(Minghui.org) Recently I read an article on the Minghui website that suggested that general coordinators should stop overseeing large areas and I agreed with it. In fact, the situation in my area is very similar to that described in the article. In both cases, certain practitioners coordinate a large area through mailboxes within Minghui. One example is a recent relay to send forth righteous thoughts to rescue several arrested practitioners. It was a long list, and practitioners at material sites had to print it to pass it on.
Master said,
“As for Dafa practitioners sending righteous thoughts, if you are able to send righteous thoughts at the set times, and if you are able to send righteous thoughts when you experience interference to clear it out, then that’s good enough. You can send righteous thoughts when you encounter obvious interference and clear it out. But don’t do this very frequently or get a large number of people involved. That’s because Dafa disciples are all working on saving people and clarifying the facts, and so wouldn’t doing other things interfere? And if you try to come up with some new approach or some other format of doing things, then that’s also a problem. In that case of course Dafa disciples will be opposed to it. You should just handle these things rationally, in fact, and be sure to keep a clear head.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference”)
Hidden Ego
In my area, we used to receive frequent, large-scale notices about sending forth righteous thoughts. Practitioners at material sites printed and distributed them. Some practitioners even accumulated stacks of those notices. After reading what Master said above in 2015, we stopped doing that. But, after a time, that large-scale form of coordination came back. That is why reading this sharing article really had an impact on me.
In fact, I am not a coordinator in my region, nor is my situation similar to that of the general coordinator described in the article. I felt I played a small role and did not travel around. After reading the article, however, I noticed I still was involved with coordination in a large area—although I did it through the mailbox within the Minghui website. That meant I had a deeply buried attachment even though I felt I was helping the group to work together as one body. In truth, I felt I had realized my value and was happy about it.
Looking further, I saw that I was conceited, as if I were in charge of a group of people and wanted them to do things my way. In other words, I saw myself as a coordinator. Thinking I was better than others was obviously ego and conceit.
Let Go of Notions
When I first read that sharing article, I thought, “If we stop coordinating through mailbox within Minghui, how will we get things done? How will we lead other practitioners to form one body?”
Then I realized that not coordinating large areas is what Master mentioned in Fa lectures. Was my idea better than the Fa? What Master said must be good for us. How could I judge the Fa with my experience at my level, or my experiences or understandings? Plus, throughout the Fa was Master's compassion, esteem, and protection. I awakened and found many hidden human notions by looking within. Now I realize the negative feeling I had earlier was related to my ego and selfishness, as well as vicious elements behind them. They are thoughts and notions I have embraced for a long time, making me unwilling to let go of them.
I shared my understanding with another practitioner. We discovered that most of the general coordinators in the areas we know of had suffered all kinds of tribulations. Some are still being detained. In addition, whenever these practitioners are persecuted, it causes serious disturbance in their regions. Sometimes a large number of practitioners are affected.
Becoming Clear-minded
We realized that these practitioners' original intention was to help practitioners in their area to form one body. They were willing to put effort into that and considered their sacrifice selfless since it was for Dafa and other practitioners. Before being arrested, they usually had a great deal of information on local practitioners and had traveled a lot between material production sites and practitioners. They also had many emails on plenty of issues to resolve. As a result, their arrests often led to huge losses.
Whenever that happened, the practitioners in their area were usually confused, because these practitioner coordinators had been very capable and strict with themselves. Their warmth and selflessness had earned other practitioners' trust. Many practitioners wondered: “This practitioner has done so much for others and for the group – how could he be persecuted?”
One such practitioner was recently released. When he was being interrogated, communist officials seemed to think he was a general coordinator over several provinces and really put the pressure on. This practitioner was made to suffer in the extreme. Of course, the accusation that he was the general coordinator over several provinces was groundless. On the surface, it was those officials who planned to turn this into a major case to please their superiors. On the other hand, this also happened because vicious elements in other dimensions could take advantage of this practitioner's loopholes.
As we discussed this, one of us asked the practitioner: “Did you ever think about being a coordinator over several provinces?” He went silent. Later, I heard that he found the reason why he had been persecuted: Because of his strong ego, he forgot about Master. He eventually did become clear-minded after many years of tribulations.
Placing Oneself above Master and the Fa
Through the years, I have heard several coordinators make similar comments after their release: “I used to think things in our area would not happen without me. After being detained all that time and coming back, I found nothing lacking. From this I've realized I was wrong—with Master and the Fa, our whole body will be just fine without me.”
These lessons remind us that whoever forgets about Master and the Fa might place himself above others. When a practitioner feels he is indispensable, he could be in danger.
If a practitioner always worries about others and does not trust that they can handle things, he may actually forget Master is taking care of all of us. By thinking that way, isn't he placing himself above Master and the Fa? Practitioner coordinators have realized that very often the vicious elements can interfere with us because of our strong ego. By then, one is validating himself instead of validating the Fa.
I remember one general coordinator once said that he wanted to do big things that caught people's attention. This is a reflection of a strong ego. In fact, when a practitioner is truly selfless without loopholes, the vicious elements dare not persecute him or her.
The situation in mainland China is very complex. It is better to have more small-scale material production sites instead of big ones. This is because one person has limited endurance, ability, and wisdom. Having a general coordinator is not safe and the vicious elements can easily take advantage of that.
Master said,
“Minghui.org provides Dafa disciples with a forum for sharing and exchanging ideas, while also offering non-practitioners a window into our world. So you can share whatever ideas you have through the site. But coordinating things on a large scale is not something you should be doing [in China] at this time. You really need to be mindful of everyone’s safety.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.”)
Master gave us ways to handle issues; we just need to remember and follow them.
Category: Improving Oneself
