(Clearwisdom.net) In order for Dafa disciples around the world to be able to send forth the purest, most resolute righteous thoughts, we, in my opinion, should go beyond human thoughts, understandings, or ways of thinking on the issue of sending forth righteous thoughts--so that we will send forth righteous thoughts with a state of mind of divine beings and thus do an even better job at bringing the power of righteous thoughts into full play. I would like to share some of my thoughts on this issue.
1. The continual progress of eliminating the evil with righteous thoughts
As Dafa disciples that form one body, we should firmly believe, amidst the continual process of eliminating the evil with righteous thoughts, in the boundless power of Buddha Fa's supernormal capability, because no evil being can escape being completely rooted out at any moment by Dafa disciples bearing righteous thoughts. In comparison, eliminating the evil from close proximity only represents a supplementary method used by disciples when the circumstances allow it -- so it is not the objective. We therefore should not mistake the means for the end, developing an attachment to the method itself while ignoring its objective.
2. Transcending the boundaries set by ordinary people's ways of thinking
In our daily lives, we have formed many absolute, habitual ways of thinking. This has given us many incorrect understandings on the issue of sending forth righteous thoughts, and has directly affected the effect of our righteous thoughts.
For example, when we emphasize the special power of sending forth righteous thoughts in close proximity, some people would pay little attention to the power that comes with righteous thoughts sent from afar. Meanwhile some practitioners think that we should completely give up on doing it in close proximity since the power of the righteous thoughts is the same regardless of distance. Actually, all this is nothing but going to extremes as a result of "logical" reasoning. For me, it comes down to something like this: those who are able to send forth righteous thoughts from close proximity should take full advantage of it; and those who are not able to do it due to the circumstances should do it from anywhere with same sincerity and enthusiasm. For those who do it from afar, they should have the same belief in their righteous thoughts, which are not constrained by distance and equally powerful, and they should not set obstacles for themselves by speculating if their righteous thoughts are not as powerful. A fellow practitioner once asked me, "If we go to the consulate to send forth righteous thoughts, does it mean we are acquiescing to the impurity of our righteous thoughts? If so, isn't it true that we don't need to go there if we believe our righteous thoughts are very pure?" The causal relationship in his question actually does not exist, as such a way of thinking is precisely something we cultivators should eliminate.
Some practitioners have a difficult time balancing between sitting cross-legged, the hand gestures and the sending of righteous thoughts. This manifests itself in the case when some people insist that the hand gestures make sending forth righteous thoughts more effective than without the hand gestures. Those people seem to have forgotten a Clearwisdom editorial that says, "This can be done in any setting -- even if you are walking, eating, or working. Focus your mind, and you don't have to sit in a meditation position." When circumstances don't allow us to do the hand gestures--for example, at work--we shouldn't doubt its effectiveness without hand gestures, as it would limit the power of our own righteous thoughts. On the other hand, we should not go to another extreme, thinking the hand gestures are totally unnecessary, something that we should never use, because this conclusion is also based on ordinary people's simplistic and rigid thinking. Personally, I think that when we send forth righteous thoughts, we should strictly follow the sitting and hand gestures in the demonstration given by Master, as long as circumstances allow it.
Indeed, every cultivator should be clear about which action to take under a particular circumstance, because his action springs from his true nature. And it isn't logic that inspires him to act in a certain way; in his mind, there are no such concepts as "because", "therefore", "now that", or "in so doing." When I heard some practitioners saying they felt the hand gestures would greatly improve the power of sending forth righteous thoughts, I thought we must judge everything based on the Fa, rather than our individual feelings. This is especially important if we can't do the hand gestures in certain conditions--because the last thing we want to see is our confidence in righteous thoughts waver when we somehow don't have those "feelings".
3. Some common notions about sending forth righteous thoughts
Some practitioners thought it would consume a lot of energy if they sent forth righteous thoughts frequently, and they had to practice the exercises to replenish the energy. Again, since Master never says this in his lectures, I would think it is a kind of notion that comes from the feelings of our disciples. There were also practitioners who said they would feel tired after sending forth righteous thoughts, so they must have consumed a lot of energy. I also take it as an example of illusions induced by notions. As far as I am concerned, I have never had such thoughts or concepts--that you will consume energy when you send forth righteous thoughts a number of times. This is probably why I have never had the experience of feeling drained, no matter how frequently I send forth righteous thoughts. I suppose if you have those thoughts, these syndromes will definitely surface, and these syndromes will in turn strengthen the notions behind them.
Some practitioners suggested we should put more emphasis on quality rather than quantity when sending forth righteous thoughts, as if quality and quantity were in conflict. Well, I'd say both quantity and quality are extremely important at present, and we can't afford to neglect either one. We should make an effort to do well in both, rather than just one of the two.
4. Either inside or outside of China, every Dafa disciple should take seriously the matter of sending forth righteous thoughts simultaneously by disciples around the world
In one of his lectures, Master tells us the main body of Dafa disciples is in China--the number of Dafa disciples in China far exceeds that in other countries. The head of the evil now roams about outside of China; he is now much closer to the disciples outside of China but much farther away from the disciples in China. This doesn't mean the righteous thoughts sent by disciples in China are not important; on the contrary, I think they are still crucial, because the righteous thoughts, when pure, are not inhibited by distance. Besides, Master has taught us the Fa principle of sending forth righteous thoughts simultaneously. Therefore, the righteous thoughts of our whole body will become indestructible if the disciples in China can join our efforts to send forth righteous thoughts intensively, when they have come to fully recognize the overriding importance of this Fa-rectification mission that is facing us right now.
I'd suggest that those practitioners in China who have participated in the ongoing global sending of righteous thoughts could set aside some precious time to share their experiences regarding this issue, so that more practitioners in China will realize the importance of this matter and everyone will take the initiative to do it well. This is after all something we are supposed to do well in.
5. Balance well the relationship between sending forth righteous thoughts and other Dafa work
It is undisputed that every piece of Dafa work is very important, but I think we should be clear about what our first priority is. I'd suggest that the work that isn't so urgent should give way to the task of sending forth righteous thoughts, which can't wait even for a minute. Moreover, neither the quality nor the quantity will be ensured if we can't pull all of our resources and energy into this effort of sending forth righteous thoughts--it would be hard to make sure a certain number of people would gather at the consulate to begin with. I believe each of us should subject himself to the need of our whole body and not let the Dafa work at hand become an obstacle to our high-intensity sending forth righteous thoughts at the current time. We really have to perform like one body, and bring our power into a full play in this historic battle between good and evil.
These are just some of personal thoughts. Corrections and comments are welcome.