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The Arrangements Behind the Conflicts Among Fellow Practitioners

Aug. 31, 2010 |   By a practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) I'd like to discuss something that I have experienced. Many practitioners suggested that I write about it because some seemingly "unresolvable" conflicts exist among many fellow practitioners. These conflicts are affecting the progress of our projects that validate the Fa. I hope this story can provide us with a bit of inspiration.

Two years ago, when I was on vacation out of town, a practitioner who lives close to my workplace called me and asked if I would be interested in meeting a practitioner who is single and about my age. I agreed, so I headed back to my workplace.

When I got there, I stayed at my aunt's home (also a practitioner) for two days. She is a distant aunt of mine and cultivates with her celestial eye open. I briefly told her that I was coming back to meet someone, but I didn't reveal further details. After sending forth righteous thoughts that night at midnight, she came to my room and told me, "Master allowed me to see a few things when I was sending righteous thoughts. I'm not sure whether I should tell you, but I think you should know." [Editor's note: Practitioners are reminded not to be attached to what they or others see with their celestial eye, and to take the Fa as teacher.]

Then she said to me, "I saw the couple who is going to introduce you to someone. It is mainly the wife's intention. I couldn't see clearly the woman you are going to meet, but she looks a little overweight." I answered, "Yes, these two are fellow practitioners and the woman I am going to meet is the husband's sister and she is supposedly a little overweight. I have been told these things already."

She continued, "The woman you are going to meet is a practitioner, however, she doesn't seem to cultivate very well. The wife wanted to introduce her sister-in-law to you and this was a result of her human attachments, and not from a practitioner's state of mind. This appears to be the reason on the surface, but the underlying reason is that you did bad things to the couple a long time ago in another lifetime in history. Back then they both hated you very much, especially the wife. At some point, the three of you knew that you would become a Dafa practitioner in a future lifetime, so you all discussed about how you were going to pay them back. It was decided that they would set up a tribulation for you, using his sister to pull you down. This way their grievances would be dissolved and it would also aide your cultivation by testing you. That's why they want to introduce his sister to you now."

My aunt continued, "Master also allowed me see the next scene. If you really go by that arrangement, you will fall into a deep pit with her and you won't be able to get out. In the end, Master will have to pick you up and wash you clean. Master tried to persuade the wife not to do this, but she insisted on doing it and said, 'This is what he agreed to originally!'"

After hearing this, I thought that the reason Master arranged for me to hear these words through her was so I wouldn't follow the old forces' arrangements--which not only would play a negative role in my cultivation, but also lead the practitioner couple to make a mistake. Thus, I turned the meeting down.

I realize from this that the old forces have made careful arrangements regarding Dafa disciples' cultivation paths, many of which will even destroy Dafa disciples. In addition, they have still stubbornly adhered to the arrangements. What my aunt said about the wife's words, "This is what he agreed to originally!" is a true reflection of the old forces' mindset. (Of course it is not the human side of the wife who said those words. She just had the "good intention" to contribute to a marriage without being aware of the history behind it.)

I then thought about the relationships among practitioners. Some are previous friends and relatives, some can cooperate closely, while others are former enemies. Some continuously have conflicts when it comes to Fa-validation projects. Don't factors from the old forces' arrangements play a role?

Master said,

"Even each Dafa disciple's every move, every action, every word, and even the questions you ponder, none of it is that simple. In the future you'll see that everything was very carefully arranged. But it's not me who arranged this, it's the old forces who did." ("Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A." 2001)

According to my understanding, the old forces made extremely intricate arrangements for every Dafa disciple in order to fulfill their goals. Since the beginning of Fa-rectification, there have been absolutely no accidental factors with anything in this world, including everything that a Dafa disciple encounters and every single thought he or she possesses. If we carry righteous thoughts and do things in accordance with Master's requirements, we are breaking through the old forces' arrangements and taking a true cultivation path during this Fa-rectification period. Otherwise, we end up taking the path arranged by the old forces.

I remember that from July 1999 to the first half of 2000, I often heard practitioners say, "It seems I knew in advance that you'd say what you just said, with every word being exactly the same." Or, "This scene is just too familiar, as if I've seen it in advance." I was once handcuffed to a metal door in a labor camp for several consecutive days. I suddenly had a feeling that this situation was very familiar, as if I had experienced the same thing a long time prior. The old forces have made sophisticated arrangements, and even people's words are included. It was not until I read Master's new lectures during the second half of 2000, when I became aware and took actions to negate the persecution, that this phenomenon gradually disappeared. I think that's when I truly started to break through the old forces' arrangements.

Currently, during the last stage of Fa-rectification, most Dafa disciples are cultivating on a true path of Fa-rectification and no longer acknowledge the old forces' arrangements. Nevertheless, when we have too many human thoughts and don't handle things with righteous thoughts, we will fall into the old forces' arrangements again. There is nothing accidental on a cultivator's path, and the elements of the old forces' arrangements still obstinately play a role. Therefore, if a cultivator can't follow the Fa's requirements, he will be taking the path arranged by the old forces. Of course, this can be temporary, and once the practitioner's understanding elevates, he can break out of it.

Thinking about the conflicts among Dafa disciples, which were developed during work on projects for validating the Fa, perhaps many of these conflicts are barriers that were placed by the old forces to take advantage of the harbored gratitude or resentment from history. On the surface, their purpose was to help Dafa disciples eliminate their attachments, but in essence they severely interfere with our Fa-validation projects and delay the salvation of sentient beings. Dafa disciples don't acknowledge the old forces' arrangements, but when we can't let go of human attachments and constantly hold onto grudges with fellow practitioners, the old forces are given excuses to impose such interference and undermine the Fa.

In the recent lecture "Be More Diligent," Master told Dafa disciples to lay down their disputes, work together well, and unconditionally cooperate with the project's principal coordinator. This has touched me greatly. Under this cooperation, there is no attached condition, no debating about who is right, no discussion of whether the principal coordinator cultivates well or not, or if his/her decision is the best. My understanding is that Master is telling us to let go of self. As long as the decisions or ideas of the principal coordinator or other project members are for the well-being of the project and play a positive role, we should try our best to support and quietly harmonize. If there are no gaps among practitioners and everyone bears a pure heart, the project will definitely succeed, even if the initial plan is not perfect. This is because human methods can only play the surface role, but the key to doing the projects well is having pure divine thoughts, and only then can the mighty power of the Fa manifest.

I hope we can eliminate conflicts, break away from the old forces' entanglement, and better cooperate with each other as soon as possible, so that our Fa-validation projects will play greater roles.