(Minghui.org) A senior practitioner told me a few days ago that one of her practitioner family members had been seized by the police. I told her to send forth righteous thoughts more intensively and not let the negative elements interfere. To my surprise, she said, “What good does sending forth righteous thoughts do? Didn't so and so send forth righteous thoughts? She was still seized by the police.” I was shocked to hear that.
I thought about it. Many practitioners I know have similar understandings about sending forth righteous thoughts. Some don't take it seriously because they can't see the immediate effect. Some think that the notion, “Sending forth righteous thoughts is useless” is their own thought. But that negative thought comes from negative elements.
The negative beings are happy when the practitioner accepts that thought. Practitioners who are deceived by that wrong understanding don't take sending forth righteous thoughts seriously. Won't the negative beings then be protected by practitioners' human notions?
Sending forth righteous thoughts is one of the three things Master Li has asked us to do, and it must be done well. Master would not have asked us to do it if it was of no use.
There are many complex reasons for a practitioner being persecuted. From the surface we cannot see the real reasons. Master told us,
“If [you] act in a truly righteous manner, nothing will dare to lift a finger against you.” (Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005)
So, as one of the three things that we must do, have we done it well?”
“Have I done it?” and “Have I done it well?”—there's only a difference of one word, but that one word can make all the difference in the outcome. Even in everyday life, we must take the things we do seriously so that they turn out well. Sending righteous thoughts is a most serious and sacred act.
When other practitioners and I encountered tribulations and were under intense pressure when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was trying to persecute us, we sent forth righteous thoughts and disintegrated it. In many cases we have truly seen the power of our righteous thoughts. The more solidly we trust Master and the Fa, the more we will see the manifestation of this power.
I would like to share my understandings of sending forth righteous thoughts based on my own experiences.
It's Our Responsibility to Save People
Some of our local practitioners were interfered with this April by sickness karma, for a long time. Others were interfered with by family matters or by emotion and lust. I thought, “The negative elements are truly evil. They torture practitioners and make them not behave like practitioners. They interfere with our saving people and Master's Fa-rectification. I must disintegrate them.”
Master said:
“There’s something I told you before. I said: what is a Buddha? ‘Tathagata’ is what human beings call someone who’s come with the truth and the power to do what he wants, whereas real Buddhas are guardians of the cosmos and are responsible for all righteous elements in the cosmos.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference,” Guiding the Voyage)
After reading this, I developed a thought from the bottom of my heart: “I must be responsible for the righteous elements in the cosmos.”
I believe that fellow practitioners and the sentient beings who are waiting to be saved are all righteous elements in the cosmos. No matter how we as practitioners behave on the surface, we are the righteous elements in the cosmos because we are the representatives of giant celestial bodies. We came down to the human world with Master to save sentient beings. We try to assimilate to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in order to return to our true selves. Throughout our many reincarnations, the old forces have imposed many attachments and human notions on us, and some of us get lost in the human world. Our motivation for coming to the human world is to cultivate ourselves well, help Master to rectify the Fa, and save people.
The sentient beings took a huge risk in coming here. But they did it because they believed that the Fa-rectification would succeed. They are waiting to be saved by the Fa. Living in this human world, they've become attached to money and emotion. They have forgotten why they came. But their lives are precious. We need to awaken them.
We practitioners are responsible for all the righteous elements in the cosmos. We need to completely disintegrate all the negative beings that try to persecute practitioners and destroy sentient beings. When I developed this strong thought from the bottom of my heart, my body was immediately enveloped in strong energy. My right hand was upright, and my mind was very alert. I acutely sensed Master's benevolent energy.
When I sent forth righteous thoughts, Master's words came to my mind:
“Rectifying Fa as I go, penetrating all layers of the cosmosAll choosing to oppose the rectification were eliminatedWhen Heaven wishes for change, who'd dare obstruct?The cosmos, now rebuilt, will never again turn bad”(“Rectifying the Fa,” Hong Yin Vol. III)
“Swift like lightning, soaring to cosmic heightsMighty like a thunderbolt, reaching beyond heavensSweeping across the cosmos, no place untouchedEliminating altogether all that's decayed and deviant” (“Righteous Thoughts,” Hong Yin Vol IV)
“...the force of your thoughts needs to be focused and strong, with an air of supremacy and of destroying all evil in the cosmos.” (“Righteous Thoughts,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress, Vol. III)
Master told us,
“Dafa disciples are suffering,But who is ruined are sentient beings.”(“Every Lifetime Was For This Life,” Hong Yin Vol. III)
When I remember that I am responsible for saving people, that I should not let the evil things exist, and Dafa disciples should not be persecuted, I'm able to reach tranquility immediately.
