Comments on Sending Out Righteous Thoughts

By Dafa practitioners in China

(Clearwisdom.net) Through talking to some practitioners I learned that even though others from their neighborhood were arrested or sent to brainwashing classes, those that remain continue to distribute flyers and put up posters clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa to members of the public. However, they seldom send out righteous thoughts except on Sundays when Falun Dafa practitioners around the world do so simultaneously. I have found some common misunderstandings around this issue. In this article I highlight my concerns and offer my understanding for you to consider.

Every Dafa Practitioner Has the Ability

Some practitioners feel that they are not good enough in cultivation practice and that the righteous thoughts they send out are not pure enough. They doubt that they would have any effect, so they are reluctant to do it. Whether the righteous thoughts sent out are pure or not is indeed related to the foundation laid down in everyday cultivation, but one cannot guarantee that every thought sent out by a person who does well in his cultivation practice is absolutely pure. Neither can one say that a person who needs to catch up in cultivation cannot send out one single pure righteous thought. Nor can one say that such a person should not send out righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil. Teacher said in "Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful": "Actually, every Dafa disciple has abilities." In "Teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference," Teacher said: "Actually, my disciples all have abilities--and this includes students in China and other countries, as well as some new students. They all actually have abilities.[...].when some students use this ability, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."

In fact, the effect of sending out righteous thoughts by the same practitioner might vary when he does it at different places, different times and in different realms of thought. Some practitioners can see the actual words in the verse "the Fa rectifies the Cosmos, the Evil is completely eliminated." (It is a good state, but it might not be the best state. So we shouldn't intentionally pursue it.) Not seeing these words does not mean that our sending out righteous thoughts has little effect. We cannot therefore lose heart. Dafa practitioners are doing cultivation practice in the process of Fa rectification, in which we are raising our levels, gradually purifying ourselves and enhancing our ability when constantly sending out righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil. We cannot wait until we reach a certain degree of purity and start sending out righteous thoughts then. It is just like one should not stop participating in Fa rectification because one has fear. On the contrary, one should try to get rid of the fear in the process. When I sent out righteous thoughts for the first time, my mind became distracted before the five minutes had passed. The more times I send out righteous thoughts, the fewer these distractions, until finally they were eliminated. Teacher endowed us with the ability of eliminating the evil and taught us the method in person. It is a rare honor for Falun Dafa practitioners to be given this ability. Each and every one of us should do it and we should do it well. Any doubt in oneself is a reflection of lack of faith in Falun Dafa, and we ought to rectify that.

Fully Demonstrate the Deity Side

Some practitioners are active in distributing flyers, knowing that they sent out 150 copies yesterday and 200 copies today. But they don't seem so sure about the effect of sending out righteous thoughts. Have I really eliminated the evil? How many? I can't see it. I have no idea. Some practitioners even believe that sitting at home to send out righteous thoughts is too easy a job. Only eliminating evil, they think, how can that be as effective and real as going out to do actual work, like handing out flyers? This way of thinking is biased and incorrect.

Teacher said in "Dafa is Indestructible": "Clarify the truth thoroughly, eliminate the evil with righteous thoughts, save all beings, and safeguard the Fa with determination." Teacher also said in "Rationality": "Validate the Fa with reason, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and offer people salvation with benevolence."

These words speak to us, Falun Dafa practitioners inside and outside of China, of the holy missions we have. Every true practitioner should carry out his or her part. In the process of validating Falun Dafa and clarifying the truth, practitioners in different environments and situations are engaged in different work and each has his or her own project and assignment, whereas sending out righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil is something everyone can do, without exception. Teacher said in "The Effect of Righteous Thoughts": "In order to lessen the persecution of Dafa and Dafa disciples, I have asked disciples to send forth righteous thoughts to clear away the damage these beings have deliberately done to the Fa-rectification, thereby lessening what Dafa disciples should not endure during the persecution and, at the same time, saving all beings and consummating Dafa disciples' paradises." On page 138 in Zhuan Falun (3^rd translation edition, March, 2000), Teacher said: "My fashen will protect you until you are able to protect yourself." Teacher has now taught us a method to lessen the persecution of Dafa and Dafa disciples. We should actively use it to guard the Fa and protect ourselves. We shouldn't always depend on Teacher's protection. Besides, when the evil is interfering with the Fa rectification, it not only persecutes Falun Dafa practitioners, but also manipulates everyday people to commit crimes against Falun Dafa. Our eliminating the evil will save those savable beings and establish the mighty virtue of Falun Dafa practitioners. We have to understand that sending out righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil is one of the important missions of Falun Dafa practitioners in Fa rectification that we should not avoid. We have to do it well. Any thoughts or deeds that cause us to overlook, ignore or be slack in sending out righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil is a result of not having a profound understanding of Fa.

