Thoughts that Surfaced after a Fellow Practitioner Was Arrested

(Minghui.org) I learned of the arrests of several local practitioners over the past few days. Having had close contact with one of them, I was disturbed by the news.　

Where Did My Thoughts Originate?

When I heard about the practitioner’s arrest, I could clearly feel an evil and terrifying substance attacking me. I wondered if it was brought about by the arrested practitioner. I then realized that the substance must have already existed in my own field and that it was triggered by an external factor, namely, the practitioner’s arrest.

Many practitioners in my area had similar reactions and they panicked after hearing about the arrests. Some said, “I’d better stay away from her—it might not be safe to contact her.” Others told me, “I’d better stop clarifying the truth for a few days and wait until things settle down,” or “I better not ask for more truth-clarification materials. I don’t need the trouble.”

The arrests touched a nerve, but where did those thoughts come from? Were they from our true selves, or were they imposed on us by the old forces? I realized all those reactions and thoughts might not be ours but things forced into our minds by the old forces.

Maybe we should take this opportunity to seriously look within? When I wrote this article, I sent forth righteous thoughts and I became certain the substance of fear existed in my field. And after sending righteous thoughts for a period of time, I felt the substance was eliminated and my body felt much lighter.

Negate the Persecution

If we are also persecuted after fellow practitioners’ arrests, what do we think is the root cause of that? Do we think it is brought about by fellow practitioners and thus resent them, or is it caused by our own karma and inadequacies in our cultivation? My understanding is that karma is the root cause of all tribulations and that the old forces may exploit our karma and loopholes to persecute us in the form of arrests, financial persecution, or sickness karma.

If it was because of a fellow practitioner that one was arrested, then it might be their karmic relationship. The law of the universe is absolutely fair. Everything happens for a reason.

Master told us:

“You should also be clear that “natural” does not exist, and “the inevitable” has reasons behind it.” (“Expounding on the Fa,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

If we recognize this point, will we still blame our fellow practitioners? Will we still think that they are the cause of the tribulation?

We all know that we are cultivators in the Fa-rectification period and that the old forces want to test us with the persecution. Their notions and ways are corrupt, wicked, and extremely evil.

Persecution is a notion fostered by the corrupt gods of the old cosmos. That notion would have us believe that only through persecution can practitioners be tested and establish their mighty virtue. Indeed, throughout history, several major religions have experienced different degrees of persecution as they were spreading throughout the world. But this time, Master is teaching the fundamental Fa of the entire cosmos, and the greatest responsibility of Dafa disciples is to save all sentient beings. If the old forces still want to use the persecution to test us, it interferes with Master’s Fa-rectification and the salvation of sentient beings. For that reason, we should negate the persecution and only walk the path arranged by Master, not the old forces.

How Can We Do Better?

Master told us:

“But after all, they did do what they wanted to do, so there’s all the more reason for Dafa disciples to do even better and cultivate themselves well in the course of saving all beings.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IV)

What and how should we do better? What would have been the outcome if many more practitioners had gone to Beijing on April 25, 1999, to appeal for the right to practice Dafa? Maybe the persecution would not even have been able to start in 1999.

How to Truly Negate the Old Forces?

In “Stop the Evil Acts With Righteous Thoughts” (The Essentials of Diligent Progress III), Master made it very clear that he has granted us the power to stop the persecution and “turn the tables on the evildoers.” When we encounter persecution, in addition to clarifying the facts, we should also expose the persecution instead of just simply enduring it. But over the years, many Dafa disciples, including myself, have failed to truly understand the Fa and exercise their power.

When I read the above article at that time, I didn’t believe that I had this ability, which showed just how far I was from the Fa’s requirement. Some fellow practitioners might have tried to use their power, but it didn’t work. Why? My understanding is that we are still laden with human hearts and attachments, some with strong sentimentalities, some with intense fear, some with disbelief in their power, and some with doubts. All these notions are suppressing our true selves and preventing us from using our abilities given by the Fa.

