(Minghui.org) Cultivation in Falun Dafa is solemn and wonderful. Although it is “a Great Way with no form,” practitioners should not drift along with the current society, following morally corrupt values. Some practitioners are not living by the Fa principles and have committed deeds that are very disrespectful of Master and Dafa. When others try to point out their wrongdoings, they use Master's words “a Great Way has no form” (“Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan”) as an excuse to defend their behavior.
I'm not criticizing specific practitioners. However, I have noticed that this is happening more often in some areas outside of China, and I would like to share my observations and alert fellow practitioners.
During group Fa study, a Japanese practitioner read a section from the latest lecture. As he pronounced the names of the Chinese cities with a Japanese accent, it sounded amusing to the Chinese practitioners. Some even burst out laughing. I thought this was very disrespectful, especially during Fa study. Regardless of how one pronounces the Chinese names, they are studying the Fa. This kind of behavior is not appropriate.
We should maintain a calm and sacred Fa study environment, because group Fa study is inviolable. Some practitioners let their children shout and run around the room during Fa study, thus affecting practitioners' ability to concentrate on the Fa.
The ancient Chinese placed great importance on etiquette. When entertaining guests, one would lose face if the children were boisterous. Children of practitioners are also little disciples, therefore, letting them play and shout during group Fa study is very disrespectful to Master and the Fa. Moreover, some practitioners didn't turn off their phones and others have held loud phone conversations during Fa study.
Practitioners at a number of practice sites in a certain region are placing pictures of Master on the grass. I have noticed this for quite some years. Some practitioners think this is inappropriate and disrespectful to Master, and suggested to put Master's picture on an easel. Others don't think it is that important as “a Great Way has no form.” They say that doing the three things well is being respectful to Master and the Fa. Some practitioners claim that it is fine to leave Master's pictures on the ground because practitioners in other cities do the same thing.
Those who understand traditional Chinese culture know that the ancient Chinese were respectful to the divine, including sages, Gods and Buddhas. They would feel distressed if they did something disrespectful. They would not casually place pictures of the divine everywhere, especially on the floor.
Master has given practitioners the best and most glorious. How can we handle Master's picture so casually and take His benevolence for granted? Do we deserve the title of a Falun Dafa disciple?
Some practitioners probably haven't realized that they are disrespectful or are not aware of the good manners of the ancient Chinese. However, when other practitioners point out the problem, some don't look inward and make excuses for their behavior.
Even though certain practitioners realized their mistakes and found an easel to place Master's photo on, others still placed the pictures on the ground. When a non-practitioner looks at this sacred photo laying on the ground, aren't they also being disrespectful to Master? Aren't we responsible for their behavior? Aren't we destroying sentient beings? Are we truly validating the Fa, then?
At some truth clarification sites, practitioners placed Master's picture next to a photo of a practitioner who has been tortured. Some bystanders thought they were photos of the same person. Isn't this also disrespectful? How can we casually place Master's sacred picture anywhere we choose?
In my opinion, it is not necessary to display Master's picture at a truth clarification site. It would be more appropriate to display photos of practitioners doing the exercises and Dafa being spread around the world. I think the reason the old forces dare to slander Master and Dafa, and allow sentient beings to commit wrongdoings against Master and Dafa is because many practitioners are disrespectful to Master and Dafa.
I recently heard that the red light district was chosen as the location for a practice site in a certain region. Some practitioners pointed out that the location was highly inappropriate. The coordinator of the practice site claimed that the site was chosen because Master said that we should save all sentient beings. Practicing the exercises is also solemn and wonderful. If we cannot find a quiet place with beautiful scenery, we should at least choose an appropriate location.
During experience sharing conferences, I've seen practitioners place Master's books, containing Master's photo, under their seats. Some practitioners place pictures of Master in different areas of their homes.
We have also found pirated copies of Zhuan Falun, Hong Yin III , and a fake website in our area. The fake website's name was “Falun World” and was later changed to “Plum World.” The website changed the words “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” to read “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and Falun Dafa are good.” The background color of the卍 sign in the Falun Dafa emblem was also changed to a metallic color. Someone has been distributing printed cards with the fake website address on it. Many practitioners were unaware that this was not a true Falun Dafa website and have been distributing the cards for many years.
In my humble opinion, the reason why activities disrupting the Fa cannot be resolved is because many practitioners are disrespectful to Master and the Fa. When our behaviors are not rectified, the field around us won't be good, and the bad elements will take advantage of the loophole and continue to disrupt the Fa.
The reason why many practitioners don't do well in their cultivation is because they are not mindful of issues of respecting Master and the Fa and refuse to take them seriously. Master said:
“All the Fa I just talked about was to tell you one thing: whether you respect me or not, as your Master, I really, truly don't mind. Back then, as I was saving you, a lot of you were cursing at me. There were people who were cursing at me even while at my classes. I don't mind. I just want to save you. (Applause) What I'm trying to say is, personally I don't mind at all how you treat Master. I'm not affected by any factors at any level of the cosmos. But there's one problem, which is, if you don't respect Master, it's wrong according to the principles of the cosmos, and the old forces will take advantage of the gap and destroy you because of this. They'll have seized the biggest excuse to destroy you, since they've seen the entire process of my saving you.” (“Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference”)
I have read practitioners' sharing articles regarding this issue, which clearly showed that the old forces took advantage of practitioners' loopholes. Consequently, some practitioners were persecuted, others suffered from sickness karma and some even lost their lives.
I hope practitioners look within for any hidden problems concerning the above issues. If any are found, they must be eliminated quickly. One must be a solid Falun Dafa disciple.
These are my current understandings. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.