(Clearwisdom.net) During cultivation every practitioner faces choices, such as following Teacher and taking the Fa as teacher or following other people without thinking. It is easy to say but hard to do. Some practitioners may admire some of the other practitioners who can speak well and talk non-stop about their understanding of the Fa. Some practitioners go to extremes whenever they enlighten to something and ask others to follow them. Those practitioners who don't understand the Fa deeply, who are afraid of being left behind, or who seek something exciting during their cultivation may follow them without giving it a thought.
Some practitioners don't really think on their own. They go to local assistants whenever something happens. For example, they say, "Someone is saying bad things about Dafa. Please come and handle it." It seems to them that cultivation is other people's business. Teacher told us:
"Wherever there's a problem, that is where we should go clarify the facts." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Midwest-U.S. Fa Conference")
This may be a part of my own cultivation, since I encountered this problem. Every practitioner is walking on the path Teacher arranged for them. There is no model to look at.
"Cultivation is your own business. No one can do it for you." ("Firm Resolution," from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Every cultivator should take the Fa as teacher. We are all disciples and we are studying the same Fa. Some local assistants may understand certain things better, but that is still the understanding at that person's level. Even if that person's understanding is correct, other practitioners shouldn't simply follow it without forming their own understandings. Otherwise, the issue didn't involve their cultivation, but that of the assistant. In a way, the assistant could have caused the other practitioners to miss an opportunity in their cultivation. This is not good for anyone, and if this situation continues, the old forces could use the excuse of "not following Teacher but following people" to make trouble, or even damage the assistant.
Another problem has also occurred. Some practitioners call the assistant whenever differing opinions surface. But they don't really want to listen to the assistant. Instead, they only want to talk about their own opinions. If the assistant doesn't openly say anything to the contrary, then the practitioner tells others, "The assistant agreed with me." In fact, every practitioner's understanding is on his or her own level. Other opinions may not be wrong either. We don't need to have the exact same thoughts as others during our cultivation. It is good to have a normal communication and sharing. It helps us to see our own shortcomings. But it isn't good to have closed minds and hold stubbornly to our own opinions, or quote Teacher's sentences with our own attachments as proof of our opinions. We should broaden our minds during cultivation. If other practitioners misunderstand us and even say something improper, we could just smile and let it go. That's how we raise our xinxing. After the persecution started, we had limited time to clarify the facts. Gradually, some practitioners mistook doing certain things as cultivation. When contradictions arose, they didn't look inward. We should not forget why we cultivate. Our improvement is the most important issue!
Similarly, clarifying the facts is also a part of our cultivation. We can't just talk to ourselves. We need to convince other people and we need to consider how much the other party can accept. Overseas practitioners should pay attention to Western social customs and consider it part of our cultivation. Practitioners from China often mix facts and personal opinions and often force others to accept their opinions, which is a result of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. In Western society, people usually like to think independently, not simply accept the views of others. When we try to talk about something, we should clearly explain the facts, with as many details as possible. This applies not only when talking about international or domestic situations. We need to use facts in order to move people.
Teacher told us not to talk at too high of a level when clarifying the facts to everyday people. It's better to combine facts with personal experiences. For non-cultivators, it's hard to accept a high-level theory. We might scare them away if we try to tell them what we have enlightened to during our many years of cultivation. We all know that Falun Gong not only heals and keeps people fit, it is a high level Fa for cultivation. The attachment to healing illnesses should be removed during cultivation. But when we talk to beginners, we can use the angle of basic qigong and open their hearts through a theory that everyday people can understand. If we always consider other people first, we will be able to help them and are being considerate of their abilities to accept things. In this way we can achieve better results while clarifying the facts. Those who listen to us can sense our pure hearts and will be moved by our righteous, selfless, energy fields. This will therefore enable us to more effectively save sentient beings by trying to understand others and considering other people's feelings first.
For example, whenever high-ranking CCP officials or representatives visit, we always hold banners with the words "Stop Persecuting Falun Gong!" "Falun Dafa Is Good!" "Bring Jiang, Luo, Zhou, and Liu to Justice!" and more. We all understand from the Fa that we are not seeking or hoping that the CCP will automatically stop the persecution. We all know that we are helping Teacher to disintegrate the evil. The CCP is only an arrangement of the old forces to "test" practitioners.
"The moment the Party and that evil ringleader exclaimed that they wanted to 'defeat Falun Gong,' the gods gave the verdict that the Party must be dissolved and destroyed." ("We Are Not 'Getting Political'")
Then why do we have banners with the words "Stop Persecuting Falun Gong?" We need to let the public know about this persecution of Falun Gong. The reason is that we can't save people if we don't interact with and help society to understand the persecution. Facing different groups of people, including reporters, police officers, government officials, and people on the road, we need to use language that all of them can understand and appeal to all kind people to help to stop this brutal persecution.
On the surface we are calling for help from the public. Through our efforts, more people who have predestined relationships will have a chance to position themselves in the Fa and thus be saved. Meanwhile, this can reduce the pressure on practitioners inside of China.
We don't place our hopes in the evil CCP. While saving sentient beings, we don't target any particular group. Even if someone is a CCP member, that person can be saved as long as he or she listens to the truth, eliminates any misunderstandings about Dafa, and withdraws from the CCP. We see so many people withdrawing from the CCP every day. That is a direct result of our practitioners' efforts.
If we encounter problems, the solution is to study the Fa. If we take the Fa as teacher, we will see our own shortcomings during sharing. At any time, especially when we feel impulsive, we should ask ourselves if we are validating the Fa or ourselves. Will our actions hurt others? Is it good for saving sentient beings? It is important to improve ourselves based on the understanding of the Fa.
Of course practitioners should cooperate with each other and never go to extremes. If a project needs a large number of practitioners or if it is related to certain directions, we should check the Clearwisdom website. There are also Falun Dafa associations overseas that can be bridges between practitioners.
Teacher has given us the Fa:
"Validate the Fa with rationality, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and save people with mercy - this is establishing the mighty virtue of an Enlightened Being." ("Rationality," from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
We are so lucky to be able to help Teacher with the Fa-rectification during this special historical period. As long as we validate the Fa with rationality and wisdom, we will be able to fulfill our promises and save more people.
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