(Clearwisdom.net) Recently during a sharing with fellow practitioners, many practitioners mentioned what Master said,
"We negate even the very emergence of the old forces and everything that they've arranged; we don't even acknowledge their existence. We're fundamentally negating all of their things, and all of, and only, the things you do while negating and getting rid of them is mighty-virtue. It's not that you're cultivating amidst the ordeals they created. Rather, you are to walk your own path well while not acknowledging them, not even acknowledging the elimination of their ordeals' manifestations."
("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference")So how do we act according to this Fa?
I again remembered what Master has taught in "Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference:"
"'Now that you've arrested me, I haven't thought at all about going back. Now that I've come here, I've come to validate the Fa.' So the evil was scared."Previously, I could not understand this Fa very well: the evil arrests us and sends us to prison, but the prison is not a place where we should stay. We should completely negate the persecution by the old forces and walk out of the prison in dignity. Why does Master say that practitioners should not think about leaving?
Recently, I have understood that Master is not talking about whether that practitioner wanted to go back or not; it is more about whether the practitioner was able to set aside oneself--only thinking about coming here to validate the Fa, truly achieving "not even acknowledging the elimination of their ordeals' manifestations." (Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference) No matter where he is, he is there to validate the Fa. This process encompasses saving sentient beings, sending forth righteous thoughts, and looking inside to correct oneself according to the Fa. Master's teaching is about how to be steadfast in following Master's arrangements. Of course the arrangements of the evil would then naturally disintegrate. During this process, he unconditionally put his future in the hands of Master, without any human notions or thoughts about prison, or being in or out of prison, so he naturally does not even think about going back or not.
Master said in "Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference:"
"When you're able to walk a righteous path, that means your righteous thoughts are strong, you're doing things according to Dafa's requirements, and you're doing things according to Master's requirements, then you are negating the old forces, and you are walking your path in a righteous way."
I think that no matter where we are as practitioners, and no matter what the situation is, the more we can stop thinking about ourselves and only think about validating the Fa and saving sentient beings, the more we can break away from the elements and expressions of the old cosmos. Thus, the more we can reach the standard of selflessness on various levels of the new cosmos. At the same time, we also allow the sentient beings of the old cosmos to witness Dafa's benevolence and seriousness through practitioners' actions, allowing them to recognize and assimilate to Dafa, and obtain the opportunity to be saved.
I remember there was once an older practitioner in a courtroom. He only thought about validating Dafa and saving sentient beings. When he saw that there were so many policemen, he thought that Master arranged it such that so many people can listen to the truth, and that this was so good. So he clarified the facts to all the police officers and judges with a pure heart. He talked about the Nine Commentaries and quitting the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Those police officers and judges all smiled, which represented the joy when a life truly understands the truth and has been saved. In the end, Master must have made arrangements for the best outcome. This practitioner walked out of the courtroom with dignity.
Comparing this to my thoughts during my illegal imprisonment, my thought was: I must have some omission which enabled the old forces to dare to persecute me. If I can find my xinxing problem now, then the old forces will not be able to imprison me. I send forth righteous thoughts, clarify the facts, and do not acknowledge this persecution - why was I illegally imprisoned? Was it because I had not found my fundamental attachment? Now, thinking about this, I know that at that particular time, I had acknowledged the old forces' persecution of me and thereby given it an important position without even realizing it. I had a selfish heart and wanted to be released because I was afraid of hardship. I had not completely put myself aside and made validating Dafa the first priority. I did not only think about how to save sentient beings, thus of course I was not able to fully negate the arrangements of the old forces.
We all know that Master's arrangements have nothing to do with the arrangements of the old forces. Validating Dafa and saving sentient beings are our only responsibility and destiny. Breaking through the old forces' arrangements is an inevitable result of our practice, as we are following the Dafa of the new cosmos. We cannot think with a selfish heart that breaking through the old forces' persecution is more important than validating Dafa and saving sentient beings. If we break through their arrangements for the sake of breaking through, this is actually a different form of admitting that they exist, thus we are still following the principles of the old cosmos.
"If a cultivator can let go of the thought of life and death under any circumstance, evil is sure to be afraid of him. If every student is able to do this, evil will of itself no longer exist." (Essentials for Further Advancement II - Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s))
I now understand a certain level of this Fa: By being completely selfless, by not thinking about how one should do what, by completely being responsible to the Fa and sentient beings, and by always thinking of others first, we are beyond the principles of the old cosmos and selfishness.
During the process of saving fellow practitioners, or when they face illegal court trials, the same principles apply. Our basis is validating Dafa and saving sentient beings. As to whether a fellow practitioner can be released and what decisions those courts come up with, that is, whether we can break through the tribulations arranged by the evil, we should not consider this matter by itself. If we conform to Dafa's requirements, we will achieve better results.
Master said in "Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference:"
"But you should always remember one thing: no matter who is interfering, it's all temporary, all illusions, not the main body, and it's all just like air flowing through."
"Those elements, form or no form, exist there naturally, and they have no influence on you at all. Nobody can manipulate Dafa disciples who have righteous thoughts and righteous actions."
Recalling the past when the persecution first started, many practitioners easily regarded the actions of those vicious people as very real. Later we broke through human notions by studying the Fa, and we realized that the actions of humans cannot accomplish much, it was the manipulation of the evil elements behind them that made them seem powerful. Through righteous cultivation and the continued elevation of our xinxing, we gradually realized that the actions of the evil elements are in fact also nothing. The moment we position ourselves by choosing Master's arrangements, when we stop being selfish and voluntarily assimilate to Dafa, and at that moment when the principles of the new cosmos are revealed to us, we will see that all the evil interference is a false image. Only Master's Fa-rectification and practitioners' validating the Fa are real. At this moment it is recognized that practitioners are, "as tall as heaven and incomparably noble," and the evil is nothing. With true righteous thoughts evil elements will naturally disintegrate.
The above is my limited understanding, fellow practitioners, please kindly point out any mistakes.
