Fa Conference in Mainland China Held on July 20, 2005
(Clearwisdom.net)
"Don't turn them into a formality or competition; instead, make it a solemn Fa conference that can truly bring about progress in cultivation." ("The Fa Conference," Essentials for Further Advancement)
Table of contents
(i) Commemoration
(ii) Three Things
(a) About Studying the Fa
(b) About Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts
(c) About Clarifying the Truth
(iii) Evidence Collection and Rescuing Orphans
1. Having the Same Idea by Coincidence
Because July 20, 1999 is the day the persecution started, July 20 has become a special day to remind Falun Dafa practitioners to improve their understanding of the Fa quickly and keep abreast of the Fa-rectification process. It is also a day commemorating that more and more practitioners safeguard Dafa by resisting the persecution with righteous thoughts.
One day in July, one practitioner asked a question during Fa study, "Can we hold an experience sharing conference soon for us to learn from each other?" This suggestion was immediately approved by common consent. Everyone said, "That was what I was thinking." One practitioner said, "We can communicate about the three things that teacher has asked us to do. Practitioners need to share experiences with each other." Indeed, we had not held an experience sharing conference since the Fa conference on April 25, 2004. There were some problems that required us to communicate and resolve them immediately. We needed to improve as one body in the Fa and we had to cooperate with each other.
"You can use the seminar form to have everyone communicate with one another, and you may discuss and share things with one another. We require that you do it this way." (Zhuan Falun)
"It is necessary for disciples to share with one another what they have experienced and learned in their cultivation." ("The Fa Conference," Essentials for Further Advancement)
During the six years of persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), practitioners in mainland China have had difficulty safely holding Fa conferences. To be a genuine Dafa practitioner in the Fa-rectification period, we should not recognize the old forces' arrangements. We should do what Teacher asked us to do. One practitioner suggested that we hold a Fa conference on July 20. Practitioners all agreed immediately.
2. The Fa Can Break All Attachments
Later I told other practitioners about this event. One practitioner said, "July 20 is a very sensitive date. Since the authorities monitor some practitioners very closely, we should change to another day." We only had one thought about facing these obstructions and obstacles. That was, "The Fa can break all attachments." We practitioners shared our understanding of the Fa. We did not find it necessary to select the date of July 20 to hold a Fa conference, but we also did not want to avoid it. On our cultivation path, there was no sensitive day and we did not to have the thought that there was one. If practitioners were indeed closely monitored on that date, that was precisely why we should break through. The fear of practitioners being closely monitored was also a possible illusion.
During the six years of persecution, the evil has constructed an atmosphere surrounding practitioners. Several practitioners under this atmosphere have unknowingly strengthened certain logic imposed by the old forces. When we think that "April 25," "July 20" and "the two conferences" are sensitive dates and that practitioners will be monitored closely, we will be watched closely because we had that thought. In fact, that was not true. The police did not monitor people who attended the Fa conference at all.
Some were also saying that the surveillance would be tighter. It is quite clear that when we use the Fa to calmly and sober-mindedly discern the right path, there is no tight or loose period for the evil to persecute us. When there is less persecution, it is because of practitioners' righteous thoughts and righteous actions. When the persecution is severe, we should clarify the truth about Falun Dafa quickly and break through it. Teacher told us,
"I've said before that the evil won't stop persecuting even right up until the very end. Even if it's going to end tomorrow, today that evil will still do evil just the same."
"Poison is just poisonous, and if you want it to stop being poisonous it can't do that. So when you look at it that way, we shouldn't have any fantasies about the evil forces and those evil people who are persecuting Dafa." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
When we calm down to think about it, the destruction and suspicion amongst practitioners are caused by the old forces. The old forces take advantage of our attachments to prevent us from being a whole body, and they take advantage of our omissions when we cannot coordinate with each other. If we can risk our lives to tell the truth about Falun Dafa to people who have committed crimes against Dafa and Dafa practitioners, why can't we treat fellow practitioners who have shared life and death and have predestined relationships spanning many lifetimes with us with more righteous thoughts and benevolent actions?
Through Fa study and experience sharing, we all felt that although the Fa conference had not yet been held, it had already affected us. As a result, all kinds of attachments and human notions were exposed during the process. On the other hand, holding this conference was necessary due to the existence of our attachments and other problems.
"I will use any troubles or unpleasant things you come across -- even if they involve work for Dafa, or no matter how good or sacred you think they are -- to eliminate your attachments and expose your demon-nature so that it can be eliminated, for your improvement is what's most important." ("Further Understanding," Essentials for Further Advancement)
3. To Rectify the Heart and Be Sincere in Thought
It looks like there is nothing special about holding a Fa conference because people just sit together and share experiences. In fact it's a grand thing in the universe. Gods all open their eyes wide and watch. Evils too are watching. If we have loopholes, they will deploy them. Teacher said, "Every time you have an event, there's a big battle between good and evil in the heavens." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Midwest-U.S. Fa Conference") The Fa conference is also an evil eradicating conference. Therefore the evil will obstruct and destroy it. In this case, the coordinators' every single thought is important, and their thoughts have a direct impact on the conference.
Teacher solemnly pointed out to us in 1996,
"Everything we do today is to lay a foundation for the transmission of Dafa over countless years to come, and to leave a perfect, correct, error-free form of cultivation practice" ("A Letter to Shijiazhuang Dafa General Assistance Center," Essentials for Further Advancement)
If we didn't hold the Fa conference well, coordinators couldn't truly understand the Fa from the perspective of the Fa. It might cause a negative impact and damage Dafa, severely interfere with practitioners' cultivation and even cause major losses for Dafa.
"Past lessons should make you more mature. The only way to prevent the old, evil forces from taking advantage of the gaps in your mind is to make good use of your time to study the Fa." ("Towards Consummation," Essentials for Further Advancement II)
For this reason, we kept studying the Fa regardless of how busy we were during the preparation for the Fa conference. We went everywhere with the Fa and shared experiences all the time. Meanwhile, we adjusted our mentality and steadily did everything, remained calm and patient, and everything followed the mechanism and natural course. When problems arose we looked inside to find whether we still held on to some attachments. We were cultivators first and were not everyday people doing things. This time, we understood that when we let go of human notions, the Fa would arrange the best for us. We first sent forth the righteous thoughts, then facing the picture of Teacher and putting both hands together we said, "Teacher, we must follow your requirements."
"Don't turn them into a formality or competition; instead, make it a solemn Fa conference that can truly bring about progress in cultivation." ("The Fa Conference," Essentials for Further Advancement)
4. Learning a Lesson
The night before the Fa conference, a practitioner brought a big picture of Teacher that he got from another practitioner in another area. Because we were busy at that time, we did not unroll it. When we decorated the place for the conference, we found the picture had cracks and white spots because it had been folded for a long time. The practitioner tried various ways to restore it, but they did not work. We realized then that some mistakes can never be corrected and that the losses can never be made up. A practitioner brought some clean papers to wipe the dust off the picture. After the picture was cleaned, we curled it slowly and felt that our responsibilities were heavy. We should carry our purest hearts to hold the Fa conference and walk our path righteously. If we failed to do well, then we brought shame to ourselves and to Teacher because we were Teacher's disciples. We must walk our path correctly. Teacher and the universe are watching us. Our path is narrow and we can't deviate even one bit because we are walking the most righteous path.
(to be continued)