PureInsight | December 13, 2004
[PureInsight.org] Ce and I have talked on the phone many times, and recently we had the opportunity to meet each other. The following are my notes of our conversation (X: Xing Jian, C: Ce)
X: In which way do you think clarifying the facts in Manhattan this time is different than truth clarification in the past?
C: In the past, practitioners all took the initiative on their own to tell people in the world the truth and raise people's awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong in China. This activity in the Fa-rectification, as I understand it, is the final battle between us and the dying evil that has accumulated in Manhattan and Beijing. The experience in the past two months tells me that it is not only an issue of simply eliminating the evil; it involves our progress and cooperation as a whole body, and the factors of how we as cultivators can reach even higher realms in the Fa-rectification. Moreover, I feel that it is another chance Master has given to the sentient beings. It might be the last chance. It is also for us to make use of this opportunity to cultivate the part we haven't cultivated well. So, it's not something that can be clearly explained in a few words or something that I can completely understand from my own perspective. I have realized my shortcomings from other practitioners and even minor lifestyle issues. Master has said that one would not reach consummation with even the slightest attachment left. Cultivating and getting rid of the shortcomings and raising as a whole body in such a big environment, are not ordinary changes, but a more significant breakthrough, which can not be reached in one's ordinary cultivation.
X: The time period of this activity is much longer than before and many practitioners have stayed. They have been cultivated in this environment, feeling that Manhattan is a special place; sending forth righteous thoughts, studying and understanding the Fa, conflict among the practitioners and even the manifestation of one's attachments have all reached an unusual state.
C: This time, the requirement from the Fa is also very high. Master has said that Dafa disciples are one body. I didn't understand this very deeply before, but after coming to Manhattan, I feel that evil does take us as one body. As long as we have a small omission, the evil will take advantage of it, therefore causing lots of interference. I have further realized that we must conform to the Fa's requirements and become one body. Interference occurs because of our own omissions' being taken advantage of. When we are not in the Fa, we have omission. Everyone has also further realized the importance of studying the Fa. Only when we understand the Fa from the Fa, can we make our participation in Manhattan meaningful, and not waste the trip. It is a good and rare opportunity to play a positive role in the process. We all treasure it very much.
X: As for the one body you mentioned, I also know it is very important. Can you give some examples?
C: We have come to Manhattan and mainly do anti-torture exhibitions in addition to clarifying the facts to major businesses. One day during the breakfast time, our landlord (also a practitioner) and our coordinator had a xinxing (moral character) conflict. On the surface, it was between the two of them. The landlord asked the coordinator to leave the house. Practitioners were shocked. Usually we would go to our anti-torture exhibit site around 10 o'clock, practicing and sending forth righteous thoughts, but on that day we arrived late. It was already 11. Moving trucks had blocked the entire street, so we couldn't unload our stuff. Even small cars couldn't enter. All we could do was start clarifying the truth and send forth righteous thoughts, hoping that the trucks could make some room for us to unload. When we were unloading the car, we noticed that the practitioners from other areas that would usually come to support were not there, not a single one had come. Only after sending forth righteous thoughts at 12 o'clock, did some people gradually come. With much effort we finally managed to set up the exhibition. Within an hour, two police cars came stating that we had violated the regulations, because some practitioners put our display boards in other people's areas. We explained that there were practitioners from all over the world and that they all don't know the rules in the U.S. and clarified the facts. Later on, we were not allowed to display things in the park on the opposite side. So we went over there to clarify the facts too. In an hour, the janitor in the park said that we had disturbed the park and were not allowed to stay there. Although everything was resolved peacefully through clarifying the facts, we all realized that the evil treated us as a whole body. Even one practitioner's not taking issues in daily life as part of cultivation can be an omission and taken advantage of. So after that one day, every practitioner had realized the seriousness of the problem and our cultivation. Since then, we have all paid more attention to Fa study, sending forth righteous thoughts and sharing on the Fa.
X: The biggest argument among us often occurs in a critical moment, such as in front of the Chinese embassy and when dealing with ordinary people. How do we handle this type of situations at the moment? One person thinks this way and another person thinks another way. Someone will obviously be wrong. If you scold the person, he won't be convinced in his heart. At that time, the evil interference will appear. What's the best way to handle this type of situation?
