(Minghui.org) Today I read the poem “Returning to Heaven” in Hong Yin (V). When I read the sentence, “seeing not the path by which we came”, I remembered the old saying, “smash the cooking pots and sink the boat”, meaning to cut off all means of retreat.
This saying dates back to the battle of Julu in the late Qin Dynasty. Around 207 B.C., General Xiang Yu, to revenge his uncle Xiang Liang, led 20,000 soldiers to attack the Qin empire. After crossing the Zhangshui river, he ordered the soldiers to sink the boats they used to cross the river, smash the pots for cooking, set fire to the houses along the shore, and only take three days of dry food. Xiang Yu used this drastic measure to motivate and remind his soldiers that they would fight to death and not turn back; that they had no choice but to win. Retreat and withdrawal were not options. After nine fierce confrontations, Xiang Yu’s army defeated the Qin army.
People of later generations use the saying, “smash the cooking pots and sink the boat” to express their determination to move forward and not give up.
All sentient beings and Falun Dafa practitioners descended from the old cosmos to Earth to be humans. The Fa is rectifying the cosmos. The new cosmos is being recreated, and the old cosmos will no longer exist. There is no retreat for any of us, and there is only one way to survive – to be saved by Dafa. Practitioners sincerely hope that all people will understand the truth and eliminate the web of lies, erase the influence of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) and support justice, so they can choose a bright future. As practitioners it's our to responsibility to fulfill the vows we made, complete our mission, assist in the Fa-rectification to save sentient beings, and return home with Master.
Our opportunities to save people are fleeting. The smallest hesitation or lack of diligence may mean irreparable losses and regret for us. I hope we can all strive forward diligently.
Here I respectfully add Master’s poem as a reminder and encouragement for us to do well.
So vast is HeavenSo broad is EarthSeeing not the path by which we cameAt the end times the Creator rectifies the Fa and descends from HeavenOnly when the Fa is right in the cosmos, can Heaven and Earth be everlastingFor this, all Gods descended to Earth to become human, suffering hardshipsTo gain the Fa, remold their divine bodies, and return to HeavenReincarnating over and over, experiencing sea changesA long time has passed, you’ve forgotten your wish, occupied by mundane thingsDafa is spreading widelyAnd the truth is around youFalun rotates, then the cosmos is rectifiedThe Heaven-bound boat of salvation is about to set sail