(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners are facing pressure every day when clarifying the truth and trying to awaken the conscience of sentient beings – especially, when they hear every day about the persecution of fellow practitioners. This evil persecution is destroying sentient beings. Many diligent practitioners are busy clarifying the truth. They rarely have time to calm down and reflect on how to cultivate themselves and how to improve their xinxing to meet the standard of the Fa and awakening the conscience of sentient beings.
My wife and I have experienced persecution over the years. Every time we went out to clarify the truth, we were under great pressure. I have felt differently in the last two years. After frequent sharing with fellow practitioners, I have become more and more aware that we have all “consented” to the persecution by the old forces, but this kind of consent is not known to us.
The memories of being persecuted were like a shadow lingering in my mind. No matter what I did, my first thought was to connect it with the persecution. For example, while I was talking to someone about Falun Dafa, if a person in uniform suddenly appeared or there was a police siren, I’d be nervous immediately, and the pressure in other dimensions would immediately increase. Just like the conditioned reflex theory that the evil Party has always admired, which is also a method that the old forces have been using.
Master stated clearly:
“Should you have fear, it will seize upon youIf thoughts are righteous, evil will collapseThe cultivator’s mind is loaded with FaSend righteous thoughts, and rotten demons explodeGods walk the earth, validating the Fa”(“What's to Fear?” Hong Yin Vol. II)
Dafa disciples all understand that clarifying the truth and awakening the conscience of sentient beings is what Master asked us to do, and the old forces dare not oppose it. But, when we ourselves think that we will be persecuted, or are afraid of being persecuted, aren’t we allowing and asking the evil to persecute us? Some have had the mentality of fear for a long time and psychologically regard the evil as very powerful. They take chances to avoid being persecuted, instead of eliminating the evil nobly.
A fellow practitioner who owns a store clarifies the truth to customers every day. His wife said that when sending forth righteous thoughts for him, she only eliminates the factors that hinder the awakening of the conscience of sentient beings. They have no concept of being persecuted in their minds. Years of experience have made them very clear that there is no correlation between truth-clarification and persecution. When the police came, they clarified the truth to them just like to other customers. Clarifying the truth is a natural part of their lives, just like eating and doing business, and they have never linked it to the persecution.
If one’s mindset is wrong, then one’s own environment is also wrong. Once practitioners took a carload of truth-clarification materials to a nearby county. They were reported and arrested. Practitioners in that area gathered to discuss the rescue plan. Some suggested that we should hurry to save the police officers who participated in the persecution. Practitioners are taken care of by Master, but sentient beings are in danger if they participate in the persecution.
Everyone agreed how important it is to awaken people's consciences, including those of the police. As a result of this rectified thinking, sentient beings have changed and the attitude of the police has improved. Not only did practitioners clarify the truth, but the detained practitioners also returned quickly, and the car and all its contents were returned. Nothing was lost.
A fellow practitioner in the state of gradual enlightenment said that when a fellow practitioner was being persecuted, many practitioners who participated in the rescue were eager to have him back, but they had no compassion for those who participated in the persecution. The old forces would say Dafa disciples are selfish, they only think about themselves.
Dafa disciples don’t acknowledge the persecution, and even more so, we must deny the old forces’ arrangements. The standard of the new universe is altruistic. When Dafa disciples are truly responsible and considerate of sentient beings, they must be compassionate and not allow them to participate in the persecution. If we can always pay attention to our thoughts and maintain a compassionate state of mind, then there will be no evil in the environment, and sentient beings will not be manipulated to persecute Dafa disciples and destroy themselves.
Knowing that my usual mindset was characteristic of life in the old universe and that I rarely thought of being responsible for other beings, I began to cleanse myself of all negative thinking. Once, two people came to my shop. When I was about to tell them the truth, I noticed they weren’t there to buy anything. I looked at their eyes and realized that they were plainclothes spies. Although I looked calm, my heart was moved and I felt so much pressure that I couldn’t maintain my peace of mind. Later, I went to a nearby fellow practitioner’s place to calm down. He said that, when your heart is unstable, think of the image of Master. I followed his advice and felt much calmer. In fact, it was still a matter of believing in Master and the Fa.
Later, I often asked myself if a life of the new cosmos, a life completely for others, would be thinking like that? Things would be totally different if I had compassionately told them not to participate in the persecution and to be kind to Dafa and its practitioners.
After I found the root of my selfishness, I began to think about how to be good and responsible in all the big and small things of my daily life. The less I think about myself, the less stress I would have, and the less would the persecution factor exist.
Not long ago, a fellow practitioner who had been in regular contact with me was arrested and detained. She remembered the Fa-principles that we had often discussed, which is being responsible for the policemen so that they would not really persecute Dafa practitioners. So she kept adjusting her attitude and became compassionate. Soon all the policemen present became kind, and she eventually was able to return home. She changed from being selfish at the beginning to being altruistic, and the police went from having to sentence her for at least seven years in jail to releasing her. This change happened in one day.
Master clearly stated,
“True shan is what a cultivator attains in the process of cultivation and cultivating goodness, and this is a genuine shan that is achieved by cultivation. When you interact with sentient beings, it's not possible for you to display your successfully-cultivated divine side in full, since you still have a human side that has yet to complete cultivation. When required, you must be rational and clearheaded like a cultivator, allowing your responsibilities and righteous thoughts to direct you, and only then will your true shan be displayed. That is what's different about a cultivator and a divine being. And that is what compassion means--not some intentional display, show of human preference for this or that, or an instantiation of, "If you're good to me, then I will be shan toward you." It is offered unconditionally and has no thought of reward--it is fully for the sake of sentient beings. When this compassionate goodness emerges, its strength is without equal, and it will disintegrate any bad factors. The greater the compassion, the greater the power. Human society never had true principles to guide it before, so man has not resolved his problems via shan. Instead, man has always resolved things through fighting and conquest, and that has thus become man's norm. If man wants to become divine and transcend the human state, then he must forsake that frame of mind and use compassion to resolve things.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX)
Dafa disciples can realize whether their actions are right or not, but in a complicated environment it is not easy to achieve that, so our thinking can meet the standard and requirements of the Fa. Thus, we should keep a compassionate and peaceful state of mind. Whatever we suddenly encounter, we can quickly adjust to the standard required by Dafa.
Master said,
“If someone were to treat you unfairly then, your heart of great compassion would take effect and you wouldn’t do the same to him in return. That is a type of power, a power that makes you different from everyday people.
When you encounter a tribulation, that great compassion will help you overcome it. At the same time, my Law Bodies will look after you and protect your life, but you will still have to go through the ordeal.”(Chapter III, Falun Gong)
Dafa practitioners walk a very narrow path. I feel that meeting the standard of selflessness and altruism is the fundamental difference between the old and the new life. If one can’t realize the existence of selfishness, even if he thinks of Master’s words, his mind is still a factor of the old life and thus can’t validate Dafa.