C: We are one body so we have to share with everybody. If each one of us insists on our own idea, we won't be able to reach the goal of cooperating as a one body. For example, we all have our opinions on how to do the torture exhibition, so we share them. In ancient wartime, people would arrange the soldiers and set the array. We have to cooperate as a group. If our array is messed up, how can we fight the battle? In ancient times, winning a battle relied on the arrangement of the array. Master has also said that when we just started to send forth righteous thoughts, the evil beings would come in a set-up array, beating the drum and banging and gonging. After studying the Fa and sharing, everybody became clear on this. We have realized through cultivation that there is no absolute right or wrong, as long as we are responsible to the Fa and we believe that our fellow practitioners are also responsible to the Fa. The only difference is that we see one thing with different opinions. When we have conflicts, we should put ourselves down and be tolerant. Once we have gone through the problem, we can share on how to do things better. Later on, everyone reached a mutual understanding on this point so conflicts due to differences in opinions no longer occurred during the activities. We also have different ideas about how to clarify the facts to businesses. Some practitioners do the work quietly and share their experiences afterwards with everyone. In this process, if someone wants to show off they will have trouble and can't even get people to open the door for them. Practitioners who have done it rationally according to the Fa could not only get into those big companies but also send in materials and clarify the facts to the people. This process itself has allowed practitioners to see their differences and their shortcomings. This process is the process of cultivation. This is also where being in Manhattan is different than before. We used to be separated but now we are all in Manhattan every day. No matter whether we stay long or short, we constantly need communication. This way, we can clearly see what's from the Fa and what's not. We can find shortcomings both as individuals and as a whole body. Meanwhile, we have tried again to understand the personal cultivation, realizing that in the period of Fa-rectification, only when we unconditionally conform to the requirement of Fa-rectification and put down all the attachments that we couldn't put down before, can we catch up with the pace of Fa-rectification. If we can't do this, it means that we still have attachments, and we won't be able to catch up with the process of Fa-rectification and shoulder this historical mission from the perspective of Dafa disciples in the Fa-rectification period. Everyone has a very deep understanding on this point.
X: Often in critical moments, the evil forces will make use of the attachments practitioners still have to interfere with and enlarge these attachments. So, although some practitioners do not say anything when they see something that they feel is wrong, they have the thought in their mind. This is also an omission in other dimensions. What should be done in this case?
C: Actually these are all part of the cultivation process. When we do things as a group, if one practitioner's thought is not righteous, the evil will take advantage of it. For example: if you think it will rain, then the rain will come. Cultivation is an issue of the whole body. If my thoughts are righteous, they can cover others' shortcomings. My heart is not moved, but during the battle as a whole, if I have the thought that "if one practitioner's thought is not righteous, the evil will take advantage," it will be strengthened. We should not accept it at all, should not consider the evil factors at all and only think, "How should I act as a cultivator?" If we think, "we will be taken advantage of," this thought itself is to accept the old forces. "Fear" is also an omission.
X: It is quite easy for only one or a two people to conduct the operation. On this occasion, you have given me a very positive impression of your ability to advance and be coordinated in every way. Please describe the course of your progress!
C: Formerly, I was very particular about the omissions of fellow practitioners. But after studying the Fa, I gradually discovered that my being anxious was also an omission. I began considering whether, in the final analysis, I was being steadfast in the Fa. Did I fundamentally believe that the fellow practitioners would be able to overcome their difficulties? At the same time I must be more accommodating and be able to give my fellow practitioners more opportunities because the path taken by each person is different. There are many ways to tackle a problem and I am sure the fellow practitioners will overcome their difficulties. Hence, to expect everyone to think like me is incorrect and would not be benevolent. Therefore, after realizing that from the angle of the Fa, I ceased to be anxious, even when I reckoned that a fellow practitioner was not correct. That it is quite normal for one to stumble. If I were within the Fa, there would be nothing beyond the capability of the Fa, hence I must let the fellow practitioners have different views in tackling problems. At the same time, if my thoughts were righteous and my heart was pure, then nothing could change the environment. After I realized this, I overcame most of the problems. Therefore, when regular problems or conflicts arose, and the rate of rotation of fellow practitioners became high, to be able to keep the environment calm, one must first be righteous, then to abide by the Fa as taught to us by Master. Through Fa-study one can remain unmoved and remember to be more accommodating and not to magnify any problem or take any matter to seriously. There are many things that are not as severe as we imagine them to be. If our thoughts are righteous and a fellow practitioner makes a mistake, he will immediately rectify his fault. We must not be too persistent in our way of thinking, or to be too mindful of any matter, then all will end well. Hence, in the process of sharing experiences with fellow practitioners, we should let them understand that we must not insist on our own way, we must present good ideas through our sharing, and if there were any good ideas suggested, we should then adopt those ideas. In order to preserve the harmony of the environment, we must reach a consensus of opinion and tacit understanding amongst us. In this way, the result would be excellent. Those are the actual experiences that affected us.
