(Clearwisdom.net) During the past few days, we have seen countless New Year's greetings to our Teacher, Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, from all over the world. Seeing the beautiful cards and reading the touching words, all sorts of feelings well up in my mind and I'm left speechless.
The emperor Tang Taizong said, "Gusty and strong winds can blow the gentle grass, while the turbulent age can distinguish the honest feudal official." Whenever harsh times come, it's a test of people's faith and moral courage. Each time, very few are able to persist in their lofty pursuit despite grave danger. This is one reason why history has heaped respect and praise upon those few people.
This world is full of delusion. Human beings do not know the truth and do not know the purpose of life. They are lost and accumulate karma due to their selfishness. Throughout the course of history, many sages and wise men did not get the respect they deserved during their lifetimes.
When Confucius was stranded in the countries of Chen and Cai, only Yan Hui kept his faith among all his students. Zhuge Liang once said, "One can meet three thousand friends when it's time for drinking wine and tea, but none is to be found when urgent help is needed." Human sentiment is fickle, and human relationships are cold.
It has been eight years since the Chinese Communist Party started to persecute Falun Gong. The CCP mobilized the entire country's machinery to target a group of innocent, peaceful people with this unprecedented, brutal persecution. Brainwashing, arrests, imprisonment, forced labor, implication of family and associates, torture and sexual assault, murder, and even organ removal from living people... they have stopped at nothing. In spite of all of this, Falun Dafa practitioners have persisted in their beliefs. They have written the most glorious chapter against tyranny in history by clarifying the truth peacefully, compassionately, and rationally.
This is an extraordinary group. The faith and the moral courage of Falun Gong practitioners are eternal. These eight years of opposing the persecution is a manifestation of the power of righteous belief. All the New Year's greetings to Teacher are declarations of this righteous belief. They are announcements of the failure of the persecution and help to display the magnificence of Falun Dafa.
When this page of history is turned, people will understand the greatness of this group of practitioners. What they should truly remember, however, is Falun Dafa, which gave them righteous belief, and Mr. Li Hongzhi, who founded Falun Dafa and led the practitioners through this darkest part of human history. Each word of greeting is a word of praise for the Sage and Dafa's compassion. They praise the boundless grace of Teacher Li Hongzhi.
A famous prophecy from the Sui Dynasty said, "When the Sage appears, verses of praise abound from the Four Seas." Aren't these greetings from all over the world praise for the Sage?