On the other hand, not seeing the direct effect of righteous thoughts eliminating the evil and hence having doubts is in fact focusing on the tangible things of our physical world, quite similar to the everyday people's mentality of "seeing is believing." It is a reflection of poor enlightenment quality. In Fa rectification, we place an emphasis on employing the deity side, not the human side. Sending out righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil is to let the deity side play its role. We shall let the part we cultivated, i.e. the deity side, directly participate in the Fa rectification and establish our mighty virtue. In fact, a true and steadfast faith in the effect of righteous thoughts will bring out in various forms the effect of eliminating the evil, even though you might not be able to directly see it.

A Suggestion of Sending Out Righteous Thoughts at a Designated Time

Many practitioners are waiting for or depending on others. If someone sends out a notice and sets up a target, they will follow through and send out righteous thoughts. If there is no such notice, they don't know what to do. It shows that every one of us should overcome the passive mentality of waiting and depending on others. We should actively send out righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil on our own as well as when we do it together in a group.

Recently, for example, the evil has run even more rampant in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. Officials led by the "610 office" (Government department established specifically to detain and persecute Falun Gong practitioners) there have committed many crimes. So far 7 Falun Dafa practitioners have been tortured to death. They are Tao Hongsheng, Liu Rongxiu, Li Zhishui, Zhao Fengnian, Liu Shusong, Zuo Zhigang, and Ding Gangzi. The violence and torture against Falun Dafa practitioners in Shijiazhuang Labor Camp is truly terrifying. At the end of June, a massacre took place there, in which several Falun Dafa practitioners were killed. Practitioners detained in No.1 and 2 Detention Centers in the city are brutally tortured. Here I suggest that all Falun Dafa practitioners in Shijiazhuang City send out righteous thoughts at 10:00 p.m. sharp on Fridays to eliminate the evil elements that are manipulating the perpetrators and trying to damage Falun Dafa. Encompass everything and leave out nothing. Let the evil people who no longer have human nature or righteous thoughts meet their retribution in this lifetime. As long as the Fa rectification continues, we will keep on sending out righteous thoughts together. We can also send out righteous thoughts at a designated time everyday to speed up the pace of eliminating the evil.

In emergencies, for instance when something evil happens suddenly or a practitioner is being persecuted and needs urgent help, any practitioner can contact others and ask them to send out righteous thoughts. We can do it with a hundred people, dozens of people, or even just a few. There are many successful cases in this respect. Apart from sending out righteous thoughts with others, every Falun Dafa practitioner ought to set a time to do it by himself every day, to eliminate the evil elements in his own situation as well as those behind a particular person or event, to eliminate barriers in the work of Fa rectification that he is about to do, to give everyday people a warning or to let vicious people receive retribution in this lifetime. In fact, an individual practitioner can send out righteous thoughts at any time, in any situation. If each and every practitioner is doing that, the evil will have no place to hide and our environment of Fa rectification and cultivation practice will be better and better.

Of course, eliminating the evil with righteous thoughts is only one of many indispensable missions in Fa rectification. It cannot replace clarifying the truth thoroughly and validating Falun Dafa in Beijing. Maintaining a righteous mind and sending out righteous thoughts will make sure that we do better in clarifying the truth and validating Falun Dafa. Let us fully display the initiative of a Dafa particle in Fa rectification to accomplish the holy mission entrusted to us in history.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2001/8/7/14419.html

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