(Minghui.org) China’s economy has been sliding down severely during the past two years. The impact upon practitioners who have their own businesses has also been significant.

Some practitioners have commented in different ways, trying to come to grips with how they could adjust from the teachings of Falun Dafa. One said, “We should send forth righteous thoughts to negate this kind of economic persecution.”

Another said, “The economic downturn is cyclical and it will improve in a few years.” Some practitioners are upset with facing more bleak business days where they have had to cut prices and adopt various promotional methods. Some even complained, “Shouldn’t we be rewarded with more customers since we are Dafa disciples? Why should our businesses be worse than those of ordinary people?”

I noticed that most of these practitioners’ thoughts were at the level of everyday people. I would like to elaborate on this point based on my understanding of Dafa’s teachings.

First of all, we need to understand why the downturn of the entire economy in China is happening. The fundamental reason, in my opinion, is because of the brutal persecution over the past 17 years, committed by the Communist Party against Dafa disciples. In addition, the CCP’s greed and violence has created karma everywhere, corrupting the traditional thinking of even children. What goes around comes around, and now the compensation is strife everywhere.

Why was the economy in China very good during the years when the persecution was so severe? This was because the old forces were working hard to continually allow foreign institutions to send funds into China. The sheer purpose of it was to allow the Party to maintain the forces to persecute Dafa disciples.

However, now that the evil forces are being eliminated and are almost extinct, they can no longer control the world’s economy and it’s various fields. The present situation has changed. Under such circumstances, it’s natural to see the entire economic downturn in China. How can gods allow China to be strong and prosperous while Dafa and it’s disciples are still being unjustifiably persecuted by the communist regime?

In the meantime, it is the attitude toward Dafa and Dafa disciples that will be the defining moment for China’s economy. Besides, for Dafa disciples there are factors of their cultivation being interfered with.

Master said:

“Shen Yun Performing Arts ran into something like this in Greece: after Shen Yun arrived there they weren’t allowed to enter the theater or perform. Both the government and the theater made the same decision, and they flagrantly breached the contract. The following year, Greece’s entire economy collapsed. Didn’t it? Last year Shen Yun went to Ecuador to perform, but wasn’t permitted to. And they even created trouble for the transportation of our cargo on the way out, which almost affected our shows in the following city. It was terribly evil. Although it was the wicked CCP disrupting things behind the scenes, the decision was nevertheless made by the government. A year later, as you saw, there was a nationwide earthquake there that devastated the country, and so many people perished! And you know there have been other cases like these, right? So why is that?” (”Fa Teaching Given at the 2016 New York Fa Conference”)

In this view, the economic decline of mainland China reflects the will of gods. It is determined by gods and it manifests in the heavenly law of “Good is rewarded and bad is to be punished.” There is nothing strange about this. It would be against nature if the economy in China remained booming and prosperous.

“When people do not have virtue, natural calamities and man-made disasters will abound. When the earth does not have virtue, everything will wither and fall. When heaven deviates from the Dao, the ground will crack, the sky will collapse, and the whole universe will be empty. When the Fa is right, the universe will be right. Life will flourish, heaven and earth will be stable, and the Fa will exist forever.” (“When the Fa is Right” from Essentials for Further Advancement)

We are talking about a kind of realization of a Fa principle: to discern the reason for mainland China’s economic downturn and not just feel happy about it. As long as the persecution has not ended, such downturns and disasters may not stop in China.

Will Dafa disciples’ businesses be affected under China’s bleak economical climate? Many people can’t see it clearly. It seems that no matter how bad the Chinese economy becomes, Dafa disciples are not among it. That is because we have been severely persecuted by the evil, and this tribulation of the economy is not for us.

Right now in China, batches of corrupt officials are being arrested and sentenced. This beleaguered situation is a sign from God for the evil party and its rulers. Thus, Data disciples’ businesses should not be affected at all.

We should all be clear that the downturn is to punish the evil party, not to aim at Dafa disciples. We must remain stable internally and do what our businesses require us to do. From my perspective, not only has my business’s performance not declined, it has increased greatly compared to last year.

I was asked by a fellow practitioner, “Why didn’t your business decline?”

“It’s very simple,” I replied. “Master has told us: ‘...matter and mind are one thing.’” (Zhuan Falun)

If you think the economic downturn has something to do with you then there will be a connection. Just like that disease karma, Master told us:

“As a practitioner, if you always think that it is an illness, you are actually asking for it. If you ask for an illness, it will come inside your body.” (Zhuan Falun)

Occasionally my business doesn’t go well, but I am very clear about it. It is due to normal business situations and has nothing to with the adverse economy in society. The arrangement by Master for each practitioner is the best. As long as we have righteous minds, then it will definitely be the best arrangement.

Master said: “As for major events, an everyday person cannot change them at all.” (Zhuan Falun)

Furthermore, for cultivators the economic situation itself is a test. Has your focal point remained on the human side to make money, or to save people? Have you remembered that we are to take lightly fame and profit? A variety of thoughts and factors will produce different results.