This report documents a discussion between several overseas practitioners. What presented herein are strictly personal point of views. Observations and comments are very welcome.
(The three practitioners in the article are designated as A, B and C.)
A: I am thinking about the following questions. How should we interpret the mindless persecution currently being inflicted on the jailed practitioners in China? Is it because their plight is just too big, or because their misunderstandings of the situation have worsened their tribulations, or are there some other reasons?
B: I believe this definitely does not come from their personal tribulations! They are actually enduring it for others, for all the sentient beings and, above all, for the rectification of the Fa. The Dafa is being spread for the salvation of all the sentient beings in the universe. In this human dimension, those people who have not attained the Fa need to have a chance to attain the Dafa. Therefore, those practitioners who are undergoing extreme hardships and mistreatments in prison are doing it for all those people who have the predestined relationship to attain it.
C: Bravo! They are willing to sacrifice all their personal interests to suffer for the Dafa, before the dawn falls when the Dafa has rectified the whole universe. They are truly the supreme defenders of the Dafa in the human world.
A: I want to go to China. I have been mulling it over recently. It is like the issue of eating meat- it comes out from time to time. The goal was also different each time. Last year I wanted to go back simply because I could not stand being an idle witness when the practitioners in China were suffering so much. Frankly, if I had made that trip, it might aim at pulling off some "heroic" feat. Later, I changed my mind and thought about exchanging cultivation experiences with the practitioners in China, in the same way we had done before. I used to harbor an erroneous understanding that we go back China to better inform the Chinese practitioners of what is going on abroad. But when I saw those practitioners who came back from China, it is obvious that they have made progress with the help of the practitioners in China. So, it is they who are helping us, not the reverse.
C: Exactly. Our oversea practitioners started cultivation late, and many of us can not strive forward in the exercises and Dafa studies as hard as do practitioners in China. We have got used to the relatively more comfortable living environment here. Moreover, the interpersonal relationships are less strained here compared with Mainland China . Therefore, it is by no means something taken for granted that we can meet the same standard on the completion of cultivation.
B: I'd hesitate to comment on the formality of "stepping out", because the Dafa is of the first importance. The most crucial thing for practitioner is a heart to defend the Dafa. It seems to me that what you attach importance to in your mind is the first and foremost thing. I reckon that all the practitioners with responsible minds toward the Dafa will rationally choose the form to safeguard the Dafa. If you step out because of some actions of the Chinese government or the behavior of some people in the Chinese government, or you cannot step out due to fear, I guess you are looking at such specific problem with an ordinary person's mentality. The Fa is so huge, and so great an issue is the dissemination of the Dafa that the conduct of a certain government is really trivial, not even worth our attention at all. The Fa is so huge that either our cultivation or defending the Dafa does not target anybody as an enemy. Besides, Dafa will not threaten but all bring benefits to any country or society. Some people are afraid because their attachments of fear have not been eliminated so that they are wrapped up by their attachments. They are still discussing whether it is right or not for other practitioners to step out. Sorry for being brash, why do you want to go back China? Do you also want to be detained as detailed in some reports?
A: Certainly not. I want to have a deeper understanding of today's cultivation process, as well as a clearer understanding of our overseas practitioners' responsibilities. Because without that kind of special first-hand experience, we may not be able to fully comprehend and handle well the responsibilities we have. It is said that the environment in China is very good, for as tough as it is, it ensures that we can cultivate to a high level. On the other side, without that kind of tough environment, our overseas practitioners face an even higher standard.
B: Sure, you can go if that is what you want, but I'd say it is optimal if you can stay and help with the promotion of the Dafa overseas. We are in a position to carry out many activities to promote and safeguard the Dafa overseas that the Chinese practitioners also want to but can not do. It is China that the Dafa calls its home. In a sense, the root of the Dafa lies in China. It is like a big tree with a big trunk and a deep root, the overseas is only the branches and leaves of the Dafa. In China, the Dafa has struck a cord in most people's hearts. Many practitioners in China have cultivated very well so they can withstand such a big tribulation and nothing can sway and disturb their minds. In contrast, still many predestined people abroad have not attained the Dafa. There are also many practitioners stuck in their own basic xinxing tests and have not upgraded.
