(Minghui.org) Several local practitioners died recently. It was a big shock in our area and caused severe negative effects, especially among the families of the practitioners who passed away.

Local practitioners shared our thoughts about this and came up with four points of reflection.

What Does It Mean to Be a Good Person?

Everyone knows that cultivation starts with becoming a good person, but each practitioner has his or her own understanding about what that means. Some believe it means to do well at work, to take care of everything at home, to do all the cooking, and to take care of grandchildren, for example.

Such practitioners are busy with daily chores and focus on complying with ordinary society and becoming a good person. They are not truly regarding their home as an environment for cultivation, and they forget that, as a Dafa practitioner, they have a mission.

As to what it means to be a good person, Master has spelled it out very clearly in Lunyu.

What Does It Mean to Be a Cultivator?

Some practitioners believe that, by distributing truth-clarification materials, doing things to validate the Fa, and spending money on Dafa projects, they are cultivators and no longer ordinary people. Actually these are just formalities, a first step to participating in true cultivation.

A Dafa practitioner should genuinely put aside human notions. Practitioners in China, in particular, have to do all they can to rid themselves of evil CCP culture. We have to pay close attention to our every thought and be strict with ourselves about adhering to the Fa.

It is all too easy to fall back into resorting to CCP culture-type thinking or to relying on our own notions.

What Does It Mean to Cultivate Diligently?

Some practitioners did a great deal of work on Dafa projects, were very influential among practitioners, and read and recited Zhuan Falun much more than others. When sharing with fellow practitioners, they were quick to quote the Fa. But they forgot about the Fa when they had conflicts or tribulations.

Although they were doing the three things, the Fa was not their starting point. If they could really base everything on validating the Fa, saving people, and assisting Master in Fa-rectification, they would have measured everything by the Fa principles.

If they were able to align themselves with the Fa, they would not have had big loopholes that the old forces could take advantage of, nor would they have been trapped in tribulations for so long and had their flesh bodies taken away by the old forces.

What Does It Mean to Look Inside?

As cultivators, we all know the importance of looking inside. We all talking about “looking inside” when encountering problems.

And, yes, we really do have to look inside to identify problems. But sometimes we don’t look deeply enough.

Most often we focus on the superficial just to see if something is right or wrong, or we cover up our attachments by saying it’s just a “xinxing problem.”

Sometimes we focus on the results instead of the process. For instance, some practitioners who produce informational materials are more concerned with quantity than quality. Some practitioners do not consider the surroundings when they post Falun Gong stickers and even put them on stair steps.

Closing

We have chosen to just point out our problems and not document how well we have done, because we wanted to identify our shortcomings so that we can elevate as one body and do well in the last phase of Fa-rectification.

We shouldn't slack off in our personal cultivation and rely only on Master's compassion. We should always keep in mind that personal cultivation is the key that guarantees we can accomplish our mission.

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