January 9, 2003
(Clearwisdom.net) Whenever I read on Clearwisdom Net or heard about fellow practitioners being arrested by the evil, I always felt very sad, since all the persecution causes losses to Dafa to different degrees. When examining the reasons, my personal understanding is that we failed to meet the requirement of Fa-study overall, and thus the evil old forces were able to take advantage of our loopholes. In order to achieve an overall upgrade, we must truly act according to the requirements from Teacher and the Fa, that is, doing well in Fa-study, sending forth righteous thoughts, and clarifying the truth. Only when we truly act according to that, can we improve.
Although I have kept up Fa-study every day, I was unable to really settle down and study the Fa with a calm mind--most of time I treated it like a routine. Some fellow practitioners who are involved in various Dafa work, have little time for Fa-study compared to others. Teacher said, "As a Dafa disciple, in order to do Fa-rectification things well and to consummate everything of yours well, you need to study the Fa a lot. No matter how busy you are, you cannot skip Fa-study. This is what can best ensure your reaching Consummation." ("A Message" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
How can we upgrade quickly as a whole? In order to catch up with the overall Fa-rectification process, every practitioner must start to do well individually. By focusing our minds on the Fa, we must try to make every single thought consistent with the Fa. If we notice fellow practitioners having problems, we need to point it out in time, so that they can correct themselves.
I have noticed some phenomena among our practitioners. Some practitioners who are not so diligent feel pressure and dare not do any Dafa work upon seeing the evil still running rampant. Some other practitioners always rely on an everyday person or changes in ordinary society to end the persecution. When their ideas or hopes are not realized, they are disappointed. Some other practitioners think the persecution has been going on for too long, and they are even in despair. All these ways of thinking negatively affect our upgrading as a whole. Teacher said, "When you've been persecuted or been under pressure in the ordinary society, it's hard to prevent your human thoughts from having an effect, so some ordinary people's thoughts might surface, but don't think too much of it. Fa-rectification disciples, the persecution has already come to this stage, and Dafa has already come to this stage in the Fa-rectification: what's there for us to still be afraid of? Haven't you already seen your future very well? So when it comes to those evil beings and their arrangements, as long as your righteous thoughts are strong enough you can reject them, repel them, and make them helpless. But being among ordinary people and facing these things, although you've had different takes on things, and there might even be more of us who've had different understandings and who've displayed some human thoughts, it's not all that surprising. That's because while you're improving yourself in cultivation, your path of validating Dafa, of saving sentient beings, and of moving towards the final Consummation is going to be a bumpy one. What's key is that you take every step well after you come to realize something." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.") In my understanding, only by doing well in Fa-study with a calm mind, can we break through all the attachments and walk every step well in the Fa-rectification. Everything we are doing, and every step we are walking, are rooted in the determined faith in our great Teacher and Dafa. If every Dafa disciple can firmly believe in Dafa, and strive forward diligently, it will accelerate our upgrading as one body.
Right now, I have noticed that some fellow practitioners are very busy and have very little time in Fa-study. Some practitioners who make Dafa materials even think the more material they prepare, the higher their xinxing (mind nature) level will be, etc. Of course, I am not saying that we should do less Dafa work, but what is more important is to have an upright mind. If we act according to Teacher's requirements of the three things for us, and do them with a calm mind, then we can effectively validate the Fa. Dafa work is sacred and great, and no human notion is allowed to interfere; otherwise the evil can easily take advantage of our omission. A while ago, I had a strong attachment to accomplishing things, and unnoticeably many other attachments also arose. Although I kept studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts, my mind was not calm, and I failed to truly have good Fa-study results. As time went on and attachments grew, I considered myself better than others. I always wanted to do more things, and contacted fellow practitioners more. In this way, I paid less and less attention to cultivating myself. The omission became more and more severe, and finally, the evil took advantage of it. Although I left the vicious detention center, I indeed have caused some loss to the Fa.
The lessons we have learned should make us more mature. I think that during the Fa-rectification, no matter which fellow practitioners have problems, it can be a loss to Dafa--a loss for us as one body. Thus, we must send forth righteous thoughts to help them. Meanwhile, when seeing that others have a problem, we should also look inward ourselves to see if there is something wrong within us and therefore understand the Fa on the basis of the Fa. Teacher said, "As I've said, everything that happens today in the ordinary society is the result of Dafa disciples' thoughts. Even though the old forces do exist, if you don't have those thoughts they can't do anything. When your righteous thoughts are strong enough the old forces can't do a thing." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.") Thus, in my understanding, as long as we act according to requirements of the Fa, and send forth powerful righteous thoughts, the evil cannot do anything no matter how rampant they are.
Teacher said, "The strength of the righteous has tipped the scales in its favor as far as they go. Those evil beings can't hold up now. The wicked people in the world might seem so evil, but that's actually just arranged by the old forces." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
The Fa-rectification has proceeded to this step; we Dafa disciples should all do even better in Fa-study, strive forward without letting up, and do better in the Fa-rectification. I would like to share Teacher's words with you to conclude this article: "Your righteous thoughts and everything you accomplish come from the Fa, so no matter how busy you are, don't neglect Fa-study." "Dafa disciples' futures are certainly bright--they'll absolutely be bright." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
