(Minghui.org) As I was thinking about writing this article, I encountered lots of troubles, including sickness karma. I realized the old forces were trying their best to destroy my confidence.
I’m not good at typing, either, and this article involved many issues. A significant commitment of time and energy was required. But when I was facing difficulties, I remembered that a previous article I'd written had been published by Minghui and realized that Master was encouraging me and strengthening my righteous thoughts to break through the interference. There must have been a fierce battle going on between good and evil in other dimensions.
Old Forces Take Advantage of All Loopholes: Three Local Coordinators Persecuted
The coordinator from our county has been the coordinator since before the persecution started, and she was well-respected by other practitioners in the county. (Practitioner A)
She was twice held in a labor camp and a prison. During the persecution, she seized all opportunities to clarify the truth and was able to save lots of people. She never stopped studying the Fa and doing the exercises, and she memorized the book Zhuan Falun. After regaining her freedom, she resumed the responsibility of coordinating Dafa work in her area, and she completely devoted her efforts to various Dafa projects. However, she was illegally arrested for the third time last summer and has been held in a detention since then.
Similarly, the coordinator from another city was the volunteer assistant at the local practice site before the persecution began in 1999. (Practitioner B) She was committed to Dafa and donated lots of her own money to Dafa projects. She diligently studied the Fa, did the exercises, and sent forth righteous thoughts on a daily basis. She also recited Zhuan Falun five times. However, last year she developed sickness karma. Even though her condition has improved, she is still not back 100 percent, thereby causing skepticism and doubt among people who know her.
Practitioner C from yet another city attended three of Master’s classes in person between 1992 and 1994, and her husband and son both listened to some of Master’s lectures in person. At the time, her son was suffering from a terminal illness. Doctors had given up on him, but he miraculously recovered only a few days after he started practicing Falun Gong.
Practitioner C is very capable and highly accomplished in life, and she was very committed to Dafa. Some suggest that 80 percent of the practitioners in our area were introduced to Dafa through her, and almost everyone there knows her name. One morning last January she passed away, despite other practitioners’ efforts to keep her alive.
We should realize this is interference and persecution from the old forces. At this critical juncture when Fa rectification pushes forward ever more rapidly and Fa rectification of the human world is imminent, the old forces are still keeping a close eye on us, and we can never slack off in cultivation.
Let Go of Self and Look Inward
Practitioner C’s unexpected death had a great negative impact on fellow practitioners and people who knew her, and practitioners all had their own take on it. Some thought she had fulfilled her mission and reached Consummation. Some thought that Master had other plans for her. Some thought she walked the path arranged by the old forces.
Some thought we had gaps as a group, and the old forces took advantage of it; so we must look inward first. Some secretly gossiped about her shortcomings. Some thought it’s wrong to point fingers and that we should instead look inward; that it’s useless since she already passed away, and blaming her is the same as acknowledging the old forces. Some had doubts about Dafa and even lost confidence in their own cultivation.
There were heated debates, and some divisions formed.
Personally, I think everyone is right in their own way. However, I think they also have misconceptions as a result of accepting only the parts of Dafa that conform to their notions, instead of solidly cultivating ourselves.
Master said,
“You should also be clear that ‘natural’ does not exist, and ‘the inevitable’ has reasons behind it. In fact, ‘natural’ is irresponsibly used by everyday people to make excuses for themselves when they are unable to explain the phenomena of the universe, life, and matter. They cannot imagine what “nature” itself is. Under the influence of this kind of notion you think that all these tribulations are inevitable and that this is just the way it is, thereby developing a passive and pessimistic attitude. So your human side must stay aware. More importantly, your side that has attained the Fa must be clear.” (“Expounding on the Fa”, Essentials for Further Advancement)
I realized that the deaths of practitioners are not isolated incidents. Looking inward during persecution is not acknowledging the old force’s persecution. When I first heard about their deaths, my first thought was to dig deep inside and identify my responsibility for the issue. When this thought emerged, I picked up a Dafa book and just happened to read the lecture, “Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Canada” (Toronto, May 23, 1999),
“Question: A student has been undergoing tribulations for a long period of time and still can't get over them. Should we point it out to him or should we let him understand it himself through studying the Fa?
