Teaching the Fa in the City of Chicago
(Li Hongzhi, June 26, 2005)
Good afternoon, everyone! (Disciples, "Good afternoon, Master!")
You've been working hard!
Recently I have made it to just about every Fa conference. As you know, there are constant changes in the situation during Fa-rectification. For instance, right now in saving sentient beings, it is necessary to resolve the issue of how people understand the CCP, so you have been working on things related to the Nine Commentaries. If I were to talk too much about other things right now, it might distract from what you are doing, and that is why I don't plan on talking too much. Since arriving in Chicago, I had been considering whether I should come to the conference. (Master smiles) Then, after I thought it over, I decided to come, because at each of these recent conferences there have been some students who have just stepped forward and students who have just come here from Mainland China. And of course, the students want to see Master, so I thought I would come see you in person. (Enthusiastic applause)
Let me take this opportunity to mention something. You know, as Dafa cultivators in the Fa-rectification period, the historic mission that you have--this great responsibility--is indeed enormous. What lies before you is not merely personal cultivation or saving a few people. The entire human race is before you, and the Chinese people, in particular. The situation will change later on, and it won't be as hard to [save people then]. But with things as they now stand, it is extremely hard to save Chinese people, enormously difficult. So you have come up with all kinds of ways to do it--which shocks the wicked people and strikes fear into them--and this is having a great effect in clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings. You have done well in these things, but sometimes you are too hasty and overly eager.
You might have heard recently that the matter of putting the CCP on trial would be postponed. Here is a thought on the subject. I told you a long time ago that a Dafa disciple, or a cultivator, has no enemies. The only thing you have a role in is saving people, and you have nothing to do with using human means and human principles to punish or pronounce judgment on people. This is a fundamental issue!
But in order to stop the evil, the people who are no longer salvageable, and the diehard followers of the CCP, it has been necessary for you to organize some activities and do some things. Certain things are to be done by non-practitioners, however. Specifically, in society many people are participating in the [China] democracy movement and have formed various political organizations. They have political aspirations and they want to have a certain political system put in place in China. Whatever they do, those are human affairs. But in terms of exposing the CCP's evil nature, they have indeed had a big impact. In this vein, the media outlets Dafa disciples have set up are part of society's media, and can, in order to expose the CCP's evilness, provide extensive coverage of those activities and support what they do. It helps the Chinese people see the wicked CCP's evil nature and, to an extent, it has the effect of rescuing Chinese people. So that's not a problem. But if we do things exactly as non-practitioners do, or if we do these things directly as Dafa disciples, then it's not so appropriate. Still, Master does affirm the ideas you have come up with and the formats you have adopted--they are not wrong.
In a time to come, not only will mankind need to put these extremely bad people on trial and have them dealt with accordingly, it will also be necessary to establish a correct means of deciding things by law, and at that point it will be fine to do these things. Dafa disciples can help non-practitioners coordinate some of the correct human things that they are doing, there's no problem with that. The process of doing that can serve to expose and stop the evil. People who are to be saved, however, should not be brought to trial. Think about this, everyone: before you began to cultivate Dafa, many of you present here were also once fooled by that wicked Party into becoming members of it, so do you really want to bring to trial the CCP members who have been fooled by the evil? You should understand that they, too, have been deceived by the wicked CCP, and they are all sentient beings for you to save. You must make a clear distinction here. You can only do that [bringing them to trial] with a very small number of people, that is, the extremely bad ones. As I said earlier, it's not wrong to do that, as it ends up shocking and frightening the evil, and the future mankind definitely will not let those wicked people off [anyway], but that said, don't get too eager. You can't go and actually do that yourselves. Are you all clear on what I just talked about? (Applause)
I was saying that there is nothing wrong with your using legal means to stop the evil's persecution, but you should be clearheaded when it comes to how to carry that out and how to look at the matter. So I have addressed it, and that is how you should look at it. The various ways that you have thought up to dismantle the evil are excellent, as they simultaneously expose the persecution and save sentient beings, leading more people to break from the evil and causing the evil to disintegrate as it carries out the persecution. Having been ruled by the CCP for decades, today's Chinese people have been thoroughly brainwashed. The words that Mainland Chinese people use, the way they think, and how they look at things are all brimming with what the CCP has instilled in them. Only after Mainland Chinese people come to Western societies and stay for a while do they realize what the CCP has turned them into. At this point in time you all understand and know what a tragic state the Chinese people are in, and looking back [you can now see that] the CCP is truly wicked. Right now, though, a lot of Chinese people in Mainland China don't understand or see any of this, for they have grown accustomed to it. That's what they grow up on, starting from day one, and they think that is how normal societies really are, and that maybe that is just the human condition. So when the wicked CCP says something, they basically don't even think about it, [saying to themselves,] "Whatever it says is good must be good, and whatever it says is bad must be bad, so when it says that Falun Gong is bad, then you Falun Gong people most likely really are that way." They don't listen when you try to clarify the facts to them. Given this situation, what should we do? Dafa disciples have a mission to save them. So we will expose the wicked Party's ignoble nature, from past to present, and thereby help the world's people see it for what it is and decide if they still want to believe what it says. Experience has shown that once people come to know these things, upon our telling them the facts again they understand everything, and they are willing to listen. That is what the Nine Commentaries is doing.
