Why Do We Participate in Dafa Projects?

(Minghui.org) In recent years, Shen Yun has presented dance performances in their program that expose the crime of forced organ harvesting from Falun Dafa practitioners. 

It has been 17 years since the crime was first made public in 2006. Several teams of practitioners and non-practitioners have conducted independent investigations into the organ harvesting allegations. Mounting evidence indicates that it is still being done on a large scale in hospitals all across China.

On June 9, 2023, The Telegraph published an article, titled “How Western medics can help end forced organ harvesting in China.” It talked about the reality that many Western medical institutions with financial ties to China help to facilitate the organ transplant industry in China, including training Chinese surgeons, publishing articles on research that used unethically sourced organs, and supplying critical medical equipment to Chinese hospitals. 

This tells me that we should expend some effort to clarify the facts to our local hospitals and other medical institutions. Some of the technical and material support from Western countries is vital for the Chinese Communist Party to maintain its organ harvesting pipeline. If we can turn public opinion against unethically sourced organs and rupture that pipeline, it would definitely help stop this atrocity at its source. 

I think the fact that organ harvesting is still going on is a reflection of the overall state of Dafa practitioners as a group. The fearfulness, avoidance, and indifference we see in sentient beings might just be a reflection of our own mental states.

What Is Our Objective in Participating in Dafa Projects?

In the Minghui article “What Is Our Objective in Participating in Dafa Projects?” the author asks if it is outdated to ask “What needs to be done?" or  "How can  contribute?” instead of “What can we get out of it?” 

Back in the early days when the persecution started, many practitioners outside of China did everything they could to counteract the suppression. They worked day and night. Some quit their jobs and some sold their houses. But now, 24 years later, much has changed. Many younger practitioners, those who recently stepped forward, or those who recently moved out of China often take into consideration whether they will be able see Master Li [the founder of Falun Dafa] before choosing what project to join. Some make the decision based on the financial gains they can get from the project.

We should all ask ourselves this question: “What do we cultivate for? To fulfill our historic mission to assist Master in rectifying the Fa and save sentient beings—or something else?” The objective of one’s cultivation will clearly dictate what one does.

Compared to practitioners who get the chance to see Master regularly, the majority of Dafa practitioners, including those in China and in other countries, have never seen Master. But does it mean we’ve cultivated well when we see Master? Not necessarily. Should those who never see Master lose their motivation to cultivate and stop participating in Dafa projects? Hardly.

In my opinion, it might be an attachment for certain practitioners who have a strong desire to see Master. Maybe they need to ask themselves if they are seeking something for themselves and if their motive is truly for their cultivation or for saving sentient beings.

The persecution is still going on as is forced organ harvesting. It’s a serious situation for all of us. The revelation by Master that 400 million people died in China during the pandemic is a serious reminder to all of us in terms of how well we’ve done all these years in clarifying the facts and saving people.

After all, no matter what project we participate in and whether we see Master or not, we are still cultivators. Joining an important project or seeing Master in person doesn’t make us a better cultivator. We still need to work on our hearts and remove our attachments in order to improve. When we insist on doing certain things, we might disrupt Master’s arrangement and interfere with other practitioners in their cultivation. 

On paper, we all know that our mission is to assist Master in rectifying the Fa, alleviating the persecution of fellow practitioners in China, helping the people inside and outside of China understand the truth, and stopping the persecution. How we prioritize these missions and what specific actions we take to fulfill them warrant some serious thinking.

Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)