(Clearwisdom.net)

A friend from Jilin Province told me over the phone today that a fellow practitioner had recently passed away. He was 75. It appears that during the two months he was "sick" in bed, other practitioners could have helped him out. After the incident, some local practitioners brought up the matter in their discussion. One person mentioned how poorly this elderly practitioner had behaved at times. During the conversation with my friend over the phone, while we both felt a bit sad about what had happened to the man, we both harbored a hidden conviction: "This won't happen to us, we can do better."

This reminds me of another group of practitioners living in another district of Jilin. One of them, named Ms. Xiao Wen, always treats other practitioners' problems as her own. Whenever she finds someone falling into trouble, whether it is due to personal karma or an external interference, she voluntarily helps the person out. If the problem is beyond what she can handle, she involves others in a collective effort, such as reciting the Fa to the person and using righteous thoughts. Her righteous mind and faith in Teacher and the Fa have helped many people, even in severe cases. With her help, one of the practitioners who gave up Dafa practice after July 1999 because of the persecution returned to the path of cultivation. One time Ms. Xiao Wen had to go help another person who lived some 10 kilometers away after work, and she was always prepared to stay overnight if she could not get home that evening. It seemed that if she wanted to find someone that needed help, Teacher would arrange for them to meet each other.

Personally, I feel that if a practitioner cannot reach consummation, it is because the person has not met the requirements set by the Fa at his level. Prior to the above incident, I often looked at my relationship with other practitioners as "them and me." I often had the feeling that they were doing better than I. This thought is splitting our united body. I feel that I should use "we" in all circumstances.

The elderly practitioner who passed away went to Beijing to validate the Fa after July 1999. He went to Beijing nobly and returned nobly. A police officer even escorted him home and wished him well in his practice. After returning to Jilin, he was taken into the police station many times, and every time, he walked out nobly with righteous thoughts. Police officers often escorted him home and wished him well. The man had a glorious past. When it comes to cultivation, however, it is a serious matter.

We all are Teacher's disciples, and we are a united body. When all of us do well, all living beings in the universe become a united, impermeable body. Only then are we worthy of the task of taking responsibility for every righteous factor in the universe, now and at any time in the future.