On April 25, 1999, the number of practitioners who stepped forward was much larger than 10,000. Yet, when reporting information afterwards, many people didn't dare to admit that they had stepped forward, due to the attachment of fear. In the following relentless evil repression and brutal persecution, some practitioners who had stepped forward, unfortunately, also became worried: if the tribulations are increased, can I endure them? Which level can I reach in cultivation? Will I go beyond my limit, and consequently turn to the opposite?

Everything Is In Firm Control of Our Teacher

Personally, I think that the deeper reason for the issue of "fear" and all worries is the issue of "faith" toward Dafa and our Teacher. In the process of cultivation practice, there will be tests of one's fundamental steadfastness from the beginning to the end. Teacher's Fashen (law body) has been looking after us the whole time. As we know, without the protection of Teacher's Fashen, our life will be in danger as soon as we step out of the door after just hearing the Fa, not to mention cultivation practice. Teacher controls everything. Besides, numerous Gods who safeguard the Fa are watching over the situation and assisting. On the other hand, tribulations are created by the evil forces. However, if we don't have karma or attachments, no tribulations will befall us. The purpose of our Teacher allowing the existence of the tribulations is for our improvement in cultivation practice. If we indeed elevate to a higher level, doesn't the tribulation lose the meaning for its existence? Within the dimension of humand, everything is illusory. The deciding element behind the tribulations is crucial. A little hesitation and disbelief will damage all the righteous thoughts and provide excuses for the evil to create trouble.

Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Faith Guarantee Passing Tests

Many of our practitioners have read the story of a female practitioner in China who regained consciousness after lapsing into coma from three hours of torture and she thought to herself: "If they handcuff me like that one more time, I may not be able to endure it." She said: "I thought that if that was going to be the case, then maybe I could die by bashing myself against the wall. Later, I steeled my will and decided that I couldn't think of death so easily. I should face death unflinchingly. Then I felt an indescribable joy in my heart. After thinking like this, the policeman unexpectedly took off my handcuffs." Afterwards, she wrote: " I know that along the path of cultivation practice, every test is to improve ourselves, and every test is a step for moving upward. Cultivation practice is extremely serious."

Many other practitioners share similar experiences: In the face of brutal torture and threats, they took their tribulations as passing tests and eliminating karma. In their minds, they thought of Dafa and our Teacher. With the support of their righteous thoughts and righteous faith, they have endured tremendous sufferings calmly, without hatred or regret. After seriously striking their own limits and breaking through them one after another, they found that the tribulations miraculously dissolved and disappeared in a flash. The moment they passed the test, what emerged from their hearts was boundless gratitude and respect for our Teacher.

There are also other practitioners, who, when encountering a sudden severe test, forgot about Dafa and Teacher. Instead, they felt as if they were completely lost in the darkness and saw only the evil above them. Then, they cried for Mom's help while being beaten, or cried for help from the heavens while in pain. They depended on their human will and endurance to fight against the evil. As a consequence, demons took advantage of their weaknesses as a loophole to attack them. It is really a pity.

Moreover, it is not right to choose death as a way to free oneself from sufferings when one can no longer endure them. As Dafa practitioners cannot kill living beings, neither can they commit suicide. What is particularly worth noticing is that Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan's group have been slandering and smearing Dafa practitioners on charges of "committing suicide" so as to clear themselves from the charges of murder. We Dafa practitioners should not allow anyone who damages Dafa to take advantage of our actions under any circumstance.

Everything in the Fa-Rectification Process is Supernatural

Practitioners who have stepped forward have made great sacrifices. They are great. However, "the inability to discard attachments amidst tribulations, the inability to deal with things using righteous thoughts amidst painful trials, and so on, are the main reasons behind evil's escalation of the persecution, and are the fundamental excuses that the evil has used to attack the Fa." ("Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)") Recently, with regard to the issue of psychotropic drugs (mind altering drugs), Teacher said that he "disbelieve[s] that psychotropics could play this kind of role. Out of their own fear, some of our students use this to excuse their inability to pass the tests they should have passed. If psychotropics could really play such a role and if [the students] have done seriously wrong things under the influence of the drugs, they should work even harder to inform people of the truth so as to make up for what's been lost."

My personal understanding is that cultivation is serious; Teacher and Gods in the Heavens can see clearly how one's thoughts develop. Covering up or evading can only do harm to oneself. The psychotropic drugs can have an effect on everyday people, but it cannot function at all on cultivators who hold strong righteous thoughts. When one's xinxing (heart and mind nature) meets the standard, one's body will experience a change in the twinkling of an eye. Increasing the amount of drugs used can only be the issue of further eliminating karma and expanding one's capacity. When one's main consciousness completely reaches the standard in this regard, the tribulations will withdraw automatically. Cultivation practice is to cultivate one's heart and eliminate karma. Everyone will have relative tribulations in accordance with the level they will ultimately reach in cultivation. Teacher cannot see it incorrectly. Everything is supernatural, so one cannot deal with them with an everyday person's attitude. One fellow practitioner said after hearing about Teacher's instruction on psychotropic drugs: " I see; it's just that we cannot treat ourselves as everyday people." I feel what she said was really reasonable.

The above are some of my superficial personal understandings. Please kindly correct any inappropriate points.

Zheng Xiaonan

November 26, 2000