(Clearwisdom.net) Since I did not pay attention to the importance of cooperating as one body in validating the Fa, I worked singlehandedly and suffered a lot of setbacks. Here are three examples:
1. One day I learned that several fellow practitioners had been arrested while they were distributing truth-clarification materials and were being held at a police department. I did not discuss my plans with other practitioners and went to the police department alone. Since I had not communicated with the others, I did not even know the names of the arrested practitioners. As a result, I was almost arrested myself.
Upon arriving at the police department, I asked them to release the practitioners who had been arrested. A division leader asked me whom I wanted to be released. I was confused, since I did not know their names. I just stammered, "You must release them." The officer cast a contemptuous glance at me and said, "Tell me, what's the name of your relative?" By then I realized that the arrested practitioners had not cooperated with the authorities and had not even told them their names. They were doing very well in protesting the persecution.
The officer said, "If you tell me your relative's name, I will release him." I told him a made-up name. The officer went off to report to his boss as if he had found a real treasure and showed no intention of releasing anyone. He did not talk to me anymore. Upon seeing all the materials on the division leader's table that the officers had confiscated from the practitioners, I thought that I had to take them all away, otherwise they would use the materials as evidence to persecute the practitioners. I took away all the materials in three batches. As I was taking the last batch, police officers spotted me and began to chase after me. At the time I did not have any righteous thoughts, so I was out of breath from being chased by the police. Then I thought of a nearby practitioner and hid at the practitioner's home. Upon reflection, I had failed to rescued the practitioners. On the contrary, I was almost arrested myself. Then I realized that my failure was the result of not cooperating with the one-body. I also realized that one person's wisdom and abilities were very limited.
2. One day when I went to another town to distribute truth-clarification materials, a fellow practitioner warned me about the town. If I decided to go, then I must inform them, since they could help by sending forth righteous thoughts. When I heard this, I thought they were a bit too timid. It would not only delay my visit, but it would be too much trouble to inform everyone. I decided that I would not be afraid. I thought of the image of an ancient general with one horse and one broadsword charging into an enemy's camp single-handedly. The thought of validating myself emerged instantly. As a result of those thoughts, as I was distributing the materials, I was spotted by the police and they mobilized more than 20 officers and set up four checkpoints to catch me. There were also police cars chasing me. After breaking through three checkpoints, I was exhausted. I felt isolated and cut off from help, since there had been no cooperation with righteous thoughts of the one body. Since I was not in the Fa, what I was doing was just like a human being doing things. How powerful could a human being be? By the time I got to the fourth checkpoint, I had lost my shoes and fallen into a pond next to a rice field while being chased.
I lost my way and wanted to phone other practitioners, but my mobile phone was wet and useless. In the pitch dark night, I was almost in despair. Later, when the practitioners at home learned that I had failed to return home, they made a coordinated effort and got me out of danger. It was another profound lesson for me.
3. One day as we were planning to leave messages and put up self-adhesive posters, my fellow practitioners and I had different opinions. I insisted on going to Town B and refused to go to Town C. Because of my strong attachment, I went alone to Town B; this disrupted the whole plan. I was arrested by the police from Town B and held in a detention center for four months. I had left a stain that could never be erased.
After returning from the detention center, I studied the Fa and looked inward so as to upgrade my xinxing constantly with the help of other practitioners. I enlightened from the Fa on the importance of cooperating as a whole and realized that studying the Fa well was the starting point for a practitioner. Thereafter I began to cooperate with other practitioners in doing Fa-rectification work. Sometimes, although the ideas of other practitioners were not that perfect, I could put aside my personal views to harmonize their ideas. Gradually I became mature in the one-body cooperation and enlightened from the Fa on the important role of that kind of cooperation. In the past I would always have others cooperate with me; now, I voluntarily cooperate with other practitioners on all sorts of projects that validate the Fa. For example, before I distribute materials at night, go from house to house clarifying the truth, persuade people to quit the Chinese Communist Party and its subordinate organizations during the day, or go to other places to rescue fellow practitioners, I first notify the practitioners from both local and surrounding areas to send forth the righteous thoughts. The practitioners at home send forth righteous thoughts for the practitioners who are on the front lines. This forms a powerful righteous field to eliminate the evil factors. The practitioners sending forth righteous thoughts at home share in the mighty virtue for every sentient being saved by the practitioners on the front lines. This is really the uplifting of the one body and really what Teacher wants. All the particles of Dafa must melt into one body. When the evil wants to persecute that one body, it will surely fail.
When I started to become part of the one body, I found many projects that needed the one body's cooperation, including rescuing fellow practitioners, getting back former practitioners, installing satellite antennas, mass mailing and emailing truth-clarification materials, hanging banners, producing materials, writing truth-clarification phrases on paper currency, writing letters to offer kind advice, and putting up posters. Though certain practitioners were designated to be in charge of each of these projects, they were carried out with the cooperation of the one body. These projects were not restricted to the local area. The practitioners realized that only when local practitioners cooperate with the overseas practitioners can one body really be formed. The coordinators of different areas connected our far-flung practitioners together to make it possible for thousands of energy channels to be joined together and reach the state of being without any energy channels or acupuncture points.
I enlightened from studying the Fa that in eliminating the factors of the old forces, if our basis was to assist Teacher to rectify the Fa and do a good job in our cultivation, to be responsible for the Fa and sentient beings, and to save more people and do things by moving beyond our personal cultivation, we would find all the closed gates opened. Every closed gate is a wall on the path of Fa rectification. Only when we are able to cooperate as one body can Teacher open up the gates one by one.
I moved towards maturity in cooperating as one body, and Teacher encouraged me many times in my dreams. I remember in one dream, I saw the Heavenly Gate slowly open and a gigantic Buddha fly towards me. I realized that the heavenly gate of the new cosmos will never open for those who are still focused on personal cultivation and those who are selfish.
During the process pf cooperating with the one-body, I realized that the one body is like a game of chess. The pieces are the Fa-rectification projects, and every piece represents the principles and the path a practitioner has enlightened to and taken in the Fa-rectification period. We should bring ourselves into full play, shoulder our responsibilities, and really do well in this game of chess. What Teacher says counts, and reaching maturity in one-body cooperation is what Teacher wants.
