(Clearwisdom.net)
A fellow practitioner mentioned the so-called "Fa-rectification elite phenomenon" in a recent article. I truly think practitioners who have taken on a multitude of Fa-rectification tasks are magnificent. However, from the perspective of the Fa [law of the universe] as a whole, such a saying or concept wouldn't exist at all if all Falun Dafa practitioners were the elite in Fa-rectification. Since such a phenomenon has manifested, all Falun Dafa practitioners should look inside to dig out the reasons that have caused it.
The practitioners in Mainland China who are now under persecution usually share some things in common. In the beginning, the "elite" practitioners all had a deep understanding of the Fa and a high xinxing [Mind or heart nature; moral character] level. They were also very capable, so gradually, they shouldered more and more different kinds of Dafa work. Actually, my understanding is that many other practitioners could have helped them out with the work. However, because of the other practitioners' mindset of procrastination and relying on others, because of their notions that it would be better if other (perhaps seemingly more capable) practitioners did the work instead of them making breakthroughs themselves, and because some practitioners didn't assume their responsibilities, the so-called "elite" practitioners became busier and busier. Sometimes, they couldn't find time to study the Fa or to practice the Falun Dafa exercises. Eventually, they became persecuted. Some have even been persecuted to death.
It is definitely necessary for practitioners who are under persecution to uncover the attachments or the omissions that helped the evil take advantage of them. However, it should not become a hot topic of the practitioners who are not under direct persecution because we are not critics of our fellow practitioners as we travel along our cultivation paths. Whenever a problem occurs, we should come to realize that it is related to our own shortcomings. Many fellow practitioners encountered difficulties simply because we have omissions as one body. My personal understanding is that the root cause of the evil's trying to undermine the Fa as a whole is because we, as particles of the one body, are not mature as a whole in the Fa.
The old cosmos always had to go through the cycle of formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction. Before Teacher started to rectify the Fa, nobody knew that the new cosmos would never perish. The old cosmos used to be destroyed and then re-created or rejuvenated until it was destroyed again. So the old forces had also implanted such an element in their arrangements for Fa-rectification. The manifestation of it is that Falun Dafa practitioners stepped forward one by one. As some were becoming mature, the old forces would persecute them for various reasons. Then, some other practitioners would step forward to establish new truth-clarification materials sites and become mature. Then, the old forces would again persecute them. Other practitioners would again step forward. As far as I know, this phenomenon existed in many areas in Mainland China. Falun Dafa practitioners stepping forward one after another looks just like an old dynasty ending and then a new dynasty forming. Similar to the sentient beings in the firmament during the Fa-rectification period, different Falun Dafa practitioners brought with them different Fa-rectification methods and different mechanisms for running materials sites. Of course, this is just one of the many reasons that some Falun Dafa practitioners were under brutal persecution.
Another reason is that the righteous thoughts of those practitioners were not strong enough. There are no formulas for the reasons why some practitioners are persecuted. So we cannot say which is the most probable reason. During the Fa-rectification period, the old forces' arrangements were carried out. Their excuse of launching the persecution was that the practitioners as a whole had omissions, and that they were not mature enough. Their arrangements appeared at some levels to be helping the practitioners to become mature. However, their ultimate goal was to hinder the Fa-rectification. If each and every practitioner could do well, the old forces' persecution of the practitioners who closely follow the progress of Fa-rectification wouldn't exist any more.
Given this, I have started to realize that now, after three years of persecution, the overall improvement of all the practitioners is manifest in each practitioner's continuously striving forward based on the Fa. Each practitioner is an element of the one body. Thus, practitioners' continuous xinxing improvement when doing Fa-rectification work, our benevolent thoughts, and our responsible attitudes towards our fellow practitioners should not be ignored. And we should not continue to cover up our own attachments, using the excuse of walking along our own paths. This is because the improvement of the practitioners as a whole is critical to the overall situation. It directly relates to how we can together break through the old forces' arrangements, so it is completely beyond the scope of individual cultivation.
My personal understanding is that another essential reason that the evil dared to try to undermine the Fa is because to different degrees, Falun Dafa practitioners haven't all formed a solid enough understanding of "one body." I had a serious lesson in this regard. A few months ago, the contact person and a few other practitioners in our area were arrested. In the beginning, I was able to send forth righteous thoughts to help them. However, I forgot about them as time passed. I even sort of ignored them because we didn't have communication between us and because they could no longer do Fa-rectification work. I totally forgot that they were also an inseparable part of Fa-rectification. In my mind, when I thought of one body, I had unintentionally excluded these fellow practitioners who had been in detention for a long period of time.
Later, I had a dream that gave me a hint and made me realize this problem. In the dream, I saw an old-forces being from an extremely high-level come to fight against the practitioners in my area. The battle was brutal. The contact person in our area went through seven times of being brought back to life before he eventually defeated the evil. I was shocked after I woke up. The forced labor camps and the other places where the practitioners are detained are dark dens of the evil forces. Dafa practitioners cannot depend on the mercy of others to get these practitioners out. These practitioners cannot bypass or avoid the difficulties. They can only struggle through their time in those places in an open and dignified manner, fighting a bloody battle. It must be the most difficult place to rectify the Fa, and not every practitioner has the ability to do it. Maybe sometime in the distant past these practitioners chose that path for the sake of the Fa. However, some of us forgot about them and even were unable to treat their behavior in those places with righteous thoughts.
Regarding the concept of one body, I don't know how many fellow practitioners have had to learn the same lesson or how many are experiencing the same lesson. However, I do know that I still lack a solid understanding of "one body." I still need to improve myself through solid cultivation in order to reach a true understanding of "one body" from the Fa.
I think that all practitioners, including those who have been regarded as the "Fa-rectification elite," need to look inside.
- Fa-study, clarifying the truth, and sending forth righteous thoughts should be integrated together. They constitute the complete method needed for Fa-rectification. Not one of them can be disregarded. We need to handle them well in a harmonious way.
- Teacher said in the article "Sage," "He is on a Providential mission in this world as well as in heaven above. He has bountiful virtue and also maintains a benevolent heart; he is full of great aspirations while minding minor details. With broad knowledge of the laws and principles, he is able to unravel uncertainties. Offering salvation to the world and its people, he builds up his merit naturally."
- During Fa-rectification work and opposing the persecution, many practitioners assumed responsibility for certain tasks and took charge by themselves. Some practitioners even exhausted themselves and lost their lives. They are truly magnificent. However, all the practitioners should take the Fa as Teacher. There is only one Teacher in Falun Dafa. No practitioners can control the whole situation by themselves. Nobody is beyond the Fa. All the practitioners are one body. So we must clearly understand the meaning of one body so that we can help to improve ourselves as a whole instead of simply depending on our own strengths. I admire the "Fa-rectification elite;" however I don't enjoy seeing such a phenomenon. Actually, I believe that all practitioners should be among the Fa-rectification elite in our efforts amidst the Fa-rectification's progress.
Personally, I think that Teacher said those sentences in sequence from higher requirements to lower ones for the practitioners. Take the requirement of "Offering salvation to the world and its people, he builds up his merit naturally" for example. The mighty virtue of Dafa practitioners will be gained without pursuit while "offering salvation to the world and its people." However, the gongli [the potency of practitioners' cultivation energy] that determines our levels depends on practitioners' solid improvements during xinxing cultivation. Doing Dafa work cannot replace cultivation.
The above is my personal understanding from my current level. Please correct me if I said anything inappropriate.
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