X: You have done well and coordinated carefully. This time you have come to America and there are many things I can learn from you. Since you have been exhibiting the methods of torture daily, how can you assure the quality of your Fa-study?
C: When we first arrived, we went out together and returned together. We found that after we returned there was some confusion as we had to have our meals, take our bath, etc.
We live quite far away from the city, and commuting took three to four hours. After we got up at six o'clock in the morning, we sent forth righteous thoughts and performed our exercises. After our breakfast we left at eight o'clock. We had to be there one hour earlier to clean the environment (through sending righteous thoughts and performing the exercises) to ensure that the torture exhibition would be successful. Later, we made sure two practitioners would volunteer to go back earlier to prepare the food while the other practitioners would immediately take their bath on returning and have their meals. We made sure that by nine o'clock in the evening we were all prepared for Fa-study. Initially, we felt very tired and thought about having a rest on returning. But realizing the importance of Fa-study and sending forth righteous thoughts, no matter how tired we felt, we completed our Fa-study and sending forth righteous thoughts, shared our experiences and concluded the day's activities by twelve midnight, and then we went to sleep. Because as practitioners, we do not seek the comfort and luxury of the ordinary person, we only had soup and two other dishes for our dinner. In this period we all became professional practitioners and we cherished every day while we were here.
X: How long do you study the Fa daily? Can you assure the quality of the study?
C: From one and a half to two hours, reading one lecture from Zhuan Falun, then study some of Master's scriptures. The result was excellent. We would all read one paragraph together, then each one would read a paragraph. Our voices did not disturb the neighbors. The environment was very good with a strong energy field. This time does not include the time for sharing, because sharing is done depending on each person's personal situation.
X: Reading together, then individually, then reading together again and continuing as before. That is an excellent idea.
C: If we all read together there would be some that would not be able to keep in pace, and they would be in difficulty or become exhausted. While reading individually, each of us would not read too quickly to cater for those that cannot read as fast, specially the elderly practitioners and Westerners. Whenever anyone read too fast, he would be reminded to slow down. In this way, the result was found to be very good.
X: You arrived in early August. More than a dozen of you had been together all these days following. You have all been clarifying the truth seven days a week. Do you all ever get tired?
C: We all felt tired initially, but we overcame that very quickly. The main thing was the conflicts amongst practitioners and there were quite a few things that were not done well daily, like flyers scattered everywhere, that made us very exhausted. But when we realized we were breaking through our barriers, we did not feel exhausted anymore. There are fellow practitioners from all over the world coming here daily. If we do not overcome this barrier, then we have to try to overcome our xinxing barrier daily. When we see the flyers scattered all over the place, we feel very bad, but we very quickly calmed down once we understood that it was a xinxing barrier. When we calmed down, the wind stopped and we would not lose a single flyer after that. Our group was very good. Whenever we found an omission we immediately remedied it.
X: Do you feel that we should all read the flyers seriously? I discovered a phenomenon, that not every one of us takes reading the flyers seriously. That, in principle, appears to be very illogical.
C: Are the cultivation conditions different? I feel that as I tell the people of the world Falun Dafa is good, I ask myself, how much capacity of my heart is with Dafa? Do I respect the Dafa materials and the banners? When we step over the banners and when we do not cherish the Dafa materials, did we think about who financed and spent time on them? They are all part of our entirety! They must be used to save the sentient beings and not to be wasted, as they are part and parcel of our tools and weapons in the struggle against the evil. Furthermore, if we do not respect the materials and banners, even the dog on the leash held by the ordinary human will also step on them! That is because we have led them to do so. As for myself, when I coordinate such an event, I would initially cross the barrier of my xinxing, not only in the understanding of the principles of the importance of these items being in harmony with the entity, it is also required of me to calm my heart when facing such an environment. I believe that when Master said: "Just by staying unaffected, you will be able to handle all situations." ("Teaching the Fa at the U.S. Midwest Conference," June 26, 1999, Chicago) Through following these principles it is certain that the environment will be improved. I have found that there was some problem each time my heart was moved. Hence, it is crucial to cultivate xinxing as this process enables us to be more and more aware of the fact that every second and every minute of our existence is for cultivation. Therefore I feel that in coming to Manhattan on this occasion is not because of the need to come, but that after we arrive here, can we utilize the Fa taught by Master and demand nothing less of us? Can we cherish every second and minute while we are here? How we can be in harmony with the whole entity, be in harmony with our fellow practitioners, and notice our own inadequacies? This is a very rare opportunity. If we have come here and still do not understand things from the angle of the Fa, we will have missed the opportunity as though our bodies here were unable to step out of ordinary humanness. If we have not stepped out of being ordinary humans, then our presence will manifest as interference to the entire entity and we would live in regret. So, from my own perspective, to be a practitioner, if the overseas disciples cannot join in the activities of this Fa-rectification, it would be an eternal regret. And if in coming and yet we cannot cherish this Fa-rectification, then even if we were to live in regret, there could never be a remedy. This is how I genuinely feel.
