(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 1)
During the conversations, the deity said, “You [practitioners] still have various human notions and distracting thoughts.” There were also other remarks indicating the Taoists in the mountains looking down upon Dafa disciples. Curious about what kind of attachments Dafa disciples have that made these Taoists unable to get over, I had a thought hoping he could provide a list of those attachments.
Then I saw a piece of paper listing those comments. Instead of from one Taoist, it actually came from several Taoists. In fact, we Dafa practitioners are aware of these human notions already. They include jealousy, competitiveness, lust, showing-off, attachment to doing things, attachment to self, covering up shortcomings, bad temper, attachment to comfort, resentment, and others.
After that I saw five Taoists who had cultivated for thousands of years. The longest one had cultivated for over 6,700 years, dressed in a purple Tao robe with hair and beard all gray; the shortest had also cultivated for more than 1,000 years.
We discussed several issues they had noticed.
About Sentimentality
One of them said, “Some of your people [practitioners] do not know how to cultivate and they just fool around. They know Dafa is good and do not want to leave. But they are unwilling to let go of human notions. When picking up Dafa books to read, they know they themselves are cultivators. But upon putting down the books, they become their old selves with little change.” Another one added, “You practitioners have too much sentimentality towards your children, spouses, parents, grandchildren, significant others, etc. With such strong sentimentality, it is hard to transcend [the human world].”
I replied, “Regarding the cultivators' sentimentality you mentioned, there are indeed areas that we haven’t cultivated well, and we need to do better.”
Dafa’s Master has taught us this,
“It permeates the bones and cells and particles of every living thing. It can permeate any living thing or object, as long as that thing is within the Three Realms. So in other words, you are immersed in emotion. Anyone who is unaffected by emotion is really exceptional. This is only possible for those who engage in spiritual practice. But even if a person is engaging in spiritual practice and achieves this, it will only be part of him that does—the part of him that elevated beyond the Three Realms when he came to understand certain principles. So you are immersed in emotion and influenced by it as long as you haven’t cultivated to those heights and are still here at the human plane. Dafa disciples can keep emotion in check by using reason; it’s not possible to be completely free of its influence, however. You can merely use reason to deal with it. Only the part of you that has completed cultivation will break free of it.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.”)
Emotion and sentimentality permeate the three realms. Therefore, all living creatures in the three realms have that, and the only difference is their densities. “For Dafa practitioners who cultivate within the human realm, we do have emotions and sentimentality. And some have more serious problems than others. We do need to pay attention to this issue – removing sentimentality in cultivation and gradually achieve compassion,” I explained.
Heavenly Secrets
During the dialogue, we discussed the issue of heavenly secrets. Dafa contains heavenly secrets, and so does the sharing among Dafa disciples. The deities pay attention to Dafa disciples and they are also aware of the heavenly secrets. Still, they have some puzzlement.
On the one hand, they are amazed at how fast Dafa disciples cultivate. On the other hand, they have paid close attention along the way to things related to Dafa. They focus on Dafa disciples whose celestial eyes are open, they see the law guardians surrounding Dafa disciples, they watch Dafa disciples’ thought process, and Dafa disciples’ experience-sharing Fa conference. They also pay attention to everything in this world related to Dafa disciples, including practitioners working in media, Shen Yun performances, as well as Dafa Master’s lectures in recent years.
Now I have realized that many beings are paying attention to Dafa disciples, from heaven to earth, countless of them.
Master once mentioned in a Fa conference,
“Right now, in the space where this Fa conference is being held, in the air here, at a very dense, extremely microcosmic level, there are eyes on every single particle—eyes peering in from great distances, looking at the conference hall, listening to me speak, looking at your thoughts and listening to your words. Something so significant is happening here in human society, something that impacts the lives of the cosmos. Just think about how many gods are watching you intently! With every single thought or idea, before it is generated in your mind—and even as it is being formed—they already know what you want to express. Sometimes I really am wondering: how could some practitioners be so disappointing? Why are they still like this after obtaining the Fa?” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day”)
Now I have seen that these Taoists already learned some heavenly secrets. Through Fa conferences, they have heard more secrets. By watching Dafa disciples, they are also verifying these heavenly secrets.
