(Clearwisdom.net) A few days ago, I heard that the mother of a fellow practitioner (she was also a practitioner) was arrested and sent to a brainwashing class. This auntie was normally pretty dedicated to her practice and had been to Tiananmen to clarify the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa. On this occasion, after she was sent to the brainwashing class, she persisted in clarifying the truth to the police for the first eight days. Subsequently, the police threatened her, "If you do not renounce your belief, you will absolutely not be released, your husband and children will lose their jobs and will join you here, and pay a fine of forty thousand Yuan [Chinese currency, the monthly salary for an average Chinese urban worker is about 500 Yuan] as well." Under such a situation, she wrote the letter of guarantee against her will and was released. The practitioner later told me that his mother did it because she had no alternative and that in so doing she had also maintained the safety of many other practitioners.
Later a number of fellow practitioners had a discussion. Amongst us was an auntie who told the following story: The husband of a fellow practitioner was set on divorcing her. She could not abandon her attachment to love and was afraid of the problems of being alone, and therefore was unwilling to be divorced. She felt very depressed regarding this matter. This auntie told that practitioner that the attachment to love must be abandoned, and she should then discuss the matter with her husband without any inhibition. After this fellow practitioner conveyed her opinion to her husband, he retreated from his desire for the divorce.
Regarding the mother of the fellow practitioner, it was actually her not being able to abandon her attachment to sentimentality that allowed the evil to penetrate the gap. Being a practitioner during the Fa-rectification period, one must not recognize the persecution of the evil. We must act on the basis of what Teacher said,
"The true situation, as I see it, is that the evil old forces want to do what they want to. To do well is to not walk down the path arranged by the old forces; the goal is to not allow the old forces to take advantage of your gaps." (Teaching the Fa at the Washington, DC, Fa Conference)
We must have a clear understanding of the principles of the Fa. It was because the mother of this fellow practitioner could not abandon an attachment that the evil was able to penetrate the gap. If she had been able, under those circumstances, to abandon her attachment to sentimentality and resolutely have confidence in Falun Dafa and Teacher and resist the evil ones, she would have overcome that obstacle well. She might even have been released immediately and her husband and children may not have been arrested. That is because the evil never honors their words but Teacher does. When we are upright, Teacher will support us in every way. It is because we sometimes look towards our tribulations from the viewpoint of ordinary persons and allow the attachment of sentimentality to bind us that we have to tread the tortuous path in this ruthless environment. In the final analysis and in reality, it is as Teacher said,
"As a truly-determined practitioner, one is able to endure everything and give up or care less for any attachment in the face of various self-interests. As long as one can do this, it will not be difficult. Those people find it difficult because they cannot let go of these things. Cultivation practice itself is not difficult, and neither is upgrading one's level itself difficult. It is because they cannot give up the human mind that they call it difficult. This is because it is very difficult to relinquish something in the face of practical gain. The benefits are right here, so how can you abandon these attachments? It is actually because of this that one will find it difficult. When an interpersonal conflict occurs, if you cannot practice forbearance or treat yourself as a practitioner in dealing with it, I would say this is unacceptable. When I practiced cultivation in the past, many great masters told me these words, and they said, "When it's difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it's impossible to do, you can do it." In fact, that is how it is. Why don't you give it a try when you return home? When you are overcoming a real hardship or tribulation, you try it. When it is difficult to endure, try to endure it. When it looks impossible and is said to be impossible, give it a try and see if it is possible. If you can actually do it, you will indeed find, "After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!"" (From Zhuan Falun Chapter Nine "People With Great Inborn Quality")
As Falun Dafa practitioners in the Fa-rectification period, why are we unwilling to abandon our attachments and allow the principles of ordinary people to restrict us? If we are earnestly studying the Fa to cultivate and to abandon our attachments, we must judge everything we come across by the principles of the Fa. The Fa will then eradicate the evil. We will be able to overcome the barriers well, even to the extent that the evil will not have the courage to test us.
