(Clearwisdom.net) I attended an experience-sharing meeting held in New York specifically for the Taiwan practitioners on the issue of the political parties in Taiwan and their relationship with Mainland China.

The deepest impression I had was when Teacher mentioned that most Taiwan practitioners attained the Fa after July 20, 1999, so our personal cultivation period is short and our cultivation environment is more relaxed, and many practitioners still have many human attachments that they haven't relinquished. "One foot inside and the other foot outside the door." This situation is very similar to the cultivation state of Mainland practitioners before 1999.

I believe this "one foot inside and the other foot outside the door" is not a minor issue, but rather a very serious problem. We might think we have cultivated quite well. We do the three things we must do. But are we still behaving with "one foot inside and the other foot outside the door?"

What does "One foot inside and the other foot outside the door" refer to? My understanding is that this is a state in which we have not acknowledged our "fundamental attachments" ("Towards Consummation", Essentials for Further Advancement II). Although we are cultivating and validating the Fa, we are doing these things with our fundamental attachments not yet removed. Teacher gave Mainland practitioners many warnings regarding this situation. My deepest impression was Teacher's article "A Dialogue with Time":  

Master: What problems do you find my disciples to still have? 

Divine Being: Your disciples can be divided into two groups. 

Master: What are the two groups? 

Divine Being: One group is able to painstakingly make progress in the Fa by following your requirements. This group is quite good. The other group is attached to human matters, is unwilling to give them up, and is unable to steadfastly make progress.  (Essentials for Further Advancement, "A Dialogue with Time")

The divine being points out "The other group is attached to human matters, is unwilling to give them up, and is unable to steadfastly make progress." So, if we care so much about the political parties in our heart, is it the case that we are "attached to human matters, and unwilling to give them up?" This must have been the case. Teacher also said in the Falun Buddha Law (Lecture at the Western United States Fa Conference):

"If only your surface is changed while your nature remains the same, that's fake. At a certain time or at a critical moment, it will still show up. So if a person's heart isn't changed, that's just covering up with a false appearance. Changes must occur starting with your nature -- only that counts as genuinely changing yourself. In other words, you have to be responsible to yourself in cultivation, and you have to genuinely change yourself and let go of the bad things that you're attached to deep inside ¾ only that is genuine letting go. If you seem to do everything right on the surface but deep inside you still guard and hold on to the things that you don't let go of, that's absolutely unacceptable. " (Falun Buddha Law- Lecture at the Western United States Fa Conference, provisional translation)

Isn't our Taiwan Dafa disciples' acknowledgement of the split in Taiwan's political landscape on the issue of the relationship with Mainland China also "...attached to human matters, is unwilling to give them up, and is unable to steadfastly make progress." ("A Dialogue with Time", Essentials for Further Advancement) Cultivating with attachments is not true cultivation. There is only one slight difference between true cultivation and cultivation; that is whether we can acknowledge our fundamental attachments. This is very critical. Teacher said in the article "Towards Consummation,"

"Studying the Fa with attachments is not true cultivation. Yet during the course of cultivation a person may gradually become aware of his fundamental attachments, rid himself of them, and thus meet the standard for a cultivator. What's a fundamental attachment, then? Human beings acquire many notions in this world and are, as a consequence, driven by these notions to pursue what they yearn for." ("Towards Consummation")

As an everyday person, the acknowledgement of the two different parties in Taiwan is really an acknowledgement of two different kinds of ideological conformations. Ideological conformations themselves are actually a set of fixed notions. If a practitioner is also attached to one side or the other, isn't that also being "driven by these notions to pursue what they yearn for?" This is one major obstacle to whether we can walk on the road to true cultivation.

I personally have never joined any political activities. However, I have many views on political situations and politicians. I grew up in a military-family village, and received an "anti-communist, fighting Russia and fighting against uniting with China" kind of education. When I was going through compulsory military service, I was the contact person for our division. The chief of staff said to me that my position was very important and that I had to be a party member. So I joined the Nationalist Party. Although I never participated in any political activities after going through the application procedure, I naturally leaned towards one party's views after retirement from military service. So I voted for Nationalist Party candidates in every election, even though I only observed their activities and never joined any anti-Mainland activities. After I started cultivation, I kept a distance from politics. Nonetheless, I am still cultivating in the ordinary society, so I cannot avoid hearing comments on various politicians. I notice that I am very "sensitive" to some politicians.

Dafa is compassionate. As a Dafa disciple, how can I use my old human mentalities to judge those politicians? Those mentalities are also notions formed in ordinary society. Aren't those also human attachments? Aren't those attachments that I should let go of? I should really let go of attachments based on "likes and dislikes." Gods would definitely not view things the way I do. I cannot continue to subconsciously use human notions to judge matters and people.

I should not attach myself to one political movement or another. I am a Dafa disciple. I am a cultivator that surpasses the secular world. How can I be lost in that back-and-forth struggle! Whatever we do as Dafa disciples, our basis should be clarifying the truth, saving sentient beings and validating the Fa. People from both of those parties should be looked at as sentient beings waiting for us to be saved.

Teacher has earnestly warned Taiwan practitioners: it is an individual student's matter which party he likes or votes for in the ordinary society, but cultivators cannot be too attached to it.

"So for each student, it's fine for you to vote as an individual for whomever you want. It's just that you can't be too attached. But through the persecution against Dafa disciples in Mainland China, Dafa disciples have seen through something, and so some are thinking, "Whoever is close to the evil that's persecuting us, I won't vote for him." (Applause) And as your Master I have no objection to that either. (Audience laughs, applauds) Those are the students' own thoughts, and as your Master I haven't told you who to vote for. Still less will I tell you to take any group action, and that's not allowed. (Audience laughs)" ("Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students")

At one point, Taiwan's Nationalist Party had flatly refused to negotiate with the Chinese Communist Party. However, recently they suddenly decided to deal with the CCP, which still has the blood of millions on its hands, presumably tempted by the potential material gains. On one hand, this may just be a reflection of the CCP's last-ditch efforts, but on the other hand, this is also a reflection of the Taiwan practitioners' long-held attachment to their political parties based on the parties' leanings towards and away from the CCP.

I understand that what I need to let go of is the human attachments to ordinary society, ordinary people and matters. I should no longer be attached to one party or another. I should focus on Dafa and Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance and let go of all human attachments. While walking on my path and returning to my true nature, I should use my righteous thoughts to save sentient beings, including all people from all parties.

Above is my limited understanding. Please kindly point out anything that is inappropriate.

May 2, 2005