We Cannot Overlook the Old Forces' Interference and Persecution

By Zhi Fang

(Clearwisdom.net) I know that some practitioners have been suffering from sickness karma for a long period of time or are suffering from some other types of tribulations. I would like to talk about my thoughts on this subject and share my understandings.

In his Fa lectures, Master Li repeatedly stressed that he does not acknowledge the old forces or their arrangements. He asked us Dafa practitioners to oppose the old forces' arrangements as well. Therefore we should realize that it is not the right state for certain individual practitioners to suffer from sickness karma for such a long period of time. It is true that these practitioners have certain things that they are attached to and certain attachments that they can't let go of. But these things should not become excuses for the old forces to cause damage. Fellow practitioners' having attachments that they can't let go of are things for individual cultivation. But when the old forces use these as opportunities to add tribulations to Dafa practitioners, they are damaging Dafa. We cannot ignore it, and moreover we can't let them continue to cause this kind of damage.

In "Teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Fa Conference," Master said it clearly, "As far as your own cultivation goes, you've already gone through the course of cultivation. You are beings who are being established for Dafa. The last leg of your journey is your elevation to your own original and highest position." Two years ago we were already on our way to elevating to our own highest positions and on the last leg of the journey. How could we still exhibit symptoms of karma elimination that one experiences at the initial stage of cultivation? Among the tribulations that we see happening to ourselves or fellow practitioners around us, it is possible that only a portion of those are tribulations arranged for our improvement, and we can go past them when our xinxing improves just a little bit. All the other tribulations (quite likely a vast majority of the tribulations) take place because the evil holds on to our attachment and forces these tribulations on us. Just because some practitioners have attachments, is it right for the old forces to increase their tribulations to such an extent that they can't overcome them as long as they have just a little bit of unrighteous thoughts? Yes, it is true that if we don't have that attachment, the evil would not be able to interfere and the tribulation would not exist. But we are all in the process of cultivating. "How could a cultivator be free of mistakes?" (from "How to Provide Assistance") Aren't we supposed to abandon all of our attachments through cultivation and overcoming tribulations? I feel that during the course of Fa-rectification cultivation, as individuals we need to recognize persecution by the old forces and fundamentally oppose their arrangements while eliminating our attachments through cultivation. On the other hand, as a whole body, if everyone around us thinks things like, "He (the practitioner who is suffering from the tribulations) is the one who has to take full responsibility and search inward. He has not studied the Fa well, and that is why he is facing such a big tribulation." Isn't it the same as unconsciously acknowledging that it is a normal and acceptable matter for the fellow practitioner to suffer from sickness karma for a long period of time or just stay at a certain level and not able to go up? Isn't that acknowledging the evil's interference?

In my opinion, if we saw the problem of the practitioner and have already clearly raised the issue or pointed it out to him but saw no change, we should send forth righteous thoughts and help him clear up his field in other dimensions. This is one form of compassion and cooperation among fellow practitioners. When talking about celestial eyes, Master Li said, "It is relatively difficult to open the Celestial Eye by yourself" and "We open your Celestial Eye with an external force, so it is relatively faster and easier" (from chapter 2, section 1 of Zhuan Falun). When we send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil's arrangements and interference against a fellow practitioner, isn't it similar to Master using external forces to open our celestial eyes? Some practitioners have obvious difficulties that they can't solve for themselves for the time being, so we should lend a helping hand. Won't that make it easier for these practitioners to develop righteous thoughts? Of course, what we help to solve should be the parts that the old forces force upon them. The tribulations that can enable them to truly improve themselves should be left for them to pass.

We are short of hands and have a lot of things to do, yet a small number of practitioners have to devote a large amount of their energy to dealing with interference that takes the shape of sickness karma or difficulties and troubles that are brought on by other problems. As a result, they can't devote all of their energy toward Fa-rectification work. We should eliminate the arrangements of the old forces as quickly as possible, and get the practitioners around us who are enduring tribulations out of this situation as quickly as possible.

In addition, it is possible that based on the arrangements of the old forces, certain individual practitioners may encounter even bigger tribulations. For example, Master has mentioned that some practitioners signed pledges with the old forces in the past. Of course, because we are cultivating in a world of delusion, in most cases we don't know if we have done that or not. Even though it concerns only a very small number of practitioners, if something happens and we are not able to deal with it well, it will bring serious damage to Dafa and the practitioner individually. Since Master has already pointed it out in his Fa-lecture and told us that there is such a situation, we should pay enough attention to it and take early action to use righteous thoughts to eliminate the old forces' arrangements and avoid similar situations from happening.

I suggest that as Master taught us when the Fa was first imparted, while doing activities such as group Fa study or group exercise, we should encircle the practitioner who is enduring difficulties and send forth righteous thoughts along with him (or study the Fa together) so that we can help to eliminate the old forces' arrangements and interference. Practitioners who have problems should also actively participate in these activities and strengthen their righteous thoughts. At the same time, they must truly study the Fa well, and based on the Fa truly understand the reason why the problem occurred. This way, they will find their shortcomings and the root cause of the problem, and be able to fundamentally oppose all the arrangements that the old forces have made for them.

The above are my own understandings. If it contains anything appropriate, please kindly point it out to me.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.cc/mh/articles/2003/1/28/43476.html

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