(Minghui.org) The Minghui Editorial Board published “Notice from Falun Dafa Association” in November 2014 and urged practitioners around the world to “Please remove Master Li’s teachings posted to non-Falun Dafa websites immediately...If there is such a violation, please remove it completely, especially from non-practitioner websites.”
It warned that, “If there is failure to follow this instruction or there is intentional copyright infringement, or if one attempts to find various excuses to disregard this instruction, it is an act of undermining the Fa.”
I couldn't sleep for a few nights after reading the notice; too many things had happened over the last few years that I needed to question and rectify. This notice really shook me to the core. Even though my local practitioners and I have not directly done anything like posting Master's teachings inappropriately, we have “undermined the Fa” in different ways.
Becoming Preoccupied with Non-Practitioner Websites
Due to China's censorship, practitioners must use software to break through the firewall to access Minghui. However, the software usually directs the user to websites run by non-practitioners. Hence, practitioners often got distracted and spent a lot of time talking about the news on non-practitioners' forums.
I have this issue. I've forgotten how many times I started out thinking to download materials from Minghui, but ended up browsing through ordinary people's news websites. This wasted a lot of time.
Our Fa-study group even turned into a forum for discussing news we saw from non-practitioners' websites, and we unwittingly became lax in doing the three things.
Under such an idle cultivation state, the old forces exploited our gaps. The false appearance of sickness karma was seen in some of the elderly practitioners. They hadn't looked within in time, and passed away.
The young practitioners in my local area, including my son and niece, also deviated from their original cultivation path. They began to fantasize about earning more money and going abroad, and they yearned to be free and to show off their talents like their peers living outside of China. To this end, they often gathered to think of ways to earn more money.
Deviating From the Original Cultivation Path
When I first read the “Notice,” I felt it targeted our young practitioners who began creating truth-clarification materials and booklets and selling them for profit in recent years. They, however, argued that their actions were not undermining the Fa.
Instead, they believe that they have done a good thing, as it kills two birds with one stone–the materials allow more people to understand Dafa, and with the money earned, they can go abroad and better assist Master in validating the Fa.
My son even told me that my cultivation is old-fashioned and does not meet the current requirements; the Fa-rectification period is coming to an end, so we should accelerate things and be more diligent. I could not rebut their arguments and decided not to say anything more.
Although I disagreed with the young practitioners' actions, I let them be, since they refused to heed my advice. I even thought that if my son and other young folks went abroad, they would not be muddle-headed and would stop doing these things.
But after reading the “Notice” again, I realized that this was no trifling matter. If the young practitioners do not come to realize the seriousness of this, it will be too late for regret.
Reflecting on My Own Cultivation State
Master's lecture “Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day” mentioned the Fa-principles on “cultivat[ing] with the heart you once had.” I began to think about why we were falling short of that.
Unlike before, I did not cherish the opportunity to cultivate Dafa or the Dafa materials. The first few years of the cultivation environment was terrible after the persecution started in 1999. Only a handful of technician practitioners could access Minghui, which made it extremely difficult for practitioners to obtain Dafa materials.
I learned how to e-mail, download and print out Master's recent writings and materials from Minghui with guidance from Master, and all the practitioners cherished the materials a lot at that time.
But now, a majority of the practitioners are able to access Minghui on their own using anti-censorship software. Obtaining materials has become relatively easy, and gradually, practitioners stopped cherishing the materials.
Furthermore, without strong righteous thoughts, I was anxious in getting things done quickly and was not diligent in my cultivation. I was even worried that my efforts were not known to Master. Due to my impatience, I did not persist in stopping practitioners from undermining the Fa.
In a way, I am just as culpable as they are, for I did not try to stop their actions.
Group Sharing on What is Undermining the Fa
I gathered everyone to have a group discussion of our understanding of what is undermining the Fa. I urged everyone to use Master's Fa-principles to determine what kinds of our ongoing truth-clarification activities were not in accordance with Dafa's requirements.
My son and other young practitioners soon realized their mistake and destroyed the materials that they have created shortly after the group discussion. They expressed that they must walk the cultivation path well from now on.
We came to see that cultivation is an extremely serious matter, and one should not find excuses or take shortcuts. In fact, we understand that Master has suffered tremendously for us in exchange for the continuation of the current Fa-rectification situation. Because of this, we must not deviate from our path, and we must be diligent and fulfill our vows.
It is my hope that we can work hard to prevent any further Fa-undermining actions. We should remind ourselves to act in accordance with the Fa at all times. Only by doing so will we not let Master's compassionate salvation go to waste.
If there is anything inappropriate, please kindly point it out.
Category: Improving Oneself
