(Minghui.org) The old forces' arrangement for today's society began decades ago, when they thrust the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) into the ruling position in China. Through its many political campaigns, the CCP persecuted the Chinese people relentlessly and engendered a climate of fear. And it is this same environment which allowed fear to grow in the hearts of practitioners after the persecution began.
After the CCP began to suppress Falun Gong in 1999, the old forces wanted practitioners to regard the suppression as persecution. Facing the powerful CCP and yet another one of its political movements, practitioners became afraid.
When we as practitioners could not detect this attachment to fear and dissolve it through cultivation, the old forces would use this attachment as an excuse to suppress practitioners more severely, until the attachment of fear forced the practitioners to renounce their faith. Put simply, the old forces' method is to use suppression to bring out our fear, which would then coerce us into giving up Dafa.
Master told us:
“Actually, all of the Fa that I've taught is from the one volume of Fa. Take a close look at Zhuan Falun, and [you will see that] all the Fa that I have taught after the book's publication is an explanation of Zhuan Falun. If you don't believe it, you should go and look. Cultivating according to Zhuan Falun will lead you to success in cultivation.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital” in Teaching the Fa at the Conference VII)
When I first read the above, I did not fully understand what it meant. Zhuan Falun does not mention the old forces, nor the persecution. How would it guide our cultivation through persecution?
Now, I finally realized that appearances stem from the mind – the persecution is an illusion stemming from attachments in our minds. We should not see the persecution as some insurmountable obstacle; instead, we should rise to the challenge. We should let go of our fear and get rid of the shadow that it casts in our minds.
As the lead players in the Fa-rectification period, we should surpass the arrangements by the old forces and free ourselves from their interference. Only then can we assist Master in Fa-rectification and save more people with our full strength.
Master told us:
“Nothing has changed. Master is still the same Master he was at the beginning, and the Fa of the universe will never change. It’s just that during this persecution, during this so-called “test,” some people have gotten rid of their attachments while others have not, and some have actually increased their attachments. This is how they have acted during this so-called “test.” It is you who are changing; it is Dafa disciples who are changing. And if you are not changing in the positive direction, you are changing in the negative direction, for sure.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference”)
How can we free ourselves from the old forces' interference? We must change the way we think so as to not follow the designs of the old forces. We shouldn't consider this suppression as persecution.
If we think of what is happening as persecution, we acknowledge ourselves as the victims – what the old forces arranged for us to be. By doing so, we are accepting the old forces' arrangements. There should not be the concept of persecution in our minds, despite the fact that what is happening in this secular world may take that form.
We should not regard ourselves as victims, but instead as Fa-rectification Dafa disciples who follow Master's arrangements. The old forces are not qualified to intervene in the affairs of Dafa disciples.
Master also said:
“That is because the ones who are truly being persecuted are not Dafa disciples, but the world’s people.” “What Dafa disciples are doing here is validating the Fa, and they are Disciples of Fa who are saving sentient beings, and have tremendous missions.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference” in Teaching the Fa at the Conference XI)
So how should we view the persecution? Even though it does manifest as persecution in this realm, we should regard it as a test for our cultivation because we are cultivators, after all. We should regard it like we do other tests, as an opportunity to improve ourselves in cultivation, eliminate the evil and save people. All our tests are ultimately good things.
For example, if a practitioner is arrested, he should first think of it as a positive encounter. An opportunity for self improvement, eliminating evil and saving people is here.
The next thing he should do is to look within unconditionally and get rid of any attachments. I would like to remind practitioners to look within thoroughly, both for attachments that may have appeared before the arrest and the attachments that appeared after the arrest.
The third thing he should do is to take righteous action. No matter where we are, we should validate the Fa. We should not cooperate with any of the evil's requests. At the same time, we should do the three things well – study the Fa, send forth righteous thoughts and save people around us – everyone, from the police to the inmates.
Of course, when we clarify the truth to people, we still should talk about the persecution as a persecution, so that they can understand.
Everything that happens to us is a good thing, so we should treasure every opportunity and use it to validate the Fa and save people. We should play our leading roles well during this Fa-rectification period and truly showcase the splendor of Dafa disciples.