Doing Well in Everyday Society

By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) In the past, I was often confused about cultivation and matters of non-practitioners, and I believed that a cultivator could not harmonize the affairs everyday society. Even though Teacher mentioned "conforming to ordinary human society" in "Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference," I still thought that Teacher emphasized "cultivation "and not "ordinary human society." As a result, my cultivation and my work were often disjointed for lack of better integration. I recently gained a better understanding.

In Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Houston, Teacher said:

"Precisely because I have you cultivate in ordinary society, cultivators can conform to society to the maximum extent as they cultivate, and this can resolve the problem. At the same time, this approach allows the person him or herself to truly obtain the Law."

"You can do any normal work in everyday society. In any living arrangement and at any job, a cultivator can be a good person. A cultivator must be a good person wherever he or she is. As a cultivator, when you do badly in everyday society the blame is definitely on you, as you didn't go about things as a cultivator and hold yourself to high standards."

A cultivator, of course, should take Dafa as a guide. Dafa requires us to be a good person among ordinary people. If we have problems doing that, it is certain that we have not paid attention to the manifestation of the Fa and have failed to harmonize the principles at this level.

I realize that a cultivator becoming a good person may look like a good ordinary person on the surface. But the essence is different: Each has a different purpose. Ordinary people are motivated to be good by fame, fortune, and sentimentality, whereas cultivators only want to harmonize with the Fa principles at this level. I understand keenly that only by harmonizing with the principles of the Fa in ordinary society can we validate Dafa, clarify the truth, and save sentient beings. Thus, our every notion and action can validate Dafa effectively.

How, then, do we become good people in ordinary society? We cannot use other people's requirements. We, instead, must use the characteristic of the universe--"Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance"--as our criteria. We will become good people among ordinary people, but not as understood by non-practitioners. At the same time, we will have followed Teacher's teachings and conformed to ordinary society to the maximum extent.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/4/18/152965.html

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