(Clearwisdom.net) Master said, “Without 'nothing,' it is a human feeling. If it is a human feeling, then it's not bei (compassion).” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference”) Then, where does compassion come from? What is the realm of compassion? Throughout my cultivation, I was puzzled about this.
Several days ago, one of my colleagues who suffered from brain cancer underwent surgery. He had been very kind to me, but I've never talked to him about Falun Gong. I realized that he has been working with a Dafa disciple for such a long time, but he has never heard the truth. I felt very guilty.
I also thought about two colleagues' mothers who had recently passed away, one after another. They were paralyzed for several years and passed away when they were over 80 years old. I suddenly realized that the reason why they kept on living and suffering for that long might be because they had been waiting to hear the truth! Whenever I chatted with my coworkers, they often mentioned their mothers. If I had said that one sentence asking them to recite “Falun Dafa is good”, it would have given them hope and they would not have come to this world for nothing. However, I did not say anything, which caused them to lose this precious opportunity forever.
They were fortunate enough to obtain a human body and live close to a Dafa disciple. They might have gone through so much over eons of history just to get this opportunity! However, because of my selfish indifference to others, I did not even have any sympathy for them when I heard that they were dying. My responsibility to save sentient beings was not awakened. I merely treated the news as though I were an ordinary person: Old age, illness and death.
After reflecting on this, Master opened my wisdom. I suddenly realized that this is part of compassion. Feeling great mercy for sentient beings' yearning for salvation, I developed the wish to save beings and fulfill my promise to them. I naturally assumed this responsibility, for this is a Buddha's compassion.
The moment I understood it, I changed into a different person, and I began to cherish all lives. Now when I walk on the street, I clearly see my responsibilities in front of my eyes. All I think about is fulfilling those responsibilities. I give people passing by best wishes and I send the message that Dafa is good to their minds. I even feel close to the grass and trees. I eliminate the evil in other dimensions as I walk. I bring brightness everywhere I go, and send out compassion as a clear stream, nurturing all sentient beings. Even when I sleep, I do not let go of my responsibilities. I bring the righteous thought of clearing out all obstacles to the salvation of all sentient beings and the word “eliminating” in my sleep. I feel guilty if I miss even one second of saving sentient beings. I maintain my righteous thoughts every minute and every second, and do my best to eliminate the evil.
I finally realized the realm of compassion. What I understand now is: Compassion is our responsibility, and it is saving sentient beings without any conditions. It is cherishing life from the heart. It is an ongoing sense of responsibility. Compassion is a natural state when cultivating to this realm. Human beings' good and evil actions have something to do with me. Therefore, “The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities” is also a reflection of the wisdom and power of the Fa in cultivation. It is to enlighten beings to change their way of thinking, to revive traditional culture and to learn to distinguish between true and false, good and bad, righteous and evil.
In the past, I could not enlighten to the realm of compassion because I reacted to people with grievances, human notions and emotion. When I saw nice people, I wanted to save them. When I saw obnoxious people, I was disgusted and wanted to avoid them because I wrongly thought these people were hard to save. If I could not easily save them, I became frustrated. Sometimes, I even rejected them, and my behavior pushed them away from the door of salvation.
I treated fellow practitioners in a similar way, judging them with my own notions of good and bad and my own likes and dislikes. I liked to exchange opinions with those practitioners whom I felt had good enlightenment. Even when they made mistakes, I was still tolerant and offered my patience and support. However, I developed resentment towards those practitioners who, in my opinion, did not have good enlightenment or had strong human notions and attachments. I also judged their mistakes harshly. Therefore, there were unnecessary conflicts and we could not harmoniously develop the one body.
At the same time, I was very protective of my own issues. I did not want to dig in deeper and examine my own attachments. I only wanted to change others, but refused to change myself. Therefore, compassion could not manifest in me and I was unknowingly following the old universe's path of selfishness. If one cannot walk out of selfishness and cannot let go of one's attachment to self, one's mood can easily be controlled by others. Even one tiny thing could affect me, set me off, and make me forget the Dafa disciples' standard. My xinxing and cultivation state were not stable and my human notions would surface. I had not been even able to walk out of human emotion! How could I fulfill such a great historic mission?
Master said,
“Dafa disciples are no doubt working very hard. And that’s because the historic responsibility entrusted to you and that you shoulder is so great, and your historic mission dictates that you must, at this critical time, shoulder such a historic responsibility.” (“What is a Dafa Disciple”)
Master has explicitly told us the standard that Dafa disciples need to reach and has given us such a great responsibility. We should cultivate well to the expected level. However, I am still too far from it. I feel the heavy weight of the responsibility Master entrusted us with, which is saving sentient beings' lives!
Plus, we have more responsibilities towards those people who do not act well because they are facing more danger. Whether they can be saved depends on whether their conscience can be awakened. Fa-rectification is rectifying all non-righteous factors. During this critical moment of changing the universe from old to new, Dafa disciples must carry on this historic responsibility.
Practitioners are in contact with those sentient beings whom we have a predestined relationships with; we have to save them, and they will also enrich our world. These beings are our wealth and they belongs to us. How can we allow the old forces to snatch them away from us and reduce the brilliant energy of the new universe? Sentient beings are an integral part of our universe. Therefore, we should cherish all sentient beings as we cherish ourselves. Only this way will we be able to successfully transition the savable sentient beings to the Fa of the new universe. Only if we unconditionally harmonize what Master wants, are we qualified Dafa disciples.
The above is my understanding at my current level, please point out anything inappropriate.
