(Clearwisdom.net) After reading Teacher's new poem, "A Righteous God," I realized that in the past I had not been compassionate enough to people and to my family members, and that I failed to think of others completely from their perspective.
Deceived by the vicious propaganda, my family members used to believe that the persecution I suffered had brought suffering to them because I persisted in my cultivation. Thus, they resented Dafa. To ease the persecution I was suffering, they looked for special favors they could perform; they sought backdoor advantages, gave out bribes of money and gifts, and even spoke against their will by standing on the evil's side, so as to "save" me. At that time, I was in jail and therefore didn't have an opportunity to clarify the truth to them. I could only sigh inside the cell, feeling unable to help them. Although they were my parents, brothers and sisters, they could only be measured by their attitudes towards Dafa, and they would go wherever they had positioned themselves.
One year later, I was released from the forced labor camp. Seeing that I had gained some amount of freedom, my whole family felt greatly relieved. I discovered that they did not truly hate Dafa; they just considered the suffering that they had experienced during my persecution to be Dafa's fault. This deviated notion resulted both from the slanderous propaganda and from their fear of the evil forces, in addition to their own selfishness, as they felt that as long as they themselves did not get hurt, they would cooperate with the evil, even when they knew it was wrong.
Therefore, I clarified the truth to them. I also seriously pointed out that what they had been doing was really helping the evil. I told them that if all the family members of Dafa practitioners could stand up and speak out for their loved ones, how could the evil still be so rampant?
Gradually, their true natures started to recover. They said, "Knowing Dafa is good, you could just practice at home. Do not go out to clarify the truth. It is too dangerous to do this." In order to prevent me from going out to clarify the truth and getting hurt again, they once again cited the lies from newspapers and television as supporting evidence. I knew that it was not right for them to have this kind of attitude toward Dafa; however, this thought came to my mind: "I had done my best; let them go their way as they liked." Superficially, it appeared that I had tried my best and had no attachment of sentiment or to the outcome. However, I still always felt something was wrong in my heart.
After studying Teacher's lecture, "Touring North America to Teach the Fa," I realized that those old cosmic forces have arranged everything for Dafa practitioners throughout history. Then, could the old cosmic forces have also arranged everything for Dafa practitioners' family members, and led them to participate in the "test" of Dafa and Dafa practitioners? In this sense, could the performance of Dafa practitioners' family members also be due to the arrangements of the old cosmic forces?
Aren't these arrangements of the old cosmic forces also interfering with Fa-rectification? Then, when we helplessly "let it follow its natural course," haven't we already acknowledged the old cosmic forces' arrangements? This kind of acknowledgement constitutes a compromise with the old cosmic forces. It also indicates that we are being irresponsible to our family members, and this is not fair to them. As Dafa practitioners, we should completely negate all the old cosmic forces' arrangements for Dafa practitioners and for their family members. I stood in front of a picture of Teacher and said, "I am Teacher's disciple. No cosmic forces are qualified to make arrangements for me and for my family members." That night, I felt my body was freed layer by layer. I also clearly felt that the old cosmic forces' arrangements for my family members were also eliminated.
When reading Teacher's new poem "A Righteous God," benevolence toward the sentient beings arose in my heart. In retrospect, I saw that I had not truly understood and tried to save the sentient beings from their points of view in the past. When I told my family members, "I have done my best and you will determine your own future," or when I said to the individuals who refused to listen to the truth, "I do this for your benefit. You will regret this," I was not acting completely for their benefit. I still had a hidden selfish attachment which was difficult to notice that said, "I have done my best. You should not blame me for the consequences in the future."
During the Fa-rectification period, it is the Dafa practitioners' mission to truly understand and benevolently treat the sentient beings from their perspective, and to be truly responsible to them and enable them to be saved. We should fulfill our mission even more completely.
June 27, 2002
