(Minghui.org) I have felt confused for over six months seeing some practitioners do very well with the three things, but yet still not pass tests related to sickness karma, family problems, or conflicts among practitioners. Some of them have had a hard time and some even lost their lives. This has caused great losses in our saving people. I was worried and once said, “The practitioners that are attached to doing work need to improve based on the Fa.” However, this created gaps between practitioners and brought interference to Fa-rectification.

For example, Practitioner A kept clarifying the truth about Falun Gong and had strong righteous thoughts. However, it seemed as though he didn't do well when it came to family issues. He had trouble reading Chinese characters and thus was unable to study the Fa on his own. One time he was reported by someone who was unclear about the persecution of Falun Gong. He was released, but in my opinion he had to calm down and look within. Therefore, I didn't give him any truth clarification materials to distribute. He was very upset and got angry with the coordinator, whom he blamed for not being given the materials. There was a disagreement among the local practitioners regarding this issue. At the time, I truly had no idea whether I did the right thing or not. I kept Practitioner A from saving people but I wanted to be responsible to him as a practitioner. When I talked to other practitioners, we were confused about one thing, “Why did we still have sickness karma and family problems when we did the three things well?”

When a conflict arises, we should not try to look for who is right or wrong. We must first look within for our attachments. When we let go of our attachments and come back to solve the problem, the conflict may not exist anymore. The problem is thus resolved.

Recently, after studying the Fa and talking to fellow practitioners, I realized that Practitioner A had the Fa in his heart when he clarified the truth. He was clear about what he was doing. He sent forth righteous thoughts and let go of fear and selfishness. He was able to listen to Teacher and save more people. However, when it came to conflicts among practitioners, problems with family members, and illness, he didn't measure himself with the Fa and didn't look within. He did not try to understand why these problems kept appearing and did not treat them as opportunities to improve his xinxing. Sometimes he just saw all the problems as interference to his work, which made it even harder for him to look within.

Teacher does not tell us exactly how to go about everything because we need to enlighten to it on our own. In the story “Journey to the West,” the four would reach consummation once they reached the West and obtained the Sutra. However, if one didn't cultivate his xinxing, his level would not be the same as the others even if he reached the West. The pig, Bajie, got into trouble all the time. He was arrested, beaten, hunted by monsters, and almost eaten. Bajie also got everyone else in trouble many times. He suffered a lot and did a lot of work and finally met the Tathagata. However, he still had many attachments, including lust, laziness, and greed, and he acted just like an ordinary person. It's just like what we are doing today—if we do the three things Teacher wants us to do but do not eliminate our attachments, we are no different than Bajie.

We cannot ignore the importance of looking within and true cultivation just because we are being persecuted.

Teacher said:

“To tell you the truth, the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments.” (Zhuan Falun)

“My truly cultivating disciples, what I have taught you is the Fa for cultivation of Buddha and Dao. Nonetheless, you pour out your grievances to me over the loss of your worldly interests, rather than feeling upset for being unable to let go of ordinary human attachments. Is this cultivation? Whether you can let go of ordinary human attachments is a fatal test on your way to becoming a truly extraordinary being. Every disciple who truly cultivates must pass it, for it is the dividing line between a cultivator and an everyday person.” (Essentials for Further Advancement).

I hope that the above will help fellow practitioners change their way of thinking. Please kindly point out anything that is not on the Fa.