PureInsight | October 15, 2001
Editor’s note: This article is compiled and edited based on some of the articles that have been published on PureInsight Net that described the understandings of Dafa practitioners in spreading the Fa and clarifying the truth.
Going out to clarify the truth is only the first step. A natural question immediately comes up – what are we trying to clarify? How can we clarify it? “Clarifying the truth isn't a simple matter.” In the process of clarifying the truth, there are numerous principles that we need to be aware of.
Use Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Understandings to Spread the Fa and Clarify the Truth
Recently we, the Dafa disciples outside of China, have made a great deal of effort to expose the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China to the people of the world and to urge the people and nations all over the world to lend us support and help to rescue those Chinese practitioners that are being jailed or sentenced to long terms in prison. But the problem is that, oftentimes, after we tell people about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, it seems that we have nothing else to say. That approach is very similar to the kind of news reports that the media sends out everyday, “there is a major accident on the freeway. There is a shooting in the downtown area.” That approach makes the Fa appear to be at the same level as that of everyday people. We should let people know what really happened behind the persecution. There is one picture that shows a group of practitioners quietly lifting their arms over their heads to “embrace the Wheel” on Tiananmen Square. Their serenity was in sharp contrast with the numerous police cruisers with sirens flashing that were about to surround them. After seeing that picture, a professor in a local (U.S.) university could not stop from crying out and saying, “How magnificent they are! How magnificent they are!” He then showed the picture to every single person in the office, “Look! This is Falun Gong. They are so amazing!” That picture made the people of the world see the unshakable belief that Falun Gong practitioners have demonstrated under such brutal persecution. When we clarify the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, we need to tell them not only the bloody facts. More importantly, we need to tell them what has given those people, who appear to be so ordinary on the outside, such amazing perseverance, courage, willingness to sacrifice themselves, and determination. Why is Falun Dafa so precious to them that they are willing to give their lives to safeguard and uphold it? Why is it that the brutal persecution that has lasted two years still cannot change these people’s beliefs?” They are not simply victims. They are heroes who possess magnificent spirit and strength of character. They are who they are because “Truthfulness Benevolence Forbearance” has cleansed and elevated them. We do not need the kind of pity that exists on the human level. What we need to do is to awaken the respect and acceptance that people of the world should feel toward the spirit of humanity.
We should examine and judge everything that we say and do from the point of view of the Fa. We need to remove and rectify everything that is not righteous in our cultivation. Once the righteous thoughts emerge, it will shake “the world of ten directions.” The sides of ourselves that have been awakened are Gods and possess all the benevolence and majesty of Gods. Dafa has created and founded everything. As long as our action and words are based on the Fa, the Fa will rectify everything.
Taking Each Step Well and Based on the Fa to “Do Things” and “Save People”
Only Dafa practitioners are given the privilege of “assisting the Teacher to rectify the Fa.” Of course, this process also includes tests of our xinxing levels and steps to establish our own mighty virtue. Master Li said in Zhuan Falun, “The second requirement is that you should not add personal things to Dafa.” We need to place Dafa above all else at all times. We need to use our purest hearts and greatest benevolence possible to participate in the Fa rectification process. Even though we talk about human rights and persecution, which on the surface appear to be topics discussed in ordinary human society, we need to be conscious of the fact that we are Dafa particles and have been rectified. The foundation of our words needs to be based on the Fa. Only then can we carry the power and majesty of the Fa when we clarify the truth. Because our states are higher than those of ordinary human beings, as long as we have pure and righteous hearts with no omissions, the Fa will correct everything. Therefore there should be no such things as public relations ploys, proper technique, brilliant strategies, or VIPs, who are given such titles based on the notions and class structures of ordinary humans and on the basis of how “useful” they could be. The rectification of Fa means rectifying everything that is deviated. Good or bad results depend on one’s heart. A difference in one single thought could bring different results. One evening, I gained a deeper understanding of “Expounding on the Fa.” During the Fa rectification process, we need to use our righteous sides to look at things and suppress the human thinking at all times. Only then can we enlighten to the principles of Fa, free the sides of ourselves that have cultivated well, and do things according to our “enlightened, original nature.” As long as we are clear-headed and do not allow ourselves to be restricted by anything in the human society; we are free to use all forms of action in the human society. As long as Dafa particles participate in a certain activity, its results and developments will be altered. As long as Dafa participates in a certain activity, that activity will have contributed to the Fa rectification process. Master Li said, “Even if only a tiny bit [of your body is fully cultivated], even if one cell of the human body reaches a realm beyond the Three Realms (one becomes an Arhat upon going beyond the Three Realms, so the cell reaches the realm of Arhat), it will dominate your entire body (from “Lecture at the Conference in Europe”).” Therefore when tens of millions of Dafa particles melt into the Dafa rectification process without waiting for or depending on others, “As long as something is good for Dafa, you should take the initiative to do it, take the initiative to work on it (from the article “To All Students at the Nordic Fa Conference).” If all of us do that, won’t the moment when the Fa rectifies the human world be coming soon? Therefore, Fa rectification means rectifying ourselves first. Once we position our hearts properly and improve our states of mind, everything will change accordingly. If our states of mind do not improve, then we are just humans doing things for Dafa.
