[Minghui Net] The power of righteous faith comes from our understanding of Dafa in the course of our cultivation practice, from our steadfast belief in Master, and our enlightening to Master's Fa rectifying the heavens and earth. From Master's Great Lakes lecture, I realized that over the course of this past year of Fa rectification, where we have done well is where we kept up with the progress of Master's Fa rectification. Whether or not we have understood something in our thinking, we have all truly treated ourselves as a particle of Dafa in our actions and behavior. Where we have not done so well is that at different levels of cultivation, we have many understandings that do not meet the requirements of Fa rectification. We do not have a clear enough understanding of the fundamental nature and meaning of evil, which causes us to unwittingly and tacitly accept many tribulations caused by demons. This only allows the tribulations to grow. Just as Master said in the article "Expounding on the Fa":

"For a long period of time, the sentient beings in Dafa, especially the disciples, have had a misunderstanding of the Fa at various levels regarding xinxing improvement. Whenever a tribulation comes, you do not see it with the side of your original nature but view it completely from your human side. Evil demons then take advantage of this point and inflict endless interference and damage, leaving practitioners in long-term tribulations. As a matter of fact, this results from an inadequate understanding of the Fa by your human side. You have humanly restrained your divine side; in other words, you have restrained the parts that have been successfully cultivated and prevented them from rectifying the Fa. How can the uncultivated side restrain your primary thoughts or the side that has already obtained the Fa? Having humanly fostered the evil demons, you allow them to exploit the Fa. When a tribulation arrives, if you, as a disciple, can truly maintain an unshakable calm, or set your mind to meeting different requirements at different levels, this should be sufficient for you to pass the test. If it continues endlessly and if there do not exist other problems in your xinxing or conduct, it must be that the evil demons are exploiting the loopholes caused by your lack of control. After all, a cultivator is not an ordinary person. So why doesn't the side of you that is your original nature rectify the Fa?"

With regard to Master's Great Lakes lecture, the most striking point for me was that Master does not acknowledge all the arrangements that the degenerated forces of the universe have for persecuting Dafa because they do not meet the requirements of Master's Fa rectification. Master said: "Not only could all these things that they've arranged not play a positive role in the Fa rectification, but they also became a serious impediment." I feel that if we recognize them in our thinking, then it reflects into our cultivation practice as a kind of unknowingly giving tacit consent to the tribulations and treating them as inevitable. For example, among the practitioners who went to Beijing to validate the Fa, in people's minds, there was a general sense that I'll definitely get caught this time, so and so did such and such this time so he'll be sent to labor re-education camp for sure, or I've done such and such, so this and this will happen to me. When sharing their experiences with others, some practitioners over exaggerate how they overcame tremendous obstacles and bore the difficulty of the tribulations, and this will also amplify this kind of interference that does not meet the requirements of Fa rectification.

When encountering specific tribulations, practitioners will often think of one point: It's what Master says that counts, not what humans say. However, I feel that this is not enough. Because you are rectifying the Fa, the things that are not righteous in your own notions must first be discarded. For us to treat what we will have to bear after we do our actions as inevitable is, in itself, showing that the xinxing does not meet the requirements of the Fa, which shows that it does not meet the requirements of Fa rectification. There is no such thing as the human idea of inevitability. All of it has to do with the understanding and comprehension of the Dafa, with the xinxing requirement, with whether or not it meets the requirements of Fa rectification. The concepts that do not meet the requirement of Fa rectification will result in us tacitly accepting in our actions the persecution of the evil forces, thereby only intensifying the tribulation.

