(Minghui.org) The other day, I participated in an event to collect signatures to rescue Chung Ting-pang, and I had a conflict with a fellow practitioner. Even though I shared with him I did not speak with compassion. He did not agree with me. I could not maintain my xinxing and I spoke harshly. I immediately regretted my words and apologized. He understood and agreed with me. In the end, our signature collection was very successful.
After I came home, I calmed down and studied the Fa. When I looked inward Master gave me a hint: “As soon as others say something they explode...” (“Teaching the Fa in Canada, 2006”) I was attached to my own understanding or opinion. The Fa manifests differently at different levels. Being attached to what I have enlightened to is an obstacle to my further improvement and may make me prone to developing a mindset of arrogance. Or even worse, it is an omen of breeding demons in one's own mind.
While I read the article, “Eliminating the Desire of Occupying” on the Minghui website I enlightened a lot. When we are attached to our own understanding or to the goals we want to achieve, we are going against the characteristics of the universe. At that moment, it is an ordinary human being doing ordinary business instead of a Dafa disciple carrying out divine actions. The difference in one thought is the distance between heaven and earth.
If a person truly believes in Master and the Fa and is dissolved in the Fa, he or she will be able to maintain a mind of compassion and forbearance even when he or she encounters unpleasant situations. Sometimes I can feel the wonderful status when I detach myself from human notions and let Master control everything. At that moment, we don't have to worry about anything and the Fa has everything for us. We just need to follow Master's arrangements and conduct ourselves according to the Fa's standards when we speak and do things. Everything will be so easy. Perhaps it is an manifestation of “A great way is extremely simple and easy.”
Treat Fellow Practitioners with Righteous Thoughts
During the past few years of doing projects, I was surprised to see some of the attachments fellow practitioners had. I didn't completely looked inward. Instead, I either intentionally or unintentionally separated myself from those practitioners. Thus our project was suspended and I started to do some tasks that I could accomplish alone. Lacking motivation, I stopped going to our local Fa-study group.
I knew my cultivation status was bad. But whenever I was about to go to group Fa-study, something always happened and I just studied the Fa alone. Recently, I finally went to group Fa-study. However, I was shocked by one practitioner's speech, and thought it was full of human notions and wrong enlightenment. I forced myself to listen and not to speak out. I felt so pained in my heart. After I got home, I talked about it with my spouse who is also a practitioner. I realized that it was my mindset of looking down upon others playing a role. Also, wasn't it jealousy? Upon seeing others' shortcomings, I should treat them like my own shortcomings and communicate with him or her compassionately. After looking inward, I was surprised to find that I had broken through my previous status after attending the group Fa-study and sharing. That was the power of the Fa. You cannot cultivate as you like. Only by following Master's requirements are you on the right path.
Master said,
“I’ve seen this problem many times before, with you stumbling along in this manner and taking one fall after another. But what I hope is that after taking a fall, you will all learn something good from it. Don’t always take away bad things from your experiences. When you learn bad things, you are in fact using human thinking to consider things, and becoming more cunning, and sly, which means you are becoming worse. I have spoken with you before about what a bad person is: he is someone who is cunning. Whereas someone who is kind-hearted and whose thinking is not that complicated is a good person. You need to think about things in a constructive manner, and when you stumble look for the reason as a cultivator would, asking, “Where did I go wrong?” Only by evaluating things with the Fa will you be able to learn good things from your experiences. If you can really manage to do this, things will definitely go well. And if all of you can do so, I don’t believe your project can go wrong. It’s just that you haven’t looked inward, or learned good things. Or in other words, you haven’t talked things over in the manner that Dafa disciples should.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference”)
I looked inward. Although I hadn't become cunning, I protected myself and didn't get in touch with many other practitioners. Wasn't I learning bad things? Being compassionate to everyone and being truly good for others is the status of a Dafa disciple who is truly cultivating.
Rescuing Chung Ting-pang with Righteous Thoughts
Recently I heard that we were making slow progress on rescuing Chung Ting-pang. I felt we were using many human notions when we looked at things, such as the mindset of depending on ordinary people. For the signature collection, sometimes we selected those young students who we thought were more willing to sign, and we tried to avoid the older people. Sometimes we didn't clarify the truth thoroughly and treated collecting signatures like an everyday people's job.
Master said,
“When someone is placed before you, there isn’t a choice—you’re wrong if you become selective in terms of saving people. As long as he is someone you run into, you should save him, regardless of his position or social status, or whether he be the president or a beggar. In the eyes of gods, beings are equal. Social status is just a distinction made in human society.” (“What is a Dafa Disciple”)
On the surface, we are asking everyday people to sign and support us. But essentially, we are saving them. Collecting signatures is a method of giving everyday people a chance to position themselves after they understand the truth. That is an eternal glory for a human being. While collecting signatures, I don't care about people's social status, age, or gender. I always use my righteous thought to tell the person's primordial spirit that “I am here to save you.” Even if he or she doesn't sign, I still keep clarifying the truth to him or her. Saving people is most important. Usually when a person is truly saved, he or she will change their minds and sign. It is really heartening to see people's expression of gratitude when they are saved.
We are here to save people. As long as we truly put saving people in the first place, use this situation to clarify the truth on a large scale, deny the evil's arrangement, and save sentient beings, Mr. Chung will be able to come back.
In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has used money to confuse some Taiwanese. Some Taiwanese businessman have even become thugs for the evil. Due to economics or self interest, some Taiwanese government officials have not proactively upheld justice. The environment of everyday people's society is a reflection of Dafa disciples' cultivation status. We should really look inward more. Do we still have the attachment to economic interest or to the two parties in Taiwan allowing the evil to take advantage of it?
The case of Chung Ting-pang is a good chance for us to widely clarify the truth, and a good chance for the world's people to be saved as well. We should do better and save more people. This is my personal understanding, fellow practitioners please compassionately point out anything that is inappropriate.