Don’t Participate In Hearsay and Gossip

(Minghui.org) A large number of Falun Dafa practitioners who left China joined projects and collaborated with practitioners in various activities. They became acquainted with the project details and the other practitioners on the team. Some even met Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa). During telephone conversations with fellow practitioners or family members in China, they sometimes inadvertently disclosed information about certain activities and projects, details about other practitioners, or events that Master approved of, or commented on. This information may then be further spread to others by practitioners in China.

Their initial intention may have been to help strengthen righteous thoughts among practitioners in China. However, their behavior seriously violated the Fa. Spreading anything that is not officially sanctioned is equivalent to spreading gossip, which can lead to serious issues.

Some practitioners in China envy practitioners in other countries because of their relaxed environment that is free from the suppression, threats, and persecution of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They admire the freedom overseas practitioners have to do whatever they wish, and that they are able to see Master. If they receive news about Master or information about overseas practitioners validating the Fa, they feel encouraged and happy. These feelings can be uplifting, and inspires them to be more diligent in their cultivation. However, the effect is only short-lived, as are all human emotions.

Master said,

“With Teacher here, you are full of confidence. Without Teacher here, you have no interest in cultivation, as though you cultivate yourself for Teacher and have taken up this path out of some interest. This is a major weakness of an average person. Sakyamuni, Jesus, Lao Zi, and Confucius have been gone for over two thousand years, yet their disciples have never felt that they couldn’t practice cultivation without their masters around. Cultivation is your own affair, and nobody else can do it for you. The teacher can only tell you the laws and principles on the surface. It is your own responsibility to cultivate your heart and mind, let go of your desires, attain wisdom, and eliminate confusion. If you take up this path out of some interest, your mind will definitely not be firm and you will definitely forget the fundamentals while living in human society. If you don’t firmly hold to your faith you will gain nothing in this life. No one knows when there will be another chance. It’s very hard!” (“Determination,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

Every Practitioner Is Close to Master

Although Master is not physically present with us all the time, every true Dafa disciple has one of His Law Bodies watching over him. Meeting Master in person does not automatically make one a better cultivator. If one is negligent in cultivation, how could meeting Master change that? Disciples outside China seldom see Master. They all have responsibilities, and are busy.

Cultivation isn’t something that happens overnight. Once the initial excitement fades, we must rely on our righteous thoughts and willpower to continue on our course, as Master has already given us all the necessary tools.

While China might seem far from the United States, to practitioners standing in the vast universe, the Earth is incredibly small. We are in the same dimension as Master, helping him rectify the Fa, so we are all very close to Master.

Pay Attention to Our Cultivation

There is a reason each practitioner is where he or she is. Therefore, we must cultivate steadfastly and fulfill our responsibilities wherever we are. Diligent cultivators do not slack off regardless of where they are. Every cultivator has tests to pass, and hardships, and the only difference is how well we do these things. If everything were easy, we would have few opportunities to improve.

Secondly, most overseas projects are irrelevant to practitioners in China. Spreading details about overseas projects to practitioners in China can have negative effects and stir up various attachments among practitioners.

Some practitioners spread rumors about how the practitioners who live where Master lives (a place referred to as the mountain) drink tea and burn incense. They then begin drinking tea and burning incense but have little interest in clarifying the truth. After returning to China, one practitioner said that he met Master, who approved the formula of a particular product. He then built a factory to manufacture the product, which was then sold widely among practitioners. His business sparked great debate among practitioners, who thought what he did was not based on the Fa. Later, this practitioner admitted that he was wrong to do this, as he unintentionally provided the evil forces opportunities to target those practitioners who frequented his factory or bought his products.

The tendency to receive hearsay from overseas about Master or internal information can manifest various attachments, such as curiosity, admiration, or jealousy. Whereas spreading such information displays the attachments of showing off, seeking fame, confirming and elevating oneself, and strong sentimentality toward Master or overseas practitioners. These attachments can be barriers that prevent one from cultivating genuinely.

The Consequences of Gossip

On the other hand, the practitioners outside China who spread gossip also demonstrate issues such as showing off, failure to cultivate speech, feelings of superiority, and self-indulgence.

It is a common practice for businesses to require employees to sign confidentiality agreements in order to keep proprietary secrets from being disclosed to the public. Have the practitioners who spread hearsay to practitioners in China ever considered the consequences? By neglecting to cultivate their hearts and speech and by manufacturing and spreading rumors and gossip about fellow practitioners and Master, regardless of their veracity, they don’t gain anything in their cultivation or saving of sentient beings. They are wasting precious time and energy while generating negative effects and accumulating karma.

Dafa disciples must abide by the requirements to maintain the standards for Dafa practitioners and avoid causing trouble and creating karma for themselves.

