(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, rounds of arrests and interference have occurred one after another in our region. The main reason is due to too many divisions that were formed among practitioners. This has caused practitioners to become isolated and easy targets for the evil's persecution.
Every Dafa practitioner has a field of righteous thoughts. If there are no divisions among us, then our field of righteous thoughts will be connected as one, forming one huge energy field. If the evil wanted to persecute any one of us, it would have to break through our collective field of righteous thoughts. Therefore, it would be very difficult for the evil to touch any one of us. But if we form too many opinions and prejudices among practitioners, then it is like we are being separated from each other. If the evil grabs onto a shortcoming of any practitioner, it is very easy for the evil to succeed in persecuting the practitioner. This is the main reason for the frequent incidents of persecution in our region over the past two years.
So how do we solve this problem? The answer lies in every practitioner: we should be tolerant and compassionate towards fellow practitioners' shortcomings; fully understand the different opinions and actions of other practitioners; not form stereotypes; not exclude any fellow practitioner; and not casually talk about fellow practitioners' shortcomings or any hearsay when sharing experiences among practitioners to avoid the results of wider divisions and fissures.
With every word we say, and in everything we do, we should consider the impact on the one body. Practitioners are saving sentient beings and every one of us is very happy when we have saved one sentient being. If we have an indestructible one body focus and maintain our cultivation realms, we will be able to have a greater impact in saving sentient beings. On the other hand, although individually we are saving sentient beings, if our words and actions undermine the one body, this will affect the salvation of more sentient beings.
We all know that Dafa practitioners are still in the cultivation process. Every practitioner has areas where he cultivates well and areas where he lacks in cultivation. In the period of personal cultivation, this is only an issue of ascending in realm. However, during the Fa-rectification period, this concerns the one body. The more tolerance we have, the more harmonious our one body becomes.
Tolerance is not condoning the shortcomings of practitioners or being irresponsible towards practitioners' cultivation, but rather having the right frame of mind towards fellow practitioners. When we see the shortcomings of a practitioner, if we place the practitioner in our hearts, we are one body. We will be concerned about them from the bottom of our heart and truly help them to ascend. Our hearts will thus be compassionate and the effect will be good. Master said,
“I often say that if all a person wants is the well-being of others and if this is without the slightest personal motivation or personal understanding, what he says will move the listener to tears.” (“Clearheadedness” in Essentials for Further Advancement)
But if we form stereotypes when we see the shortcomings of practitioners, then there are divisions in our hearts. No matter how much we claim to be helping practitioners, we lack the power of compassion. Blame, and even condemning others will inevitably appear in our tone when interacting with each other. This division will prevent our words from moving practitioners. I remember once there was a conflict between two practitioners and I was trying to reconcile the situation. In the beginning, I did not have any prejudice towards either practitioner. I thought I would not let conflicts among practitioners affect our one body and I was truly helping the two practitioners to look within and ascend, so they were willing to listen to me. But later after I heard a lot of negative information about one practitioner, even though I didn't experience any of it, I formed an opinion about that practitioner. During later exchanges with that practitioner, I clearly felt that I did not have the power of compassion and was not able to move the practitioner. If we have an improper attitude and the practitioner cannot appropriately deal with it, there could be greater divisions which affect the one body.
We have to allow fellow practitioners to make mistakes and to bring out the attachments they have not eliminated. Practitioners are continuously improving, so why can't we put down this burden? Should this attitude affect other practitioners, it will cause wider gaps.
Here's my view on how we should cultivate facing differing opinions and criticism from fellow practitioners. We don't feel too good if practitioners see our shortcomings and have harsh words for us or we don't agree with what they say and feel that they are exaggerating. However, this is exactly how we can find our attachments and make improvements. When I face this situation and find myself not calm, am uncomfortable, or feel wronged, I look inward and search for the attachment that is causing the trouble. I get rid of each attachment that I find. I make no excuses nor do I try to protect myself; instead I let go of self. Whenever I am emotional and do not consider whether the other practitioner is right, it is because my attachment is hit upon.
Only when my heart is calm can I measure another practitioner's words rationally with the Fa. If their criticism to my shortcoming is justified, I will admit and correct it. If not, I won't harbor it in my mind, but will still feel grateful towards the practitioner. Because whether they are right or wrong, they are being responsible to my cultivation and the entire body when they address this issue to me. If during the process I find some shortcomings in practitioners, I will quietly remember it with an accommodating mindset and find an opportunity in the future to help the practitioner. Sometimes we can't expect practitioners to change after one exchange. If our standpoint is on the one body and we let go of self, then our hearts are truly for the good of every practitioner. I remember once a practitioner shared experiences with me and pointed out my shortcomings. Despite it being inaccurate, I did not defend myself. I was happy to see the practitioner being able to look at issues from that perspective because the practitioner had improved in their understanding on that issue.
Being accommodating is especially important for the improvement of practitioners who do coordination work. We should be accommodating no matter how big the conflicts or complaints a practitioner has, or how different practitioners' views are. From the bottom of our hearts we should not have divisions among practitioners. Being accommodating in everything is a process of cultivating ourselves and letting go of self. Fundamentally we are all disciples of Master, and the Fa is the most important. How can we let our own emotions affect the one body? Facing any practitioner, no matter how many complaints they might have, I always am aware of the bond we have because of the term “fellow practitioner”.
Another point is to look at a fellow practitioner's strengths. From the perspective of cooperation, only by playing to each practitioner's strengths can each of us harmonize and strengthen one another. For example, some practitioners have a clear understanding of the Fa principles and can come up with good ideas in various Fa-validation projects, but they may not be involved in their implementation due to their family's situation, fear, or some other reasons. On the other hand, some practitioners are good at working hard and have little fear, but they may not have a deeper understanding of the Fa principles or have good ideas. If we can play to each other's strengths, have clear understandings of the Fa principles, come up with a feasible plan, and work hard, won't they add up to a one body effort? Our coordinators especially need to have this kind of thinking.
From a personal cultivation standpoint, looking at a fellow practitioner's strengths enables one to find his or her gaps and improve faster.
“Divine Being: These problems have already become very serious. It would be good if they could manage to search within themselves for the things that they have been able to find in others.” (“A Dialogue with Time” in Essentials for Further Advancement)
I realized from this that we should measure our own words, deeds, and thoughts on the basis of the Fa rather than measuring those of fellow practitioners. Looking inward is a requirements of the Fa, whereas measuring others means looking outward. If one often looks outward and forms notions of fellow practitioners, isn't it the same as being an everyday person?
When we gossip about a practitioner, be it a true situation of the practitioner or a complete misunderstanding or misrepresentation, it causes our notions to spread and forms gaps within the one body. It is quite common that something about a practitioner spreads far within a very short period of time, during which some talk with emotion, complaint, and blame resulting in the spread of hearsay. These rumors spread like wildfire among practitioners, forming gaps and cracks that separate the one body.
Then what is a right way to harmonize with the one body of practitioners? We can directly communicate with the practitioner who has the problem, open our hearts and speak truly for the goodness of that practitioner. Or we may find a couple of others who are familiar with this practitioner, and together discuss a solution with compassion. Dafa disciples are fulfilling our mission of saving sentient beings while negating the persecution, and often this depends on overall coordination. Thus, we cannot let our words and deeds undermine the one body.
To reduce the losses from being persecuted, and to amplify the overall power of saving sentient beings, every practitioner needs to cultivate more compassion and tolerance, and reach the realm of considering the issue from the perspective of the one body.
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