PureInsight | January 13, 2003
[PureInsight.org] From reading the emails among Dafa practitioners, I saw that we are all doing our utmost to help with Fa-rectification work and truth-clarification projects. I was truly happy for everyone when I saw that many of us have done a marvelous job in Fa-rectification work. And I was deeply inspired and moved beyond words by the cultivation state revealed in many Dafa practitioners' articles published on the Clearwisdom website.
I believe that Dafa practitioners' every thought and action during the Fa-rectification period is the manifestation of their respective cultivation levels. Teacher said, "Study the Fa and obtain the Fa, Share in learning and share in cultivating," (From "Solid Cultivation" in Hongyin.) When I saw the manifestation of fellow practitioners' elevated cultivation levels, I would see my own attachments, and I would encourage myself with fellow practitioners' words in the articles to cultivate diligently and make progress in my cultivation. I would also see my inadequacies in cultivation and feel I was behind everyone in understanding the Fa. In addition, I feel we should upgrade as one body in cultivation to do even better with Fa-rectification work.
I would like to share some of my thoughts about cultivating as a group. These are merely personal understandings on my current level of cultivation. I hope that you would also share your thoughts on this subject, so that we will upgrade together as one body, create a pure, compassionate cultivation environment, and form an indestructible body like diamond.
I obtained the Fa in 1997. I have been thinking about a problem encountered by many Dafa practitioners. I saw that for the past few years, Dafa practitioners have worked very hard on Fa-rectification work, but all kinds of conflicts, some acute ones, would get in the way. What is the root cause of these conflicts? How do we overcome these tribulations? I'd like to offer my humble opinions on this issue from the perspective of compassion.
Teacher talked about the energy field of righteous cultivation in "Demonic Interference in Cultivation" in Chapter Six of Zhuan Falun. He said, "Because the energy cultivated from a righteous way is purely righteous and benevolent, everyone sitting here feels an atmosphere of serenity and compassion." "The other day I said that the Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities. In other words, the energy scattered from our bodies can rectify all abnormal conditions." With these words in mind, since there are still certain abnormalities that exist in the whole group of us, does it mean that our energy field is not purely righteous and benevolent enough?
In last week's group Fa study in Scotland, we manifested and experienced the power of compassion during the group discussion that followed the study. When a conflict arose in the group discussion, it became a xinxing test for everyone there. I could feel that I was a bit emotional at the beginning of the group discussion. Yet when the group discussion progressed, many practitioners began to display their compassion during their speeches. Gradually, the energy field was transformed into a compassionate one where my mind became purified. In the end, one of the Western practitioners concluded the group discussion with a very terse, precise summary: "The principle of 'Everyone's Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance' emerged during our heated discussions."
The power of compassion is so great that it can rectify all abnormalities. Teacher said (paraphrasing), if it had not been the vicious tests arranged by the old forces, he could give all beings benevolent solutions. Moreover, Teacher said, "The Fa-rectification moves through the world, the grand manifestation of Gods and Buddhas unfolds, and all of the chaotic world's unrighted wrongs and karmic relationships are settled with benevolent solutions." (From "Foretelling the Fa's Rectification of the Human World") Compassion is the fundamental characteristic of great-enlightened beings. Buddhas govern all beings in their paradises with compassion. Dafa disciples' compassion is saving sentient beings and having a positive influence on other people. If each one of us could display compassion, we would create a pure, compassionate energy field that would rectify all abnormalities. Compassion is a natural product of cultivation. To attain the realm of "selflessness, altruism and consider others first" is to always think of others first.
Every Dafa practitioner tries to be responsible to Dafa. Every Dafa practitioner has his own understanding of the Fa and Fa-rectification through studying the Fa and cultivating xinxing. We are all cultivators and thus have our respective final attachments to eliminate before we are able to reach consummation. When a conflict occurs within an individual and/or a group, this creates opportunities for us to improve ourselves together. When we are not attached to our own understanding or ideas, we are not too trapped in the actual issues in discussion to remember it's cultivation and not work. Then we do not communicate with others with a sole purpose of convincing others, we see the issues in discussion as an opportunity to improve ourselves, and we inspire each other on the Fa with a benevolent heart when different opinions arise. That would be a display of compassion. When we patiently listen to others and see if their ideas will reach the same goal, if we kindly explain our ideas, and if we make a joint effort working toward a common goal when conflicts arise, that would also be a display of compassion. When we encounter conflicts that can not be resolved at once or are difficult we resolve, if we do not passively endure a conflict and do not intentionally or unintentionally avoid conflicts with an excuse of Fa-rectification work but instead actively create opportunities for everyone to study the Fa and share our thoughts together to advance together in the Fa, that would be a display of compassion as well. In some cases, some practitioners are not part of a conflict, but they do not see it as others' problem. Instead they take the conflict as a loophole of the whole group of Dafa practitioners. Therefore, as a particle of the group, these practitioners examine themselves to find areas that they need to improve, and try to create a compassionate and righteous environment of Fa study and cultivation for everyone. These are just a few examples of compassion. All of these examples show that to be compassionate is to exist completely for others. When we notice others' shortcomings, it is an act of compassion if we point them but not to expect any change or to fulfill self-interest.
