My Understanding of Writing a “Solemn Declaration” and Mending One’s Mistake

(Minghui.org) This year, the Chinese Communist Party has launched a “zero-out” harassment campaign across China as a coordinated effort to force every practitioner on their blacklist to give up their faith in Falun Dafa. Many practitioners in our region have been harassed to varying degrees. Some were deceived by the authorities or coerced into signing a statement renouncing their faith, under the influence of fear and other attachments. For some others, although they didn’t sign the statement, they still cooperated with the authorities in the harassment.

No matter what the circumstances, we should never sign the renouncing statements. While Master has given us the opportunity to publish a “solemn declaration” on the Minghui website to nullify whatever statements we signed to renounce our faith, I realized that some practitioners took it as a way to excuse themselves. They then did not do what they said in their own declaration, “to make up for the damage caused to Dafa.” It may seem to them that by writing the “solemn declaration,” their betrayal to Dafa would be erased.

Master taught us:

“Then what is the purpose of confession? Confession is when a person knows that he made a mistake and wants to do better. It doesn’t qualify when a person confesses while still doing that same wrong. Say today you killed a person, [and you say] “Please forgive me,” and then you kill another one tomorrow and then confess again and ask for forgiveness. Who would forgive you? You see the idea, right? You should stop doing wrong and vow not to commit those acts again, and truly not to do them again.” (Teachings at the Conference in Houston)

We know that Gods and Buddhas look at human hearts. When non-practitioners quit the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations, they will have a bright future if they did it sincerely. I believe it’s the same for practitioners when publishing a “solemn declaration.” They have to be serious about it and stay true to their words.

I think we all need to understand how serious a mistake it is to renounce Dafa, and the stain it causes to our cultivation. Those who did make the mistake should even more so understand the consequences of writing a “solemn declaration” and simply publishing a statement, even with their real names, wouldn’t overturn everything. We really have to change our hearts.

In the past, I thought that traditional culture was a good reference for regular people – it is the standard they should return to. Recently I realized that it also provides examples for cultivators, including the “righteousness” and “loyalty” portrayed in stories from ancient times.

Even though we are Dafa practitioners who cultivate ourselves based on the Fa, under the influence of the Party culture throughout our upbringing, many times our behaviors are not befitting cultivators, and are not even comparable with our ancestors.

Over the years of cultivation, not only us but our family members have benefited enormously from Dafa. We were all grateful for the blessings and protections granted by Dafa. But as soon as the evil threatened us, some practitioners gave in right away. We did not even meet the standard of ancient people, not to mention those who are striving to cultivate beyond the human realm!

Some fellow practitioners paid attention to how many others have published their “solemn declarations” on Minghui, so as to justify for themselves that they were cultivating better because they didn’t make the mistake of renouncing their faith under pressure and didn't have to write the “solemn declaration.” But they forget that we should compare ourselves against the Fa, not other practitioners.

I did not do well with the three things recently, but paid little attention since I did not feel that I slacked off that much. I was reminded by a dream in which I was preparing for a college entrance exam. After I woke up, I did not seize the moment and change my cultivation state. A few days later, I had another dream that I did not pass the exam! I was shocked by the dream! I understand that the closer to the end the more serious and strict are the requirements.

One practitioner I knew had not been cultivating for several years. She suddenly wanted to cultivate again this year, and then she had a dream, in which there was no seat in the classroom for her, but she was allowed to attend the class by sitting on the ground.

I initially wondered why she got a better outcome than I, with her still being given a chance to attend the class but me not being given the chance to pass the exam. I later came to see that every cultivator has his or her own unique situation and I cannot compare myself to others. All I can do is to follow the Fa's requirements to cultivate solidly.

Cultivation is very, very serious. If we indeed make mistakes, we should mend our mistakes wholeheartedly and avoid making the same mistake again.