(Clearwisdom.net) A practitioner wrote an article earnestly persuading people to be kind. Concerned about her limited writing skills, she carefully considered each word to be sure it was appropriate. When the article was not published, she felt bad about it, wondering if she did not write well or had poor understanding. I know this practitioner. She had no intention of showing off or feeling happy about having her article published on Clearwisdom. She simply wanted to tell people that Dafa is good. Considering how carefully and righteously she wrote the article, I too felt a bit puzzled at first. I thought that my being able to have articles published on Clearwisdom was due to my writing ability. It seemed unfair to those with lesser skills.
I tried hard to understand the issue from the perspective of the Fa so as to help the practitioner who was feeling bad. It was obvious that Master was giving me hints while I analyzed the issue with her. The wisdom of righteous thought and righteous action came up continuously. It was as if looking back at the top after climbing up. Everything was clear. After we talked, she and I both had a clear understanding, which I'd like to share with everyone.
1. Evil is Eliminated when Our Righteous Thoughts Rise
Clearwisdom is a website provided by Master for us to use in Fa-rectification. The website has presented the beauty of Dafa to the human world, and has shaken the firmament with mighty virtue and light. As a Dafa practitioner in the Fa-rectification period, it is a special honor and a mission to send articles to Clearwisdom to validate Dafa.
Therefore we should have a correct starting point. Whether we expose the evil or share cultivation experiences, our fundamental purpose is to save people and validate Dafa rather than be attached to presenting our own views. All practitioners who send articles to Clearwisdom have experienced expectations, concern, joy and disappointment afterwards. In the process, we are able to see our various human mentalities and notions. To be able to progress in the Fa, seeing the matter of publishing articles on Clearwisdom with a pure heart is ultimately a cultivation process.
I have thought that the articles written by Dafa practitioners published on Clearwisdom have immense power to shake the evil and save sentient beings. Now I can see more clearly: It is not important whether a practitioner's article is used or not. The key is our pure heart when we write. The evil is eliminated when our righteous thoughts arise, not when the articles are published. This power is not restricted to the words published on Clearwisdom at the surface level. If we think that only the published articles can play a role in validating Dafa, we have underestimated ourselves. When Dafa practitioners write articles with pure hearts and righteous minds, the great power of Dafa can manifest, illuminating the firmament. After realizing this, I felt truly happy for the fellow practitioner's conscientiousness exhibited while writing the article. Such joy is totally different from the happiness of having an article published.
Clearwisdom website faces simultaneously three completely different groups of readers: Dafa practitioners, the general public, and the evil. Their needs, their attitudes toward Clearwisdom, their response to information, and their understanding of, attitude toward, and ability to accept the truth, are all different. Furthermore, there exist various specific situations with each group. It is not an abstract concept, nor is it a clear-cut group of people. For instance, the public includes: officials from China, overseas government officials, personnel from spy agencies, research institutions, people who support us, people who don't understand us, and those deceived to participate in the persecution but with hope of being enlightened.
So when we write an article for Clearwisdom, we must have two points clear in our hearts before we start to write. First, to whom is this article written and what are their characteristics? Secondly, what kind of message do I wish to communicate? Only when we are clear about these two fundamental points and compose our words, pictures, and material for the sake of Fa-rectification and the benefit of others, can we truly clarify the truth and save people. In fact, well-written articles by practitioners can clarify the truth not only to fellow practitioners, but also the general public. Their righteous thoughts and beliefs penetrate the article, and have the effect of eliminating evil.
Of course, a substantial part of Clearwisdom content is Dafa practitioners' experience sharing articles, representing the direction of Dafa practitioners' cultivation as a whole during the Fa-rectification period and providing a window for people to observe and to learn about Falun Dafa. For this, we should perfect our articles as much as we can and maintain the attitude of being responsible for the Fa.
For those practitioners hindered by concern over their limited writing skills and lack of confidence, we must be clear that Clearwisdom is a Dafa website that reveals the truth and validates Dafa. It is not a writing contest in ordinary society. There is no need for piling up beautiful words. Nor is there a need for a perfect form. Only a righteous heart is needed for validating Dafa. Every individual is different, as is the style of his article. I feel it is really comfortable reading many fellow practitioners' articles written with simple language. Their description in simple words does not at all tarnish the magnificence of their Fa-rectification experiences.
I have seen that it is really a hindrance and interference when practitioners show concern for their "limited writing skills." What we have cultivated is the great way of the cosmos. Master has left us everything. Don't we have the best and highest education? Aren't Gods also reading the book of Zhuan Falun? I suggest that every one study the article "What is Wisdom" in Essentials for Further Advancement. If one always feels that he is not well educated, I don't think it is the modesty of ordinary people, but an inadequate understanding of the Fa.
2. Treat Fellow Practitioners of Clearwisdom Net and the Editorial Staff Properly
Clearwisdom is a Dafa website that we trust and respect. To make sure the website operates properly is not only the duty of practitioners on the editors' team, but also the duty of every Dafa practitioner. We support Clearwisdom with our righteous thoughts, our article contributions, our respect and trust. I would like to discuss my understanding of the Editorial Team from the perspective of writing articles for Clearwisdom.
The editors' team selects articles from around the world to be published according to need on a daily basis. When an article submitted to Clearwisdom is not published, the author should first look inside to assess the mentality while composing, and also examine the article for inappropriate material to correct himself and accumulate experience.
