(Minghui.org) Most of the Falun Dafa practitioners in our area are in their 70s and 80s and have been practicing for 20 to 30 years. Over the years, they’ve done a lot in validating the Fa, setting examples for newcomers in many ways. Most importantly, they have always held strong faith in Master and Dafa, which has enabled them to endure despite the Chinese Communist Party’s relentless persecution.
However, as the bar for Fa-rectification cultivation is being raised and the standards are becoming more strict, some senior practitioners have shown certain limitations in their understandings about things in their cultivation, indicating that they are still somewhat in the state of personal cultivation. I would like to share some of my understandings with them at my current level. Please kindly point out anything in my sharing that is not in line with the Fa.
Dealing with Family Conflicts from a Personal Cultivation Perspective
The daughter of a senior practitioner is not happy with her mother, and she gives other practitioners the cold shoulder when she bumps into them. Fellow practitioners have mentioned this to the senior practitioner a number of times, but she always replies, “She is just helping us to improve our xinxing.”
I can’t say the senior practitioner is wrong, because, from her point of view, she doesn’t react to what her daughter does or says since she takes the high road and doesn’t engage in petty disputes. Handling things like that is far from enough, however, as it is based on personal cultivation as was done in the early days and might prevent us us from digging into our attachments at deeper levels.
From time to time, we still hear practitioners talk about losing de (virtue) or receiving de, and so on. The truth is that our current cultivation has gone beyond the level of mere personal improvement. The sacred title of “Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period” signifies our huge responsibility and mission—everything we do should be based on validating Dafa and saving sentient beings.
In view of her daughter’s negative attitude towards her, the senior practitioner should take a deep look within and find out the reasons for her daughter’s attitude. To start, we should try to understand the difficulties her daughter might be experiencing. Shouldn’t we always consider others in all circumstances?
From another perspective, there must be something that the senior practitioner hasn’t done well in dealing with family issues, which might have caused her daughter to be unhappy. We shouldn’t, because of our own mistakes or shortcomings, cause our family members to misunderstand Dafa or even develop resistance towards it.
With a better understanding of the situation and our responsibility, the senior practitioner could speak kindly with her daughter and apologize for what she hasn’t done well. Most importantly, she should rectify her own shortcomings and do better to make up for the loss, showing her family members through her words and deeds the fine character of a Dafa disciple, so that her family members, especially her daughter, and many others can align with Dafa and be saved.
When we base what we do in the Fa rectification with clear direction and goals, we will be able to do things more successfully.
Unable To Be Clear-headed in Dealing with “Health Issues”
Some senior practitioners have experienced certain “health issues” that have, in some cases, persisted for some time. When others reminded them not to stop going out to validate the Fa to save people, they showed some reluctance, as they were worried about their “health issues.” As a result, they stopped doing what they should do to fulfill their responsibility to save lives.
Some senior practitioners regard their lingering “health issues” as a form of reducing karma, saying that they will go out to validate the Fa when they feel better. Because that is their understanding, they tend to passively endure the suffering instead of actively looking within to let go of any remaining attachments and eliminating interferences from the old forces and evil entities. They don’t realize that their attitude could prolong the painful state they are in.
Master told us:
“Let me put it this way: if a Dafa disciple meets with some ordeal or karma shedding, there is surely a reason behind it, and he should try to find the problem on his part. And for sure, after he finds the cause and immediately does well in that regard, things will change for the better, in a positive direction, right away.” (Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference)
We have already gone past the stage of mere personal cultivation in which shedding karma was considered part of the cultivation process. Right now, we are at a critical stage in competing with the old forces to save more sentient beings, and the old forces are already interfering with us in validating Dafa and saving people. Can we still focus on our “health issues” instead of sentient beings whose lives are in danger?
Everything happens for a reason. So, while we truly look inward and rectify ourselves, we should also eliminate the interference and persecution imposed on us by the old forces.
As for the “health issues,” we should not feel helpless or pay too much attention to them or go along with them, because the more we fall into that trap, the more such false appearances will come about. The best and only way is to overcome them with the strong righteous thoughts of a Dafa disciple empowered by the Fa.
If you truly cannot do much at the moment, you can always make an appropriate start by going out to distribute even one truth-clarification pamphlet or put up one sticker. That is already a step in the direction of denying the arrangement by the old forces. The next day, you might be able to do a little more. The fact is that many fellow practitioners recovered from “sickness karma” when they continued to go out to clarify the truth to save more people.
Paying Too Much Attention to Master’s Protection and Ignoring That Everything Happens for a Reason
Some senior practitioners have survived life-threatening encounters without a scratch. For example, one was involved in a crash while riding an electric scooter, The practitioner wasn’t injured in the least, but the scooter was totaled.
On a rainy day, another senior practitioner on an electric scooter accidentally fell and rolled all the way to the bottom of a slope. He climbed back up completely unharmed.
Some other senior practitioners suffered small injuries, but regarding themselves to be Dafa practitioners, they didn’t take any notice of them. As a result of their righteous thoughts, the injuries didn’t cause them any harm.
It’s true that Master has been compassionately protecting every Dafa practitioner all the time, and we will never know just how many karmic debts Master has settled and how many tribulations Master has dispelled for us. We are all deeply grateful to Master for his boundless compassion.
However, there must be a reason for whatever happens in our dimensional field and to ourselves. When something happens to us, we mustn’t simply feel grateful to Master for his compassionate protection. We also need to look within and dig deeper to discern why it happened. Could it be accidental? Could it be a hint or a warning? If so, are there any loopholes in my cultivation or hidden attachments that need to be dug out and let go of ? How should I rectify myself and do better in the future?
We need to ask ourselves more questions as to why such things have happened to us and go deeper. As we keep looking within, we will certainly find answers related to our cultivation.
When sharing with some senior practitioners, they tend to focus on the issue itself and argue using everyday people’s reasoning. When others remind them not to argue about who is right and who is wrong on the surface, but to look within to see if there are any loopholes in their own cultivation, they often say helplessly, “I cannot find anything,” or, “I don’t know how to do that.”
Every senior veteran Dafa practitioner must have read Zhuan Falun at least a few hundred times, plus Master’s Fa lectures given around the world. If we can truly keep Master’s teachings in our hearts, we should be able to find guidance from the Fa in our cultivation at different levels.
I wrote this in response to what I have seen or heard about what is happening to some senior veteran practitioners. I am concerned and wanted to share with them so that we can improve together.
The Fa-rectification is progressing towards its end times, and I sincerely hope that we can all take our cultivation seriously. Let us walk firmly, hand in hand, on our path at this significant and most precious historical moment so that, along with our sentient beings, we can return to our true home with Master.
Category: Cultivation Insights
