(Clearwisdom.net) There is a disturbing phenomenon in many of our local Fa study groups. While reading Dafa books, sending forth righteous thoughts, or sharing experiences, our local practitioners all sit with their legs crossed. Once finished, however, many simply leave the books on their mats. If someone wants to get up and move around, he or she may have to step over them. Every time I see this, I feel very uncomfortable. Why are we so disrespectful to these same books of the Fa that we risk our lives protecting? This also reminds me of those scenes in public places or brainwashing centers where the evildoers forced both non-practitioners and practitioners to curse Dafa and Master or even step on the portrait of Master. In my opinion, the occurrence of these incidents has something to do with our practitioners not doing well enough in showing respect to Master and Dafa. As a result, the evil takes advantage of this loophole and attempts to destroy everyday people and practitioners. I feel this is not something trivial.

Master said in Zhuan Falun,

"Some people's comprehension just doesn't improve. Some folks just go and start marking up this book of mine. Now, those of us with open Third Eyes can see that this book is full of dazzling colors, and sparkling with golden light, and every word is in my Law Body's image. If I lied I'd be cheating you, so I'll tell you: the marks you make are so dark, and you dare to just mark it up like that? Do you know what we're doing here? Aren't we guiding you upward in cultivation? You should stop and give a little thought to some things. This book can guide your cultivation--now think, isn't it precious? You worship Buddha, but can that help you do true cultivation? You're very pious and you handle that Buddha's statue like fragile glass, and you burn incense for it every day, yet you dare to tamper with the Great Law that can truly guide your cultivation." ("Enlightenment" in the Ninth Talk)

There is another relevant passage in "Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference:"

"Question: When we send truth-clarifying materials to Mainland China, can we also send them your poems and articles, and Dafa books?

Teacher: That's not a problem, not a problem at all. You can send those to everyday people. It's not a problem, as long as the person wants to read them. The persecution has gone on for so long now, and a lot of people really want to learn the truth about Falun Gong but they can't find the books. Do you know what excuse the old forces used when they had the evil burn the books way back when? Why did they burn the books? At that time there were so many copies of Zhuan Falun in Mainland China that they were just everywhere. But a lot of students didn't realize that they should respect the book, and everyday people treated it with even less respect. The Gods couldn't stand it, because that's the Law of Heaven, the one that created the cosmos! So the old forces wanted to create a severe shortage of books, and they made people look for the Fa, respect it, and realize how precious this Fa is from then on. That was the excuse they used to do that back then."

Some practitioners put their eyeglasses on Zhuan Falun, while others casually toss the book to one another sitting across the room. I've also noticed that some people's copies of Zhuan Falun look dirty and worn. When asked, these practitioners say that's because they read the book so often. I wonder how the book would look if they remembered to wash their hands before each reading and took better care of the book?

There was a practitioner who hid his copy of Zhuan Falun under his mattress, only to see the authorities confiscate it. Later he realized that hiding the book under his mattress was equivalent to laying on it, which was disrespectful of Dafa, and that was an excuse for him to lose the book. From my talks with different practitioners, I've found that those who were able to successfully protect their Dafa books were those that refused to cooperate with the authorities and always cherished their Dafa books and put them in clean places. Many practitioners noted one thing, that is, that the evil liked to check the heads of practitioners' beds when ransacking their homes. I figured that was probably because many practitioners tended to put Dafa books under their pillows. Dafa books and truth-clarification materials should never be placed under pillows.

At present, there are not that many incidents of practitioners' homes being ransacked. After all, the period when the evil was the most rampant has passed. But shouldn't we reflect to see if we still have any behaviors that we are not aware of that are disrespectful of Master and Dafa? When this page of history is turned, how much of our behavior will be righteous enough to leave behind to future human beings? If we can't rectify our disrespectful behaviors, our cultivation will certainly be adversely affected.

I don't believe that any practitioner would behave disrespectfully on purpose. There may be two underlying reasons. First, due to the tremendous damage the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has done to traditional Chinese culture, many Chinese practitioners; including myself, do not know how to respect gods or how to conduct ourselves. I feel practitioners in China should read some books on traditional Chinese culture in order to catch up with the basic etiquette, demeanor, and manners gods require of human beings. If a cultivator claims to be at a high level yet doesn't know how to conduct himself in society, then he is indeed inferior to everyday people in this regard.

Second, some practitioners fail to measure themselves against the standards of the Fa, even though they are studying the Fa on a regular basis. As I see it, "full of great aspirations while minding minor details" ("Sage," in Essentials For Further Advancement) is not just a sentence on paper, but a Fa principle we should adhere to.

I do not know what consequences are in store for those of us who show disrespect to Master and Dafa. But I would encourage all of us to examine ourselves to see if our behaviors conform to the Fa principles and the most basic levels of proper conduct. Master's compassion and tolerance does not mean we can become lax. We should strive to set even stricter requirements for ourselves.