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Falun Dafa Practitioners in the Eyes of an Enlightened Being (Part 1)

April 04, 2015 |   By Shan Yuan

(Minghui.org) Foreword: This article is for fellow practitioners' reference only. Treating the Fa as Master is fundamental for cultivators. When others point out where Falun Dafa practitioners fall short, we should compare our behaviors to the Fa, look inward, correct ourselves, and find the root of not completely believing in the Fa and Master.

Master wrote in Zhuan Falun,

“So now that I’ve talked about earthly Buddhas and earthly Daos, there’s another thing. In ancient China, a lot of people did their cultivation deep in the mountains or woods. But why isn’t there anyone like that today? They haven’t disappeared, actually. They just don’t let ordinary people know about them, that approach is still every bit alive and well, and they all have abilities. It’s not that they’ve disappeared over the years, there’s still a good number around. There’s still a few thousand of them in the world. Our country has somewhat more of them, especially in those famous mountains and along the great valleys. They’re also found in some other high mountains. They use abilities to seal off their caves, and that’s why you can’t see evidence that they exist. Their cultivation is pretty slow, their methods are a bit clumsy, and they aren’t able to grasp the essence of cultivation. But we, in contrast, focus directly on your mind, we cultivate by following the universe’s highest nature, and we cultivate by following the universe’s form. So it’s only natural that our gong grows fast.” (Zhuan Falun – The Fifth Talk)

I met an enlightened being, like Master described in the quote above, not long ago. It wasn't during meditation that I saw him, but here in this dimension. I think our conversation occurred as a way to alert us of our shortcomings, and that Master was giving us hints through the words of this divine being. I wrote this article to share the experience with my fellow practitioners.

The enlightened being looked like an ordinary middle-aged man, with nothing unique in his appearance. I almost didn't see him, but Master allowed me to see into his past. I was surprised to learn that he was a well-known figure in history. The divine being before me wasn't a reincarnation. He had been living in the world for quite some time. He was over 1800 years old.

Master told us,

“Among those I have come across, some have cultivated for over four thousand years. Why have they cultivated for such a long time? It’s not that their levels aren’t high enough and they thus can’t go up to Heaven, as some of them have far surpassed the Three Realms; rather, it’s that they cannot go up. It’s that they are not allowed to go up, as there is no paradise that will accept them. Why are they able to increase gong? This is also decided by the Law-truths of this level. Yet those worldly and minor ways are different; some of them were created by humans. At the beginning such a person just cultivated in one cultivation way, or cultivated in the Dao school or the Buddha school. After cultivating for a while he felt it was pretty good, but another person came to find him, [saying]: come and cultivate this. He then went to study that. So his gong was mixed. Originally he had a master above taking care of him, but as the master above saw that he had become like that, the master no longer wanted him. As those above no longer accepted him, he then could no longer leave the Three Realms.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Houston”)

He noticed that I had seen into his past, so he approached me. I wasn't afraid or in particular admiration of him because his cultivation school is not comparable to Falun Dafa. There is no way he would present any interference for me because the principle of “no second school of cultivation” is clear in my mind. Maybe for this reason, Master allowed me to see him. I thought about introducing Falun Dafa to him, but he had already read Master's teachings.

He asked me if I believed in Master and Dafa. I said I believed firmly. But he continued to ask me, “It says in Hong Yin,

'Calmly reflect on the attachments you haveRemove your human thoughtsand evil will naturally die out'(“Don't Be Sad,” from Hong Yin Vol. II)

He asked me how strongly and believed it. I didn't know what to say.

We discussed the deficiencies he'd observed among some Dafa practitioners. He shared his opinions with me, and I realize how serious they are. The experience helped me gain a deeper understanding of the Fa, so I summarized his sharing below.

The enlightened being said that ordinary people can't see the power of Dafa. If someone can believe in Master and Dafa 100%, nothing will become an obstacle for him. All those who stumbled had problems with their belief to a certain extent. Some practitioners appeared to truly believe in Master and Dafa, but their firmness was simply for show. Their true thought and behaviors can't be hidden from gods.

