October 12, 2002
(Clearwisdom.net) As Fa-rectification progresses, although there are fewer demons and low-level spirits left, the remainder appears to be more rampant. In certain regions, persecution against Dafa practitioners have become more severe, and news of arrests and beatings of Dafa practitioners are constantly heard. Therefore, in this last phase of Fa-rectification, the safety and security of Dafa practitioners is still a major issue in Fa-rectification work.
While many fellow practitioners have shared experiences on this subject, I would like to share some of my understandings.
1. Improve Our Understanding from the Fa
Master said, "Everything that the evil has done has actually targeted the attachments and fears that you have not let go of. You are future Enlightened Beings who are becoming Buddhas, Daos, and Gods, and you are not concerned with the losses and gains of this world. So you should be able to let go of everything" ("Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)," Essentials For Further Advancement II)
If fellow practitioners who were persecuted by the evil look back, they will find out that their troubles were caused by their attachments or fear. Therefore, it is extremely important to always keep righteous thoughts and to constantly check on our state of mind. Sometimes, we don't realize it when our attachments or fears have come out. Why don't we? On the one hand, maybe we didn't study the Fa enough and our ordinary human side unconsciously sneaks out. On the other hand, maybe we slacked off on our cultivation and weren't strict enough with ourselves. There is another situation where we have become attached to Fa-rectification work itself and our abilities, and we have grown more and more fond of our work and developed the desire to do more work and become busy, and in the end, we use up the time allotted for Fa-study and cultivation. No matter what we do, we should always guarantee the time for daily Fa-study, and we should give up everything in our mind during Fa-study. Whatever we cannot give up is an attachment, and when the attachment develops, it becomes something the evil can use to interfere with us. It's of critical importance for a cultivator to always keep a calm state of mind, and this has tremendous benefits. It is eventually achieved through cultivation, not simply forced behavior. It requires a process of arduous cultivation.
Besides, at a critical moment, even if there is only one second left, we should still eliminate the evil in other dimensions with our powerful righteous thoughts. Let's use our powerful minds to calmly make the problem in the human dimension disintegrate by itself. Oftentimes, passing a test is being able to persist until the last second. Many practitioners have experienced this. When they are persecuted by the evil, which takes advantage of their attachments, most of the time it happened when a practitioner's mind first collapsed and their righteous thoughts weakened, and they acquiesced to the evil's persecution. Once the evil successfully takes advantage of a practitioner's attachments, the tribulation may increase. But even if that's the case, if we give up life and death (note: giving up life and death does not mean one is going to die, it means that the fear of death no longer exists in one's heart) and break through tribulations, the Fa will clear up the problem for us.
Another point is that we should memorize certain parts of the Fa in our minds, so that at critical moments we would remember them and do better. Just as Master has said, "But even so, it's actually because the old forces insist on testing Dafa disciples' xinxing that they've done this. That's definitely the case. If it weren't, this definitely wouldn't have happened. The best way to deal with this situation is for Dafa disciples to walk their paths righteously, to try their best not to let the evil or the old forces take advantage of their gaps, and to solidify their righteous thoughts. The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston") Master also said, "if this disciple has taken a righteous path and conducted himself well and someone still dares to persecute him, it doesn't matter that they're the old forces or what the old principles are--I absolutely won't spare them. There are countless righteous Gods by my side, too! And I also have countless Law Bodies who do Fa-rectification. My only concern is that Dafa disciples themselves won't be firm inside; when there's some kind of attachment, some kind of fear, or what not, then the old forces see it and take advantage of the omissions and persecute them. And if a person's righteous thoughts aren't sufficient while he's being persecuted, he will be persecuted even worse. This is always the case. (Touring North America to Teach the Fa, un-official translation)
2. Prudence and Wisdom Are Essential
Prudence is completely different from fear and the state of not being moved by the situation. Let's not refuse to take necessary safety measures just because we want to show off that we do not have any fear. In fact, everyone has fear, and it often exists in certain phases. If one does not have fear at all, isn't that person already a god? Is there any need for him to cultivate, then?
Taking necessary safety measures is to harmonize with the Fa of the human dimension. It is the same as the person who holds Zhuan Falun and shouts in the street, "I'm not afraid of being hit by a car." He might really be hit by a car. If we damage the Fa on the human level, problems might arise. The old forces would then grasp the omission to persecute the practitioners. Practitioners who were taken advantage of might think, "I didn't have fear or attachments, why was there a problem?" Maybe it is this.
3. Calmly Distinguish Between Hints [Master's reminders] and Interference Based on the Fa
I realized from cultivation that if we can understand the Fa from the perspective of the Fa at all times, we would not need any extra reminders [from Master]. Sometimes, the evil conjures up a scene aimed at our attachments. No matter what the situation is, we should take more rational and careful measures, strengthen our righteous thoughts, study the Fa more and send forth more righteous thoughts. If we improve our understanding from the perspective of the Fa, we will be able to pass the tribulation well.
Above are personal understandings that are not thorough and may not be completely correct. They are for your reference only.
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
