PureInsight | November 26, 2001
I personally think that collecting signatures is just like the work of monks wandering around in human society and is also cultivation. We face all sorts of people who make sarcastic comments while we are doing good things for them and trying to save them, but they don't understand. And yet, because of the way they treat us, our xinxing is improved.
In addition, right now is the time that Dafa disciples are rectifying the Fa in the three realms. To collect signatures is to tell the truth and save everyday people. It is also a very good way to cultivate.
After finishing a whole day of collecting signatures during the Taipei Fireworks Festival, I got ready to go home at the time it was getting dark. The stream of people was endless. Most of the people were about to crowd into the festival.
As I started on my way home, I was going in a direction completely opposite to that of the others, which created a strong contrast. At that moment, I remembered two paragraphs from Zhuan Falun: "Seen from a high level, while you may think you are advancing forward, you are actually moving backward. Zhang Guolao, one of the Eight Deities, rode backward on his donkey. Few people know why he rode backward on his donkey. He discovered that going forward is moving backward, so he rode the donkey the other way around" and "What everyday people want is personal gain and how to live well and comfortably. Our practitioners are not this way, but exactly the opposite. We do not seek what everyday people want; instead, what we get is something everyday people cannot obtain -- even though they want to -- except through cultivation practice."
Although the night was falling, the exciting shows at the festival were about to start, and all sorts of lively entertainment was about to come onstage. But they held no attraction for me. What I wanted was "to go home" and "to return to our true, original selves."
This is the purpose of being a human. All the things of everyday people should not hold any attraction for us. Just as Teacher said, 'Human society is a good place for cultivation, since everything here can induce attachments. Precisely because of this, a person who is able to step out of it and get rid of all his attachments to human society is magnificent and is able to reach Consummation ("No Politics")." I hope all practitioners can rise above this environment and closely follow the process of Teacher's Fa rectification.
The above is just my own understanding; please do not hesitate to point out any problems.
This article is translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2001/11/8/12360.html
