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My Understanding of Forbearance

Dec. 26, 2009 |   By a Dafa practitioner in Taiwan

(Clearwisdom.net) The principles of Falun Dafa are Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and these are the characteristics of the cosmos. At my level, "Truthfulness" and "Compassion" are relatively easy to understand. However, if "Forbearance" is not correctly understood, it could easily be interpreted as tolerating something without the true meaning of forbearance.

Master said,

"Forbearance is the key to improving one's xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator." ("What is Forbearance (Ren)?" in Essentials for Further Advancement)

To endure without anger and grievance is difficult to do. We know that there is sacrifice in Forbearance, in letting go of all attachments. When we let go of all attachments, we will naturally look at everything with a calm mind and raise our hearts to higher realms. But this is not enough. Master said in "Beyond the Limits of Forbearance" in Essentials for Further Advancement II:

"Forbearance (ren) is not cowardice, much less is it resigning oneself to adversity. Dafa disciples' Forbearance is noble; is the manifestation of beings' magnificent, indestructible, and diamond-like solidity; is tolerance for the purpose of upholding the truth; and is mercy toward and salvation of beings who still have human nature and righteous thoughts."

My understanding is that Dafa practitioners will have a very high attainment status in the future. Everyone will cover many small universes. There are positive and negative beings with all kinds of shapes in the universes, and they are all within the Fa. Therefore, Dafa disciples should have an enormous capacity for forbearance. Only then would beings in our worlds have diversity. If there is only one kind of being, the universe would not be complete. For example, if there is only good but no evil, then there is no way to display what good is. The Fa has its standard at every level. When something is so evil that it does not meet the standard of this level, then there is the Fa to eradicate it.

Dafa disciples will be scattered among every level in the future. Each level has many beings, with every being having its unique characteristics and different manifestations of such. Dafa disciples at every level have different relationships with others. They have different opinions when doing things, so they should have a broad mind and not be attached to their own ideas. When working on projects, we should proactively assist others when a direction is agreed upon. Only this is the greatness of Dafa disciples. When practitioners are like this, there would be no attachments to selfishness, jealousy, competitiveness, and showing off.