Be More Diligent

 Li Hongzhi

July 24, 2010 ~ Washington, DC

(Audience stands, with long, loud applause)

You’ve really worked hard! (Disciples applaud enthusiastically, and reply, “Master has worked hard!”) To the Dafa disciples who have been fulfilling their missions in various projects, and fulfilling their vows in their respective settings and social groups, I say to you: you’ve all worked so hard! (Disciples applaud enthusiastically)

At present, it seems that what you had said, or vowed, about helping Master to rectify the Fa and save sentient beings has really come to be and you have played your part while clarifying the truth. I have seen the success of it, as well as all that you have done to fulfill your missions. It is just extraordinary. [What you have done] wasn’t just on the spur of the moment, nor did it just stop at empty talk. You are now in the final process of completing and fulfilling what you vowed to do long ago, and it is on this account that I say Dafa disciples are extraordinary. However one looks at it, you have made it through the most evil of persecutions. You have all seen that however long the evil may remain for and whatever gimmicks it may use, these are not going to work. There is one point that you’re all very clear on: history’s being able to progress to this day, here in this world, is precisely because it was reserved for Dafa disciples to save sentient beings, as this chapter of history exists expressly for Dafa disciples’ success and so that you may fulfill your vows. Of course, it’s not solely about your pledges and fulfilling your vows. It’s also tied to the Fa-rectification and the fate of the immeasurable lives of this cosmos—something that huge. If you can do a good job with what you are supposed to do, everything in the Three Realms will go well and the interference that Master faces in the process of rectifying the Fa will be less.

In carrying things out, regardless of what ordeals you faced, what you bumped up against, or what interference occurred from human attachments as you worked together, you have, all the same, made it through. I hope that now, at the end of this process, Dafa disciples will do their utmost to save more people and do even better, such that their mighty virtue becomes even greater. You mustn’t let up, and you must do even better at this. This period of history has been left entirely for Dafa disciples so that they may validate the Fa. In other words, the stage of mankind has been given to Dafa disciples. Don’t be fooled by the fact that everything seems to be business as usual here in this world, or that each nation and peoples are carrying on and interacting just as usual, for all of this exists in fact for Dafa. No matter how many prophecies about mankind’s last days have been inherited from the ancient past; no matter how much, since Dafa’s creation of the Three Realms, people have been able to know of mankind’s end, be it overtly or covertly, to a greater or lesser extent; and no matter how many people have formed certain worldviews amidst the realities [of society], all lives, in fact, have been awaiting the final developments involving mankind that now unfold. I can see that everything is heading into the final stage. It’s just that many people are afraid to acknowledge this reality and its progressive unfolding; that the number of lives to be saved before the final moment arrives has not reached the amount it should; and that there is still a portion of Dafa disciples that hasn’t kept up. That is the key reason why the end of this undertaking still hasn’t been enacted.

So in other words, you mustn’t let up in saving sentient beings, and you need to do better, and save more people, since doing this is simply critical and in fact terribly important. Mankind doesn’t presently believe any of what I’ve discussed, but, before long, mankind will slowly catch on and everything will gradually become clear. In the near future, people in this world will realize that Dafa disciples are saving people. It is something that you definitely have to do better at, and do with greater strength. So this requires that you cooperate well. If you fail to cooperate well, the evil really will exploit your weaknesses and you will suffer major losses. Losses, that is, in terms of both individual cultivation as well as our group projects that are meant to save sentient beings.

As you know, if you fail to do well, the initiatives that you worked so hard to start up will be ruined by the evil, undoing all of your efforts. If you don’t cooperate well, you won’t be able to effectively carry out what Dafa disciples are supposed to do. Here’s what often happens. When certain initiatives need everyone to act together, the first thing people do is to argue on and on, with each person sticking to his or her own opinion, and the end result is that things go unresolved and, as a consequence, Dafa disciples are not able to accomplish many things or even do a poor job of them. There are several reasons for this. I’ve said that Dafa disciples are extraordinary, and that they are kings hailing from different worlds, so of course you have your own views and a lot of ability. However, it doesn’t work if every person does his own thing when cooperation is needed. When you need to act together in concert to complete something, everyone has to work on it. So how exactly should things be handled? The truth is, no person’s viewpoint is perfect, nor is any one person’s idea flawlessly brilliant. On critical things, when someone raises some issue or tries to resolve some problem, or offers suggestions for improvement, as long as we feel his starting point is sound, and that the things to be done are generally correct, we should actively support it.

