(Minghui.org) I recently learned that a practitioner couple had some problems in their relationship, but were not willing to discuss them with us. The person who told me implied that the couple was deliberately covering things up.

My first thought was, “When we run into something like this, we shouldn't focus on the shortcomings of others. We should also examine ourselves. Maybe the couple is trying to cover their issue up because they have an attachment to reputation or they don't want others to have a negative opinion about them. However, why wondered why our local cultivation environment made them unwilling to talk it over with us. I felt this was a problem.

Master said,

“The lofty conduct that Dafa disciples have established in this environment--including every word and every deed--can make people recognize their own weaknesses and identify their shortcomings; it can move their hearts, refine their conduct, and enable them to make progress more rapidly.” (“Environment,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

This is especially true during the Fa-rectification period. Talking about our cultivation experiences with other practitioners can ensure that we fulfill our vows better. If we don't, the interfering factors may easily separate us and interfere with our individual cultivation and our ability to validate the Fa.

Oftentimes, when we talk about our problems with other practitioners, the response is not based on understanding, or on trying to help so as to improve together. We may even be ridiculed, or blamed and criticized.

Is this the cultivation environment Master wants for us? How can we feel comfortable discussing anything if this is the reaction we get? After being met with blame or ridicule a few times, some practitioners naturally may no longer want to share anything. This is what separates practitioners and gives negative factors a gap to exploit.

Master has warned us,

“Cultivate yourselves. I don't want the environment Dafa disciples have to become one in which people point fingers at each other. I want the environment to be one in which everyone can accept criticism and at the same time look inside themselves. If everyone cultivates himself, everyone looks within, and everyone cultivates himself well, won't the conflicts be few? This is a principle I have taught all along, going back to when I first began teaching the Fa. Isn't that so? Improvement for a cultivator definitely doesn't result from finger pointing, nor does it result from my criticism of you as your Master or from your pointing fingers at or criticizing each other. It comes from you cultivating yourself. Now that Master has spoken about this in today's teaching of Fa here, from this point on you must start to take this matter seriously.” (Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles)

Every cultivator will have shortcomings in their cultivation. When facing a problem, whether it is the person who is going through the tribulation, or those who are witnessing it, if we can all have a correct mindset and attitude that's based on the Fa, then we will be doing what Master asks of us.

We heard that many practitioners in the Heilongjiang area had been arrested because their communication system was compromised. Before it happened, the Minghui website published an article reminding everyone to pay attention to safety. The editors also published an article asking that practitioners not use the application WeChat to communicate with each other.

We should not point fingers after learning that those practitioners were arrested. We should instead learn from the incident and examine ourselves. We should cooperate to eliminate the gaps between us.