(Clearwisdom.net) Assisting Master in Fa-rectification and Saving Sentient Beings
1. Responsibilities and Missions
During the third year, after I started practicing Falun Gong, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime launched the evil persecution. On many occasions, I wanted to cry as soon as I started talking. I wanted to tell people that what was being aired in the media was false and it's purpose was to just slander Dafa.
At that time, I did not know how to get onto the Minghui website [the Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net]. I started writing down my own experiences of practicing Dafa and the miraculous changes that happened to me both physically and mentally which I printed and mailed to people. Later, fellow practitioners had provided me with some truth-clarification materials which I continued to send out. I remember it was during the second half of the year 2001, I was able to receive daily Minghui articles in my mailbox. Each time I made about 100 copies of the articles exposing the evil and clarifying the facts which I had distributed. I had also printed some color signs that I posted in various places to spread the message further. Later, I was able to get onto the Minghui website to download the materials and brochures by myself. Since then, my small materials site has been established.
I often place the truth materials in different places to have more people know the truth so they have the opportunity to choose their future.
2. Validating the Fa and Clarifying the Truth to Save Sentient Beings
From studying the Fa, I understand the responsibilities and great historical mission as a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period, which is to assimilate to Dafa and assist Master in Fa-rectification, clarify the truth and save sentient beings. Talking to people face to face about the Falun Gong and the persecution is a process of eliminating human notions and attachments by improving our understanding of the Fa.
There have been human notions that surfaced when I clarified the truth. For example, I was hesitant in talking about it to my students due to my attachment of fear. Later, I had a dream of two children who were very sick. I realized that the older child was a senior student and the younger one was a freshman. They are all waiting for me to clarify the truth to them! I planned to talk to them the last day of school, however, things don't always go as planned. It was not even time for final exams and students have already asked me to teach them something extracurricular. I immediately became nervous and realized that it was time to let them know the facts about Falun Gong. My sense of responsibility as a Dafa disciple had calmed me down. I started from by talking about my own physical and mental changes and talked on for about an hour. The students listened attentively. After class, beyond my expectation, the students continued to ask questions and some said they wanted to read Zhuan Falun. One student even said he wanted to learn to practice Falun Gong. This experience gave me great encouragement. After that, I also clarified the facts to other classes and they also asked me questions, which I answered one by one.
Finding Shortcomings, Eliminating Attachments, Cultivating Diligently
Master said,
"To tell you the truth, the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments. In ordinary human society, people compete with, deceive, and harm each other for a little personal gain. All of these mentalities must be given up. Especially for people who are studying the practice today, these mentalities should be given up even further." (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun, 2000 translation version)
As lives living in the time when our great Master rectifies the Fa and spreads Dafa, we must assimilate to Dafa. We are from the old cosmos, therefore, there are things from the old cosmos existing in our lives. We should eliminate all factors arranged by the old cosmos' system so our thoughts and entire being will assimilate to the requirements of Dafa. We should be constantly searching for our shortcomings and gaps and measure them against what Dafa requires of us, eliminating all our attachments and human notions, cultivating diligently in order to accomplish our historical missions and fulfill our pre-historical vows.
1. Eliminating Selfishness and Human Notions
Having cultivated for thirteen years, I just realized that the thing that has been hindering my advancement in cultivation is the attachment to self. On my cultivation path, I have been able to look inward when facing conflicts, but now I have realized that it was only on the surface. After a while, the same situation returns. Until one day, Master gave me a hint and made me realize through the mouth of a fellow practitioner, "You are very selfish." I felt very uncomfortable hearing that and thought, "How am I selfish? Everybody compliments me at work or other places. How could I be a selfish person?" I could not bring myself to accept that comment. Later, I studied the Fa and read this paragraph.
Master said,
"As a human being, you are a good person only if you can follow this universe's characteristic of Zhen-Shan-Ren. A person who deviates from this characteristic is truly a bad person. In the workplace or in society, some people may say that you are bad, yet you may not necessarily be bad. Some people may say that you are good, but you may not really be good. As a practitioner, if you assimilate yourself to this characteristic you are one that has attained the Tao--it's just such a simple principle." (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
Everyday people say that I am good, does this really count? Master taught us that the principles in the human world are opposite from an enlightened beings world. I am a Dafa disciple and I should use the principles of the universe to measure myself. Using everyday people's logic to think, how could I be assimilating to the characteristics of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance?
Master taught us the Fa principles of cultivating unselfishly,
"Under all circumstances, we must be good and kind to others, not to mention to our family members. We should treat everyone in the same way. We must be good to our parents and children and be considerate of others in all respects. Such a heart is thus unselfish, and it is a heart of kindness and benevolence." (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
Why did my fellow practitioner say that I was selfish? Using Master's Fa principles, I examined myself and realized that whenever I think about issues or need to solve a problem, the first thing I think about is "me," - I should be doing this, I should be doing that. I always first arrange everything well according to my benefits. I always find reasons for doing this and seldom think of others or think about others first. Isn't this the exact reflection of being selfish? Isn't this a reflection of the selfish factors from the old cosmos?
Master said,
"From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others--or even future generations--along with Dafa's eternal stability." ("Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature," Essentials For Further Advancement)
If one can not follow Master's requirements and does not actively assimilate to Dafa, then one is not a true Dafa disciple!
From then on, I intentionally eliminated my attachment to self and began to consider others more. I feel more relaxed and my mind is more settled. As soon as I detect that I still have signs of being selfish, I immediately feel uneasy because it goes against the characteristics of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
2. Studying the Fa with the Attachment of Pursuit Is Not True Cultivation
From my cultivation experience, as the changes of my life broke through from the micro level to the surface, especially when I should improve and reach a higher realm, I felt that I was having difficulties breaking through.
Master said, "they always linger at a certain level. After much effort to move up to another level, they then linger at that level again." ("An Explicit Reminder", Essentials for Further Advancement)
Why is this? Once, when I was doing the meditation, I saw a scene: there was a line. On one side, it was the human's realm. On the other side, it was a Gods' realm. I was standing on the human side, but closer to the Gods' side. I cultivate Dafa in the human world at the same time enjoying human things. Yet at times, I utilized things from the Godly side. This scene made me think and I realized my long-existing attachments that I should have eliminated.
I read one lecture of Zhuan Falun every day and I also read Master's other lectures. Sometimes, it seems that I am only going through the motions. When I encounter conflicts, I become anxious and studied the Fa very hard trying to find answers and searched for the approach to take to solve the conflicts. Because this is the Dafa of the universe, in this process, I have always enlightened from the Fa's principles. I have been able to realize where the issues were and I am able to look inward and cultivate myself. However, I often felt that I could not reach the level the Fa requires of me and I cannot cultivate to the level I would like to be. I was often bothered by that. One day, with Master's hints, I suddenly realized: I was studying the Fa with the attachment of pursuit!
Master said,
"In religious cultivation practice of the past, the Buddha School required emptiness. One should not think about anything and enter the door of emptiness. The Tao School taught nothingness, as there is nothing. One should not want anything, and neither should one pursue anything. A practitioner believes he should only focus on practicing, without paying attention to obtaining gong. 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? All at once we have here taught such high-level Fa, and the requirement for your xinxing is, of course, also of a high standard. Therefore, one should not come to learn the Fa with the attachment of pursuit." (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
What am I pursuing? It turned out that I have been pursuing the things from Dafa that can satisfy my hidden human attachments and desires. With these human notions and thoughts, I was not able to melt into the Fa, and I could not be considered as a true Dafa disciple, and thus I was not able to well assist Master in Fa-rectification and save sentient beings.
Please point out anything incorrect in my understanding.