Does “Suffering the Persecution” Give One Permission To Be Overbearing and Competitive?

(Minghui.org) In recent years, many practitioners have left China and moved to countries in the West. When they were in China, some of these practitioners didn’t cultivate themselves diligently and didn’t step forward to clarify the facts. Some of them who did work hard to clarify the facts in China were persecuted. After they relocated to the West, some of them joined truth-clarification projects while some became negative and pursued a life of comfort. Most of those in the latter group have a weak foundation in personal cultivation. 

As far as I know, some key practitioners who play an important role in saving people stay in China to continue their work. It’s mostly those who had strong fear that left to escape the persecution. Of course, some practitioners left China for personal reasons or for specific projects. 

Whatever the case, I’ve noticed that some practitioners brought with them many bad habits they might have picked up in prison or a forced labor camp, in particular, strong Party culture and a competitive mentality. They speak harshly, are demanding, and their words are sharp. And they tend to get their way by seeing everything as a competition and working hard to come out on top. Their behaviors have caused some disruptions to the cultivation environment outside of China.

I’ve also noticed that many of those practitioners seem to feel they are “entitled” to act that way, as if having suffered the persecution gives them permission to act that way. To me, this is a misunderstanding of Dafa cultivation. It’s remarkable for someone to stand up for their faith in the face of severe persecution. But upholding one’s faith in and of itself does not mean that one has improved one’s xinxing or cultivated well. No divine beings would ever be aggressive, overbearing, or combative. If those practitioners care about their cultivation, they may have realized the issue and worked hard on it. If they haven’t realized it is an issue, then I would say there is something wrong with their cultivation.

From another perspective, although the persecution is very evil, there is a reason why it happened, either because of the practitioner’s karma or attachments. Persecution can’t be used as the excuse to ignore or hold onto our attachments. We don’t acknowledge the persecution, but if someone is persecuted, they need to think about what attachments led to the persecution and work hard to eliminate the attachments. 

In the peaceful cultivation environment outside of China, those practitioners who were persecuted should avail themselves even more so of the opportunity to reflect on themselves and look for the fundamental reasons that caused them to be persecuted. That competitive mentality might give them an upper hand in the human world, but no one can bring that attachment with them to heaven or to the new universe.