Improving Together Through Group Sharing

(Clearwisdom.net) Group sharing is a very good environment for us to improve together, which enables us to comprehend the Fa in a more harmonizing and comprehensive way, and helps us see our problems more clearly and solve them in time. Here I would like to share some of our group sharing experiences.

1. Grab hold of all opportunities without being attached to the time factor

For some activities, it may take a long time to get applications approved. If they are beneficial to the validation of the Fa, we should go ahead with the application and not be attached to the time factor. Once we have established righteous thoughts, the matter in question may take a turn and it may turn out that the application is no longer required. One library is frequently visited by officials, the media and the public, so a practitioner thought of holding a seminar there. However, an application for such an activity would take half a year. She felt a bit hesitant, but she still went ahead and filled out the application form. Half a year went by very quickly and the library requested her to hold the seminar.

2. Clarify the truth with righteous thoughts without holding any pursuit

When clarifying the truth to everyday people, we should not hold any pursuit. Sometimes when we clarify the truth to people, they do not respond positively, and we feel disappointed. This feeling shows our attachment to pursuit, which is also a manifestation of our lack of confidence in righteous thoughts. Master said,

"As for whether the result is good, don't look at the other party, it comes from your minds. If you want it to be good then it will be good. And if you don't intend to make it good, or if you are wavering in your mind, then it won't be easy to rectify things. In other words, you need to have strong, righteous thoughts. If you're thinking, "I'm truly saving you. I'm truly telling you the facts," then the result will be good."

("Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")

If we only focus on people's response at the time, then we are behaving in the same way as those mentioned by Master in Zhuan Falun,

"... if people did not believe what they could not see, such people would be regarded by the community of cultivators as having poor enlightenment quality, as being deluded by the false impressions of everyday people ..."

(Lecture 2, "Issue of the Celestial Eye")

The process of us clarifying the truth is very important, and if we do well it can truly achieve the result of saving people. We are not after anything among everyday people, but if we clarify the truth well, people will naturally change their minds. Besides, the process of clarifying the truth is also a process of cultivation. Some people are very bad, and that is their choice. This is also due to the arrangements of the old forces and the persecution. What we need to do is to try our very best to save as many sentient beings as possible.

3. Be clearheaded about our mission, do not rely on everyday people

Sometimes when we clarify the truth to governments, we really wish that they would say what we want them to say, and we hope that they will support us and give us certain recognition. This is equivalent to forgetting our mission as Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples. Placing our hopes in everyday people would not only achieve nothing, but also cause more obstructions for us. Master said,

"Since you're Dafa disciples, you shouldn't put your hopes in so-called "natural" changes, external changes, changes in the ordinary society, or in some favors that someone might do for us. You are Gods, and you are the future rulers of different cosmoses, so who would you count on? All the beings are counting on you!"

("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")

We do our best to clarify the truth to governments and other organizations, but we should not rely on them. Whatever they do is making a choice for their future. When experiencing unsatisfactory events, we should look for causes within ourselves and check if we have any attachments and think about how to improve and do better. Master said,

"In clarifying the truth, when a person's fundamental issues are touched, and at the same time he feels that Dafa disciples are truly saving him, then I think the side of him that's clear about things will emerge."

("Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")

4. Clarify the facts with wisdom, without attachments from the phenomena in everyday society

Many phenomena in our everyday life can be utilized to clarify the facts of Dafa. For example, SARS is a good starting point for conversation in our current truth clarification effort. Previously, some people did not much believe the facts of the persecution, or they did not think Falun Gong had anything to do with them. Now they can see how the government officials tell lies and hide the facts, and have thus caused consequences of immediate concern to them. Nonetheless, our truth clarification should manifest the compassion of Dafa disciples, as everyday people are already in a panic. We are not criticizing their not listening to our previous advice or objecting to their situations, nor should we have other improper intentions. We truly hope to help them extricate themselves from the predicament and offer them salvation.

For many phenomena in our everyday lives, we should not be attached or rely too much on them; otherwise it is easy for [old forces] to take advantage of the loopholes, and casual usage sometimes may bring opposite effects.

Be it war, SARS or prophesies, these are just hints given to everyday people and talking points. Take the war [the recent War in Iraq]for example: many everyday people, including the American people, may not support it or even oppose it. If they mistakenly think that we hold a certain stand and viewpoint, it may cause obstacles in our truth clarification effort. The situations in many prophecies may have changed due to the Fa-rectification and many prophecies are not totally correct. If we carelessly use them, everyday people may not believe what we say. Therefore, according to specific situations, we should appropriately clarify the truth with wisdom to let people understand the wonder of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and to eliminate their bad notions towards us, so that they can stand up to oppose to the persecution of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. This is our fundamental bottom line. We do not have stand on worldly issues.

5. Break through everyday people's misunderstandings

We should let people understand that a peaceful appeal to the government is not politics, but rather the citizens' right and responsibility. If unlawful government officials persecute people or commit terrible crimes, they definitely should be stopped through legal approaches. How can it be muddled away with the excuse of involving ourselves in politics? Man should live with dignity. When being treated unfairly, people certainly should have the right to speak. We do not have any other designs. We are only against the persecution and for upholding a human being's most basic right and dignity. Furthermore, what the evil persecutes is the universal principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Doesn't this mean to persecute everyone and attack the most fundamental part of human nature? How can we let it go by without any reaction?

The long history of China has rendered people consciously or unconsciously resigned to rulers' brainwashing. We should let people realize that an evil ruler does not equal the government, and even less should he be equated with the population. Thus, criticizing an evil ruler does not mean also criticizing the nation and the people who are controlled and oppressed in it.