(Minghui.org) I recently read an article on Minghui, “Some Thoughts on Most Dafa Disciples’ Cultivation State,” in which the author shared his understanding of what Master said in “Wake Up”: “Most of our Dafa disciples will join me as the Fa rectifies the human world.”
The author stated that, “most Dafa disciples must have had problems in our cultivation that would render us unable to reach consummation by the time the Fa-rectification period ends.” This statement prompted me to share my understanding of Master’s teachings too.
We must acknowledge that Dafa disciples in China have endured the most vicious persecution at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party in the past two decades. Every day of our daily life has been like going to a battlefield as we risk our lives raising awareness of the persecution.
If we think about it, countless practitioners across the country had overcome one obstacle after another to go to Beijing, sometimes on foot, to appeal for Dafa. There are also many practitioners who have lost their lives after succumbing to the extreme physical and mental torture. Numerous practitioners have lost their jobs and/or homes at one point or another as a result of the persecution. The hardships experienced by practitioners in China are simply unspeakable.
On the other hand, the unprecedented difficulty has also provided us with unique cultivation opportunities, which cannot be found in a persecution-free environment, such as the one that will happen when the Fa rectifies the human world.
If we can’t let go of our attachments admist the persecution, it would be even harder to remove them in a persecution-free environment, where the life-and-death test isn’t there anymore. The article mentioned above implies that Master is extending the time for practitioners to work on our attachments when the Fa is rectifying the world.
My understanding is that eliminating our attachments is not the purpose of Master’s allowing most of Dafa disciples to join him as the Fa rectifies the world.
Master said “Most of our Dafa disciples will join me as the Fa rectifies the human world” (“Wake Up”). My understanding is that the “Dafa disciples” Master mentioned are not the practitioners around the world as a whole, or those who took up Dafa before the persecution began in 1999. Instead, I believe Master was referring to the group of practitioners who have been truly cultivating themselves.
Master said,
“It’s not enough just to be here, enrolled in the class; that doesn’t make you a practitioner. There may have to be a deep and dramatic change in your way of thinking before you get the benefits I’ve described.” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun)
After all, we are a large cultivation group. It is no surprise that even practitioners have all kinds of mentalities. It is simply impossible for everyone to be the same. One cultivates according to one’s understanding of the Fa. The level of one’s dedication varies, and how firm one holds the faith also varies.
Master taught us that Dafa protects true disciples, but why are there so many practitioners who have encountered major tribulations (with some even deceased)? I believe one of the reasons is because they didn’t truly enlighten to the Fa or lack righteous thoughts when facing major tests.
Some fellow practitioners still have the attachment of elation, the mentality of showing off, and the tendency to go extreme or act irrationally while doing things. When they come across tests such as sickness karma, they may not be able to handle them well or even lose their lives.
Master also told us in the Eighth Talk of Zhuan Falun that true cultivators will “find that your whole body feels light and as though you are walking on air.” While some practitioners do look much younger and are full of energy, some other practitioners are always tired and can not walk far; some are bedridden and need care; and some have aged so much and so fast. Master treats every practitioner the same. The difference of our cultivation state lies in ourselves.
Ordinary society is a great place for us to cultivate. We have to closely watch every thought and deed in ourselves. If we can’t rise above and beyond, we can only go down with the tide in society. We’ve seen that for some practitioners, they had never experienced major tribulations, but they gradually fell behind and eventually stopped cultivating.
Master also said:
“If you don’t take action to save sentient beings, you will not have fulfilled your responsibility as a Dafa disciple and your cultivation will amount to nothing, for your becoming a Dafa disciple was not for the sake of your own Consummation. This means that you shoulder a monumental mission.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume IX)
Master has always been telling us the importance of clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings, but how many of us are actively carrying out our responsibilities or are held back by our human hearts and attachments?
We have a mission to save people, and a historic vow to fulfill. If we don’t do it, how can we qualify as Dafa disciples?
Some fellow practitioners wrote solemn declarations to nullify their wrongful words and deeds while in custody.
The solemn declaration means they admitted that they made a mistake and promised not to do it again. But some practitioners made the same mistake of giving up their faith every time they were arrested again. They would sign a statement to renounce Dafa after each arrest, and when they were released, they nullified it with a new solemn declaration. Are they fooling the police or themselves?
In terms of what will happen when the Fa rectifies the human world, my understanding is that there will be a large number of sentient beings remaining in the human world and the living environment by then might be different. We may not rely on modern technology anymore, but to use our divine power to fulfill our new mission to assist Master in saving sentient beings.
The article mentioned earlier on implies that those practitioners who remain when the Fa rectifies the human world have failed to meet the standard during the Fa-rectification period, so they must continue to cultivate to consummation. But I feel that we should not look at things superficially. We need to objectively, and holistically evaluate a fellow practitioner and ourselves, and we should not casually pass any judgment on any practitioner with regard to their cultivation status. We should keep in mind that in Dafa cultivation, our cultivated sides are separated from our human sides, which are always the part that hasn’t met the standard. As such, we cannot conclude that a practitioner has not met the standard simply by looking at the attachments he still has yet to remove.
Nothing stays the same forever. Some practitioners who used to be very diligent might stop cultivating due to various reasons and those who didn’t cultivate seriously may become diligent one day and catch up. Only Master knows how we are doing. We can’t become complacent with our cultivation either. Only when we truly reach the end of our cultivation journey, does everything count.
As ones who are still cultivating in delusion, none of us knows when the Chinese Communist Party will collapse, when the Fa will start to rectify the human world, or which one of us will follow Master into the next phase. What we can do is only to solidly cultivate ourselves, study the Fa well, clarify the truth and firmly believe in Master. Everything we can achieve lies in our faith in Dafa.
Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)