(Clearwisdom.net)
Many students around us share a common thought that they will be arrested if they step forward to clarify the truth, and if they are arrested they will have to write the so-called guarantee statement [A statement to declare that he or she is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners]. They think that by not stepping forward they will protect themselves from having to write the so-called guarantee statement, and they won't leave a blemish in their cultivation. Because many have been persecuted before, and some remain homeless to prevent being persecuted again, they choose to do work that is "safe". I believe that this thinking contains omissions. Seriously speaking, these practitioners are taking a path arranged by the old forces. Why? If a Fa-rectification Dafa disciple's only concern is his own safety rather than rectifying the Fa, he does not manifest righteous thoughts and righteous action, and he risks breaking any promises made with Teacher in pre-history. Why is this? The purpose of the old forces' obstructing the Fa-rectification is to save themselves through these arrangements they've made, to get what they want in a selfish manner. If some of us hold on to "selfishness" and don't let go, how can we reach the pure and clean standard of the new cosmos created by Teacher? Teacher says: "Nevertheless, in this affair, they have also fully shown the positions of their xinxing after their deviation from the Fa and have fully revealed their impure side. This has resulted in many things that shouldn't have occurred in certain situations and all kinds of interference; this is quite similar to the display of our students' xinxing at present during their personal cultivation." ("Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference")
I had the following experience: Late one night the police knocked on my door. They asked me to write a guarantee statement, and threatened to send me to a brainwashing class if I refused. I first tried to pass the tribulation in an ordinary human way which resulted in the police taking me to the police station. I deeply regretted this failure on the way to the police station. I felt that I could do so much for Dafa with my ordinary people's skills, and that it was unfortunate being arrested like this. I planned to refuse to write a guarantee statement. I felt that I would be detained regardless. Nevertheless, when we arrived at the police station, several police chiefs discussed my situation amongst themselves and then said that they would release me. Through this experience I enlightened to how to break free from the old forces' arrangements with righteous thoughts and righteous action, and how to follow the path arranged by Teacher.
I would like to talk about the path arranged by the old forces. I personally think that the old forces consider our cultivation the same as cultivation in the past, which refers to a practitioner reaching the standard only by enlightenment, looking inward, and suffering hardship. Having arranged this process, the old forces think that they, themselves should be saved. They believe their process has merit, but it is actually based on "selfishness". Teacher says: "Today's people can't perceive their own warped thinking because the very nature of people has changed. No matter what cultivation way is adopted, you can only change what they can be aware of, but not what's warped in their very nature." ("Teaching the Fa at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America") Therefore, no matter how you search within yourself based on the requirement of your personal cultivation, you will always have gaps and the old forces will always be able to find execuses for persecution. Even if no persecution occurs now, what standard have you lived up to? You've only lived up to the old forces' standard and you have not met the new cosmos's standard.
The path Teacher arranged for us is Fa-rectification cultivation. Dafa represents the interests of sentient beings of the whole cosmos. Safeguarding the Fa is safeguarding sentient beings. The fundamental point of Fa-rectification cultivation is saving others--saving the cosmos's sentient beings. Only through Fa-rectification cultivation can one reach the pure and clean state of selflessness. When you reach that state, even if you think casually, your thoughts will be based on safeguarding Dafa, and you will think about Dafa first when evaluating any situation. Of course, on the surface there will still be a part of you that is not fully cultivated, but the intention of your thoughts will be for Dafa's good.
Realizing the basic distinction between these two paths, we should clearly understand how to break through the old forces' arrangements, and how to walk the path arranged by Teacher. As long as we are able to let go of our most fundamental attachments to validate Dafa, we will be able to fundamentally reject the old forces' arrangements. Of course, on the surface you may still have layer-after-layer of attachments--the old forces use these minor, trivial attachments to interfere with you, yet they cannot touch your true nature. For example, our working locations were revealed by informants several times, our computer had problems from time to time, the CDs we sent out were discovered by the police, and so on. This is interference. However, it cannot affect our true nature. Through these three tasks: studying the Fa, sending forth righteous thoughts, and clarifying the truth, we can gradually become cleaner, purer and stronger, and can then completely eliminate the interference. But on the other hand, as soon as we treat Dafa with selfishness, we are taking the path arranged by the old forces. The point is not what we have done on the surface, in our human behavior, the point is what our motive is when we do it; namely, from what fundamental point do we approach the situation? This can explain why some people who have followed Teacher's requirement to do the "three things," and do so only as a formality, have still been persecuted severely. Simply doing the "three things" doesn't mean that we have met the standard. What matters is our intention and our heart. Only when we eliminate selfishness in the course of validating the Fa, and in the course of clarifying the truth, can we truly achieve walking the path arranged by Teacher.
When we reject the old forces' arrangements fundamentally, does this mean we do not need to take any safety measures when doing Dafa work? No. Why? Dafa cultivation changes a person's true nature. Before the change reaches the surface, we are restrained by this dimension. For instance, we still have to eat to maintain our lives and still have to speak to exchange our ideas. In the process of doing Dafa work we also have to conform to the principle of this surface dimension. So we should do Dafa work with rationality and wisdom; otherwise, the old forces will use these gaps to take advantage of Dafa disciples.
