(Clearwisdom.net) Teacher teaches us to be good people wherever we are. Regardless of the type of environment, at work or at home, we have to demonstrate our demeanour as Dafa practitioners. When I first started practicing Falun Dafa, I didn't think it was difficult to achieve that--all we needed to do was to follow the principle of Truth, Compassion, Tolerance and then we would automatically be good people everywhere we went.

However, after practicing cultivation for three years, I realize that we are not simply cultivating as individuals in Falun Dafa, especially at this stage, but rather, we are cultivating in the Fa-rectification environment. The demand for us now is how to let go of our personal cultivation constraints and take each step sure-footedly on our cultivation path while not being affected by the bad influences of society. In the process of cultivating ourselves, we need not only to refine ourselves but also to reconcile and harmonize ourselves with the environment. As for how to follow the right path in our cultivation process, we have to take the Fa as our guide. Our cultivation path has already been pre-arranged by Teacher and that is the best and most glorious path ever planned.

Teacher said,

"Different levels have different Fa. The Fa in every level is not the absolute principle of the universe, but Fa in that level has a guiding effect." (Zhuan Falun)

I realize that there is a law to guide us on every level. As long as we meet the requirements at that level, we are good people. On the other hand, the Fa is not fixed. Following the upgrading of levels, if we cannot follow the progression, then we cannot reach the demands of the Fa at a higher level.

"There are a lot of things you still aren't able to do well as Dafa disciples, though, and I can tell you that this is in fact because you've neglected Fa-study. The reason is, your surface, which is still assimilating to the Fa, needs to be constantly improved, and as you constantly improve, the things that you need to cultivate away have to be arranged for. Every realm has its own state of being. If you remain stagnant, you definitely won't be able to keep up with the Fa-rectification."("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")

At the beginning of my cultivation, I truly felt I was having new understandings of the Fa every day and my cultivation status was improving quickly. However, with the elevation of my level, I no longer experience the rapid improvement I had before. Cultivation is serious. Only by following Teacher's teachings and doing the three things well can we keep up with the Fa-rectification process and live up to the title of Fa-rectification Period Dafa Disciples.

"In the process of clarifying the truth, Dafa disciples are indeed playing an important role, and they've done a great job. Your circumstances are quite tough; even other people know that Falun Gong has no money. Some Dafa disciples are in straitened circumstances. But in this situation, you still need to consider the image you project in society and to everyday people, because a Dafa disciple needs to be a good person wherever he is, right? So out in ordinary society, at work, in the family, or in whatever interactions it may be, you should leave people with a positive image of Dafa disciples. Your resources are limited, and that's why it is so trying and hard to do. But even so, we still need to make our Fa-rectification path a straight and upright one and we cannot go astray. If we're to make it a straight one, then, well, you know, there's only one path that is straight, and just one step off the path means going amiss. We cannot go astray, and this means our path is none too wide or easy to walk, it seems. You can't do as you please or do whatever you want--if that were the case, the Fa wouldn't be righteous. You need to make your path of validating the Fa a straight and upright one. Every single step, every single thing, including a Dafa disciple's words and actions, and your conduct in every respect out in society must be upright." ("Teaching the Fa on Easter, 2004, at the New York Fa Conference")

Teacher said,

"Today, what I'm telling Dafa disciples to do is to cultivate among ordinary people in a way that conforms to ordinary people as much as possible. You can't go to extremes. Just go about things steadily like that and fully play the role of a Dafa disciple as you validate the Fa. You have many, many challenges; in addition to doing well in things to validate Dafa, in this world you also need to maintain relationships with other people, with your family, and in society. It is hard. It's hard, but that is the path that a Dafa disciple must take." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference")

How do we balance all areas and reconcile all the deficiencies? While cultivating ourselves well, we also develop the capacity to be a Dafa particle to save sentient beings. If you can balance out everything and meet the requirement of Dafa for yourself at that level, you are a good person at that level. One has to be continually diligent, keep up with the progress of Fa-rectification, and steadily validate the Fa. Only then can you be considered a good person.

Coming to the end of Fa-rectification, one cannot afford to be slack. Regardless of how busy we are, we must make sure we study the Fa well. Only by doing so will our righteous actions match our righteous thoughts. Through Fa validation, we will then create our own path and correctly identify the majestic virtue that is rightfully ours.

Posting date: 5/1/2006
Original article date: 4/30/2006
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/4/3/124310.html

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