Dafa disciples in China have displayed their great compassion and tolerance when they continue to clarify the truth about Dafa to the government and sentient beings, and offer salvations to sentient beings while enduring enormously cruel persecution in the past several years with steadfast faith in Dafa. Every time I think of fellow practitioners in China, I think that we should try to have the same level of great compassion and forbearance when there is a loophole among Dafa practitioners as one body or when there is a loophole inside of a certain individual practitioner.. If we can communicate with each other with kind intentions, and help each other without any hidden purpose, we will be able to resolve all conflicts, and form a body indestructible as diamond.
We cultivate Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance with an ultimate goal of becoming selfless, righteous enlightened beings. Therefore, we have to think abut others and Dafa practitioners as one body first. We are trying our best on Dafa work. In fact, some practitioners sleep only very little each day and spend most of their time on Dafa work. Some practitioners carry a great amount of Dafa work on their shoulders. We understand from the Fa principles that Truthfulness is constituted of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, so are Compassion, and Forbearance. With that in mind, we know that compassion encompasses forbearance. When our compassion grows, our forbearance grows too. That's why we often find that we can forbear more and endure less sleep when our compassion grows. When we upgrade our xinxing, Dafa will be able to display its magic power and we will be able to overcome the difficulty of having too much work and not enough time. When we are willing to give up everything for the sake of others, Dafa will consummate everything.
Teacher said, "This is still nothing. When will it be sufficient for the practice? Hundreds of one's pulses will need to be gradually made broader, and one's energy needs to be made greater and brighter. In the end, thousands of pulses will be connected all together in order to reach the state of a body that dose not have any pulse or acupuncture point. The whole body will be connected to become one piece, and this is the final goal of opening up pulses." (From "Heavenly Circuit" in Chapter Eight of Zhuan Falun) My understanding of this passage is that "to become one piece" is the ultimate realm we have to reach in cultivation and that is what the Fa requires of us during the Fa-rectification period. Many practitioners have had this experience: when sending forth righteous thoughts, we just can't maintain a tranquil heart. Later on, we realized that all these interferences are in fact due to attachments that we have yet to eliminate during our cultivation. It says in Zhuan Falun that some people asked Teacher why he chose not to eliminate these interferences for Dafa practitioners. Teacher explained, "Without such a form of interference, I would say that it is too easy for one to practice cultivation. In my view, your cultivation is already too easy. Those great enlightened beings in higher dimensions will be more likely to find it unfair, 'What are you doing? Is this called salvation of mankind?'" (From "Demonic Interference From One's Own Mind" in Chapter Six of Zhuan Falun) I think that is how they treat Dafa disciples in the Fa-rectification period. The old forces will examine and test our xinxing comprehensively.
Therefore things that we had not done well during the first two years of the persecution will appear again and again to cause interference. Back then, we failed to pass these tests and didn't improve ourselves as one body . Shouldn't we use righteous thoughts to look this problem? Shouldn't we think that even though we did not deal with this problem correctly before, this time we will definitely do well and we will definitely overcome this tribulation?
Teacher said, "The cultivation in our Falun Dafa avoids using this method of one pulse bringing hundreds of pulses in motion. We require that hundreds of pulses be opened up in motion simultaneously from the very beginning. All at once, we will practice at a very high level and avoid the low level stuff." (From "Heavenly Circuit" in Chapter Six of Zhuan Falun.) It follows that, as a particle of the whole body of Dafa practitioners, each one of us should see things from the perspective of the whole in order to establish a pure, righteous and compassionate environment together. Each particle is like a pulse. All tens of thousands pulses will gradually be widening, and our collective energy will be stronger and brighter. Eventually all pulses will become connected into one piece, forming an indestructible body like a diamond.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2002/12/14/19633.html
