their conduct is so shoddy, and their reasoning is so muddled. "Why would you want to save humans?" they thought. Of course, there are many reasons involved that they didn't know about. I have shared with you in past teachings that low-level gods don't know the true state of things at mankind's surface level. Over the course of so many years, so much has happened in human history, and the surface human beings have endured tremendous amounts in their various incarnations. Fa-rectification is saving all lives, so how could those lives not be saved? When Dafa rectifies the Fa in the cosmos, things are carried out in a way different from in any cultivation form of the past, where [the cultivation form] would be responsible for only one particular type of being or the beings within only a certain range. Fa-rectification is to save all beings that can be saved, which includes all forms of life that are created by gods and are present in a person's main body. What's more, many people have undergone great hardships over the course of the long, drawn-out years, so how could they not be saved? Aren't humans the primary beings in the Three Realms? Don't all of the beings in the Three Realms need to be saved? Then this cultivation form as well as the foundation that the human race has laid and the suffering that it has gone through over the course of the long years of history--isn't it exactly these things that have enabled human beings to gain the greatest mighty-virtue of all time? And shouldn't these beings be deemed the most outstanding and considered first for salvation? When this human place is made the base point of Fa-rectification, isn't it only fitting that the first priority be to set free this group of beings, human beings?
Of course, it's none too simple. Everything of today was foreseen in the past. Back when the Three Realms was first formed, arrangements began to be made, and then in the human form at man's outermost surface the beings and the conditions that would later be needed by the Fa-rectification period were gradually arranged, and this then allowed those beings to gain enormous mighty-virtue in the process of going through such long years. In other words, what is at a human being's surface is not just simply a human. [Human beings'] deficient conduct and wisdom are the result of limitations brought about by the realm human beings are in, the environment of the Three Realms, and the standard used when man was created. This can't be perceived merely in the manifestations of things, because the higher a factor's level is, the harder it is to detect it at the [level of the] human body's surface. With those things undetected, man's true situation has forever been veiled from the beings at the multitude of levels. It's not that every god knows the relationship between the Three Realms and the cosmos. As you know, over the course of history much culture and many prophecies were passed on to human society, but of the gods, even those closest to the Three Realms don't know about many such things. Isn't that curious? So why is that, then? Why don't they know? When human beings can comprehend certain upright teachings found in some of the philosophies of the past, as well as the highly accurate prophecies left here during the course of human history, how could gods not know?
There are actually many mysteries in the human world and in the Three Realms, and a lot of mysteries are unknown to gods. And there are great and numerous differences between the time of mankind and those of many, many gods. Supposing a human being is a particle, then, a divine being that is the size of a larger particle--speaking in terms of volume, that is--what he can detect, be aware of, and know regarding the long, drawn-out history of the human world is quite limited. When it comes to a particle whose volume is smaller than the human race's particles, or a god who is smaller than a molecular particle, his time passes by very fast. That is why many beings know nothing about the essential history of the Three Realms, the reason for the Three Realms' existence, or the true meaning of life's existence. A god doesn't really die, but he is reborn in his realm. I'll just use the word "rebirth" to describe it. He too starts over again owing to the [law of] formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction that has existed in the cosmos, similar to how human beings go through birth, aging, sickness, and death and then reincarnate. At the time of the cosmos's creation the principle of cyclical renewal was set in the Fa-truths, and so this phenomenon has similarly existed in the realms of gods. It's just that for gods, the time in their [respective realms] seems to be endless. Also, gods are aware of their own process of rebirth, unlike human beings, who find the idea of death terrifying and who are unsure whether there is an afterlife. These things are part of the delusion and not things that humans are allowed to know. But gods, in their divine state, do know them. It's just that when they are reborn their memory from before is erased--when they are reborn all memory of the past is gone. That's how they are. But to them, everything is so long that it's as if life never ends. In the process of rebirth they come to no longer know about things from the past. So over the long years not all gods in the cosmos know the history that has unfolded in the Three Realms. And even with today's Fa-rectification, not all gods know what it is about, nor even can all of them understand or see each step of Fa-rectification. The beings of the numerous realms see Fa-rectification only when it is almost right before them, they don't see it until it arrives. That's why the cosmos's beings have acted in different ways in this Fa-rectification. Some have a positive understanding, some have a negative one, and some have a passive one. That's how they are. All of the different ways we have seen human beings act in today's human societies, I can tell you, are fairly similar to how things are in the higher realms.