X: I feel that whether or not the flyers are distributed, and after the people receive the flyers, how they treat the flyers, is indeed very much related to us. Although we just stand around to distribute the flyers, it is greatly influenced by our attitude and the state of our emotions. Do you have such feelings?
C: These feelings permeate the whole process of Fa-rectification. If we create a very strong energy field in our desire to save all sentient beings, there will be more people willing to accept the flyers and they will also value the flyers. If our hearts are not righteous, there will not be many people who will accept the flyers. Even when they accept them, they will just throw them away. If the fellow practitioners could contemplate this issue seriously, then they would all do well. Some fellow practitioners say that this is the opportunity that we have been waiting for ages to meet. Those living beings that can be saved are accepting the materials. When we have righteous thoughts, many people will accept the flyers. Even some that have walked past turn back around and ask for the flyers.
X: You were among the first to come in August. Now it is October and Manhattan has changed greatly. I have felt this change one month after I arrived there. This is a result of the push of Master's Fa rectification. The speed is so fast and even our thoughts cannot catch up. You might have realized that we still have some problems to solve and some aspects do not meet the requirements. Would you like to raise these issues for discussion so that we can do better in the future?
C: Master published two articles after we joined the activities in Manhattan. These two articles require us to uplift our righteous thought and put down the human heart. From the articles I learned that it is wrong to stick to the notion that as long as I have come here, then I have done my bit to join this (Fa rectification process). If we can not treat ourselves as genuine Fa rectification Dafa disciples and are strongly attached to ourselves thinking, "what I want to do today is…" or, "what I would not like to do today is…" rather than catch up with the Fa rectification requirement, time will be wasted no matter how long we stay here. However if we realize this problem during the whole process it is also a sign of progress because Master treats our progress as the most important thing. We should not treat conflicts between practitioners as simply a personal problem between the two. No, we belong to one body and our personal conflicts are not at all personal. The evil will take the advantage of the loopholes in us. So if we really treasure this one body we would not enlarge the differences. This is from the perspective of the whole body. From the perspective of the coordinators, a good coordinator does not necessarily accomplish some great thing, but creates a serene and peaceful environment for everyone, solving the differences between practitioners with compassion. My understanding of solving problems with compassion is: first of all, we should neither intensify contradictions between practitioners nor value this issue too much. Above all we should let everyone sense the peace and compassion of our field. If we can regard the so-called contradictions simply as a normal manifestation of practitioners' different states, I believe everyone can pass. It is important that every one of us reminds one another not to intensify the two parties that are involved. I think this is a key point: not to intensify it. If the coordinator wants to make things better, he/she not only should not persist in what he/she believes, but also make everyone feel the peace and compassion of being together. What a coordinator does should not make practitioners take precautions, which destroy cohesion among us. And it is also hard to calm down our minds if everyone takes precautions. If the mind is not calm, the field will not be calm either. Without a calm mind and field, it would be hard for us to resume and fulfill our historical mission. Coordinators might want to truly consider more of other practitioners thought and the challenges others have encountered. I guess this would make it easier for us to be together.
X: Within half a month, Master published two articles. The first one asked as to "Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World's People," the second article admonished us that "In Fa-Rectification your Thoughts Have to be Righteous, Not Human". I feel this is a high requirement for us. Within only half a month, we were requested to reach such a level. This means that there are still many notions preventing us from saving sentient beings. A lot of barriers are from our own notions. An example is that the standards that worked quite well two years ago will not work today. They are far behind. The requirements today are very different from two years ago. Would you like to talk about this issue?