When I reflected upon myself and my fellow practitioners, I found it true. When tests were hard to pass, we displayed firmer belief to cover up our failure to change ourselves. Master told us,

“You know, what we do isn’t done for human beings to see, nor is it for some project coordinator to see, or some Dafa Association coordinator, right? If it is Master you’re hoping will see, his main body isn’t right in front of you, so who are you hoping will see? You are doing it before the multitude of gods. Master’s Law Bodies are watching as well, and the innumerable sentient beings of the cosmos have fixed their gaze intently upon your every single thought and mental activity. So, who are you hoping to show? All of the many amazing things that you are doing in the course of validating the Fa are being recorded in this chapter of the cosmos’s history, with nothing pertaining to even a single disciple being omitted. However, if you are focused on the superficial, ordinary human things, then you are attached and are using human thinking.” (“Be More Diligent”)

The enlightened being also said that most Dafa practitioners cultivate themselves very well. However, there is too much illusion when cultivating among humans. No matter how high our cultivation level is, or how high our ultimate accomplishment is, any inappropriate behavior or thought will bring trouble, because we are in this lowest mundane world. Even gods in the three realms can see everything clearly, but they can't point it out for us. Much less can Master. It's up to us to gain understanding ourselves.

This is nothing new. Most practitioners know that Master can't tell us specifics. It has been stated many times in Master's teachings. Master said,

“...the students encountered numerous specific problems and many difficulties. At first they didn’t know how to deal with them. Later on, they gradually came to understand, and through trial and error they figured out what to do. I didn’t say anything, especially during that time period, because the test wouldn’t count if I were to speak. If the test were to not count, two problems would follow. The old forces would do all in their power to cause damage. They would regard this as a crooked Fa, and this would cause a great deal of trouble for this Fa-rectification undertaking of mine and would cause great chaos for the entire cosmos. That couldn’t be allowed.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America,” from Guiding the Voyage)

The enlightened being then pointed out a more serious problem. He said that many people didn't improve in cultivation, unable to pass tests for years. They gradually lost their faith. Some gained supernormal capabilities and then developed exaggerated opinions of their abilities due to the flattery they enjoyed from fellow practitioners. Some practitioners who have little understanding of the Fa were duped by special agents into following the practitioners with supernormal capabilities. They even thought their capabilities were no less than Master's.

They eventually regarded Dafa as too incredible, and thought Master had limited power. Such disciples would have been expelled if it was in my school of cultivation. Dafa has given them opportunities to correct themselves again and again. The more Master held back from saying anything, the higher they thought of themselves, and the less faith they had in Dafa and Master.

It reminded me of one practitioner I know. Once he had a problem with believing in Master and Dafa, he couldn't get anything out of Fa study. The only way out was to hit the nail on the head, and make him realize the root of his problem.

Master said,

“Master is not going to seem any different from a human being. I won’t look like a god to anyone, unless it is right before the Fa-rectification is completed. If I were to now appear just like a god, it would ruin your conditions for cultivating; it would rupture the illusion under which you are to enlighten to things. All of your actions and your cultivation from that point on would be for naught, everything would be ruined, and sentient beings couldn’t be saved. So, don’t look at the Fa with human thinking, and don’t think about Master with a human mindset. The Fa that Master has taught you can enable you to cultivate, and it is on the basis of this Fa that you are to cultivate and measure things. There are no errors with the Fa. The Fa is written with the most superficial, human language, using the structures of human language, but it is by no means limited to this superficial level: in level after level after level after level, there is Fa-meaning contained in it.” (“20th Anniversary Fa Teaching”)

The enlightened being also pointed out that some practitioners who passed away had secretly taken pain pills, seen doctors, and visited hospitals under the guise of having physical examinations. Quite a few had gone through surgeries or other treatments in hospitals, including some veteran practitioners.

When a new practitioner is doubtful about Dafa, his diseases may still be healed as long as his belief is stronger than doubt, and he does the exercises well. However, the only way for veteran practitioners to pass tests is to firmly believe in Master and Dafa. Harboring doubt will make his 'disease' linger and his faith waiver. They may eventually think that other practitioners' diseases disappeared accidentally or naturally. It's a typical misunderstanding.

