(Minghui.org) It has been said that things should be done according to the Will of Heaven among ordinary people, and even more so in religious communities. It means that success is ensured only by following the Will of Heaven.
Master told us:
“Because that one thought came from an extremely high level, the cosmos's sentient beings all thought it was the Will of Heaven, and that there was no question they'd meet with complete success, rescuing this grand firmament and cosmic body from destruction. Because of the meticulousness of the arrangements made by the Gods at many levels of cosmic bodies, the arrangements looked so perfect that they excited the multitude of Gods, gave their confidence a big boost and made them believe that they finally had a chance to be saved. At the time, twenty percent of the Gods out of the levels upon levels of beings participated in the affair, and that's how the old forces came about.” (Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference)
The old forces have misunderstood the Will of Heaven and caused a huge impediment for Fa rectification. They did not know that the true Will of Heaven is based upon what Master wanted.
Master also said:
“While encountering persecution there have been many Dafa disciples who have fallen, or who have failed to keep up, and it has largely been due to their not having understood what Master is doing, to using human thinking to evaluate Master’s [wishes].” (“What Does it Mean to ‘Help Master Rectify the Fa’”? from The Essentials of Diligent Progress VOL. III)
Do we, as practitioners, know what it means to truly act according to Master's requirements? Have we partially understood the Fa rectification process and Master's teaching at different times? Or misunderstood the Fa with human notions at different levels due to being unable to truly understand what Master wants?
I recalled that many times during my 20 years of cultivating, I was unable to catch up to the Fa Rectification process, and sometimes detoured along the way. Why did this happen?
I found the answer through more Fa study. I was unable to understand the Fa well and I did not understand what Master wanted. I filtered the Fa through my attachments and did not fully commit to helping Master with Fa rectification or doing the three things.
Master told us when he talked about Shen Yun:
“There is something you need to be clear on. When I want something done, it’s absolutely not something for you to then debate the feasibility of. If I say to go about it a certain way, then you should only concern yourself with doing it. That’s because once I decide something, it is not just a simple matter of uttering a few words, nor is the approach I choose in any way simple. I need to adjust many things, and even divine beings are following my lead. In Fa-rectification many things change, but if you then alter them on account of your not being able to accept things, and you always want to change things, the situation will immediately become a big mess. …When you do indeed try to handle things according to Master’s wishes, but don’t do it the right way, things still won’t work out. Master told you to focus your efforts on higher-end society, yet you keep going out to places that aren’t higher-end. So naturally, things won’t work out. And of course, that means you are not truly cooperating. If Master asks you to work on higher-end society, just do it with righteous thoughts, and you will definitely succeed.” (“Be More Diligent” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference X)
Master's words above enlightened me. I discovered that my shortcomings reflected the characteristics of many old lives. I did not have enough confidence and righteous thoughts to be against the persecution and break through the old forces' arrangements, and I used my personal experience and logic to understand Fa principles.
I followed the portion of the Fa that I understood, but did nothing with the part that I did not understand. I felt that I had to passively bear the persecution. I felt depressed when I did not do well, and hoped for the persecution to end sooner.
This was the behavior of a life who did not understand Master and the Fa rectification. I did not realize it in the past, and neither did many other practitioners. I truly regret this now, since I have wasted so much time.
When I was too busy with my work, in the past, I would read a few paragraphs of Fa to show that I studied the Fa that day. It seemed I was unable to do more Fa study or study the Fa with a tranquil mind unconditionally. I heard other practitioners share that solidly doing the three things did not affect their work, and instead improved their work performance. I never even thought about trying to do this before. My attitude toward Fa study indicated that I was not truly following Master's requirements.
I later began going to group Fa study regularly, and shared with other practitioners there. I gradually enlightened that I should take doing the three things as a higher priority in life. No matter how busy my job was, I needed to put Fa study ahead of other things.
I needed to not only do my job well, but also find more time to study the Fa with a tranquil mind. I used to study only one chapter of Zhuan Falun daily. Now, besides that, I also read Master's other lectures and recite the Fa. The extra Fa study has not affected my job, and instead I do my job better, and the interference from evils is reduced.
