(Clearwisdom.net) After watching Master's lecture "Teaching the Fa to Australian Falun Dafa practitioners" ten times, my deepest understanding was: as Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, we bear the sacred mission of saving sentient beings. When we interact with people in our daily lives, xinxing improvement must be seen as our first priority. We must try to avoid conflicts, as once conflicts arise, people may gain negative thoughts about Dafa. Such people would then be more difficult to save, and his future could possibly be ruined by us.
Below are some of my thoughts combined with my personal experiences:
I am a senior technical worker in a large state-run enterprise. I have been a practitioner for nearly ten years now. Six years ago, my work unit wanted me to take part in a scientific research task. I felt it would not be advisable; that I would be very busy if I became the person in charge. I was afraid that I wouldn't have enough time to study the Fa and do my daily exercises, so I refused to take the job. As a result my supervisor was very unhappy with me. He had to hand the position to another colleague of mine whose technical expertise was lower. 6 months later, the job was canceled. Though I was not demoted, it did leave a bad impression, many leaders and colleagues at work thought that I had not fulfilled my responsibilities. Most of my workplace know that I practice Falun Gong, and the general feeling was that I didn't work as hard after I started to practice. This had given them a negative impression of Dafa.
Last year, my supervisor again asked me to be a supervisor. I had learned my lesson from the last time, realizing that I shouldn't give people the impression that I don't work hard any more after practicing Falun Dafa. I readily agreed to take the task, and my supervisor was very happy. He never imagined that I would agree without any persuasion.
It was quite busy being the supervisor. I needed to work overtime, and sometimes I could not meet my obligations to do the three things. But then I remembered Master's words:
"If a war really breaks out, Dafa disciples might not necessarily have to go to the front lines, since they have Master looking after them. If you really have gone to the front lines, then perhaps it is like the karmic relationship in which Milerepa's14 master had him do bad deeds to obtain benevolent results. Of course, I'm discussing Fa-principles here; normally that won't happen. But the Fa is all-powerful, and with everything It is perfectly all-encompassing. And after all, cultivators have Master looking after them. Everything you, a cultivator, encounter is related to your cultivation and Consummation, or else those things absolutely would not exist. Doing your job well in the ordinary human society is not only for the sake of cultivation or to display Dafa disciples' goodness among everyday people, but also to safeguard the Fa-principles that Dafa has created for ordinary human society." ("Dafa Is All-Encompassing" - Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I thought to myself: I am a Dafa disciple, so even as a supervisor, it does not necessarily mean that I should be as busy as an everyday person. Master will arrange everything for me, and I will have the time to do the three things. The result was something that I never imagined. The job was canceled the very next day, the company leaders thought we were too busy already. My supervisor actually felt embarrassed when he saw me.
After that there were many times when my supervisor gave me some work that couldn't be done without overtime, but I accepted unconditionally each time. Everyone co-operated so well that we finished each task time on time. My supervisor had no complaints, and the negative impression from before was cleared.
I have enlightened to the fact that I missed the first opportunity 6 years ago. If I had taken the supervisor's job immediately instead of being concerned about losing time for Fa study and doing the three things well, all my colleagues would not have gained a negative impression of Dafa, which I then had to work to repair.
After studying "Teaching the Fa to Australian Falun Dafa practitioners", I have become even more clear on this issue. It does not matter if we are in everyday society or with fellow Dafa disciples; harmonizing the environment is most important. We shouldn't cause conflicts. We shouldn't give people a negative impression of Dafa disciples and thus ruin their chance to be saved. With the projects that require Dafa disciples' one body support, coordination and cooperation are the most important. As for if the plan is the best or not, we shouldn't be too attached to it. As long as we cooperate well, as Master said in the lecture, miracles will happen during the process. My personal experiences confirm this.