(Minghui.org) The Minghui editorial “Be Responsible” pointed out some common problems in the cultivation environment outside of China. It also reminded coordinators of the Falun Dafa Association in different regions to be responsible and to guide local practitioners well. I have some reflections after reading this article and would like to share them with fellow practitioners.
Compared to many veteran practitioners inside China who took up Dafa shortly after Master began to teach the practice to the public, most practitioners outside of China weren’t introduced to Dafa until 1997 or 1998. For them, after only one or two years of cultivation, the persecution started and our cultivation went hand in hand with Fa-rectification. Around the same time, Dafa Associations in various regions began to organize and lead practitioners to take part in various activities and projects to counteract the persecution.
As Fa-rectification progressed and our efforts to save people expanded, the number of projects also kept increasing. Dafa practitioners became ever busier, including key members of Dafa Associations. During local Fa studies, as soon as we finished reading the Fa, we began to talk about specific action items for projects, almost turning these gatherings into work meetings. It’s rare for us to have those spontaneous sharings about our understanding of the Fa or xinxing cultivation like we had before the persecution.
Under such circumstances, many practitioners took doing things as cultivation. Many who were active in taking on project work were considered to be cultivating well. As soon as such practitioners encountered physical or other tribulations, others would become confused. In worse cases, their faith in Master and the Fa was even tested.
If a practitioner cultivates well, he or she achieves good results in the things they do, and this is a manifestation of Dafa’s power. But the reverse may not be true; when some practitioners are capable of doing things, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve cultivated well, as their personal and professional abilities may have helped them to achieve the desired outcome. When we evaluate things with human thoughts instead of measuring things against the Fa, we may bring interference upon ourselves and other practitioners, resulting in certain difficulties in our cultivation.
In some regions, some Dafa Association coordinators took up Dafa not long before July 20, 1999. They devoted themselves to doing projects before they had the chance to deepen their understanding of the Fa. Because they were busy doing things and did not take Fa study seriously, some of them did things that were obviously not in line with the Fa. For example, one coordinator set up a practice site in the home of people who had severe xinxing issues, such as having extramarital affairs, which caused local non-practitioners to develop a negative impression of Dafa. Another coordinator, for various reasons, pushed Dafa Association work to practitioners who had moved out of China years after the persecution began, who then brought heavy Communist Party culture into the cultivation environment outside of China. I believe all of these things happened because the Dafa Association coordinators didn’t value cultivation themselves and lacked a solid understanding of the Fa.
A coordinator is also a regular cultivator. But if a coordinator doesn’t cultivate oneself well, the consequences will be more serious. It would also cause losses to the local cultivation environment and our validating the Fa and saving people. Every cultivator has to be responsible for their own cultivation. It’s even more so for a coordinator, who doesn’t only need to cultivate oneself well, but also has the responsibility to lead local practitioners well in order to fulfill their vows.
Above is my personal understanding. I welcome fellow practitioners to point out anything improper.
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Category: Improving Oneself
