We Are Indeed Originally from One Family!

On the occasion of this holiday season where people count their blessings and give thanks, I am respectfully presenting this article to our most respectable and honorable Teacher.

Even if we exhaust all languages, from heaven to humankind, and adopt any means, we are still unable to express our thankful hearts to you - our Teacher!

I'd also like to share the story to encourage all the fellow practitioners. Let us strive forward together and not let our Teacher down.
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On February 20, 1999 I got to meet our Teacher at Los Angeles Fa conference. From that point on, I started the journey of returning to my true origin.

At that time, I did not know what cultivation was and of course would naturally not have the wish to cultivate. I was not even able to understand what Zhuan Falun was talking about. The only thing that grabbed my attention was this vague understanding of how we became not as good at the 'high level' and have fallen by levels down to here

My beginning wish was just to obtain a healthy body and be a good person. However, since the time I met Teacher, happiness and gratitude have filled my heart.

On March 27 - a month later, I attended the New York Fa conference, too. Fellow practitioners' understanding and experiences had touched me. But what had really touched me were their spirit of enduring hardships and their will of persistence. I couldn't understand much of their spirit's inner meanings, however. In that situation, I felt myself to be like a primary school pupil who is falling behind of the rest of the class. I longed to listen to more discussions among other practitioners and hoped that I could catch up.

The following day, after the Fa conference ended, practitioners gradually left. At the last, about 100 people stayed behind on their own and continued discussions in groups of three or five. The atmosphere was very warm and enthusiastic. I stood at the outer circle of a group in front of the stage, listening to the conversations among the practitioners. I could feel the respectful hearts of fellow practitioners towards Teacher and honesty towards each other in their conversation. This is something that cannot be found elsewhere.

Suddenly, one practitioner said: 'Look, Teacher!' His voice was too low and we did not hear clearly. When he repeated the second time, following his finger, everybody looked: behind the window of the living room on the second floor, our Teacher was smiling and waving to us, and then happily turned away. This scene has been deeply imprinted in my mind since then.

Everyone continued the discussion.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd: Teacher had come down!

Teacher truly appeared at the entrance of the big hall and all the people naturally surged forward towards him. Finally, everyone sat, knelt and stood around Teacher and many of them were moved to tears.

I was half sitting and half kneeling on the left side of Teacher.

A practitioner brought a chair over for Teacher. After sitting down, Teacher looked around at everyone and said while smiling: 'Everyone is still here. Are you a little bit reluctant to part with each other?'

I was so excited and words slipped out of my mouth: 'It is just as if we were members of the same family!' At that time, I indeed had this kind of feeling of being in a big family. The atmosphere in the hall was very serene, fellow practitioners were very sincere and Teacher was very kind.

Teacher laughed and said: 'We are indeed originally from one family!'

At that time I didn't understand the deeper meaning of Teacher's words. What I understood at the time was only that Teacher and the practitioners are a family of cultivators.

During the past 900 plus days of my cultivation, Teacher has guided me every step of the way and made me what I am. In every course and every level, Dafa?s broad and profound inner meaning has manifested itself layer by layer, and Dafa's mighty power is forging a new life in me.

From an everyday person who is lost in illusion to a cultivator of Dafa and, finally, to a guardian of the cosmos: this is the only path that must be traversed and is still taken by each great enlightened being before his birth! This path has been arranged by Teacher and one is led by Teacher.

Teacher said: 'Real Buddhas are the guardians of the cosmos and are responsible for all righteous elements in the cosmos.' ('Lecture by Teacher Li Hongzhi at the Western US Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference of Falun Dafa')

Cultivation is to reach consummation, while the result of consummation will for sure be as 'the guardians of the cosmos.' 'The guardians of the cosmos' are not for themselves, but are selfless and righteous, and are those who can be responsible for the righteous lives in the cosmos. In my opinion, cultivating merely for personal 'consummation' cannot enable one to reach consummation. Consummation should be 'a process of establishing the mighty virtue' of a 'guardian of the cosmos,' until finally reaching a satisfactory state and result.

