(Li Hongzhi, the afternoon of February 15, 2003, in Los Angeles)

 

Teacher: Now that I think about it, it seems like I haven't sat down at a Fa Conference to answer questions for you after July 20 of 1999, right? (Warm applause) (Reply: "Right.") Then today I'll use this time specifically to answer questions for you. (Applause) Things that you haven't been able to resolve for long periods of time in your personal cultivation, in the process of validating Dafa, or in the things that you've encountered--you can bring up all of them. The time is still limited, so not everybody's can be answered, but Master will answer them as much as possible. (Applause)

Question: Hello Master. On behalf of the entire group of Shenyang Dafa disciples we pass on greetings to Master.

Teacher: Thank you. (Applause) I know all about the situation of practitioners in China.

Question: Dafa disciples from Chengdu pass on their greetings to Master.

Teacher: Thank you. (Applause)

Question: Beijing Dafa disciples send their greetings to Master. (Applause) Please allow me to represent Shanghai Dafa disciples to pass on their greetings to Master.

Teacher: Thank you. (Applause) Let's just forgo the greetings, since I've read all of those greetings to Master on the Minghui website. (Applause)

Question: In our work we often have the opportunity to interact with some high-level officials in the Chinese government. How can we clarify the truth to them better?

Teacher: Actually, as for the specifics of how to do things, you've done them already, and in your actions you've all done very well. Whether things are done well or not is up to the Dafa disciples, and as for what a worldly person chooses, that's up to him. But in saving sentient beings, no matter what you do, still there will be a group of beings that can't be saved. In clarifying the truth, making calls to China, and on the Internet, you will run into people that can't be saved at all. But don't be affected at all by it, and save as many as possible of those who can be saved.

In clarifying the truth, don't pay any attention to the other person's social status, and don't have some sort of concept--first and foremost they're people, and they all have a chance to choose their own futures. No matter what his occupation, first and foremost he needs to have a future, and that's the most important thing for any person. In clarifying the truth, when you hit upon a person's fundamental issues, and at the same time he feels that Dafa disciples are truly saving him, then I think the side of him that's clear about things will show itself.

Chinese people who are living abroad have countless ties with Mainland China, as their relatives and friends are all in China, and there are a lot of people who travel back and forth often. When they see the situation with Dafa around the world they'll talk about it when they're in China, talk about it with their family and friends--they're a form of one-on-one media. Regardless of how much they understand about Dafa, whether they're able to comprehend it or not, they'll go back and tell people about the situation. And with those government officials in particular, don't look at the person's official position. Back when Master was disseminating this Dafa, I too only looked at the person and didn't look at the person's social status, didn't look at the way any group is organized, and didn't look at whether they had good jobs--I didn't look at anything but the person's mind. You shouldn't regard him as some "high-level official," as you're saving his life. That's only a job at this place of ordinary people. Today they're being allowed to do this, so they're officials, and tomorrow if they're not allowed to do it then they'll be nothing at all. So in offering people salvation and saving people, those things aren't looked at.

Question: Why did the old forces in the cosmos arrange two entirely different social systems in this world?

Teacher: This is a really big thing to discuss. I will just briefly talk about it from one angle. You know that the Roman Empire of 2,000 years ago was very powerful. Actually, when any people are dominating in the world, that's an honor Gods give them. However, if they then turn around and persecute Gods, then Gods will take back that honor and severely punish them. The old forces in history wanted to leave behind a testimony for the righteous Fa of the future, they also wanted the Christians at that time to eliminate their karma amidst the tribulations, to establish the mighty virtue of Gods, and to leave behind that legacy, so they chose a person named Nero to be the king of Rome. He undermined people's morality, did many stupid and bad things, and committed a most evil deed in persecuting Christians. And so the powerful, flourishing Roman Empire declined from that point on.

The old forces believe that that Nero wasn't enough for Dafa disciples in today's Fa-rectification, so they had to find an even more wicked, stupid, and shameless villain, and at the same time create something before Dafa's wide spreading in the world, something for Dafa in the future, and that thing, it would have to be capable of being used to that degree, so that thing was the _**** Party. They created it, and had to, through a process in history, allow it to accumulate experience in ruling with an iron fist, and allow it to develop all kinds of strong-arm tactics in an effort to sustain itself amidst constant crises. It was made to abolish belief in Gods on the basis of atheism, because the people of the world who believed in Gods could never have reached the desired state, where people fear no Gods or the authority of heaven, where man fights against heaven, the earth, and his fellow human beings. That process went on for almost 100 years, and they had already considered how to put an end to it when they were working on it, so how it began definitely wasn't glorious either. Actually we all know that the Paris Commune of 1871 was a gang of scoundrels in society rebelling.

It's not that I'm badmouthing the _**** Party, and that's because they too talked about themselves as the "scoundrel proletariat." I remember that during the Cultural Revolution when they had political studies, there was this issue discussed, where people talked about whether the conflict with those "scoundrels" of society was one with enemies or one within the people. When discussing this, some people would say that the issue with those scoundrels could be elevated to the level of a conflict with an enemy, and others disagreed. The reason for the disagreement was that they said the Paris Commune of 1871 was an uprising of scoundrels, and that it was the ancestor of our _**** Party. This isn't a joke, as they really acknowledged the "scoundrel proletariat," but now they think it doesn't sound so good, so they took out the word "scoundrel" and just say "proletariat."

It's against the cosmos, or to put it another way, the two types of elements in the cosmos, positive and negative, are all against it. In fact, this cosmos is composed of the two types of elements of life, the positive and the negative, so that's to say that even the cosmos is against it. So, the Buddhas, Daos, Gods, and Demons of the cosmos all want to get rid of it, so it constantly faces the possibility of being surrounded layer after layer and eliminated. But, its very emergence was not a simple matter, and to allow it to sustain itself for nearly 100 years was not a simple matter either. That's because the cosmos's old forces would have it ready for today's Dafa after tempering it into maturity, and also because no political power in the human world could do such things. But, why was such a long time needed? I've said that it needed to be tempered to that degree, so it needed to undergo a process, and that process was dangerous for it because the entire cosmos is against it. The beings on the earth correspond to the beings in the heavens, after all, so from the earth to the heavens, the beings of the entire cosmos pose a threat to it. So the old forces then had to think of ways to sustain it. The phenomena at the ordinary human level can reflect the phenomena in the heavens. The old forces in the heavens were directly controlling things, and the people on the earth were also quite important and couldn't be annihilated on the surface, so it was allowed to achieve a military balance, and at the same time form a large bloc.

In normal societies, people and governments are living a normal way of life that's been given to humans by Gods of the cosmos. So in order to eliminate this element, the Party, the cosmos's many Gods caused the normal nations on earth to become strong militarily. But that strengthening posed a threat to it, so the old forces made it strong, too. So that's why the arms race appeared in the last century's decade of the 60's--human beings were in the Cold War crisis, competing with each other militarily, developing the military industry on a large scale, and researching and producing cutting-edge weapons. The old forces' goal was to stop it from being demolished or to lose its capacity before being used, so it had to be sustained no matter what and had to go through that process in history, and at the same time within the crises it was made to be more authoritarian. It's really been hard for it to survive for as long as it has. But it wasn't allowed for it to be too powerful when the time came to put it to use; way back when, its coalition was very large.

Now I'm not deliberately criticizing that Party--I'm talking about just how exactly this cosmos was set up. We don't get involved in politics, but I know about everything, and of course, I only talk about the reasons behind it when you have persecuted the Dafa disciples. Let me say more about the question that was just raised. So when it was time to put it to use, it couldn't be that large. All the people in the world were to be saved, so if there were so many countries that had that system, how could the people in those places be saved? The old forces then caused normal societies' economies to decline steeply, at the same time dismantling that enormous system that had been laboriously sustained for a century. That form of dismantling wouldn't cause retaliation or conflict--it was a steady, smooth dismantling. It only left behind that place, China, because Dafa was to be spread there--that party had been tempered to a satisfactory state and was meant to be used there, so that was the only place where it was left, whereas it had collapsed everywhere else. That's why in our time, 100 years after its appearance, all of a sudden it collapsed--something the world's people couldn't have imagined. Gods control absolutely everything of the human race, and humans have never been in control of their fate--it's all been controlled from above. Then China looks very isolated, so a few little ones are left, like North Korea and the like, who can't do anything on a large scale in terms of economic or military capacity, but do serve as companions, giving it a little bit of hope of survival.

So you've seen this, in the last few decades the United States has been very powerful militarily, and economically too, and the U.S. always gets involved in handling a lot of matters, such as the violation of human rights, the violation of religious freedom, and so on, and maintaining a certain amount of justice in the international community. These aren't things that people can explain clearly. The gang of scoundrels that persecute Dafa disciples says that the U.S. is the international police. Actually, the U.S. really is the international police, as arranged by the old forces. China is the stage for carrying out this historic play, and the countries all over the world are the audience as well as the actors. But, order in this society does need to be enforced by somebody--it can't be allowed to go unchecked. In the past the principles of this place had it that the victor governs the country, the world is conquered with military force, and the strong are heroes. That's the opposite of the principles of the cosmos. But the reason you can do that is because Gods allow you to do it--if you can do it well, Gods will give you glory and allow you to be strong and prosperous. That was man's law in the past. If the entire human race becomes peaceful, the U.S. will resign from that historic role of its own accord. What I've talked about is the old forces' arrangement for this affair, that's where it came from.

Question: Recently there's been some difficulty and confusion in my relationship (audience laughs), and I've experienced a lot of hardship in this regard.

Teacher: I can answer you this way. As long as you exist in this social environment of ordinary people, whether you're a human, a rock, a plant, or an animal, you're all immersed in emotion, and even the gaps between particles are immersed in emotion. So it's not possible for an ordinary person to escape from emotion. It can only be done through cultivation. But as for the form our cultivation today takes, I've already told you what kind of cultivation form it is: By having that little bit of ordinary people's stuff left there, you can validate the Fa right now. Without that little bit of ordinary people's stuff, I'm telling you, you wouldn't be able to validate the Fa here, not to mention the issue of saving sentient beings. It's impossible to have Gods here rectifying the Fa, to have Gods come to save sentient beings--the gap is too great. There's no way Gods could take humans to be that important. Only by being among humans can you take the beings here as something important, and it's only because you still have human things left at the surface that you can do that.

You know that human beings are one level of the cosmos, and a level that can't be omitted, so it must be saved and the Fa must be right. So when you have that bit of human stuff you're able to do Dafa work and cultivate. But, if you don't pay enough attention it will interfere with you--that's where that comes from. Recently I read a few articles written by practitioners, and one was by somebody who's homeless and wandering about. He was talking about how his wife is a Dafa disciple and how wonderful she is, but in those words I saw his emotions. And there was another person who talked about how wonderful her husband was, and I saw emotion there, too. I'm not saying that you did something wrong. Some ordinary people read those articles, too, and during Fa-rectification they're effective when ordinary people read them, so I can't say that that's not good. In fact, that's just caused by that little bit of human stuff you still have.

