(Minghui.org) The number of arrests and charges brought against Falun Dafa practitioners in China has increased over the last year, according to reports published on Minghui.org. In addition, several practitioners in my area passed away in a short period of time. How can the persecution worsen at this stage, even while those who commit crimes against Falun Dafa appear to have become weaker?
In our area, it has been observed that practitioners, in general, have an over-reliance on the communist regime and an attachment to time, believing that the Fa-rectification is about to end. I would like to share some ideas from another perspective.
My concern is that we have not gained a deep understanding of the Fa and thus the persecution has worsened. Our understanding of the Fa has been superficial, which has left loopholes for the old forces to take advantage of.
Sickness Karma
I noticed a pattern when it comes to sickness karma. As soon as a practitioner appeared to be sick, other practitioners would study the Fa, send righteous thoughts and share new understandings after looking within with the affected practitioner. They thought that we had met the cultivation challenge after the practitioner recovered.
However, other practitioners would come down with sickness karma and we would repeat the same actions, but could not get out of this repeating circle of tribulations. Master said, “this results from an inadequate understanding of the Fa by your human side.” (“Expounding on the Fa” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Beyond Superficial Understanding
As I understand it, the Fa teaches that the only way for us to truly disintegrate the persecution is to go beyond our superficial understanding of the Fa, dig out the fundamental reasons, and rectify the problem according to the Fa.
Master said,
“In modern physics when they study the microscopic particles of matter, they only study one microscopic particle at a time, and do that through sectional analysis and fission, and they just study its post-fission composition after the nucleus undergoes fission. Now if we had an instrument that could unfold its whole plane and let you see a complete display of all the atomic elements or molecular elements at that level, if you could view that, you would have broken through this dimension and seen the reality of another dimension.” (Zhuan Falun)
The Fa led me to wonder why the old forces dare to persecute practitioners. Master said,
“There are two situations here. One is that in the past the old forces felt that a type of mentality arose among Dafa disciples, which is, once you cultivate in Dafa you think it's like having insurance, and there's nothing to be afraid of, there's no sickness or death, this or that won't happen, and everybody just has good fortune. But, once that mentality arises there's going to be trouble. The old forces will do what they want to do, and once you unknowingly acknowledge their arrangements they'll have excuses to control you and create various types of danger for you. (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Lantern Festival)
Speaking from another angle, my disciples, when the old forces are able to do what they want to do, isn't that because you've silently consented to what they want to do?” (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Lantern Festival)
Based on my understanding of the Fa, I discovered three incorrect states that could allow the persecution to continue.
Treating Dafa as Insurance
Although I believed that I did not treat Dafa as insurance, I discovered the opposite, as this thought was well hidden. I have slacked off recently and had difficulties in doing the three things. I wanted to let go of this attachment but felt restricted by an unknown force. I was very troubled but still tried to comfort myself, by thinking, “I have walked a straight cultivation path from July 20, 1999, to filing a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin and I have done the three things well. I shouldn't have any big problem although I slacked off a little!”
I did not realize that such a thought deviated from the Fa and led me into danger. This was due to my lack of basic understanding of cultivation during the Fa- rectification period. I thought I should not have a problem reaching consummation. This was my human notion, which is rooted in selfishness. How could such a thought give me any assurance?
Unwittingly Recognizing the Old Forces
We often talk about negating the old force arrangements. However, this cannot be done unless we have gained a deep understanding of its meaning and have done solid cultivation. It is very common for some practitioners to deny it in words but follow the old forces' train of thoughts in their behavior.
This reminded me of an incident when practitioners' thoughts were affected before the 19th Communist Party National Congress in 2017. I noticed a police car parked by the road behind my building. A policeman walked towards my residential area. I immediately locked my door and nervously watched the policeman through my window. He went in and out of a store, and drove away.
This reflected my wrong thinking. As soon as I noticed something unusual, the first thing that came to my mind was the potential to be persecuted instead of cultivation, Dafa or sentient beings. This thought is a way of acknowledging the old forces. It doesn't meet the requirement of the Fa.
