(Clearwisdom.net)

The following is an extract from an article published recently on the Clearwisdom.net (Reference In a Few Words: Purifying Our Righteous Thoughts ), which I would like to bring up for discussion:

"...  Some practitioners never compromise when facing the evil persecution. They are remarkable. However, when a practitioner says something like, "Even if there is only one person practicing Falun Dafa, that person must be me," he is saying a human's brave words, but not the Fa. Quite frankly, this statement is dangerous, and it has no power. This statement cannot truly make one determined in cultivation. Hidden in this statement are human attachments such as the competitive mentality, the attachment of showing off, and the lack of steadfastness in Dafa. These human attachments could prolong a practitioner's tribulations, and that is exactly what the evil is expecting..."

From Clearwisdom.net, I have read similar statements expressed by a few other practitioners as well. As I read these, I personally felt that the writers had conveyed a feeling of sacredness and resolution in their expression, which also gave me the feeling that their faith in Dafa cultivation is firm as a rock; there was no indication of human competitiveness, lack of determination, or showing off. Of course, all the articles published on Clearwisdom come from practitioners' personal experience, and inaccuracies may therefore arise. But when it comes to evaluating another person, adopting a more open and objective viewpoint will eliminate the harmful effects on the person concerned, as is required of practitioners in practicing Xiu Kou (speech refinement, - Lecture 9, Zhuan Falun). I recall a statement from Teacher's article, A Dialogue with Time, which says, "It would be good if they could manage to search within themselves for the things that they have been able to find in others."

The lesson from this article is worth pondering over. Again, these comments are only my personal understanding at this point in time, and they have limitations. What I'm trying to point out is that on any given issue, it may be looked at from many different perspectives.

Likewise, it would be an improper generalization to say that those practitioners who have been in captivity for a long period of time must have been heavily attached to human elements. The karmic relationships for a person in the course of cultivation practice are extremely complex, and cannot be explained with a simple formula. For instance, after two years of tribulations and suffering in prison, the belief of some practitioners still remains unshakable. Their cultivation process itself could have been pre-arranged in such a way that they could get rid of their karma in a harsh environment and become a truly great and magnificent higher being. Never for a moment has their belief in Dafa wavered--both humans and gods can see this. Of course, the so-called pre-arrangement includes the evil elements dictated by the old forces as well, which we cannot accept and which we are trying to get rid of.

The above is but a piece of my thoughts. Please feel free to point out any inaccuracies.  

Posting date: 11/14/2001
Original article date: 11/14/2001
Category: Views on Cultivation
Translated on 11/9/2001
Chinese version available at http://minghui.cc/mh/articles/2001/11/7/19193.html

 Yearly Archive  Printer Version

_____Related Articles_____ Another Way to Improve Ourselves [11/13/2001] Eliminating the Pursuit of Comfort is an Extremely Important Step in the Process of Fa-rectification for Overseas Practitioners [11/13/2001] My Understanding of "Vows" [11/13/2001] When Winter Leaves and Spring Arrives [11/12/2001] Rectification - Some Reflections from Using a Copy Machine [11/12/2001] The Power of Benevolence Is Immense [11/12/2001] My Understanding of Time [11/12/2001] Relinquish the Pursuit of Comfort and Melt Into the Fa [11/11/2001] Our Compassionate Teacher's Profound words: "Vow," "Predestined Relationship," "Fulfilling One'sVow," [11/11/2001] About "Time" [11/11/2001]