But I think that as cultivators you shouldn't be affected like that by emotion. Yet you might think, "If I really cultivate well in this regard, if I'm really not affected by emotion, I'll be just like a big rock." No, it's not like that at all--cultivators are compassionate, and if you look at sentient beings when your righteous thoughts are really strong, then think about it, will that kind of thing still happen? Of course, sometimes you say that you've tried hard but still can't do it. Then with that effort you put in, were you trying to solve only that specific problem? Did the state of your cultivation really get to that point? Of course, I'm not just talking about the practitioner who submitted the question. No matter what, as cultivators you need to deal with it in the right way or else the old forces will make trouble for you. Except for newer students, from July 20 of 1999 on, Master hasn't created any personal cultivation tests for you, and that's because overall your personal cultivation has changed in every respect so that it's in the direction of saving sentient beings and validating Dafa. (Applause)

Question: Are all of the people that we meet in clarifying the truth people who have predestined relationships with us? Are they sentient beings in our worlds?

Teacher: My Law Bodies will arrange it like that, and the old forces will arrange it like that. Of course, maybe you're very resourceful in clarifying the truth, and you're able to touch more people's hearts with the way that you clarify the truth, so perhaps you'll be asked to save sentient beings that don't have a direct relationship with you. With compassion, you'll have ways to change them. That kind of situation is possible. That also means that when it comes to saving sentient beings, there's no separation of responsibilities into those that are mine versus those that aren't. You can't distinguish them. That'd be having thoughts of differentiating, and that's not the compassion of a Great Enlightened Being. It's not like how it is with ordinary people, where I'll be especially good to the people in my family and it's different for outsiders. How could that work? Compassion... Compassion... It's not a human emotion.

Question: Sichuan Province Dafa disciples and their families send their greetings to Master.

Teacher: Thank you. (Applause)

Question: Dafa disciples being persecuted in jails, forced labor camps, detention centers, and mental hospitals in various places in Sichuan send their greetings to Master.

Teacher: Thank you. (Applause) I'm fully aware of the situation in Sichuan, too. Master is very much aware.

Question: In the face of the old forces' persecution, cohesion among Dafa disciples is very important. How can we quickly improve as a whole?

Teacher: You know, I never talk about the word "solidarity," and that's because that's about ordinary people forcing something, it's a form. What cultivators talk about is improvement in xinxing, fundamental improvement. A cultivator should know all that needs to be done, and if he doesn't do well, I'd say that's because he hasn't studied the Fa well, right? What to do and what not to do, aren't we all clear on our own? In fact we should be clear. But, every location has contact persons, and there are Dafa Associations and Assistance Centers, so in other words overall there's a need for coordination. So the kind of state where whenever someone thinks about what we should do now or what needs to be done tomorrow and everyone just immediately knows, right now we still can't get to that point, so we had to have people step forward to do the coordination and communication, to do those types of things. Right now, whether Dafa disciples are validating the Fa as a group or clarifying the truth as individuals, all of those are what Dafa requires. As long as Fa-rectification requires it, you should do it well, and there's no room for negotiation. And don't get conceited because of your roles, and don't think you're different from others. You're each a particle. And in my eyes nobody is better than anyone else, since I scooped all of you up at the same time. (Applause) Some are more capable when it comes to one thing, others with another--you definitely shouldn't let your thoughts run wild based on that. You say that you have such great abilities and so on and so forth, but that was all bestowed upon you by the Fa! Actually, it wouldn't work if you failed to attain that level of abilities. Fa-rectification required your wisdom to reach that point, so you definitely shouldn't think that you're so capable. Some practitioners want me to check out their abilities and skills. But actually, what I think is, all of that was given by me, so there's no need to look. (Audience laughs, applauds)

Question: Sometimes I really feel so perplexed. Emotion (qing) is truly so hard to let go of during cultivation, and it's as if ever since the beginning of my cultivation, every test is a test of emotion, as if the most difficult test in life is the test of emotion.

Teacher: I guess you all heard it clearly, right? You've treated emotion as a test, and that's because you haven't let it go, so you constantly have to pass it. (Audience laughs) But I'm not forcing you all to let it go today, I'm just pointing this out to you clearly. I'm not saying you can do it right away. When I tell you what's going on, you should just study the Fa more. When the righteous thoughts get stronger and stronger, when you truly have compassion toward sentient beings, then there won't be any more emotion to trouble you, and none of your family members that you have an issue of emotion with will again say that you're heartless towards them, and there won't be any more conflicts because of the issue of emotion. You can talk all you want about it, but it still comes down to you needing to improve.

I can sense the state of your thinking--"It's hard, really hard." But didn't you wait those thousands of years just for today?! Could your future Consummation compare with this little bit that you're enduring today?! (Applause) Well, sometimes I think, if today I wasn't here to save you and was one of you, I have to say, it'd be so easy for me to let go of those little things! (Applause) It's probably just because Master sees through all of it that I say this, hah hah. (Teacher laughs)

Question: Because of attachments, I've been in a poor state for a long time. I want to do Dafa work well, yet I'm afraid that my poor state will affect other practitioners. Should I set the work aside and really put a lot into cultivating myself for a period of time?

Teacher: It won't affect anything if you study the Fa while you do Dafa work. Master doesn't have any objection to that. Also, those of you here, whether you're a student or you have a job, none of you can neglect the role that you play in the ordinary people's society. You all have to do well in everything that you should do, and at the same time it makes things easier in your work of validating Dafa and clarifying the truth. Otherwise, if you can't even be financially stable, if on a daily basis you have to worry about shelter and food, if the most basic needs of life can't be assured, how can you have extra energy to validate the Fa? Isn't that interference? Don't make unnecessary troubles for yourself, and don't just follow along without much thought. If you have a better source of income and want to change your way of living, I'm not against it. What I'm saying is, if all of you go and stop working that's just totally unacceptable.

Do you know how important this form of cultivation of today's Dafa disciples is? In the time to come, here at this place of humans, a human becoming a God will no longer be a myth. Previously in this place of humans, when people talked about cultivation of this or cultivation of that, it was all just cultivating the assistant spirit--humans weren't cultivating at all. In the future, the future that you're forging, you'll have left behind in this place the path for humans to become Gods! Everything you're doing today is the actual practice that will be used as examples in the future, [including the aspect] of being able to cultivate while doing ordinary people's work. If you go to extremes you'll wreck this path, so you cannot go to extremes. You should just openly and nobly do well in what you should do in society, and then cultivate. Then you'll definitely be able to meet the standard that cultivators should meet, the standard for Consummation, because this is the path that the people of the future will take.

The human society of the future is one without religion, and everyone will be a part of society, people will be participating in everything of that society, and perhaps the Fa-truths at this level of human beings and their inner meanings at higher levels will be integrated throughout the textbooks that students study. So in this Fa-rectification it's being made possible for man to become Gods. It's not a change at this level of human beings--it involves a systematic harmonizing and perfecting of the entire cosmic system, it's the harmonizing and perfecting of the Fa. This type of event where people persecute Gods who are here to save people won't exist again. Situations like Jesus being crucified will absolutely never be allowed to happen again. So how we walk the path of cultivation well in this place of ordinary people has become of utmost importance.

Question: How can Dafa disciples do our part as a whole during Fa-rectification?

Teacher: Cooperate and coordinate with each other. When doing things as a group, by yourself, or as a few people together, you need to cooperate and coordinate well. With the Fa here you won't really make mistakes, because you've been tempered to maturity and should know what to do. In the most recent period, I haven't intervened in anything you've done, but I have been observing all of the various problems you have brought to my attention. That's because I can't let you rely on me forever, and I can't deprive you of all your chances to establish your own mighty virtue. You have to walk your own path, and it's okay to trip and fall, you know how to pick yourselves up, and you know how to treasure everything that you do, and do everything afterwards even better. So I won't lead you by the hand anymore. As much as possible I try to have you reflect on things more, and that means giving you opportunities, giving you opportunities to walk the path yourselves. I'll speak up when problems arise at the level of the whole body, but as for a lot of specific things, I'm not going to speak up anymore under normal circumstances.

Question: When sending righteous thoughts, does the hand's posture affect the outcome?

Teacher: Well in principle, as long as you're rational and clearheaded, making hand gestures or not won't affect anything. But, it's apparent from your hand gestures whether you've entered into tranquility or not, or if you've fallen into a foggy state. (Teacher laughs) So when you send righteous thoughts you have to be alert. And what's that state like? It's very pleasant, as if everything is still and quiet and the whole body is enveloped by energy.

Question: During this special period of Fa-rectification, some disciples in the United States have lost their jobs due to the economy...

Teacher: That's the old forces' doing. You should always remember this: I don't acknowledge any of the interference that's occurring among Dafa disciples today; all of the things that shouldn't happen are the old forces' arrangements. They see your personal cultivation as the first priority. Of course, personal Consummation is the first priority, since there's nothing more to talk about if you can't reach Consummation. But today's Dafa disciples are doing something different from the cultivation ways in every other period in history, and that's because you are shouldering a greater responsibility that surpasses your personal Consummation. Saving sentient beings and validating the Fa, these far surpass your personal cultivation, they're even greater things. And that's something that the old forces can't handle correctly, and they're interfering with you. Negate them, and face all of it with the right thoughts!

Question: For a period of time while validating the Fa, I was able to remain steadfast and continue down my path when encountering a lot of tribulations and tests. After leaving China, especially over the past few months, the thought karma has been very severe. Within it there's even elements of being disrespectful to Master, having me give up cultivation, and so on.

Teacher: I think that as long as you study the Fa more, your righteous thoughts will be strong. For some practitioners, sometimes you've really gotten caught up in doing things to clarify the truth and have overlooked Fa-study. The things of Dafa disciples surpass personal cultivation, such as our currently validating the Fa, clarifying the truth, and saving sentient beings, but all of these are actually based on a foundation of personal Consummation, so if you can't reach personal Consummation then everything else is out of the question. Validating the Fa isn't something ordinary people do; only Dafa disciples are worthy of doing it. So now study and study the Fa more, study the Fa more. Also, whatever we do, we have to do it in an upright way, to really do it like a cultivator. Don't let the old forces take advantage of any gaps. When they take advantage of your gaps they'll do those kinds of things [you mentioned].

Did you know this? When the high-level old forces arranged this tribulation, the ultimate reason was to clean out in one shot those not-so-good beings of the cosmos while doing so-called "tempering" of Dafa disciples during this period, while at the same time cleaning out the universe. That's what the old forces arranged to be done. They've made what they want their first priority, instead of making my objective of the Fa-rectification the number one need. So when you encounter those difficulties, do more checking on your own part, do things in a more upright way, and don't let the old forces take advantage of any gaps. Those wicked beings that are being controlled by the old forces have already seen their impending doom, so it's like they're in chaos, and they act desperately like cornered rats--they'll do anything, no matter how bad. Pay attention to these things and don't let them take advantage of any gaps.

Question: Disciples from Weifang City of Shandong Province pass on their greetings to Master!

Teacher: Thank you. (Applause)

Question: A Falun Gong practitioner who was forcibly brainwashed still wants to cultivate, but he says that Master no longer looks after him now. Master, will you still look after him?

Teacher: He's thinking that way because he feels that he's let Master down and has let Dafa down and those thoughts have formed new attachments. And having done what he did, he's still thinking about things with a human mind and is still not clearheaded--that's why he said that. This affair hasn't ended, so aren't what you do well and don't do well before it ends part of the cultivation process? Yes! You know, in the past it was hard to cultivate the Dao. When facing a test, as soon as someone had one sub-par thought, he would lose the chance forever to cultivate the Dao, and that was for sure. The old forces think that's how I look at it too. "Okay, now that we've forced him to write some kind of document, you, Li Hongzhi, you can't keep him now since he betrayed you. You've done so much to save him, yet he betrayed you. You definitely can't keep him. And what's to be done if he can't be kept? Eliminate him."

