(Clearwisdom.net)

Internet Security Concerns

In May 2007, Taiwan South District practitioners had an experience sharing event between the technical team and the Internet truth-clarification team. We held this meeting because some practitioners in our district were identified as having major security loopholes. Besides training on general computer security, we also had a deeper exchange of thoughts on security issues. Our report is on what we have concluded. Besides needing to do better regarding Internet security, we also hope to take this opportunity to mutually raise our levels and be responsible to the Fa.

The morning segment included training on computer environment and setting. The technician prepared slides and carefully explained the concepts of firewalls, anti-virus protection software, and other computer safety measures. The text and illustrations were clear and detailed. The lively cartoon raised our understanding of Internet security, which should be helpful to all practitioners who use computers. The small group meetings afterwards were divided into clarifying the truth over the Internet and disseminating technical expertise. After a whole morning of computer security training, we had a wonderful cultivation experience sharing in the afternoon.

Technically Skilled Practitioners' Cultivation Stories

Finding out the computers in our district had security loopholes was a major xinxing test for every practitioner working with computer technology. It seems that we have far from enough technically skilled practitioners. Some technically skilled practitioners entered military service; others went abroad, and several moved away. Everyone was already burdened with large amounts of work. We all feel the impact when we suddenly lost so many people, especially those with technical skills. Many technically skilled practitioners were so busy they often took no time to study the Fa, which affected their cultivation. Such exchanges of ideas and insights are important to everyone.

At the beginning of the meeting, it was rather quiet. The technically skilled practitioners normally give the impression of being reserved and not good at expressing their thoughts. A practitioner who often tells people the truth over the phone said that each time we met with different groups, the Internet group was the silent group. Many practitioners can barely comprehend the importance of the Internet, and thus it is difficult for them to participate. Even if they joined the group, their minds are rarely focused and where they should be. They often simply do what they are asked to do. It's difficult to achieve a good result this way. By contrast, the experiences of the phone group are a lot more touching. There are additional technical difficulties with computer use, which stopped many practitioners from participating. It's what we need to overcome. The Internet cultivation as a group is never left behind; Master is watching all of them.

These unassuming, technically skilled practitioners quietly work hard, and are a group of heroes without recognition. With their assistance, all practitioners at the front lines are able to rescue people in time! One of these practitioners encouraged all the technically skilled practitioners to talk about and write more of their experiences. She told her own experience: The busy work of validating the Fa made her often react to the request of writing experience sharing essays with the thought, "I do not have time." But when she became determined to write, she found that it to be another cultivation experience, which is rather precious. Her experience touched many practitioners. Comparing each other on our cultivation path and with Fa study and encouraging each other is really important!

One coordinator said she did not want to join the Internet team's exchange of opinions. She said it felt like everyone merely talked about techniques and she didn't feel she was clarifying the truth while doing such things as contacting practitioners and maintaining computers. She had always felt that making phone calls and chatting over the Internet is genuinely clarifying the truth, but she felt rather anxious. Sometimes she felt so anxious she even had bad thoughts and experienced jealousy toward fellow practitioners ("You can tell the truth, I cannot.") Later, she participated in another group and she looked inside. She finally came to the conclusion that every Dafa project is to clarify the truth, and all depend on each other. The hosting practitioner replied he never felt that way, because his job was also to help practitioners maintain computers because we are all one body.

A technically skilled practitioner mentioned once filling up his motorcycle gas tank. Then he rode to practitioners' homes to fix computers. In the evening he found his gas tank already empty. He said he didn't even know how many places he had gone and how he got there. He simply knew he wanted to fix the practitioners' computers as soon as possible. Other technically skilled practitioners all echoed his feelings, because everyone felt the same.

Another technically skilled practitioner made an analogy on Internet security. He said that parents don't simply send their children to school, hand everything to the teachers, and then don't worry about anything anymore. It doesn't matter how many computer protection devices the technical practitioners help the practitioners to install. If the practitioners don't pay attention to the security, then it is difficult to form one body and there will be loopholes, and the technically skilled practitioners will be even more exhausted trying to fix practitioners' computers.

The practitioner who is in charge of promoting the automatic tools for Internet truth clarification said we need to let practitioners know the importance of every project and its meaning as it relates to rescuing people. Then we can discuss our views with practitioners based on cultivation. When running the automatic tools, we are often merely following the formalities and cause many problems in different respects. It is important to let every participating practitioner know the mission of each automatic tool and how it serves to rescue people. Whether it is an automatic tool or a manual tool, every participant should understand clearly that it is for rescuing people instead of simply pressing a few keys.

Regarding xinxing cultivation, one practitioner said she had conflicts with another practitioner and encountered major xinxing tests. Other practitioners told her how another practitioner was in a state of tribulation for a long time, all self-caused. She fell into deep self-condemnation. She felt rather unfairly treated and started to cry. The old forces gave her a lot of interference, made her not able to calm her mind, no matter what she did. She was in deep mental pain. When she felt she couldn't bear it anymore, just in time a practitioner spoke with her. She quickly awakened her main consciousness and was able to recognize that the one that felt wronged and unfairly treated was not her true self. She kept reciting Lunyu on her way home. Getting home she immediately sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil that had interfered with her mind. Once she did this her mind finally settled down. At the same time her husband was upset because a technically skilled woman practitioner had came to the home to fix her computer without prior notice. Her husband felt he lost his privacy and was deprived of his customary rest. This incident made her realize she had not completely considered her family members from the standpoint of thinking of others first. After this series of events, she looked deeply inside and readjusted herself. When she looked back to examine her conflict she had with the other practitioner she realized how she had defects that were taken advantage of. She experienced many levels of ascent once she had abandoned several attachments.

A practitioner who had been married for many years spoke of his emotional tribulations. When he compared himself with what Master said recently, it was not difficult to discover what kind of vicious methods the Communist evil used. Fortunately, as soon as he had bad thoughts, this practitioner was able to immediately become alert and banish them. He said when he looked back he felt extremely ridiculous. He now feels lucky he did not do anything regretful.

There are lots of incidents we could relate. Everyone tried to talk about what was on his or her mind and listened to others' experiences. We compared our Fa-study and cultivation with each other to work hard together on the path of cultivation.