(Clearwisdom.net) I would like to share my thoughts after reading the article entitled "Keep in Mind the Salvation of Sentient Beings" (http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/2/19/114786.html), which was reprinted in the Chinese language Minghui Weekly.
I think that the ideas discussed in this article might have fallen into a trap by acknowledging the choices given by the evil CCP, namely, the "either/or mindset." This is an aspect of CCP culture that the has long been instilled into the Chinese people. That is to say, in order to receive your pay, you have to have an identification card. In order to get an identification card, you need to complete a residence registration (or household registration). In order to obtain your residence registration, you need to obtain proof of release from the forced labor camp.
The older sister in the article, whose household registration had long ago been revoked because she practices Falun Gong and was sent to a labor camp, believed that complying with the requirement to provide proof of release equated to acknowledging the persecution, so she took no action in obtaining the proof of release. However, the younger sister thought that as Dafa practitioners, we should lead a normal life and get paid for our work, so it was only routine to follow the procedure set by the evil party. She saw following through with the procedure as an opportunity to clarify the truth, as a precious opportunity to save sentient beings.
Facing these issues, different people may have different understandings and actions. Whether a person's thoughts or actions are right or wrong is specific to his level of cultivation. However, on any issues of principle, our minds should be clear.
Take the proof of release as an example. This is not something most Chinese people would ever have to deal with. What does getting paid have to do with proof of release? Superficially it may have seemed to be a regular routine, but in fact everything in society exists for Dafa. The evil forces use every possible opportunity to persecute Dafa disciples and then find ways to hoodwink us into acknowledging it so they can continue to manipulate and persecute us.
We should not be convicted of any crime for practicing Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, neither should we acknowledge being sent to forced labor camps. It follows that we should not acknowledge such a thing as "release only after the sentence has been fulfilled."
Practitioners who have truly negated this idea and genuinely acted according to what Teacher requires might indeed be released before their sentences are over. Those who are released at the end of their sentences should not acknowledge that this is the way things should be, either.
I believe that we all need to clearly understand that Dafa disciples should not be imprisoned or detained in the first place, and should be freed naturally. If one refuses to acknowledge the so-called "proof of release" at the time of release from the labor camp, one might not be asked for proof of release when applying for household registration, since it had already been negated and there was no longer such a thing as "proof of release" in other dimensions.
Interference is aimed directly at our attachments, and there is nothing that is accidental. As a Chinese citizen, a Dafa disciple should enjoy all the constitutional rights given to ordinary citizens. Since everyone should have an identification card and residence registration, a practitioner who had them revoked should openly request these documents of the person who canceled them, whether the cancellation was ordered by higher authorities or carried out by individuals, because the evil was manipulating this matter behind the scenes.
Once the hidden evil factors are cleared away, you will find that people do whatever you ask them to do, because ordinary human beings are superficially weak. The author of another article, "Some Thoughts after Reading the Article 'Keep in Mind the Salvation of Sentient Beings'" discusses this point.
Since those of us in China have lived in a country controlled by the evil party for so long, we feel the entire living environment is constructed and maintained by the evil party, so when we think about something, we constantly fall into the trap of the evil party's ideology. This is one of the major problems that plagues many Dafa disciples and urgently needs to be overcome and resolved, so that they can fundamentally negate the persecution, walk the path arranged by Teacher and clarify the truth openly and above-board.
It is true that we should maximally conform to ordinary human society in our cultivation, but in the face of any issues of principle, we should make no compromises. In order to validate the Fa and negate the persecution, many Dafa disciples lose their jobs, lifestyles, family and even their lives. It's a complicated situation.
Take rescue efforts as an example. When a fellow practitioner is taken to a detention center or a police station, local practitioners make a concerted effort to rescue him or her, including sending forth righteous thoughts, posting truth-clarification materials, making phone calls and sending letters, etc. However as time goes by, the efforts dwindle. When it is heard that this practitioner has been sentenced to a prison term or sent to a forced labor camp, the rescue effort ends. This situation exists in many regions of China.