Judging by the withdrawals from the CCP and the change in the situation in Mainland China, you can see that everything you are doing has brought about tremendous changes in the state of the world. The evil may appear very powerful, but at one time, back when there were two major opposing forces in the world, the wicked Party's bloc was so strong that the Western world was helpless in dealing with it. And yet, when gods wanted it dissolved, it fell apart instantly. It will cease to exist once it is no longer needed.
The main part of Dafa disciples is cultivating and being tempered in China. So, could the political situation in China and the existence of the CCP be accidental? The entirety of the wicked Party's so-called socialist front has been dismantled, but why hasn't [the CCP] been dismantled? Isn't it because the old forces planned it that way for Dafa disciples? So, none of this is coincidental. Even though we oppose the old forces and don't accept or acknowledge this persecution or any of the things that they have forced on us, these things are having a destructive effect. As we negate them, we are walking a straight path while at the same time thinking of every possible way to save all beings, save the people of the world, and save the Chinese people.
Many of today's people, especially Chinese people, don't have simple backgrounds. As I have mentioned before, many Chinese people were once kings of different nations throughout the world in different eras who later reincarnated in China. And of course it's not limited to kings--practically entire royal courts reincarnated in China. Of course, not only does a person have his past in the human world, he also has a place where his being ultimately comes from, which are both extraordinary. And this is why the people that Dafa disciples need to save are certainly not just ordinary beings.
The cultivators of old used to talk about saving sentient beings, but did anyone really save sentient beings? Other than the great enlightened beings with True Enlightenment such as Shakyamuni and Jesus, who has saved sentient beings? Nobody has. The beings Shakyamuni and Jesus saved were intentionally placed there for them, and that laid cultural groundwork in history for Dafa. At the same time, [what they went through was] an indication of the problems divine beings would come across and encounter on their path, played out in history for today's people to see. And they of course wanted me to see it. That's what it was all about. What [those enlightened beings] were dealing with at the time was a purely human race in its early stages, with early-stage human bodies; whereas the human beings you are dealing with have human appearances and human bodies, while in reality the beings inside are no longer so simple.
Then what kind of people does Dafa save? What kind of people do Dafa disciples set out to rescue? It's no simple matter, for sure. Why is it that we, who are being persecuted so severely, still want to save sentient beings? Why is it that we, while experiencing such ruthless persecution, are still thinking of others? [Because] it is something that history has entrusted you with, for these people [you are to save] represent immense groups of beings. So this isn't just about people, but is about the hope that the beings of the cosmos have placed in you, and placed in the fact that Dafa is spreading broadly throughout the world today. It is a predestined opportunity for them. So if any being misses this predestined opportunity, it might well be that he has lost it forever.
