How Being Overly Dependent on Other Practitioners Is Harmful

(Minghui.org) Several Falun Dafa practitioners in our area were recently arrested and their homes were ransacked. They all had one thing in common: They did things on a large scale. Either they ran large and comprehensive materials production sites, or organized large-scale Fa-study groups. 

Other practitioners said, “The practitioners persecuted this time were backbones in their local areas.” Every one of them is a great practitioner, so why are they persecuted? Looking at what happened from the perspective of cultivation, I feel dependence was one of the main reasons. 

Dependence Can Be Harmful

Ms. Li not only produced materials herself, but she also received materials from several practitioners. Over time, a large and comprehensive materials production site formed in her home. Many practitioners knew her. They also knew that she was very capable of handling things and could quickly transfer the materials for distribution. The content of the materials she produced was good and she made large quantities. She could easily satisfy practitioners’ needs. 

I felt other practitioners should have tried to explore their own channels in order to lessen her burden.

About two months before she was arrested, I noticed her Zhuan Falun would drop out of her hand during Fa-study because she was exhausted. When it was time to send forth righteous thoughts, she had trouble keeping her palm erect. I gently reminded her multiple times. Instead of pointing it out myself, I finally asked practitioners close to her to remind her. My selfishness, sentimentality and my notion of, “She won’t listen if I keep reminding her,” stopped me and harmed her.

Several practitioners praised Ms. Lin [the second practitioner], saying, “She is very competent and has no trace of selfishness.” Being unselfish is definitely a good thing. However, being capable is only a surface manifestation of one’s cultivation. Cultivation is not measured by how much you do, but rather your xinxing level. The practitioners around Ms. Lin envied her competency, and they felt that they were inferior to her. 

The more practitioners came to her for materials, the more materials she had to prepare, and the more machines she had to run. Her thoughts were very simple: If she had more machines on hand, even though this one stopped working, the others still worked. She made sure she had enough machines working at the same time in order to guarantee output. 

She placed materials in large bags. No matter how many items practitioners wanted, she always tried to satisfy their needs. One practitioner commented: “She was very selfless and hardly thought about herself. However, she was too occupied. Because of that, her cultivation state went downhill.” 

After she was arrested and released, as soon as she began to send forth righteous thoughts, her eyes closed. She leaned over to one side and couldn’t hold up her palm upright. We came up with many ways to help her, but in vain. 

Dependence and Being Dependent are Harmful 

Ms. Li handled many things—she delivered materials to townships and contacted former practitioners and encouraged them to resume practicing. She also set up and maintained new Fa-study sites. Because she worked around the clock, the materials in her home piled up. 

When she went to bed she just slept on the couch. When she had many things to handle she asked whoever was in her home to give her a hand. 

Since she covered all aspects of everything, the practitioners around her were under her aura. The downside was that she got in the way of other practitioners' ability to cultivate and improve. Because she was in charge of everything they increasingly depended on her. Over time this had a negative impact. 

When I went to her home one day, she just came home and was about to have lunch. A practitioner came to pick up some materials. Ms. Li said: “Look, in the time I sat down to eat, three groups of practitioners came for materials.” 

One time Ms. Lin [the second practitioner] asked me to stay for lunch. She had stewed pumpkin with apples. I was curious and asked what kind of meal this was. She said she combined these two things because she treated pumpkin as rice, and apple as her fruit. She mixed both things in one meal to save time. 

I felt sad for her. In order to satisfy practitioners’ requests for materials, she didn’t have time to prepare food. Sometimes after sending forth righteous thoughts at midnight, she continued producing materials. She worked tirelessly. 

Ms. Lin’s hard work made it easy for practitioners who came for materials. But, didn’t we have to pay a high price for our selfishness? Our dependence made other practitioners get stuck in handling too many things, and they gradually set cultivation aside. 

Mr. He is an upright practitioner. Sometimes 14 to 15 practitioners got together in his home for Fa-study. 

Most practitioners felt his righteous thoughts were strong. But behind that thought didn’t they feel his place was safe to study the Fa? Wasn’t this dependence? When several practitioners get together, they like to chat. Some practitioners talked without cultivating their speech. After Fa-study, however, they still congregated near the entrance of Mr. He’s building and chatted. They had no consideration of other practitioners’ safety or protecting the Fa-study site. 

I suggested that Mr. He split the group into two and stop people from chatting about regular people’s topics. He didn’t agree with me. He thought I was telling him to kick some people out. I explained what I meant, which was to ask if any practitioner would like to set up a new Fa-study site and have some people go there. He said, “It’s okay, leave it.” After he was arrested the site he ran was shut down. I heard someone set up a new site. Some old members were afraid to join any group study, and studied at home. 