Master said,
“By July 20th of 1999 I had already pushed all of the pre-July 20 students to their positions--I pushed you to your highest positions.” (Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
Master also said,
“And to what position was that? To wherever you came from, whatever height it may be; you would be pushed to your position in a short time.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference”)
Before the persecution started on July 20, 1999, some Dafa practitioners saw a large eye appearing on their face with countless small eyes inside it. Some practitioners saw Faluns (law wheel) coming out of their mouths when they read the Fa. Some practitioners even saw their golden bodies and saw the assistant souls, and so on.
These Taoists also know communications between Dafa practitioners, or sometimes even in advance, since they could see the formation process of the thoughts. When practitioners gather together to talk with each other, the topics they discuss are specific and their language is modest. The Taoists found this interesting.
Master mentioned in his Fa teaching,
“You know, those thousand-year cultivators, after they learned a little bit of truth they'd hold it in inside. They'd hold it in for hundreds of years, or even a thousand years, and not tell it to others (audience laughs)--"If someone wants to know about this little bit of stuff I have, they'll have to trade something for it!" But you folks, "Yap yap yap..." You go and tell it all! (Teacher laughs) You don't hold things inside. (Audience laughs)”(Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference)
Even if the Taoists heard some heavenly secrets, they may still be skeptical or puzzled. For example, when we filed criminal complaints in 2015 against former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin for persecuting Falun Gong, Dafa disciples sent strong righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil interference. When some practitioners and I were sending forth righteous thoughts, we saw that we had signed a covenant with Master to “protect the peace of our area.” Our region was indeed relatively stable after that. I did not talk with others about it since the credit should go to Dafa and Master, not us. In fact, if things did not go well, it would be the responsibility of us Dafa disciples.
The Taoists doubted whether our righteous thoughts could really achieve the effect of subduing the evil?
I replied that Master had said, “Dafa Disciples’ Righteous Thoughts are Powerful” (Essentials for Further Advancement II). Divine power of Buddha Fa is cleansing the world of filth and scum. Dafa disciples with celestial eyes open could only see part of the scene. What Taoists have seen is also part of the scene. No one is able to see the true scene. Dafa Master is rectifying everything from the microcosmic levels. And he is accommodating everything in the cosmos to “beat them at their own game.” What Dafa Master wants is the best, the perfection.
Regarding doubts and puzzlement from Taoists, Dafa Master has mentioned this before,
“Also, if the Fa’s principles were difficult [to comprehend], then only divine beings would be able to grasp them and only they could be saved. How, then, would the lives at the lower plane have had enough wisdom to obtain it? The Fa that is taught this time is free of mystery. That is why it’s said to have “plain truths,” as the Fa’s principles are simple and clear. “Plain truths and plain words”—meaning, the words said are as plain as could be, most simple and straightforward. So the beings at the lower plane have understood it, but it has actually baffled many beings at higher planes. They wonder how this Fa could be so simple and straightforward, and, as a result, they don’t believe it. They actually wonder how this could possibly be. Indeed, it is that self-evident, simple, and straightforward. Only someone who truly studies it and truly cultivates by it will be able to see its higher truths. That is why, as I’ve said, while there is no mystery, it has actually confounded the beings at higher planes. That’s the idea.” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day”)
Opportunities to Save Sentient Beings
Master taught the Fa of the cosmos, and his disciples are cultivating following it. That is, we Dafa disciples have the mission of assisting Master with Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings.
Master also said,
“Right, the salvation of people in religions was planned for last, to be done in the next stage. Some people have said, “Why are Dafa disciples so special, even more so than those in religions? Why didn’t you save the others first and have them become Dafa disciples, and instead you are saving these people right now and having them become Dafa disciples?” When human beings look at people they see only this one lifetime. But in fact, out of the people here today, many of them were, in history, the first group of disciples in the major, upright religions of the East and West—the people who heard in person Shakyamuni and Jesus teaching the Law. Dafa disciples are true believers with steadfast and upright faith. The well-known saints, monks, Daoists, and Christians in history are right here among Dafa disciples. ” (“Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. International Fa Conference”, Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. VII)
Many well-known figures in history are among Dafa disciples. I know some practitioners were early disciples of Sakyamuni and Jesus, including Mahakasyapa, Ananda, Uppalavanna, Peter, and Moses. I also know some practitioners were Prince Shotoku of Japan, Chiyono, and others. Of course the Taoists know that Sakyamuni, Lao Zi, Jesus, Confucius, and others are among Dafa disciples.
During communication with these Taoists, I had a hunch that as the Fa is going to rectify the human world, their destination and their choice are also something that needs to be resolved.
(To be continued)
Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Perspectives
