(Minghui.org) In over two decades of FaTeaching, Teacher has taught us how to cultivate. From time to time some negative phenomena have appeared, and sometimes these are very serious. During such a time, I remember that Teacher instructed assistants to read Essentials For Further Advancement ten times. When things were confused, if practitioners used Essentials For Further Advancement to measure their behavior, everything would become clear.
At the early stage of spreading Falun Dafa, there were various forms of interference, Teacher would often come up with short articles to correct the overall state of Dafa practitioners. From 1992 to 1999, Dafa practitioners walked well on the path of their cultivation and maintained their purity under Teacher's earnest guidance, which, later on, became the basis for Dafa practitioners safeguarding the Fa after 1999. Even now, when experiencing negative phenomena, Essentials For Further Advancement still guides us how to do what is correct and differentiate good from bad.
Lately I came across something:
Maverick—doing one's own thing
In one area, one Dafa practitioner called on other practitioners to practice only the 5th set of Falun Gong exercises and stop doing the other four sets, because he said that to reach a high level it must be done this way as he has already been there. What he said influenced lots of people over a wide area and interfered with lots of people. Even a local coordinator followed his way. This kind of maverick is so dangerous that Teacher warned about it in the Fa many times. But, why then did so many people follow this idea?
Teacher said,
“Whatever you have enlightened to in Dafa is no more than a tiny portion of the Fa’s principles at a certain level within the boundless Fa’s principles. You must never define the Fa or a part of it—not even a sentence of it. If you do that in public, the moment you utter it you will have produced sinful karma. In serious cases, the sin can be as big as a mountain or the sky—how could you then cultivate yourself? If one alters Dafa and creates another system, his sin will be so great that it is boundless. When a life is paying for that bad karma, the pain from its being eliminated layer after layer will be eternal and endless.”(Definitive Conclusion, Essentials For Further Advancement )
When those maverick practitioners do this kind of thing, they have already forgotten Teacher's exhortations.
Unable to form an overall environment
Since Dafa practitioners would like to gather around fellow practitioners, what then is the purpose of our getting together? Is it for mutual help? Or to mutually distribute attachments? Or some other purpose? Because Dafa practitioners have various ways to cause different degrees of persecution, there is a lot of mutual distrust and suspicion, causing the group to be unable to form an overall positive environment and work together effectively.
Teacher said,
“The cultivation practice form that I have left for Dafa disciples ensures that disciples can truly improve themselves. For example, I ask you to do the exercises as a group in parks in order to form an environment. This environment is the best way to change the surface of a person. The lofty conduct that Dafa disciples have established in this environment--including every word and every deed--can make people recognize their own weaknesses and identify their shortcomings; it can move their hearts, refine their conduct, and enable them to make progress more rapidly. Therefore, new students or self-taught disciples have to go to the practice sites to do the exercises.” (“Environment”, Essentials For Further Advancement )
At the time of our gathering, did we check what we talked about and make sure that the things we did were at a higher realm of behavior than that of everyday people. When we were emitting the air of attachments, how could we form an indestructible body against evil persecution?
Outspoken while confusing people
Dafa cultivation does not exclude the supernatural side. But in human society, we have to differentiate the true from the false in other dimensions. Sometimes, when coming across someone who claims to have their third eye opened, the person may seem humble on the surface, but essentially he or she has the mentality of showing off. Of course, some Dafa practitioners can really see some things, some even see spectacular things in other dimensions. But if it is not for the sake of improvement in cultivation or saving sentient beings, talking about only increases the individual's attachment. It can be even worse if the person talks about things that others don't understand. The person may think that what he is talking about are high level principles of the Fa, and make others confused. When the person doesn't know how to explain the situation, he may say, “Did I say that?” hinting that a “Law-Body or god” said it through his mouth.
Didn't he lose his main consciousness? As for this kind of person who goes around preaching how supernatural he is, Teacher has already and clearly said,
“As a matter of fact, those people who have enlightened are often disciples who don’t show themselves off but who quietly and truly cultivate. They are of different ages and look no different from everyday people. It is very likely that they don’t attract much attention. Although they have all the divine powers, transformation, they find that human beings actually look like tiny, low beings who don’t deserve to be shown these things.” (“What is Enlightenment?” Essentials For Further Advancement )
Those who think themselves to be ones with their third-eye open often expose their show-off mentality and strong attachments. Won't they feel ashamed in front of one who has reached consummation in cultivation?
False Scriptures continue to be spread
For over ten years, some people who wanted to obtain heavenly secrets have been seeking different kinds of so-called “unpublished scriptures”, and have intentionally been passing them on to friends, causing people to go astray. In fact, it isn't difficult to identify the true from the false, but some of them just don't know how.
Teacher told us,
“Without listening to me or following the requirements of Dafa, how could you be my disciples? Isn’t this going against Dafa? If this isn’t an act of harming Dafa, what is it? My disciples, you shouldn’t always be unaware of these things until I point them out. In fact, everything is included in the Fa. Why not read the books more? I suggest that everyone set his mind to reading ten times the book I wrote, Essentials for Further Advancement, which you call scripture. When your mind isn’t at peace, studying the Fa is not effective. You should study it with a peaceful mind.” (“A Heavy Blow”, Essentials For Further Advancement )
As a matter of fact, if a person, after hearing more gossip, doesn't work on xinxing improvement, that individual will increase his attachments without getting any benefit.
Whenever seeing a phenomenon that is confusing or harming the Fa, I always recall Teacher's scriptures, which enable me to have the ability to reveal my own inadequacies as well as an individual's attachments. I hope that all of us can identify right from wrong, that we don't walk on a wrong path, and that we all walk well on our final path.
My level is low with a little understanding of the Fa. For your reference only.