To be too attached to our own improvement and our cultivation practice will also cause our practitioners to unwittingly accept the persecution of the evil forces, and this, too, will be expressed as taking being arrested and being beaten as the standard by which to judge one's xinxing. As such, those who have stepped forward and have attained the goal of validating the Fa but have not been arrested or beaten are then seen as having not attained this kind of xinxing standard. This creates for these practitioners a kind of repression and a false impression that they really haven't met the xinxing standard and that they don't have any praiseworthy mighty virtue, and so they go again to Beijing to go get arrested and beaten. In this way, they feel relieved as they think that they've met this xinxing standard. This is undoubtedly a sign of approving of the evil persecution. Just as Master said in the Great Lakes lecture: "Their warped notions have made them think that the persecution of gods in history was rightful. Incidents such as Jesus being nailed to the cross have become the precedent for high-level beings who come down to save people. How could this be acceptable? This itself is degenerate!"

Thus, it is not hard for us to understand what Master said in "Rationality":

"Amidst tribulations, it is very difficult for a practitioner to see the cause of a matter; but it's not that it's impossible. When he calms down and evaluates everything according to Dafa, he will be able to see the nature of the matter. Some practitioners suggest that the best practice of cultivation is to get placed into detention centers or labor camps, or get sentenced to jail in order to validate the Fa. Practitioners, it is not so. Stepping forward to validate the Fa in various ways is a magnificent deed, but this absolutely does not mean that you have to be arrested by the evil. If that were the case, why would those practitioners who step forward to make appeals demand the release of all those innocent practitioners who have been arrested, detained, sent to labor camps, or sentenced to jail? Getting arrested is not the purpose. Validating Dafa is truly glorious it is to validate Dafa that you step forward. Since you step forward, you should try to succeed in validating the Fa this is the real purpose of stepping forward... Because the purpose of the old forces is to cause damage, when a practitioner has a strong attachment, his conduct is, strictly speaking, fundamentally a manifestation of his demon-nature and something brought about by emotion; it is not rational. The evil is then able to appear. From now on, be aware that those who claim that my Law Bodies have directly told them what to do are in fact all referring to fake Law Bodies."

From Master's article, I've understood that Master is very seriously warning us not to be taken away by the notions of the old forces, that we should not be fooled, and that we need to rationally use Dafa to look at everything and correct our actions that do not meet the requirements of Fa rectification. If we do not condone the vicious persecution in our thinking, then in our actions there will be resistance to the vicious persecution. If we cannot recognize this point, when the evil forces engages in persecution, one will treat the resistance as a battle, or we will even treat our exposure of the evil as a conflict with human beings.

For a cultivator of a righteous Fa, bearing pain and suffering is a magnificent act, but in the midst of enduring suffering and hardship, there are also elements that do not meet the requirements of Fa rectification. For example, when sharing experiences, emphasizing the hardships that one endured in itself will also unwittingly advertise the tribulation, thereby adding to the interference from thought karma for some students and adding to the incorrect understanding of some students of the inevitability of the tribulation. This has caused some people to start considering in their minds how they will deal with the evil when they are arrested and beaten when they haven't even stepped forward yet. Knowing some methods to pass tests under this kind of environment is of course helpful to some students, but this is not the real purpose of us exchanging experiences. The purpose of our exchanging experiences is how to continually improve until one fully meets the requirements of Fa rectification. Truly exchanging ideas from different realms, from the principles of the Fa, and from how to meet the demands of Fa rectification can allow us to improve more quickly, and it can allow us to have fewer unnecessary tribulations and reduce unnecessary losses. Because we are a particle of Dafa, persecution that is directed at us is also persecution that is directed at Dafa. At present, exposing the evil and validating the Dafa needs us. For one person to be arrested or be detained is a loss for Dafa. Moreover, the old forces in high level dimensions who have arranged this tribulation will also use our thinking to increase our tribulation because they feel that they are helping us practice cultivation, helping us attain our goal. Actually, we have no need to have any intent; everything we're doing already represents our wish.