Practitioners know that such a situation is wrong, but they just cannot overcome the problem. Why not? It partially stems from our mentality of feeling frustrated and helpless in the face of the evil policy of forced labor or imprisonment to persecute Falun Gong. This is because we have fallen into the trap of the evil party culture in our thoughts.
Some practitioners say, "We live in this material society controlled by the evil party, and even if you do not acknowledge the forced labor or imprisonment, our practitioners have been detained or sentenced, and most of them will not be released until their sentences are over." For many practitioners, this is where the hidden thought of acknowledging the evil persecution comes from. This thinking is incorrect.
The cosmos is at the period of time when the transition from old to new is taking place. Teacher is rectifying the Fa, so how could the evil be allowed to do whatever it wants to do? Teacher does not recognize the old forces' arrangements and asks us to negate such arrangements. In other words, the persecution of Falun Gong is not a necessity for the Fa rectification. After 10 years of efforts to end the persecution, Dafa disciples have become more and more mature, but deep down in our minds there still exist some notions, such as acknowledging the evil persecution, that urgently need to be rectified. The persecution continues with more forced labor and imprisonment. Can we say the existence of such a phenomenon has nothing to do with our hidden mentality of acknowledging the evil persecution?
Teacher told us in Zhuan Falun:
"In Buddhism, it is said that every phenomenon in human society is illusory and unreal."
The old forces have made their own arrangements for every single Dafa disciple. Through their evil minions, they arrest you and put you in jail when you maintain your belief in Falun Dafa, validate the Fa, and clarify the truth to save people. But remember, the human world is not a paradise for the evil to practice their persecution. We are Dafa disciples. Should we not walk the path arranged by Teacher?
As Teacher is rectifying the Fa, isn't everything under His control? If you can truly pierce through this disguise, totally negate the evil's arrangement, and firmly believe in Teacher and the Fa, you will not be sent to a forced labor camp or sentenced to a prison term. Even if you are temporarily detained there, you still should not acknowledge the persecution. And not just the individual affected, but all practitioners as a whole must not recognize this persecution. This way, our continued efforts for rescuing the persecuted fellow practitioners will reveal:
"After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!" (Zhuan Falun)
In the process of rescuing fellow practitioners, we should pay attention to negating this kind of evil mentality, and think and act with righteous thoughts. When you hear that some practitioners are being persecuted, this indicates that there are loopholes with this practitioner or with our whole body that have been taken advantage of; that reasons have been found to persecute us. Do not be fooled!
From now on, we should search inward and patch the loopholes. We should not focus on the loopholes of our fellow practitioners who are persecuted. Each practitioner should search within him or herself in a timely manner. This is an important process. Rather than carry out rescue efforts at a superficial level, we should search inside ourselves for any loopholes and rectify them immediately.
I believe that the huge righteous-thought field formed by our searching inwards as a whole can immediately counter the evil persecution, and ultimately destroy it. This is because the thing that the evil fears most is our action of searching inwards. Once we find our problems and rectify them, the evil loses its excuse for the persecution. In the meantime, we should send forth our powerful righteous thoughts to clear away the persecution. No matter how long it takes, we should continue to send forth righteous thoughts to negate the persecution. No matter what form of persecution or where our practitioners are detained, we should not acknowledge any of it and firmly believe that we are able to rescue our practitioners from persecution.
In the meantime, as we conduct our rescue work, we will persist in clarifying the true facts about Falun Gong, saving sentient beings, and using various means to counter the persecution. No matter what the cultivation status of a persecuted practitioner, or how many years a practitioner is sentenced to, as long as we cooperate well as one body, the persecuted practitioner will be successfully rescued.
Change our mentality and completely purge the notions instilled in us by the evil Chinese Communist Party.