That's how the old forces think, and that's how they've arranged things. But I haven't done things that way--I will save him. He didn't do well today, but aren't you old forces still persecuting people? I'll have him do things over tomorrow, and definitely have him do them well! (Applause) Hasn't what's happened proven that Dafa disciples have become more and more rational, become more and more clearheaded, and done better and better? Aren't they more and more determined?! (Applause) When you ultimately really do become determined, then all of what you did in the past can only be the cultivation process playing out. That's really how it is. Master is handling this matter with the greatest compassion. (Applause)

But there are some people who really have let me down, and in reality it was all caused by that thinking. You've seen this in the news on Clearwisdom that's sent to us from China: Some people did things in an open and upright way, without fear, and so they weren't persecuted; and when they were sent to forced labor camps, the evil in other dimensions couldn't take it and had to let them out. Some people have all kinds of fears and their human thoughts are many, so they're persecuted severely. Even when they've been persecuted to the brink of death, they still can't break out of human attachments, and the Fa-guardian Gods are anxious about it but can't do anything. Those who've departed while holding onto their attachments of fear, will I have you Consummate, or not? The truth is, those are all displays of human attachments. Of course, it's easy to talk about that here and now, but it's not easy in that type of evil situation. That's the path of a human walking towards Godhood--that's why it's hard!

Question: I'm a practitioner from Korea, and I often run into quarrels and conflicts during Fa-rectification activities and in cooperating with fellow practitioners. For sure it's because I have attachments. What should I do?

Teacher: It's not like that just in Korea, because conflicts unfold in other areas too, and those problems used to happen among Mainland Chinese practitioners as well. If each person thinks that he has some skills, they all think that they're capable, each of them thinks that he's right, and they refuse to give ground, then actually, at that point there are problems with those people who won't give ground. What they're thinking is, "This idea of mine can serve the Fa better," and they never think, "I'm showing off." But the old forces will latch on to his not giving ground and constantly strengthen it--"You're right, you're right, what you're doing is exactly right!" So at that time he's not clearheaded. Truly think about yourself rationally and then think about other people's ideas, and I think things will be done well then. Why is it that at those times nobody looks at themselves? Don't worry about losing the chance to implement your own ideas, and even less should you be unwilling to admit that others' are better.

Now a God, he doesn't look at whether your idea was adopted. At those times he looks at whether your attachment was let go of. If you let it go, and your idea wasn't implemented--with regard to that matter you were able to let it go, and were even able to help do it better--then you improved, and you were able to raise your level. What's cultivation? That is cultivation. If you insist on holding your ground and emphasizing your own ideas, then while it may look like it's for the Fa, in fact it's being irrational, and you have not truly thought about it deeply or considered things from all angles more. But of course it won't do if [you don't speak up even when you see others] really not considering problems fully and bringing losses to Dafa, and it really won't do if you spot attachments and impure thoughts. So you need to become more mature in the Fa.

I talked about this while teaching the Fa in Philadelphia, so whenever you run into it, students can read that again. Since this issue is so prominent, be on your guard whenever it comes up. Of course, when you're arguing there's always ample reason, the environment and setting are different each time, and the specific circumstances are different. As for how to deal with it specifically, it still goes back to your doing well in cultivation.

Question: Is it true that the old forces are controlling Europe especially severely?

Teacher: The way I see it, they're only controlling China severely. (Audience laughs) It's just like back around July 20 of 1999, when the heavens were crumbling, and level after level was brimming with evil--it's just that people couldn't see it, and every dimensional layer was saturated with all of the evil that the old forces had prepared for Dafa. I've told you before that I'd do this in two steps 杢he Fa-rectification and the Fa's rectifying of the human world--and if I combined them and did it in one step, then the entire world would launch an attack against Dafa disciples. Of course, doing it in one shot would mean more Dafa disciples, and there would be three and a half billion Dafa disciples. I split it into two steps: The first group consists of Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, and the second group consists of those during the Fa's rectification of the human world. In the beginning when the evil came, at once it blotted out the sky and covered up the earth, but it couldn't exert itself outside of China. So they would rally those wicked things against all of the existing Dafa disciples, and it was really terrifying for you back then. So to lessen the pressure and the persecution of Dafa disciples, I separated Dafa disciples and those things. I had those evil things come at me, and eliminated them quickly and on a large scale at the same time, so back then there was a lot of harm done to my surface material body. Later on I'd almost cleaned out all of those things, it took a year to do it, and otherwise my Dafa disciples really couldn't have borne it. I blocked all of it. In fact, what the Dafa disciples endured couldn't compare to the enormous number of those things and how wicked they were. (Applause) Didn't Nostradamus say several hundred years ago that a great King of Terror would come from the sky in July of 1999? If all of it had been done in one shot, it would've been a huge tribulation on a global scale, and everyone would have known that it arrived. So the old forces were actually happy that I did it in two steps, since that way the people outside of China couldn't detect it. So during the persecution the evil spread huge, outrageous lies, but the world's people were just numb to it.

Question: What special significance is there for the process of spreading the Fa and Fa-rectification here in the United States?

Teacher: I've never said that there was some special significance. I can choose to go anywhere, and it's right that I chose to stay in the United States. In the beginning the old forces arranged for me to go to France, and it was even mentioned in prophecies. For various reasons, though, I came to the U.S. But it's not that I have some special preference for the U.S. Let me tell you, every person in the entire world was at one point part of my family (applause), including the worst people, or else they'd have no chance to be a human being during this time. What happened in history is what they have gone through and what they chose for themselves. The most despicable are the old forces. They dare to massacre my people at will since they don't belong to them. What's held in Master's heart are all the people there are. (Applause)

Question: Master said at one point that there are still some people with strong predestined relationships who haven't obtained the Fa. May I ask revered Master what the situation is now?

Teacher: It's hard to tell based on the current situation. Why do I tell you to save them? You don't know how many relatives from the past you have in this world. Do your best to save them!

Question: How many more people with predestined relationships are there?

Teacher: I can tell you, without a predestined relationship, you can't be a human being in this world today--not a single person without a predestined relationship could be in this world. (Applause) It's just that in the course of history they arranged different roles for themselves. Your being able to become Dafa disciples, that's what you arranged for yourselves in history. And those who were weeded out for persecuting Dafa, that too is what they arranged for themselves in history. When a being has deviated, keeps on doing bad things, becomes that bad, and gradually progresses to that point, that's actually a choice.

Question: What's the relationship among: Negating the old forces' arrangements and removing attachments, continually improving through cultivation, and not giving the old forces gaps to take advantage of?

Teacher: When you're able to walk a righteous path, that means your righteous thoughts are strong, you're doing things according to Dafa's requirements, and you're doing things according to Master's requirements, then you are negating the old forces, and you are walking your path in a righteous way. Those rotten ghosts that are intent on disrupting the Fa really like it when you're in disarray, as the old forces' whole goal is to have all this end up according to their arrangements. I'll tell you, when all that you're doing today is in line with what I have taught you to do, then that's not letting them take advantage of your gaps and not letting them find excuses to persecute you. I don't acknowledge the persecution that's going on in China today, and the old forces are becoming more and more fearful because of that. It's because they know I absolutely can't acknowledge it. They're now facing this with great fear and trepidation. The high-level beings of the old forces have already been destroyed in the Fa-rectification, yet those who were separated inside the Three Realms in the early days still can't for the time being see the true situation--that their highest levels have been destroyed--and that's the state of affairs.

Question: Ever since the Fa-rectification period began, my state has been up and down, and I haven't been able to let go of my pursuit of comfort all this time, so I'm quite distressed.

Teacher: Master can help you, but only as long as you know to strive to improve. (Applause)

Question: When the Fa rectifies the human world, the vast majority of Dafa disciples will return to their rightful places and Consummate. So who will help Master in Fa-rectification during the latter ten years?

Teacher: As for this, (Teacher laughs) you're still thinking with a human mentality. While you've been spreading the Fa, a lot of people have obtained the Fa, but they can't understand the Fa deeply since once they understood the Fa they'd become Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples. There's a line drawn there, so those old forces don't dare let them obtain the Fa. I didn't push this any further, since I needed to focus on the matter of the overall Fa-rectification and on resolving things in the Fa-rectification, plus, they'll still have chances in the future. But these things that you're doing won't be in vain, they're all magnificent and terrific, and that's because you've established a foundation for the cultivators of the future, you've chosen the cultivators of the future. So that's been done very well.

When clarifying the truth, have you discovered the following problem? They can accept everything when you talk about people being persecuted. Talk about freedom of belief getting trampled, the violation of human rights, and so on, and they can accept it all, but as soon as you talk about the Fa principles they're blocked off. You're probably all aware of that. The reason that happens is, when somebody can follow you in understanding things based on the Fa principles, he's already obtained the Fa and he's about to cultivate, so when it comes to his obtaining the Fa the old forces will definitely block it. It's a test for him. If he really wants to obtain it, and no matter what he still wants to obtain it, then he can obtain it. So in other words, right now there really is a very big obstacle for people who want to come and be one of the Dafa disciples. There are special ones that can enter, though. If they can give up everything then they can enter, but otherwise they can't enter right now. But for him to learn the exercises during the period when Dafa is being persecuted, even though he hasn't joined the ranks of Fa-rectification Dafa disciples, he's already laid the foundation for his future cultivation. That's how it is. (Applause)

Question: When Gods and Buddhas are all majestically displayed, and people are all cultivating after seeing the truth, will it still count as cultivation?

Teacher: Your clarifying the truth is selecting the cultivators of the future, so whether someone is able to learn it now is extremely important. For the rest of the people, it's not that they'll be cleaned out if they can't cultivate, for humankind will become an important level of the cosmos and be part of what Dafa will encompass. So there will still be people on this earth in the future. Of course, only those who are bad and completely unacceptable will be weeded out.

Question: Shijiazhuang and Beijing disciples pass on their greetings to Master!

Teacher: Thank you!

Question: What does "Looking with a smile, at the Gods being foolish" mean?

Teacher: You know what those old forces did? At the beginning they were making fun of me, especially the ones at low levels. Now they don't dare to laugh, because they've seen all of the truth, and they're clear on everything. So I'm smiling at their foolishness. (Audience laughs)

Question: How should we understand the fact that Zhuan Falun is to be left for the future, and other lectures are all explaining Zhuan Falun, and that we should cultivate strictly according to Zhuan Falun?

Teacher: You should indeed cultivate strictly according to Zhuan Falun, and other books can be read as reference, they're all Fa. The people of the future won't have as much mighty virtue as today's Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, because they won't go through a tribulation like the one today's Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples are facing, and there are historic reasons too of course. So the Fa's manifestation won't be as grand as today's. There are endless Buddhas, Daos and Gods behind every word of Zhuan Falun. Maybe in the future it won't manifest like that. That doesn't mean the Fa won't be good anymore, just that not as much will be shown. Dafa disciples, I won't set a ceiling for you, as you're now in the midst of establishing mighty virtue. (Teacher laughs) (Applause)

Question: Not acknowledging the old forces is very important, so could we ask revered Master to talk about how to do well in this? Thank you.

