(Clearwisdom.net) Following "Changchun City Falun Dafa Day," the Fa-rectification situation all over Jilin Province has picked up steam and progressed rapidly on a daily basis. Dafa practitioners went to the Changchun Nanguan District Court to do Fa-rectification. Later, they clarified the truth to the public through the cable TV network, dealing deadly blows to the evil forces again and again. From its actions, it is clear that the evil is now trying to make a last desperate struggle. In Jilin Province, those vicious people have responded by rampantly persecuting the practitioners economically, blocking the Internet, closing roads, and by using all sorts of other ways to stop the spreading of the truth. In a frenzy, they have launched a large-scale wave of arrests, in which many practitioners have been captured again. It seems that the evil is coming at us again putting us under a great deal of pressure. However, just as Teacher said, "... when this evil sees that it's going to be eliminated it runs totally rampant." (From "Teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Fa Conference" in Guiding the Voyage).
I would like to share my personal understandings about the current situation.
I. The evil is nothing to be afraid of
Under the current circumstances, we must first remain calm. We should not let ourselves be moved by the evil force's rampant appearance. We need to make the best use of our time to study the Fa with a peaceful mind. We should promptly correct our shortcomings and strengthen our righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil, getting rid of all our last human attachments. As Fa-rectification disciples, we have come a long way to get here under Teacher's benevolent care and the guidance of the Fa. All the past tribulations and tests have gradually made us mature. We have the ability to eradicate the evil by sending forth righteous thoughts. Amidst difficulties, we will no longer retreat or be afraid of the evil. We have in our hearts even stronger righteous belief in Teacher and in the Fa, and even more determination. All the Falun Dafa practitioners are one body, whether we are in China or abroad, whether we are imprisoned or free. We support each other, encourage each other, and we see the evil's inevitable elimination. We are certain that righteousness will triumph!
II. Take advantage of the current situation, calmly look inside to get rid of impurities through cultivation
Teacher said in his Fa-lecture at the conference in Florida, "... all those who remain and that can persecute Dafa and Dafa disciples are due to our students themselves." After we looked inside with a calm mind, we found that we still have a lot of things to improve on.
1) Not studying the Fa enough
When we were busy doing Fa-rectification work, some practitioners didn't set aside enough time to study the Fa. They couldn't study the Fa with a peaceful mind, took studying the Fa as a burden, or they were interfered with by fatigue when they studied the Fa. They sometimes even took the work as a higher priority than studying the Fa. This resulted in not being able to do the work with the heart of a Fa-rectification disciple, and thus the evil took advantage of this and interfered with them. Because they were unable to solve the problems that arose using the Fa, they had to spend more time on the work. That was a very vicious cycle. We have already have had a lot of painful lessons in this regard. We must be strict with ourselves first and break out of the vicious cycle. Teacher has explained to us in the Fa about all the problems that we were to encounter - as long as we keep studying the Fa with a calm mind, we will be able to do well with what we should do.
2) Not paying enough attention to sending forth righteous thoughts
Teacher said in his Fa-lecture at the conference in Florida,
"Let me tell you, all those who remain and that can persecute Dafa and Dafa disciples are due to our students themselves. Students who haven't taken sending forth righteous thoughts seriously: the evil in the dimensions that you are supposed to shoulder and be responsible for has not been eliminated. That's the cause. So you must take sending forth righteous thoughts seriously. No matter whether you think you have the ability or not, you should do it. What you eliminate from your own mind are ones that have an effect within the expanse of your own body; at the same time, you need to eliminate the external ones, which are directly related to the dimensions you're in. If you don't eliminate them, then they not only persecute you and restrain you, but also persecute other students, other Dafa disciples. As you know, the persecution that Dafa disciples in Mainland China suffer is quite severe, so each student has to truly, clearly realize what his responsibility is, and when he sends forth righteous thoughts he has to be able to truly calm his mind and truly produce the effect of righteous thoughts. So this is something extremely critical, extremely important."
Master's Fa has clear told us that we have to look inside ourselves for the reasons as to why we are still experiencing such a vicious persecution. When I said we didn't pay enough attention to sending forth righteous thoughts, I didn't just mean that we had forgotten to do it or that we didn't do it often enough. Actually, what I mean is that we didn't achieve the expected effects when we sent forth righteous thoughts. Some practitioners treat sending forth righteous thoughts as a sort of routine. When they sent forth righteous thoughts, their main consciousness were sometimes unclear. Their hand gestures were loose, and they were sleepy. I don't think sending forth righteous thoughts in such a way will be truly effective. We are given an incredibly precious opportunity to do this. All that we are doing should be the most magnificent and the most sacred.
We really need to ask ourselves, "Am I worthy of being given the sacred name of a Fa-rectification disciple? Am I trying my best to rectify the Fa and to save the sentient beings?" Then I believe that we can truly focus on this matter from our hearts. Our xinxing and realm determine the power of our righteous thoughts. Our righteous thoughts will become more powerful and purer when we strive forward in the Fa constantly and when we are strict with ourselves in getting rid of all ordinary human attachments. So we must truly cultivate ourselves. Sending forth righteous thoughts cannot completely replace cultivation practice.
3) Not doing very well in combining cultivation with studying the Fa
Some practitioners care very much about how much time they have spent on studying the Fa and how much Fa they have read. However, they didn't have a good understanding of the Fa-rectification during this Fa-rectification period. Thus, they couldn't quickly find their shortcomings. They were unable to be strict with themselves, nor could they look more deeply inside themselves. They still looked inwards using the standards of personal cultivation and their looking inward was often superficial. They relied on the power of the Fa or on some external factors to improve themselves instead of actively following the instructions of the Fa to make fundamental improvements.
Some other practitioners cared very much about true cultivation during their daily lives, emphasizing cultivation while doing Fa-rectification work. However, they didn't study the Fa enough, so they didn't improve their overall xinxing level very much even though they did a lot of work. Sometimes they realized they had a lot of shortcomings, yet they were unable to quickly get rid of them under the guidance of the Fa.
Both of these two tendencies can hinder our elevation towards our original and highest position.
There are some other practitioners who are trapped in a state of being unable to strive forward vigorously. They struggled tiredly and would often cut themselves some slack. The evil then took advantage of their omissions and inflicted endless interference and damage. They didn't have steadfast, unwavering willpower and determination to fight against the problems.
Teacher told us, "If you are still unclear about what a Fa-rectification disciple is, you won't be able to step forward in the current tribulation ..." (From "Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples" in Essentials for Further Advancement II) We have been given a priceless, historic opportunity. Teacher has repeatedly postponed the time of conclusion. I think one reason for this is that Teacher doesn't want to leave any practitioners behind. Another reason is that Teacher wants to give us all the most magnificent things. However, we must fulfill our missions well and truly meet the standard. The goal of studying the Fa is to guide our true cultivation. True cultivation is included in what we are doing during the Fa-rectification period. We need to use the Fa to judge and correct our every thought and action. Our determination and indestructible righteous thoughts are embodied in our true cultivation and manifest in our always being strict with ourselves and following the Fa. We possess the righteous thought of being able to give all that we have to the Fa. Nothing can obstruct our resolve. We are striving forward and making real progress if we can overcome any tribulation and any test, and get rid of any attachments in our Fa-rectification cultivation.
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