Before July 20, 1999, back when Dafa was being spread widely, in what kind of state were the beings and the gods of different realms? They were saying, "Wow, Dafa is so great. What a pity such a good Law is taught to humans, and done so when humans are at their worst." Some of them thought, "Perhaps only by spreading it in a time like this can the magnificence of Dafa be shown." There were also beings who thought, "Li Hongzhi is merciful, so let's push all of the bad things onto him and have him work off the sins and karma." They seized the opportunity to do bad things. The karma that was pressing down [on me] was as enormous as the sky, and many gods who saw it were thinking, "Will he still be able to take it?" Though they had different thoughts and understandings among them, the roles they played were largely positive at the time. But once the persecution began on July 20, 1999, their thinking changed. Great numbers of beings in diverse realms assumed a resigned, passive attitude and just watched things; they did nothing upon seeing the rotten demons do evil and carry out the persecution, as if they were watching to see if [I] would make it through. They thought, "If you can make it, then wow, that's simply extraordinary and I will support you." But, owing to the obstacles that arose after the old forces and old beings were roused, and upon seeing the world be filled with an evil, overpowering force, the beings each had selfish thoughts. The majority thought, "It will be really hard for this to succeed. If it doesn't work I will be affected." So they didn't declare a stance. Almost all beings in the multitudinous realms were like that. What the Law of the cosmos intends to save is precisely the beings in the multitudinous realms. The requirements for the beings can't be too high, though. If everyone were so upright the cosmos wouldn't have needed Fa-rectification. Exactly because beings have become like this, where they are no longer good, they have acted as they have. And that is how the gods acted towards this Fa-rectification and Dafa disciples.
Of course, as the overall Fa-rectification continually pushes forward, the situation in the world and that of the entire Three Realms changes constantly. The actions you have seen by people today bear much resemblance to how things are in the heavens. Put differently, if the lives of many of the world's people correspond to those of celestial bodies and have certain backgrounds, then think about it: doesn't [how they act here] relate directly to how things are in higher realms at this time? Of course, humans at the outermost surface aren't clear on things. Right now many people are willing to step forward, because a lot of the different realms' beings and kings can see that Dafa's success in Fa-rectification is unstoppable and certain. So one after another they are giving their stance and showing it in their actions. The final factors of the old cosmos saw the coming of this stage long ago. There are many still higher, final beings in the cosmos, and even though they are not related to the old forces' factors, they are nonetheless old beings and are holding on to the concepts they formed after deviating. When they look at Dafa disciples they hold on to the deficiencies of the past cosmos and its warped characteristics, and they are trying to uphold all of those things. They think that this kind of persecution can help Dafa disciples cultivate. Their notions are having an obstructing effect, and they have created a partition between the surface world and other realms, hindering people's understanding of the Fa. They think that only when somebody makes it through under these circumstances is it acceptable, and that the beings in the lower realms and the world's people can be kept only if they give their stance under these circumstances. Making the choice under these circumstances does bespeak of a being's magnificence, but is it necessary to have that state wherein they can't comprehend the Fa-rectification? And most importantly, the future cosmos doesn't want things done this way. And Fa-rectification doesn't acknowledge these negative, antagonistic factors. Furthermore, it is a being's attitude towards Fa-rectification at this time that is crucial, and this holds for those "final, highest" beings that try to influence Fa-rectification.
The Fa-rectification affects the futures of all lives, instead of only Dafa disciples, the world's people, or beings from different realms. Given the Fa-rectification's immensity, who could be left out? At the same time, because of the utmost importance of a being's attitude towards Fa-rectification, nobody has the right to seal off sentient beings and make them ignorantly commit sins against Fa-rectification and Dafa. Meddling from those factors of the old forces should never have happened in the first place. It is real only when the sentient beings are able to look at this affair and take a position without being controlled in any way and in the absence of interference from any factor. When that's not the case, isn't what they devised a manifestation of their arranging certain beings to do good and certain beings to do bad things based on their wishes? Is that the true behavior of those beings? It's not! But as the situation currently stands, the cosmos's old, final factors are still interfering with what is wanted and what needs to be established for the future.