Never lose confidence in writing for Clearwisdom. Whatever we do is to validate Dafa. We should consider the Fa as the Teacher and measure everything according to Dafa. Those on the editors' team are doing the work of Clearwisdom each day. They have huge responsibilities and must be even stricter with themselves. Teacher is also monitoring the general direction of Clearwisdom. But one point is very clear: practitioners working on Clearwisdom are also in the process of cultivation. They are fulfilling their historical oath with Teacher to use their abilities to be willing volunteers in doing Dafa work. Amongst tens of thousands of Dafa practitioners, they, too are improving themselves constantly while doing Dafa work. Their selection standard of articles is certainly serious and is guided by the Fa; but it is not the same thing as the Fa. An author should not act like an ordinary person when his article does not make it to Clearwisdom once or twice.
The process of improving your writing is also a process of tempering yourself and expanding your tolerance. If practitioners can easily write good articles, it is likely because of their inborn quality. For someone who does not have that inborn quality, in order to achieve it, he needs to study harder and keep trying; doesn't that make sense? As a Dafa practitioner, as long as you try hard and maintain a pure heart, you can quickly learn everything. If you consider yourself a cultivator at all times, you can achieve boundless wisdom.
Sometimes there will be good articles that aren't selected, such as those read during our experience sharing conferences, or those covering what the author considers important non-political topics. Here we must remember what Teacher has taught us of "profound tolerance" and "compassionate understanding" to eliminate attachments to our own ideas and our disappointment when they are not heard.
If we think about it practically, there are 100 million practitioners worldwide. If Clearwisdom receives 100 articles per day, but because of limited space can only publish ten, this does not mean that the other 90 articles are not good, or that only these 10 articles could achieve the effect of validating Dafa. Sometimes they will limit the number of articles under the same category or with the same theme, or depending on the current needs of the Fa-rectification, only select those articles discussing critical issues, or important directions.
If you always consider Dafa as the priority, and step out of your own defined limits, you will be able to see the nature of things. Teacher told us before that only those things you have done with the purest heart are the best. So long as you are writing with pure and righteous thoughts, your article can deter evil and save sentient beings. In fact, if a person wrote an article as a Dafa practitioner one day and the day after it was published on Clearwisdom he turned against Dafa, we would simply tell Clearwisdom to remove his article. As the old saying goes "After the great waves sift sand, only the gold is left." That you can publish articles on Clearwisdom does not mean anything; what is great and significant is that behind the article there is a pure heart that is determined to protect Dafa!
Of course, you should be clearheaded from the Fa perspective. When doing specific work, you need to keep a peaceful mentality without any pursuit. You don't have to be thinking hard about eliminating evil while you write the article.
3. Start with Yourself in Protecting Dafa and Clearwisdom
On November 18, Clearwisdom published an article entitled "Quoting Teacher's Words: On Respecting Teacher and Dafa" (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/11/18/42360.html). The article warned practitioners to be cautious when quoting Teacher, and avoid quoting Him out of context to justify our own views. I thought of a fellow practitioner who had tried many times to communicate her similar views on this issue; but she always declined my suggestion that she write an article on this. This practitioner is very determined in Dafa cultivation, and also very diligent in studying the Fa. She is very well educated, but thought her views might not be appropriate to be published on Clearwisdom. I regret that I did not find out why she was so reluctant, thereby letting the opportunity pass. When I hear practitioners raise similar points of view now, I really feel regret. If we were doing well in cultivation, we would have shared this sincere and good suggestion with our fellow practitioners sooner, to caution practitioners earlier.
In this experience, my fellow practitioner and I were not looking at it from a righteous perspective. We forgot to start with ourselves in protecting Dafa and Clearwisdom as our priority. When I heard her viewpoint, I just insisted that it was qualified to be published on Clearwisdom, indicating that I thought her suggestion was up to standard. I did not remember the importance of protecting Dafa. When we recognize the significance of an issue, we should communicate to fellow practitioners immediately so that we all progress in cultivation on the righteous path. Even though she was not willing to write the article, I could have written an article based on her suggestion. What matters is not who does the specific work for Dafa,as if the one who raised the issue first has something to show off, but that we protect Dafa first and foremost. Upon reflection, I incorrectly considered a good suggestion that might benefit Dafa as a whole, as merely "a fellow practitioner's view." When she failed to write it down, I just let it pass. Suppose I were then asked to write an article on the issue. If I did not look at things from the righteous perspective of the Fa, limiting myself only to the small "self," perhaps I would have been afraid that I was "stealing" ideas from my fellow practitioner.
Each of us has human notions that need to be broken through. We must be clear-headed. We should not let evil take advantage of our omissions, thwarting our efforts in validating and protecting Dafa. Avoid the "if I don't do it, somebody else will" mentality. If every one thinks this way, it would be like "the three monks without water to drink" (Chinese saying meaning that the three monks are all lazy, relying on the other monks to get water, but as no one was willing to get it, so they had no water). Protecting Dafa is the duty of every practitioner; supporting Clearwisdom is not only the duty of those on the Clearwisdom editors' team. The whole Dafa body includes you, him, and me. Aside from your personal experience sharing articles, if fellow practitioners have good suggestions for Clearwisdom, please directly communicate them to Clearwisdom. I hope practitioners who can, will actively participate in writing for Clearwisdom, and treasure this form and opportunity that has been left for us by Teacher to validate Dafa
This is my personal understanding for sharing with fellow practitioners. Please point out any inappropriate aspect.