Teacher: Well, what I just talked about was all about these things. Don't acknowledge the old forces' arrangements, and negate this entire persecution they arranged. They want to have the Dafa disciples become mature through this persecution--that's the aspect of it that has unfolded before people's eyes. The aspect of it that hasn't shown itself is that if everything they want to do succeeded, then that'd be something the future couldn't acknowledge. What's manifest here on this human side is very simple. The side of you that has completed cultivation knows what's going on, and I don't acknowledge any of the old forces' arrangements or this current persecution.

Let's take an extremely microcosmic, enormous being in the cosmos, one that no Gods can know, it saw that the cosmic celestial bodies would head towards disintegration during a certain period, and because of a being's one instinctive thought of not wanting to head towards destruction, it set in motion the layers and layers of firmaments as well as the layers and layers of cosmic bodies inside those layers and layers of firmaments, all the way down to the layers and layers of universes inside the multitude of cosmic bodies and layers and layers of beings inside the multitude of universes, and it caused the gigantic Gods in the various firmaments to arrange ways to save themselves. From top to bottom there were more Gods participating at level after level, making even more detailed arrangements, all the way down to the Three Realms. Because that one thought came from an extremely high level, the cosmos's sentient beings all thought it was the Will of Heaven, and that there was no question they'd meet with complete success, rescuing this grand firmament and cosmic body from destruction. Because of the meticulousness of the arrangements made by the Gods at many levels of cosmic bodies, the arrangements looked so perfect that they excited the multitude of Gods, gave their confidence a big boost and made them believe that they finally had a chance to be saved. At the time, twenty percent of the Gods out of the levels upon levels of beings participated in the affair, and that's how the old forces came about.

The sentient beings don't want to be destroyed, and that's only natural. But the layers upon layers of beings are all contained within the grand firmament, and over the long course of history everything had been progressing toward the end according to the Fa's law of the process of formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction, and no being or element could escape it. For sentient beings, when everything disintegrates and there are no conditions for life to exist, then not a single thing can exist. That's much more terrifying than the re-formation of the cosmos's cosmic bodies. The Fa's law of formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction created all of the elements, matter, and life in the old cosmos, and at the same time established the Fa's law that everything would degenerate. That's the deterioration from within of all of the elements that make up the cosmos, manifesting itself among the beings as the degeneration of the standard of thoughts and conduct, and once they decline to a certain point they're unsalvageable, and from there they head towards the final stage of destruction. The old forces pushed to the very limit the Gods' power and wisdom in arranging what they thought to be the most perfect future, and got so excited that they completely forgot about a key point: That is, when the cosmos progresses to the stage of degeneration, all of the sentient beings and elements in the cosmos are, without exception, in the process of degeneration--the beings, the ways of thinking, the elements, and standards are all impure--and the point at which the standards and everything of beings became no good was arrived at gradually over the gigantic course of history. The Fa's laws and standards have, over the long course of history, all lost their original magnificence and righteous purity, and so the sentient beings are even more powerless to detect this type of change. That's because those Gods who are at very high levels never cared about the conduct of the beings below them, much less did they heed my warnings during Fa-rectification. In other words, when the cosmos has reached that point, no matter how good those ideas are that the beings in the cosmos come up with to save themselves, that's still the conduct of beings in the stage of degeneration and destruction, and falls short of the standard during "formation-stasis" at the cosmos's beginning and middle stages; and that falls even shorter of the standard of the new cosmos, which is countless times higher than that of the old cosmos. So none of the things the multitude of Gods have done are acknowledged by any of what's outside of the cosmos. During Fa-rectification I traversed all of the firmaments and saw that those ultimate arrangements of theirs all have omissions and can't be made complete or harmonized. During Fa-rectification I also traversed every final part of what's related to the old forces, yet I discovered that the enormous being who had the one thought that led to gigantic disruptions of the true Fa-rectification is not the final being, and there are lots and lots of elements that are higher than it. There, all of the old forces' arrangements were suddenly gone--all of their arrangements were without foundation, they couldn't resolve anything, and they disappeared without a conclusion. Yet all of those arrangements by the old forces formed true disruptions and demonic obstacles to the Fa-rectification, and they've become enormous tribulations in Fa-rectification. In Fa-rectification it misled all of the Lords, Kings, and sentient beings, and the pressure during Fa-rectification also came from the direct manipulation by all of those sentient beings and old forces. When all of this came to pass, when the sentient beings saw all of this, suddenly it was like they couldn't think. They saw that what I had said originally and my warnings during Fa-rectification were all true, and they were shocked and speechless--they immediately realized that the sentient beings had all committed crimes against Fa-rectification. They had always thought of me as doing cultivation, or even that they were bringing me along as a cultivator. I think that at this point they'll never dare to think like that again.

This tribulation that the old forces arranged in the human world, on the surface it's being responsible to cultivators, to Fa-rectification, and to me, but in reality the goal of what they arranged was being responsible to what they wanted to do, and all of this that they arranged is not at all what the new cosmos of the future would want, and at the same time it has done a huge amount of damage to the true Fa-rectification. A great deal of what I'd wanted was forcibly destroyed by them. History has passed, and what was lost is hard to recover. How could they possibly bear the responsibility for all of that?!

Now as practitioners, if in this tribulation you can manage not to acknowledge the old forces' arrangements, then you can make it through. And those who haven't done well, the bottom line is, aren't you acknowledging the old forces' arrangements? Once you acknowledge them isn't it like you're one of them? Because you haven't done well amidst the persecution it's caused instability among the practitioners and aggravated the persecution, so aren't you, too, adding fuel to the fire and helping the evil? Negate them, completely negate everything of the old forces!

Question: Why do the old forces dare to kill Dafa disciples in the persecution?

Teacher: There are two situations here. One is that in the past the old forces felt that a type of mentality arose among Dafa disciples, which is, once you cultivate in Dafa you think it's like having insurance, and there's nothing to be afraid of, there's no sickness or death, this or that won't happen, and everybody just has good fortune. But, once that mentality arises there's going to be trouble. The old forces will do what they want to do, and once you unknowingly acknowledge their arrangements they'll have excuses to control you and create various types of danger for you. Of course, Dafa disciples won't die like ordinary people, and even for those who've departed ahead of their time what awaits them is the very best--that's for sure. (Applause) So during this period, what they do is take a few away first. Of course, among those who've died, there's also what they'd arranged in previous lives. What's their goal? To have you see that studying Dafa isn't like having some kind of insurance and that you still need to do well, and that not doing well is a problem. So they're doing that kind of thing, and it's because they see personal cultivation as more important than validating the Fa. Also, they're doing these things in this time during Fa-rectification when Dafa disciples are urgently needed in saving sentient beings--aren't they causing serious trouble? How many beings can a Dafa disciple save while he's in this world, right? Isn't that doing something bad?

The old forces will interfere with practitioners from time to time, but think about how important saving sentient beings is! Why do they have to cause all that interference. Don't acknowledge it! Since none of them are worthy of participating, what I wanted was for none of the sentient beings to interfere, for them all to wait there, and I would have gone forward rectifying things, and the worst beings, however bad they might be, and no matter what kind of mistakes they'd made in history, all of them could have reached Consummation while just staying put. Wouldn't that have been great?! (Applause) Of course, that wouldn't have been done without principle, as I would have been transforming everything that a Dafa disciple owed into benevolent returns for sentient beings, and everyone would have been given the best compensation. If he couldn't do it, then Master would help him do it. When the cosmos isn't up to standard it's because all of the sentient beings aren't up to standard, and I would have helped all sentient beings do it, I would have helped you do it and I would have helped him do it. Then wouldn't everything have been benevolently resolved? (Applause) With all of the beings being no good and no longer clean, I would have helped all of you do it. So wouldn't that have been fair? You see the logic of it, right? But they insisted on doing things their way. Of course, even in that kind of situation there would still inevitably have been reactions from beings that were affected in Fa-rectification, and trouble and interference would have emerged out of it. That's natural, and from it some suffering and trouble would have been created for me in Fa-rectification, and that's natural, too. That, I could accept and acknowledge. But doing these things systematically has severely interfered with Fa-rectification, and it's something that I can't acknowledge. That's how everything relates.

Speaking from another angle, my disciples, when the old forces are able to do what they want to do, isn't that because you've silently consented to what they want to do? When they tell you to go you go, when they tell you to write something you write it, when they tell you to do something you just do it, and when they arrest and sentence you, you just helplessly, silently consent to it. Of course, that's caused by your having attachments inside and not being able to let go of them, but the more you can't let go, the more severely you're persecuted, since the wicked beings that are controlling and ruining Dafa disciples can see your attachments and what you're attached to. In contrast, those disciples who've let go of life and death aren't afraid of anything, and the evil beings are in fear of them. But the reason they can let go is that they've cultivated well.

Question: I really want my family and friends to cultivate in Dafa, but the Fa-rectification is in the final stages, so will you arrange for them to return to the heavens with us? Or is it that they'll cultivate in Dafa when the Fa rectifies the human world?

Teacher: I really can't tell you anything about that. For one thing, that's something that can't be told, and secondly, you have attachments. Some people say, "Once I've Consummated, what if I have this or that to take care of?" Do you know how Gods look at that student when those words are said? (Audience laughs) And you still want to Consummate? But you know what? Those who have thoughts of Consummation in their minds can't reach Consummation, not to mention those who want to reach Consummation but can't let go of attachments to things like emotion and wealth. Pursue nothing and gain naturally! All the things that Dafa disciples are doing today are in fact the responsibilities that have been bestowed upon you by history. Just do what you should do openly and with dignity, and everything will be covered. (Applause) As long as you're thinking about wanting to Consummate you won't be able to Consummate... And then you're saying, "How can I leave when I have this thing that I haven't taken care of, that thing that still has to be taken care of..." which means you don't want to leave yet. Just look at how many human thoughts and attachments are bound up in those words.

Question: Poetry is a form of human culture. Why has Master chosen to use this special form, poetry, to teach us and to use as a part of the Fa?

Teacher: These things from Chinese culture, as with the things of the world's other cultures, were retained for people to obtain the Fa. As for my using a particular part of the culture, that's a personal choice of mine--there wasn't any special thinking, I just used it as I wished. I sometimes use classical Chinese to write some things, and sometimes I'll use poetry, rhymes, or literary couplets, and there are also times when I use vernacular prose, which is currently the prevalent form of writing. The fact is, I prefer to write with classical forms, as they can express things really clearly and thoroughly. But of course, what students study nowadays is the vernacular, and they couldn't understand things if I wrote that way, so I just use it less or don't use it at all. The old forces have pushed today's human race to this point. They've actually created huge difficulties for the cosmos's Fa-rectification and the future. The Fa that I'm teaching to you integrates things from science, and that's not the culture of human beings, so what will become of it if it's left for the future? You know, why do I always want to use those old classical Chinese sayings to teach? Because they don't have that stuff in them. But things are just this way now, and people can only understand these principles within this kind of culture, so I can only teach in this way. As for things later on, we'll just have to wait until the future to consider them.

Question: You've said that everything of today's human society was brought about by Dafa disciples' thoughts. I often find that my own attachments have caused things to turn out even worse. May I ask Master how to break free from this?

