(Clearwisdom.net)
A Falun Dafa practitioner should bring beauty to the local people. What our local group has gone through in the past year in Taiwan is closely related to the overall cultivation of Taiwan Dafa practitioners. After sharing a few times, we have come t3o understand a lot, purified ourselves a lot, and now when faced with the chaotic phenomenon of Taiwan society, our hearts are no longer moved!
1. Seeing Through and Not Recognizing the Interference from the Communist Evil Specter
According to common sense, people who are on the same boat should help each other. (Translator's note: The author is referring to the nature of the relationship between the Taiwan government and the Chinese government). Why is there this insensible struggle? When seeing that the boat will hit the rocks and sink, they even fight more fiercely? We probably can't view these issues/problems only as superficial political interest; rather it is the Communist evil specters at play.
How did the Communist evil specters manage to take control? Getting down to the bottom of this issue, I feel that it has a lot to do with the fact that a large group of practitioners had their hearts moved. Our practitioners have energy. Whether we are righteous or not in even one thought will have either a good or bad effect, depending. However, we can't allow the old forces to take advantage of Dafa practitioners' attachments in order to persecute innocent people. We should seize the time to rectify ourselves in order to save more sentient beings.
2. Digging into the Roots, Layer by Layer
Ordinary people all say that "noble people don't join the party," let alone our practitioners. How can we be polluted by dirty politics? Underlying this fact, there must be some attachments hidden there waiting for us to just dig down and pull out the roots. During the last few days, through sharing with others, I found out some of my old notions which have formed over a long period of time. Now I'd like to sum them up in a few points to share with practitioners so they can see if they have them as well:
Sticking Party Labels onto Ordinary People's Media Unconsciously
This means treating certain TV stations, or certain newspapers, as party TV stations or newspapers, resulting in our unconsciously favoring them or disliking them. Didn't that thought unconsciously make the fight among ordinary people's political parties even worse? In addition, when we choose who is good and who is evil, it is our sentimentality at work. Teacher said in Zhuan Falun:
"Whether a person likes to do something or not, is happy or unhappy, loves or hates something, and everything in the entire human society comes from this sentimentality. If this sentimentality is not relinquished, you will be unable to practice cultivation. If you are free from this sentimentality, nobody can affect you. An everyday person's mind will be unable to sway you. What takes over in its place is benevolence, which is something more noble." (Lecture 4, Zhuan Falun)
Teacher said,
"I don't hold the past faults of any sentient being against him, and that I look only at a sentient being's attitude toward Dafa during the Fa-rectification." ("Turning the Wheel Towards the Human World")
Then what should our Dafa disciples do? This is also guidance to our cultivation and truth clarification! Then why do our Taiwan practitioners attach so much importance on what party ordinary people belong to? When we judge a person, we look at their party label first to decide whether we like him or not? What difference does it make - dividing sentient beings into different professions and distinguishing them by how close their interests are with us to decide our attitude towards them? This is not from the Fa, this is the thinking of human beings. It's not a demonstration of the xinxing that a practitioner should have, and it doesn't comply with the requirements of Teacher rectifying the Fa and saving sentient beings.
Sticking Party Labels onto Students or Ordinary People Unconsciously
If we come across a situation where certain practitioners are responsible for clarifying the truth to officials from a certain party, we may automatically treat them as officials, rather than as sentient beings to be saved. If most of the practitioners think like that, then how can the evil specters let go of this omission in our "one body?" Also, whenever we hear ordinary people's accents, we used our ordinary people's notions, and automatically drew conclusions about what political party the person is likely from. The reason why this kind of thing happened was a reflection of the Party's notions in my mind. I am determined to get rid of this notion and the heart of indifference, and not be moved by family factors, social and historical backgrounds, or ordinary people's social positions, which, on the surface level are arranged by the old forces. They should all be saved!
My Heart Is Not Pure Enough for Clarifying the Truth
Dafa practitioners clarify the truth only in an upright manner. What we should pay attention to is having the heart purely for saving others, and how to be compassionate to others during the process, rather than expecting them to make final choices, such as demonstrating their attitudes right away, publicly supporting our events, or declaring in public that they are separating themselves from the CCP. Any expectation on our part is an attachment to the results of clarifying the truth, instead of focusing on the process.
