(Clearwisdom.net)
Cultivators don't need any organization in the ordinary sense of the term. Falun Dafa practitioners don't have an organization, nor do we need any "leaders" in the ordinary sense. These points have been clearly pointed out in the Fa. However, there are always people asking, "Currently, in countries outside of China, why do you have Falun Dafa Associations and assistance centers? Before July 20, 1999, weren't there also assistance centers and group practice sites inside China? Aren't those organizations? During the appeal on April 25, the over ten thousand practitioners who went there were so single-minded and well disciplined. After they left, there was no trash on the ground, not even pieces of paper. Isn't all of this evidence to show that Falun Dafa practitioners have a 'very tightly-knit and well-disciplined organization'?" Several years' experiences from cultivation and Fa-rectification have suggested to us that serious misunderstandings from everyday people often come up when we practitioners as a whole do not have a clear understanding based on the Fa about the related issues. So could all these questions be partially caused by a large number of practitioners not studying the Fa enough and thus having misunderstandings or attachments regarding these issues?
We do see that sometimes certain practitioners attend many activities that are voluntarily coordinated by other practitioners. They like listening to contact persons or practitioners who coordinate activities. In addition, there are some inaccurate descriptions of us that originate in society. All these factors make some practitioners feel as though they do seem to belong to some kind of organization. Thus, to some degree, they unintentionally take the practitioners that perform the duties of assistants as "special" practitioners. Some contact persons volunteering to work in Falun Dafa Associations have also developed a sense of being "leaders."
We also came to realize that, in some cases, the reasons for misunderstandings are because the following concepts are not correctly understood.
- Are Falun Dafa Associations 'organizations' in the ordinary sense of the
term?
Neither the current registered Falun Dafa Associations nor the previous Falun Dafa Research Societies are entities that have the ordinary concept of 'organizational structure.' It is impractical, for example, to ask every practitioner to apply for a permit if we want to hold an experience sharing conference, a group practice, or a parade. So we need to have some practitioners who volunteer to be contact persons and apply for a permit under the name of a given Falun Dafa Association. It makes it easier for all parties involved so that we can hold our activities. However, cultivation and Fa-rectification require us to be responsible for ourselves. Practitioners who are volunteer contact persons in Falun Dafa Associations can provide us with some degree of convenience, but they aren't able to cultivate for other practitioners. They cannot require anybody else to practice Falun Dafa, nor can they be responsible for other practitioners' behavior, cultivation progress or results in cultivation. They are not "leaders" or "legal representatives" in the way that ordinary people use these terms.
In reality, any format or method used by everyday people can be used in Fa-rectification as long as they are in accordance with "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." But we need to pay attention to not adopt ordinary people's bad notions or ways of doing things.
- Does having no "organization" and no "leaders" mean no coordination?
Coercion or commands don't work for practitioners because Teacher has clearly told us that Falun Dafa practitioners should "take the Fa as Teacher." Teacher also said that, "Studying the Fa and doing cultivation are a person's own affair." "The path each person is to take is different ..." ("Path") "Dafa doesn't have any people in charge. Everyone is a cultivating disciple." ("Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.") We are all studying the same books. We also clearly know what the books tell us and what the standards for being a practitioner are. Fellow practitioners don't represent one another, nor do we lead - or are led - by each other. We are all common practitioners. We are all Fa-rectification Dafa disciples. We are all facing the issue of how to walk our cultivation path during Fa-rectification cultivation. We don't have role models.
However, having no organization doesn't mean that there is no coordination. Similarly, having no commands or orders doesn't mean there is no coordination either.
On one hand, we see that many practitioners voluntarily and willingly make a lot of contributions in spreading the Fa and saving sentient beings, without pursuing any fame or material gains. They facilitate a lot of communication among practitioners and with other people or groups. In order for us to be able to convey strong messages to society, they work as contact people or coordinators to make large-scale activities possible.
On the other hand, we are all studying the same Fa. We are all practicing according to the same principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." So even the efforts of an individual practitioner, if these efforts are in accordance with the requirements of the Fa, will become a part of the efforts of all the practitioners as a whole. Thus, seen on the whole, the activities will naturally complement each other very well. This is because the goal and the principles of individual practitioners are the same as those of all the other practitioners.
The coordination as a whole is a willing cooperation among practitioners and between practitioners and the Falun Dafa Associations. It's based on the common understandings of the Fa-principles. It's a voluntary and compassionate cooperation among individual practitioners. Each and every Falun Dafa activity is held and completed by the voluntary efforts and cooperation from different combinations of individual practitioners, and is based on our same goal of making contributions to the Fa.
These common understandings and voluntary coordination efforts are based on the principles of the Fa. They transcend any 'organizational structures' or 'commands' in the ordinary sense of these terms. And they cannot be achieved or maintained through any coercion or ordinary people's kinds of coordination efforts. This is why practitioners - who don't have any organizational structure and don't receive any commands from any leaders - can act in a more disciplined manner towards a common goal than any other ordinary people's organizations can. They are the result of following the true principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." They are the manifestations of the Fa's power.
When we clarify the truth, our misunderstandings of, or questions about the Fa can often be reflected by questions from everyday people. They can even be taken advantage of by the evil forces to weave fabrications in order to deceive the world's people. In order to improve as one whole body and to clarify the truth to save sentient beings in a more comprehensive, deeper and more refined way, it is very important for us to clarify our misunderstandings about the Fa and to keep our actions and words righteous and in accordance with the Fa.
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