(Clearwisdom.net) I started practicing Falun Gong in 2004. For the past few years, under the care of Teacher, I have improved my understanding of the Fa. My diseased body was cleansed again and again and I overcame the tribulations of life threatening illness. I experienced the feeling of being free of disease and pain. I will now use this opportunity to express my gratitude to Teacher, and to thank the practitioners who have helped me.
Recently, while handing out CDs of the ShenYun performance and the first episode of Minghui Shi Fang ("Leaving Politics and Entering Cultivation") to a retired cadre, he said, "I read Zhuan Falun but I got a headache. The person who gave me the book said my predestined relationship was not strong enough." From then on, he thought that he had no predestined relationship with Falun Gong. Combine that with the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution, and he never had contact with Falun Gong again.
I was stunned upon hearing this. "Your predestined relationship isn't strong enough." These six words can really ruin sentient beings that should have been saved. I told the cadre, "The strength of your predestined relationship does have an effect, but it isn't the only factor. You were probably under the negative influence of the Communist Party, so you were unable to read the book in peace. Falun Dafa teaches people to be good; how can you have no predestined relationship with a practice that teaches people to better themselves?"
"All right, give me the CDs," he said with a smile. "Let me take a thorough look at them. If needed, I'll ask you for the book."
This incident caused me to really take a hard look at my own experiences in promoting the Fa. Some people said, "I read a few lectures and I just couldn't understand." Others said, "I don't have time to practice right now." Still others said, "If the Communist Party opposes it, I wouldn't practice it even if it allows me to live for a hundred years." I used to think that the people saying such things did not have strong enough predestined relationships, so I gave up trying to save them, without losing my peace of mind.
Now, thinking about this with a new perspective, I wonder if the hundred million other practitioners have faced similar circumstances. If so, how many sentient beings were not saved due to the so-called "not having a strong enough predestined relationship?" As Teacher said on March 26, 2006 in "Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan":
"If you do things in a perfunctory manner, or worse yet, allow ordinary people's attitudes to affect you, then for sure the results won't be good."
In Zhuan Falun and many of his lectures, Teacher constantly stresses seeking the answers internally. But I am still blinded by the notion of certain people "not having a strong enough predestined relationship." Most times, I just feel that the person cannot be saved. Isn't this seeking externally? Seeking internally isn't a slogan; you must search deep in your heart to dig up the roots of selfishness and do well in cultivation. We must find those sentient beings with the so-called "not enough predestined relationship" and help them unravel their mental blocks. We must do a better job of clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings.
Editor's Note: There is such a thing as "not having a strong enough predestined relationship." These words are not innately incorrect. But practitioners, who are cultivating among ordinary people, cannot see the true predestined relationship between the Fa and sentient beings. The author's original meaning is that, when sentient beings receive interference in attaining or studying the Fa, we should not arbitrarily use the excuse "their predestined relationship isn't strong enough" as a reason to give up on people who could otherwise be saved. We should encourage and help people in taking steps forward.
October 6, 2009
