(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioners have endured numerous tribulations and eight years of bloody persecution. Teacher has said,

"While facing different so-called tests and different kinds of demonic interference, you have become more and more mature." ("Fa Teaching at the US Capital")

Maturity is a kind of realm and habit. My understanding is that practitioners have passed from perception to rationality in Dafa. Practitioners have shown unshakable conviction and clear-headed thinking during this persecution, having matured as a whole. We must strictly follow Teacher's requirements in doing the three things and rectify our thoughts when confronted with tribulations.

We are inspired by the improvement seen in the whole body and Teacher's continued encouragement.

However, I am deeply concerned by the cultivation states displayed by some practitioners. Teacher has already told us how important doing the three things is to our improvement and validation of the Fa. There are several serious problems happening in my area. First, some practitioners study the Fa, do the exercises, and send forth righteous thoughts. They can't or barely clarify the truth or distribute flyers to save sentient beings. Clarifying the truth is important and urgent. Teacher emphasized the importance of saving sentient beings during the two Fa conferences this year. Despite what Teacher said and warnings from practitioners, some still do only Fa study and practicing the exercises. If they have clarified the truth of Falun Dafa, it is only to their acquaintances. What is more, some have said things like, "I think we don't need to distribute truth-clarification materials," "It would be useless to send copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party to people if they don't know the truth." They may not mean to interfere on purpose. In fact, they know it is necessary to clarify the truth of Falun Gong to save sentient beings, but their first thought is to protect themselves from being persecuted. They are unwilling to take risks and so cannot elevate themselves. Yet, they think they have reached high levels in cultivation.

Second, some practitioners clarify the truth on their own initiative, but they are not able to consistently study the Fa, do the exercises, and send righteous thoughts. They just go through the motions of cultivation. They have not studied the Fa enough and have failed to let go of their human thoughts. Laziness is like a big rock on their chests, but they don't try to get rid of it. The heart of seeking comfort has come up. Some even watch TV and play mahjong. They are full of energy to do everything else but study the Fa. They fall asleep when they try to study the Fa. As a result, they are controlled by evil without recognizing it, so they are unable to extricate themselves. Some of them show signs of illness and are in great pain.

If any practitioners are arrested or if something happens in the area, some practitioners waver and hide. They stop distributing truth-clarification materials, reading articles from Clearwisdom, and only ask for Teacher's new articles. As a result, large amounts of materials have stacked up. There are practitioners suffering long-term family obstacles. Various frustrations have led to ruin. They totally follow the arrangements of the old forces and ignore the warnings of other practitioners.

The fundamental problem is that they haven't followed Teacher's requirements. If you don't follow Teacher's requirements, you can't become mature, but will only continue to struggle. I suggest that while studying "Fa Teaching at the US Capital," all Dafa practitioners ask themselves whether or not they have become more mature.