(Minghui.org) I was in tears after reading “Wake Up,” a recently published article by Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa. On the one hand, I could feel Master’s enormous compassion. On the other hand, after exposing the persecution for 25 years, Master still needs to give us such detailed reminders. Isn’t this wrong? I hope every practitioner reads and understands this article and realizes it’s addressed to each one of us.
News media professionals shoulder great social responsibilities and they need to be strict with themselves. Some Falun Dafa practitioners left China and moved to other countries as refugees. While in China, they were educated and grew up surrounded by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. After relocating overseas, some did not know or learn the local language, leaving them with limited and biased channels through which they get information. As a result, although they live in Western society, they are not really part of it. This is very challenging for them in their efforts to become media professionals and do well.
So they did not pay attention to or follow the mindset of “To be able to regard anyone and everyone with compassion, to have love for all people...” (“Wake Up”) as mentioned in the article. But it’s more than this. After the persecution started in China, some practitioners left China due to their own circumstances, and they found the overseas environment safe and relaxed. Plus, they now had the freedom to speak openly through the media, so their attachments soared. When they make remarks on the media platforms, even important figures in society have to listen.
This naive way of thinking is laughable, but not really. In fact, this is a sad situation. As a group that follows Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, at the very least we need to be modest and rational instead of going to extremes. Most Westerners have a sense of modesty and gratitude. As practitioners, we need to evaluate how we’ve done. Arrogance is not an option, let alone reckless behavior.
In fact, our media platforms were given by Dafa and sentient beings came here for Dafa. Even if what we do has an impact, it is due to the power of Dafa, support from divine beings, and help from Master through his sacrifice. Being grateful and feeling fortunate is normal, but having a strong ego is not. Ignorance will lead to mistakes and having an ego will also lead to mistakes. Falun Dafa practitioners run media to save people, not to show how great we are.
As long as we are in this human society, we will occasionally make mistakes. When we do, we can make corrections and improve ourselves. Some people have made mistakes all along but have never realized it—this can be a big problem. For practitioners, this could be a loophole in their cultivation.
Because practitioners read the Falun Dafa teachings, they can easily see that your xinxing is not up to the standard. Everyday people will also judge you based on their standards. To some degree, media professionals live under a spotlight. This not only means fame, it also also means the public is constantly watching you and evaluating the smallest details. Being part of one of these platforms is an honor given by Dafa. They are Dafa’s resources, not because individual practitioners are special. If one considers being part of the media a career development opportunity and abuses it, it can lead to many problems.
Fame, material interest, and sentimentality have harmed many people. As practitioners who work on Dafa projects, we need to be clear on what we are doing, and why.
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Category: Perspectives
