(Minghui.org) There are 7 billion people in the world, from civilians to heads of state. Consider the speech and actions of each person. 

Who can compare with Master Li? Whose theory can be compared with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance? At least 100 million people in the world believe in the words and actions of Master.

While sometimes, it may seem impossible to make even ten people believe in one of us! So, should we believe in Master or go by our own notions and ideas?

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has persecuted Dafa for more than 20 years. During this period, Master’s teachings have been many and vast.

Some practitioners feel Master’s later teachings are very different from those in previous periods. Some think that Master repeatedly said the persecution was almost over ten years ago, but more than ten years have passed and there is still no end.

Some think that more than ten years ago Master said even Dafa disciples who abetted in the persecution would be received in heaven. Later teachings, however, made them think that these practitioners would meet with a tragic end, and those who did poorly in cultivation would be very miserable.

Cultivation is so difficult! How can one believe firmly? At the most difficult juncture, will you follow Master completely or your own notions and ideas?

Master’s teachings have been testing our faith. If you don’t believe their fundamental truths, everything is in vain. Haven’t we been taught that the “last” period of the universe is destruction? Formation, stasis, degeneration, and destruction are the four periods of the universe. The last period is destruction; would everyday people know this time period is incredibly long?

How long does this “last” period play out in the human world? The end of the 300 years of the Qing Dynasty is called the “last period.” Natural disasters, foreign invasions, and calamities within the empire continued for nearly 100 years from the time when people began to think the Qing Dynasty had reached the last period. Several generations later, the Qing Dynasty had yet to perish.

The longest lasting dynasty in Chinese history, the Zhou Dynasty, lasted more than 800 years. Do people know how long it took for the Zhou Dynasty to disintegrate? Its disintegration took more than 500 years! Imagine how much turmoil occurred during that period!

This period of time was also known as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The Warring States Period began in 476 BC and lasted for more than 200 years.

This “last” stage was so long! And throughout the ages, there have been various lengths and different forms of the “last.” We have only been through more than 20 years; some people think this is a long time.

Christianity was suppressed for more than 300 years before the persecution ended. Did Christians think it had been a long time?

Newly-born Christians ended up being persecuted their entire lives. How many generations were like that!

Despite the influence of the resurrection of Jesus, ancient Rome continued to persecute Christianity. After the ancient Roman emperor died of retribution for the persecution, subsequent emperors continued to persecute Christians.

During the great plague, corpses were piled up everywhere, but ancient Rome still persecuted Christianity. Three giant plagues befell Rome, and half of its population died. Entire cities even became extinct.

Several generations of the persecutors of Christians died, and their descendants lived out their lives as well. The persecution did not cease until more than 300 years later. Can Dafa disciples persevere if the persecution ends up being that long? Only those who really want to cultivate and truly believe in the Fa can continue cultivating. 

How many people who were not genuine practitioners have been sifted out in more than 20 years of persecution?

Whether you believe in Master or your notions, this discernment is actually the dividing line between true cultivation and false cultivation.

There are so many phenomena in the universe. Let’s take elimination for instance. Does anyone know how many levels there are for elimination? There are countless levels of elimination, starting from the bottom, destruction of both form and spirit. Does anyone know how many levels of destruction of both form and spirit there are?

As a Dafa practitioner strives forward in cultivation, what level will he reach? He may exist at many levels because he is a multi-dimensional being. The situation of each practitioner's main spirit will be different due to their fundamental nature.

Does anyone know about these complicated situations? If you don’t know, you would think, “Why are Master’s teachings contradictory?” This is actually a misunderstanding because one cannot see or understand higher truths. Dafa corresponds to the entire universe. No matter how complicated the universe is, there are as many levels of complexity in Dafa.

When gazing up at the sky, there is a little bit of starlight everywhere. When you look closer at the starlight, you will see that it is actually a huge galaxy. Looking even more closely, there are countless dark galaxies and intergalactic substances.

Isn’t it the same situation for a single person? When you zoom in, it no longer looks like a human figure. What does it look like when you zoom in even further? How many different expressions will there be? What about reaching consummation (or enlightenment)? There are countless particles in the human body, as well as conscious entities.

How complicated are the consummation of these particles and consciousness? The manifestations are very different. When you don’t know these situations, you would ask why these descriptions are all different, and why there appear to be contradictions. But this is the result of your understanding being narrow; you only recognize things from your own perspective.

Master’s teachings also go from shallow to deeper over time. The shallow may exist in this dimension, and the deeper may exist in another, very high dimension. It may concern different parts of the same space, just like how the geography, scenery, and customs in this world are different.

When we see these different Fa teachings, we might think, “Why are they different and even seem contradictory?” We can’t really compare these different manifestations.

When one lecture is about the Fa somewhere in the surface dimension, and another lecture touches upon the microscopic aspect of a given phenomena, wouldn’t it seem even more confounding? The reason many practitioners think there are big differences between Master’s earlier and later teachings is due to their own lack of understanding.

Why do you not believe in Dafa fundamentally? Cultivation is a process of removing falsehood and retaining truth. Whether one believes in Master or their own discernment, reflects the wisdom and ultimate faith of that practitioner.