(Minghui.org) Cultivation is a very serious matter. In 2010, two local practitioners who were regarded by many as outstanding encountered tribulations and caused significant losses in our area.
Practitioner A had actively participated in Fa-rectification cultivation since 1999 and his cultivation state was also getting better and better. In 2010, I started to hear other practitioners heaping praise on him, almost worshipping him. Some said, “He cultivates really well and has been of great help to us. He is really outstanding. We have so many questions, and we all like listening to what he thinks.”
I reminded them not to think that way: "What he does has been arranged by Master for the needs of Fa-rectification, and you should not go around telling people how good he is. We should not take him as an example as it may harm him."
However, things just carried on that way. In 2011, Practitioner A suddenly called several practitioners, telling them he had enlightened to the understanding that our cultivation would soon come to an end and everyone should immediately go to Beijing, as we were about to reach Consummation.
I was stunned when I got his phone call and didn't know what to say. Later, he was illegally arrested and persecuted. Many practitioners were also implicated, and some were arrested and persecuted. I was extremely sad when I heard this.
There was another couple in our area who were also very diligent in cultivation and helped many practitioners. People seemed to have forgotten our bitter lesson with Practitioner A, because from time to time I would hear, “Practitioner B is really incredible! The evil is really scared of him. They won't dare touch him.”
Those whom Practitioner B helped were grateful to him and always praised him. B was the taken to a brainwashing center and immediately “transformed.” He went astray with warped ideas and had a big negative impact when he returned to “transform” other practitioners.
There have been many such cases both inside and outside of China. Many practitioners who enjoyed good reputations--some were even labeled “cultivation stars”--have met with all kinds of tribulations. Some lost their lives suddenly; some went astray with warped understandings; some took unnecessary detours. We really need to reflect upon ourselves so that such things won't happen again.
Master said in answering a practitioner's question:
“Disciple: Recently in the mainland an excellent cultivator, who was a coordinator in a certain location, suddenly experienced what took the form of sickness karma, and he passed away, leaving many heartbroken. The cultivators who were close to him are reflecting on what part they had in it, or are there other reasons?
Master: After going through so much persecution, and traveling so far down your paths, you should all know how these things come about. You can ask your fellow cultivators, and get clear on things.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference”)
Many things like this were arranged by the old forces. Of course, the practitioners themselves might not have realized that it was the old forces' arrangements when it was happening because Master hadn't pointed out they were old forces. So they followed those arrangements and made an agreement with the old forces. They thought that's what they should do at the time and signed some kind of agreement, which was later used as an excuse by the old forces to persecute them.
There are other examples. For instance, many practitioners always try to see how others cultivate and they just follow along instead of walking their own paths. As a result, the old forces have the person they follow leave this world early to test how they react to it and see if they'll still cultivate. One must cultivate from his heart and be able to let go of attachments in the face of personal interests and reputation and in dealing with painful emotions.
We cannot cultivate by relying on a particular individual, because if we do, it would be pushing him towards danger. The old forces would have an excuse to have him die, because they think he influences a lot of people who are just following him instead of solidly cultivating themselves. Can these people cultivate? Are they genuine cultivators? One must cultivate oneself from one's heart. If the old forces grab hold of this human attachment we have, even Master cannot do much to help. The old forces will say, “See, there are so many of them out there, but which one is truly cultivating himself? So we must take away this one.” One must walk one's own path in cultivation and must truly cultivate oneself.
It's also very dangerous if one is attached to illness karma for a long time. Some people say, “As long as I practice Dafa, my illness will be cured, and I will be protected. As long as I'm among Dafa disciples, I won't have any illness and I'll have nothing to be afraid of.” What a strong human attachment this is! Are they truly cultivating or are they just using Dafa as a protective shield? Even though one might not have thought this way at the beginning, it is a human attachment.
Master said,
“But, don’t we need to be free of all omissions if we are to cultivate to the point of Consummation? We cannot have any omissions in terms of human attachments. Any human attachment is a problem. All must go. Any of them can lead a student to encounter unfortunate things. I trust that many students are well aware of this, having gone through as many ordeals as they have. I don’t need to explain further. These issues are all things you have overcome on your paths.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference”)
Master has explained the issue very clearly. We must be clearheaded.
I would also like to share my reflections on two specific situations.
-Regarding the Fa as teacher is a serious matter and we must not deviate from it one bit.
Around 2000, some practitioners regarded those who came out of prison as “heroes.” This caused a lot of interference and losses. Nowadays, even though many practitioners say we should take the Fa as teacher and not follow individuals, they cannot maintain strong righteous thoughts when it comes to specific situations.
Some practitioners are very keen to spread things like “So and so is cultivating really well,” which causes others to feel the urge to listen to what that person says. Let's look within and see if this is the right thing to do. Have you realized that this is also a form of interference? Do you have a tendency to rely on this practitioner? Are you using him as an example? Whenever you encounter an issue, do you find the cause based on the Fa and cultivate yourself or do you go ask him what to do? We need to validate the Fa, not any particular fellow practitioner.
-Any outstanding effort by a practitioner was arranged by Master for the needs of Fa-rectification, and it does not represent one's level of cultivation.
Those practitioners who are called “heroes” or “cultivation stars” must be clearheaded that Master is the one who is rectifying the Fa. Our understandings and actions were arranged by Master and they are for the needs of Fa-rectification. Without Master's arrangements and the needs of Fa-rectification, whatever we do would not even exist.
When you are praised or even worshiped by practitioners who don't have a righteous understanding or who still hold onto some human attachments, you should be clearheaded and not moved by zealotry or a show off mentality; otherwise you may run into trouble.
We also have the responsibility to remind these practitioners that everything was arranged by Master and we must regard the Fa as teacher. We have only achieved a little, and we must keep being diligent on our cultivation paths.
As for the “heroes” or “cultivation stars,” they are either dauntless and unyielding people who are not afraid of death in the face of persecution or are good at talking about cultivation and eloquent with words. Personally, I don't think this means one has cultivated well. Being good at talking doesn't mean one does things well.
Having been through the persecution doesn't necessarily mean one has cultivated well. The evil will not be able to find an excuse to persecute those who really cultivate well. Also, it is not true that the more times one was persecuted the more outstanding one is. Many practitioners cultivate really well and they quietly do a lot of things. From outward appearances, there is nothing spectacular about them, yet they have saved many people.
I would like to remind those practitioners who are flattered: Let us ask ourselves how well we are doing in terms of Fa study and solid cultivation. When we study the Fa, are we truly studying it with our heart? When we send righteous thoughts, are they really strong? How many sentient beings have we truly saved, not only in terms of numbers, but also in essence?
We should always remember what Master told us:
“You're each a particle. And in my eyes nobody is better than anyone else, since I scooped all of you up at the same time.” ("Explaining the Fa during the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")
We are all practitioners. We must not think of ourself as something special simply because we have done something; otherwise we'll run into trouble.
With the progression the the Fa-rectification, the evil has been eliminated in large numbers. The Fa-rectification is getting closer to the human world. However, the Fa-rectification requirements for us have never changed. We must regard the Fa as teacher and remember to validate the Fa, not ourselves. These are the requirements and principles of the Fa that we must observe without any confusion or deviation. There have been so many lessons and losses in the past.
I hope fellow practitioners will pay attention to this issue and not take any more detours in this respect.
The above are my personal understandings. Please kindly point out anything improper in the sharing.