Master said,

“Whoever spreads among practitioners things unrelated to the Fa-rectification is interfering with Dafa disciples and damaging the form of Fa-rectification! The sin is bigger than that of demons. In the old forces’ words, it is more severe than what demons have done.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)

Thirdly, listening to and spreading hearsay may seem harmless on the surface, but it quickly plays into the hands of evil forces. We know that gossiping can spark conflicts among people. Moreover, this attachment and harmful behavior can be observed by evil forces in other dimensions, providing them with excuses to stir up trouble. Even though this may not be the practitioners’ original intention, it can have such an effect.

In the past, there were instances of evil websites and false teachings. In response to these phenomena, Master told us,

“It’s just like with the evil websites a little while back, which riled some people up, with some even getting infatuated and irrational, as if they were no longer themselves, going so far as to spread those evil sites. So how did that happen? Was it not because the things that you had—those attachments, those human thoughts, that habit of lying, or that fondness for gossiping—were made to surface and reveal themselves? Wasn’t it to make you trip and fall so that you could see your shortcomings, and to have those who really aren’t suitable be weeded out?” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume XI)

Security Issues

Fourthly, the issue of security arises in any communication with practitioners in China. Although the CCP’s persecution of Dafa practitioners is not as blatant and rampant overseas as it is in China, it still exists. Surveillance and tracking capabilities are quite sophisticated nowadays, which pose potential security risks for practitioners and projects in any country. The CCP may use the exposure of the practitioners’ phone numbers in China to track down the phone numbers of practitioners who are abroad. It’s crucial to recognize that CCP agents are operating all over the world. We shouldn’t seek temporary satisfaction or enjoyment but instead, avoid actions that could jeopardize our safety and that of other practitioners.

Some practitioners who went abroad may not have experienced persecution when they were in China, and some may have only recently obtained the Fa. They may not fully understand how widespread the CCP’s telephone surveillance is. Similarly, some mainland practitioners who recklessly contact overseas practitioners may also neglect phone security. Some practitioners lament and suffer greatly when being persecuted, but once they leave China, they let their guard down, act recklessly out of a sense of complacency, and forget the pain once the wounds heal. They fail to remember the importance of being cautious when they are in a more relaxed environment.

Incoming calls from overseas to practitioners whose names are already on the CCP’s blacklist are very conspicuous. There have been cases where practitioners were arrested for “contacting overseas Falun Gong practitioners” as an excuse to intensify the persecution. Some practitioners underestimate the evil forces’ capabilities, assuming that they cannot monitor everyone around the clock. They are unaware that voice-to-text technology sends an instant text alert to the evil forces as conversations are filtered for certain words.

Some practitioners believe that evil forces only monitor and persecute those with attachments, which implies that they are flawless. Yet, their current state and rhetoric expose many attachments and vulnerabilities. What is even more dangerous is that they turn a blind eye to their problems by justifying their attachments with excuses. Some practitioners use their family members’ phones to contact other practitioners. There are cases of policemen confiscating not only the practitioner’s phones but also non-practicing relative’s phones that contain the contact information of several practitioners.

Some practitioners measure the need to pay attention to telephone security by the absence of incidents and use “no issues for a long time” as justification. However, their standards are flawed. In reality, just because there haven’t been any problems for a while doesn’t mean there is no vulnerability. Many times, they are not arrested because Master is protecting them. Yet they use this as evidence of their strong righteous thoughts and absence of human attachments to justify their ways of doing things. They fail to acknowledge and appreciate Master’s compassionate involvement.

Evil persecution manifests in various ways, and imprisonment is just one of them. Not being incarcerated does not mean that one is not subjected to persecution. During the current Fa-rectification period, many matters must be taken seriously. Even seemingly insignificant mistakes can have consequences. Some incorrect states and trials may appear without apparent cause. Still, they could well be related to repeatedly failing to maintain righteous thinking and not adhering to the standards of cultivation.

By using your phone to connect with practitioners who are outside China, you inadvertently help expand the scope of surveillance for the evil forces to locate more practitioners. Some practitioners are indifferent to this serious issue and focus on showcasing their “strength.” Some even advocate against being overly cautious.

Master told us,

“But it’s cultivation—whatever happened to being “free of gaps” (wu-lou)? There are no little things.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)

We should maintain high standards and be strict with ourselves.

Instead of countering the persecution after the fact, it is better to stay alert, rational, and cautious, adhere to necessary norms, and focus on preventive measures at all times. Refusing to recognize our shortcomings until they’re glaringly obvious is not only a sign of poor enlightenment quality but also shows a lack of foresight. Let’s be proactive—eliminate security risks beforehand and ensure better protection against persecution and loss.

In recent years, there have indeed been a large number of practitioners from mainland China going abroad. It is time for the undesirable phenomena they caused to be brought to our attention as early as possible and nipped in the bud to avoid exacerbating the complexity of the situation in Fa-rectification.

These are my personal opinions. Please point out anything that is not on the Fa.