My Understanding of “A Demon Will Never Be Higher Than A Tao”

(Minghui.org) Master Li Hongzhi taught us, 

“Some people say, “While a Tao is one foot tall, a demon is one yard high.” That is a false saying among everyday people. A demon will never be higher than a Tao.” (Lecture Five, Zhuan Falun)

I would like to share my understandings about this Fa passage based on my cultivation experience.

I started to manage my company’s computers in March 2002 and eventually was responsible for maintaining a few dozen of them. The computers usually came with a three-year warranty from the supplier, who provided free repairs and maintenance regardless of the failure.

However, I decided to buy the computer repair and maintenance manuals and tried to repair the computers when they failed. I only contacted the supplier when I could not fix the issues. I learned how to maintain the computers after two years of self-study, so I can now usually identify the root cause of a technical failure quickly.

One time, my colleague's computer malfunctioned, and he called me to help. Immediately after I stepped into his office, his computer magically went back to normal. He turned toward me, “I have tried to solve the issue for a long time but it was still not working. As soon as you came in, it just went back to normal. Is it because you practice Falun Dafa?” I smiled and said nothing. Similar cases happened many times at my workplace.

I set up a small truth-clarifying materials production site with an elderly practitioner in 2005. Once, we were tasked to copy Master Li's five new articles overnight in order for them to be ready to send out the next morning. My partner noticed the copier became warm after working for a while and suggested we turn it off to prevent overheating. I agreed.

However, when we tried to turn the copier back on after it cooled down, it would not start up. We tried a few times but it still did not work. I said to the copier, “My fellow practitioner used you with a lot of care. He was concerned that you were tired and let you rest. But you are starting to act lazy. Our time is very precious for Dafa work. You cannot be like this. It is not easy for us to work together, so you should cherish this opportunity.” 

The practitioner tried it again, and the machine immediately started working smoothly. We looked at each other and smiled.

The equipment at the material production site sometimes caused all kinds of issues for the elderly practitioner when he operated it alone. But whenever I was there, everything worked smoothly. The practitioner sometimes said the equipment bullied him. I said, “It is easy for me to tell what could be wrong with just a glance. So the equipment stopped causing me trouble.”

There is a saying among everyday people that those who possess good skills are bold, which in turn pushes them to learn even better skills. Practitioners say that while a demon is one foot tall, a Tao is one yard high. I understand that when we face the evil’s persecution, we should use the high level Fa principles to recognize it clearly. In this way, the evil will, of its own accord, no longer exist.

Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s current understanding meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)