C: It is truly the case. We are not only doing Fa rectification work together in the daytime, but we are also together at night. The conflicts in our xinxing are a test for our cultivation. If we can not manage to do well it is possible that this will affect the Fa rectification work. I understand that Master's words to "let go of human attachments" do not simply ask us to save sentient beings with compassion, but also behave ourselves as genuine practitioners in whatever things we do, and not be utilized by any human notion or affected by sentiment. I am from Toronto where we had always been present at a spot for one and a half years, no matter whether it was rainy, windy or anything else. When I came to N.Y. I thought I had a lot of experience doing this and even other practitioners said that I would be doing my favorite thing. However, the inner meaning is totally different although it looks to be the same on the surface: clarifying the truth on the street. The Fa rectification has its schedule and cultivation has no model to follow. Past experiences cannot be applied to subsequent events. When Fa rectification is making progress we cannot simply follow what we have done in the past. When I really did it I found the difference although the same thought sometimes came to my mind: Isn't it the same to be on the street? Things change, time changes, locations change, the size of the space given to us changes, even practitioners and their responses change, too. All these will not be problematic if we keep up with Fa study and improve our understanding from the perspective of the Fa. However, if we cannot keep up with Fa study and fail to improve our xinxing by grasping every opportunity in our cultivation, it will be hard to deal with various kind of situations—in relationship to ordinary people or practitioners. Everyone has a different state and is from different areas. The issue you raised reminds me of this. I did not even think about this much before. Looking back, I found if we keep up with Fa study we can pass easily. In the past it is not easy to keep Chinese and western practitioners together. Now those western practitioners even do not want to leave. After the truth clarification, and practitioners' righteous thought and action, Manhattan has changed greatly. People are willing to accept materials and the police have become friendlier, too. If everyone has strong righteous thoughts, than we will have a strong field, it will bring other practitioners to keep up with the Fa rectification too, and the overall state of the whole body will improve.
X: Master said Fa rectification requires constant breakthroughs. This time in Manhattan our practitioners are very impressive to me and give me a lot of good inspiration.
C: Having experienced the Fa rectification in Manhattan, I treasure this opportunity even more. When we are not happy with each other, it is actually the opportunity to improve. I did not really understand this in the past and was easily angered. Now I treasure this opportunity very much. In the past I was afraid of interference. I feared that it would affect our Fa rectification work. Now I am not afraid and can calmly deal with what happens. I can truly feel what Master said, "One inaction can control all actions" (Unofficial quote). No matter if it is from our own practitioners or from the evil forces in other dimensions, there is nothing that can affect what we are doing. Now I treasure the opportunity to improve xinxing and know the importance of passing tribulations well. This is the biggest gain. Master told us that no one could change such a big Fa. To give us the opportunity to verify Dafa is to give us the opportunity to establish mighty virtue. It is out of the question to be nervous and worry about if anything can affect the Fa rectification. When we truly let our notions go, our job is to save sentient beings. How can the Fa allow those un-righteous elements to interfere with the main topic? It is impossible. So when we can let go of the nervousness, everything becomes so relaxed and a bad thing will turn into good thing. Every time a conflict occurs among practitioners, it is a good opportunity to improve as one body. Interference from outside can only provide us broader space to clarify the truth. Master used to say, "Every time evil controls bad people to cause trouble for us it is actually an opportunity to promote us" (unofficial quote) If we can grasp all the opportunities—conflicts between practitioners, and ordinary people being used by evil in other dimensions to cause trouble for us, are all opportunities for us to clarify truth and save sentient beings. In Toronto I often felt tired because I was fighting alone—from 8am to 9pm everyday, no matter rain or wind, for a year and a half. Here in New York I feel very energized every day, and never tired. I can pass this period smoothly.
X: If you extend the capacity and elevate levels, Dafa will create all opportunities for us. How we treat it in our heart is so important. If we do not treat trouble as trouble, trouble will become opportunity for us to clarify truth. Then the situation changes, and we can rectify all that is not righteous.
C: Exactly. This is hard to describe in words. I often thought what kind of words could describe my feeling about the magnificent Dafa and the compassion and care of Master, but it is not something that can be described with words.
X: Rectifying the Fa is the biggest compassion that Master gave us, the biggest opportunity, and the biggest glory.
C: I feel Master is pushing us from behind, and also pulling us from the front. We have no excuse if we cannot do well. Whenever I think of this I feel there is nothing that I cannot pass. And from another perspective, I become more and more natural.
X: Have you started to feel the great freedom?
C: I used to feel it before, and I also became attached to that feeling. But this time I am not attached to it and feel very natural. So when other practitioners asked me about it I often feel there is nothing to say. For something others consider big, no matter positive or negative, I always feel that it is not a big deal.
X: I think "heart not moved" is to test if a Dafa practitioner is determined. If you truly believe in Master and Fa, you will not be irritable.
C: Exactly. The Fa rectification is actually done by Master. We are simply given opportunities, one after another, to have our thoughts tested. We should have the righteous thoughts of a Dafa disciple, the thoughts of a god, not of a human being. All Master needs is that thought. Master has done everything and we are able to pass everything. In this global activity, in this big environment with so many practitioners, we have found many attachments hard to find otherwise. And only in such an environment can those notions being exposed. Then we can cultivate and eliminate them.
X: Great! Thank you.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2004/10/8/29441.html