My righteous thoughts become very powerful. I don't feel tired no matter how long I send righteous thoughts. Instead, I feel relaxed. During the process, I feel Master purifying my body, and the energy field is very strong. I realize that if we really feel responsible for saving people, the effect will be very different, compared to when we just do it as though finishing a task or merely at the surface level.
Our Motive and Attitude Must Be Righteous
When sending forth righteous thoughts, we should be compassionate and calm and harbor no hatred. We follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. We don't have hatred. We must understand that this persecution is being carried out by negative elements in other dimensions against practitioners and sentient beings. We should not be moved by emotion or hatred. Otherwise, we'll be trapped at the human level. When we are rational, peaceful, and alert, we can utilize the amazing power given to us by the Fa.
Two practitioners in my area were arrested a few days ago. I was sad and trapped in emotion. I didn't have any righteous thoughts and felt tired. I later recalled something Master said:
“Persecuting world-saving Fa disciples is an immeasurable sinWhat if the persecuted are really GodsThose believing in the lies are the ones being harmedDafa disciples are walking on a divine path no matter how much they suffer” (“There's Still Hope,” Hong Yin Vol. IV)
I suddenly became alert and had righteous thoughts. If we truly understand the Fa, we won't be trapped in human notions and we'll be able to send forth righteous thoughts.
We are compassionate, but we should not hesitate to eliminate those negative beings in other dimensions that are persecuting practitioners and sentient beings.
Be Diligent about Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts
As one of the three things Master has asked us to do, we should send forth righteous thoughts as diligently as we do the other two things. We should do it well every day, especially at the four global times. We should add more times based on our situations. The more we clean up our own dimensions, the less interference we will have and the better we can do all three things.
Practitioners in some areas have been badly persecuted. It's not because sending forth righteous thoughts is ineffective. It's because too few practitioners are paying enough attention to sending forth righteous thoughts, and too few are doing it diligently. Many practitioners cannot even send righteous thoughts at the four global times, not to mention adding more. Even when they do, they don't do it well. Many are not alert, and some even fall asleep. When our dimensions have not been cleaned out for a long time, filthy stuff accumulates. When it accumulates to a certain level, we may encounter tribulations or persecution. The reason they do not send forth righteous thoughts well is because they think that it is not effective, so they don't take it seriously.
Our hand gestures when sending forth righteous thoughts reflect our attitude. A practitioner in my area often fell asleep when sending righteous thoughts. I noticed that he sat on a sofa or on the bed and leaned against something when he did them. When he sat against the cushions, his back was never straight. When “conjoining the hands,” his thumbs and hands did not form an oval and his elbows always rested on his legs. I reminded him that one should sit up straight in the full lotus position and not lean against anything. When holding the hands up, the elbows should be in the air. When “conjoining the hands,” “Have the hands form an oval shape” (The Great Way of Spiritual Perfection).
He listened to my suggestions. When he corrected himself, he immediately felt strong energy, his mind became alert, and the sleepiness disappeared. Our hand gestures reflect our attitude. When our attitude is not correct, we may have interference.
I’d like to remind practitioners to look at Master's pictures of sending forth righteous thoughts. (“The Two Hand Positions for Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Maintaining Righteous Thoughts at Every Moment
Two senior practitioners in my area have clarified the truth for years. They work with each other very well. One talks or hands out materials and the other sends forth righteous thoughts. I often see them out talking to people about Dafa. They've encountered very little interference.
One time when they were out telling people about Dafa, one of them was picked up and taken to a police station. The other one kept sending forth righteous thoughts and asked Master for help. Thirty minutes later, the first practitioner was released.
Those who take sending forth righteous thoughts seriously are able to do it well whenever and wherever they are. They clean out their environment every day before going out to clarify the truth or working on Dafa projects. In the harsh environment in China, they don't leave any loopholes for the evil to take advantage of. They have righteous thoughts and righteous actions. They walk their cultivation paths well and help Master rectify the Fa.
Master said:
“Let me tell you, all those who remain and that can persecute Dafa and Dafa disciples are due to our students themselves. Students who haven't taken sending forth righteous thoughts seriously: the evil in the dimensions that you are supposed to shoulder and be responsible for has not been eliminated. That's the cause. So you must take sending forth righteous thoughts seriously. No matter whether you think you have the ability or not, you should do it.” (“Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.,” Collected Fa Teaching, Vol. II)
Fa-rectification is nearing its end. The negative elements are acting out more rampantly, trying to ruin practitioners and sentient beings. But Master has given us divine powers. We have the ability to eliminate the evil. It all depends on whether we are willing to use our divine power and whether or not we take sending forth righteous thoughts seriously.
We must be very serious about sending forth righteous thoughts. This is very important. Fellow practitioners, in order to save more sentient beings and to minimize the damage, let’s be responsible Falun Dafa practitioners in the Fa-rectification period, understand the importance of sending forth righteous thoughts, and do it well.