Today the actions of the lives in this world that we witness are such that despite the old forces' influence, the beings and gods in different realms are gradually coming to approve of and support Dafa. This approval, however, isn't a true, unconditional acceptance of Dafa, Fa-rectification, and Dafa disciples, but instead the result of the great momentum of the Fa-rectification's success pervading the entire cosmic body, leaving them with no choice. Of course, there is a significant portion of them that do truly understand, for they can now see this trend of Fa-rectification and that everything for the future is sure to be achieved. Of course, the world's people aren't actually aware of all of this. They can see only that [Falun Gong] hasn't been cowed by the persecution from the gangster-led CCP government, and they have shown a human-level realization, "Wow, that Falun Gong is something. After all this time Falun Gong hasn't been scared into submission by that wicked, evil CCP. Instead it has increasingly flourished and thrived, while the CCP has destroyed itself in the process of persecuting Falun Gong. Falun Gong is incredible!" Also, for the Chinese people, the qualities arising out of the righteous thoughts displayed by Dafa disciples suggest that there is hope that the moral values of Chinese civilization will be restored. Those greedy, corrupt officials and the crimes being committed are raging out of control in that society ruled by the CCP. Another thing is, in order to allow the Chinese people to comprehend and obtain the Fa, the minds of the Chinese people were freed up when Fa-rectification first began, leading them to become very smart. However, during this persecution they haven't put those smarts to use in understanding the Fa, and have instead used it to commit crimes. So during the past few years of persecuting Dafa disciples, they have attacked Zhen, Shan, Ren and promoted wicked things, and this has made the ways in which sentient beings commit crimes become extremely covert and complex. The CCP's rogue gang has no way to deal with China's current predicament. They have simply no way to reverse the crimes they have committed and the complicated problems in society of their own making that they now face.
I said all of this just now because I'm sitting here again today teaching you Fa. (Enthusiastic applause) Five or six years have passed, and I am teaching the Fa here again today, and you might have a different feeling, and that might be even more so for those students who were here last time. We have basically made it through the wicked, cruel persecution, [and I can say that] since during this Fa-rectification the wicked CCP's factors are being drastically and rapidly destroyed in great numbers. Just like I said, they are wicked, malicious, and bad. As long as they exist they will keep doing bad things. So in China, even though the restraint on people there from the wicked Communist Party's evil factors is, as with many other people around the world, being eliminated, slowed down, and lessened, and it is no longer that effective really, the persecution against Dafa disciples is still being sustained. [That will continue] unless they are fully eliminated, and at that point the persecution will end. Those evil factors of the wicked CCP will definitely be cleared away by gods in the Fa-rectification! (Enthusiastic applause)
The wicked CCP itself can see that it is teetering on the edge and that all is lost. Many people want to leave themselves a way out, and many are trying to cover up the crimes they committed in the persecution. And of course, even more people want to withdraw from those wicked Party organizations. All of this throws those die-hards of the wicked Party into despair and terrifies them. Notably, the withdrawals from the Party are making them tremble with fear. All is lost for them, and they can already see that it's over for them. No matter what kind of attitude ordinary people have [towards what's happening] or how they worry about what will happen to Chinese society and civilization, they are worrying in vain. Since ancient times gods have never loosened their grip on any nation or any individual. When gods want a society to fall into chaos, it will fall into chaos; when gods want a person to go on a rampage, he will go on a rampage; and when gods want a society to be stable, it will be stable. Despite how big that wicked Communist camp was, when [gods] wanted it to dissolve, it dissolved in a matter of days. (Applause) It all depends on whether gods need something or not. Isn't that so?
Everything here in human society was established for Fa-rectification, and all that exists today exists for the sake of my Dafa disciples validating the Fa. Remember: you are the stars of today's world, you are the lives that sentient beings are watching the most intently, and you are beings who are determining the future of every person in the human world! (Applause) So, saving all beings and cultivating yourselves well are of the utmost importance for you, the Dafa disciples. It's not done just for the Consummation of your own being--it is also about fulfilling the hopes that have been placed in you by sentient beings, by more beings! Okay, I'll stop here. (Long, enthusiastic applause)
Right now [you should just focus on] the things that you are doing, so I don't want to distract you from what you are currently doing by talking about too many other things. The things that you are doing now are crucial, so I won't say more. I thank you all! (Enthusiastic applause)
Last updated: October 22, 2005.