Selflessness has many connotations. One way to look at it is to let go of everything of oneself to the greatest extent. This is a high realm achieved through cultivation. It is obtained naturally, but not forced or with pursuit.

Being unable to put down any human attachment means not being able to reach consummation, because human attachments are all from selfishness, which is exactly the opposite of selflessness. The attachments of humans are those of humans but not of gods.

One day in the past, we indeed made the vow of a god to Teacher: assisting the teacher in Fa-rectification, and receiving complete elimination if the vow not fulfilled! These can be understood in Teacher's lectures: 'Assisting teacher in his journey in this world' ('Assisting the Fa', Hongyin), 'The vows of gods throughout history are being fulfilled.' ('Further Comments on Superstition'), 'Fa-rectification disciples who can't come through the Fa-rectification period will not have another chance to cultivate.' ('Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples')

From the moment we signed our name on the pledge, we became 'one family' with Teacher! We are assisting the teacher to rectify the degenerate matter and lives in those celestial bodies. We are on the side with Teacher in rectifying the cosmos. We are the powerful army of Teacher. Teacher is leading us to create a new world, to rectify heaven and earth, and to fight the fiercest battle - a contest with the old evil forces!

This is today. 'All of us have undergone the most severe and vicious test - something that's never occurred before in history' ('Teacher Li Hongzhi's lecture at the Great Lakes Conference in North America').

We should be proud of ourselves for the courage of signing our names back in the past.

Because of selflessness, which is most righteous, we were not afraid of the horror of the three realms. We firmly believed in the King of Buddhas and firmly believed in the mighty power of Dafa that created the lives at different levels. We believed that there is Teacher and there is the Fa and that we would be able to complete the cultivation and reach consummation. We proceeded without hesitation and we jumped into the Three Realms!

Thus, we forgot everything and lost everything. Everything had to start from the beginning. The only thing we have here is that line which connects us with the King of Buddhas, however we ourselves do not know.

We have entered this place. We became everyday people. To assist teacher in Fa-rectification, we have to be Fa-rectification disciples. Through thousands of years of searching, Teacher has found us. Teacher arranged for us to gain the Fa in different ways and, one after another, we became cultivators of Falun Dafa.

Teacher has arranged for us to eventually return. However, when falling into the Three Realms, the lives became contaminated, and only through cultivation and reaching consummation can they return. The difference is that the lives returned to the truth will not be the same one as before. They will be new and more beautiful, and constructed by Teacher and forged by Dafa!

Teacher treasuring us is to treasure those original, selfless hearts. It is to treasure the awe-inspiring righteousness of being 'the guardians of the cosmos,' and to treasure the fact that we were willing to sacrifice our lives in order to be responsible for the righteous elements! This is what Teacher has said: 'The truth is, I treasure you more than you treasure yourselves!' ('Eliminate Your Last Attachments')

The speed of cultivation is very fast: Teacher has pulled disciples up and then pushes them forward. Teacher looks only at disciples' hearts, these hearts, these selfless hearts of Shan (Compassion)!

When the evil tried to damage Dafa, in the dangerous and vicious situation with dark clouds rolling over and covering heaven and earth, Dafa disciples in China and overseas put down their lives and stepped forward to safeguard the Fa. Their heroic undertaking has shaken the universe and moved gods to tears.

On October 21, 2000, Teacher, who had not made an appearance for 16 months, praised the disciples as 'remarkable' and 'truly magnificent' at the US West Coast Fa conference San Francisco. Teacher also said, 'Teacher thanks you!' At that point, Teacher was even at a loss for words. Upon hearing Teacher's praise, I couldn't fully understand the praise. Spreading the Fa, safeguarding the Fa and assisting teacher in Fa-rectification is the unmistakable obligation of a Dafa disciple. If a Dafa disciples do not do it, who will? Cultivation is a personal matter and is not for Teacher. What is the reason for disciples to receive such substantial thanks? How can we be worthy of it?

