(Clearwisdom.net) In 2009, 12 Falun Gong practitioners in my county were arrested one after another. Such interference and persecution occurred because of problems in our group as a whole. The evils exploited our gaps, and found excuses to persecute us.

Teacher has said:

"Nothing happens in cultivation without a reason. When incorrect states and bad human conduct surface among us, those things have come to target human attachments. We don't acknowledge the old forces' arrangements, but, when we fail to do well they will exploit our gaps. So, perhaps it was that a particular place needed to be targeted in that manner, and that was why an incident happened." ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference")

"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")

I feel our practitioners, as one body, should be serious about looking at our attachments, and thus not give the evils a place to survive.

1. Failing to Look Inward Causes Gaps

Recently, practitioners in our county have been arrested one after another. At least four practitioners have spoken to me about the damage caused to an information production site. They all said the most serious problem was that the whole body was unable to look inside. When the arrest occurred practitioners, including me, first looked for others' shortcoming. This problem lasted for a long time, and along with the attachment of competing, resentment grew and our gaps emerged. Some practitioners only contacted those they got along with, but didn't contact those with different opinions. Some people did not cultivate their speech, talked about anything, and said things behind others' backs, and even held anger in their hearts.

Only by looking inwards will we be able to walk away from a conflict,and eliminate our gaps. Teacher said:

"Yet when we run into problems, we often look outwards--"Why are you treating me like that?"--and feel that we've been treated unfairly, instead of examining ourselves. That's the greatest and most fatal obstacle for all living beings." ("Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Singapore")

I think that every one of us should earnestly look within, abandon all stubborn attachments and selfishness from the root, walk out of a bad state, close the gaps, and eliminate the conflicts. We must study the Fa more, strictly follow the Fa principles, absorb the Fa, and truly assimilate to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance so we can leave behind our human side, and get free of the selfishness of the old cosmos. If everyone of us is able to expand our tolerance so it is as big as the universe, like the immense tolerance mentioned by Teacher, can our one body still have gaps? All evils will have nothing left, for sure. Teacher told us that time could not wait for people; how much remaining time do we have to be so idle? I also discovered one thing: genuine and solid practitioners never have enough time, while less diligent practitioners have sufficient time, waste time on selfish desires, and live comfortable lives—an extremely dangerous situation indeed!

2. Selfishness

The attachments of fear, jealousy, hatred, and other selfish things are far from what Dafa requires of us. I remember that Teacher said:

"Indestructible righteous faith in the cosmos's Truth forms benevolent Dafa disciples' rock-solid, Diamond-Like Bodies, it frightens all evil, and the light of Truth it emanates makes the unrighteous elements in all beings' thoughts disintegrate. However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is." ("Also in a Few Words", Essentials for Further Advancement II)

First of all, we must improve so we can have such great power. However, when we have big gaps among our one body or between individuals, like enemies, how can this be called compassion? The whole environment won't be pure, and the evils are able to come in and cause big interference and persecution.

One fellow practitioner once asked, if a bowl is covered in dust and dirt, would you smash it and throw it away, or wash it clean with water? If we compassionately shake off the dust, and wash it clean, it will become a useful bowl. In contrast, if you feel it is quite dirty and unpleasant, smash it, and throw it away, are you being compassionate toward it? It can be turned into a useful thing. When conflicts happen among our practitioners, or you feel others are unpleasant or not good, will you push them away, push them to the opposite side and cause gaps? Or will you kindly be responsible for fellow practitioners, compassionately point out their shortcomings, and let practitioners improve in the Fa principles?

Teacher said:

"A virtuous person always keeps the heart of compassion. Without grievances or hatred, he takes hardship as joy." ("Realm", Essentials for Further Advancement)

We have the attachments of selfishness, hatred, competition, and jealousy. Aren't these attachments within the scope of a wicked person? Therefore I feel we should fundamentally change from this point on, follow the standard of unselfishness and selflessness, consider others first, have righteous thoughts and do righteous acts, do the three things well, and improve as one body. Everybody knows that we were so brave to come down—and took the risk of being unable to return from this dirty and dangerous human world—to assist Teacher in rectifying the Fa and saving people. My personal understanding is that our courage was great at that time. Very great. Actually wasn't that formed in the old cosmos? If we are unable to bring out this pure thought during the Fa-rectification process, we probably won't be able to enter the harmonious and magnificent new cosmos.

At last, I suggest we all earnestly read Teacher's Fa: Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Europe:

"Whenever you encounter problems you should each look inward to search for the cause within, regardless of whether you're to blame or not. Remember my words: Regardless of whether the problem is your fault or not, you should look inside yourself, and you will find a problem. If the matter has absolutely nothing to do with you or doesn't involve any of the attachments you should break, then that thing would rarely happen to you. If you didn't have an attachment the problem wouldn't have come about. I have to be responsible for your cultivation. Any problem that happens to you, around you, or among you is most likely related to you, and there is something for you to get rid of. No matter whether it's your fault or not, when my Law Bodies are having you remove your attachment, they don't care whether it's your fault or another person's."