Teacher: It's not a big deal if you haven't done well. Just do things well next time and try to find out where the problem was. There's a prominent phenomenon in you folks' cultivation, which is, after you haven't done something well, you're only overwhelmed with regret, and you don't do it over. If you regret it too much then that's another attachment. Once you've done something wrong, seen where it was wrong, and recognized it, then do it well next time, do it over. If you trip and fall, and just keep lying there instead of getting up, (audience laughs) then that's no good.

Question: After hearing Master's teaching of the Fa in the morning, I felt very sad inside. I want to ask Master, did you teach us those Fa-truths ahead of their occurrence?

Teacher: No, that's not how it is. Right now there are a lot of things that I don't intervene in, because you have to walk your own paths well yourselves. That's the case for everybody. It's what you will leave behind after you reach Consummation in the future, and also a chance for you to establish mighty virtue. What you do well is everything that you've validated and enlightened to. Put that part in order and remove the unwanted dregs, and the essence that remains is the path to your success. As for the truths of Fa that I taught this morning, actually, I only teach them when as a group there are about to be deviations. If they were just isolated phenomena that didn't have much bearing, I wouldn't mention them, and practitioners would quickly handle it well. Even with that matter I talked about in the morning, I know that in the end you'll understand it well, but the losses would have been terrible and I would lose a few Dafa disciples. So I wanted to talk about it. (Applause)

Question: Revered Master, practitioners use the Internet to exchange understandings and experiences. Is that format good or bad?

Teacher: I think that's not a problem outside of Mainland China, but don't talk about the specifics of what you're doing to validate the Fa. If it's in Mainland China, it's best that you give priority to your safety and don't allow the old forces to take advantage of gaps. This isn't a matter of being afraid or not, it's about not letting the evil take advantage of any gaps.

Question: If our thoughts are very pure and righteous, then the old forces have no way to interfere. So if there's interference, does it reflect our cultivation state?

Teacher: When interference comes up it's usually caused by those old forces. Then when we do everything righteously, should we expect there to be no interference? That can only reduce a lot of the losses, because your gaps would be taken advantage of due to the fact that you yourselves still do have undetectable elements, and the old forces insist on forcing in what they want to do. At the same time, there are some students, especially the third group of students, who still have a certain amount of karma, and so they'll use these things to exploit the gaps. But all the same, Master doesn't acknowledge them. And you shouldn't acknowledge them either. Do things well in an upright and dignified way, negate them, and strengthen your righteous thoughts some. "I'm Li Hongzhi's disciple, I don't want other arrangements or acknowledge them"--then they won't dare to do that. So it can all be resolved. When you can really do that, not just saying it but putting it into action, Master will definitely stand up for you. What's more, there are lots of Fa guardians around Master, there are lots of Buddhas, Daos, and Gods, and there are even greater beings, and they will all participate, because forced persecution that's not acknowledged is a crime, and the cosmos's old laws don't allow it either--irrational persecution absolutely is not allowed, and the old forces don't dare to do it if that is the situation. So you should do things as righteously as you can.

Someone might think, "Now that I've done things righteously and done them well, there can't be any more tribulations at all from now on." Maybe that thought of yours will lead them to create tribulations for you, since the old forces believe that's another form of acknowledging them. "Ah, he wants it not to exist, and he wants to be carefree. That doesn't work. That thought of his needs to be removed." Then isn't that having your gaps exploited? Actually, as long as you can maintain a very upright state of mind in your daily life, you should be fine for the most part.

Question: After Fa-rectification will we still know Master?

Teacher: Master has an independent system. You are all beings within the cosmos, and no matter how big the enormous cosmos is, Master isn't within it. I'm not a part of all of this, yet I have an independent system of my own, I don't need anything in this cosmos and I don't need to put anything in it, I have an independent, self-sustaining system of my own. Then in other words, no being in the cosmos can see me, and no being can know me. In reality I'm formless, and to any internal or external element I don't exist, it'd be the same as nonexistence, yet I'm able to display my image at any cosmic level, which is the elevation at different levels of this image that you can see today. It's like that here among humans, of course, and in the future it may be very young--my innate body is very young. Speaking in human terms, at every level there's an image that has elevated based on this foundation, it all looks like me, it's just that it seems like the more microcosmic the elements that form it, the bigger its volume. Of course, I can also compress each level into one body and become bigger or smaller simultaneously, and I can also split the body infinitely. That's the general idea. (Applause)

Question: After Fa-rectification and when the disciples have Consummated, will there still be opportunities to improve?

Teacher: You've brought up the time after Fa-rectification when all of the disciples have Consummated--will there still be opportunities to improve? Actually, I've talked about all of this. Your Attainment Status is validated and enlightened to during cultivation, or in other words, whatever Attainment Status you can achieve is obtained through the process of cultivating. You want to ask, "When I'm in the heavens, can I keep on cultivating and improving?" There are elements and mechanisms for that purpose, but to improve just a little bit is a considerably long and gigantic project. It's not as easy as it is on Earth. But nobody dares to come to Earth, as after coming here you might not run into a God or Buddha coming to this world to save people. After coming down, that mind of yours will be wiped clean, and you'll know nothing--there's a chance you'll even be against cultivation. So nobody dares to come.

Question: For Dafa disciples as a whole, what are some of the most fundamental areas and shortcomings that need improvement?

Teacher: For Dafa disciples as a whole, in the process of validating the Fa, when you work together in concert, the Fa power is great. Whether you're doing things as a group or doing things individually, what you're doing is the same kind of thing, and that's what we mean by one entity. You're all clarifying the truth, sending righteous thoughts, and studying the Fa, so the specifics of the things you're doing are different but the division of roles is orderly, together there's a form, and separated there are particles. When you as an entity have some problems come up Master will definitely talk about them, and when there's not an obvious problem Master won't say anything. So when it doesn't affect the situation of the whole entity I don't say anything.

Question: Respected and beloved Master, please save me. I have great sins, so I have a mentally retarded son.

Teacher: Master will definitely save all the sentient beings in this world. (Applause) I will use different forms of salvation during different time periods and in different ways.

Question: My thoughts weren't very righteous in my dreams, and I'm afraid that I may have harmed a being.

Teacher: Don't worry, a dream is just a dream, a dream isn't cultivation, and it won't necessarily be like what you imagined. As long as you can complete cultivation, Master will think of ways to perfectly resolve all of the mistakes you've made. (Applause) Don't think about those things. If you think about them too much it'll become an attachment, and you won't be able to cultivate.

Question: May I ask revered Master, during Fa-rectification, is there an issue of balancing the importance and the urgency of things when we do them, and how should we handle this the right way?

Teacher: Well, that's about specific matters. And specific things, they're all part of your establishing your mighty virtue, and they're part of the paths you have to walk, and what you do on your own. Of course, you need to weigh the importance and the urgency, and prioritize things on your own. If you don't prioritize well, then it could affect what you need to do since, let me tell you, all of what you do is for yourself. Being able to prioritize things well is remarkable in its own right, and it will result in your walking the path the right way, and that's mighty virtue. It's hard for me to talk to you about the specifics. Master can't deprive you of the opportunity to consummate your own paths.

Question: I often blame myself for not being able to cultivate a heart of compassion, and I feel discouraged and apathetic, especially about those friends and acquaintances around me that refuse Dafa materials.

Teacher: I can tell you, we're cultivators, so you need to treat all of the sentient beings around you as compassionately as you can. Perhaps some people's predestined opportunities haven't matured yet. Perhaps some people have been poisoned really deeply but can still be saved. Of course, there are also some who can't be saved, but the vast majority can be. Right now you can't tell them apart. I think that you absolutely shouldn't be discouraged or apathetic. Do this compassionately no matter who it is, and with a compassion that can melt steel you'll be able to do it well. (Applause)

Question: A lot of countries are being fooled right now by the facade of China's economy, and this has become a major obstacle to our clarifying the truth to the governments of various countries and to the business community. We hope revered Master can give us some direction in this area.

Teacher: Yes, the Chinese government has expended one quarter of the country's and people's financial resources to persecute Falun Gong. If it weren't capable economically, would it be able to persecute Falun Gong? Would the people in that society listen to its commands? Would a person do something against his conscience just because someone told him to? It is all because it's being propped up by money. And why is it that in the international community so many media outlets and governments are all so quiet on this, and why are they able to look the other way in the face of this catastrophe? They have a lot of vested interest and a lot to gain wrapped up in this.

During this evil persecution, everything in China, whether it is advancement in the government or the financial returns of enterprises, it's all tied to Falun Gong. And this includes students' entrance exams and academic records at graduation, everything has to be tied to Falun Gong. In order to persecute Falun Gong, a great deal of funding is being allocated to public security, political law, the judiciary, foreign affairs, the wicked 610 Office, and security special agents. And in order to deceive people, a great deal has been invested in various propaganda machines, in radio, television, newspapers, art and literature, cultural events, and even in blockading television, radio, and computer networks. And great numbers of agents were sent out into the international community to persecute Falun Gong. But those people would take the money with them abroad and then, as soon as the money was deposited into their personal accounts, they'd right away start immigration procedures--"In normal times, if I wanted to leave they wouldn't let me, but now I'm given money to do that... It's really great. But how could I go and commit crimes in such a society? I better leave myself a back door." The tricks used in the persecution are the stupidest, but they're not shy about spending the people's money that was earned with sweat and blood to turn around and persecute the people, and the amount they've spent is pretty huge.

It looks like as long as the Falun Gong issue isn't resolved, that society really won't have any hope for change and nothing can be stabilized, since it's entirely focused on Falun Gong and doesn't have time to worry about anything else. It's all existing for the sake of Falun Gong. That set of worthless machinery is running entirely because of Falun Gong--what else can it do?

This is all made possible by foreign investment, and the old forces did it. They're just using money to prop up the evil. During this period when the evil is persecuting Dafa you're investing money there. It's about those people with a lot of money who are choosing their futures, knowingly throwing away their money. In this persecution, investing your money there is the same as supporting the evil's persecution, and you've committed a sin. If there weren't any persecution of Dafa over in China it wouldn't matter how much money you invested. On the surface people don't know, but people all have a side that's aware. You really can't say that you didn't know.

Question: If those in charge of the Assistance Centers or Falun Dafa Associations can't keep up with the progress of Fa-rectification and aren't able to hear out criticism...

Teacher: Is that the situation with our Assistance Centers and Falun Dafa Associations? You need to look, hands-on-heart, deeply within yourselves, and listen to practitioners' suggestions with the right attitude. But if we look at the other side of it, isn't it true that practitioners are lacking something in the way they've been looking at things? If you were in that role, how would you end up doing? This isn't criticism, let's just set things aside and take a look--do they really have problems, or is it that our own way of considering problems isn't comprehensive. Or if they really do have big problems, then since they're the persons responsible for Assistance Centers, there's an issue to consider here. Their responsibilities are even greater, since if a Dafa disciple is weeded out because of their mistakes I think that sin is just so enormous. Of course, it won't be that severe, as there's still Master watching over things. But you're all cultivating, and no matter what, you can't take your own shortcomings, attachments, and things that you can't let go of to Consummation. So no matter what you're doing, you have to think of Dafa first and foremost, and not place too much importance on your own things.