Then there are those who say that they raise those differing opinions in order to bring about better cooperation, and if their opinions aren’t accepted, they find it difficult to go forward with things. But that shouldn’t be the case. A Dafa disciple’s righteous thoughts stem from the Fa, and your cultivation is not a matter of how good, as a human being, your ideas are or how brilliant your approach is. Rather, your cultivation is a matter of whether you manage to have righteous thoughts in the face of challenges. If the idea that someone puts forth, or his approach, is lacking, then you can have a rational discussion, set up by the coordinator, with your project members. But, when what you bring up is not agreed upon or accepted, and yet you feel it’s obvious that your approach is necessary for things to be done more ideally, you start to become negative and passive. Actually, though, as a Dafa disciple, if in such cases your thoughts are righteous, and what you are thinking about is cultivation, about being responsible, and about how it’s something that should be done well, then you should quietly take whatever it is that you feel is lacking and do it well. That is in fact how a Dafa disciple should handle it. If all Dafa disciples could manage to handle things in this manner, everything out there would go extremely well, for sure.

Some people therefore think, “But when that’s the case, won’t the other person get all the credit? Won’t the mighty virtue all be his?” No, that’s not so. You know, what we do isn’t done for human beings to see, nor is it for some project coordinator to see, or some Dafa Association coordinator, right? If it is Master you’re hoping will see, his main body isn’t right in front of you, so who are you hoping will see? You are doing it before the multitude of gods. Master’s Law Bodies are watching as well, and the innumerable sentient beings of the cosmos have fixed their gaze intently upon your every single thought and mental activity. So, who are you hoping to show? All of the many amazing things that you are doing in the course of validating the Fa are being recorded in this chapter of the cosmos’s history, with nothing pertaining to even a single disciple being omitted. However, if you are focused on the superficial, ordinary human things, then you are attached and are using human thinking. Don’t give weight to such things. If you can manage to quietly complete what you notice is lacking, quietly do well what you should do, and quietly do something well when you find it to have been done less than ideally, then the multitude of gods will have tremendous admiration for you and exclaim that this person is simply extraordinary. Only doing things this way counts as what a Dafa disciple should do. So, this is one aspect. As Dafa disciples, then, any time cooperation is needed and yet arguments persist, or people are arguing without coming to a decision, you need to go about things in the manner I’ve discussed. And doing so, the evil will have no way to interfere.

I also want to highlight a coordination issue that pertains to Dafa disciples outside of mainland China. This is something that I didn’t spell out before, as I wanted you to be tempered and find your own course to follow; since all Dafa disciples are kings from higher worlds, each must, through exploring and verifying, enlighten to what each is supposed to from the Fa. So, as for how things now stand, the amount of time given has been long enough. You’ve already passed through ten years’ time, so as to this [issue of yours], I’d say we call it over and done with. So, I want to tell you that from this day forth, the main coordinator for each project—the one principal coordinator—is that project’s representative. This holds true for the main coordinator of each region’s Dafa Association as well. He or she is its representative. Whatever it may be that the coordinator does, requires of you, or decides—carry it out unconditionally. (Enthusiastic applause) Starting today.

Carry it out unconditionally. Understand what I said? In many instances, when people are debating things at length, all it should take is that coordinator stating his stance on it, and then that’s what you do. Furthermore, with many things, he should be able to just go straight ahead, without having to consult you, and assign tasks for you to do. And why is that? Previously, on many occasions when you argued back and forth I didn’t express my views on this, for I consciously wanted to allow you to temper your own thinking and succeed at making your own paths. But now, ample time has been given, and what you should have, you now have. So it’s time to do away with that state. An overall coordinator is responsible to Master and to the global Dafa Association, and if something comes up, Master or the Dafa Association will talk to him or her. He or she only needs to answer to those who are one rung above. Our students need to adjust their cultivation states, and from this day forth no longer go about cultivating with one eye on the coordinator. From now on you shouldn’t say another word about how well the coordinator does cultivating or leading people, and you shouldn’t cast your gaze toward him or her any longer. You need to get back to cultivating yourselves, and cultivate according to what I just said. You all need to do this now. Start cultivating yourselves.

So whatever the main coordinator of a project—regardless of what project he heads up—or the coordinators of Dafa Associations in different regions, do, all you need to do is follow them and do the same. Will they make a mistake that goes against our principles? They won’t, they most definitely will not. I’m completely sure of this. I can see this very clearly, since Dafa disciples have gone through so many years of tempering. There won’t be problems of that sort. If such problems really were to arise, the Dafa Association would have no qualms about replacing whoever it was. But don’t think about people being replaced, as it is very possible that it’s not feasible to replace people. (Disciples laugh) Tempering the various coordinators of Dafa disciples is no easy feat. After going through all these years, Dafa disciples will have their own unique working methods and ways of doing things. You are cultivators, and in this regard, you are not altogether equivalent to or the same as ordinary people. Over these ten years the coordinators have been tempered and, I would say, are now quite mature. Now that I have remedied this problem of yours, the coordinators will do well. That’s because the assaults from external interference are now small, and the coordinators will think about Dafa things in a comprehensive way, no longer having to invest the bulk of their energy on figuring out how best to smooth out the relationships with and among you. Instead, they will be putting their energy into seeing Dafa projects through to fruition and seeing to it that the things that Dafa disciples should do are done well. Their burden will be eased, and they will have more time to attend to their proper duties. As for you, who are Dafa disciples, you shouldn’t focus on the coordinators, but instead, focus completely on yourselves and on how to cooperate well, do things well, and finish what you are supposed to do. That should be the state of things starting today. I have formally explained this to you here at this conference, and it was specifically to talk about this issue that I came here today.