When I went to Beijing to validate the Fa, I had no thought that I might be captured, beaten, or detained. Before I left, some students tried to persuade me not to go because I am a veteran practitioner and I am well known. They thought that by going, I would definitely be captured and sent to labor reeducation camp. I told them that I simply didn't have these ideas and told everyone to rest assured that I would be back in a couple of days. Originally, I had wanted to go to Tiananmen Square to do the big hand gestures. I felt that there was a tremendous compassion in those hand gestures, and my own heart was filled with this kind of compassion for all sentient beings. Later on, another veteran practitioner asked me to accompany them. We all dressed very neatly, cleanly, and beautifully, and on the train we chatted and laughed the whole way, just as though we were going to a holiday party. When we arrived in Beijing, we ran into many veteran practitioners from different areas and we all wanted to go together. The veteran practitioners from Beijing were especially well groomed and were dressed very elegantly, just as though they were going to celebrate the New Year. When we stepped out, even the weather changed. Suddenly, sand and gravel were whipped up and the air was filled with lightning and thunder. We all knew that this was Master receiving us and cleaning out the evil demons in another dimension. On the Square, we faced the evil and together shouted: "You're not allowed to hit people, Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa."

After we were brought into the Tiananmen detention center, the practitioners from all the different areas very naturally huddled together. Whenever someone wanted to drag any of us practitioners out, we would cry out together: "You're not allowed to hit people, you're not allowed to hit people." We just huddled together, creating a unity and would not allow any one of the practitioners to individually bear the tribulation. We would improve together, transcend together. We wouldn't allow them to take photographs of us, we wouldn't tell them our names and our addresses. When they wanted to let individual practitioners leave, we would all leave. We would never leave a single person behind. As a result, the vast majority of practitioners were released that very night while a small number of us were transferred somewhere else (now I know that it was because some of us veteran practitioners as a whole felt that the tribulation was too small and were unknowingly pursuing tribulation). Even though there were not as many people there, but everyone still huddled together, resisting the evil together. At the time, the public security officers were very moved and said that we were remarkable, that we came from all across the country and yet we were just like brothers holding together as a group. By the next morning, they released us, too.

From this, I realized the enormous meaning behind "improve together, transcend together." Throughout this process, as different practitioners' xinxing standard was different, what they endured was also different. Some practitioners bore a lot, and while enduring the tribulation, the righteous thoughts that arose were also different, but we encouraged each other, helped each other. With our hearts as one, we reached the goal of transcending together and also met the requirements of Fa rectification. Stepping forward this time, our neat and handsome appearance also gave the policemen a very strong impression, and not one of the practitioners from Beijing who had stepped forward was captured. I felt that our external appearance also expressed the spiritual state of Dafa disciples and also expressed the image of Dafa, and that this is something that needs to be corrected during Fa rectification.

This time that we stepped forward, there was one veteran practitioner who came late and didn't make it there in time to unfurl banners, but he nonetheless tried to squeeze himself onto the van that was there for rounding up practitioners. The policeman said: "Are you ill? Trying to squeeze on. Go home and stay there!" This veteran practitioner laughingly said: "I'm not ill. At home they don't let me study the Fa or practice the exercises, they don't let us share experiences, saying that it's 'illegal.'" ... We don't really encourage this trying to get onto the police van, but the state of mind that this veteran practitioner exhibited was very good. His xinxing was very high and his understanding of the Fa was very deep. There was not a hint of fear of evil. Not only was there no fear of bearing any kind of tribulation, but there wasn't any idea of wanting to go bear anything, either; just happily laughing as though he were celebrating the holiday. Behind this kind of carefree attitude was his xinxing standard that had met Master's Fa rectification requirements, and that was his righteous faith in Dafa that was so strong it could cleave mountains.

While talking with others, I saw that some practitioners were not able to step forward at first because when they were about to step out, their jobs would suddenly become really busy and their families would not be able to do without them. When they realized that this was not Master hinting at them not to go but rather that it was the final karma from lifetimes before that was not allowing them to take this step, then they immediately let go of all unrighteous thoughts and headed towards Tiananmen Square, melting their own cultivation into the progression of Fa rectification. Everyone had enlightened very well in the midst of improving together and transcending together, and they had done very well. Thus, after stepping forward like this, these practitioners were able to rush home or to work, but they hadn't lost anything.

