Break Through the Boundaries of Individual Cultivation and Progress Towards Maturity in Fa-Rectification Cultivation

By A Practitioner From Mainland China

For Dafa disciples, nothing occurring around us is coincidence. This is particularly true for Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period. We should contemplate and deal with everything around us or experienced by us in the light of Dafa anytime, anywhere. Only by doing so do we live up to the title of Dafa disciples. On this note, let me share with fellow practitioners a recent story, one that has made me do a lot of thinking. As usual, comments and corrections are welcome.

One day, I went to see a practitioner who was also a friend of mine. She told me her work unit had started to re-hire people who had been laid off based on their scores on a test. She was concerned about the chances of being re-hired under this new policy, because her division chief had insinuated to her the day before that the test would probably include "some questions about Falun Gong." I didn't pay much attention to what she said at that moment. Then, she went on to say that she would not concur in her answer with any questions defaming Dafa; rather, that she would fill in words that validated Dafa and clarified the truth instead, even if doing so meant not getting a job. Hearing this, I was pleased that she was able to let go of her attachment to "job;" at the same time, a thought flashed in my mind: "eliminate the evil in her work unit." Why did this thought all of a sudden come to mind? At that time, there were many factors blocking my thoughts. First, I figured the test must have been created already. Second, she was able to set aside her self-interest--the job. Third, I believed the specific practitioner(s) involved should awaken to it and eliminate the evil.

In the evening, when I spoke to my husband (a practitioner) about her case, he was very surprised by her reactions and said with no hesitation, "Did she ever try to figure out why her boss would tip her off on this? Why didn't she send forth righteous thought to subdue the evil force in her work unit after hearing this? This is an arrangement by old forces. As a Dafa disciple who does her work so well, why shouldn't she be hired? Isn't this blatant persecution of a Dafa disciple? Actually, she is acquiescing in the arrangement of the old forces, even if all she does is take their test. This is the same as indulging and cooperating with the old forces." His rapid-fire words--and the series of questions he raised--really struck me.

In "Dafa is Indestructible," Master said, "A Dafa disciple completely opposes everything arranged by the evil old forces." Why didn't I think about it this way? This indicated that I had not yet completely assimilated to the Fa, and was thinking only from the standpoint of individual cultivation. Unwittingly, I put myself on the outside of this matter and failed to consider it at the level of Fa-rectification. This showed my inadequacies. Realizing this, my husband and I together sent forth our purest and most resolute thoughts right away: "Eliminate all the evil that is persecuting Dafa and Dafa disciples in so-and-so work unit...The Fa rectifies the Cosmos, the Evil is completely eliminated." The very next day, I visited that Dafa disciple's home early in the morning and shared with her the transformation of my thoughts when I returned home the day before. She also came to see immediately her failure to completely break through the boundaries of individual cultivation. When she first heard the news, she said all that she cared about was how she could carry on well, instead of playing the role of a Fa-rectification disciple. Nor did she realize that because this arrangement by the evil forces was meant to poison and undermine human beings, it was intolerable as far as Dafa was concerned, and needed to be rooted out. Imagine, if the evil had not been eliminated, hundreds of people at her work unit would have committed crimes against Dafa according to the evil's arrangement. This was because those misled ordinary people-- including those who knew the truth--would have answered those questions in line with the expectations of the test maker in order to compete for the jobs. After I had improved my understanding, however, I no longer felt this was a matter of concern only to those Dafa disciples at that particular work unit. Instead, I felt that now that I knew this, there must be something I should do about it. Indeed, as a Dafa disciple, how could I be content just to be a spectator when it was clear that the evil had a concrete plan to undermine sentient beings? Thus, we two immediately sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil. As it turned out, although there were questions about "current national and international affairs" on the qualifying test for employment on August 22, none of them was related to Dafa.

Through this episode, we all gained a deeper understanding about the requirements of Dafa disciples in the Fa-rectification period. In the past, when a fellow practitioner asked us to put on hold truth-clarifying projects we were working on because a "sensitive" date in the minds of the evil was coming, we were able to tell him this was an arrangement by the evil--and he, upon hearing it, should send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate it rather than follow the dictates of the evil's arrangement. In contrast, why did we fail this time to contemplate this incident in the light of Fa-rectification? This only showed that our understanding of the Fa remained shallow, and that more intensive Fa-studies were needed. Why didn't my fellow practitioner take action to eliminate the arrangement by the evil once she became aware it? It was because she had not completely broken free of human notions and was still constrained by the human mentality. From this perspective, this episode helped us to have a better understanding of the fact that while Master was breaking through the persecution by the old forces, he made the arrangements for disciples to improve within the Fa and to rescue sentient beings. In the future, we should study the Fa more attentively, strive forward more diligently, and progress towards maturity in Fa-rectification cultivation by breaking through the evil's arrangement and clarifying the truth.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2001/9/3/15909.html

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