A: Since last year, there has been a switch in overseas public sentiment towards the Dafa, from being blank to being very concerned. However, paying attention to the crisis in China only out of human rights concerns is far from enough, because our ultimate goal is to help the predestined people to attain the Fa. Therefore, promotion of the Dafa on an even larger scale is called for and should be undertaken in a timely manner. Recently, I feel the speed at which the Dafa echoes the people's hearts here has accelerated, its impact has been widened around the world, and the standard we have to meet has correspondingly gone up. Under this circumstance, it is far from enough to limit the promotion of the Dafa to the confines of human rights. In fact, lies the Chinese government has spread widely have evoked very negative feelings about the ban of the Dafa among many people. People are well aware that the Chinese government is repeating the tactics used in the Cultural Revolution and other similar political movements. Yet, many of them are still not very clear about the truth of the Falun Gong.
B: This is true. It needs some time for people to move from knowing the Dafa to understanding the Dafa. The debates on the issue of human rights now provide us with more time and give people more chance to understand the Dafa better. This is a truly distinct and significant historical period. It is a chance for us to demonstrate the supreme benevolence and forbearance of the Falun Dafa practitioners to the people of the world. When I was detained in prison (in China), I let the cellmates and guards know the Dafa, and I genuinely shed tears for experiencing the Dafa's benevolence. The power of benevolence is really tremendous. At the same time, I came to understand our responsibilities to help the sentient beings to attain the Dafa. I always marvel at how lucky we are, living in a period when the Dafa is being spread on a grand scale.
A: When we promote the Dafa, sometimes we will consciously or unconsciously think that we are working for the Dafa. Actually, the longer we have done this kind of work, the more we will feel that this is really not "work". When we study the Dafa well, and truly recognize the significance of what we are doing, all that we do is immersed into the Fa, and so we would not see cultivation and work as separate. We often notice that for those practitioners really good at studying the Dafa, no difficulties can stop them, and no hardship and toughness can make them crumble. Their cultivation state is the basis for their good work in spreading the Fa. From the standpoint of tasks-or ordinary people-a lot of their fulfilled work is, if not inconceivable, almost impossible to accomplish at the first glance. Only the Fa has power of that magnitude.
C: I can't agree with you more. When you put your heart into the Dafa, the Dafa work can temper you, making you better understand the meaning of the Dafa and quicken your advance in cultivation. Needless to say, however much we have done for the Dafa is incomparable with what we have gained from the Dafa. I believe we can never reciprocate what we get from the Dafa. Now we just have an opportunity to show our gratitude and heart.
B: It seems to me that the widespread dissemination of the Dafa is for every sentient being. In the eyes of the gods, all the predestined people are eligible to be saved. Since we have attained the Fa, we are obligated to help those who have not attained Dafa to attain it. This is also our duty.
A: Recall the time before last July 20, any predestined person could easily attain the Fa in China when he entered a public park or stepped onto a lawn. There were simply no barriers between a person and the Fa, at all. We still have a long way to go before we can get to that state here. What great responsibilities we are facing? How can we fulfil them?
B: We Chinese are too complicated. Americans and Europeans are much simpler. They cannot understand the twists in our minds if we try to spread the Dafa to them in our complicated way. If we could all be as "pure and genuine" as they are we may be able to do a better job. For instance, every time I have an appointment with the media, I think about what impression I should leave them with. Personally, it should be well educated, rational, understandable and empathetic.
A: Viewing the Fa-spreading work as the Dafa "needs" our help may not be right in terms of understanding and incentive. We want to join the Fa-spreading work, as we truly understand it is the form of our cultivation, as we understand its significance and see it as our own need.
B: Yes. The Fa is so huge that it can assimilate all that exists. Never can we afford to make mistakes in positioning ourselves.
C: Right. The human beings are immeasurably small in the universe. As Master says: "Limitlessness reigns beyond the boundaries of the universe." We ought to expand the boundaries in our way of thinking, and break all kinds of barriers so as not to fail the expectations associated with this once-in-ten-thousand-year predestined relationship.