Clearly Recognize the Intricate Arrangements of the Old Forces in Our Lives

By a Falun Gong practitioner from China

(Clearwisdom.net) In this enormous tribulation arranged by the old forces, in order to test Dafa and Dafa disciples and achieve their goals, the old forces have made intricate and long-term arrangements for each Dafa disciple. On the one hand, they arranged many factors (for example, one's environment) to introduce or enforce certain concepts during a Dafa disciple's life. Master said,

"and even the questions you ponder, none of it is that simple. In the future you'll see that everything was very carefully arranged. But it's not me who arranged this, it's the old forces who did. ("Fa Lecture at The Conference in Florida, U.S.A")

On the other hand, in this enormous tribulation, they arranged an overall environment for the people of the world. Under the influence of such arrangements, some Dafa disciples were controlled by the old forces, or stayed in certain kinds of situations for long periods of time. Master said,

"isn't what they devised a manifestation of their arranging certain beings to do good and certain beings to do bad things based on their wishes?" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2005 Canada Fa Conference")

For example, before attending elementary school, a boy was introduced to sexual excitement by another neighborhood kid. (Before, he did not know what it was). In such a way, factors to enhance the attachment to lust were arranged during different stages of his life. During the Fa-rectification, the attachment to lust became a great interference. In addition, a certain type of situation arranged by the old forces repeatedly trapped him. His physical and mental condition were greatly affected.

In my personal opinion, these arrangements are all persecution. The arrests, beating, and sentencing of disciples are persecution. In a broader perspective, homelessness and poverty are also persecution. Actually, all the things imposed by the old forces, which go against the needs of Fa-rectification, and which systematically interfere with Dafa disciples' assisting Master--are persecution. During Fa-rectification, we cannot simply use the standard of personal cultivation to measure our conditions, or solve problems simply by eliminating personal attachments. In order to completely reject the old force's arrangements, we have to follow Master's arrangements and meet His requirements for us.

The persecution takes various forms and has many aspects. Other than the cases mentioned in the previous paragraphs, an especially heavy work load is another example, which makes certain disciples so busy and exhausted that they cannot do Dafa work. Some disciples have difficulties with their families and they are completely tied up with these matters. Some disciples have strong attachments to fear. Some are strongly attached to affection. Some are bothered by lust. Some are hindered by sickness karma. Some are blocked by certain hobbies. When these facts are mentioned, all of us can recognize that these are situations of persecution. However, some other disciples feel satisfied about their current lives. They live well and have not been arrested. They have done the three things to a certain degree, but actually, they are being used because of their attachment to comfort.

After Master mentioned in the article "Shed the Human Mindset,"

"The most prominent manifestation of this is the severe persecution many students face as a result of their strong human mindset and lack of righteous thoughts,"

Some disciples went to the other extreme. They think that the disciples arrested are having problems, and the practitioners who are not arrested are doing better and do not have major problems. This concept has formed in many disciples' minds. Therefore, many practitioners who are dragged by the attachment to comfort think that they are doing well. They are satisfied with the little amount of Dafa work they do, which promotes their attachment to seeking comfort even though they cannot sense it.

Some of these practitioners live very well. They are only a little different from ordinary people. They study a little Fa and sometimes clarify the truth. However, the efforts that they put into saving sentient beings are far less than what they should do as disciples during the Fa-rectification period. These disciples might think, "We have done the three things" and feel satisfied. However, this can only satisfy their human notions. Our magnificent vows made hundreds of billions of years ago can never be satisfied with this. The trials and tribulations we survived throughout history just for this day, and the magnificent vows we made cannot be satisfied in this way.

In order to achieve their goals, the old forces made different arrangements for individual disciples based on their individual problems and attachments. Fellow practitioners who are dragged by the comfortable situations of regular people, please consider this: Aren't you in another form of persecution set up by the old forces? Your human notions are satisfied, however, your original vows are lost. Your real lives and your missions are gradually diminishing. When you return, you will see that what you have done does not compare with the work done by real Dafa disciples. What you have done is too small to compare to your vows. You will see the cultivation path that you have walked on is arranged by the old forces, instead of that arranged by Master. At that moment, you will understand that your attachment to comfort is in fact the deepest persecution and the greatest tribulation arranged by the old forces.

Master said,

"In this persecution those who've been harmed the most are in fact the world's people." ("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")

In the human world, they live well without any major difficulties. However, they are poisoned and missing out. They are losing the precious foundation of life. Aren't they the same as those disciples who are lost, who could not find their positions during Fa-rectification, and could not achieve their missions?

Some practitioners are restricted and obstructed by ordinary people. They cannot let go of their notions. They often comfort themselves or even persuade other practitioners with excuses, saying things like: "maintaining regular lives," "be a good person wherever you are," "gain naturally without pursuing," "consider other people and be better harmonized." These sound close to Master's words, however, they are all excuses. Do we really put our heart into Dafa work? Are we really responsible for the Fa and putting our mission in the Fa-rectification period as the first priority? We should be clear that the purpose of our lives is not for "maintaining regular lives" or "being a good person." We came here to assist Master in Fa rectification. However, we should maintain our regular lives. In such a way, we will do better with Dafa work. The relationship between our mission and our regular lives should be correctly understood and positioned.

Because we cannot let go of our attachments, and do not clearly identify and reject the thoughts that the old forces arranged, in an environment arranged by the old forces, we often stay in certain situations without progress, such as, lack of heart, unable to strive forward, bothered by attachments, or confused by comfort and satisfaction. Some practitioners are hampered by tribulations. On the other hand, some are confused by comforts. Therefore, they cannot walk out of humanness to achieve their responsibilities and missions. Master said,

"The old forces are in essence gigantic trials and tribulations that accompany you at all times, focused on whether in Fa-rectification Dafa disciples are able to step forward." ("Be Clearheaded")

There was a practitioner couple who walked through tough tribulations even in an evil forced labor camp. Later, they started a company. The company grew to be increasingly successful and became one of the ten best companies in the local area. Several banks wanted to invest in the company. Supposedly, this would be a good thing for the practitioners. However, another situation occurred. All the practitioners who worked for the company were obstructed by something and unable to strive forward. Some of them even started to drink wine and behave more and more like ordinary people. The work for Fa-rectification was totally forgotten. One side of the couple started to follow an ordinary person's life, had extramarital affairs, and wanted a divorce. Let's take a closer look--isn't this persecution? A Falun Gong disciple was taken advantage of through their loopholes, gradually lost direction, and forgot their mission. There is no problem with starting a company. However, we should be clearheaded in understanding and rejecting the hidden persecution arranged by the old forces.

The effect of the above persecution is not limited to just a few individuals. The old forces also try to affect the environment and other practitioners close to them. Isn't this an interference to Fa-rectification? From this perspective, if we cannot do well and instead walk the path arranged by the old forces, we not only create problems for ourselves, but also cause interference for the entire environment, allowing the old forces to control and interfere with Fa-rectification.

Therefore, it is very important to completely reject the persecution by properly understanding our own and others' cultivation states. We must be clear about the meticulous arrangements made by the old forces, including toward our every thought. Master said, "this point is the most important one, clearheaded" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference").

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version