(Clearwisdom.net) One of the causes for partitions among fellow practitioners is the attachment of not taking criticism and not daring to criticize. The reason some practitioners do not dare to criticize is because some other practitioners cannot take criticism calmly. Another reason is that one cannot let go of human emotions, worrying that the other party may not understand and develop a problem in their mind.
When coordinating for projects, there are many occasions when open communication is very important. If there are practitioners who do not dare to criticize or cannot take criticism in a calm manner, it will cause obstaclles. For example, not too long ago some practitioners in Taiwan had human emotions about which political party they should support. They were attached to a certain political party but did not openly talk about it. The best way to eliminate partitions among practitioners is to discuss the issue openly and honestly while being as calm as possible when criticizing, and look at things without human notions when being criticized.
One time we had an experience sharing conference at which a fellow practitioner’s speech was too long and detailed. I suggested that all speakers be short and to the point when they speak, leaving time for others practitioners to speak. While making the suggestion, I felt that I was not very polite to the speaker. Usually most practitioners would say nothing, be patient, and listen to the speech under similar circumstances. However, our time was limited, and we could not let one speaker take up all the time and lose the opportunity to improve as a whole body. So out of consideration for our whole body, I boldly made the proposal to let more practitioners have the chance to speak. As a result, many practitioners spoke and the experience sharing helped us all to improve.
After the experience sharing, I apologized to the practitioner for interrupting his speech to make the proposal; I explained to him my thoughts. He said, "You are very benevolent, I am glad that you pointed out my problem and helped me to improve." I was very happy that the fellow practitioner accepted my doing that. This way, we did not have any problems.
Gods have extremely immense tolerance, being able to accept other beings, and being able to truly think from other beings’ perspectives. When we have different opinions on something, we must remember Master’s teaching,
"If you’ve got a good idea, well, you came up with it, you’re being responsible to the Fa, and it’s not important whether your idea is adopted or whether your approach is used. If another person’s idea can achieve the same effect and you aren’t attached to your own idea and instead you go along with his, then whether you’ve shared your approach or not, Gods will all see this and think, "Look, he isn’t attached, and he’s able to be so tolerant and broadminded." What do Gods look at? Isn’t this what they look at?" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
The above is my personal understanding, please kindly point out any mistakes.
