(Minghui.org) As the Fa-rectification progresses and approaches the final stage, many practitioners have been very diligent in carrying out their responsibilities, and their cultivation is upgrading daily. However, some practitioners also do the three things, and only occasionally participate in certain activities, more out of a sense of obligation rather than truly from their hearts.

One day, a fellow practitioner said to me: “Look at those elderly women. They come to the group Fa study weekly to study one lecture. Who knows if they ever study the Fa at home. They are busy with child care and household chores. They argue with family when conflicts occur. They take medicine when they feel any physical discomfort, completely forgetting that they are practitioners. At the group study site, they count the truth-clarification materials they pick up and return extra copies. They distribute the materials as quickly as possible. They do this on a weekly basis, like a routine, and feel peaceful and justified. In their minds, they know that if they do not do the three things, they won't be cultivators.”

I felt sad after this conversation. We can see this attitude from what we find inside residential buildings where these kinds of practitioners distribute truth-clarification materials. Some posters were posted upside down. We should only distribute several copies of truth-clarification materials in each corridor. However, in some places, the materials were left at each door. They end up being thrown all over the corridor. Do we just want to get our work done?

As to “getting the work done,” I recall the Chinese proverb, “Go on tolling the bell as long as one is a monk.” The positive implication of these words refers to diligently fulfilling one's responsibilities; but the other meaning of this proverb implies just doing something with a perfunctory attitude, without putting our hearts into it.

Those practitioners who have this attitude are not particularly conspicuous because we only pay attention to practitioners who have obvious attachments of fear or who haven't stepped forward and clarified the truth. Practitioners who don't put their hearts into doing the three things may look good superficially, but actually, they do not clearly understand the principles of the Fa. They do not cultivate according to the Fa, and they don't acknowledge their own shortcomings. They may also show their concern in the group for those practitioners who have not stepped forward yet.

On the other hand, I know some practitioners who are very diligent. One practitioner in her 70s has lived with her younger brother who is in his 60s. They depend on limited financial aid from their other siblings to live. They only spend money on their basic living expenses, and save extra money to produce informational materials. This practitioner had made almost 10,000 copies of Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.

Another elderly practitioner, also in her 70s, has biked to every corner of the city to carry out her responsibilities. She is everywhere there is a need. She never stops visiting the prison to send righteous thoughts. On one occasion on a long distance bus, she chatted with a fellow practitioner about trifles such as a sick husband and lack of money for treatment. When they talked about how the Jiang Zemin regime prohibited people from practicing Falun Gong, other passengers started to listen. She then took this opportunity to clarify the truth to them.

I often see an elderly practitioner who is over 80 years old. When asked where she was going, she always said nowhere but to the group Fa study site. She always gave me and other practitioners 200 yuan on special days such as April 25, or around July 20 (the date in 1999 when the persecution began), saying that the money was just a token to help us with those specific truth-clarification projects. I was very moved every time I received her money. There are more examples like these. Regardless of one's age, practicing real cultivation must be done from the heart.

It was a shock to learn that more than ten practitioners in our area passed away in the second half of 2012. They were not those who hadn't stepped forward or who had quit practicing Dafa after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the persecution, but they were practitioners with whom we were acquainted.

Master said:

“Even for those who can continue their cultivation practice, it remains to be seen whether you can succeed ….." Zhuan Falun

Cultivation is really a serious matter. I by no means want to criticize fellow practitioners' shortcomings. Although we all have gone through this stage, we still had time to correct ourselves. It is not the case now, as everyone knows that we cannot afford to continue to walk slowly, as we do not have much time left. Like a monk who has to toll the bell daily, loudly and with a positive attitude, a Dafa disciple has to diligently carry out his/her vow and complete their prehistoric aspirations. We can no longer be as if in a trance. We must clearly understand the principles of the Fa. We must know what the Fa is and why we have obtained it. More importantly, we must understand what Master taught us in Zhuan Falun.

Master said:

“...you, yourself will know things at higher levels, how to practice cultivation, and cultivation practice’s forms of existence.” Zhuan Falun