By a Dafa Disciple from North America

(Clearwisdom.net) In "Touring North America to Teach the Fa," Master says, "If every Dafa disciple - regardless of which category he belongs to - had been able to do well, this persecution would have ended long ago."

During the persecution, if we had been able to rise above the old principles that were binding us, such as enduring hardships, eliminating karma, passing tests, personal consummation, etc., and, as would an enlightened being during Fa-rectification, had treated evils with righteous thoughts while completely rejecting and disallowing the evil's persecution against Dafa, the evil would have already been eliminated.

Again, the evil would have been eradicated if we had been able to use righteous thoughts while clarifying the truth about the persecution, meet all of Dafa's requirements, rationally see the essence of the evil, and completely deny all of the evil's arrangements.

In rereading Master's comments on the articles, "The Dignity of Dafa" and "Also In A Few Words," I realized that I held warped notions regarding the evil's persecution of Dafa amidst Fa-rectification. These warped notions offset my righteous thoughts to completely deny the arrangements by the old forces and left some loopholes for the evil.

On July 20^th, 1999 after the persecution started, we stood outside the Chinese Embassy. Resolute in my heart, I told a fellow practitioner, "The Fa cannot be undermined by anyone. The time has come to clear away all the fake practitioners in big waves. This persecution also brings some benefits, as it will make it easier to spread the Fa - see, the whole world now knows about Falun Gong." Looking back, were those "benefits" some kind of acknowledgment [to the evil persecution] on my part? The answer is clearly yes.

Based on this, we began seeking help and support, and it seemed that we were asking for sympathy from the standpoint of human beings. Gradually, I found I didn't take a position from the Fa, but was only "working on things" at the human level. When I understood that, I changed my mindset and realized that exposing the evil was saving the world's people. On the surface, in our dialogues with everyday people we can use notions acceptable to them such as human rights and appeals, but in our hearts, we should be clear that clarifying the truth represents Dafa's compassion taking the opportunity to help people position themselves well. When I altered my way of thinking, I felt a world of change: I was no longer asking for help or support; instead, I was trying to provide help and support. By so doing, I was able to relieve myself of the constraints associated with doing human things. More importantly, I no longer described those disciples who were being persecuted as victims who needed sympathy, but rather, I told the people I met that those ordinary-looking people had managed to uphold their belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" even during brutal persecution, and that they were truly admirable. I also would tell people how these practitioners were safeguarding the best this world has, so they were enduring for all of us. At this moment, both I and whomever I was talking to would feel very touched. Also, I kept this thought deep in my heart: "The sacrifices of fellow practitioners have won the support of the world's people, and their suffering has awakened the numbed minds." On the surface, this thought was not wrong, especially from the perspective of ordinary people, but it was not correct from the standpoint of Fa-rectification. It was not upright enough, as it indicated that I had not validated Dafa in a fundamental way. My thoughts were tainted by an imperceptible acknowledgment of the evil persecution, and I had not met the requirements for Dafa disciples during the period of Fa-rectification.

Master resumed giving Fa lectures in the latter half of 2000. He kept telling us the right way for us to conduct ourselves, how to use righteous thoughts to deal with the persecution, and how to fundamentally deny the arrangements of the old forces. Master has expounded on everything in great detail, and has told us how to take each step. He also gave us the power to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil, but since we haven't completely overcome humanness and the barriers of the old principles that have been restraining us, we have not been successful in fundamentally denying the old forces' arrangements. For instance, when we marveled at fellow practitioners' resolve or their ability to endure hardships in prison, there still seemed to be one omission: they are so remarkable, they can even endure such a harsh test! Maybe, it was thoughts like these that enabled the old forces to continue! "See, we persecute you, but it is for your own sake. You have passed the test [and thus you are remarkable], it is because of us." If we do not consider everything based on the entire situation of Dafa and fundamentally deny everything that has been arranged by the old forces, we will be unable to truly safeguard the Fa, and the effects of breaking through the persecution by the old forces will be weakened.

When I enlightened to all this, I started to rectify the warped notions in my own heart.

One year after we started sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Consulate, we gathered there again to send forth righteous thoughts around the clock when the head of the evil went to Germany. Usually, the sun should not be very intense in April, but my arms were still burned with peeling skin. I also felt sore and itchy. At that time, I understood this was not because of the sun, which wasn't intense at all. I figured this must be some sacrifice I had to make - isn't it true that eliminating the evil always means some suffering? When I thought of the hardships endured by disciples in Mainland China, I told myself to take it lightly. Again, on the surface, I was right, but it also revealed that I had acknowledged the persecution and still harbored a competitive mentality.

Two weeks later, when we were again sending forth righteous thoughts together, the searing sun burned my skin like tiny bombs. I felt the pain even though I wore long-sleeve clothing to cover up my whole body. Suddenly, I woke up: We are here to assist Master in rectifying the Fa and to clear up all the evil that is persecuting Dafa; nothing should be allowed to interfere with us, nor should anything be able to test us! Immediately, I said from the heart, "I don't care who you are. You should understand that we are here to send forth righteous thoughts, to demonstrate Dafa's dignity and sacredness, and to save the world's people. I can't allow you to go on like this any longer. I have gone along with your 'test' for one year and let you exploit the loopholes. Now I tell you solemnly that now is the period of Fa-rectification, and your attitude determines your future. You have been taken advantage of, and your only way out is to assimilate to Dafa and support Dafa." Upon this thought, the sun was gone, and during the next three hours, there was no interference with us but only the breezy wind. Thereafter, no similar interference appeared again.

This experience of mine gave me the chance to feel the power of righteous thoughts, and I came to deeply understand how we should validate Dafa from the standpoint of Dafa. It is not a matter of passively enduring, nor is it making sacrifices. Instead, we ought to resist the evil with the dignity and rationality that Dafa has given us. Deny all the old forces' arrangements, give them no loopholes to exploit, recognize no principles from the old universe, just resolutely uphold Dafa from the standpoint of Dafa, pure and upright.

Posting date: 6/18/2002
Original article date: 6/18/2002
Category: Views on Cultivation
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/5/28/30829.html

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