(Clearwisdom.net) After reading the article "Let Us End the Persecution Now --Thoughts Before Another July 20" (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2007/7/18/87805.html), I was quite enlightened as I saw my existing problems and wrongful thoughts.
As Fa rectification progresses, many changes have significantly hindered the evil elements and malicious people in the world. However, the persecution is still going on, and a certain number of practitioners continue to suffer from severe persecution. The city we live in, Shanghai, is where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) releases its propaganda in its bubble economy, blocks information to and from the outside, and secretly persecutes Falun Dafa practitioners. After eight years of persecution, practitioners have become more clearheaded and rational. Their righteous thoughts and acts are truly moving. However, because of various attachments and inadequate understanding of the Fa, some practitioners do not realize that the persecution shouldn't have existed to begin with. Practitioners don't realize that through the Fa, Teacher has given us the power of Dafa and divine, supernormal abilities to stop the unjust persecution.
1. Truly Walk Out of Humanness
After eight years of persecution, some practitioners still think that this is a persecution towards humans by humans. The evil beings control abominable people in the human world to persecute practitioners. However, some practitioners think that the CCP is using its usual tricks to persecute benevolent people, and they lay their hope in the new CCP leaders, intervention from the U.S., and support from the UN.
Teacher said in "Righteous Thoughts",
"Dafa disciples are now sentient beings' only, sole hope for salvation."
In "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.," Teacher said,
"With a Dafa like this, how could so many magnificent future Gods, magnificent Dafa disciples, who've been forged through Dafa cultivation put their hope in some ordinary person?"
"Since you're Dafa disciples, you shouldn't put your hopes in so-called "natural" changes, external changes, changes in the ordinary society, or in some favors that someone might do for us. You are Gods, and you are the future rulers of different cosmoses, so who would you count on? All the beings are counting on you!"
Bad people are bad because they are controlled by evil beings. If practitioners eliminate those evil spirits, ordinary people will not have the ability to keep the persecution going. Hence, only practitioners have the great power to end the persecution. We can't be stuck with the human notion of thinking of ourselves as powerless humans.
2. Deny the Old Forces' Arrangements in Our Every Thought
After studying Teacher's lectures, practitioners know we have to fundamentally deny the old forces' arrangements. However, we do not recognize that some of our thoughts actually acknowledge the old forces. Examples include. "It will be July 20 in a few days. Will the police come to harass me? If they do, what should I do?"; "I did some work to validate the Fa. If the evil finds out, they will persecute me. What can I do to stop it?"; "No matter what I do, the persecution will keep happening, I can't stop it."; "The persecution exists to push practitioners. Only when I survive it will I pass the test and improve."; "If no one was arrested, then there woudn't be anyone clarifying the truth to the prisoners and guards."; "If the persecution ends now, there won't be enough time to save certain people," etc.
Teacher has already told us in his lectures that the persecution shouldn't have existed. Practitioners should try to stop the persecution and save sentient beings, not passively endure the persecution. The above thoughts actually acknowledge the persecution, and try to counter the evil and save sentient beings based on that acknowledgement. In that case, we are actually trying to pass the test and improve ourselves by following the old forces' arrangements. We didn't deny the existence of old forces and walk the path that Teacher arranged for us.
Teacher said in the article, "Be Clearheaded,"
"If you, as a student [of Dafa], do not follow Master's requirements, it is definitely no simple thing. The old forces have arranged for all Dafa disciples a set of their things, so if a Dafa disciple doesn't follow Master's requirements, he must be following the old forces' arrangements."
Dafa practitioners create the environment we are in. We should negate the old forces' arrangements fundamentally in order to end the ordeal created by the old forces that shouldn't have existed.