Master: Since you have found the cause that prevented him from moving forward, why don’t you point it out to him? It shouldn’t be a problem if you tell him kindly. Is it because you are a little afraid of him getting upset with you? Yet, wouldn’t the bad attitude of that person be a perfect chance for you to cultivate yourself? It doesn’t matter even if he didn’t understand what you said—shouldn’t this emotion (qing) of an everyday person be given up? You should tell him if you see a problem.”
I kept reading and I came across this passage,
“Question: Upon seeing the attachments of other students, I often think that they will come to realize and correct them themselves after a while. Yet if the situation persists, can it create a negative impact on the improvement of practitioners as a whole?
Master: It has no negative impact on the cultivation of other people. This is only his personal situation. But let me give you an example: When Master sees the attachments of a person, he purposely exposes them to you and lets you see them so that you can point them out to that person. Will you then tell him about them? Since every one of you is cultivating Zhen-Shan-Ren, you should be a good person in every circumstance. If you see his shortcomings and see when he can't move upward, why not point them out to him kindly?”
This paragraph clearly identified my attachment. I have studied this lecture many times before; how come I never took it to heart?
I immediately realized that my selfishness and emotion prevented me from facing other practitioners’ shortcomings. I maintained a “good relationship” with other practitioners with human emotions. I was aware of practitioner C’s strong attachments, but I was never able to let go of myself and regard her problems as my problems and treat her with compassion.
Also, practitioners’ attachments are not their true selves. So when we point out other practitioners’ attachments, we are not targeting the practitioners’ true selves, and their resistance and misunderstanding does not represent their true selves. It’s human notion when we are afraid of rejection and misinterpretation, and it’s also an attachment.
As long as our intention is pure, which is to harmonize others and our whole body, we are letting go of ourselves and being responsible for the Fa and other practitioners during the process. I think this is what Master wants us to do.
When faced with practitioners' sudden deaths, we should look for our own gaps by comparing ourselves to the Fa. If everyone improves their xinxing instead of arguing and trying to prove they are right, we can avoid similar things from happening, which is also being responsible to other practitioners and the Fa.
The Danger of Blind Faith and Placing Oneself Above the Fa
I have interacted with the aforementioned practitioners A and B; they are similar in that they were both condescending and looked up as role models by other practitioners.
I brought it up with practitioner A, and he said most practitioners in his county are elderly and poorly educated, so he had no choice but to take over a lot of the Dafa work. He also made up many of his own rules on how to validate Dafa. I felt this was deviating from the Fa, but he said I did not understand the situation in his local area.
I did not want to embarrass both of us; so I gave up. Several other practitioners in the area also agreed that the older and poorly educated practitioners cultivated poorly and therefore needed guidance [from the well educated practitioner(s)]. I felt this was a very serious problem, and soon after he was arrested. I felt guilty and blamed myself for not being more persistent, and now that I compare myself to the Fa, I feel highly responsible.
Practitioner B from Y City sincerely asked other practitioners to help her look inward when she could not stand anymore and had to kneel on the floor to do the first four exercises.
Other practitioners said she put herself above other practitioners and treated the Dafa coordination work as ordinary society’s government officials. When I brought it up, she wrote them down, and I could tell she was truly looking inward.
After another practitioner and I helped her send forth righteous thoughts, we asked her to get out of bed, stand up, and do the exercises, and miraculously she was able to do it. We witnessed the beauty of looking inward and Dafa’s mighty power. Master is omnipotent as long as our hearts are in the right place. This is negating the old force’s arrangement. We were all grateful to Master.
I met a main coordinator from another city. She contributed a lot to Dafa work and was highly capable. I noticed that she permed her hair and dyed it red, and I felt she probably didn’t study the Fa very much due to being busy with Dafa work.
