(Clearwisdom.net)

On August 2, Minghui.net (the Chinese version of Clearwisdom) published an article by a practitioner in Gansu Province titled "Continue to Recite the Fa; Flee the Evil Den." The practitioner wrote that when the labor camp guards came to interrogate him, he felt a lot of pressure, so he began reciting Master's article "Expounding on the Fa"(in Essentials for Further Advancement):

"When a tribulation arrives, if you, a disciple, can truly maintain an unshakable calm or be determined to meet different requirements at different levels, this should be sufficient for you to pass the test. If it continues endlessly and if there do not exist other problems in your xinxing or conduct, it must be that the evil demons are capitalizing on the weak spots caused by your lack of control. After all, a cultivator is not an ordinary human. So why doesn't the side of you that is your original nature rectify the Fa?"

The practitioner thought that as long as his heart could remain calm, he would be able to pass the tests. He also decided not to recognize or comply with the persecutors' requirements. He was brutally tortured again and again. After six long years of imprisonment, he was sent to a brainwashing camp. On the coldest winter days, he was chained to the bars of an iron door with only thin clothes on. Even then, he was still thinking, "If I can persist for just another day or two, things will be better. The winter is only four months long. In two months, it will be spring." Such thoughts were prevalent. After reading it, I felt regret and sympathy for the practitioner as he did not have a clear understanding of what "negating the persecution" meant.

My personal understanding of the article "Expounding on the Fa" is that Master told us that we not only need to be firm in the face of the persecution, but also need to negate it with the righteous thoughts of a god. We must not passively endure it. The practitioner only paid attention to the first line,

"When a tribulation arrives, if you, a disciple, can truly maintain an unshakable calm or be determined to meet different requirements at different levels, this should be sufficient for you to pass the test."

but neglected the second line, "If it continues endlessly and if there do not exist other problems in your xinxing or conduct, it must be that the evil demons are capitalizing on the weak spots caused by your lack of control. After all, a cultivator is not an ordinary human. So why doesn't the side of you that is your original nature rectify the Fa?"

In the other articles the practitioner recited, including "What Are Supernormal Abilities" and "The Effect of Righteous Thoughts", Master told us even more clearly how our divine side can assist in the Fa-rectification by eliminating the evil beings and elements in other dimensions, negating the evil persecution, and denying the old forces' arrangements. I remember an article by another practitioner a few years back that talked about his experience. He was also brutally beaten and tortured with electric shocks. Yet, he did not only think about being firm. Instead, he thought hard about how his knowing side can rectify the Fa. After a month, he came to the right understanding. When the prison guards tried to hit him with an electric baton, the baton short-circuited by itself when it was about 10 feet away from him. The guards replaced it with a new electric baton, but the same thing happened. After the third time, the guards were so scared that they knelt down to beg for his forgiveness. After that, no one dared to torture him anymore. This was the power of righteous thoughts.

This persecution is not just by men against men. The author of the original article also realized that the evil elements in other dimensions knew his thoughts. Thus, if Dafa disciples use righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil at every moment, the evil will want the disciples to be released, too, so that they won't be eliminated. Regardless, Dafa disciples must have the righteous thoughts to fully negate the persecution. Master will guide and protect us. At the end of the article, the practitioner described how he held onto the leg of the head guard at the brainwashing camp and shouted, "I want to go home. You have persecuted me for more than six years. You are not letting me go home, so I'm not letting you go, either." Finally, he was negating the persecution. Although he did not have the clear idea to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil, he did express a will to end the persecution. Therefore, Master was able to help him. A few months later, he was released and returned home. Still, it was regrettable how long the persecution lasted, and how much excessive suffering he went through.

Some practitioners around me are also in the same situation. They are cultivating "firmly" amidst interference, yet they do not use strong righteous thoughts to deny the persecution. Once I went to see a veteran practitioner. He was the coordinator of the area. After he experienced serious sickness karma, he told his family members to close their small business, and to do the three things full-time. Actually he was already accepting the persecution. When we met, he said several times, "This hurts so much. No ordinary people could bear it." While validating his endurance, he was accepting the persecution as his cultivation environment. Actually, what the Fa-rectification requires of us is not to improve our endurance but to deny the persecution. Although the practitioners in his area tried to help him, he was unable to reach a clear understanding based on the Fa or negate the old forces' arrangements. Eventually he passed away.

Practitioners all have different situations or shortcomings. Some are blocked by their own attachments and are unwilling to let go, some are confused on the Fa principles, some have many tribulations in their families, yet they are still able to do a large amount of work to validate the Fa. The mighty virtue of Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples is demonstrated through our ability to negate the persecution. This is walking the path arranged by Master. Everything of a Dafa disciple's is arranged by Master. The persecution and interferences are not supposed to happen. I suggest that all practitioners being interfered with or persecuted calm their hearts and think seriously whether their shortcomings have been exploited by the evil. They should not be stuck in a state of interference for a long time, or passively accept the persecution. While cultivating ourselves, we should also send forth strong righteous thoughts to negate the evil's arrangements.

The above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything inconsistent with the Fa.