So, starting today you need to change your ways and do as I’ve described. And by doing so, what might we expect? In many cases decisions will be arrived at swiftly, there will be great strength when you carry things out, and the task at hand will quickly be brought to completion. This approach will be of benefit to all that we do to save sentient beings, and great changes will be seen in the many things we do to validate the Fa as well as in the quality and progress of operations in each of our projects to save people. So from now on, that’s how we will handle the things I just spoke about.

Since there are so many Dafa disciples here today, two hours probably wouldn’t be enough were we to have you pass up question slips as we usually do at Fa conferences. So, I think that if you have individual project meetings afterwards, I can come and speak in that context, and this way, we can target specific issues that you have and address them. If you have objections to what I just discussed, you can express your views through various channels. But, what I’m thinking is, you are all here to “help Master rectify the Fa”—to use your own words for it—so I would ask, do you really want to help Master rectify the Fa? You say, “Whatever Master says, that’s what we’ll do,” and, “Whatever Master wants, that’s what we’ll do.” Then I will tell you: this is what I want! (Enthusiastic applause)

Having said this much, I’ll say a few words in passing. Namely, I’ll talk about, “Whatever Master wants, that’s what we’ll do.” Truth be told, sometimes your lips will be saying that whatever Master wants, that’s what you will do, but, as soon as you are faced with real-life circumstances, [what you said] gets diluted without your realizing it. You always have your own opinions on things, and think that your opinions match your realities and circumstances. But that’s not true. You mustn’t forget: this current period of history was kept for Fa-rectification, and is given to Dafa disciples to save sentient beings and perfect themselves. It’s not nearly as simple as people imagine it, with human thinking. Another thing is, some people always think, “What Master wants, we’ll do it, but let’s do it a little better,” and again it’s a case of changing what Master wants. There are human attachments at work whenever that’s the case, and it serves as interference.

There’s also the matter of Shen Yun ticket sales. I have said that we are now to focus on higher-end society, and only by making ourselves part of the cultural mainstream can we unlock society at large, have a greater impact, have more people attend, and have more sentient beings come to be saved. But then there are people raising all sorts of objections, with some people saying that the ticket prices are too high. But that is not the case whatsoever. For example, one of Shen Yun’s companies is currently on the West Coast of the U.S. performing, and the ticket prices were pretty much set based on the normal prices of higher-end tickets. When people first started selling the tickets, there weren’t many people buying them. There were several reasons for that, one of which is that in July and August many people are vacationing, students are on break, and many well-to-do families are off at the seashore, some may be off boating, while others are off somewhere at gatherings or visiting friends. So in any case, they’re busy with things and thus not many people are still around. And this means that fewer people come to see the show. That’s the heart of the problem. If you now go and cheapen our show, there still won’t be many people who attend. That is the heart of it.

There is something you need to be clear on. When I want something done, it’s absolutely not something for you to then debate the feasibility of. If I say to go about it a certain way, then you should only concern yourself with doing it. That’s because once I decide something, it is not just a simple matter of uttering a few words, nor is the approach I choose in any way simple. I need to adjust many things, and even divine beings are following my lead. In Fa-rectification many things change, but if you then alter them on account of your not being able to accept things, and you always want to change things, the situation will immediately become a big mess. Even just a slight change will result in a mess. Don’t you say that you will do things however Master wants them done? (Disciples laugh) Then how could you have objections to what Master wants done? If [Master’s idea] really weren’t feasible, then Master would bear responsibility! Whether or not it seems feasible to you, just give it a try and see. Though a lot of you might be living here in Western society, in reality, you don’t really understand this place. What it comes down to is, you need to change the thinking that the Party culture instilled in you, and understand better how life works in the normal world outside of China. Don’t let human thinking always obstruct things. When you do indeed try to handle things according to Master’s wishes, but don’t do it the right way, things still won’t work out. Master told you to focus your efforts on higher-end society, yet you keep going out to places that aren’t higher-end. So naturally, things won’t work out. And of course, that means you are not truly cooperating. If Master asks you to work on higher-end society, just do it with righteous thoughts, and you will definitely succeed.

