(Clearwisdom.net) The following is my personal understanding. For years, many practitioners who were forced to leave their homes due to the persecution have been further persecuted by the old forces, partly because they had become dependent on financial support provided by fellow practitioners. Some practitioners accepted a lot of money, and some accepted just a little. Some encountered serious tribulations when using the funding, and some experienced less serious problems. Regardless, this issue is a loophole that the evil can take advantage of.
Many of those practitioners became entangled in one ordeal after another. Some were arrested and imprisoned many times, some repeatedly encountered life-threatening tribulations, some have passed away, but many have not recognized this issue. Some of these practitioners thought that they had become professional cultivators, and they did not need to find jobs to support themselves. Others believed that they were more capable than others in doing Fa rectification work, and they deserved to live on money provided by other practitioners. Some felt that the practitioners in their area were well off, and it was reasonable to live on the money provided by those practitioners. Some even believed that the financial support from practitioners was the only way to do Dafa work, to coordinate the activities of other practitioners, and to cultivate.
In "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York," Master Li answered a question related to this topic.
"Disciple: A fellow cultivator has been giving me financial support recently, which has enabled me to stay in New York to do more Dafa work. I don't think it is quite right to accept others' help. Master, is my understanding correct?
"Teacher: Yes, I think that since all Dafa disciples are giving of themselves and you too are giving of yourself and clarifying the truth, if you rely on other people's financial contributions, then aren't you doing things conditionally? If others didn't provide for you, then would you not do it? When we take from others, don't we have a sense of indebtedness? Do we feel right about it? Sure, there are special circumstances, and we can't be absolute with this. It's understandable when students who have their own businesses give more and support certain projects by students. But under normal circumstances I don't think that seems right. Even when it's for doing things like clarifying the truth, I don't think it is quite right. If you can stay here long term, then find a job and do [the Dafa] things in your spare time--that works, too. In any case, ultimately you have to resolve your financial situation on your own. You can't depend on someone else to provide for you--that would be a problem.
"I'm talking about this in terms of the Fa's principles. In fact, the observing gods are glaring at you, so you shouldn't be borrowing from people. If circumstances really don't allow, then do other Dafa-disciple things at home. What I said was that those whose circumstances allow could stay here to clarify the truth. If your circumstances don't allow, then go back to your hometown and do truth-clarification things there, which is the same."
Many practitioners who were forced to leave their homes are very capable and are in circumstances in which they can earn their own money. The overall situation is different than what it was a few years ago, since there are now many more material production sites. In addition, those practitioners do not have as many family obligations.
In several recent Fa lectures, Master has clearly pointed out that practitioners should put more effort into resolving financial issues. This also applies to the situation in China. Many of the material sites in rural areas do not have enough funding. Some locales receive only have a few yuan each month from local practitioners, but the sites need far more than that to produce enough materials. One practitioner I know of spends almost all of his income printing materials, and in order to save money, the practitioner and his wife eat leftovers from restaurants almost every day. We must think seriously about the issues of management, obtaining funding, and finding jobs.
I suggest to practitioners who were forced to leave home: resolve the issue of finding your own sources of income, especially those of you who are or have been working at material sites. You can better arrange your time and find a suitable job so that you have a source of income. It is not appropriate to fully depend on fellow practitioners for financial support.
Written on March 13, 2010
