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Conducting Ourselves in a Harmonious and Benevolent Manner

October 30, 2002 |   By a Practitioner from Washington DC

(Clearwisdom.net)

In order for anything to happen in this world, there must exist the cosmic timing, favorable conditions, and human harmony.

Cosmic Timing

"The immense force of the whole Fa-rectification is doing its final work at an even more forceful speed, which transcends all times. Now it's only a little bit away from catching up with the speed of the surface's expansion....Although the universe is expanding, I'm doing things at an extremely fast speed, and I can definitely catch up with it. If I don't catch up with it, I can tell you, the final disintegration would make everything in the surface dimension cease to exist. If I do catch up with it, it's resolved. Not only will I catch up with it, but I will also surpass it, and that's when the Fa rectifies the human world. Now I'm only just a little bit away from catching up with the speed of the expansion." (Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston)

My understanding is that the immense force of the whole Fa-rectification is now catching up with the speed of that expansion. Therefore, before the Fa-rectification reaches the human world, the cosmic timing is mature. "In order to completely break through the arrangements of the old forces, in order to create a peaceful time period before the force of Fa-rectification begins weeding out unsalvageable, wicked beings on a large scale, in order to give more innocent beings the chance to hear the truth of Dafa and thus find salvation in a peaceful, just environment..." (From Clearwisdom Editorial "While Studying the Fa Well and Clarifying the Truth, Use Righteous Thoughts to Eliminate the Evil")

Favorable Conditions

The United States is the place where many diligent Dafa practitioners are located and also the place where Teacher resides. The US government is one of the governments that supports us the most. The first stop of the evil's visit to the US, Chicago, is a city where Teacher once gave a Fa lecture, and is also a city that designated June 25, 1999 as "Chicago Master Li Hongzhi Day." Houston was the first city in the US where Teacher gave a Fa lecture. It was also the first city in the US to present Teacher with an "Honorary Citizen" award. It was also the city that designated October 12, 1996 as "Li Hongzhi Day." This time, the battlefield for the confrontation between the righteous and the evil of the cosmos is set to begin in these two cities. This indeed constitutes favorable conditions.

Human Harmony

Now that cosmic timing and favorable conditions are present, it is fair to say that this is a rare, once in an epoch opportunity. However, whether we are able to break through the old forces' arrangements and create a peaceful period of time before the Fa-rectification reaches the human world for the sentient beings, depends on how well we do at this human level. Here, I would like to talk about Dafa practitioners' past experiences and lessons of clarifying the truth and eliminating the evil. I would also like to talk about the things that we should pay special attention to in the future. Please kindly correct me if there's anything improper.

1. When Facing the Chinese people, Clarify the Truth with Our Conduct and with a Compassionate Mind

This time the head of the evil is so scared that he has booked all the rooms in some of the hotels where he will be staying, not allowing the hotels to take other customers. He has also spent a huge amount of money in recruiting several thousand Chinese to welcome him, forming a field for the visit. This provides us an excellent opportunity to offer salvation to these precious Chinese people. If we can do well, these large group of Chinese, including those who travel with Jiang, will be able to see with their own eyes the true situation and Dafa practitioners' demeanor. Then, that field they created will turn into a field of righteous thoughts for everyday people. This will enable us to send forth righteous thoughts that are even stronger and more powerful. We can use supernormal capabilities to eliminate the evil in other dimensions that are manipulating everyday people to commit bad deeds.