Then, I suddenly realized that disciples' following Teacher and participating in a series of activities for spreading the Fa, safeguarding the Fa and assisting teacher in Fa-rectification is exactly fulfilling the vow of gods in the past. Teacher has seen disciples' incomparable determination towards Dafa and Teacher when assisting Teacher in Fa-rectification, disciples' indestructible determination when opposing the evil and compassion when offering salvation to sentient beings. The evil being's day has come to an end and the day they are thoroughly eliminated is nigh. The last level of the firmament will be rectified. The firmament, the cosmos and the celestial bodies will be as 'With heavens clear and celestial bodies transparent, the cosmos is rectified. The mega-havoc is over, and the universe is illuminated' ('After Havoc,' Hongyin). Teacher's grand wish for Fa-rectification will be fulfilled and Teacher is gratified by the noble and righteous manner of disciples - 'the guardians of the cosmos' before birth.

We should be happy for ourselves for having caught up with the process of Fa-rectification and contributed a drop of sweat, a drop of blood and even a human life.

However, what we have done is but a drop in the ocean. Teacher has borne almost everything!

Teacher, you are 'taking care of all human affairs, looking after heavenly suffering' (Hongyin), you are 'carrying heaven and earth that is fragmented and broken,' (Hongyin), but to 'whom should the words be told?' (Hongyin) You have given up everything for the purity and righteousness of the entire firmament, cosmos and celestial bodies! You have borne layers upon layers of sin and karma of all the savable lives. You have borne the poison of all evils. You have borne in silence, borne in silence, borne, and borne. Teacher, you have died several times and been resurrected several times.

Teacher, you told us while smiling that when the evil came down in an overwhelming manner, you spent nine months eliminating them. When talking about all these, you looked as if you had taken it lightly, but our hearts were truly pained, saddened and felt guilty. Oh, our great compassionate Teacher!

Disciples knows very well that Teacher has given us unimaginably much, while the only thing we have to present to Teacher is a selfless heart!!

Selflessly, we came into the Three Realms. Selflessly, we are spreading the Fa, safeguarding the Fa and assisting the teacher in Fa-rectification. Only by being selfless can we finally wash ourselves clean, can we be worthy of the name of a Fa particle, can we return to home, can we become the 'guardians of the cosmos.' Otherwise, all of our previous efforts will have been for nothing, because any selfish heart cannot be brought to the heaven. And only by being selfless can we have the pure and righteous thoughts that will make the evil tremble with fear on hearing of it and then be eliminated.

Teacher cares about us and waits for us, with inconceivably great endurance, for us to return without even one left behind! Teacher's heart will be pained by those who cannot return. 'Teacher's heart has always been pained by those who have fallen.' ('Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples')

We ourselves should be vigilant. Before dying out, the evil is like a rampant tiger, trying to drag disciples to end up in ruin together. Take Fa as the teacher. Take Fa as teacher. The lives forged by Dafa are indestructible like diamond!

Teacher:

We will for sure reach consummation and return with Teacher.

We will become the 'guardians for the cosmos.'

We will certainly be responsible for the righteous elements!

Fellow practitioners, fellow practitioners, please remember: Teacher - King of Buddhas and we - Dafa particles are from 'one family!!'

The giant wheels of history are approaching with a great rumble as Fa comes to the human world. We and Teacher - the Lord of Buddhas, and the whole world will join in jubilation. This moment is at hand.

This is what I - a Dafa particle, today have come to understand about Teacher's Fa. We are indeed originally from 'one family!'

Above is my personal understanding. I hope it can provide some enlightenment for fellow practitioners. Please mercifully make corrections.

'The Fa rectifies the cosmos, the Evil is completely eliminated!'

'The Fa rectifies heaven and earth, immediate retribution in this lifetime!'

Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2001/11/22/12578.html