By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa practitioners are cultivating amid human society, undertaking the mission of assisting Master in Fa-rectification and rescuing sentient beings. Master said,

"In our school of practice, those who practice cultivation among everyday people are required to practice cultivation precisely in ordinary human society, and to fit in among everyday people as much as possible. " ("Lecture Four" in Zhuan Falun, 2000 translation version)

In the course of the cultivation, many practitioners are cultivating themselves solidly and diligently in accordance with Master's requirements. They maintain righteous thoughts and righteous actions; they are indeed in the state of being a god-like being in the human world.

There are some practitioners who often mention this requirement from Master; however, I do not agree with their understanding of this requirement. Some practitioners wanted to step forward to clarify the facts, but felt it was very difficult to do. Whenever they encountered troubles or difficulties they became afraid and decided to hide at home to study the Fa and practice the exercises on their own. They would only clarify the truth when an opportunity was right in front of them and there was not much risk. They would then feel content as they thought they have at least done the three things. These practitioners would use the Fa teaching that each practitioner's cultivation path is different, and that they are "to fit in among everyday people as much as possible" to justify themselves.

Some other practitioners are attached to comfort and cannot let go of their personal life among everyday people. They do not have time for Fa study and exercises every day; still, they would justify their slacking off with the same excuse. Some practitioners watch TV, play chess and have hobbies, which severely interfered with them doing the three things well. They defend themselves by quoting Master's words, "to fit in among everyday people as much as possible."

Practitioners who have non-practitioner family members would also use this excuse when their family members asked them to do something not in accordance with Dafa. Actually, what they have been doing is not "to fit in among everyday people as much as possible," instead, they are confusing themselves with everyday people.

I would keep silent if they were new practitioners. However, many of them are veteran practitioners; they do not want to give up Dafa cultivation. Because they do not have a solid understanding of Dafa, they fail to realize that they have intentionally or unintentionally ignored or indulged their human mentalities, which in turn led them to their current state. In addition, the evil persecutory environment in China is related to the poor cultivation states of these practitioners. If this group of practitioners is able to catch up in cultivation, how many more beings can be saved! I hope other practitioners will spare no effort to help this group of practitioners. They themselves are anxious to get help from fellow practitioners as well.

Master taught us,

"The majority of people in our school will practice cultivation in ordinary human society, so you should not distance yourself from ordinary human society and you must practice cultivation with a clear mind. The relationships among one another should remain normal. Of course, you have a very high xinxing level and an upright mind. You will upgrade your own xinxing and your own level; you do not commit wrongdoing and only do good deeds--these are only such a manifestation." ("Lecture Eight" in Zhuan Falun)

My understanding of "fit in among everyday people as much as possible" is as follows: Dafa disciples are, first of all, cultivators. We are not everyday people. At the same time, the way we appear among everyday people is very important. It is a direct manifestation of our cultivation. We cannot behave abnormally in society, nor are we allowed to relax the requirement on our xinxing and actions to the extent that we confuse ourselves with everyday people. Both are indications that we are going to extremes. I have had a hard-learned lesson in these two respects. I had caused misunderstanding from family and colleagues due to my attachment of zealotry. I also had conducted myself like an everyday person, or even worse than an everyday person, because I was unwilling to get rid of certain attachments.

I was very happy when others recognized Dafa's goodness because I conducted myself well; I felt extremely sorrowful when others had misunderstandings about Dafa or even attacked Dafa because I failed to do well. That kind of sorrow was indeed indescribable. I then grew more determined to cultivate myself well, and truly improve my inner self. At the same time I conduct myself well and give everyday people the impression that I am a very kind, upright person.

In the course of Fa study and reading experience articles on the Clearwisdom website we constantly rectify ourselves. My understanding is that the two extremes I just mentioned above are caused by attachment to one's ego and being unable to let go of human mentalities. When we are able to truly improve ourselves based on the Fa we will become determined and steadfast; we will have strong righteous minds, and not being swayed by any interference. We will be indestructible, like diamond.

For example: I have many relatives, and there are numerous conflicts among the members of our extended family. As I eventually let go of my human thoughts, let go of personal interest and remained unmoved, no matter what someone said to me, I simply followed the requirements of Dafa and Master. Under all circumstances I put myself in others' shoes to consider their feelings and situation; as a result, I gradually changed my temperament. Now, all my relatives say Falun Dafa is good. In the past, my sister-in-law used to pick on me. Oftentimes, she scolded me or even humiliated me for no good reason. I forgave my relatives' past behavior and treated them with Dafa disciple's compassion. They used to bypass me to communicate with my husband whenever they needed to discuss certain issues. Now they openly invite me to join the discussion and consult me instead of my husband when they encounter conflicts. They feel Dafa disciples are trustworthy, and the way we handle things are truly for their benefit.

One of my neighbors did some yard extension and was reported to the authorities by another neighbor. Because my husband is their colleague and had small conflicts with their family before, they suspected that it was our family who reported them. The wife in their family liked to gossip and was not tolerant of others' mistakes. She said many bad things about us behind our backs. Each time I saw her she looked at me with hatred. Most of the other neighbors did not believe her, because they knew we were most tolerant toward others. They felt it was unfair for us to bear the blame. I thought it would serve no use if I tried to clarify the issue to others, because our neighbor was reported by an anonymous letter. I was not perturbed at all. I always maintained a serene and open mind. Before too long, no one made trouble for us any more.

Our neighbors like to gather to chat. They speak of many household topics; it was really a huge waste of time. I usually stay away from their conversation unless there is something related to truth-clarification issues, or someone asks me for help. My neighbors described me as being different from others, the implication being I was "abnormal." I was not moved and simply smiled as a response. I conducted myself with good manners to show my respect for them and tried to be tolerant toward them. Now they all feel I am very "normal."

Now all my relatives have withdrawn from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) and its related organizations. Some of my neighbors and colleagues also renounced the CCP and communist affiliated organizations.

When diligent practitioners and I discuss things we have a feeling in common: When we truly improve ourselves based on the Fa and let go of human attachments we no longer have fear. Then the effect of truth clarification is usually exceptionally good, as if gods are helping us.

Whenever it occurs to me that Master changed me from a person with tremendous karma into a sacred Dafa disciple I am moved to tears. I am unable to describe my gratitude to Master. I will be more diligent and strictly follow Master's requirements. It is my genuine wish to let everyone who comes into contact with me to see the beauty of Dafa.

I realize that "fit in among everyday people as much as possible" as required from us by Master is not just Dafa's requirement for Dafa disciples to cultivate among human society; it is also closely related to our mission of rescuing sentient beings. It is a manifestation of Master's compassion to all beings. I hope all Dafa disciples can let go of their egos and improve their understanding in the Fa. Let's cultivate diligently and solidly, and do the three things well.

Please kindly point it out to me if there is anything inappropriate.

Posting date: 5/23/2007
Original article date: 5/23/2007
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/4/20/153111.html

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