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Cultivating the Tao vs. Being Accepted--On the Spirit of "April 25" By Meijie
(Clearwisdom.net) On April 25, 1999, ten thousand Falun Dafa
practitioners peacefully appealed to the Chinese government to request a legal
cultivation environment. Facing the totalitarian power, they presented
themselves with rationality, solidarity, great compassion and tolerance, and
extraordinary courage. They practiced their faith in
Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. Some people who have been deeply influenced by the Communist Party culture do
not understand Falun Dafa practitioners' actions. They thought the CCP would not
accept their appeal, and appealing to the CCP is like "attacking a rock
with an egg." They even thought that the persecution was an inevitable
consequence, and that Falun Dafa practitioners did not practice
"Forbearance" by refusing to give in to the CCP's pressure to renounce
the practice. This mentality was formed by the Chinese people's rigid thinking that was
created by the CCP culture. Our ancestors have expounded clearly the
relationship between cultivating the Tao and being accepted. According to the book of Records of the Grant Historians (1), in order
to prevent Confucius (551-479 B.C.) from surrendering to the Chu State
(1100?-223 B.C.), warriors of the Chen (1100?-479 B.C.) and Cai (1100?-447 B.C.)
States cornered him and his disciples in a sparsely inhabited mountain area.
Soon they were out of food. Confucius saw that his disciples were uneasy, so he
asked one of them called Zhongyou, "Why are we blocked here? Is it because
the principles I taught were wrong?" Zhongyou said, "Is it because we are not compassionate enough, so we are
not trusted? Or we are not smart enough, so we are obstructed here?" Confucius replied, "If it is any of these reasons, then why did
compassionate Boyi and Shuqi (2) die from hunger? How could the smart prince
Bigan (3) be forced to cut open his chest? Just like farmers sow seed but may
not reap a good harvest, or a good repairman may not please each client, a
gentleman can cultivate in the Tao and discipline himself strictly, but he still
may not be accepted by others." Confucius' disciple Yan Hui also replied, "The Tao you cultivate is very
high; therefore, it is not accepted by your contemporaries. Nevertheless, you
still promote the Tao. Why worry whether others can accept it? Precisely because
it cannot be accepted by others, it proves who is the true good man."
Confucius was very pleased by Yan Hui's answer. By the same token, we can use whether or not we are accepted by the evil
Party to measure right or wrong. What Falun Dafa practitioners cultivate is
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, which, of course, will not be accepted by
the vile Party, which promotes Lies-Viciousness-Violence. This point
demonstrates the value of Falun Dafa practitioners, who firmly cultivate the
Tao. (1) The Records of Grant Historians is written by historian Sima Qian (135-90
B.C.) in Xihan Dynasty (206 B.C. - 8 A.D.). (2) Boyi and Shuqi were two princes of the Shang Dynasty (around 1700-1046
B.C.) who died of hunger to preserve their integrity. (3) Bigan was a prince in the Shang Dynasty, who died when forced to cut out
his heart to show his loyalty. April 25, 2007 Posting date: 4/29/2007
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