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Passing the Test of Positive Circumstances
Written by a Dafa practitioner from China
(Clearwisdom.net) When I studied Master's "Teaching the Fa in the
City of Chicago," I was not very clear about what Master meant by
mentioning "a different sort of test for you" in: "...whether the change in the state of society is negative or
positive, or, put another way, whether what comes about is bad or good, it is
a test for our Dafa disciples all the same, and not a reason to become
content. If things really do change for the better, it will be a different
sort of test for you..." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of
Chicago") It was only after I studied Master's new article "The Closer to the End,
the More Diligent You Should Be," that I understood this part of the Fa.
And it also reminded me of what Master said about the Fa principle of the tests
of bad changes and good changes. All of our fellow practitioners are familiar with the tests of negative
circumstances. Many of us have experienced it personally and some of us are
still enduring this kind of test. Especially after Master had enlightened us
from different perspectives, we gradually came to a clear understanding of why
we had to go through the test of bad circumstance. It is because we Dafa
practitioners still have some fundamental attachments. That's why the old forces
used these loopholes as excuses for the persecution. As a result, those who
could not pass the test were "transformed." Even though many of them
have returned to their own cultivation path from their detour, the lessons that
we learned were very bitter. As to the recently improving situation, Master said, "As far as how things are now, in the course of the cosmos's Fa-rectification
and Dafa disciples' validating of the Fa, gigantic changes have been effected
in the circumstances of the persecution that arose on the Dafa disciples' path
of cultivation. The cultivation environment and the perceptions people have
are both undergoing changes on a fundamental level." ("The Closer to
the End, the More Diligent You Should Be") The key issue is that "the different sort of test" ensued
accordingly. Master also pointed it out that, "And yet a small number of students-veteran students, even-have to
differing degrees exhibited a despondent state and slackened in their resolve
to be diligent." He also pointed out the fundamental reason for this happening. What can we see from here? No matter if it was the test of a bad environment
that made the practitioners "transform" or the test of the good
environment that made the practitioners slacken in their resolve to be diligent,
the key point is that we still have human attachments. As a result, the evil
makes further use of the loopholes to achieve its same evil purpose to eliminate
the practitioners' will - the bad situation made them pessimistic, and "...they all aim to break the will of those who cultivate in a
righteous Fa." ("Path" from Essentials for Further
Advancement II). The good situation made them optimistic and "slackened in their resolve
to be diligent." It also made them take a detour. In facing negative
situations, some fellow practitioners could hardly pass the test because of
their strong attachments. Similarly, in facing positive situations, some
students, "didn't realize that they had subtle attachments or were being
interfered with by their own notions," ("The Closer to the End, the
More Diligent You Should Be") and they failed to understand that they were
facing a test. So the test of positive circumstances is also very serious. With the positive situation improving, this kind of test will become more and
more prominent. At the same time, when the situation is getting better because
of the fact that the practitioners are validating Dafa, we are also facing a
test of the same kind. I think this is also what fellow practitioners have to
pass, because we already understand the cultivation truth of what Master told
us: "The whole process of cultivation is gradually getting rid of
attachments." (Zhuan Falun) |