From another point of view, the forces in the old cosmos appear to be very big and powerful on the surface. The truth is that we have many Dafa disciples who are bigger than they are. Many disciples have achieved that kind of realm, but still can not do Fa-rectification work under that kind of state of mind. We must do Fa-rectification work while conforming to the standards that we have met at our own levels. That is what we should do. That is the manifestation of the most majestic and magnificent Fa. What is truly stepping forward from humanness? That is stepping forward from human thinking, and use the thinking of Gods to think of things. Otherwise, it will be ordinary people doing Fa-rectification work.
Completely Disregard the Arrangements of the Old Forces
As Fa-rectification disciples, we need to rectify everything that is not righteous. We need to change the situation and the environment that the Fa has created this cycle of human civilization in. Everything that exists in this world should serve the Fa.
We need to have the right foundation in the Fa. If any media outlet is against the Fa, then we need to send out righteous thoughts immediately to eliminate the evil that is behind them. Every single format, condition and environment in the ordinary human society is our audience in embodying the Fa. They are all things that should be rectified. How could we allow them to control and restrict us? We should never conform to any situation that is not righteous. Instead we are to embody the principles of Dafa in this human dimension, and rectify this dimension until it meets the standards of “Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance.”
We have realized that the only way for us to continue breaking through human notions is to continuously study the Fa. That is the only way for us to keep up with the Fa-rectification process. We also have begun to understand what Master Li meant when he said, “It can also destroy overnight a cultivator who has reached a really high level but who has become less strict with himself (from “Fa-rectification Period Dafa Disciples”). Whenever we take a step forward and look back, we realize some of the things that we had done in the past are not correct and are not pure enough. When we take another step in the future, we will realize that what we are doing today is also not correct. Everything we do makes up a process in our cultivation and a bridge that helps us elevate ourselves. It is a record of every single little thing that we have done, things so small that even we ourselves do not want to see it again. “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.”
Because we are in a world filled with delusion, I have no knowledge of what kind of pledge I made. Therefore “as long as something is good for Dafa, you should take the initiative to do it, take the initiative to work on it.” In everything we do, there are elements that require us to be responsible to the Fa, to society, and to ourselves. Therefore, we cannot treat doing things for Dafa as if they were jobs in everyday people’s society or everyday people’s projects. We cannot hold on to human habits and notions in our work. The people that an individual practitioner comes into contact with all have different degrees of predestined relationships with that practitioner. If we assign certain tasks to only certain practitioners, it is very limiting. Every single Dafa disciple comes from different levels and different worlds. He or she may have different levels of predestination with different people. It is absolutely not allowed to treat Dafa work as the work of everyday people. From that, we have gained a little understanding on why Master Li told us, “As long as something is good for Dafa, you should take the initiative to do it, take the initiative to work on it.
There is an ancient Chinese saying, “A jade is only formed only after repeated intense pressure and tests.” Master Li has always used the principles of “Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance” to elevate us and test us. He has continuously published scriptures to guide us. From those, we have experienced great broadmindedness and benevolence of our Teacher. Yes, in every single situation, at every moment, we need to follow the principles of “Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance” in everything we do. Only then will we not deviate from Dafa. Only then, will we “validate the Fa with reason, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and offer people salvation with benevolence.” No matter what happens in ordinary human society, no matter what kind of changes take place, “just by having your heart unaffected you will be able to handle all situations.” Deter all interference and do what we are supposed to do; do what Fa-rectification disciples should do. Let us progress diligently and be worthy of the majestic title of Dafa disciples.
