Can You Clean the Bathtub?

(Clearwisdom.net)

In the section of Zhuan Falun, titled, "On Killing," Master told a story about Shakyamuni asking his disciple to clean a bathtub filled with insects. In my understanding, this story teaches us the principle of having faith in Master and the 'Fa." Let's think about it: The disciple heard Shakyamuni say, "What I asked you to clean was the bathtub." Why didn't he insist on his own thinking (instead of cleaning it) that cleaning the bathtub would kill the bugs, and that would be against the principles of cultivation? Why didn't he insist that cleaning the bathtub was killing? Why didn't he start to doubt the principles taught by his master when they appeared to be conflicted? Why didn't he begin to have doubts about cultivation? If we were the disciple, what would we do? Would we go and clean the bathtub? What we are facing today is quite similar to what that disciple faced two thousand years ago. The difference is that what we are required to do is more important. We are following Master in Fa-rectification, and the evil spirit of the Communist Party is one of the last few insects in the universe. The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, published by The Epoch Times, is like an extremely effective cleaning agent or insect killer.

If our Master asks us to clean a bathtub with bugs in it, what will we think? What will we do?

May 31, 2005

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/6/1/103080.html

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