(Minghui.org) A mass arrest of our local Falun Dafa practitioners took place in my area this past July. Lan, a practitioner I know well, was not arrested, but still harassed at home by police.
When we discussed this afterwards, Lan said causally, “This [the harassment] was a test for me.”
“But the police are unworthy of testing practitioners,” I replied.
I later thought more about why Lan would be harassed in the first place. From Dafa teachings, we knew that the persecution should not have happened. It could be that she had acknowledged subconsciously that harassment is a type of test for practitioners. That thought was not from her true self, but imposed on her by the old forces. When she acquiesced to or connived at the existence of harassment being a test, it became a loophole for the old forces to take advantage of and use as an excuse to arrange the police to harass her.
The police harassment is an arrangement by the old forces, not Master. As Dafa disciples, opposing the old forces’ arrangements and negating the evil is our cultivation path arranged by Master. In fact, treating police harassment as a test and failing to negate it with a strong main consciousness may well be a major reason that some practitioners are repeatedly harassed.
I was a timid person to begin with, and after the persecution began, the scenes of being harassed or arrested often flashed into my mind, which made me feel bitter and depressed. But I knew that the old forces were unworthy of testing me, and that the police officials were unworthy of coming to my home. This thought penetrated to the deepest part of my existence and was as solid as a diamond. Whenever my human mind began to think about things like “the police are coming for you” or “they will handcuff you and take you away,” I repeatedly recited the words from Master:
“Humans aren’t worthy of testing this Fa, and neither are Gods. Whoever touches it commits a sin.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America,” Guiding the Voyage)
I kept reciting these words until there was no more illusion of the persecution in my mind. My understanding is that we cannot indulge ourselves in the subconscious and impure thoughts of being persecuted. We must instead negate such thoughts completely, which is critical to resisting the persecution.
Practitioner Zheng once shared her story with me. Upon being taken to a detention center, she thought, “Dafa practitioners do not belong in this filthy place, and my family will get me out in a few days.” She was indeed released after several days. When police arrested her at home after she filed a criminal complaint against former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin for launching the suppression of Falun Dafa, she thought, “I knew they would come for me, and they’re finally here...” While in police custody, she was not worried about herself at all. Rather, she felt sorry for the officers because they didn’t know they had accumulated karma for arresting innocent practitioners. She said to herself that she wouldn’t allow the police to commit further crimes by keeping her in detention. She was then released in a few hours.
Zheng’s experience was a good example of how our thoughts can influence the outcome. When she negated the thought of being held in the detention center, she was released. When she acquiesced to the police’s arrest of her at home, she was indeed taken into custody. When she thought about not allowing the police to do further bad deeds and accumulate karma, she was freed in a few hours.
There are also other similar stories. Before practitioner Jun went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa, he had a thought, “I have been working so hard lately. Maybe I could take a break at a detention center.” He was then arrested and taken to a detention center. After practitioner Yun unfolded a banner on Tiananmen Square and called out aloud, “Falun Dafa is good,” no one came to arrest her. She wondered, “Everybody said police arrested practitioners here. Why has nobody arrested me?” Police officers then surrounded her...
Where did these thoughts of seeking persecution come from? In fact, all these impure thoughts – even the slightest thought of arrests, questioning our own capabilities, or fearing being persecuted – could be part of the old forces’ arrangements. If we keep thinking that way, we may fall into a trap because we are essentially acknowledging the old forces’ arrangements. If our main consciousness is not clear and strong, we could follow the old forces’ arrangements and put ourselves in danger.
“It’s only because your mind isn’t righteous that you attract those evil things. If your mind is righteous, nobody will dare to come. And even if they really could come, gods wouldn’t allow it.” (“Teachings at the Conference in the Western U.S.”)
We can take actions to correct mistakes that we become aware of. We may fail to realize that the above-mentioned impure thoughts are arrangements by the old forces. We must therefore evaluate such subconscious thoughts based on the Dafa principles with a strong main consciousness. This way we will know if such thoughts are external interference or from our main consciousness.
To reiterate, we must negate any improper thoughts that exist subconsciously. By reciting the Dafa teachings with determination and maintaining a strong main consciousness, we can eliminate the hidden interference.
As Falun Dafa practitioners, we are cultivating our main consciousness. Therefore, our main consciousness must be clear so that that we can discern what is external interference and what is righteous thought based on Dafa. Additionally, our main consciousness must be strong so that we can take the initiative to oppose all thoughts that are inconsistent with Dafa.
It would be good to memorize the section of “Your Mind Must be Righteous” in Lecture Six of Zhuan Falun to use as a guidance for our thoughts, remarks, and behaviors.
Above are my personal understandings. Please point out anywhere inappropriate.
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Category: Perspectives
