(Minghui.org) Continued from Part 4.
Editor’s note: The environment in mainland China is filled with Communist Party culture. Immersed in such an environment, one would gradually be influenced by Party culture without realizing it. This 8-part series explores some commonly seen problems among practitioners that may be attributable to the Party culture. We hope it serves as a reminder as we work to break free from the grip of the Communist Party.
A cunning person knows how to protect himself, appears agreeable in front of everyone, gains benefit from all sides, and is sophisticated in dealing with relationships. However, this “skill” is detrimental to one's cultivation.
Cunning is a part of the patterns of thought in the Communist Party culture. It is prevalent but hard to detect. “The Communist Party is a deviation in human history. Its guiding thought is against the nature of humanity. It was not naturally derived from any traditional culture. Party culture is acquired as a result of long-term indoctrination by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Such indoctrination is forceful, thorough, highly intensive, continuous, and at the same time, very cunning, hypocritical, well-hidden, and in a continuously changing format. The indoctrination of this culture relies on violence, baits with personal interest, and utilizes any possible tool and circumstance and by any means.” (Dissolving the Culture of the CCP)
My Personal Experience with Cunning
I visited fellow practitioners in another town in 2013. As soon as I got off the train, I saw in another dimension dark minions surrounding me, with Jiang Zemin, former Chinese dictator, leading a large number of rotten ghosts above us. The coordinator in this place had been on the wanted list. Many fellow practitioners' cell phones had been monitored. Their situation was critical. Master gave me a large wok and instructed me to fry the evil and then the cunning. Master also gave me a pair of scissors, which I used to cut the evil's surveillance lines.
Most of the practitioners there hadn't truly or solidly cultivated themselves. Most of them were drifting along in Dafa and looked for problems in others rather than themselves. Some of them were so far short of meeting Dafa's requirements that they didn't have gong pillars at all. Cunning blocked them from assimilating to Dafa. Attachments to human notions interfered with their work of offering salvation to sentient beings.
I sincerely hope that fellow practitioners will improve quickly. The sharing article, “A Practitioner's Insights: The Requirements of Cultivation Are Strict” can serve as a good reference.
One fellow practitioner coordinated the project of installing satellite dishes to receive NTDTV programs. Whenever difficulties arose, he protected himself by circumventing problems and hiding his true thoughts. He would even talk for half an hour before touching the main topic. He appeared to be dignified but did things against Truthfulness and sometimes burst into anger. One time, he hit his college-aged daughter in the eye because of something minor. Her eye ended up bleeding. Before he knew it, his Immortal Infant melted, and his gong pillar broke. His level was lowered significantly. He and his whole family were recently arrested. His daughter wrote a guarantee statement promising not to practice Dafa.
Another practitioner had prestige among practitioners. Many admired him. He bragged about how he had faced persecution in prison without fear. However, he told the true story one time, saying he dared not to clarify the truth to anyone or spend any money with Falun Gong words written on it. All he did was to make Shen Yun DVDs at home. He did not discuss how to save more sentient beings, though he chatted about trifles, politics, levels of cultivation, and the end of Fa-rectification. Several practitioners who admired him ended being arrested and were forced to write guarantee statements promising not to practice.
The above are a few example of cunning. I hope my fellow practitioners will read A Dialogue with 'Cunning'” to gain a deeper understanding.
Facing Cunning, Dissolving Party Culture
Master has told us,
“You need to really, truly put some effort into cultivation, and not lapse into just doing it superficially; you shouldn’t have so many human attachments. As Master sees it, your each and every thought, and your every single action, reveals to me what your heart is like. What I least like are those who are all talk and no action. Nor do I like those who are cunning. What I like are those who are honest and simple, sincere and down-to-earth. I also hope that you can all, after so many years of cultivating, positively grow in wisdom and not grow so much in terms of knowing how to deal with worldly matters or how to conduct yourself as a human being leading a worldly life.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference XI)
Many fellow practitioners don't dare to say anything that could make another fellow practitioner uncomfortable, even though pointing out loopholes would benefit the fellow practitioner and save more sentient beings. They guard their face, reputation and relationships with others as a priority, but fail to follow Truthfulness or to be responsible for fellow practitioners. As a result, some fellow practitioners were taken advantage of by the old forces and lost their lives. Where was the compassion of cultivators if we allowed this to happen?
Many heroes in Chinese history exemplified courage, including Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang, and Qu Yuan. They put themselves in danger for others' benefit and stayed steadfast in their faith and integrity under trying circumstances. They are truly the most precious backbone of the Chinese nation!
How can we, Dafa disciples on an important mission, become hypocritical, timid, and selfish, and drift along with the degenerated morality? As ancient Chinese said, “True gold fears no fire,” and “the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from harsh cold.” We should not only shoulder our responsibilities but also meet the requirements of the Fa in all aspects and withstand all tempering.
Cunning makes one cold, apathetic, and clever in worldly affairs, and it makes one evade conflicts and attachments. It estranges fellow practitioners from one another. This well-hidden element of Party culture wastes our time by having one circumvent the main topic out of self-protection. It also deprives one of independent thinking in favor of conforming to the majority. After steering by the wind for a long time, one would develop a distorted, dark, two-sided personality, distrust others, and become submissive.
Cunning is a skill of the Communist Party used in power struggles. It is against Dafa's principles of Truthfulness and Compassion. It not only stands in the way of offering salvation to sentient beings but also causes trouble for cultivators.
Divine culture has the power of correcting weaknesses in human nature. Recognizing one's own shortcomings requires true self-reflection upon one's morality. It's the only way to eliminate Party culture from our minds.
It's easy for someone to slip into the thought patterns of Party culture after living under totalitarianism and having been indoctrinated for years. Cultivators should take in traditional culture and eliminate the poisonous Party culture by reading Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and Dissolving the Culture of the CCP. A true cultivator should be pure, simple, psychologically healthy, aspiring, and optimistic. We have to free our own thinking before we can cultivate well and fulfill our responsibility of saving sentient beings.
Even non-practitioners who are simple, honest, unattached to personal gain, and without hatred are as Master described, “in the Dao without cultivating the Dao” (Zhuan Falun (Volume II))
To minimize tribulations during the Fa-rectification, we have to walk the path of cultivation righteously and meet the Fa's requirements in all aspects. It would keep us safe from danger. That's why Master always patiently warns us not to leave any loopholes for the evil to take advantage of. How Master looks forward to disciples' maturity!
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Category: Improving Oneself