The third day, I returned home. When talking with practitioners, I said that the progress of Fa rectification was very rapid, that we should let go of all human concepts, let go of all so-called inevitabilities, and let go of all notions that don't meet the requirements of Fa rectification. As a result, one veteran practitioner enlightened to this and let go of his human concepts. He took a flight to Beijing the next day, unfurled banners in Tiananmen Square to validate the Fa, and then flew back that afternoon. Another veteran practitioner and his wife came to Tiananmen Square to meditate. With their hearts filled with compassion for sentient beings, they sat in Tiananmen Square for more than 20 minutes as the police stood by. One practitioner was standing next to them, somewhat afraid, and the police pointed at him and said: "Are you a Falun Gong practitioner or not? If you are, then why don't you hurry up and meditate?" Later on, the police van came and the police took that practitioner away, letting this couple go.

On the face of it, these practitioners all nonchalantly passed the tests, but all of it originates from the overwhelming and steadfast faith in Dafa that lies behind it. It originates from their giving up all the human so-called inevitabilities and notions and meeting the requirements of a righteous Fa on a Dafa disciple.

Why do we tacitly accept the arrangements of the old forces in the universe? In the course of stepping forward to validate Dafa, why must we necessarily be arrested and beaten? Doesn't this kind of thinking, by tacitly acknowledging being arrested and being beaten, also tacitly acknowledge the persecution that the old cosmic forces are inflicting upon Dafa disciples? We have this kind of xinxing standard to calmly face everything, but as Dafa particles, we are helping the Master in the human realm, we are doing things that are exposing the evil and clarifying the truth in the worldly realm, so isn't persecuting us also persecuting Dafa? Everything that we are doing in Fa rectification are great things that provide salvation for sentient beings. We absolutely must not acknowledge in our thinking all of the persecution that the old cosmic forces have arranged for us and for Dafa. To not acknowledge it is because it's the notion of the old forces and does not conform to Master's Fa rectification. Only in this way can our thoughts and our energy field radiate the pure light of a righteous Fa, and our righteous faith and righteous intent truly become so powerful as to move mountains.

Clear out the obstacles that don't meet the standards of rectifying the Fa in our thinking, understand that the progress of Fa rectification is rapidly breaking through. Things that we may have thought were very difficult yesterday, today become things that we need to break through and concepts that we need to give up. We should not forget that when Master has cleaned out the elements that people will become more and more aware and that we absolutely should not be disturbed and confused by the unrighteous thoughts in our own thinking. Especially after Master's article "Beyond the Limits of Forbearance" was issued, all of the gods are all putting their effort into rectifying the Fa from top to bottom, and we Dafa disciples in the human world should do even more to take the initiative to expose the evil. We want to record all of the violent actions of the evil henchmen that persecute Dafa disciples and, in the future, we will be sure to use the human laws to take these evil elements to court. We will record the brutal acts of these policemen and those in power to let their friends and family, their colleagues and their neighbors see their ugly faces that are devoid of human nature, fully revealing their evil nature and let the evil have nowhere to hide, completely suffocating the evil and eradicating the evil.

Moreover, we must also pay attention to the fact that we still have to live in the human world and we won't all manifest a divine state. For our practitioners to casually share specific experiences over the phone and casually talk about what other practitioners are doing is all extremely irresponsible. Our xinxing standards will not be at the same height; behind some of the 'not fearing this or that' is also a lack of responsibility for the practitioners and Dafa. I feel that we are a unity. In the progress of Fa rectification, we must get the greatest exposure of evil and suffocation of the evil at the lowest cost. This is the time when the evil is only temporarily prolonging its life, so we should use our rationality and wisdom even more. There is a lot more work we need to do. Suffocating the evil includes not giving the evil any gaps that it can use to damage us and it also includes us correcting by ourselves all of the notions of ours that do not meet the requirements of Fa rectification.