(Minghui.org) Some recent articles on the Minghui website reminded me that I used to offer reckless advice to fellow practitioners due to the attachment to showing off and the lack of cultivation of speech. This caused trouble and tribulations to fellow practitioners.
I started practicing Dafa in 1999. I have been repeatedly arrested, as well as detained in labor camps and detention centers since July 1999. Although I refused to give in to the persecution every time I was arrested, the experiences were exceptionally harsh and difficult for me. Moreover, I did not find the loophole in my cultivation that was the root cause of my tribulation. Fellow practitioners were surprised by my arrests, as they all recognized me as a diligent practitioner whose experience sharing articles were published on Minghui and who studied at least two chapters of Zhuan Falun every day while doing the three things well.
Evaluate Carefully Before Suggesting Action
Because I could write and speak fluently and convincingly, I quickly became a central figure in some of the local Fa study groups. I was able to point out fellow practitioners' shortcomings and find solutions for them within a short time of getting in contact with them. As a result, I soon became the group coordinator.
Thus, I gradually became more and more reckless in offering my advice. A practitioner was hesitant regarding whether she should enroll in her company's medical insurance program. Her non-practitioner family members urged her to take out the insurance, while she thought a practitioner would not have any illness and thus did not need medical insurance.
As she asked for my opinion, I said without thinking, “You should go ahead and enroll. Although you are not sick right now, you could get sick in the future if you should no longer cultivate diligently. When that happens, you have to pay out of pocket for medical treatment, your family would not understand.” Little did I know that my words became reality later. When she left a group study one day, she was arrested by a dozen policemen. She developed heart disease during detention and had to be hospitalized.
If I met her today and was asked again the same question, I would tell her, “Do as you understand the Fa's requirement.” Putting aside whether enrolling in medical insurance was a right thing to do, a practitioner should not make decisions for another.
The Choice Belongs to the Practitioner
Ten years ago, I met a young female practitioner in a Fa study group. As I learned that her mother was very worried that she did not want to get married, I said in response, “Forget about getting married. How can you find time for that?”
Now she is almost 40 years old and still single. She spends most of her time at work and has little time for Fa study. Now I would not get involved, as it is not for me to suggest whether one gets married or not. A fellow practitioner's inappropriate comment can interfere with what Master has arranged for the practitioner.
A few years ago, to rescue an arrested practitioner, her child paid a 3,000 yuan bribe to the police. As she happened to suffer high blood pressure at the time, the police took the money and released her. Upon getting home, she found out about the bribe and considered it a stain on her cultivation.
I commented casually that she should not have signed the release document. She became hysterical. I was concerned about her heightened emotion and how it would affect her blood pressure. As a doctor, I also feared the potential cerebro-vascular complications.
I said to her immediately, “It was done out of your child's sincere hope to rescue you. Any family would do the same.” Although my words did calm the practitioner down, they completely fell short of the Fa standard and could be misleading to her. If I was to encounter the same situation today, I would not have scolded her for signing her release paper and causing her to become emotional. Fellow practitioners would be able to realize their wrongdoings and make corrections sooner or later.
Loophole in Cultivation
There are many examples as to what one should or should not do, and I won't list them all. What a simple yet ridiculous loophole in my cultivation! It is rooted in my attachment to casually expressing my opinions. Such an unchecked loophole has been taken advantage of by the old forces for over 10 years. Such reckless comments were not in line with the Fa. It misled fellow practitioners and interfered with the Fa.
An article on Minghui mentioned a local practitioner's conduct that fell short of the Fa. In order to comfort the practitioner, another local practitioner said to him, “Don't be upset about the article. The person who wrote about your shortcoming publicly on Minghui is actually giving you virtue.”
Such casual and reckless comments happen all the time in our Fa study group. Human attachments such as zealotry, showing off, jealousy, and competitiveness are strengthened in the process. The old forces also take advantage of such attachments, causing trouble to practitioners. Such practitioners in turn will face harsh persecution without even knowing what caused it.
Paying Attention to the Cultivation of Speech
Three years ago, I started to pay attention to the cultivation of speech. I memorized the part of the Fa that talked about the cultivation of speech and recited it often. I also started to minimize contact with practitioners who asked for my opinion. When I did encounter such practitioners, I would suggest that they study the Fa with me. Usually they have answered their questions or had their issues resolved after reading the Fa. I also refrained from offering suggestions and opinions to ordinary people in my family, as long as the issue did not concern truth clarification.
During the past three years, I have been doing the three things in a consistent and stable manner. The interference has disappeared, and the local police also stopped harassing my family.
Category: Improving Oneself
