(Clearwisdom.net) Teacher said, "Beings who don't have rational, upright thoughts and clear heads are the ones divine beings look down on most." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference") We must walk well the last phase of our journey. In the following, I'll share my own understanding in four areas. Please kindly point out anything you think may be inappropriate.
1. Ask Former Practitioners Back with Rationality and Clear Heads
We need to truly value former practitioners, do our best to awaken their righteous thoughts, and help them to return to the path of Fa-rectification. The article, "Ask Former Practitioners Back," on the Minghui (Chinese version of Clearwisdom) website dealt with this issue clearly. Here I'd like to remind fellow practitioners to be rational and clearheaded while keeping contact with practitioners who have given up cultivation practice, especially those who understand the Fa incorrectly.
Most practitioners that have given up cultivation practice do not know the seriousness of cultivation and know nothing about the cultivation of speech. With the mentality of elation and showing-off, they speak to anyone they can about the knowledge they have obtained. Most of those who misunderstand the "Fa" think that we do not need to do the three things any longer. Some of them even think that practitioners who make truth-clarification materials and clarify the truth should be reported to the police and be held in a detention center or a forced labor camp. Some of them are spies for the Public Security Bureau. In this complicated situation, it is difficult to tell true from false, so we must take every step with a rational and clear mind, considering even the most minor details in order to avoid any loss and to prevent practitioners from accumulating more karma. Therefore, I suggest that we pay attention to cultivation of speech when we contact these practitioners. We do not need to tell them everything when we reach out to them or help them to trust in us. We are definitely not supposed to talk about any specific Fa-validation projects. Sharing insights is essential, but we need to share on the basis of the Fa. We need to study the Fa together and not simply share in such an open way that we say whatever we want without thinking of the consequences. That is not benevolent but irrational and foggy-minded.
2. Help Practitioners in Tribulation with Rationality and Clear Heads
Some practitioners are suffering physical tribulations due to the old force's persecution. As practitioners, we must treat it seriously. First, we must be clear that practitioners in tribulation are not sick and they must eliminate sickness karma because, as Fa-rectification practitioners, we absolutely cannot be sick or suffer from sickness karma. Teacher will not arrange any of these kinds of tests or tribulations for us; all of these are the old force's persecution. Since it is the old force's arrangement, we must negate it completely. To show our negation, we must not be touched by the illusory state surrounding a practitioner.
Teacher said in "Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005:"
"No matter what happens, nobody should be affected inside. Each student should think only of giving help as a Dafa disciple as he's able, and there is nothing to get worked up about. Even if you can't help that person you should still face this issue with righteous thoughts. Continue to do whatever you are supposed to. Don't become attached to it by looking at it in a human way, don't make these problems worse in your minds, look very righteously at how it relates to everything else and don't think of it as being very important, and be very calm. The old forces will then lose interest, thinking, 'These people aren't moved. If none of them are moved, what is the point?' They will then let the matter drop, and that person's sickness karma will disappear instantly. That's one scenario."
"The other goal applies to that person himself: how well has the person who exhibits the sickness karma cultivated? Is he able to make it through with strong righteous thoughts while in such a state? Does he truly treat himself as a god and pay no attention to any of it whatsoever?"
If we feel worried when we see a practitioner exhibit sickness karma, we are affected. Some practitioners urge others, "This practitioner works with computers, a technical practitioner. We need to send forth more righteous thoughts for him." Not only are we unable to help him, but we have also created insecure elements for him. When the old forces see that we are so attached to this practitioner, isn't it possible that the old forces will increase more tribulations for this practitioner in the name of "testing" the practitioners around him? Some practitioners are so attached to affection between practitioners as to devote themselves wholeheartedly to "helping practitioners." They are being interfered with so much that they cannot do the "three things" well. They cannot even find time to study the Fa and do the exercises. However, they think that they follow Teacher's instruction to take practitioners affairs as their own. We need to treat this scenario with righteous thoughts. We need to give up our attachments to false scenarios and do whatever we are supposed to. Only in this way can we negate the interference of the old forces. If we tell practitioners having tribulations to put down their attachments, but we are so attached that we do not to do the three things well, are we meeting the criteria of the Fa?