The Three Realms look to be small, and human society seems to be minuscule when set in contrast to high-level beings, yet this place has in fact become the focal point of Fa-rectification. I have spoken before about why I spread the Fa here. Then when the Fa is being spread here, could things such as the surrounding environment, the beings that come here, or any of the things you face just be simple matters? Absolutely not, though these things do come across as being no different than things that happen in society or previous human states of affairs. A human being is just that, a human being, and he definitely can't just become divine. From antiquity to the present, it has been [a process of] creating a form of being such as this and of molding what humans are like now, including people's thoughts, overall state, and the way of life that characterize today's people. That is the process that has taken place. And it is here in this setting that we spread the Fa, save people, and rescue sentient beings. Even though many elements that were part of that process were forced upon me and the Dafa disciples--that is, by factors in the old cosmos--it is still hard for you to distinguish those things since they were mixed together [with other things]. We reject all of the old arrangements, and the path we take is our own. So that problems won't arise for you, Dafa disciples, I have often told you to study the Fa a lot and keep up your righteous thoughts. When you do these things, it is then possible for you to walk correctly on your own path and to do well at what a Dafa disciple is supposed to do. No matter how busy you get, you need to study the Fa, no matter what.
As for what lies ahead, things might change more and more quickly. But, as I brought up when teaching the Fa to you before, whether the change in the state of society is negative or positive, or, put another way, whether what comes about is bad or good, it is a test for our Dafa disciples all the same, and not a reason to become content. If things really do change for the better, it will be a different sort of test for you, and you still shouldn't become content. By all means you need to do what a Dafa disciple should do, maintaining your righteous thoughts.
I'll stop here for now. As Dafa disciples do things for Dafa today, some of you are responsible for working on many projects simultaneously. And there are things at home to handle, Dafa things, work-related things, and social or other things, all of which puts quite a strain on you. I see this. But no matter what, you have managed to think of Dafa's things as most important, and at critical times you have remembered that you are a Dafa disciple and need to handle things well. From that perspective, you are really terrific. In any event, Master sees and knows this. So many years have passed over the course of history, the Three Realms have existed for so long, and so many sentient beings have come here over time, but all hopes are being placed in this one moment out of all the ages. This instant is precious beyond measure. Completing the last leg of this journey well is what's most magnificent. So for this reason, though during this stage your time is tight, and you are very tired and have little time to rest, when Master sees how many of you have managed to do well he can't help but feel gratified. And it is on this account that I thank you all. (Long, roaring applause)
A lot of people have said we are involving ourselves in political affairs, and some students of ours who haven't studied the Fa diligently are confused, saying, "Isn't the Nine Commentaries getting us involved in political things?" It is for the sake of Dafa that human society exists, and history was arranged accordingly. You know, we can consult the example of the sages from antiquity, the great enlightened beings of True Enlightenment. Take for instance the five thousand words Lao Zi imparted: if we just consider the superficial, most obvious things he talked about, they are mostly about how to rule as a king, how to administer the country, and so on. If we look at it from a human perspective, isn't it political? But, it is not political. We could of course draw upon many historical examples. Have you thought about this: what the wicked CCP is doing are the actions of an evil religion that unifies church and state, and it thereby drags China's entire populace into political affairs. When we help people break from and see through the wicked CCP, aren't we in fact helping people break from politics? (Applause) The reality is that our fundamental goal is not to overthrow the wicked CCP, and I'm not fighting against it--it's not worthy! (Applause) How could those who are on their way to divinity get caught up in fighting with people? Even if the wicked CCP is an evil spirit and vicious fiend, it's still not worthy. Fa-rectification is Fa-rectification, and as Dafa disciples go about saving beings, they must dissolve all evil things that obstruct people's salvation.
It is for the purpose of saving all beings and saving the people in the world today that we help people to see the wicked CCP for what it is. Of course, no matter how the CCP tries to hide the evil face of its wicked gangster regime, once the world's people come to know it for what it is, they will realize that it is evil, and they will not cooperate with it anymore, choosing instead to withdraw from the Party. And that is when it ceases to exist. But that is not what we are trying to do--our goal is to save sentient beings. Many things here in the human world, here in the delusion, are hard to see for what they are, so it's a matter of how people look at and understand things.
Of course, being Dafa disciples--and this especially goes for the many students who have studied the Fa solidly--you can grasp this. In the course of clarifying the facts, you have come up with many examples to illustrate this and explained things well. So the path we have taken has not been wrong, and it is just a matter of how to do even better. I'll stop here for today. I thank you all. (Long, roaring applause)
Master continues to hear about and see the good things you are doing. (Warm applause)
Last updated: October 22, 2005.