Powerful Ego and Stubbornness

One time I said to Ms. Li, “I truly hope that you can take a break. It doesn’t mean that you should rest, but rather you should take time to calm your mind and think about what cultivation means. Is doing things cultivation? What does it mean to be a practitioner? What are the responsibilities of a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple? How can we walk our final leg of cultivation well? 

She shook her head and said, “If I didn’t do these things, who will?” I knew that few practitioners in our area were as competent as her. However, wouldn’t it better to let others handle some of her work? 

Once this ego formed, practitioners close to her couldn’t reason with her. She not only wouldn’t listen, but she protected herself using various excuses. She pointed her finger at them. She criticized them and said that they added bad substances to her dimensional field. Soon, she completely refused to listen no matter what they said. 

I once asked Ms. Lin [the second practitioner], “Have you ever refused someone who came to you for materials?” She replied, “No, how could I? We are all practitioners. When a practitioner asks, of course I need to help.” 

I thought, “True, you did step forward. But have you ever wondered if you could take care of so many machines by yourself? Was your cultivation solid enough? If you couldn’t, then how could you ensure the quantity as well as the quality of the materials? 

Sometimes I saw her scrambling to satisfy practitioners’ requests. I understood that refusing was hard, especially when you remember that our goal is to save people. I felt one needed to make sure one had enough time and energy to handle things. To be dependent and to be depended on by others, both are attachments to sentimentality. Master said, 

“...If it is a human feeling, then it's not bei (compassion).” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. V)

When one has attachments, one can run into conflicts. When one has attachments, one still has sentimentality. When one has sentimentality it’s not easy to refuse others. 

Ms. Lin was imprisoned multiple times. She was also well known for her stubbornness. As soon as she came out of prison, she wanted to get caught up and not be left behind. 

In the beginning, after discussing, we wanted to let her calm her mind to do Fa-study for a while, until her xinxing was improved, before worrying about setting up the machines again. However, only within a few days, she got the machines behind our back with more than one. So that soon enough, her home became a small-size production facility. Other practitioners also talked to her, but she didn’t listen. Her logic was: What you said all made sense, however, I just won’t change myself. Her attachment to ego was very strong. 

Attachment to Dependence Could Breed Other Attachments 

Attachment to dependence can also breed other attachments, predominately resentment. As the volume of work increased, Ms. Li felt she was under greater and greater pressure. In her sharing, she expressed a lot of resentment. If someone or something didn’t agree with her, she complained. 

I thought, “What would I do in her position?” If I were always able to supply whoever came for materials, wouldn’t I develop a show-off mentality and zealotry? When materials were not delivered to me on time or in a sufficient amount, would I be worried? When too many materials were on hand, would I be concerned? When I truly looked inward, I identified many attachments. 

I also realized that Mr. Tan [a different practitioner] had resentment. He complained about other practitioners asking him to do this and that, instead of taking care of things themselves. But he was reluctant to refuse them out of facing his attachment, so he still ended up handling things. Could this lead to a good outcome? 

I personally don’t feel forcing someone to do something is within the Fa. I wanted to ask him if it was that hard to say, “I can’t do it.” or “I’m too tied up with other things right now. Can you ask someone else?” Or, “Could you wait a few days? I want to finish the things on hand first.” Those practitioners who allotted tasks, have you checked with other practitioners and asked, “Do you have time to do this?” 

I encouraged a practitioner to get an additional machine. I thought if one broke, he would still have a “backup.” But he immediately refused my suggestion. He said that his xinxing wasn’t on par. I didn’t say anything else. He recently said, “Since my xinxing has improved, I’ve acquired another machine.” I felt so happy for him. Master said, 

“As to this principle, some may understand it all at once, while others may enlighten to it and understand it gradually. Does it matter how one enlightens? It is better if one can understand it all at once, but it is also fine if one gradually enlightens to it. Aren’t both cases enlightenment? Both are enlightenment, so neither is wrong.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)

Conclusion

It’s easy to identify our attachments, but sometimes it’s not easy to find the notions that are causing them. It’s even more difficult to eliminate the notion behind it. Sometimes it’s not that we truly can’t, but rather we don’t sincerely wish to improve and eliminate that attachment. Master said,

“Only then, with that, is it actually cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin, translation version A)

If years ago, each of us had stepped up and begun family-run production sites ourselves, it would have lessened the pressure on those who do. There would have been no need for large materials-production sites. There also wouldn’t be only a few people extremely tied up with things. Without our attachment to dependence, how could the old forces use it to persecute us? 

Each one of our attachments is a wall and a mountain. Only when we make the breakthrough, can we see the boundless sky, otherwise they block our way. This is only one attachment; there is also jealousy, show-off mentality, attachment to doing things, vanity, etc. All of them are harmful. How much of these attachments we still harbor is how much more difficult our cultivation is. 

I feel we should examine ourselves and see if we have attachments to dependence. Please point out anything inappropriate.