(Minghui.org) The pandemic ravaging the world and the U.S. election exposed many of my attachments and human thinking. When things didn’t take the “righteous path” as I had expected, I became frustrated and upset. I developed resentment and doubt. Despite knowing that I should be looking at things from the Fa’s perspective, I still couldn’t control my negative thoughts.
In my past two decades of cultivation, I have been confused about certain things many times, which exposed my notions and human thinking. It is only after concentrated Fa study that I was able to find the answers to my confusion. Actually Master has already told us everything, whether it’s something we are experiencing, going to experience, or have experienced. We don’t need to think hard about it. As long as we persist in Fa study, we will be able to find the answer and know what to do.
As soon as I followed the Fa’s requirement, looked within and got rid of my human attachments, I felt that Master cleansed the degenerate substance from my body. I felt a strong wave of energy running through my body.
When I studied the Fa again, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the current situation. I came to understand that although it’s Master who makes the arrangement and that His wish is to have Trump elected, the result was nevertheless determined by Dafa disciples and sentient beings’ own choices and actions.
Master said,
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughtsMaster has the power to turn back the tide”(“The Master-Disciple Bond,” Hong Yin Vol. II)
Master has the ability to do anything. He could disintegrate the Chinese Communist Party in less than a day or prevent the persecution from happening at all. If we rely on Master to do everything, it would just take Master a thought for everything to be finished. But if that’s the case, the Fa-rectification would have nothing to do with us Dafa disciples or the sentient beings waiting to be saved by us.
In order to save sentient beings, Master chose to let us do it. While we cultivate towards consummation ourselves, we also work to save sentient beings. We have to do it ourselves in order to be recognized and for ourselves and sentient beings to be saved.
Master has compassion for all beings. He wants to give Dafa disciples opportunities to fulfill ourselves and to give more sentient beings opportunities to be saved. That’s why He arranged for us to walk our own path to validate the Fa and keep the illusion for sentient beings to make their own choices. How to do these things well now becomes our responsibility and depends on whether we can walk the path well and reach the final destination that Master has arranged for us.
Master said,
“Cultivation is your own affair, and nobody else can do it for you. The teacher can only tell you the laws and principles on the surface. It is your own responsibility to cultivate your heart and mind, let go of your desires, attain wisdom, and eliminate confusion.” (“Determination,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
In our day-to-day cultivation, it’s up to us whether we can responsibly “cultivate our heart and mind, let go of our desires, attain wisdom and eliminate confusion.” Thus, how each and every Dafa practitioner behaves, how much of the Fa principles we could comprehend, how much we do to validate the Fa, and how diligent we are in doing the three things, have in fact determined the outcome of many worldly things. Whatever happens in the world or how history develops is actually the true manifestation of how we, as a whole body of Dafa disciples, walk our path in validating the Fa.
Many practitioners may be confused about why certain things Master mentioned in the Fa didn’t come true. I now believe that this must be related to Dafa disciples and sentient beings’ own actions, and yet these things must be done by Dafa disciples and sentient beings themselves. That’s probably why the time has been extended repeatedly and why certain things didn’t happen as we had expected.
Fellow practitioners, let’s stop being confused or feel angry when things don't go “our way.” When we look within, I’m sure we can all find some attachments that have blocked things from developing toward a positive outcome. For the remaining time, we need to keep our hearts unmoved, study the Fa and do the three things well. Whatever happens in the world is the reflection of how well we have done in the three things.
I believe the current situation also reflects how well we have cultivated and how many people we have saved. It’s us who bear the responsibility – not sentient beings, even less so Master.
On the other hand, Master is still controlling everything and giving us the best outcomes possible. There is no doubt about it. In order to meet Master’s expectations, each of us should start with ourselves in doing better in our cultivation.
The above is my understanding at my limited level. I invite fellow practitioners to point out anything improper.