(Clearwisdom.net) When a fellow Falun Gong practitioner was illegally arrested and imprisoned, many practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all the evil in his dimension immediately. Shortly afterwards, he was released. This is a manifestation of truly regarding the next person's business as our own and being selfless and altruistic at the time.
However, some practitioners were dismayed when they learned that the imprisoned practitioner was sentenced to prison or forced labor camp despite their sending forth righteous thoughts in support. They thought, "It appears that we cannot turn the tide after all." Thus they impeded their righteous thoughts. Why don't we calm down and think about it. Aren't we tacitly accepting the old forces' persecution? Isn't this a serious problem? Isn't this a large loophole?
I remember an article in "Minghui Weekly" about a practitioner's daughter being illegally sentenced to forced labor. She moved to a place near the forced labor camp and sent forth righteous thoughts for her daughter daily and diligently studied the Fa to reinforce her daughter's righteous thoughts. As a result, her daughter was released early.
I was deeply touched by the article. Things will turn out differently if every practitioner is as responsible for the imprisoned practitioners as this lady was for her daughter. Naturally, she was completely devoted to her daughter partially because of her maternal love for her child. On the other hand, a mother's love is the most pure and most selfless form of love among mankind. But, ultimately, a cultivator is required to replace sentimentality with compassion. I am merely using a mother's love for her daughter to illustrate the power of selflessness and altruism. We really should treat other practitioners' problems as our own problems. We really should become selfless, altruistic and completely thoughtful of other practitioners. When a practitioner is illegally arrested, other practitioners should keep sending forth righteous thoughts until the persecution disintegrates. We should act like one united body. The power of the one-body is incredibly powerful. How can the evil hold sway over any individual practitioner? Even if the evil dares to touch a practitioner, it will immediately release him once it sees our invincible and powerful righteous thoughts.
There are quite a few similar inspirational stories among non-practitioners. I am sure you remember reports that the family of a man suffering injustice kept appealing for him until he was released and his name was cleared. In comparison, the majority of the victims' families have been passive and silent, reducing the chance of the release of their imprisoned family member to a minimum. What do these examples illustrate? Perseverance is the evil's worst enemy.
In addition, there are some practitioners in our area who have gone missing after they stepped out to validate the Fa. Are we concerned about them, thinking of them, and sending forth righteous thoughts for them to help them prevail over the persecution? Are we concerned for them as though we have lost our own family member or our own children to the evil? If not, could it indicate loopholes in our cultivation? Many practitioners in China know fellow practitioners who have gone missing after they went out to validate the Fa. The first thing that came up to their minds was, "They are probably arrested and imprisoned." Thereafter, those imprisoned practitioners were consigned to oblivion. We didn't think about where they could possibly be imprisoned, the severity of the torture they might be subjected to or how we should go about rescuing them. As cultivators, we should look at the issue with compassion, rather than indifference.
There is also a problem with our attitude towards those practitioners who have taken a detour on the path of their cultivation. In actuality, many of us have taken a similar detour. When a practitioner is illegally imprisoned, the evil will try to exploit and magnify each and every attachment, loophole or misunderstanding on the Fa he might have, so he would agree with the evil's theory and, thus, brainwash him or her. In the end, some practitioners have even become the evil's advocates, assisting the evil in making practitioners renounce Falun Gong. I think those practitioners were essentially manipulated and controlled by the evil in other dimensions when they fell prey to the evil. Once released, the majority of them will study the Fa again and realize that it was wrong to renounce Falun Gong. They will declare everything they had said and done during captivity to be null and void and start clarifying the truth about Falun Gong again.
However, some of them still have not returned to cultivation. Many practitioners then decided that they were not salvageable and regarded them as part of the evil. It is a very dangerous thought! Falun Gong practitioners' thoughts carry energy. When we send forth righteous thoughts, we will reinforce positive elements. When we send negative thoughts, we will reinforce negative elements. Teacher has taught us,
"...as long as there’s still one day when the persecution hasn’t ended, that day is an opportunity." ("Touring North America to Teach the Fa")
We have no right to determine whether a person is lost or deny him the opportunity to return to Falun Gong. If many practitioners think so, aren't they encouraging him to be all the more lost? Even if he is not done for, our negative thoughts will make him so. Aren't we destroying our fellow practitioners? More importantly, we would be tacitly identifying with and accepting the old forces' persecution. We would be pleasing the old forces. Isn't that a giant loophole?
