By a Falun Dafa practitioner

(Clearwisdom.net) I would like to share my understanding on one particular problem that I have seen occurring both inside and outside China. Some practitioners are so busy with Dafa work that they no longer have time to study the Fa. The following is my personal view on this matter.

There are a certain number of practitioners in China who have been so frightened by the evil trial arranged by the old forces that they have adopted a "wait and see" attitude. Even those practitioners who have been validating the Fa show differing degrees of diligence and attentiveness.

Some practitioners have been marching forward courageously in validating the Fa. These practitioners have taken on the heaviest load, and often the most dangerous work. They do what others dare not. As this situation has developed, some not so diligent practitioners have become more and more dependent on them and continue to add to their burden. The result is that these practitioners shoulder more and more responsibilities and no longer have time to study the Fa. In the environment inside China, this becomes very dangerous for a Dafa practitioner. As a consequence, a practitioner may encounter tribulations. When this happens, other practitioners simply criticize the practitioner for not studying the Fa instead of considering how to help that practitioner. They show off the amount of time they spend studying the Fa without realizing that it is they themselves who have used up the time of that practitioner.

There are also some practitioners hiding at home after coming back from the forced labor camps. Someone asked me once, "How come Teacher has not ended this evil trial?"

I replied, "We are here to save sentient beings. If every 10 practitioners are responsible for 1000 people, everyone only needs to clarify the truth to 100 people, but if only 1 out of 10 practitioners is clarifying the truth, then he or she needs to clarify the truth to 1000 people, so it will take longer. If the other 9 practitioners can help a little, then this one practitioner would have less pressure. Isn't considering the needs of others a part of what we cultivate? Shouldn't we think about these practitioners? Since you want to end the persecution sooner, you ought to actively participate." Hearing my words, the practitioner agreed.

Some practitioners are afraid of being implicated if they work with other practitioners. They work on their own projects and have no contact with other practitioners for long periods of time. They are very pleased with themselves in having done the three things. They also believe that the troubles of other practitioners are not related to them. Doesn't this reveal their attachment to self? Isn't fear of contacting other practitioners also an attachment? Veteran practitioners motivating new practitioners and diligent practitioners influencing others is our responsibility in cultivation, yet those practitioners who have taken the initiative in helping others have taken on more than their share. When they encounter problems, should we look on them with critical eyes, or should we lend a helping hand? Better still, shouldn't we take on some of these responsibilities before problems occur? After all, we are one body.

Recently, Beijing has become a focal point for conversation. Some non-Beijing practitioners brought up some xinxing issues that they observed in Beijing practitioners after spending time with them. They explained that what they saw were only some elements pertaining to the entire body of practitioners, and that their intent was not to criticize Beijing practitioners. Because these practitioners were very objective and were only thinking about what is best for Beijing practitioners, what they saw was the true nature of the problems affecting them, and the issues they brought up reflect the real situation for practitioners in Beijing.

There are, however, some practitioners who have been doing very well in their local areas. They judge the situation in Beijing by what they thought to be the best method and format they used in their own regions. "When anything is made absolute, it becomes incorrect." (Zhuan Falun, "Jealousy") "A practitioner whose cultivation has reached a particular level can only see manifestations at that level. He is unable to see the truth beyond that level, and neither will he believe it. Therefore, he only regards what he sees at his level as correct." (Zhuan Falun, "The Issue of the Celestial Eye") We should avoid this type of issue in our cultivation. We should always be aware of the effect our words might have on others. I ask these practitioners to consider, what kind of help do they offer to the Beijing practitioners when they speak with such absolute certainty?

Some practitioners went to Beijing to validate the Fa. (They are all homeless due to the persecution; other practitioners should stay home to validate the Fa, which is the best support they can provide to Beijing.) These practitioners put Falun Dafa posters around the Great Hall of the People under the nose of the police. By sharing their experiences with local practitioners, these practitioners helped many less than diligent Beijing practitioners. Many Beijing practitioners are thankful for their help, and are moved by their righteous thoughts and behavior. However, when these practitioners from outside Beijing worked at the Falun Dafa material production sites in Beijing, they started to understand the unique situation in Beijing. They realized that those Beijing practitioners who have been steadfast in defending Dafa and clarifying the truth at the center of the evil have developed a will and character that surpasses many. They said with deep respect, "Before we came, we thought the practitioners in Beijing hadn't done well enough, so we came here to help. We didn't realize that those steadfast practitioners in Beijing are so attentive and thoughtful overall, and the way they consider what's best for others is far better than what we've done. We need learn from them."