After only a brief encounter, it was clear that she put herself above everyone else and liked to direct others. Last year, she suddenly suffered from serious sickness karma. The similarity among these cases is that the practitioners were all coordinators; they all put themselves above others, and they were eventually persecuted.
Practitioner C often said, “I am willing to give up everything of mine if all of you can improve as a whole body.” Which shows she not only puts herself above other practitioners but also above Dafa, which left a huge gap for the old forces to take advantage of.
She had unique experiences in Dafa and had extraordinary qualities, but our special talents are given to us by Master. How little of our abilities is really to our own credit?
Many local practitioners followed her and heavily depended on her. Many practitioners thus helped to escalate her tribulation.
I saw it, but I did not realize how serious and dangerous it was. Driven by human notions, I did not point it out to them in a serious manner. I let myself down; I let other practitioners down, and I let Master down.
I tried to bring up this serious issue on different occasions, but they did not care at all. Sometimes, they agreed with my thoughts, but they did not think it involved them. Some believe they obtained the Fa early and are more experienced, that they contributed more to Dafa, and that they have a higher status in Dafa, which is very dangerous.
Master emphasized the issue of “Breeding Demons in Your Own Mind” in “The Sixth Talk” in Zhuan Falun . In my understanding, narcissism and putting oneself above others are symptoms of early stage “breeding demons in your own mind.”
Practitioner C’s passing also has a lot to do with her vow, “I’m willing to give up everything of mine if it helps other practitioners improve themselves as a whole body,” and the old forces took advantage of it.
Furthermore, many practitioners regarded C as a role model instead of comparing their own behavior to the Fa. She did not enlighten to Master’s prompts, and no other practitioner stepped forward and pointed it out to her. Her main consciousness was controlled by attachments and thought karma, and she could not control herself. However, we should not let this tragedy happen in vain.
Also, C was an overbearing person at work and in life; she was very self-centered and had a poor relationship with her family. After her passing, her family who are also Dafa practitioners, looked deep inside and are now more diligent than when she was alive. Master said women should be “charmingly gentle or elegant”. (“Yin and Yang Reversed”, Hong Yin III)
When we look at ourselves, do we have these qualities? If we don’t, how do we demonstrate the great compassion of Dafa practitioners? Shouldn’t we pay more attention to this issue and cultivate ourselves?
When we connect the dots, these cases all show that the coordinators were attached to themselves and wanted to satisfy their pursuit of reputation and status in Dafa. Of course, the true cause is very complex. Since it’s already happened, we should calm our minds and look inward instead of trying to validate ourselves.
I used to be a very bad person before practicing Dafa, and I never thought about coordinating Dafa work. When I read the article “How to Provide Assistance” in Essentials for Further Advancement , I skipped it because I thought it had nothing to do with me. But as I matured in Dafa practice and saw that lots of Dafa work needs coordination, I realized that my former understanding was one-sided.
Every Dafa disciple should be responsible for Dafa. I have heavy attachments to fame, fortune and sentiments, and when I first started coordinating Dafa work, attachments such as self-righteousness, showing-off, and seeking validation constantly tried to control me.
When I found it difficult to resist these thoughts, I thought about quitting coordination work, but I realized I should not give up the work itself but the attachments that give me so much anguish.
Fear of showing-off is also an attachment. Not doing something because I am afraid of others accusing me of show-off is also an attachment. It’s too extreme.
After studying “How to Provide Assistance” in Essentials for Further Advancement , I realized the key to doing well is to be modest. When I realized this in the Fa, my attachment to reputation had largely been removed.
I am very cautious about a flare-up of this attachment, and I emphatically clear it away each time I send forth righteous thoughts. I try my best to eliminate them every time they rear their heads. Even though I am still not doing well, I think it’s a process of cultivation.
I hope we can all listen to Master and study Essentials for Further Advancement a few more times. Above is my personal understanding at my current level, please correct me if anything is not based on the Fa. Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Category: Improving Oneself
