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My Understandings About Marriage
By a Falun Dafa practitioner from Northeast China
(Clearwisdom.net) I am an unmarried Dafa practitioner. On the issue of
marriage, I have walked a crooked road. Through my recent Fa study
and cultivation, I now have a clearer and rational understanding about the issue
of marriage. Actually, about the issue of marriage, Teacher has told us in Zhuan
Falun and other Fa lectures to conform with the state of ordinary
human society as much as possible: "young practitioners should still have
families." (Zhuan Falun) We cannot go to any extremes in our
cultivation so as to avoid unnecessary obstacles. Moreover, we are to leave a
divine path for future human beings. Dafa is now open to ordinary human society
and points directly at their hearts. I would like to discuss how to deal with this serious issue during the Fa-rectification
period, especially for single practitioners, including those practitioners who
participate in the work at truth-clarification materials production
centers. To put it frankly, we need to be clear on what is conforming to
ordinary society versus thinking only about things of ordinary society. When
confronted with difficult choices, we need to think about whether we are
overcoming obstacles with righteous thoughts or if we are being mired in qing,
whether we are following the path arranged for us by Teacher or by the old
forces. Recently I read an article on the Internet about a local coordinator (male)
and a female fellow practitioner in one area having been arrested together. It
was said that this coordinator's wife was persecuted to death several years ago
and they had one child. The local government wanted to illegally
arrest this coordinator, so he was forced to leave home to avoid further
persecution. Later, he and a female practitioner (whose husband had been
persecuted to death) worked together to validate Dafa. As time went by, they
developed feelings for each other and ended up together. Many practitioners were
shocked when they learned about their arrest. This coordinator had been regarded
as a good cultivator with a clear understanding of the Fa and strong righteous
thoughts. Moreover, they are especially influential in their area, as well as
the counties and cities where he often went to for experience sharing. This male
practitioner had once been imprisoned in a notorious forced labor camp. He broke
out of the evil den with righteous thoughts and righteous belief in Teacher and
the Fa, and was released unconditionally. Though he overcame much severe
persecution, he relaxed his own righteous thoughts with respect to marriage and
the relationship between a man and a woman, thus leaving a xinxing
loophole for the evil to exploit. Now these two practitioners are still being
detained and subjected to severe persecution. Though there are other factors
involved in their persecution, this lesson was particular severe and painful. Recently I got in touch with a practitioner couple. They got married later in
their lives. At that time, the female practitioner's husband had divorced her
because she was imprisoned in a labor camp. The male practitioner was single.
Both of them were diligent before and after July 20, 1999 (when the persecution
began) and were influential in their local area, and they felt mutual admiration
towards each other. After they met each other, they felt as though they were
soul mates and wanted to form a family together. There was a lot of concern in
the practitioner community, but they eventually did get married. Driven by human
feelings and fettered by various attachments, the male practitioner relaxed his
diligent will. Additionally, conflicts and gaps appeared between them. The male
practitioner stopped behaving like a cultivator for a long time. This was an
opening for the evil, and he was arrested by the local police station and sent
to a forced labor camp. The male practitioner has now been released, but still
is not in a good cultivation state. He has strong human attachments and weak
righteous thoughts, and has not been able to catch up with the process of Fa-rectification. In the countryside of our area, there is one practitioner couple who are
older and got married after July 20, 1999, and they have a child. Some
practitioners observed that they put almost all of their energy into their own
small family, and have not taken up any responsibility for saving sentient
beings. Two fellow practitioners (one male and one female) in a truth-clarification
materials production center of another area have been working together for a
long time, and they eventually got married. Due to attachments and human
thoughts, they didn't travel their path with dignity and in the right way.I
think that these are issues that all of us, married or single, should pay close
attention to. We really must be vigilant about our attachments and not let up. Cultivation is extremely serious. The Teacher told us, "Don't forget, you are all Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples! You
came to validate the Fa! Cultivation is hard, and the evil is more evil while
you are validating Dafa. Those who can make it through are bound to be Kings
of sentient beings." ("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the
Metropolitan New York Fa Conference") "...all deviant paths are fraught with danger and
pitfalls."("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa
Conference") The coordinator mentioned above didn't give in to the evil when he was
imprisoned, but faltered when it came to the issue of properly handling the
issue of marriage and the relationship between men and women. We should study
the Fa well, look within ourselves, let go of all our human thoughts, correct
ourselves constantly, and assimilate to Dafa. We need to fundamentally deny all
the arrangements of the old forces. The Fa-rectification is progressing rapidly. Though the evil elements are
minimal at this point, we still cannot take it lightly. Moreover, the
requirements for us are getting higher and stricter. We must be strict with our
every thought. Here I want to remind unmarried fellow practitioners who are working in
truth-clarification materials production centers: don't make mistakes concerning
marriage and the relationship between men and women. In mainland China, some
materials production centers were destroyed and fellow practitioners there were
arrested and tortured, precisely because some practitioners made mistakes in
this respect. This is a big loophole and test for us. We should always be
responsible for ourselves, for the entire body of practitioners, for sentient
beings and for Dafa. We should cherish this last chance of Fa-rectification, and
walk the righteous path of Fa-rectification cultivation. The Fa-rectification is
in the final stages. We cannot have the attachment to time, but we cannot
develop any human thoughts at the last moment and lower the standards we have
for ourselves. Please permit me to encourage each fellow practitioner by
respectfully quoting our Teacher's Fa. Severing (in Yuan verse) Cultivation is not hard, This article discusses the issue only from my point of view, so it may be
inappropriate in certain respects. If there is anything improper, please kindly
point it out. Note: Different Dafa practitioner have different xinxing levels,
attachments, environments, forms of interferences from the old forces,
cultivation paths arranged by Teacher, tribulations, and choices, so the
situation for each practitioner is unique and complex. In every part of China
there are unmarried Dafa practitioners, and they each have their own situations
and challenges to handle. When faced with interference, some passed the tests
with righteous thoughts, and other were overwhelmed by their attachments. Some
didn't think too much. They just followed the natural way and got married, thus
assimilating into Dafa. Some have no desire or pursuit and already went beyond
this realm because it does not matter whether they are married or not. No matter what, a Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioner, a Dafa
practitioner of the righteous Fa and righteous enlightenment, must take all
these matters seriously and with righteous thoughts. Let us walk every step well
on the path of cultivation, and cherish the rare chance that Fa-rectification
has given us and Teacher's benevolent salvation. Let us fulfill our great vow
and wish of assisting Teacher in this world.
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