(Clearwisdom Net) As a Dafa practitioner I realize we really should reach the state described by Master,
"He has bountiful virtue and also maintains a benevolent heart; he is full of great aspirations while minding minor details." ("Sage" Essentials for Further Advancement)
We should mind and take care of life's details and be responsible to Dafa and saving sentient beings. We should not let people with predestined relationships misunderstand Dafa and lose the once in a lifetime opportunity due to our attachments and careless behavior.
The following incidents seem trivial, but our not so well cultivated behavior can lead to misunderstandings among people. By putting these incidents in writing and communicating them with everyone, I hope that we become more mature in our cultivation, conduct ourselves properly and meet Dafa's standards.
Before I began practicing Dafa, I heard people commenting that a lot of Falun Gong practitioners went to group practice, and it was hard to find people to assign to duties. That was the end of 1998, when the number of Dafa practitioners grew very fast. The person who made this comment was trying to say that Falun Dafa was powerful and attracted a lot of people, but the listeners might not have understood it that way. I too felt that one couldn't be a good person if one neglected one's job [and other] duties.
Later, an acquaintance told me that a Dafa disciple said, "Don't get involved when people are fighting." My acquaintance felt that Dafa practitioners didn't have a sense of righteousness.
Recently I heard that a person who practices Falun Gong did something extreme. He purchased all the live fish from the market and set them free. Now he is having a family crisis and his wife wants to divorce him because of that. On another occasion, a Dafa practitioner said, "I am a cultivator and not attached to my child's higher education. It's okay if he is not admitted to college. Nothing is important to us anymore." What good does conversation like this serve for those who hear it? Is it to show off his cultivation status?
I also did something inappropriate. One of my brothers-in-law is an elementary school teacher. He supported and wanted to practice Dafa in the past, but didn't quite understand our truth clarification efforts. Without thinking about it I said, "You will understand it if you begin to practice. You will do the same as we do now." Being afraid of becoming "enchanted" in the first place, he was really scared after hearing what I said. He has not started to practice Dafa.
Thinking of these incidents, I feel we need to improve in many ways when we deal with people, especially in the detailed, small things, and for those issues that seem minor. What we say may have a negative impact on people. We must strictly follow Dafa's requirements in the times when evildoers in Mainland China are finding every possible way to persecute Dafa and Dafa practitioners in their final struggle. Every word and every action must serve the purpose of saving people. We cannot talk about Dafa using our own comprehension. The less of an ego we have, the better we clarify the truth.
The above is my individual understanding; input from fellow practitioners is welcome.
October 5, 2005.
