Practitioners Outside China: We Must Not Use Master and Dafa’s Images So Casually

(Minghui.org) During the past few years I have noticed an increasing phenomenon in social media: Practitioners putting images of Master Li and Dafa-related images on their social media profile or wall very casually. I would like to share my understanding about this.

As particles of Dafa we must be responsible towards Dafa and sentient beings. How we regard, see, and consider Dafa is how people around us will perceive it as well. I understand that this is due to the Fa principle “the appearance stems from the mind.”

I have seen how practitioners put Master Li’s photo on their social media wall and comment “My Master Li” and other practitioners who are “friends” also comment, “Falun Dafa hao.”

I have also seen practitioners who put an image of the book Zhuan Falun or the Falun symbol as his/her profile photo. What is one's purpose in doing this?

First of all, for a practitioner who is part of the Fa-rectification or who has reached a certain level of Fa understanding, what’s the purpose of getting involved with social media such as Facebook? It is my understanding that it must serve to post news about the persecution or practitioners' activities, while at the same time considering how others will perceive the information.

For example, one may share some personal news with relatives and friends, always bearing in mind a high moral standard in doing so. However, being involved in social media for the sake of satisfying human attachments is wrong; it is a conscious indulgence. It can magnify lust, qing, and other attachments.

Secondly, can using a Falun or Zhuan Falun image as a profile photo actually validate the Fa? Ordinary people may see this as being “extreme” or fanatical. It does not play any role in clarifying the truth or in showing Dafa’s greatness. Using them this way may undermine the sacredness of Dafa, and having people develop this kind of thought towards practitioners and Dafa may also be harmful. Another factor involved here is the fact that Dafa things should not be casually mixed with ordinary people’s things.

The moral standards of people these days are very low, pornographic things are everywhere, and people’s tastes are also quite low in every way. Human beings can no longer discern what is truly beautiful. We should not put Dafa’s sacred things among them.

I think many practitioners who are doing this are treating Dafa with everyday people’s qing and have not yet come to a deep understanding of cultivation practice. In this case, they are still going through a process, but we cannot sacrifice more time with it, and now that the subject has come to our attention, we must talk to them and help them understand the seriousness of cultivation.

From a photo of our great Master Li to an image of the sacred Falun or the heavenly book Zhuan Falun , we must understand that all of this is divine, and for us are the most sacred things. Although they manifest in this dimension as simple objects, they are the genesis of every life in this universe.

Let’s use an ordinary example to illustrate the point. For a soldier, or an ordinary person who understands the concept of nationalism, if someone makes an obscene gesture towards the flag of his or her country, or if someone burns the flag, it is considered a great insult, because that is the symbol of something he or she identifies with and is proud of. This is a relatively low level example, but it still illustrates the point. How much more carefully should we, particles of Dafa, take care of all Dafa images? How do we expect to be esteemed by the Buddhas, Daos, and gods if we treat Dafa’s things so casually?

There are also practitioners who created Facebook pages with names such as “Tribute to Falun Dafa” or “Tribute to Master Li.” One could think this is a way to show Dafa’s greatness or to show how Dafa has spread around the world. I still believe we should be very careful with this. If this originates from qing, then the results will not be good. Besides, we don’t need to highlight our Master, as it is my understanding that He does not want people to focus their attention on Him. Also, everyday people can generate karma unintentionally from their low level thinking. If we do this in the context of practitioners’ activities it is a different thing entirely.

South American culture is relatively young, and people do not have the concept of a “master” or even cultivation. Thus, it is understandable that some may lack a proper sense of reverence. But Dafa can correct all of this and rectify all that is not righteous. Once we have recognized this matter, we must pay attention to it and eliminate all notions and customs that come from this strong human emotion that we were raised with.

The above is my limited understanding. I share it in hopes of helping practitioners improve their understanding of Dafa’s sacredness.