Shared by a practitioner from the UK at the 2002 European Fa Conference in Copenhagen

Hello Master! Hello fellow practitioners!

It has been five years since I started my cultivation. These five years have been the happiest years of my life. Five years of cultivation has been full of ups and downs but I went through them without noticing it. Looking back, I feel quite touched and want to thank Master for his compassion and help.

Now the Fa-rectification has come to the last stage. For Dafa disciples and countless sentient beings, this is a very important time as it concerns how many beings will be saved. Thus for practitioners, how to do it better is crucial.

In recent articles, Master mentioned many times about conflicts between practitioners. "Every realm has its own state of being. If you remain stagnant, you definitely won't be able to keep up with the Fa-rectification." (Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston)

Regarding this common phenomenon among practitioners, I would like to share my experience and understanding with you.

A common phenomenon is that when we enlighten to what we should do, very often we expect other practitioners to do it as well. Expectation itself is an attachment. When this expectation is satisfied, complacency may grow without being realized. When this expectation cannot be met, a complaint may start to come up. You may even start to think other practitioners are not keeping up with the pace of Fa-rectification. Maybe what you want to do is genuinely a very good thing for Dafa, but expectation itself is an attachment. Expectation is an emotion. Since you have used emotion, you would have the mentality of "should", "should not", and feel unsatisfied. Only when your heart is truly in Wuwei (non-action or without intention), are you doing something noble. If we can all do this, there won't be arguments or conflicts.

In my cultivation, I once had a lot of expectations of other practitioners. I remember in March 2000, after I came back from Geneva, I wanted to send Dafa material to all NGOs and government organisations etc. all over the UK. Before sending Dafa information, we needed to collect information, such as name and addresses. It was time-consuming work. I asked some practitioners to do it together. After some time, the progress was not as much or as quick as I had expected. I began to worry and even complain in my mind. I thought, 'Isn't it very clear that this is very important? Why can we not get it done efficiently?' Then I had a dream. I was going to go across a river with my push-bike. I walked towards the river and there was a big wide bridge. Just before I got there, the bridge suddenly twisted, and I could not walk on it anymore. I stood by the river and looked around. On the right there was a big bridge on the horizon. On the left, a small narrow road led to a small wooden bridge. I decided to take the small bridge as it was nearer. Walking along the path, the road was really narrow along the cliffs, up and down. Eventually I reached the bridge and crossed the river.

I enlightened through this dream that nothing is easy when doing things for Dafa. Whatever we do, we have to go through some difficulties. We need to do it with our hearts. As Master said, there is no sweetness if there is no bitterness. You would not feel the happiness after the victory if you had not tried hard. I asked myself, "Why should I expect other people to do what I want to do?" Expectation itself is an attachment. Though on the surface it is for Dafa, actually what is hidden behind it is myself. I was using my standard to require other people, and expecting other people to do what I wanted them to do. When they had not met my standard or requirement, I would feel unsatisfied. Having realised this, I tried my best not to have any expectations of anybody ever since. Of course, this was a process. Occasionally I still had the concept that practitioners should do what I want.

Master has told us many times to learn to understand others. To understand other people, one has to give up selfishness and put oneself in other people's position. If we can do this, whatever we do, many unnecessary conflicts will not happen. One will not have the mind to complain or blame. When one learns to understand others, one will understand other people's behaviour. Even if they are wrong, we would feel sorry for them. Once you have learned to understand others and respect other people's wishes, harmony can be produced. To reach this harmonious state, you yourself need to maintain a calm, balanced and Wuwei mind.

As I said earlier, expectation itself is an attachment. Even though it is for Dafa, you can only get it when you are not attached to it. Only when we try to understand other people and respect them, can harmony be produced. Whatever we do is a process of cultivation in which we need to improve ourselves genuinely and let go of our attachments. Then what we do is meaningful. Complaining is negative. When there is a lot of complaining, it will form a negative energy field and in such a negative field, it would be difficult for practitioners to communicate and understand each other, and difficult to reach harmony as this negative material becomes a barrier between practitioners. If we could learn to be more tolerant of other practitioners, try to understand and listen to what other practitioners say, this will produce a positive energy field. In such a positive environment, it would be easier for practitioners to communicate and to understand each other. It will reduce or avoid many unnecessary conflicts, and if there is a conflict, it will be easier to resolve.

Above are some of my personal experiences and understandings. If anything is not appropriate, please kindly point it out.

Thank you.

(Copenhagen, September 22^nd 2002)