(Clearwisdom.net) We can see from articles published on Clearwisdom.net that many practitioners have been validating the Fa and offering salvation to sentient beings while in very difficult situations amidst the insidious persecution. Some have lost their jobs; some had to live with a lowered income for a long time; some chose to leave home to avoid illegal arrest and couldn’t even live a normal life.
Most discouraging are the stories of so many practitioners having been persecuted to the point of being under the strain of poverty and sorrow. That has caused much difficulty and hardship for them to validate the Fa, as well as for them to maintain ties with their families and society. They still try their best, though, to make it possible to produce truth-clarification materials and offer sentient beings salvation. They accomplish this by becoming more and more frugal with food and clothing. They save a major portion from their already very low income. Each time I read such reports, besides admiring my fellow practitioners’ selfless and magnificent acts with their righteous thoughts and righteous actions, I sigh with emotion and feel sad!
Is it necessary to practice cultivation with such a difficult financial situation?
No. This is evil persecution, imposed by the old forces, something not acknowledged in the new cosmos. Teacher does not acknowledge the persecution. As Dafa disciples, we must not acknowledge the evil persecution, either; instead, we should completely negate the persecution. Doesn't everything we do to validate Dafa and save sentient beings reject and negate the persecution? Following Teacher’s requirements and meeting Dafa’s standard are genuine cultivation practice, and only by doing this, rather than cultivating in the tribulations arranged by the evil, can we succeed in cultivation. The evil should not exist to begin with. What worth do they have to arrange so called tribulations for us?
The Chinese Communist Party began its ruinous oppression of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. The official policy is "Destroy their reputations, financially bankrupt them and physically eliminate them." During the over seven years of validating the Fa, rescuing sentient beings and resisting the persecution, we have indeed done many remarkable things that have shaken the heaven and earth in terms of safeguarding Dafa’s reputation, spreading the wonders of Dafa, reducing the arrests, detention and brutal killing of Dafa practitioners, and have unfolded the magnificence of Dafa practitioners’ validating the Fa.
In the meantime, however, I feel we have fallen short in eliminating the financial persecution. There are scant reports and discussions on efforts to counteract financial persecution. In my humble understanding, this is an omission of our whole body.
Of course, we are practicing cultivation in Dafa, so we should let go of the attachments to fame and personal benefits. Taking wealth lightly and getting rid of the attachment to it is Dafa disciples’ duty; however, it doesn’t mean we should not have money. Teacher requires us to practice cultivation by maximally conforming to society. My understanding is, as long as our mind/character is righteous, it’s not a problem earning more income by reasonable means, and it is in accordance with Dafa’s standards. Moreover,
"Dafa disciples need funds to clarify the truth and save sentient beings, but their personal incomes are limited and the persecution has lasted for a long time. A lot of money is needed to solve this problem and expose the persecution. At the very least, you need funds to print flyers. And the TV network, radio stations, and newspapers all require funds. Many other things, many projects, require funds, too." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles") (verified)
The old forces have on the one hand blocked our access to resources from society, keeping everyday people from aiding Dafa practitioners financially, and on the other hand, arranging for the big foreign financial firms to invest great amounts of funds in China, making it possible for the evildoing persecutors to continue the persecution and at the same time creating a false prosperity, which has easily deceived the Chinese people (and credited the rulers.)
I remember the following incident. One recipient of my truth-clarification emails responded with nasty comments, "What is there to comment (referring to the The Nine Commentaries of the Communist Party)? It is quite good for China to have developed to this level, and it’s not easy for the Communist Party." Isn’t this person deceived by the false image of today’s superficial prosperity? In China, there are quite a lot of people holding this opinion. Shouldn’t we try with all means to change them and offer them salvation? Truth-clarification and rescuing the world’s people requires great amounts of funds. Dafa practitioners’ personal incomes are very limited for doing all these things.
In my understanding, the old forces do what they want and get what they want because of their deformed notions. They do this deliberately, arranging these obstacles, in the guise of so-called "testing" Dafa practitioners. The nature of their arrangements is to interfere with effort to save sentient beings, to destroy sentient beings, and to damage the cosmos’ Fa-rectification. This absolutely cannot be acknowledged. We must thoroughly negate all the old force arrangements, which of course includes everything in the financial persecution that the evil has arranged.
In my humble opinion, to negate the financial persecution, we can think about and start from the following aspects:
1. Study the Fa more, study the Fa well, clearly understand the Fa principles, do not acknowledge old force arrangements, send forth strong righteous thoughts to disintegrate all the evil and resolve all the obstacles. Absolutely do not allow the evildoers to illegally arrest or abduct Dafa practitioners, ransack their homes or extort money from their families. We must believe that Teacher is next to us at every moment, and that our righteous thoughts are omnipotent.
2. Encourage practitioners who are economists and financial analysts to write articles to disclose the false prosperity created by the CCP, distribute such articles and spread them widely as part of the truth-clarification materials, so as to dissolve the puzzle and obstacles in people’s minds.
3. We must spend our money and resources in an upright way, without any errors. Teacher has pointed out in "Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles,"
"I still tell you the same thing: Try your best not to solicit donations from the public, don't do that. If someone sincerely insists on offering the donation, then it's fine to accept it, and you can use it where it is most needed and where funds are lacking. That's about it. I don't advise you to do it, but if someone genuinely insists on offering a donation, then sometimes they might find it odd if you don't accept it. In that case, accept it. Sometimes you can save people only when the things you do are understandable to them. So if you really run into a situation like that, then just accept [the donation]."
"However, make sure the funds are not handled inappropriately. I know we have had problems with the management of funds for some projects and in some places. I don't want to get into that, though. If there is a problem with you in this regard, it seems to me that you don't want to cultivate anymore. All the gods are watching you. If a cultivator has this problem, it is terribly serious."
Everything in the Three Realms was created for the Fa-rectification, and everything in today’s human society revolves around the Fa-rectification. Everything we do in validating Dafa and saving the world’s people is the most upright and remarkable.
All the conditions and environments in accordance with this matter should therefore come up in coordination, including the conditions in funds. Anything interfering or damaging this is committing a terrible sin against the cosmos’ Fa-rectification. Think about it: Don't all old force arrangements violate heavenly principles? Are they worthy of existing anymore? No.
In my humble opinion, as long as we keep Teacher’s Fa firmly in mind, believe in Teacher and Dafa, make sure our base in everything we do is righteous, firm up our belief, let go of human thoughts, do the three things well without going to extremes, we will certainly eradicate the financial persecution, enable everything we do in validating Dafa and saving sentient beings to gradually step into a positive cycle, which is also what Teacher hopes to see.
This concludes my personal understandings. I share my limited understandings so that others may come up with valuable opinions; please correct me.