Such disciples' cultivation will be completely ruined if this happened in my school of cultivation. Dafa has shown compassion to these practitioners again and again. But they still thought they had a thorough and better understanding than others.

Somewhat-better practitioners lost confidence in themselves, even though they didn't doubt Dafa. But they still thought Master wasn't taking care of them. This is another form of not believing in Master and Dafa.

Dafa doesn't have high requirements for new practitioners. Master once said,

“Conversely, when someone who is a new student or who himself realizes that he hasn't been diligent enough gets sick and goes to the hospital, then so be it--[I guess] we'll just count it as part of his cultivation process. After he cultivates better later on, he will gradually realize what he should do. Cultivation does involve a process, and we should give people chances after all. Of course, there is no need to talk here about those who are diligent. For those who aren't certain in their minds: If you go [to the hospital] Master can't say anything.” (“Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles”)

The enlightened being saw that the principles of Dafa represent a huge and boundless amount of energy and capability. Many practitioners don't truly believe it. Some practitioners were injured by torture in prisons. If they could truly believe in Dafa, truly cultivate themselves, and change their mentalities, they would have recovered quickly. But many practitioners' righteous thoughts had been compromised by the torture. They doubted Dafa because of their serious injuries. Some continued to study the Fa just to show they were still diligent.

When they first started cultivation, they managed to do the exercises despite their serious diseases. However, they lost motivation to do the exercises after they were released from prison, even though they were able to move. They complained about discomfort, and found all kinds of excuses not to exercise. Why? It was because they had doubts about Dafa in their minds. These doubts could be hidden from humans, but not from gods. The test of life and death can't be passed with even the slightest doubt, much less their level of doubt. Their understanding of the Fa had been lowered to the level of ordinary people. There was no way to pass the test. If they failed to improve for a long time, their lives couldn't be extended any more. But if their righteous thoughts arose, and they became diligent, like when they first started cultivating, they would absolutely recover. As a matter of fact, many practitioners who had been disabled or tortured to the verge of their lives recovered quickly. Miracles did happen, but only to those who had no doubts about Dafa. They are truly admirable.

Based on my experience, many of my fellow practitioners took care of injured practitioners as if they were sick ordinary people, but didn't truly seize the time to study the Fa or do exercises with them. The injured practitioners didn't take the initiative to do the exercises, and couldn't concentrate when listening to Master's lectures. They eventually passed away. The reason could be like what the enlightened being described. An injured practitioner told his family he no longer believed in Dafa after he was released from prison. His fellow practitioners didn't know that, and continued to send forth righteous thoughts for him as a group. He eventually passed away. I know quite a few cases like his. If we had communicated with them well and helped them restore their righteous thoughts, we could have saved their lives.

The enlightened being commented that his school of cultivation wasn't comparable to Dafa. But he had braved tribulations in the three realms with one hundred percent strong faith. If a disciple of a small school could do this, why couldn't some Dafa practitioners? Their disbelief has blocked them from the power of the Fa.

I gained deeper understanding of what Master wrote in Zhuan Falun,

“...when you keep cultivating, it keeps extending your life, and as you keep on practicing, it keeps on extending it. So this way the older folks among us with good bases will have enough time to practice. But there’s just one condition. The time that your life is extended for beyond your predestined, original course of life, that time is solely for you to practice. If your thinking goes even a little off track it’ll put your life in danger, because your course of life ended a long time ago. But this doesn’t apply to you if you’ve gone beyond Triple-World-Law cultivation. Then it’s different.” (Zhuan Falun – the First Talk)

The enlightened being also talked about some other problems rooted in the incomplete belief in Master and Dafa. He chatted rather matter of factly about it. I didn't ask him too much. I just compared his words to the Fa and realized where some practitioners fall short in their understanding of the Fa.

I feel that many Dafa practitioners have isolated themselves and covered up their problems, even though they may appear to others to be diligent in cultivation. If we can all open our hearts, communicate with each other, and gain deeper understandings of the Fa, we can avoid much loss.

The above is my limited understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.