We should treasure this rare opportunity and treat these Chinese people as if they were our family members, and this should include the Chinese people in our local areas, those working for the Chinese Consulate and those who travel with the head of the evil. We should treat them with kindness and caring concern. We should let them see the glory of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" and the splendor of Dafa through our demeanor. Teacher says: "But that compassion is a manifestation of the great power of Buddha Fa. Regardless of how bad a person is or how vicious something is, things as strong as iron and steel will all melt away before the mighty power and compassion of Buddha Fa. That's why demons are scared when they see it -- they are really afraid. They will melt away and vanish. This is absolutely different from what man imagines." (Lecture at the Western United States Fa Conference) Let's use our immense compassion to assist Teacher in the Fa-rectification, to eliminate the last remaining evil factors from other dimensions of the cosmos, instead of treating these Chinese people who have been deceived by the evil's lies as our opponents. On the contrary, they are the sentient beings to whom we are offering salvation. Otherwise, the evil will use our fighting mentality and incite the so-called "patriotism" among these people and make them commit sins against Dafa. Its purpose is to destroy sentient beings to the greatest extent. We have had this experience in Germany and in Washington DC. At the time, when facing the students and local Chinese people who were recruited by the Chinese Consulate, some individual practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts with their palms erect, which caused everyday people to misunderstand us. Following that, because some practitioners' ordinary people's mentality was triggered, the situation was immediately taken advantage by the evil. The students who originally behaved very unorganized and showed no true, welcoming emotion, and who neither understood us nor opposed us, united together out of nationalism. Teacher says: "Just by staying unaffected, you will be able to handle all situations." (Lecture on the Fa at the U.S. Midwest Conference) In fact, the field of righteous thoughts that is pure, kind and compassionate is the best weapon to eliminate the evil in other dimensions and restrain everyday people's demonic nature. Our attire and demeanor is the window for people to see and understand Dafa. When we face these people, we must pay attention to these issues and earn their respect. With a caring and respectful attitude, we can explain our understanding of the Fa-principles to everyday people in a way that is easy for them to understand, instead of taking very extreme measures under self-imposed pressure. As a matter of fact, our peaceful and rational demeanor and our appropriate clothing, is in itself the best way to break through the evil's lies, whereas going to the extreme is in itself the manifestation of demonic nature. We do not need to keep on making the same mistake like this.

"In your efforts to save sentient beings you've labored so hard to allow people to have a new understanding of us. So when you don't do well, it's quite possible you are unwittingly undermining the efforts you've made and some of the things you plan to do. You are cultivators, whose conduct is [supposed to be] pure and righteous. There are so many people who think you're great just by having seen how you act. If we don't pay attention to our own behavior in our daily lives, everyday people will see our actions and, since they can't get to know you at a deep level such as by studying the Fa, they will just look at how you act. And it's possible that one sentence or one action of yours will make them unsavable or create a bad impression of Dafa. We need to think about these things." (Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston)

2. Take Note of How One Is Expected to Behave in Western Society During Truth Clarification; Cooperate With Police Officers and Agents

Master has explicitly pointed out in Touring North America to Teach the Fa that although the Fa of the old cosmos is interfering with us, we cannot destroy it yet in order to save people [Master's original words paraphrased]. Furthermore, the old forces dare not to oppose us when we clarify the truth and offer salvation to people, so when we do clarify the truth, offer salvation to people and eliminate the evil, we should conform to the state of the ordinary human society as much as possible and respect civilization, culture and codes of conduct in Western society. When we encounter troubles, we should first examine ourselves for problems to determine if the evil is taking advantage of our omissions. Let's not immediately assume that the other person is against Dafa. Of course we completely oppose this persecution, but we should be as agreeable as possible when dealing with people in this surface dimension. "The best way to deal with this situation is for Dafa disciples to walk their paths righteously, to try their best not to let the evil or the old forces take advantage of their gaps, and to solidify their righteous thoughts. The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. The key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")

During the past three years, Dafa practitioners have shown the people of the world the grandeur of Dafa through numerous activities, which contrasted sharply with the Jiang regime's evil lies. Many of the police officers and security officers who dealt with us often learned the truth, became our friends and even obtained the Fa through the harmonious conduct and splendor displayed by our Dafa practitioners. Recently, though, because of the old forces' interference, a few practitioners did some things in an extreme way during truth clarification and peaceful appeals without fully understanding Western society's culture and legal system. Western society's democracy and freedom are based on a highly developed civilization and legal system. These practitioners failed to look at matters from the other person's perspective and failed to look inward. Instead, they treat the police and security officers' action who are only doing their job as opposition to Dafa. That is why they not only failed to solve a problem in a compassionate way; they aggravated it. They even compared the tribulations caused by their own erroneous conduct with the vicious police officers in Tiananmen Square, which caused certain losses to Dafa and negated some people's chance to be offered salvation. Master has clearly pointed out in Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference, "People's different grasp and comprehension of the Fa lead to different perceptions of the current situation, and all that's happening is targeting different human thoughts. Those who do well will change the environments around them, and those who do poorly will make the environments around them change according to their states of mind."