After practitioners started filing lawsuits against former Chinese dictator Jiang with their true identities in 2015, many of our local practitioners were subjected to various levels of persecution. Some were sent to the brainwashing centers, some were detained, and some were forced to leave home to avoid persecution. Some practitioners were able to face the tests with righteous action by suing the local perpetrators, which ensured that doing the three things locally was not affected.
But some practitioners were still unable to join in the Fa rectification. From their sharings and their attitudes toward doing the three things, it was apparent that they were doing only personal cultivation and not truly meeting the requirements of Fa rectification. Nonetheless, some of these practitioners were capable people, but they were suppressed by the old forces due to loopholes in their cultivation.
Some of our local practitioners even went to the opposite side, and became the collaborators who opposed Dafa. They worked in the brainwashing centers, prisons, and detention centers, and some even came to practitioners' homes to try to “transform” the practitioners.
Some practitioners' understandings of the Fa went awry, which baffled other practitioners. They did not act like the collaborators, but they were against the Minghui website and always talked about negative news. Even though they also told people the facts about Dafa, they did not mention the persecution and only gave people the book Zhuan Falun.
One local female practitioner, who was “transformed,” has still has not rescinded it. For some time, she told people about the wonderfulness of Dafa and seemed to actively participate projects related to truth clarification, but she seemed not to care much about Master's new articles and the Minghui website, nor did she talk about the persecution. She liked to give away Zhuan Falun books.
Practitioners like her affected the practitioners who were not clear on the Fa principles. Why does this kind of situation still exist this late in the Fa rectification? Some practitioners have various excuses for not joining any group involved in doing the three things. This lack of understanding the Fa has helped the evil. Not doing the three things well itself is an old forces arrangement.
Another local practitioner, who is a very capable person, has some influence among practitioners, but he smokes, does not join any group activities, and has negative thoughts about the Minghui website. He does not advocate exposing the evil, using the excuse it would be spreading bad news. Instead, he encourages clarifying the facts of Dafa to people and promoting quitting the CCP in a positive and beautiful way. He even believes that cultivation is so wonderful that there is no need for hardship. Some practitioners, including some new practitioners, have been influenced by him and agree with his notions.
Other practitioners have tried to share with him and help him understand the righteous Fa principles, but he did not like it. After we talked some more, he refused to share with us and said he would only follow Master's requirements. When we asked him why he smokes, he could not give a direct answer. Instead, he talked about using attachments in a kind way.
His cultivation state is similar to that of a large number of practitioners who are no longer diligent. They talk about how to follow Master's requirements and they only superficially do the three things. Even worse, they do all kinds of things which are not in line with Dafa, and sometimes worse than typical ordinary people.
Practitioners should behave according to Master's requirements, not just in words, but 100 percent of the time. We should utilize our ordinary-people skills to fulfill this requirement. Studying the Fa well is the key to doing this. We must learn the Fa principles well, otherwise we will only think we are doing it based on our attachments and human notions. The evil will find our loopholes and interfere with the three things to cause losses.
The boundless content of Dafa is unfathomable. When we encounter issues, we should study the Fa more and study it well. Dafa will give us the wisdom. Master has emphasized this in many of his lectures and it is one of the three things.
Master said:
“If you don't study the Fa well, you won't be able to do Dafa work well.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston,” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference II)
Master also said:
“Everything I’ve been doing during the Fa-rectification and everything I want, to spell it out, are the choice of the future cosmos and the needs of the future cosmos. (Applause) So for the beings of the old cosmos, and this includes all the elements of beings, when it comes to the Fa-rectification and what I choose, all beings’ harmonizing and completing things according to my choices and contributing their best ideas and approaches—not to change what I want, but to harmonize and complete things according to what I’ve said—is the best thought a being in the cosmos could have.” (Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference)
Regardless of our levels, it is impossible for us to understand and imagine what Master will ultimately accomplish in the Fa rectification. Master has clear requirements for the sentient beings, including Dafa disciples. We should understand Master's requirements for us through Fa principles and harmonize with it well.
From my understanding, only by doing so will we be in accordance with Master's requirements, do the three things well, and truly help Master with Fa rectification. We should use our wisdom and capabilities to harmonize Master's needs, to save sentient beings, and walk a most righteous path.