(Clearwisdom.net) During the last three years the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has stepped up efforts to transform Falun Gong practitioners. As a result, brainwashing centers have been set up in many regions in China, and many practitioners have been picked up and sent there. I believe that the key to getting rid of this old force persecution is for practitioners to cultivate themselves well.
Xinxing cultivation is the most fundamental thing that Dafa practitioners need to do. Under the pressure of many years of persecution, some practitioners have used human means to try to protect themselves, which instead became excuses for the old forces to persecute these practitioners. These practitioners were restricted by their human mentalities; their righteous thoughts likewise had limited power.
Misunderstanding One: "Carrying Truth-clarification Materials Is a Risky Thing to Do"
Some practitioners in China say they have discovered a principle which goes something like this: "Face-to-face truth clarification is not a problem as long as the practitioner does not carry truth-clarification materials with him or her." Such practitioners have even promoted this understanding to others as their "experience." They obtained this notion from the evil perpetrators' (e.g., police) words and behavior. Aren't the perpetrators' words and behavior controlled by the old forces? Aren't the perpetrators' rules for the persecution mandated by the old forces? If we do truth-clarification by following the old forces' rules, how could we not be controlled by and interfered with by the old forces?
Master said,
"To talk about things related to the Fa-rectification or saving sentient beings under that kind of evil pressure and in that kind of situation, where the dimensions are filled with evil, is different from talking about them here. But even so, it's actually because the old forces insist on testing Dafa disciples' xinxing that they've done this. That's definitely the case. If it weren't, this definitely wouldn't have happened. The best way to deal with this situation is for Dafa disciples to walk their paths righteously, to try their best not to let the evil or the old forces take advantage of their gaps, and to solidify their righteous thoughts. The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
Misunderstanding Two: "Don't Provoke the Evil"
The practitioners in one area had done very well in their truth clarification. They put truth-clarification banners everywhere. One high-ranking CCP official visited the region and was angered by the banners. After that, a round of frenzied persecution started. Some practitioners said that they had pushed the envelope too far, which provoked the evil and made it become more vicious.
A practitioner was detained in a forced labor camp and his term was about to end. When he planned to continue to expose how he had been persecuted at the labor camp, some practitioners told him to withhold his action until he got out. But in the end, just as his labor camp term ended, he was taken to a brainwashing center.
The brainwashing center officials pretended to be kind to try to weaken the practitioner's will. Some practitioners treated the brainwashing with human notions. By intending to "cause no trouble" to some "kind" brainwashing center officials, they neither practiced the exercises nor sent righteous thoughts. They believed that by behaving this way, they would not enrage the evil and could thus go home safely. In this state of giving up their righteous thoughts, they signed guarantee statements.
So, can we evade the persecution and protect ourselves by not "provoking" the evil?
Let's look at what the old forces want and what they are afraid of. They want to ruin Dafa practitioners, and they are afraid that "you are determined in your cultivation". What they want is the opposite of what Dafa practitioners want. Although some practitioners feel that they have temporarily protected themselves by stopping their cultivation or by not doing what Dafa disciples should do, the old forces have already taken a big step along the path to ruining them.
Misunderstanding Three: "The Mentality of Trying One's Luck"
Some practitioners have failed to step forward because of fear. They have not dared to publicly declare in a dignified and open way that they have resumed their cultivation. They studied the Fa in a way that was like sneaking around. And at the same time, they wish that they could, without letting the CCP know what is on their minds, hide the fact that they practice Falun Gong. They believed that they would evade suffering this way, but also cultivate to consummation. Many of the practitioners who have been persecuted in recent years belong to this type. Some of them had not been arrested, so they truly believed that by hiding their intentions, they had avoided persecution. But in the end, they either experienced physical tribulations or interference in their families or workplaces. Many such practitioners have given up their cultivation this way.
Master always protects Dafa disciples, while the old forces always want to bring the practitioners into dire situations. Some practitioners may think that they have fooled the CCP with their "clever tricks." However, the old forces can clearly see all this in other dimensions. They may allow the practitioners to have a period of "peace," because they want to reinforce the practitioners' "self-protection" notions so as to ruin more sentient beings in the future. On the other hand, they have not gotten to the stage of eliminating the practitioners on a large scale. Regarding practitioners secretly recording Master's words on audio or videotapes, Master said,
"The old forces haven't gone after you yet, but when you approach Consummation and reach the final stage, they will definitely stop you on account of this. At that time it will be too late for regrets." ("Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005")
People talk about the "ostrich mentality". That is, when an ostrich encounters danger, it buries its head into a stack of straw, thinking that it is safe since it cannot see anything. I came to understand that any mentality of "trying one's luck" is in vain. With such a serious issue as cultivation, no one can "sneak through." Only by viewing cultivation seriously can one be strengthened by Master and Dafa and fundamentally eliminate the old force persecution.
What is mentioned above are just a few examples of human mentalities. One needs to improve oneself in all aspects of one's xinxing. Only in this way can one truly become a "Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple". In this way, we are not afraid of the evil persecution, and instead, the evil will flee from us. So, facing the persecution, we must look inward, cultivate ourselves, and become Dafa cultivators in a open and dignified way.
