(Minghui.org) The U.S. election result certified on January 6 was both surprising and disappointing. Trump supporters were left in despair, anger, loss, and worry.
On January 19, Trump gave a farewell speech and left for Florida two days later. Many of his supporters felt a sense of hopelessness, including some Falun Dafa practitioners.
Letting Go of Sentimentality
When we pay too much attention to someone or something for a long time, and do things to support that person or thing, we can easily develop sentimentality towards that person or thing.
Before Dafa practitioners completely let go of sentimentality, we may also be affected by our emotions, especially if we do not check ourselves often to identify such sentimentality. Sentimentality, however, is irrational and sometimes even displays as an illusion that we have created ourselves. After all, sentimentality is something that is the least rational or reliable.
In the past few months, practitioners have been showing supporting for Trump and some have attended various pro-Trump rallies. Our support for the upright also encouraged everyday people to uphold justice. More importantly, practitioners have been able to clarify the truth and save people in these circumstances.
Remaining undisturbed is not easy.
Master has taught us,
“Though a battle between good and evil is taking place, you have to ensure that you do not let it negatively affect you, and should do even better at getting the truth out and saving people. And as you work to raise awareness, you must be sure not to think or act too much like an ordinary person. Only by staying clear on what you are doing will you manage to not get caught up in things and do even better.” (“Greetings to the Taiwan Fa Conference”)
Amidst the chaos, how many practitioners were able to be clear-minded and not get caught up by sentimentality?
Facing the events of January 6, how a practitioner reacted was a manifestation of his or her true self. I've seen emotions ranging from disappointment, loss, anger, to hopelessness and the worry of upcoming darkness.
On the night of January 6, some of the practitioners in my area could not eat or sleep. “Why did the result turn out like this?” one of them asked, “Isn’t Trump the one chosen by the divine?” A few stayed up all night to watch news.
These reactions were manifestations of sentimentality, something we have developed towards Trump. As practitioners, however, we need to remove it.
Some practitioners were undisturbed, just as what Master wrote,
“Ten thousand miles I gallop, breaking demons’ battle arrayCutting down all dark minions, eliminating wicked deitiesI heed not their thick fog or the gale winds they whip aboutMountain rains en route wash off dust from the expedition”(“Expedition,” Hong Yin Vol. II)
That is, these practitioners continue doing what we are supposed to do.
Support for Trump Is Different from a Trump Win
Whether or when Trump would be reelected is different from our support towards him.
There has never been any doubt that we would support Trump because he represents the upright, and traditional values. In the battle between good and evil, we practitioners automatically stand with the righteous.
But as practitioners, we cannot become obsessed with the election result and Trump's reelection. After all, our mission is to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the communist specter and clarify the truth to save sentient beings while supporting Trump.
For a Dafa practitioner, the most important thing is to save as many people as possible and save whoever can be saved, while fulfilling our vow and reaching the standard of cultivation in the process. This is the result we should keep in mind.
Our supporting Trump did not necessarily mean that Trump would for sure be reelected at a designated time, as the two are two different issues. In other words, we cannot equate who we support with the favorable result we expect. For example, we support Dafa, but Dafa is still being persecuted in China after 21 years. The desired result – ending the persecution as soon as possible – hasn't happened yet.
We know that the righteous will prevail. But darkness may exist for some time before the break of dawn. In the Three Realms, with the principle of mutual generation and mutual inhibition, it is normal.
Since the persecution against Falun Gong started in 1999, practitioners inside and outside China have been clarifying the truth and more and more people and governments have come to see the evil nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP is heading for disintegration. Isn’t this a process of “the righteous will prevail”? But this process is unfolding when the vicious appears to be in power, practitioners are in a disadvantaged position, and the persecution has been going on all long.
During the past few months, through practitioner-run media and efforts of other upright citizens, people in the West, especially in the U.S., have begun to recognize the harm of the communist specter and its infiltration in the free world. Isn’t this a process of people’s awakening? Through this, many people have learned the nine inherited traits of communism as described in Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party: evil, deceit, incitement, unleashing the scum of society, espionage, robbery, struggle, elimination, and control.
After the National Security Law was enforced by the CCP in Hong Kong, practitioners there still come out clarifying the truth. Although the situation is expected to be “harsher,” the pro-CCP Youth Care Association (YCA) has been surprisingly disbanded. This is as Master wrote,
“What is HeavenWhat is EarthHuman eyes see human principles”(“Reflection,” Hong Yin IV)
Through the chaos of the U.S. general election, the mask of the communist specter has been removed, enabling the people of the world to see through its nature and choose a side.
It has not been easy. The righteous will for sure prevail – it is just a matter of time.
Learning Lessons, Do Not Count on Everyday People
Some practitioners think that Trump was the one chosen by the divine so they counted on him to dissolve the CCP.
In Fa lectures Master has talked about how the old forces pushed former premier Zhu Rongji to the other side due to practitioners’ attachments. We should learn from the lesson and we cannot allow the old forces to take advantage of the situation because of whomever we prefer or count on.
If practitioners have not done well in this aspect, such lessons may repeat. For example, suppose Trump wins the reelection now, how can we know the old forces would not mess things up again like this? From another angle, let’s say Trump had succeeded in reelection and the CCP quickly collapsed. If our cultivation does not reach the desirable state and the sentient beings are not saved, what is the purpose of Trump getting reelected? If Dafa disciples cannot fulfill our mission, wouldn't a superficial success be futile?
Concluding Remarks
To some degree, these several months of battle between good and evil surrounding the U.S. general election were somewhat similar to Dafa practitioners' efforts in China to oppose the persecution over these past 21 years.
From the Guangming Daily incident before 1999, the Tianjin incident and the April 25, 1999 appeal, to the start of the persecution on July 20, 1999 and the staged, defamatory self-immolation incident in January 2001, almost all these events have counterparts in the U.S. election, with one part using lies and deceit to defame and persecute the other party.
The difference is that the suppression in China is directly against Dafa and practitioners, while in the U.S., the election fraud targeted everyday people and created difficulty for practitioners to save people.
From the perspective of saving people, if practitioners could turn the trick to our own use to achieve the best result, more people could be saved in this process.
From the angle of cultivation, practitioners outside of China could learn from practitioners inside mainland China and quickly let go of human notions to improve ourselves in this condensed version of suppression, that is, the U.S. election environment.
Master wrote,
“I come and go, concerned with nothing but the FaNo fame, nor gain, my heart pursues nothing”(“Wandering,” Hong Yin IV)
Only then can we lead the situation to a direction that helps to save people.
I would like to remind everyone of Master’s words,
“Clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings are what you need to accomplish. There is nothing else for you to accomplish. There is nothing else in this world that you need to accomplish.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference”)
Above are my understandings. Please let me know if there is anything inappropriate.
All articles, graphics, and content published on Minghui.org are copyrighted. Non-commercial reproduction is allowed but requires attribution with the article title and a link to the original article.
Category: Perspective
