(Minghui.org) Some Falun Dafa practitioners in our area were arrested in April 2017 while talking to people about the practice and the persecution that continues in China.
One 70-year-old practitioner was illegally detained for ten days, so we went to the police station to try to explain the facts behind the unjust persecution to the officers. However, they didn't want to listen and threatened us.
This made us think about our cultivation state as a group of practitioners.
Master said:
“Such occurrences are nothing more than tests for you, meant to expose your human thoughts and attachments.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference” in Teaching the Fa at the Conference XI)
Looking Inward
Some practitioners started to point fingers at others after this incident, causing conflicts among us. Some claimed that the arrested practitioner was not diligent in their cultivation, that they had attachments of fear, etc... No one really looked inward to see if we had any omissions in our own cultivation.
When we observe things that happen to others, we need to check to see if we have the same attachments. If we do, then we need to eliminate them. If we don't, then we should share our understandings with the other party compassionately, to help them identify their shortcomings. They may not act on our suggestions right away, but it will avoid new conflicts from arising.
Master said:
“When you meet with a conflict, it doesn’t matter whether you are in the right. You should be asking yourself, “What on my part isn’t right in this situation? Might it really be that there is something wrong on my part?” You should all be thinking this way, with your first thought being to scrutinize yourself to try to find the problem.” (“What is a Dafa Disciple” in Teaching the Fa at the Conference XI)
If everyone could manage to look inward unconditionally, would conflicts and divisions still exist among practitioners?
Paying Attention to Cultivation
Some practitioners became too attached to “doing things,” and spent all their time handing out Dafa fliers and helping people quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but neglected their own cultivation.
If we do not cultivate well, where will the people we help save go to? More importantly, if we do not manage to cultivate well and eliminate our attachments, whether we ourselves can be saved is still in question.
Admiration of Other Practitioners
One practitioner had very strong righteous thoughts and didn't have any attachment of fear of being arrested when they were out talking to people about Falun Dafa. Other practitioners felt safe when he was around and developed a dependency on him.
This caused the practitioner to develop a show-off mentality. He believed that his righteous thoughts were strong and that he was a very capable practitioner. However, he neglected to acknowledge the fact that his ability was given to him by Master and Dafa.
Other practitioners felt reluctant to point out his attachments. They thought that as long as he was instrumental in saving people, then he would be fine.
Practitioners Experiencing Tribulations
Some practitioners became less and less rational in their behavior as they were affected by their strong attachments. Other practitioners took one of two paths: They either tried to distance themselves from the practitioner experiencing tribulations, or they treated him with compassion.
Master said:
“... I'm also thinking about the people who, when problems arise, give no thought to their own cultivation state and focus solely on how bad this or that person is and who he or she might be. But in those instances, have you considered this: why does someone like that exist among Dafa disciples, and why would such a thing come about? Isn't that person's presence meant to target certain people, or certain human attachments?” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference” in Teaching the Fa at the Conference IX)
We should really try to identify the fundamental cause of these tribulations, get rid of them, and improve as a whole.
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Category: Improving Oneself