Hence, the crux to helping practitioners having tribulations is to do things according to the Fa. Sharing our understandings, sending forth righteous thoughts, studying the Fa, and clarifying the truth together are all important. However, if we cannot do the three things well due to helping practitioners in tribulation, we will be walking on the path arranged by the old forces. That person himself and the practitioners around him must not accept it and must not be attached to it and must only do the three things well, which is complete negation. At that point, is there any pretext that the old forces can take advantage of to persecute us? One thought of ours can eliminate it completely.
3. Treat Practitioners' Supernormal Abilities with Rationality and Clear Heads
Practitioners often write some articles about how "righteous thoughts display miracles" on the Minghui website to share our understandings, upgrade ourselves based on the Fa, and validate the Fa . However, some practitioners cannot view these miracles with rationality and clear heads. Whenever this kind of article appears on the website, some practitioners print them out, read them repeatedly, and also hand them out to other practitioners. They get excited and seem inspired by the articles.
Teacher said in "Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference:"
"As Dafa disciples, you should understand things from the Fa. You are Dafa disciples who are upright and dignified. You should rationally think about whether something is in line with the Fa. And then there are students who are always interested in supernormal abilities. I let some students see some of the Fa-rectification's situations in different dimensions, with my intention being to increase the students' confidence in validating the Fa, yet some students still can't handle it right, they don't cultivate based on the Fa, and when something happens they even go ask a student who has supernormal abilities to look at things for them, and then they take what's seen as guidance on how to do things related to Dafa and how to cultivate."
From the very beginning, we have always needed to be clearheaded in our cultivation. If we still understand the Fa out of a simple curiosity about miracles and believe in the idea that seeing is believing, we need to reflect on it and reflect on how much we believe in the Fa. If we truly believe in Teacher and the Fa, we'll reach the state of knowing that: "My body would still sit there even with my head cut off." We'll do whatever the Fa requires of us and not be affected in the least by the manifestations in this world. We have been sending forth righteous thoughts for a long time, but the evil beings are still rampant. Is it because some practitioners are still at a low-level understanding, where "seeing is believing?" If, as we send righteous thoughts, we think that it won't work, can we eliminate the evil beings? Where do we place the Fa and how many negative elements do we give those practitioners when we admire them for their supernormal abilities?
Rationality and a clear head are essential qualities for a Dafa disciple so that he can position himself in a correct way with openness and dignity.
4. Treat Changes in Society with Rationality and a Clear Head
Teacher said in "Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students:"
"Question: During Taiwan's presidential election, some students' human attachments got stirred up. Was it a test arranged by the old forces? What's the right way for us to handle this?
Teacher: Even if the sky were to fall, a cultivator's righteous thoughts would stay unshaken--that is cultivation, and that is remarkable. (Applause) A cultivator is not attached to anything in this world."
We all know the Fa in this regard. However, some practitioners are still moved whenever anything touches their human heart. Many lessons have been learned in this regard, and we must not be wrong again. I think we should at least not take the initiative to look at everyday peoples' news, including those ever-changing dynamics of online gossip and speculation about different social situations. If occasionally we hear or see something, we should not believe, not spread, or not be attached.
In fact, it is a problem if we have not cultivated solidly. If we can genuinely perform in accordance with the Fa and do exactly as Teacher says--"Even if the sky were to fall, a cultivator's righteous thoughts would stay unshaken"--what interference can be done to us? We must let go of our last human attachments, such as attachment to time, attachment to consummation, and putting one's own personal salvation over saving sentient beings. We need to cultivate ourselves to a state of complete unselfishness.