I was confused before, considering that so and so in such and such party was good to Dafa. I wanted to give them credit, whereas so and so in another party said that Dafa was not good. I didn't have a good impression of them. Wasn't I wrong again? One of my mistakes is that the concept of party is too big in our hearts. We should clarify the truth to everyone. How come we can't let go of their professions and political backgrounds? Didn't it expose my attachment to political parties? How come I never realized it before? Also, because of my attachment to politics, every time I come across this problem, my mind is not on the Fa, or on cultivation. All of my attention goes to the person's background.
Another mistake is that I treat certain individuals as party members. A political party is a collective form of many individuals. Whether so and so, in such party can be saved, or has been saved, doesn't mean other people in the same party will have the same destiny. Therefore, if a certain person in a certain party has shown a good attitude, it doesn't mean that we don't need to clarify the truth to the rest of the people in the same party. Or, if a certain person in a certain Party didn't do well, it doesn't mean that other people in the same Party didn't do well, or would also choose to have a close relationship with the CCP. We should still clarify the truth to them. This should not be impacted. For example, the CCP is doomed for elimination. The former CCP head Jiang Zemin, the man responsible for the persecution, will likewise face retribution. However as to those CCP officials still in power, and many other CCP members, aren't our Dafa practitioners from home and abroad clarifying the truth to them everyday, and talking to them about quitting the three organizations belonging to the CCP? How come once it comes to the Democratic Progressive Party or KMP, Taiwan practitioners became confused? Did our standpoint and principles change?
Master said:
"Who is really the gallant lead in this gigantic play?" ("New Year's Greetings to Dafa Disciples in 2003")
On the issue of saving sentient beings, Dafa practitioners play the major role. As long as we have enough righteous thoughts, sentient beings stand the chance to be saved by our compassion! It doesn't matter which party a person belongs to in ordinary society. What we want to save is sentient beings, one after another, not this or that party. During the process of our clarifying the truth, there are some people not clear about the truth. Shouldn't we leave them with a compassionate thought, hoping that they will have another opportunity to know about the truth! As to our practitioners, we should not have any enemies, moreover, we shouldn't get involved in the fighting among parties, otherwise we lower ourselves to the level of ordinary people's politics.
However, if Taiwan practitioners all have attachments to certain persons in certain parties, it is actually harmful to those persons, not saving that person. Because once a certain number of practitioners become attached to a certain thing, and after a while, still can't get rid of this attachment and let it go, the old forces will surely take advantage of that and test us, just as they did before to the former Prime Minister of China. Many Dafa practitioners were attached to the former Prime Minister, so the old forces had him become bad, then how could Dafa practitioners be still attached to him! Is this what our Taiwan Dafa practitioners are expecting?
Our Standpoint for Saving Sentient Beings Should be Right
After having the feeling that Dafa practitioners' hearts dictate whether the overall environment is stable or not, some practitioners suddenly came up with this idea: "I will get rid of my attachment so that Taiwan will be stable." After thinking back and forth a few times, I realized that this thought was not right either. Later, I came to realize that the purpose of getting rid of the attachment incurred by the Taiwan political parties issue is not to effect changes in the human society of Taiwan, but to better cooperate with the Fa-rectification process. If, due to our own attachments, we pushed sentient beings to the opposite side, even to the point of creating a Communist party in Taiwan, then many people would be accompanying the CCP evil specters toward elimination. At this point when the CCP is about to disintegrate, it would like to have more people be buried along with it!
Teacher said,
"Dafa can make people's hearts become good, thus stabilizing society. But by no means is it taught for the purpose of maintaining the things of human society." ("Dafa Will Forever be Pure Like Diamond," Essentials for Further Advancement)
and
"Be sure never to generate wicked thoughts simply because of your attachments to ordinary human society! This is extremely dangerous!" ("Dafa Can Never Be Plagiarized," Essentials for Further Advancement)
Therefore, when I realized my heart of using Dafa I was very scared. I was glad that I had dug out this attachment, and wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. We followed our Teacher to come down to this human world to assist Teacher in rectifying the Fa; we shouldn't care about ordinary people's affairs. If we don't pay enough attention, we will be attached to this human world, and forget our way home! It goes without saying that the spreading of Dafa can improve moral standards in society, as well as promote social stability. However, the reason our great Teacher spreads the Fa is not for human society, nor is it for our practitioners to be able to achieve consummation. We don't need to think about using Dafa for the sake of human society.