Of course, I was just drawing on an example to make my point. There are many things that you are not too clear on. The process of gaining clarity must not drag on too long. Saying that you will “do things however Master does them” isn’t as simple as paying lip service. With other initiatives [not guided by Master], however you choose to go about things is your own business, even if you’re embroiled in arguments or dealing with differences of opinion. But when it comes to things that Master wants done, you really cannot debate about whether it’s feasible or not. There is only room to debate how best to carry it out. You really must be clear on this.

It has been some time since a Fa conference was held, with no large-scale ones taking place. That means that our students from different regions haven’t had many opportunities to come together. I hear that the quality of the papers presented today is quite good, and everyone feels that the Fa conference is going well. There is more to it than that. All of this owes to the fact that Dafa disciples have become more and more mature as a result of tempering, and many things are becoming more and more clear-cut in terms of the Fa’s principles. So your cultivation states are bound to reflect this in various ways. The cultivation states of Dafa disciples will become increasingly better in the future, as will the state [of disciples] overall. This is certain. If all of you can catch up and meet the expectation I just described, then the cultivation states of Dafa disciples in different regions will likewise transform. So, from today on, you don’t need to argue pointlessly about or challenge the things that the main coordinators in your respective regions or main project coordinators want to do. You just need to do [what they decide], for Master’s Law Bodies and the multitude of gods are looking after things.

When you call into question the main coordinator, you are actually calling that project itself into question. How so? Let’s use NTDTV as an example. You know who the overall coordinator of NTDTV is. Suppose that people say NTDTV’s overall coordinator has problems, you have doubts about him, or you say how inadequate he is, and then you replace him. I’ll tell you, were that to happen, everything that NTDTV had done from the time of its inception up through today would be wiped out, and everything done by the people involved in that project to validate the Fa and save sentient beings would be in vain. It would be gone. The project wouldn’t exist, and none of the mighty virtue that you established or the things that you did would count. It’s that serious. One might then ask how it was that the overall coordinator came to preside over something so major. Is it because he cultivated especially well? Not necessarily. It owes to the fact that he started up the project and leads it, and the project rests on him. Everyone else is merely validating the Fa and doing his part, doing his best on his end, in that project that has already been launched. It’s akin to the cultivation you do at a company in ordinary society: your boss won’t gain mighty virtue because of you, but you will establish your own mighty virtue in that setting.

It’s critical that the overall coordinator of a project cultivates well. If he fails to cultivate well, it will impact the entire project, causing it to stagnate and for there to be many difficulties. So this is critical. But that said, the Dafa Association is responsible for him, and if Master sees an issue he will speak to him. So you needn’t concern yourself with this. For the overall coordinator of any project, however, the stakes really are that high. For the rest of you, you mustn’t totally negate all of your cultivation on that project over the past ten years, such as by replacing that person, and start all over again, for we no longer have all of the time that we once had or the same opportunities. You mustn’t obliterate your mighty virtue—mighty virtue that you established—or the achievements you had in validating the Fa, or all that you pioneered while saving sentient beings. So you shouldn’t give any more thought to things like replacing someone or what you will do if the coordinator is inadequate. Were you to really act on those thoughts, the things that it would impact would be just enormous, and everything you did, from beginning to end, would all have been in vain. However, if the person who is the main coordinator really has done a bad job, and really isn’t working out, then Master will have alternative means of handling it. If I were to really replace someone, I would have the multitude of gods support it, and things would be re-aligned without you losing your mighty virtue. But these aren’t changes that can be casually made. The main coordinator absolutely must not be wantonly changed. As long as he hasn’t made a huge mistake, or gone over to the other side, he absolutely cannot be replaced.

Today I’ve brought this issue out into the open. I used the example of NTDTV, but it was just an illustration. What I said holds true for all of the other projects out there. Don’t always dwell on making the coordinator cultivate. From this day forth, you mustn’t always look to find fault with the coordinator. Were you to always frown upon your boss at an ordinary job, you would get fired in no time. Why haven’t I changed coordinators after all these years? For one thing, I have been tempering them. And secondly, he or she is extremely critical to that project. Replace that person and the project is no more. Whatever you were to build again would be something new, from the beginning, and all that Dafa disciples did on that project previously would be erased, and no more. That’s how critical this is. You should cherish all that you have done, for this amounts to cherishing yourself! Remember Master’s words! (Applause)

That’s all I will say. Thank you all! (Warm applause) For our Dafa disciples, for those of you in various projects who aren’t coordinators but must work together, you really need to, starting today, work together well and meet the demands of Fa-rectification’s progress. I hope that you all do better. You are all remarkable. You have made it through the harshest and most evil of circumstances, and moreover, all along you have been validating the Fa, clarifying the truth, and saving sentient beings—right up to the present. You may not realize the extent of your mighty virtue, but already the sentient beings of this cosmos know to look upon you with the respect you deserve.

Thank you all! (Audience stands, with long, loud applause)