So I'll also note in passing that in reality, those people who are in charge at various locations are cultivators too, and you shouldn't regard them as Master or hold them to such high standards. It's easy to make mistakes with certain things, so just share your thoughts with each other when that happens and discuss a little. When you truly look at things from the perspective of being responsible to the Fa and truly have a heart that can melt steel, I just don't believe that things can't be handled well. And don't insist that another practitioner is no good based on some rigid concept you have--I, your Master, believe that he's fine. And don't think that it's hard to communicate. Neither side has lived up to "great compassion" when doing things. If you can truly embody great compassion, I think those things that aren't right will definitely be rectified.

Question: Are our efforts to clarify the truth to overseas Chinese very much lacking? Especially in the western U.S. there are a lot of Chinese organizations, and lots of Chinese people from Mainland China. Is their being able to be overseas part of their predestined relationship?

Teacher: You could say that about the predestined relationship, but as for those who have a positive effect and those who have a negative effect, there are both, and that's just how the old forces arranged it. I don't acknowledge that at all. A minute ago I said that everyone in the world was part of my family. Don't acknowledge the old forces' arrangements, and do as much as possible to clarify the truth. Whether it be the western U.S. or the eastern U.S., we should do it as best we can. But Master isn't suggesting that you put everything else aside, it wouldn't work if you disregarded everything else. Instead, just manage your time well, and do the best you can to save people. Another thing is, that Chinese person you saved, he'll go and tell others too, so it's giving him a chance to gain some merit. In this persecution people have committed sins, and they've had a hand in helping along this persecution and fuelled the evil's fury, so they will be given chances to redeem their sins. After they discover the truth they'll talk about it everywhere, and that would be redeeming their sins, so you should do your best.

Question: When elections were held in our district, there were people who went to help a few congressional candidates that supported Dafa. But some people thought we shouldn't get ourselves involved in politics, and that we shouldn't rely on ordinary people to do things for Dafa. Is that understanding correct?

Teacher: It's correct in principle, but for this specific matter you should look at it this way. If you say Dafa disciples can't get involved in ordinary society's politics, I wouldn't say that's 100% correct. What I told you was that Dafa doesn't get involved in politics. And a lot of our Dafa disciples work in politics, that's their job. So if there's a government election, should you take part in it? If you take part in it and cast your vote, well then you've gotten involved in politics. A Dafa disciple cultivating in the ordinary society means that you try your best to cultivate while conforming to the ordinary society, and then there won't be a problem. You, too, are a member of the ordinary society. And the existence of the ordinary society is necessary for Dafa, for the cosmos, and for sentient beings. We can only help maintain it and can't disrupt it. When you're supposed to vote, just go vote, that's not a problem. If you say that a certain Congressman is your personal friend, and you'd like to help him do something, then of course there might be things that involve elections and you'd be doing volunteer work--that doesn't matter. But our Dafa as a whole doesn't get involved in politics, and we can't do anything political in the name of Dafa. For Dafa disciples, validating the Fa should be the priority, though.

The last time there was an election in Taiwan, I had a veteran practitioner call the person in charge of the Taiwan Dafa Association and make it clear to the public that Dafa Associations take no stance on elections. If an individual practitioner wants to support someone, that's his personal business and it doesn't represent Dafa. There were Dafa disciples supporting both of the parties. The Falun Dafa Association has no political opinion regarding any party's election, and it doesn't get involved. As individual practitioners you can support whoever you'd like. That's how it works.

Question: Recently there's been a lot of pressure while doing Fa-rectification work. It feels like an invisible pressure. I don't know if this feeling is related to the overall Fa-rectification situation.

Teacher: I think that the old forces that haven't been rectified by the Fa have indeed felt the pressure becoming greater and greater, and the closer it gets to the end, the more pressure there is on the side that it works on. So sometimes this creates a complicated situation for us, and that's all it is. Just send more righteous thoughts to drive away the interference, and don't see it as something significant. In fact right now I see something very clearly, and you see it clearly too, and that is, nobody can damage Dafa. All hopes of damaging it are in vain, and nobody could touch it even if I, Li Hongzhi, weren't around. Each of you is like an Assistant, each of you is a particle of Dafa, each of you is immersed in and being tempered in the Fa, and each of you knows what to do. The Dafa disciples in Mainland China have already verified, in their actions and without the benefit of Master's presence, that Dafa is indestructible. As long as you do what Dafa disciples should do, everything can be resolved.

Question: Master has told us that we should have immense tolerance, but occasionally I'll still get hung up on little things.

Teacher: Then just make a change. You should exhibit compassion and tolerance, and consider others more, and here among human beings it will become a habit for you. I don't like it when you blame yourselves, it's completely pointless. I'll just repeat what I said: If you've fallen don't just lie there, get up right away!

Question: If somebody identifies with Zhen, Shan, Ren, but not Falun Gong, what will be the final outcome for him?

Teacher: Actually, let me tell you, you shouldn't give too much weight to what ordinary people say, because lots of ordinary people aren't rational. Human beings, you know, are affected by many concepts in the ordinary society, and they're constantly forming different concepts, which severely affect their original nature and true thoughts. So the things some people say seem right but are actually wrong, are insincere, or are poorly thought-out. Don't think that ordinary people are as rational as you are. Lots and lots of people are pretty irrational right now, and actually, you were like that too at the beginning. (Audience laughs) You only became more rational after you matured and bad things were removed. When an ordinary person comes to understand things, or decides whether something is good or bad, it's done at a very shallow level. Even what he says to his family and to people who've done a lot for him seems right but is actually wrong, it's insincere, he doesn't make good on promises, and he avoids responsibility for any consequences. So don't think it's significant. If you want to save him then you need to help him become rational.

Question: In order to conform to the way of ordinary people while clarifying the truth to China, we put the truth-clarification material together with content that conforms to ordinary people's attachments. How should we handle this properly? Even though some unhealthy content conforms to ordinary people's attachments, it still shouldn't be used.

Teacher: Some students have actually mentioned this to me: When some of our students who didn't step forward before or who haven't done well step forward, they immediately want to do more good things, to make up for their mistakes with merit. But they'd dropped in levels previously, so now there's a gap between them and those practitioners who've been part of Fa-rectification all along; but this gap isn't something the person can see, though other disciples can see it, and it especially shows itself in specific Fa-rectification work or understandings. So when he does certain Fa-rectification work or says certain things, other Dafa disciples can pick up on that. Now, I'm not saying that these practitioners aren't any good, I've said that if you fall, pick yourself up and keep going forward--Master won't abandon you, and you mustn't lose confidence. There are still opportunities, and I'll save you no matter what. Now do you still lack confidence? (Applause) So now as practitioners who've always done well, you should help them with kindness, and don't be so severe in your words like you are with other practitioners. Even if your words are without intention he might hear them differently, so you need to talk with kindness and tell him how to do things. Of course, you shouldn't allow him to detect this, because once he detects it he'll feel like you're treating him differently, and then obstacles will form in his mind and cause problems in his thinking. Some of our practitioners who've stepped forward recently should pay some attention to this problem too--it's beneficial to listen to others' advice, it's cultivation after all. Honest advice is hard to take, but it's good for you.

Question: In addition to producing a large amount of truth-clarifying films, can we make a small number of wholesome films to meet ordinary people's different needs?

Teacher: I have to tell you, we really don't have time for that right now, because Dafa disciples are giving their all in validating the Fa. If those are made, they'll benefit ordinary people, no doubt about it--normal people's culture is sliding downwards. But that's not for you to do today. That's to be done in the next stage in the future. So right now Dafa disciples should put more into and do more in the area of clarifying the truth.

Question: Should we put large quantities of truth-clarifying programs on the Internet so that Dafa disciples in China can use them to produce Video CD's?

Teacher: Of course that'd be good. And not only should you do it, you should do it in large quantities if you can. The Chinese people's minds have been poisoned so deeply, and you do need to help them learn the truth. Let them know that we're not after some political goal, and that we're innocent yet being persecuted. Looking at it from an ordinary person's perspective, we indeed want to tell the world's people what we're all about. And from a Fa perspective, we're indeed saving them, rescuing them from the fate of being eliminated because of that.

Question: When Fa-rectification disciples validate the Fa, aside from their own Consummation, is it also validating the Fa for the sake of other beings?

Teacher: Other beings... you don't need to worry about them for now. (Teacher laughs) But, I can tell you that back around the time of July 20, 1999, when those swarming hordes of evil were pressing down, they were actually controlling all of the evil people in the world. All of the ordinary people were being controlled as well, and not just human beings, even animals and plants were being controlled. You could see that even each blade of grass and each tree seemed to bear a lot of malice toward us. In the second year things were better, because all of the evil that had been pressed down was cleared away, and at the time only the part in China remained, and it was being quickly cleared out bit by bit. Right now the people of the world are the most important, because nobody is in the world today without a major reason.

Question: I have two questions. I often feel like every day I'm busy, every day I'm caught up in doing things, and yet the results aren't good. And sometimes I feel indifferent towards certain Dafa work and rescuing fellow students. How should I change this state?

Teacher: I can only tell you to schedule your time reasonably. Everyone's time is limited, and Master knows that. So [you should try to figure out] how to budget your time reasonably. You have to rescue your fellow cultivators and Dafa disciples--we can't let the evil persecute them wildly and without restraint. Actually, I'm going to tell you, all of the ways they use to persecute Dafa are as stupid as it gets, and when you look back at it you can see that that's true, since that's how the old forces arranged it. How could they arrest other countries' citizens? You know what? When you're clarifying the truth and once Americans find out, the American public is furious. Ever since the reforms and opening up to the West, the Chinese government has been racking its brain to show the world how great it is so that people will go along with the existence of the _**** Party's government. Isn't that right? Yet for Western society, especially among the American public, they already had a feeling of disgust towards the _**** Party. When they do those things it only makes Americans have even more negative feelings inside, and it makes the other nations all over the world feel extremely negative towards them. They're losing the hearts of the people even in other countries now, constantly doing these stupid things.

Question: We still haven't done well in exercising the entire body's power, and sometimes I feel like the main coordinators or the people with responsibilities at the Falun Dafa Association aren't doing things according to the Fa. They don't want to let go of the reins and allow others to do things, and we have problems finding common ground during discussions. Then we hear that they were personally chosen by revered Master, so sometimes even though we know they're wrong, we still have to support them. (Audience laughs)

Teacher: By very early last year I had already told practitioners in each Falun Dafa Association to let go of the reins when it comes to individuals validating the Fa, and that each person needs to walk his path of validating the Fa. Our practitioners might not be right 100 percent of the time, but our coordinators, did you hear this? Practitioners are thinking this way--did you all hear it? You are cultivators yourselves, of course, and Master can't expect you to do things perfectly without any faults, but, now that practitioners are having these thoughts don't turn around and blame them--they're doing it for the sake of the Fa, and I can see their messages in every word and every line. It's not for their own sake, it's for the Fa. (Applause)

Question: Making investments can make money. But some disciples think that the money we'll make in two or three years will come too late to be used, and that if we have some money we might as well just use it now to save people.

Teacher: That looks somewhat reasonable on the surface, but in reality it's still going to extremes. I think that you can't neglect your lives and ignore everything. I'm telling you that what you're leaving behind now is the cultivation path for people in the future. If all the people in the future go to extremes like this, not caring about their jobs or businesses, or even going and begging for food while they validate Dafa, that absolutely won't work.

