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My Opinions on the Issue of Coordination Among Falun Dafa Practitioners By a Practitioner (Clearwisdom.net)
Cultivators don't need any organization in the ordinary sense of the term.
Falun Dafa practitioners don't have an organization, and nor do we need any
"leaders" in the ordinary sense. These points have been clearly pointed out in
the Fa. However, there are always people asking, "Currently, in countries
outside of China, why do you have Falun Dafa Associations and assistance
centers? Before July 20, 1999, weren't there also assistance centers and group
practice sites inside China? Aren't those organizations? During the appeal on
April 25, the over ten thousand practitioners who went there were so
single-minded and well disciplined. After they left, there was no trash on the
ground, not even pieces of paper. Isn't all of this evidence to show that Falun
Dafa practitioners have a 'very tightly-knit and well-disciplined
organization'?" Several years' experiences from cultivation and Fa-rectification
have suggested to us that serious misunderstandings from everyday people often
come up when we practitioners as a whole do not have a clear understanding based
on the Fa about the related issues. So could all these questions be partially
caused by a large number of practitioners not studying the Fa enough and thus
having misunderstandings or attachments regarding these issues?
We do see that sometimes certain practitioners attend many activities that
are voluntarily coordinated by other practitioners. They like listening to
contact persons or practitioners who coordinate activities. In addition, there
are some inaccurate descriptions of us that originate in society. All these
factors make some practitioners feel as though they do seem to belong to some
kind of organization. Thus, to some degree, they unintentionally take the
practitioners that perform the duties of assistants as "special" practitioners.
Some contact persons volunteering to work in Falun Dafa Associations have also
developed a sense of being "leaders."
We also came to realize that, in some cases, the reasons for
misunderstandings are because the following concepts are not correctly
understood.
Neither the current registered Falun Dafa Associations nor the previous
Falun Dafa Research Societies are entities that have the ordinary concept of
'organizational structure.' It is impractical, for example, to ask every
practitioner to apply for a permit if we want to hold an experience sharing
conference, a group practice, or a parade. So we need to have some
practitioners who volunteer to be contact persons and apply for a permit under
the name of a given Falun Dafa Association. It makes it easier all parties
involved so that we can hold our activities. However, cultivation and Fa-rectification
require us to be responsible for ourselves. Practitioners who are volunteer
contact persons in Falun Dafa Associations can provide us with some degree of
convenience, but they aren't able to cultivate for other practitioners. They
cannot require anybody else to practice Falun Dafa, nor can they be
responsible for other practitioners' behavior, cultivation progress or results
in cultivation. They are not "leaders" or "legal representatives" in the way
that ordinary people use these terms.
In reality, any format or method used by everyday people can be used in Fa-rectification
as long as they are in accordance with "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance."
But we need to pay attention to not adopt ordinary people's bad notions or
ways of doing things. Coercion or commands don't work for practitioners because Teacher has
clearly told us that Falun Dafa practitioners should "take the Fa as Teacher."
Teacher also said that, "Studying the Fa and doing cultivation are a person's
own affair." "The path each person is to take is different ..." ("Path") "Dafa
doesn't have any people in charge. Everyone is a cultivating disciple." ("Fa-Lecture
at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.") We are all studying the same books. We
also clearly know what the books tell us and what the standards for being a
practitioner are. Fellow practitioners don't represent one another, nor do we
lead - or are led - by each other. We are all common practitioners. We are all
Fa-rectification Dafa disciples. We are all facing the issue of how to walk
our cultivation path during Fa-rectification cultivation. We don't have role
models.
However, having no organization doesn't mean that there is no coordination.
Similarly, having no commands or orders doesn't mean there is no coordination
either.
On one hand, we see that many practitioners voluntarily and willingly make
a lot of contributions in spreading the Fa and saving sentient beings, without
pursuing any fame or material gains. They facilitate a lot of communication
among practitioners and with other people or groups. In order for us to be
able to convey strong messages to society, they work as contact people or
coordinators to make large-scale activities possible.
On the other hand, we are all studying the same Fa. We are all practicing
according to the same principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." So
even the efforts of an individual practitioner, if these efforts are in
accordance with the requirements of the Fa, will become a part of the efforts
of all the practitioners as a whole. Thus, seen on the whole, the activities
will naturally complement each other very well. This is because the goal and
the principles of individual practitioners are the same as those of all the
other practitioners.
The coordination as a whole is a willing cooperation among practitioners
and between practitioners and the Falun Dafa Associations. It's based on the
common understandings of the Fa-principles. It's a voluntary and compassionate
cooperation among individual practitioners. Each and every Falun Dafa activity
is held and completed by the voluntary efforts and cooperation from different
combinations of individual practitioners, and is based on our same goal of
making contributions to the Fa.
These common understandings and voluntary coordination efforts are based on
the principles of the Fa. They transcend any 'organizational structures' or
'commands' in the ordinary sense of these terms. And they cannot be achieved
or maintained through any coercion or ordinary people's kinds of coordination
efforts. This is why practitioners - who don't have any organizational
structure and don't receive any commands from any leaders - can act in a more
disciplined manner towards a common goal than any other ordinary people's
organizations can. They are the result of following the true principle of
"Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." They are the manifestations of the Fa's
power.
When we clarify the truth, our misunderstandings of, or questions about the
Fa can often be reflected by questions from everyday people. They can even be
taken advantage of by the evil forces to weave fabrications in order to deceive
the world's people. In order to improve as one whole body and to clarify the
truth to save sentient beings in a more comprehensive, deeper and more refined
way, it is very important for us to clarify our misunderstandings about the Fa
and to keep our actions and words righteous and in accordance with the Fa.
Posting date: 7/29/2002 |