(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, some fellow practitioners encountered severe tribulations; they felt frustrated and distressed. I would like to share some of my understandings on the relationship between personal cultivation and cultivation as a whole body.
In history, every cultivator had to face tribulations and pass tests. This was considered normal. It was caused by the cultivators' own karma, and it was necessary for cultivation. The situation is different for today's Dafa practitioners. This is because we cultivate the law of the Universe. We are assisting Master's Fa-rectification and our responsibility is very important. In addition, the old forces have never stopped interfering with our cultivation; that is why our tribulations can be severe. However, as Dafa disciples in the Fa-rectification period, we must be rational when facing tribulations. We should not passively endure them, and we should first look inward to find our own personal shortcomings. If the tribulation was not due to any personal problem we could pinpoint, then it must be the old forces taking advantage of our omissions.
For example, the police constantly interfered with a fellow practitioner. I didn’t think this was the fellow practitioner's personal problem; it was very possible that the old forces were targeting our area. The old forces were taking advantage of the omissions among Dafa practitioners in our area to disrupt the truth clarification material supply and disrupt our cultivation as a whole body with the excuse of "testing" us.
Master told us repeatedly that we must coordinate and cooperate well as a whole body; this is needed for Fa-rectification, and is also the requirement for every Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period. We are all part of the whole body of Dafa. We must support and supplement each other.
When we notice that one fellow practitioner is suffering severe interference from evil, we should not simply think it was that practitioner's problem. We should look for problems within our whole body, and see if the evil was attacking part of our whole body. If we do not immediately eliminate the omission as a whole body, the evil will continue to interrupt and soon start targeting other practitioners. Therefore, we must help and support the fellow practitioner experiencing interference, send forth righteous thoughts as a group to eliminate the evil and deny any old force arrangements. By improving our xinxing, we help fellow practitioner improve their xinxing. When the authorities disrupted our truth-clarification materials production center, we realized that our own attachments had provided excuses for the old forces to test us. If we do not eliminate our attachments, the evil will then find another practitioner to interfere with.
We should completely deny the arrangements and tests by the old forces. We practitioners should cultivate ourselves well in every single thought, word and deed, and we must step out from our attachments and human notions to achieve the glory of divine beings.
Master told us,
"To a genuine practitioner, I would say that it is very easy and not something too high to reach." "Cultivation practice itself is not difficult, and neither is upgrading one’s level itself difficult. It is because they cannot give up the human mind that they call it difficult." ("Lecture Nine" in Zhuan Falun, 2000 translation version)
I recognize that cultivation is serious and full of tribulations, but as long as we truly cultivate in Dafa, there is no tribulation that cannot be overcome.
The Fa-rectification process is moving forward faster and faster. Recently I noticed that some fellow practitioners could not overcome tribulations and fell behind. This caused difficulties in their personal and family lives and also caused damage to Dafa. Some fellow practitioners could not study the Fa well and almost stopped cultivation practice. This is a dangerous signal for us. We must recognize the problems in our area as a whole body and help fellow practitioners to overcome these tribulations with our benevolence, and eliminate the factors that interrupt our area as a whole body.
Dafa cultivation is different than all other cultivation methods. We must not only cultivate ourselves well, but we must also clarify the truth and save people. We must cultivate as a whole body, help and support each other, improve together and form an indestructible whole body. Master said,
"The next person's things are your things, and your things are his things." ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference")
Master requires us "to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism." ("Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature" in Essentials for Further Advancement) Therefore, we cultivators should always think about others before thinking about ourselves, putting the need of Dafa and our whole body as top priority.
As a matter of fact, it would be very powerful if practitioners in an area could form a selfless whole body and coordinate wisely; that could quickly eliminate the evil factors and move Dafa work forward. Such a positive environment could, in return, help each individual to improve, increase our confidence and affirm our righteous thoughts. In the meantime, diligent cultivation by each practitioner is the foundation for us to coordinate as a whole body, assuring us the opportunity to better eliminate the evil factors, save people, and fulfill our prehistoric oath to accomplish our mission.