Master said,
“When you encounter ordeals during your cultivation, you have got to cultivate yourself and look at yourself--that doesn't mean acknowledging the ordeals arranged by the old forces and trying to do well amidst the ordeals they've arranged, that's not the case.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference IV)
I used to have a poor understanding of this paragraph but now have a better understanding. Cultivation, as arranged by Master, calls for us to cultivate ourselves well and save sentient beings. Whenever we encounter ordeals, the first thought should be about how to cultivate ourselves, correct ourselves based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and clarify the truth about Dafa. We should not think, “What loophole of mine has been taken advantage of by the old forces?” When we hold not a single thought about the old forces, it is truly denying and eliminating the old forces.
When we encounter ordeals, all we need to do is to believe firmly in Master and the Fa, cultivate ourselves well, and continue to talk to people about Dafa. This is the thinking pattern we should follow.
Some practitioners' wish to improve themselves surpassed their wish to validate the Fa. They always think about how to improve and miss no opportunity to make improvement. This thought is selfish, or a reflection of their focus on personal cultivation. We have to keep in mind that the purpose of looking inward and cultivating ourselves well is to better accomplish what Master wants.
Silent Consent to Arrangements by the Old Forces
Silent consent to the arrangements by the old forces is very common. Sometimes we know clearly what we should do based on the Fa but cannot help being governed by human notions and following the arrangements by the old forces. All words and actions that are not in accordance with the Fa are silent consent to the arrangements made by the old forces.
Why do we not follow the requirement of the Fa? It is due to human notions, lack of solid cultivation, and problems with studying the Fa. Without true assimilation to the Fa, how can human willpower be counted on to block old force manipulation?
A practitioner said, “I don't know how to look within. I don't know how to best cultivate myself. I'm so anxious!” This thought obstructs obtaining the Fa.
Importance of Fa Study
A practitioner once shared her experience of making improvement in her family life. She used to have a lot of conflicts with her husband and always saw his shortcomings, but did not know how to look within. She later decided to memorize the Fa. The Fa principles continued to unfold as she memorized the Fa. She learned how to look for her faults, and what she needed to cultivate herself on. Her improvement made her family life harmonious.
I had a similar experience. I was released from a forced labor camp in 2003. My former workplace had fired me. I went to work in a different city. As I did not know any practitioners and had no access to the Minghui website, I studied only Zhuan Falun and three of Master's short articles. I started memorizing the Fa. After I overcame a lot of difficulties in memorizing the Fa, the principles of the Fa continued to unfold. Even though I did not know how to look within at that time, a paragraph of the Fa would come to my mind when I encountered problems. It made me recognize my human notions and I could turn to the Fa for guidance. I could feel my improvement and could achieve a pure mind. I could easily handle the everyday work and life by relying on the Dafa principles. All I held in my mind were Master, Dafa and the joy of cultivation!
The old forces have made several attempts to persecute me by manipulating some bad people, but none of them succeeded. It's because I had learned from the Fa that Master does not acknowledge the persecution. I could easily see the thought process when the old forces made arrangements for the persecution but did not get mired in its thinking.
Master said,
“Actually, you know, be it Buddha Shakyamuni or some other God or Buddha, they know the thoughts of even cattle and horses, and they know the thoughts of even lower beings, they know it all, and fully, but they won't go inside there. They just know everything, that's all.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in 2003” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference II)
I could see the game plan devised by the old forces, who seemed to be of very limited intelligence. I refused to be disturbed no matter what they did, because I knew they could not persecute me. I simply searched for my attachments and where I had fallen short on my cultivation path. I corrected myself and sent forth righteous thoughts. All the so-called arrangements disintegrated.
The most fundamental reason for all the problems is the lack of solid Fa study. If we study the Fa well, all the answers to our problems can be found in Dafa. “Dafa is the wisdom of the Creator.” (Zhuan Falun)
We lack solid Fa study because we have not truly understood the importance of Fa study, although Master had told us over and over again about the importance of Fa study. Some practitioners read the Fa every day as if finishing an assignment. If we find our understanding of Zhuan Falun exactly the same with months ago, it probably indicates we haven't made any improvement, which is a serious problem!
Master said,
“Each time you finish reading Zhuan Falun, you have made progress as long as you have gained some understanding. Even if you understood only one point after reading it, you have truly made progress.” (“Learning the Fa” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
If we found nothing new after reading Zhuan Falun, how can we claim to have made any progress? Now I can understand why Master published, “Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa.” There is indeed a serious problem with our Fa study!
Category: Improving Oneself