You should make sure that your life's in order, and do your job well. Let me tell you, you're a member of society, and you should try your best to do well everything you're supposed to do at whatever job you have in society, you should be a good person wherever you are, and thus lead people in society to all say you're a good person. (Applause) Don't go to extremes when you do things. Every aspect of the path we take has to be upright.

Some people say, "I'm making plans to make a large amount of money so that later on it can be used for the Fa." That far-off water might not quench the immediate thirst, but it's not wrong for you to plan some everyday-people things. You don't need to talk about making some amount of money to use for Dafa--you don't need to think about giving it to Dafa. If you want to talk about doing some big-time business, and make lots of money with that big business, you can leave it at that, (audience laughs) and you don't need to mention Dafa. That last part always sounds like a stretch to me. (Audience laughs) The reason is, I've told you that it's fine for Dafa disciples to make a lot of money, and you can do whatever type of work--that's not an issue. It's only that in everything you do, you need to follow your conscience and be a good person. (Applause)

Question: When bad energy comes over, I can feel it, and I try to send righteous thoughts to block the evil force, but I become drowsy and sleepy, and manifest sickness karma. How can I stop the bad energy?

Teacher: You're too afraid of that bad energy. If it comes, you're able to dissolve it, to dissolve it into primordial qi for your use. I'll tell you something: Before I spread the Fa, and before those high-level elements came here, there weren't any old forces, and back then I had other ways to handle coldness. This is what I'd think: "You're cold, and you try to make me cold--are you trying to make me freeze? I'll be even colder than you, I'll make you cold." (Audience laughs. Applause) Or, "You're trying to make me hot. I'll turn it around and make you hot--so hot that you can't stand it." I'm just telling you the idea. You might not be able to do that. But you should handle it with righteous thoughts, and you shouldn't be afraid of it. I was just explaining something, but don't go and act irrationally! As for some newer students, don't be afraid if someone actually sends some bad things over. You're a Dafa disciple--you have Master and the Fa! Perhaps you owed it something in the past, in which case just repay it. But you're a cultivator, so you should let go of your worries, and Master will definitely take care of you. Even if it is able to get certain things into you, Master will soon turn that into something good for you. (Applause) Master will take care of you since you're a cultivator. But if you become attached to it, if your attachment develops--"I'm not afraid now. I have Master taking care of it. Bring it on!" (audience laughs)--then your mentality of total reliance is again an attachment. And when Master sees this attachment he won't take care of you, and he'll wait until you let go of the attachment first. I'm just telling you the idea. Cultivation... cultivation is about the mind, right? You can't let up and not handle yourself well. Approach everything with righteous thoughts, and don't be afraid of anything--"I cultivate in the righteous Fa, so what do I have to be afraid of?!"

The reason a lot of the students in labor camps have been severely persecuted is their fear. It's easy to just talk about it, but things are different in that kind of evil situation and when you're under that kind of pressure. But no matter what, you're somebody who's progressing toward Godhood, so what should you do?! Of course, of those who've died there are also cases that were arranged in history by the old forces. For instance, back during those students' last lifetime, the old forces might have said, "If you want to obtain Dafa when Dafa is taught, you'll have to die like that. Otherwise we won't let you in." Without a doubt, at that time the students would agree to it, they would agree to being beaten to death when the time came. Of course, I'm just giving an example. In history they have indeed taken advantage of many, many loopholes like this and made many arrangements.

There's another reason that happens: History is so long. You've seen that some of the evil policemen in labor camps have killed so many of our Dafa disciples in this persecution. If this hadn't been happening in the Fa-rectification period and the persecuted person were an everyday person, and if when the evil policeman reincarnated after he'd died he came upon this period, obtained the Fa, and became a Dafa disciple, then wouldn't the person who'd been beaten to death want him to repay his life? If that being says, "I don't want any other compensation. I just want him to repay my life"--then it's really a tough situation. I can tell you that Master is able to give anything a benevolent resolution. Whatever the student owes him, I can help the student compensate him with the best. And if the student doesn't have it, I, his master, can give it to him--"I'll give you good fortune. Because of your death, you can now get the reward of ascending to Heaven, so won't that be an even better outcome then?" But that being has too much hatred, and he just won't let it go--"You'd let me ascend to Heaven? Even if you let me become a God I wouldn't do it. I just want revenge." Then that's where it gets tough. It's not as simple as you think! Tell me, what can we do then? The number of students who have owed lives in the past is not a small one, but Master has given all of them a benevolent resolution for you.

But no matter what, even if you really pass away in advance, what awaits you is Consummation! (Applause) That's how I'd put it from that perspective. Although I've said this, as long as you walk a righteous path I can actually give everything a benevolent resolution. I can make that extreme thinking become good for sure, and then I can make him not want his life back, since I can untie the knot in his mind with the Fa--I can do anything. But when you have attachments and can't let go, then it can't be untied and Master is put in a tough position.

Question: There's this phenomenon: At some places when they study the Fa as a group, they tend to read the new articles Master has published a lot, and don't repeatedly read Zhuan Falun as much. And when they study the Fa in a large group, a few persons in charge often talk about the Fa Master has taught to small groups.

Teacher: There are two issues here. The first one is that what I've said recently in different periods is supplementary to Zhuan Falun. Just remember their relationship, and that what you should study frequently is Zhuan Falun. The second issue is, after some of our students heard what I said on unique occasions, they went and spread it through the grapevine. I've already talked about this many times. What I say on unique occasions doesn't have universal application, and perhaps it was aimed specifically at those people who were present. If you go back and tell others, when you say it to them it won't have the inner meaning that was included in my words, and, those others aren't the intended audience. So it will lose its effect, and when others hear it they'll feel uncomfortable. At the same time, when you say it you're also putting your attachments into it. Most of the time there's some kind of showing off at work, it's subtle, subconscious. I think in the time ahead you should stop spreading those things. After you hear things I say, just let it be. You know, those thousand-year cultivators, after they learned a little bit of truth they'd hold it in inside. They'd hold it in for hundreds of years, or even a thousand years, and not tell it to others (audience laughs)--"If someone wants to know about this little bit of stuff I have, they'll have to trade something for it!" But you folks, "Yap yap yap..." You go and tell it all! (Teacher laughs) You don't hold things inside. (Audience laughs)

Question: In what form will Dafa disciples in Mainland China Consummate?

Teacher: It'll be the same, the overall form is the same. But there's one thing: If the person isn't received by me and sent off by me, it doesn't work. So for those who passed away early, even though I determined that they'd Consummate, they're actually waiting at a certain place. It has to be that I receive them. Those who aren't received by me are not acknowledged. So they're all waiting for the final conclusion. Of course, they don't have any hardship now while they wait. Their consciousnesses are perfectly clear and in a God's state, and it's just a matter of returning to their positions.

Question: At this critical time in Fa-rectification, some fellow veteran cultivators have, at different times, had tribulations to varying degrees. How should we treat and help these fellow cultivators who are experiencing tribulations?

Teacher: In cultivation it doesn't matter whether a person started earlier or later. And whether somebody cultivates well isn't determined by whether he started earlier or later, either. If a person is able to have righteous thoughts and righteous actions, and to let go of his attachments, then he's different. The evil gang of scoundrels in Mainland China that has been persecuting Dafa disciples has thought about it like this, "Ah, he's a veteran student. If we get him to write something the others will follow." But how could that be possible?! When everyday people persecute cultivators they can't ever understand them. Everyone is cultivating himself and walking his own path, and nobody looks at anyone else, at whether someone else is old or young, or at whether someone took up the practice early or late. As the master, I guide all disciples the same way. So as for how you can help the person, what you can do is, first off, to help him understand things from the Fa and improve. And another thing is to have all of you send righteous thoughts together, and do more of what a Dafa disciple should do to save sentient beings. All these things can help the person.

Question: Whenever we make significant progress in Fa-rectification, some ordinary events always come up suddenly to interfere. For example, the "9-11" incident, the shuttle accident, the Iraq issue, the [North] Korea issue, and so on. How should we view this interference?

Teacher: That's right. Why do those countries that uphold justice turn a blind eye to the Chinese government's persecution of such a large number of grassroots people who are part of the mainstream society? Why do they keep silent? There are reasons on their part, but there's also interference arranged by the old forces, who keep them busy with those terrorists. That's why terrorists surface every now and then, distract them from time to time, and prevent them from focusing on the true purpose of their existence.

Question: Greetings to Master from disciples in England.

Teacher: Thank you!

Question: In order to rescue our family members who have been incarcerated in China, we've created some skits and perform them on the street. One of us has to play the role of an evil person. Master, is it appropriate to have a Dafa disciple play that role?

Teacher: It doesn't matter. It's okay for him to play it. But, when I see our Dafa disciples play the roles of bad people, I feel uncomfortable. If it's needed, then just do it, it doesn't matter, and it doesn't actually affect anything. What else can you do, after all--it has to be Dafa disciples who validate the Fa. I used to help them come up with some ideas, and I suggested that when we produce television shows maybe we could ask our friends to play the negative roles. (Audience laughs) You'd just be asking them to be actors. There is no money now, but in the future when you are profitable, you can pay them when you do have money. (Audience laughs) Just joking! Really, though, it doesn't matter.

Question: Will the human race and other beings exist simultaneously in the future? How should disciples think about this?

Teacher: Will the human race and other beings exist simultaneously in the future? Once the Fa's rectification of the human world happens there won't be that many changes just yet. As for what will exist on Earth later on, that will depend on the needs of the human race. Everything in Heaven is just wondrous, so wonderful that it's indescribable. Even Gods, or that is, the Gods who enter the new cosmos after being benevolently resolved, they're stunned. (Applause) Human beings think that Gods are wonderful, and that Gods' worlds are wonderful, but if they went there and took a look, they'd find that the old places aren't that wonderful anymore--that's how big the difference is. As for demons, they're also members of the cosmos. In the cosmos, the correspondence between the positive and the negative beings can't be missing.

What time is it? (Applause) Should we conclude here? That's all I had to say. (Long applause asking Teacher to stay) Then I'll answer some more questions. (Applause)

Question: Could you tell us what you think about suing that wretch, that head demon in China? (Audience laughs)

Teacher: In China it's not possible for everybody to know the facts and thus learn about Falun Gong with a positive view, but everybody is cursing at that wretch--that's how bad it is. (Applause) Shouldn't it be sent to court then? (Applause) (Teacher laughs) (Applause)

Question: Revered Master, please make this clear to me: When we demonstrate in front of the Chinese consulate, the evil manipulates policemen to bring us trouble. I think that according to what you, our revered Master, have said, we should do three things well, the first being clarifying the facts. And you said that when we run into problems we shouldn't take a detour but should face them...

Teacher: That's true. When we encounter that kind of situation we should resolve it. Remember: Wherever a problem occurs, that's where you need to clarify the facts. (Applause) As for whether the result is good, don't look at the other party, it comes from your minds. If you want it to be good then it will be good. And if you don't intend to make it good, or if your mind is unsteady, then it won't be easy to rectify things. In other words, you need to have strong righteous thoughts. If you're thinking, "I'm truly saving you. I'm truly telling you the facts," then the result will be good. Try your best to approach the people outside Mainland China with kindness too. Of course, outside of China, too, there are people who are hopeless. Maybe you'll run into them, maybe you won't. But no matter what, we have to conduct ourselves in an upright way. At the very least we must not let them down, let the sentient beings down. The outcomes of a lot of things depend on how people handle them. Try your best, and don't aggravate things.