As Falun Gong practitioners in the Fa-rectification period, we should regard it as our obligation to save sentient beings and treat them with compassion and kindness. We should especially sympathize with those who have once practiced Falun Gong. We must help them unconditionally and eliminate all the evil in their fields. By doing so, we will help them break the restraints by the evil and its manipulation, make them become clearheaded, eliminate the obstacles for them and reinforce the positive elements in their fields. If we are willing to do so, those so-called unsalvageable practitioners will come back to Falun Gong.
There are also practitioners who gave up cultivation practice altogether because they failed to pass important tests. Have they also been consigned to oblivion?
Based on the aforementioned understanding, I will add one thought each time I send forth righteous thoughts, "Teacher, please reinforce my righteous thoughts. I will send out my powerful gong and completely disintegrate all the evil that manipulates and controls those fellow practitioners who are being persecuted, 'enlightened' along the evil path and are struggling in their cultivation, as well as the evil that interferes with Teacher's Fa-rectification." I will also reinforce those practitioners' righteous thoughts, wake up their divine side and make them become rational and clearheaded so that they will be able to deny the old forces' arrangements, walk the path Teacher has arranged for them, and become genuine, magnificent Falun Gong practitioners of the Fa-rectification period.
In addition, I have decided that it will be great if my righteous thoughts will be reflected in these practitioners' minds, because it will help them strengthen their righteous thoughts. Teacher said,
"Some people say, 'My Celestial Eye has seen a Buddha talking to me.' He was not talking to you. Some people also saw my fashen doing the same thing. He was not talking to you, either. The message he gave was in stereo sound. When you heard it, it sounded as though he was talking."
"When two great enlightened people meet each other, they can understand everything with a smile. This is due to soundless telepathy, and what is received is in stereo sound. When they smile, their ideas are already communicated." ("The Cosmic Language" in Lecture Three of Zhuan Falun)
I believe we have all the supernormal capabilities that Teacher described in Zhuan Falun. As long as our minds are on the Fa-rectification and our goal is pure and righteous, we should have access to these supernormal capabilities. Fettered by their notions, some practitioners think Teacher must be referring to enlightened beings instead of practitioners. As a result, they don't realize that they, too, possess these capabilities and they are allowed to use them for the right purpose.
Once I attained this understanding, I sent this thought after I finished sending forth righteous thoughts each time: "Teacher, please reinforce my righteous thoughts so that my powerful intent will enter the head of those fellow practitioners who are being persecuted, 'enlightening' along the evil path and are struggling with their cultivation practice. They will hear or receive the message, 'I am a Falun Gong practitioner. I must wake up! I must become rational and clearheaded. I must send out powerful righteous thoughts! I shall disintegrate the evil old forces' arrangements. I shall follow the path Teacher has arranged for me and do well the three things that a genuinely great Falun Gong practitioner must do.'"
I will continue to do so when I send forth righteous thoughts. I have faith that they will hear and receive my messages. I believe that this will reinforce their righteous thoughts.
I am also inspired to send a message to all sentient beings in the Three Realms to eliminate all the evil that has been manipulating and controlling them in their fields and that is interfering with Teacher's Fa-rectification. I will send these messages to them: "Falun Gong is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good. Falun Gong is the righteous Buddha Law. The Communist Party is an evil organization. Hurry up and withdraw from the Communist Party! Heaven shall annihilate the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Withdraw from the CCP, the CCP's Youth League and the CCP's Young Pioneers for your own safety."
If these messages are reflected in the head of a being in the Three Realms, it will have a powerful impact on him. I believe that it will help him begin to contemplate on the issue and make a rational choice.
This concludes my personal understanding on the subject. Please kindly point out anything erroneous.
[Editors' Note: This is the author's understanding on sending forth righteous thoughts. Please do not focus only on sending righteous thoughts or stop clarifying the truth about the persecution to the local people. Clarifying the truth is also an important way to rescue fellow practitioners from captivity and to save sentient beings.]