Understandings from the Sufferings of Legendary Sun Wukong

By Dafa Practitioners in Toronto, Canada

(Clearwisdom.net) Although more and more people are learning that Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted, a considerable number of them still do not sympathize with us, much less support us. We would like to analyze some of the reasons for this. Fellow practitioners, please add to or correct our understandings if necessary.

After watching the animated cartoon film of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, people know that the Jade Emperor captured Sun for causing havoc in the heavenly palace. Jade Emperor ordered the deities to behead Sun with axes and shoot him in the heart with numerous arrows. However, all these attacks failed to subdue Wukong. Later, Supreme Lord Taishang put Wukong in his Eight Trigrams Furnace, which is used for refining elixir, for forty-nine days, trying to burn him to ashes. However this treatment also failed to do him any harm. Everyone feels that this is an interesting story. However, if we carefully think it over, we realize that all the punishments that Sun Wukong endured were brutal tortures. But people do not sympathize with him, and instead derive pleasure from knowing his story, as people know that the stone monkey was as solid as a rock and could survive any torture. Once I clarified the truth to a Christian, who told me that Jesus should suffer tribulations, as he is a god and came to earth for the suffering, and he could withstand those brutal tortures. I was very shocked. Perhaps in our truth clarification we may have also given people such an impression.

During our experience sharing we have noted that when some fellow practitioners clarified the truth and talked about the persecution, they did not talk about the cruelties of the persecution Dafa practitioners have endured. Instead, they emphasized how firm the Dafa practitioners were and how they were not afraid of the persecution. When these fellow practitioners talked about the persecution Falun Gong practitioners endure, they described them the way that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) described them, "How firm the revolutionary martyrs were," as if Dafa practitioners had "led no worldly lives." If other practitioners viewed the issue differently, they would say it was because they "did not have many of their human attachments left." Clarifying the truth in this way often makes everyday people feel that we are quite strange and difficult to understand. There are some ordinary people who make fun of practitioners, saying, "Why don't you all come out of the prison like magicians, why do you still endure the persecution?" The so-called "living no worldly lives" and "having few human attachments left" are exactly where the loopholes exist. These are the excuses that some practitioners use for not conforming to the state of everyday people. They are also the marks of old cultivation ways in the old cosmos and of the CCP's culture.

Master has told us in "Touring North America to Teach the Fa" (March 2002),

"But when you clarify the truth to an average person, just tell him that we're being persecuted and that we're only doing exercises and trying to be good people and they'll be able to understand."

What realms a practitioner has cultivated to cannot be known, and the same applies to whether a practitioner has human notions left or not. One emphasis of our truth clarification is to expose the persecution. The other emphasis of our truth-clarification, which is, "We're only doing exercises and trying to be good people," is often overlooked by practitioners, and is an important reason that many people do not sympathize with us, even though they have learned the truth.

What the evil CCP has most extensively prepared for the persecution is its all-out effort of defaming Falun Gong practitioners. The CCP has described us as showing no human feelings, not respecting our parents, not educating our children, not caring for our loved ones, not working diligently, etc. It has tried to make people believe that Falun Gong practitioners cannot even meet the basic requirements of being human beings. As a result, some deceived people feel that it is justified no matter what cruel means are used to torture Falun Gong practitioners.

Master told us to let go of the human attachments and eliminate human notions. However, Master has never told us not to consider everyday peoples' ability to understand. On the contrary, our cultivation starts with our trying to be good people and continues until we meet the standards of enlightened beings. Our cultivation is never separated from the everyday peoples' society. As a result, the manifestations of these kinds of cultivators in everyday society is very usual. What people can see is that our moral realms are very high. The only difference they notice is that we always have consideration for others. Practitioners have seen Master's demeanor when he gave Fa lectures in China, and later outside of China. Master is always very amiable and easy to approach. He behaves very naturally, is always very considerate, poised and kind. Everyday people feel that Master is one of the best individuals they have known.

Some practitioners outside China think, "We are moving increasingly away from everyday people. We no longer know what everyday people think. Because what we have written is very pure and does not contain any human things, everyday people do not like to read them." Buddhas can feel the thoughts of millions of people, even of horses and mules. When a person really does not have human notions, he or she is benevolent and can understand all beings including humans. So how can it be that the practitioner has said something to everyday people which they cannot understand and which causes estrangement between us and everyday people? When we write articles, if we have truly considered the needs of everyday people, they will feel that the Dafa practitioners' articles are pure and will be moved to tears. Our experience tells us that everyday people not only like to read our articles but also are reluctant to discard the newspaper in which the article was published. They carefully preserve the articles. In truth clarification Master wants us to tell people that the practitioners whom the CCP has been persecuting are good people. If everyday people can really see that good people are being persecuted, their compassion and consciousness will be aroused to the utmost.

There are practitioners who understand the need to tell people that Falun Gong practitioners are trying to be good persons. However, they only mention the words, "We are persecuted because we practice Falun Gong and try to be good persons." They do not however, clarify why the individuals who practice Falun Gong are good persons. When writing articles, practitioners mention "the truths that are acknowledged by all practitioners." Because "the truths are acknowledged by all practitioners," we of course do not see the necessity to prove the correctness of these truths in our writings. Thus, the "stereotyped writing," appears as bragging and is perceived as empty talk. Written this way, our truth clarification materials are not very effective. Regardless of our motives, we need to consider the issue of effectiveness. This does not mean being attached to the effectiveness, which is a different topic for discussion.

Even after we start our cultivation, we carry with us our previous human notions. For example, when writing their experience-sharing articles, many practitioners like to cite Master's Fa, but rarely mention how they have used the Fa to guide themselves in improving their xinxing and their behaviors. When writing articles to expose the persecution, they also fail to clearly tell people how they have acted as good persons. People in the Western world emphasize not taking one's personal views as those that are accepted by all others. For people to accept a writer's views, the writer needs to present evidence to support every point of his or her views. Evidence consisting of the writer's personal experience is the best.

This issue exists when we tell people "We are only doing exercises and trying to be good people." There are many people who do not understand Falun Gong. There are still many people who are deceived by the CCP's lies and have misunderstandings about us. As a result, this viewpoint has become the one that is mainly held by Falun Gong practitioners. For people to understand that "We are only doing exercises and trying to be good people," we have to present concrete examples to support this view. For example, when we write an article to describe the persecution that a Dafa practitioner has been subjected to, it would be better if we can give some examples of how the practitioner, in his or her daily life, has sacrificed his or her own interests and considered others. After reading the article, everyday people will see the solid and vivid evidence. In fact, during cultivation practice, almost every practitioner has done these kind of good deeds. This is the manifestation of our validation of the Fa and of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Only the power of the Fa can change people's hearts. Once everyday people believe the stories we have written are true and closely relate to the stories, as if it happened to them, and feel that good people are enduring such brutal persecution, then everyone with a good conscience will stand up to support us.

August 8, 2005

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/8/10/108075.html

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