(Clearwisdom.net) When sharing experiences with other practitioners, I heard that some practitioners got out of labor camps, detention centers or avoided being seized by the authorities because their family members or other people wrote a "Guarantee Statement"* for them. Some practitioners felt that since they did not write the statements, that it had nothing to do with them. Some felt they were very fortunate since they had never put anything in writing. They had only promised verbally "not to practice anymore" at their workplace or in other environments. Therefore, they felt they did not need to declare anything to rectify the damage.
My understanding is that whether it was "guaranteed" by others, or even if you did not know it at the time and then found out later, the key is how your thoughts were at that moment. If you went along with it or felt that it had nothing to do with you, then I think that is not right. The root is "selfishness." Dafa is serious; cultivation is serious.
My understanding is that, first of all, it is not being responsible to Dafa. We are Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioners. Everything should be the most righteous. No one can use any excuse to disrespect Dafa. What is the difference between this and jointly signing your names to invalidate Dafa? Didn't some evil people ask your family members to sign for you? Isn't that going along with the evil? The purpose was to drag down your family members as well. Isn't this targeting Dafa?
Second, as a Dafa practitioner, you should be responsible for the Fa and be responsible for others! We all came here to carry out our historic missions of validating Dafa and saving sentient beings. It would be awful if we only thought of ourselves or felt that it had nothing to do with us. Master Li said in Zhuan Falun, "...if you always consider other people when you do things, and whenever you have issues with other people you first think about whether they can take it or whether it will cause them harm, then you won't have any problem." We need to be responsible to others!
Third, our family members are all arranged by predestined relationships to be with us. One person obtains the Fa, the whole family benefits from it. But because they are everyday people, they don't know the results of their actions and how serious it is to do that. When seeing their loved ones being persecuted, they were willing to do anything under the influence of their sentiments. They didn't know they had made a pledge to the evil. Actually, they were going along with the evil and took the evil's side and were not helping Dafa practitioners. Therefore, we need to clarify the truth to them regularly, let them read Master Li's articles and materials from Clearwisdom.net, etc. We need to let them truly understand Dafa, support Dafa, and join us to resist and eliminate the evil.
One of my family members had also once written a "Guarantee Statement" and signed it for me. After I showed him Master Li's articles, articles from Clearwisdom.net, Dafa books, and clarified the truth to him, he agreed to publish a "Solemn Declaration"** on Clearwisdom.net to rectify his actions and declare those things he had written to be null and void. If our family members and relatives can all validate and safeguard Dafa with us, when confronting the evil, they can use everyday people's principles to state that we are all cultivating "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance" and becoming good people, and therefore, they can resist the evil's persecuting good people. If they can all do this, it will form a strong environment. It will not be just a matter of 100 million people validating Dafa. The whole body's force will be mighty and the evil will definitely be afraid. Therefore, it is very important to first help our family members understand the truth. This is also truly being responsible for their future.
On a separate note, I feel that a "Verbal Guarantee" and "Written Guarantee" are the same. They all have material existence and this is not an ordinary issue. It is our ultimate choice! At the same time, it is a test of how firm we are towards the Fa and how much faith we have in Master Li. Our compassionate Master gives us many opportunities to erase our impurities. Why don't we listen to Master Li? Why continue to leave stains on your cultivation path? No one can take your place to cultivate. Walk the final path of cultivation properly and righteously.
January 30, 2004
*"Guarantee Statement," A statement to declare that he or she is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.
**"Solemn Declarations," Statements written by Falun Dafa practitioners who went through brainwashing to declare invalid the so-called "Guarantee Statement" they wrote to renounce their faith in Falun Dafa under brainwashing and torture.