(Minghui.org) Editor's note: This article records what the author saw in his or her own realm of cultivation. It is for reference only. Please treat the Fa as Master.
Continued from Part 1
3. Making Money for One's Own Pleasure Is Breaking One's Vow
Master told us,
“Of the people in the world, there are a lot of heads of big corporations, and I can tell you, they had a wish in their previous lives to make money to use for Dafa. They've now become lost, and not only have they not used it for Dafa, they're using it for evil.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference”)
At my current level I have seen that the heads of big corporations are both practitioners and non-practitioners, though very few are practitioners. Most practitioners who have had a great deal of financial success have become lost, while some have partially fulfilled their vows; others have intermittent success with their businesses, while some have incurred large financial debts.
Practitioners at different social levels have different missions in society. Take fellow practitioners who are in business as an example. Regardless of the size of the business, many conduct themselves well before they make much money. However, their hearts change and all kinds of desires appear after their businesses prosper.
Some spend money for their own enjoyment. Others often lead a group of practitioners to feast on expensive gourmet food. The old forces see the practitioners' selfish thoughts; they'll try to magnify the practitioners' attachments.
Over time the practitioner's heart will become more and more selfish: “I have not made real money yet. What I have now has to be reinvested so I can develop my company. I will use it for Dafa in the future when I make even more. Now I need to climb up the social ladder to have more opportunities to make more money.”
I believe that the above scenario is a form of demonic interference. Demons will gradually destroy the practitioner's business, yet the practitioner does not know his selfishness is the root cause of the interference.
As a result, the interference will bog him down in the business world, leaving him with no time to study the Fa. He will move further and further away from the Fa and not fulfill his vow, which will eventually lead to his destruction.
Some of these entrepreneur practitioners make donations to Dafa projects once in a while, but usually less than what working class practitioners contribute. Some don't donate anything at all. Instead, they hold back or pay the practitioners who work for them less. Why have these practitioners changed so much? They are, in fact, being manipulated by demons, and their business endeavors will have nothing but problems.
If the practitioner can enlighten to the truth of the matter, his business will improve right away, because the evil does not dare to cause interference if it doesn't have an attachment to latch on.
The better the practitioner's cultivation state, the more prosperous his business will be. However, once he makes money, he may spend it for his own enjoyment; some even make mistakes on the issue of lust, and their businesses take a sharp turn for the worse. Some practitioners do not realize it, and their debts soar. It is all because their greed and lust get in the way of their ability to make money.
To put it bluntly, making money for oneself in the name of Dafa is stealing and squandering Dafa's resources. At a minimum, it is wasting Dafa's human resources. The old forces deem such a person unfit to be a cultivator, so they will cut off his income. If he does not come to his senses, sending righteous thoughts won't even help.
Of course there are practitioners who conduct themselves so well that they leave the old forces no loophole to take advantage of. They set guidelines on how much of the profits will be used for business development, how much will be paid to employees, and how much will be used for Dafa projects. If there is no Dafa project currently in need, the funds will be set aside for future use.
No matter what, the funds should not be misappropriated, because once allocated, it does not belong to any individual anymore. If the money is reinvested, the old forces will generate tremendous interference, resulting in a loss. The practitioner may also accrue a huge amount of karma.
4. Business Operations Not in Line with Dafa's Requirements and Standards
Master said,
“As for taking out bank loans to develop a media outlet, I don't support it. That's because when it comes to Dafa disciples, if you ask them to do media work or write articles, that front line work, they can do it. But it's really hard for you to manage a business of some sort or solicit ads, since you have grown a little unaccustomed to interacting with ordinary people. So how would you repay the loans once you took them out? The advertisements are hard for you to come by, yet you want to take out a loan when you can't get advertisements for the media? If you were to pay it off, you would have to pay with advertising revenues and newspaper profits. I don't support your taking out loans--don't ever go into debt. You shouldn't go into debt.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York”)
Master showed me the following scene: Several fellow practitioners in mainland China borrowed money at a high interest rate even though other practitioners tried to persuade them otherwise. They eventually got into big trouble, racking up debt into the millions and tens of millions.
High interest loans are illegal in China. Although many people take them out anyway, Dafa teaches us not to. When practitioners take out such loans and end up in debt, the local practitioners should explain to others that such behavior is not in line with Dafa.
We need to emphasize that Dafa does not allow practitioners to get involved in this sort of thing so that that ordinary people won't have a bad view of Dafa.
I have also seen some practitioners make a profit by enticing other practitioners to take out these high interest loans. Some practitioners gave their word that the borrowers wouldn't loose any money.
Some borrow money without intending to pay it back! When all their money is lost, it seems like an accident, but it's a direct result of the old forces seizing upon practitioners' weaknesses and wrongdoings.
Any practitioner that is involved will be held responsible. Some practitioners have huge amounts of karma, so they should not be allowed to manage practitioners' businesses. Yet, they just push their way in to get involved, providing their ideas, embellishing on their past managerial experience, and claiming to be understanding the Fa from the perspective of running a business.
In fact, they are spreading karma when they share their understandings. This is also a test for the practitioners who hear it. Can you judge what someone says according to Dafa? Do you provide an environment for such karma-filled speeches?
There are practitioners who tried to profit in the stock market and suffered huge losses. That is also a lesson on acting against Dafa's requirements.
Those practitioners did not follow Dafa's teachings. They are not validating Dafa, but themselves. Therefore, the old forces will continue the endless interferences, eventually leading to a tribulation that they can't pull themselves out of.
5. Sending Group Righteous Thoughts for One's Own Business to Prosper
Sending righteous thoughts as a group for one's own business to proper usually results in losses. Why? First of all, although everyone's hand gesture might be the same, practitioners' minds are not. Many practitioners have different opinions about sending righteous thoughts for the purpose of making money.
Secondly, it is wrong to send righteous thoughts to make money for Dafa: sending forth righteous thoughts is to eliminate the evil and its interference. Even if everyone's mind is focused on the same goal, it won't work, because the focus is to make money with supernormal means, which is not righteous in itself.
When business is not going well, it is a tribulation in one's cultivation and therefore one should look inside: Is it because I have not fulfilled my vow? Is it because I obtained some benefit that I was not supposed to have? Is it because I deceived others and caused losses for others? Is it because I know I did something wrong but still have not made up for it?
Only when we realize what we did wrong and make up for it can we overcome the tribulation and pass the test. Otherwise, no matter how many people gather to send righteous thoughts, it will be in vain. It is a waste of everyone's time and is not an act steeped in the Fa.
Once we become enlightened to the Fa and have rectified the problems in our cultivation, our sending righteous thoughts will become effective in eliminating the evil interferences.
Yet our minds should not be focused on making money. If your goal in sending righteous thoughts is to eliminate the overall economic persecution of practitioners, the results might be better. A little difference in our thoughts may lead to a big difference in outcome.
(To be continued)
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Category: Improving Oneself
