(Clearwisdom.net) When I was illegally arrested and taken to the county detention center, a practitioner whom I didn't know was locked in the same room with me for two days. When she heard that I would soon be released, she was very happy for me. She said earnestly, "It's so good that you will get out. Please make sure that you rescue me after you leave." Hearing her hopes and how she trusted me, I felt the weight of a heavy responsibility on my shoulders.
When I left the detention center, practitioners who knew me all came to see me. One practitioner said, "When I heard that you were taken to the detention center, I was really worried. For the whole time you were in jail I did nothing but send righteous thoughts for you. I kept doing it until you were released." I felt their concern and was grateful for their efforts on my behalf. I was really grateful from the bottom of my heart for their cooperation in rescuing me.
Of course, I didn't forget that practitioner who was still in the detention center. I kept sending righteous thoughts for her. But after a short while, I heard that she was sent to a prison for further persecution. I felt great pain, and could not eat or sleep well for several days.
She had put so much hope in me, but I wasn't able to help her. I asked myself, "Why is she still being persecuted when I have been sending righteous thoughts for her? Where is my gap that prevented her from being rescued?"
Looking inwards, I found it: When I sent righteous thoughts for her, I could not achieve tranquility; though I did it for a certain amount of time, it was just to complete an assignment. Looking deeper, I found a selfish attachment to preference. That attachment separated me from her. Because I didn't know her very well, in my mind I didn't "take her things as my things." I recalled what that other practitioner had told me when I was first released. He had been so diligent in sending righteous thoughts for me, but had I been as diligent for that unfamiliar practitioner?
Then, my thoughts moved from myself to being a part of the whole. I realized that "preference" is a great enemy of cooperation among the group, especially when it comes to rescuing practitioners. If we completely get rid of the attachment to preferences, we will form a united front, and the evil will be unable to take advantage of our gaps. It can't persecute us, and, of course, our fellow practitioners won't then be persecuted with illegal jail sentences, forced labor camp terms, or imprisonment.
March 12, 2009
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