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To Focus on Cultivation and Saving People is the Righteous Thought

Aug. 7, 2008 |   By A Dafa Practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) Lately, local practitioners including me, have had some opportunities to share experiences on doing the three things well. The following are some of my understandings.

1. Because every individual attains a different level of enlightenment, even with regards to the same issue, we should not over-emphasize on our own opinions. There are bound to be differences within individual enlightenments, but the key is that we must not try to validate ourselves or prove that we are right. Validating self is like self-righteousness, and some practitioners have been trying hard to change others. If one can really reach the point of not believing in self, not arguing with others, and harmonizing and helping others calmly, everything will be all right because Dafa has the power to eliminate evil and strengthen righteousness.

The most important thing is our own hearts; how we let go of our attachments and position our hearts. Teacher arranges trials for us to improve our xinxing in any situation, even those of sacred Dafa work. Divine beings are watching! Our hearts should not be moved by trials, such as practitioners' previous articles on the Internet. I was impressed when Teacher said "I never argue with people" in his brief biography when I read it before the persecution started in 1999. Sometimes I feel that my enlightenment of the Fa can only be understood without words, and practitioners at every level may feel that some things cannot be expressed with human language. The same sentence said by different people will carry different meanings, and people have various understandings of the same thing, too. We can only know what's revealed to us according to our level; moreover, the recipients are at different levels too, so they will have different understandings as well.

It is all right to share experiences on how to do the three things well. The Fa is tremendous and miraculous; sometimes I really can feel the thoughtfulness of Teacher through arrangements he has made for me. We are only particles in Dafa, but we all have improved after experiencing Teacher's personal arrangements for us. We cannot improve by just saying "I will look within". Personal improvement indeed happens when one feels upset or uncomfortable. We need to upgrade our enlightenment quality.

I hope we can all argue less about our understandings of the Fa , and instead, study the Fa more and discuss coordination of doing the three things more frequently.

2. We should not point fingers at others. Sometimes some fellow practitioners criticize others by saying "you must look within", which make others speechless. The point of "looking within" is not wrong in itself, and every practitioner says that. However, I just feel that some practitioners don't say it out of compassion, but rather, it's more like criticizing and wanting to change others. Thus, it doesn't sound quite sacred when they say it. I rarely say this to fellow practitioners myself. Monks in temples who don't practice cultivation also say "saving sentient beings" all the time, but that doesn't feel sacred either. Would others look within when you say "look within"? Or don't others look within when you don't say it? Our improvement comes from the Fa and Teacher, not from individual practitioners. As individual practitioners, we can only persuade others to follow the Fa, or sometimes Teacher may use our mouths to pass on some message to fellow practitioners. We should not think that we are somebody special; if we do, that is an attachment that we need to get rid of.

3. As for some practical things, I think we should just try to solve them on a small scale. There is no need to present these everyday issues to the majority of practitioners for discussion and distribution. In my opinion, it may not be good to cause anxiety among practitioners.

4. Practitioners who really have cultivated well are likely to be those who don't like to show off, who don't want to validate themselves, but do the three things well quietly. They must be very humble practitioners.

I would like to end with the Teacher's teaching in Zhuan Falun:

"This Fa can only be taught to this level. It is up to your own cultivation to attain what is at high levels. The questions raised by some people have become more specific. If I explain all the questions in your life, what will be left for you to cultivate? You must practice cultivation and become enlightened on your own. If I tell you everything, nothing will remain for you to cultivate. Fortunately, Dafa has already been made public, and you can do things according to Dafa."

The above is based on my own enlightenment.

July 21, 2008