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Think About Unintended Consequences When Clarifying the Truth

August 06, 2009 |   By a Dafa practitioner in Mainland China

(Clearwisdom.net) Only when we truly put our hearts into clarifying the truth, can we achieve the results of saving people and protecting Dafa's reputation. For a very long time, I've often seen fellow practitioners not being careful when doing truth-clarification work, which has its poor consequences.

For example, a practitioner asked Master whether we can use deities' and Buddhas' images on our talismans. Master said that it was not appropriate. It's been a long time since then, and many practitioners still use them. This is because they did not consider the effects of doing so. Non-practitioners often treat the figures on talisman as deities and Buddhas in Buddhism, and they have worshiped those figures. Doesn't this cause the negative effect of "mistaking the guest as the host?" Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is the fundamental factor of life's existence. Acknowledging Dafa is the guarantee of entering the future. That small talisman cannot represent the truth of Dafa, nor can it achieve the result of saving people.

For another instance of not being careful, some practitioners have written statements on paper money or sent text messages of truth clarification that were inappropriate, like "Falun Dafa is very good. Sincerely reciting it will save your life, no tribulation or suffering, only happiness...." Another text was, "Reciting 'Falun Dafa is good' often will eliminate tribulations and many illnesses. It will keep you safe and healthy." However, it is hard to predict when an ordinary person will be sick or have trouble, because nowadays, people have a lot of karma.

Then if a non-practitioner often recites "Falun Dafa is good," will they not have any suffering or illness and not have to repay the debts they owe? Will Master eliminate any and all troubles for them? If they will not have any illness, does it mean Master has to endure their karma? (Of course, I know that fellow practitioners didn't really have this kind of intention, but they wrote things like that without being careful with their words.) Even as cultivators, besides the karma compassionate Master eliminated for us, we also have to endure the rest of our karma.

In the book Zhuan Falun, Master talks about a person who was fated to have a stroke in his life. But when the person's tribulation occurred, Master had already eliminated much of it. The suffering became very very small. But he blamed Falun Gong and said that practicing Falun Gong caused him to have a stroke.

Try to think about it. When a person receives a text message or paper money with such words written on it, although Master has helped him/her get rid of part of the karma and given him/her good fortune, it won't be done to the point of no suffering or tribulation at all! One has to pay back one's debts. In another aspect, when this person has some sickness or encounters trouble, will he be like the person who had a stroke and blame Dafa? Those can be the consequences. Some people who agreed to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations often recite "Falun Dafa is good." I saw a couple of them get sick often. Some people agreed to quit the Party and had a tribulation (such as losing money) within an hour. It was fortunate that I talked to them about karma: "Although you lost money, perhaps you have eliminated a very big tribulation. It is a very good thing. There was a saying 'lose money to get rid of trouble.'"

When I clarified the truth, I sometimes used a story written by a fellow practitioner "Why do gods allow tribulations to exist in the human world?" In the story, two traveling angels stayed overnight with a rich family. This family was not friendly to them, and refused to let them stay in the comfortable guest bedroom. The two angels were sent to a corner of the cold basement. When the angels prepared for their bedding, the older angel found a hole in the wall; so he fixed it. The younger angel asked him why he did that. He said, "Many things don't appear the way they actually are."

On the second night, the two traveling angels went to a very poor farmer's place to stay. The host couple was very friendly and warm. They gave their only food to the guests, and then they let the angels sleep in their own bed. The next morning, the two angels found the couple crying. Their only financial source, the milk cow, had died. The younger angel was very angry. He asked the older angel why. The younger angel thought, the first family has everything, but the older angel helped to fix a hole in their wall. The second family was so poor, but took care of them with warmth, and the older angel did not prevent the death of their milk cow.

"Some things don't appear the way they are," the older angel said. "When I slept in the basement, I saw many gold bricks piled inside the wall. Because the owner was diluted by greed, he did not want to share his wealth (so he didn't deserve to have it). So I filled the hole. Last night, the death god came to claim the farmer's wife. I let the milk cow take her place instead. So something don't appear the way they really are." It was said here that big trouble became small trouble. Humans don't know how big their tribulation is. When they have received good fortune, they still "blame god and man."

I think that to say "no trouble or tribulations" is absolutely wrong, because it is not possible for a human not to have karma. Having karma means having illness and trouble. Without karma, isn't a being a divine being, not to mention today's people who have layers upon layers of karma?

In another aspect, we cultivators should not use absolute words. It is something we need to pay attention to in cultivation. I once told a high school student the truth about Falun Gong and persuaded him to quit the Communist Youth League and Young Pioneers. I said things like "forever happy." On the same night, Master gave me a hint in my dream about cultivating speech. The things we say to people will occur, which prevents them from eliminating karma. That would not be a good thing for them. In fact, in our daily lives, we need to take care to not say things in absolute terms in various areas because we know only the truth at our own level. The deeper truth will be known when we cultivate to a higher level. So we should not talk irresponsibly. This is a must in cultivation. We need to be prudent in our words.

In fact, Dafa is not used to cure illness or to bring good health to people. It is not for eliminating tribulations. Only during this special period in history, in order to save sentient beings, Master made illnesses go away and brought good fortune for those who sincerely recite "Falun Dafa is good." It is because in such an evil environment, those people can still say that Falun Dafa is good. Also, it is because they had the great courage to come down to this realm in the beginning.

We tell people that to recite "Falun Dafa is good" is to prevent them from being eliminated and to enter into the future. I often tell them, "Reciting 'Falun Dafa is good' will bring you good fortune. Some people's illnesses are cured after reciting it because they conduct themselves as good people. They do things according to the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. You will gain as much as you do things according to this principle. It won't work if you don't conduct yourself as a good person. It can help to stop the deterioration of morality in society. Remember that only good people receive good rewards. Tell others that they must remember that 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good. Falun Dafa is good!' Having tons of money can't guarantee your future. Those words I just told you can guarantee your future."

On a text message or paper money, you can write something like this: "Sincerely recite 'Falun Dafa is good'; you will have a good future and good fortune. The Heavens will bestow those things to you and guarantee your future. It can turn bad luck into good." In short, we shouldn't make it an absolute thing, because being absolute is being wrong.

Everyday people have a saying: "Understand people's thoughts with kindness." As for us, when we clarify the truth to save people, the things we say should be in line with their attachments. We think through the matter with a lot of heart. We really need to put our hearts into what we do. I am not talking about someone who did not do well or who didn't think things through. I only hope that we can do things with more care because it will get the good result of saving people as well as preventing negative consequences.

The above is my personal understanding. I wanted to share this with practitioners.