Question: My wife has lost her freedom because of validating the Fa. Since I have a child who's only a few years old, I won't validate the Fa like my wife has, rather, I've been doing things that are safer for myself. Is that correct? I'd also like to pass on Zhengzhou Dafa disciples' greetings to Master.

Teacher: Thank you. As a Dafa disciple, if you think what you're doing is right, then do it. In the cultivation process people have different understandings and are in different states. Those aren't problems. The level you're able to understand things at in your cultivation, and the extent to which you can do things, are both manifestations of the realm of your cultivation. In other words, if you can do exceptionally well that's better of course, but it can't be forced. I have no other requirements for you. I've never said that you have to do well to such and such extent. It's always been you yourselves handling things. However high your understanding based on the Fa-truths reaches, that's the extent to which you can do things. Everything you've been doing is done for yourselves, and it's absolutely not for me. (Teacher laughs) Let me put it this way: It's only Master helping you, never you helping Master. (Applause) In the future, when you see the true situation, you'll say, "Wow, so that's how it was!"

Question: Today is the Lantern Festival. We thank our revered Master for teaching the Fa and saving us, and for spending the Lantern Festival with us. These students don't want Master to leave. (Applause)

Teacher: Oh, I actually didn't think of that. When it comes to festivals and holidays, if you don't tell me about them I'll forget, that's how I am. Today's the Lantern Festival, then aren't we having a big reunion here? (Long applause)

Question: When we send truth-clarifying materials to Mainland China, can we also send them your poems and articles, and Dafa books?

Teacher: That's not a problem, not a problem at all. You can send those to everyday people. It's not a problem, as long as the person wants to read them. The persecution has gone on for so long now, and a lot of people really want to learn the truth about Falun Gong but they can't find the books. Do you know what excuse the old forces used when they had the evil burn the books way back when? Why did they burn the books? At that time there were so many copies of Zhuan Falun in Mainland China that they were just everywhere. But a lot of students didn't realize that they should respect the book, and everyday people treated it with even less respect. The Gods couldn't stand it, because that's the Law of Heaven, the one that created the cosmos! So the old forces wanted to create a severe shortage of books, and they made people look for the Fa, respect it, and realize how precious this Fa is from then on. That was the excuse they used to do that back then.

Question: It seems that some fellow practitioners in our area still don't understand the Fa-rectification. Their understanding in other regards isn't that good, either. How can I help them improve?

Teacher: Nothing can be forced. Whether a person wants to cultivate is all up to him. We can only advise him to do what's good, and can only try our best to remind them, tell them about certain things, and explain the principles to them clearly. Coercion doesn't work. When you've made your points, maybe it will be resolved, or maybe the person has attachments.

Question: In our Dafa work, some people in positions of responsibility don't tell the truth and do things in human ways in order for things to go well. Is it because they haven't studied the Fa well, they have selfish interests, or do they have ulterior motives?

Teacher: Motives? You can't put it that way. Of those sitting here, there's one or two who are a bit unusual, but I'm going to tell you, Master still doesn't want to give up on you, and I'll have to see whether you can make it. (Applause) If you can, I'll take care of you. It depends on you. As for the others, if you're saying that among the people sitting here someone wants to damage the Fa, or someone wants to do some other things, that's impossible. The people in positions of responsibility are cultivators too, and they'll also exhibit their human thoughts, for sure. I'd say you shouldn't have too high of expectations for them. But they are people with responsibilities, and what they do has a certain impact. So when you see problems you should point them out. If they won't listen, then you can report it to the Dafa Association.

Question: I am your disciple, but I'm troubled by debt. Can I even things out through the form of Fa-rectification?

Teacher: Using Dafa for your personal affairs... I don't think that kind of thinking is right. As a Dafa disciple, when you can truly do well, I think your troubles won't be as absolute as they look to you. It's because when you can't look at things from the Fa, everyday people's troubles are just everyday people's troubles. In the eyes of human beings things don't change, but in the eyes of Gods all of this changes. You're troubled, and Master is troubled for you too--I'm troubled that you haven't let go of your attachments and that you haven't reached a high level of understanding of the Fa, and that when you resolve one problem you create new problems. (Sigh) This isn't criticism! Everything Master says is Fa.

Question: I've always been perplexed, maybe we shouldn't use a large amount of human and material resources on studying a tool for breaking the Internet blockade? Maybe we should do things that take a short time and are highly efficient?

Teacher: There are different understandings on this. I can only say that there are different understandings. Things that are highly efficient should of course be done, there's no question about that. But as for breaking the Internet blockade, think about it, the evil is persecuting us and spreading huge lies--how could we not expose them? We have to let the world's people see their evil nature, see the wicked acts, and see the truth! So we have to break it. There's a large number of world-class scientists among the Dafa disciples. We have the ability to break it. They've never been able to block the Minghui website! (Warm applause) But it's also correct that we shouldn't use too much of our human resources. We don't have overly many people involved, though, right?

Question: When the Fa rectifies the human world, there won't be any blockade. Is it that all of this has to be realized through disciples' ways in the human world?

Teacher: When we break this blockade we are negating the old forces' arrangements. We just won't accept this persecution or the blockade. When the Fa rectifies the human world, and Gods and Buddhas are majestically displayed, people will have no choice but to listen! It'll be a different situation.

Question: Will disciples know ahead of time the moment when the Fa rectifies the human world? (Audience laughs)

Teacher: The extents to which you've cultivated are different, and your cultivation states are different. Some students will be able to know ahead of time, and some students won't. It doesn't matter whether you do or don't, and it doesn't affect the progress of your Consummation or your level. Not at all. Why think so much about it? The Fa's rectification of the human world really does not, to put it plainly, have much to do with you. You are Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples! (Applause)

Question: At present some disciples have symptoms of being ill, very serious ones. They can hardly read the book, do the exercises, or send righteous thoughts.

Teacher: I'd say these are real problems. Some students show their attachments, but some students don't, they keep them inside and they're incredibly attached, and in the end they can't let them go on their own. The evil will make you more and more abnormal, and make you fall hard--so hard you'll never forget it for the rest of your life. That's how they do it, so don't get attached so much. Then when problems come up you ask Master what to do, but it's in fact caused by your attachments. Master will do something about it.

There are also some people who have false hearing. The only thing I can call it is false hearing. In fact, you really did hear something, but what you heard wasn't Master--they fake Master's voice! And they even fake my image, and take advantage of your attachments to deceive you. As Dafa disciples, you should understand things from the Fa. You are Dafa disciples who are upright and dignified. You should rationally think about whether something is in line with the Fa. And then there are students who are always interested in supernormal abilities. I let some students see some of the Fa-rectification's situations in different dimensions, with my intention being to increase the students' confidence in validating the Fa, yet some students still can't handle it right, they don't cultivate based on the Fa, and when something happens they even go ask a student who has supernormal abilities to look at things for them, and then they take what's seen as guidance on how to do things related to Dafa and how to cultivate. That's already very dangerous. Who could possibly see the essence of Fa-rectification? And who could possibly explain the states of those who cultivate in Dafa? The manifestations at the extremely low levels aren't the ultimate, true situation. If you don't cultivate based on the Fa, if you don't act according to the Fa, then are you still a Dafa disciple? Whenever something happens you go ask that other person to see what it's about, but what's he seeing? Who could possibly see your ultimate situation? Even your own child can't see it. I've already said that even internally, among Dafa disciples, you aren't allowed to see it. If the true state of your cultivation could be seen, then what would there be for you to cultivate? If you were told, then everything would be solved. It can't be seen! The reason is, at different levels there are different manifestations, and to the beings at a given level the manifestation at that level is the truth, so at each level, at levels upon levels, there are truths. But those are the different manifestations of one thing at different levels, whereas the manifestation of the most fundamental thing is at the top, and when it gets to the end, only then is the most final fundamental thing found. So from which level could you possibly see the ultimate, true situation of a Dafa disciple, the true situation of Fa-rectification, or the true situation of Master? If today you could see the ultimate true situation of Dafa disciples and Master, and the truth of Dafa, then today you're the Lord of this boundless cosmos! Do you see all that? Is everything before your eyes? How could you be so foolish?! I've already talked about this many times in the Fa. Why is it that you just have to be interfered with? (Teacher laughs)

Question: If disciples use their jobs to tell people about the Zhen-Shan-Ren Fa-truths of the cosmos, and pass them on in subtle ways to more people in the world...

Teacher: I don't think there's a problem with that. You can do that.

Question: Someone can no longer directly give to Dafa like he did a while ago. Would you please tell me if he still meets the definition of a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple?

Teacher: Have you done well what a Dafa disciple should do in every regard? If so, then what you've done is right. (Teacher laughs) Don't worry, and this includes some of those who've stumbled. Just hurry up and get up.

Question: As a PhD student, doing my scientific research well requires that I'm completely committed to it, but I also need to study the Fa, clarify the facts, and do the exercises. I always feel like I don't have enough time.

Teacher: There are still people who ask this question. Master has answered it for you many times. I think that as cultivators, you should put Dafa first, but you should also do your job well. You should try your best to do things well. As far as how to balance this, when it comes to the specifics you still need to prioritize things yourself. If you say, "I'm too busy, so I won't read," then that's equivalent to not cultivating. Say, "I'll just completely devote myself to my job," and then you'll just be an ordinary person. Could it just be that you're not balancing these things well? Then just prioritize and plan things well. It's really simple. Actually, I've already discussed this very clearly in Zhuan Falun. Studying the Fa well definitely won't affect anything of yours in your cultivation, and on the contrary, it will help you get twice the results at your job or with your schoolwork with half the effort.

As for science, it's already come to this stage. Humankind can't do without it, and society is still trying its best to push it forward. But it won't exist in the future society people have. In the future there won't be any science. But all the same, science is a product of the cosmos, and that's why I've never rejected it. I've only said that it's not in line with humankind and can't be given to humankind, especially in the future, when people will take the path of becoming Gods, which makes it even more the case that this science thing can't be given to humankind. Science, in fact, blasphemes Gods, and it's playing the role of making matter warp and it's destroying the environment. It not only causes matter to warp, but also causes human beings' concepts to warp, and causes many elements of matter on Earth to warp, and it harms the cosmos to a certain extent. So in the future it won't exist here at this place of human beings. It is how it is right now, and that's because before the Fa's rectification of the human world arrives here, however chaotic humankind gets, we'll just let it be. If you don't do scientific work it won't make science good just because you don't do it. If you do it, that's fine, and your doing it isn't considered bad, since that's how things are overall. So that's the relationship.

Question: I'm your disciple, and am busy with a lot of Dafa work. I hardly do the exercises, and I can't always make sure I study the Fa, either. I feel pained inside.

Teacher: I think you should still find time to study the Fa, unless you are translating Dafa, (audience laughs) in which case I think you must be studying, too. Otherwise you still need to study the Fa.

Question: I think that the Fa's rectification of the human world is already proceeding quietly, and that the advanced science has led to the economic recession in modern times. Is this the prologue to a new economic situation? If Dafa disciples start new companies, will they have good prospects? (Au