3. Improving Xinxing is the Key
As a matter of fact, the political party problem in Taiwan is rooted in practitioners not looking within enough. There is also an issue of whether the overall cultivation environment is pure or not. Only by collectively improving xinxing on the Fa, can we keep up with the Fa rectification process.
Study more Fa, Making Up My Mind to Eliminate Attachments
After this problem arose, when I started studying the Fa with a calm mind, I realized that Teacher's Fa had covered everything. It was because I didn't pay attention to the Fa that my mind always slipped off, and as a result I didn't learn what I should learn, and was wandering around at the same level for a long time without making breakthroughs.
Teacher said in lecture seven of Zhuan Falun:
"As a practitioner, why don't you take it as an attachment to be abandoned, and see if you can quit. I advise everyone that if you truly want to practice cultivation you should quit smoking from now on, and it is guaranteed that you can quit. In the field of this class, no one thinks of smoking a cigarette. If you want to quit, it is guaranteed that you can do it." (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
Whether it be the Political party issue on the surface level, or the issue of practitioners getting rid of attachments at a deeper level, we should make up our minds to eliminate all attachments. When we truly treat everything in our life as important things in cultivation to enlighten to, get rid of our attachments, and look inside, the process of improving xinxing will be very speedy, instead of going slowly.
Being Busy Does not Necessarily Mean Being Diligent
At this time when the overall Fa rectification is coming to a mature stage, we should spend more time in sharing. Teacher reminded us of the importance of this aspect in two recent lectures. We should jointly safeguard the purity of our cultivation environment, we should not forget about the nature of our cultivation due to being too tied up with work; we should not forget about sharing with other practitioners due to being too preoccupied; we should not lose opportunities to look within due to being too preoccupied. Being preoccupied is an easy excuse. It's very easy to confuse others. If you don't pay enough attention, you will treat it the same as being "diligent."
One time I heard two practitioners sharing. Practitioner A said, "So and so practitioner is very diligent." Practitioner B said, "Why do you say that?" Practitioner A replied: "Because she has done lots of Dafa work." Practitioner B said, "What do you mean by 'being diligent?' Do you mean 'having good xinxing'?" Teacher said:
"What is xinxing? It includes de (a type of matter), tolerance, enlightenment quality, sacrifice, giving up ordinary people's different desires and attachments, being able to suffer hardships, and so on. It encompasses various things." (Lecture 1, Zhuan Falun)
Being truly "diligent" is holding ourselves to the Fa's standards in every respect, and only if we behave like this is it true cultivation.
While overhearing that, I was very touched, but I also felt ashamed. For the past few years, I have accomplished many Fa-rectification projects, however, in terms of improving my xinxing, I have always been in a state of slacking off and being indifferent. I appreciate Teacher using other practitioner's words to help me enlighten. I have started working hard on this and paying a lot of attention to it. When I am really paying attention and treating it with seriousness, the substance which was lingering within me is removed by Teacher. When thinking about how "Cultivation is up to one's own efforts, while transformation of Fa is done by the Master," (Lecture 1, Zhuan Falun) my tears started coming out.
Assistants Should Acknowledge Their Entrusted Tasks in Fa-Rectification
In "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York", there is Question and Answer as follows:
"Disciple: When some students obtained the Fa they didn't truly understand things from the Fa and were not strict with themselves. As a result, their detrimental behavior affected the newer students around them and caused those students to lose their desire to cultivate. Can those people be saved? And can the students who affected them make up for the harm they did?
Teacher: Whenever a student makes it so that others cannot be saved, it's a very serious matter. As a cultivator, you can only save sentient beings, you can't ruin them. In the human world you are capable of cultivating into a god, and in the human world you are capable of ruining others. These are things of equal magnitude, so you cannot overlook the importance of this."
I came to realize that assistants, persons in charge, or veteran practitioners, should start with themselves, focus on their own problems and cultivate themselves well. They should also open their hearts to share more often with practitioners, care about them a little bit more, be more tolerant, and pay attention to guiding others to look at issues on the Fa, thereby promoting more practitioners to learn how to look at problems from a practitioner's point of view.
As a matter of fact, we are all practitioners. We all have our shortcomings, no matter whether we are new or veteran practitioners. We should cultivate the Fa in every moment. Only when we let go of our formed opinions amongst practitioners and help each other, can we form a much stronger One Body, and can we accomplish our pre-historic pledge of assisting Teacher in saving sentient beings during the Fa-rectification period.
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