(Clearwisdom.net) Yesterday when I was talking with a fellow practitioner, we touched upon some of the problems that a few local unmarried female practitioners were having. Many of them obtained the Fa in 1996 or 1997 and at that time they were around twenty years old. After walking the path of a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, their xinxing and way of life are much different from that of non-practitioners. They have now reached the appropriate age for marriage and their families have been pressuring them about the issue. Both the pressure from their families and the fact that people in society don't understand them have made them feel quite distressed. A fellow practitioner thoughtfully said, "I wish that I could just marry another practitioner!" However, there are very few unmarried male practitioners in our area.
I would like to discuss my personal thoughts concerning this issue.
1. As cultivators, our path is arranged by Master and everything we encounter is related to our cultivation. I believe that whether we get married or not, the age and time we get married, and the people we marry are all related to our historical mission, attachments, predestined relationships, and other personal factors. Because we cannot see these karmic relationships, we should not worry about them. Instead, we should just follow Master's requirement for practitioners:
"In cultivation and practice one should be in a state free of intention. As long as you focus on cultivating your xinxing, you will make breakthroughs in your level and certainly get things you deserve. If you cannot give something up, isn't it an attachment?" (Zhuan Falun, Lecture Two, "The Issue of Pursuit", 2000 translation version)
Most importantly, we should let go of the attachment of worrying about marriage and follow the course of nature. We need to focus our thoughts and actions on doing the three things well. All of our personal situations will change according to Master's needs for the Fa-rectification. It is excellent if two practitioners can marry and still continue to do well with validating Dafa and saving sentients beings. However, if a practitioner chooses to stay single, she should still do the three things well just the same. We must put faith in the cultivation and Fa-validation arrangements that Master has for us. Only when we follow our arranged paths will it be the best for sentient beings and ourselves.
2. When trying our best to conform to ordinary society, there are a few ways we can handle the issue of marriage. When a non-practitioner asked me if I don't get married because I practice Falun Gong, I told him, "No, it's because I haven't met anyone that is suitable for me. If I am supposed to get married, then it will come, and getting worried won't help the situation. I will just follow the predestined relationship. You can't ask me to randomly find someone to marry, right? Wouldn't being so careless be very irresponsible to myself?" If we approach the topic like this, it also follows the logic of ordinary people. As long as we are calm in our minds, people will understand us.
When there are kind people who introduce us to a date, that is the perfect opportunity to clarify the truth to someone. In this kind of face-to-face truth-clarification, we can understand where their confusion is and talk about things according to their misunderstandings. The results will be even better. The knowing side of him knows that he is there to hear the truth and to be saved, not to really get married. Of course, at the time our minds must be righteous and clearly know our responsibility and mission, and know that our true purpose is to save that person.
The above is only my personal opinion and understanding on the issue of marriage. If anything is inappropriate, please kindly point it out.