(Clearwisdom.net) I am an unmarried Dafa practitioner. On the issue of marriage, I have walked a crooked road. Through my recent Fa study and cultivation, I now have a clearer and rational understanding about the issue of marriage.
Actually, about the issue of marriage, Teacher has told us in Zhuan Falun and other Fa lectures to conform with the state of ordinary human society as much as possible: "young practitioners should still have families." (Zhuan Falun) We cannot go to any extremes in our cultivation so as to avoid unnecessary obstacles. Moreover, we are to leave a divine path for future human beings. Dafa is now open to ordinary human society and points directly at their hearts.
I would like to discuss how to deal with this serious issue during the Fa-rectification period, especially for single practitioners, including those practitioners who participate in the work at truth-clarification materials production centers. To put it frankly, we need to be clear on what is conforming to ordinary society versus thinking only about things of ordinary society. When confronted with difficult choices, we need to think about whether we are overcoming obstacles with righteous thoughts or if we are being mired in qing, whether we are following the path arranged for us by Teacher or by the old forces.
Recently I read an article on the Internet about a local coordinator (male) and a female fellow practitioner in one area having been arrested together. It was said that this coordinator's wife was persecuted to death several years ago and they had one child. The local government wanted to illegally arrest this coordinator, so he was forced to leave home to avoid further persecution. Later, he and a female practitioner (whose husband had been persecuted to death) worked together to validate Dafa. As time went by, they developed feelings for each other and ended up together. Many practitioners were shocked when they learned about their arrest. This coordinator had been regarded as a good cultivator with a clear understanding of the Fa and strong righteous thoughts. Moreover, they are especially influential in their area, as well as the counties and cities where he often went to for experience sharing. This male practitioner had once been imprisoned in a notorious forced labor camp. He broke out of the evil den with righteous thoughts and righteous belief in Teacher and the Fa, and was released unconditionally. Though he overcame much severe persecution, he relaxed his own righteous thoughts with respect to marriage and the relationship between a man and a woman, thus leaving a xinxing loophole for the evil to exploit. Now these two practitioners are still being detained and subjected to severe persecution. Though there are other factors involved in their persecution, this lesson was particular severe and painful.
Recently I got in touch with a practitioner couple. They got married later in their lives. At that time, the female practitioner's husband had divorced her because she was imprisoned in a labor camp. The male practitioner was single. Both of them were diligent before and after July 20, 1999 (when the persecution began) and were influential in their local area, and they felt mutual admiration towards each other. After they met each other, they felt as though they were soul mates and wanted to form a family together. There was a lot of concern in the practitioner community, but they eventually did get married. Driven by human feelings and fettered by various attachments, the male practitioner relaxed his diligent will. Additionally, conflicts and gaps appeared between them. The male practitioner stopped behaving like a cultivator for a long time. This was an opening for the evil, and he was arrested by the local police station and sent to a forced labor camp. The male practitioner has now been released, but still is not in a good cultivation state. He has strong human attachments and weak righteous thoughts, and has not been able to catch up with the process of Fa-rectification.
In the countryside of our area, there is one practitioner couple who are older and got married after July 20, 1999, and they have a child. Some practitioners observed that they put almost all of their energy into their own small family, and have not taken up any responsibility for saving sentient beings.
Two fellow practitioners (one male and one female) in a truth-clarification materials production center of another area have been working together for a long time, and they eventually got married. Due to attachments and human thoughts, they didn't travel their path with dignity and in the right way.I think that these are issues that all of us, married or single, should pay close attention to. We really must be vigilant about our attachments and not let up.
Cultivation is extremely serious. The Teacher told us,
"Don't forget, you are all Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples! You came to validate the Fa! Cultivation is hard, and the evil is more evil while you are validating Dafa. Those who can make it through are bound to be Kings of sentient beings." ("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")
"...all deviant paths are fraught with danger and pitfalls."("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference")
The coordinator mentioned above didn't give in to the evil when he was imprisoned, but faltered when it came to the issue of properly handling the issue of marriage and the relationship between men and women. We should study the Fa well, look within ourselves, let go of all our human thoughts, correct ourselves constantly, and assimilate to Dafa. We need to fundamentally deny all the arrangements of the old forces.
The Fa-rectification is progressing rapidly. Though the evil elements are minimal at this point, we still cannot take it lightly. Moreover, the requirements for us are getting higher and stricter. We must be strict with our every thought.
Here I want to remind unmarried fellow practitioners who are working in truth-clarification materials production centers: don't make mistakes concerning marriage and the relationship between men and women. In mainland China, some materials production centers were destroyed and fellow practitioners there were arrested and tortured, precisely because some practitioners made mistakes in this respect. This is a big loophole and test for us. We should always be responsible for ourselves, for the entire body of practitioners, for sentient beings and for Dafa. We should cherish this last chance of Fa-rectification, and walk the righteous path of Fa-rectification cultivation. The Fa-rectification is in the final stages. We cannot have the attachment to time, but we cannot develop any human thoughts at the last moment and lower the standards we have for ourselves. Please permit me to encourage each fellow practitioner by respectfully quoting our Teacher's Fa.
Severing (in Yuan verse)
Cultivation is not hard,
It's attachments that are hard to part with.
When will you sever those many attachments?
All know the sea of hardship has no shore.
If your will is not firm,
The hurdles are like mountains.
How will you transcend this mortal life?
This article discusses the issue only from my point of view, so it may be inappropriate in certain respects. If there is anything improper, please kindly point it out.
Note: Different Dafa practitioner have different xinxing levels, attachments, environments, forms of interferences from the old forces, cultivation paths arranged by Teacher, tribulations, and choices, so the situation for each practitioner is unique and complex. In every part of China there are unmarried Dafa practitioners, and they each have their own situations and challenges to handle. When faced with interference, some passed the tests with righteous thoughts, and other were overwhelmed by their attachments. Some didn't think too much. They just followed the natural way and got married, thus assimilating into Dafa. Some have no desire or pursuit and already went beyond this realm because it does not matter whether they are married or not.
No matter what, a Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioner, a Dafa practitioner of the righteous Fa and righteous enlightenment, must take all these matters seriously and with righteous thoughts. Let us walk every step well on the path of cultivation, and cherish the rare chance that Fa-rectification has given us and Teacher's benevolent salvation. Let us fulfill our great vow and wish of assisting Teacher in this world.
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