Master said:

“You know, for a divine being to move a mountain is nothing; moving mountains is easy. However, that being doesn’t have human thinking. His notions are all godly ones, and his state of being is one befitting a divine being. Then could [mountains be moved] if someone has human thinking? Absolutely not. Some cultivators can do it while some cannot. It’s a matter of whether your righteous thoughts are strong enough. It will only be possible when your righteous thoughts are truly pure to the required extent.”

“Some people express that they think they’re quite pure, when in fact that’s not the case; they have all kinds of extraneous, distracted thoughts and many things that were formed postnatally. Even what you consider to be a very simple thought might—from its starting point to its cause, or the things that accompany it—be impure.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference”)

After reading this, I knew that I was really far behind in my cultivation.

Master also said:

“We negate even the very emergence of the old forces and everything that they’ve arranged; we don’t even acknowledge their existence.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IV)

How do we understand this teaching and how can we achieve it? This is a key issue since it is reflected in our thoughts and deeds. I will try to explain with some examples.

If one thinks about how to resist the persecution in case one is arrested, this is in itself acknowledging the persecution. Or, while distributing truth-clarification materials, one wonders if there are any surveillance cameras or if they might be arrested. That is acknowledging the persecution as well. There are also practitioners who believe that one will be persecuted if they don’t conform to the Fa. Why would one have to be persecuted just because they failed to do well in some regard?

These thoughts not only acknowledge the persecution but also make it worse. Whenever one hears about a fellow practitioner’s arrest, does one immediately cancel their Fa study group or stop contacting others, using “safety” as an excuse? In fact, all these thoughts fall into the old forces’ trap.

On the other hand, even though I understood the importance of negating the old forces, my fear of being affected by other practitioners’ arrests was so deeply rooted in my mind that it popped up again during this latest arrest incident. So it became especially important for me to examine every single one of my thoughts and distinguish which ones came from the old forces.

Negate the Old Forces on the Basis of Fa-rectification

Master made it clear that we should “walk your own path well while not acknowledging them, not even acknowledging the elimination of their ordeals’ manifestations.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IV)

After I gained a deeper understanding of the Fa, when I was sending forth righteous thoughts for practitioners after they were arrested, I was able to look at the matter from a bigger perspective and do it from the perspective of eliminating evil, rather than just trying to resolve the persecution itself.

Rectify Our Own Loopholes

Master told us: “Dafa disciples and I don’t even acknowledge the manifestations of their last-ditch efforts.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IV)

While the arrests of practitioners are still ongoing nationwide, that is the old forces’ last-ditch effort. We should negate that by looking within. Only when we find our loopholes and rectify them can we truly negate the persecution and the old forces. If we all understand this, we will naturally know how to do better.

Before we cultivated Dafa, we were also beings of the old cosmos and shared the old forces’ notions and thinking patterns. In addition to the old forces’ systematic arrangement of our past lives, it can be hard to break through our notions at times. But we are Dafa practitioners now. As long as we study the Fa well and follow Master’s arrangement, we can break out of the old forces’ grip.

I would like to encourage fellow practitioners with the following Fa teaching.

“Never in the history of mankind have cultivators validated the Fa, and in the history of the cosmos nothing like Fa-rectification has ever taken place, even Gods had never heard of “Fa-rectification” before, and when it comes to how to validate the Fa in the human world, it is even more true that there is no example to follow. It has all depended on Dafa disciples making their way through this Fa-rectification path and blazing the path of validating the Fa, and they have left—for the future, for the sentient beings of the future, for the human society of the future, and for all the sentient beings in various realms of the future—they’ve left the way and state of cultivation, of validating the Fa, and of beings’ existence at different levels in the future. That’s why it is of utmost importance. If you don’t walk your path well during this Fa-rectification, it will actually result in losses for the future. The better you walk your path, the more solid and more all-harmonizing-and-never-failing is the path of life you pave for the future. That’s no ordinary thing. The Earth appears to be so small, but all the beings in the entire cosmos, all the gigantic cosmic bodies, they’ve all come down here, and this place has become the focal point of all beings, this place has become the focal point of the cosmos. So nothing that’s been done here since the start of the Fa-rectification has been trivial.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2003 Midwest U.S. Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume III)

Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s current understanding meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)