Is This Benevolence?

By a Dafa practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) Here is a meaningful story: At a market in a small town, a birdman was selling birds. A lay Buddhist heard the miserable chirps of a caged bird, so he bought the bird and released it immediately on the spot. The birdman asked him why he released the bird right after he bought it, and the lay Buddhist said that all should cherish life and that was benevolence for the bird.

On the second day, the birdman again caught some birds for sale, and the lay Buddhist bought all of them and released them. The birdman was more than happy to see that, and he went all out to catch more birds. The lay Buddhist gave all he had to protect the birds in the hope that this would touch the kindness in the birdman's heart. However, the birdman was too deeply seduced by money to change.

When other businessmen found out about this shortcut riches, they started to catch birds as well. The lay Buddhist encouraged many fellow lay Buddhists and Buddhists to apply their benevolence. Some evil businessmen killed the unsold birds on the spot to encourage them to buy. Gradually, there were very few birds left in the small town, and the "good-hearted" people also exhausted all their money and could no longer afford to buy any birds. Most of the birds were killed and the rest left the town forever.

This story reminded me of a fellow practitioner who was illegally detained in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. In her letter to her husband, when mentioning being force-fed by a prison doctor, she said she told the doctor, "I know this is your job, I will cooperate with you." She hoped to touch the kindness in the doctor with her cooperation. I felt very sad. By doing so, is she saving the doctor or is she pampering him and having him create karma so that eventually he will be thrown into hell?

Master said very clearly in "Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts Are Powerful," Essentials for Further Advancement II, "No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil's demands, orders, or what it instigates." However, many practitioners in tribulation [in labor camps and detention centers] are still doing things according to the evil's demands, such as paying fines, performing work [required by the evil], walking goose steps and reciting prison rules. This is not Dafa practitioners' tolerance and benevolence, because it is not based on the Fa. This is human kindness being used by the evil. Have we ever considered how much pressure the non-cooperating practitioners face as a result of such cooperation? Looking from another perspective does this really save people, or does it encourage them to create more karma? Isn't this just like in the story, in which the lay Buddhist's kindness resulted in the extinction of birds and the corruption of morality?

Many practitioners have been very determined and courageous during their tribulations in labor camps; however, they have failed to enlighten on this point from the perspective of Fa principles, so their determination is only human tenacity without the power of the Fa. Therefore, they have been in tribulations for a long time and the evil thugs have exploited their kindness to get money and promotions.

We should base our understanding from the perspective of the Fa and not treat this persecution as an ordinary people's persecution of human beings. We must act according to the requirements of Master's Fa principles: strengthen our righteous thoughts, refuse all arrangements by the evil so that it will have no gaps to take advantage of and stop it from creating more karma. This is Dafa practitioners' true benevolence.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2002/7/19/33554.html

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