When we can understand each other, respect each other, share the load together and support each other, our collective power is unbreakable.

In terms of the overall coordination, the practitioners overseas have a better environment compared to practitioners in China. Everyone overseas takes the initiative and shares the work. Some practitioners have taken on multiple projects. For some projects, more practitioners than the job requires want to do them. Such uniform effort in the whole body is something practitioners in China should learn from.

Due to the heavy workload over the last two years, many overseas practitioners appear to be exhausted. Some practitioners started to push difficult jobs on others. The few practitioners who still want to take on more become overloaded. In some cases, the practitioners hardly sleep at all, not to mention studying the Fa and doing the exercises. They cannot even ensure their basic livelihood. Although practitioners overseas needn't fear arrest, when the state of mind of a cultivator is no long aligned with the Fa, the evil will take advantage. It is Dafa disciples doing Dafa work, not ordinary people doing Dafa work. Even outside of China, practitioners could still have tribulations if this situation goes on for long. Shouldn't we be responsible for fellow practitioners?

Some people say, "He is accumulating mighty virtue by doing such and such." We are cultivators, we didn't talk about accumulating mighty virtue even during the personal cultivation period, and neither should we during the Fa-rectification period cultivation. Moreover, the practitioners were thinking about saving sentient beings and the importance of Dafa work when they took on the workload. Therefore, those practitioners who have this view must look within themselves and see how they truly view Dafa work.

Some practitioners say, "With him doing it, we can all take a break." If we judge this by a cultivator's standard, we can all see the problem. For those practitioners who won't take on the difficult tasks, have you thought about how that practitioner was thinking? Nobody is willing to do the work, and the work is so important. This practitioner puts Dafa work ahead of his personal affairs; he or she keeps taking on more work. Even though everyone has his or her share already, if everyone can do a little more, it won't be too much, but the situation for that practitioner may be much better. Everyone will able to study the Fa. In fact this also demonstrates that there is a higher standard for us.

When it comes to exchanging understandings, some practitioners outside of China are obviously falling short compared to the diligent practitioners in China. Some people believe problems are normal when they hear about them. They have the mindset to let the issue slide. There are also practitioners who write it off as "insufficient righteous thoughts." It appears to be speaking from Fa principles, but in fact such a comment is the opposite of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance."

Although "insufficient righteous thoughts" is a sentence from the Fa, fundamentally we are cultivating "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." When a fellow practitioner is having difficulties, is such a comment attacking or helping the practitioner? If you cannot come up with a specific solution, doesn't that mean that you would not be able to resolve the situation if it were happening to you? In that case, doesn't the comment, "insufficient righteous thoughts" also apply to you yourself?

After experiencing the evil trial, some practitioners in China have become clearheaded and mature. When they are sharing with other practitioners, their understanding is always based on the Fa. When a practitioner speaks of a problem, their immediate thought is "From the perspective of the Fa, how did this situation come to be, and how would I deal with it if it were happening to me?" They help the practitioner to understand the situation from the Fa's perspective. They also put themselves in the practitioner's shoes and come up with constructive suggestions.

The bottom line is how we regard fellow practitioners. Are they just people that we look at with critical eyes, or are we all part of the whole body. Can we ask ourselves, "Are his things truly my things?"

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude for the hard work of those practitioners who have taken on many Dafa projects. I have deep respect for you and hope you take care of yourselves. If possible, you should motivate others to help. As long as you are not complaining but have a wish for everyone to improve as a whole, it won't be a problem. I also hope all practitioners can put themselves in others' places and be considerate of others. To be responsible to Dafa and fellow practitioners is also to be responsible for oneself. If we can all take the initiative, we can also take a big step forward.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/1/16/93586.html