In fact, the police officers are under great pressure during their working shifts. When they carry out their assignments under high pressure, it's very difficult for them to calm down and listen to either party's explanations. More often they would make judgments based on people's actions. That is the reason it is important for us to actively cooperate with them when holding activities, and never ignore or violate any written or unwritten rules. We should keep a clear mind. Jiang's villainous group is the one committing atrocities and persecuting people who practice Truthfulness- Compassion-Forbearance, not us. In countries abroad, we should never give the evil any chance to cause misunderstandings among police officers who do not yet understand us, for such misunderstandings are exactly what the evil wants. In fact, even for sending forth righteous thoughts in close proximity doesn't have to be within several meters. The key is whether our mind is pure and up to the standard of the Fa. Last year during the evil head's visit in Malta, although only six Dafa practitioners were holding a banner and sending forth righteous thoughts, the police still asked the practitioners again and again to step back. The practitioners cooperated with the police's request without any argument and only sent forth righteous thoughts without saying a word. Later, they simply put down the banner, sat on the ground and sent forth righteous thoughts. Their great compassion, tolerance as well as a powerful, pure field of righteous thoughts moved the people and news reporters around them. They helped the practitioners and held up the banner while the practitioners quietly sent forth righteous thoughts. It was a very touching scene. Later, the news reporters assisted the practitioners to hold a press conference. The less something in this dimension moves us, the better our abilities will be carried out in other dimensions. We want to eliminate the evil in other dimensions. We do not want to interfere with anything in this human dimension. "Great way without form," when our xinxing [mind or heart nature] comes up to the Fa's standard, we will receive help from gods in everything we do.

Last time in Washington D.C, when a high ranking Chinese government official came to visit, some practitioners thought our designated location was too remote, and they squeezed in between two organizations, facing the front gate of the hotel, but people from across the street could not see our banner at all. Worse yet, this government official passed by our originally designated position. Many things can therefore not be judged from an ordinary human's perspective.

3. Be Full of Great Aspirations While Minding the Minor Details, and Conform to the Ways of Ordinary Human Society to the Best of Our Ability

A Dafa disciple should be a kind person under all circumstances, but shouldn't be like people in ordinary human society who are always cautious not to offend others. We should set a good example for everyday people in what we say and do and, in this way, we will earn their respect. Dafa disciples should always be open and aboveboard, peaceful and rational. In doing anything we must be considerate of others first, and in different circumstances we should speak, behave, and dress appropriately. For example, when we are clarifying the truth in a luxurious hotel or to some special organization, we should be careful with our conduct and apparel. Otherwise, misunderstandings could arise due to our negligence in paying attention to the surface civilization in western society and, as a result, it would bring unnecessary interference in eliminating the evil in these places. "If all Chinese Dafa students can be more mindful of their conduct in daily life, be neater, and be considerate of others in everything they do, then that's the demeanor of Dafa disciples. As your Teacher, throughout all these years of teaching the Fa, I have always done things with a sense of responsibility to the society and its people." (Comments on the Article "Some Ideas From Discussions Among Students Who Have Participated in the Sit-In Appeals in Front of the Chinese Embassies and Consulates")

Teacher has clearly taught us the Fa "to be full of great aspirations while minding the minor details" and "to conform to the ways of human society to the best." It is relevant not only to our personal cultivation but also to our creating good opportunities and circumstances for offering salvation to sentient beings if we do well in this aspect. Especially when we are eliminating the evil in close proximity, it enables us to remove the obstacles in this dimension and, therefore, it guarantees that we will make the best use of our abilities in eliminating the evil in other dimensions.

4. Treat Monetary Issues with Righteous Thoughts

I once read the following words in a book: "In the ending-time period of the human world, money is the weapon of the demons." As a matter of fact, the evil old forces at this time are interfering with the process of Fa-rectification by controlling all the money in the world. First, they made the western countries infuse blood to Jiang's regime with economic investment. Then Jiang's gang was able to convince the near-sighted people in the western world, who forgot moral principles at the sight of profits, to provide an environment for their vicious persecution. Second, the old forces persecute Dafa disciples by producing financial difficulties and also by isolating us from the people with predestined relationships who are able to help us financially. As a result, we don't have enough money for the activities to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. Third, they interfere with the Dafa disciples directly, and make us unable to treat the matters of Fa-rectification with righteous thoughts because sometimes we would miss a good opportunity for the sake of saving a bit money. Most expatriate Chinese attach great importance to monetary issues. As Dafa cultivators, however, we must get rid of that attachment. Although I have been elevating my state of mind over the years, I still feel ashamed when I compare myself with the Dafa disciples in China. They have dedicated everything, including their lives, to the Fa. But some of the disciples outside of China still hold back in the matter of Fa-rectification and even lost a lot of good opportunities because of their concern for money. In western society, as long as our thoughts are not confined by an attachment to money, and we conform to the ways of everyday people to the best of our abilities, then, as the saying goes, "the Great Tao is formless", we are completely free to do anything we want. So many opportunities await us, and the environment here is good too.

We should put our hearts in the right place when we are doing Dafa work with regards to money, and we shouldn't add any human notions, which stem from everyday people's attachment to money. No matter how much money everyday people spend on something, it is a trifle to Dafa disciples. No matter how small a sum Dafa disciples spend in Fa-rectification, it is a big issue to all of us. The old forces are interfering with us using the cultivators' attachment to money as a weapon. Originally we didn't have anything in the firmament of the cosmos, and it is Teacher who endowed us with everything in our lives. Dafa created all of us, so all that we have are the things that Teacher gave us in the distant past and, of course, they all belong to Dafa. When Dafa requires us to validate the Fa, defend the Fa, and save the sentient beings, shouldn't we give all that we have to help Teacher rectify the Fa?

5. Eliminate the Evils in Other Dimensions with a Pure Heart, and Don't Get Attached to Manifestations in the Human World

In Touring North America to Teach the Fa Teacher clearly taught the Fa of sending forth righteous thoughts in close proximity. Therefore, we should be clear that the purpose of sending forth righteous thoughts is to effectively eliminate the evil in other dimensions. Our opponents are the evils in other dimensions, and we shouldn't have any attachment to the manifestations in this dimension. No matter what happens in this dimension, we should treat it with a pure state of mind, and look upon it with a Dafa disciple's righteous thoughts and righteous deeds. Both zealotry and despondency are the exhibition of human notions, the root of which is everyday people's pursuit of the result of what is happening.

Teacher told us in Zhuan Falun: "There once was a person who became an Arhat after much effort in cultivation. As he was just about to attain Right Fruit in cultivation and become an Arhat, how could he not be happy? He was going to transcend the Three Realms! Yet this excitement is an attachment, an attachment of elation. An Arhat should be free of attachments, with a heart that cannot be affected. But he failed, and his cultivation ended up in vain. Since he failed, he had to start all over again. He resumed his cultivation, and after much painstaking effort he again succeeded in his cultivation. This time he became scared and reminded himself in his mind: "I shouldn't get excited. Otherwise, I'll fail again." With this fear, he failed again. Fear is also a kind of attachment."

We Dafa disciples are on a sacred mission in this world, so we should look upon everything with righteous thoughts, no matter what and how it manifests in the human world. Moreover, out of our responsibility to the Fa, we should also pay attention to the issue of the cultivation of speech. Our purpose is to save the greatest possible number of sentient beings, so we must consider everyday people's ability to accept what we say and the possible reactions of human society to what we say.