PureInsight | July 2, 2001
Everywhere throughout the world, Falun Dafa practitioners are telling people that Falun Dafa is good and that practitioners are good because Falun Dafa teaches people to be good people. However, when I tell people that I am a better person because of Falun Dafa, they sometimes seem sceptical. They understand my tangible physical health improvements and improved, calm mental state but say "...but you always were a good person. Now you have just grown up more and matured and within your surroundings you have remained a good person."
This is the understanding of someone who has not practiced and has not yet experienced the benefits of Dafa. Since practising Falun Dafa, I have an ever-deepening understanding of the universal principles: Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. Everything I do is aimed at trying to live up to these principles in every thought and every action. The more I do this, the more I become a good person.
So what is a good person? Is it someone who doesn't lie, is kind to others or endures unfairness towards themselves? Is it someone who gives money to the poor or picks up rubbish from the ground? Is it someone who is kind, but expects nothing in return for his or her kindness? Is it someone does not plan revenge when they do not receive what they expected?
In a society where money is vital and status and prestige are important no matter what the cost, there is always room for Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. With such pure principles available to all people, there is no need to judge or compare people to each other or to the current moral standard. Everyone can look to the principles for guidance and to evaluate one's self. Telling the truth and being truthful to yourself, always thinking of others first with no return expected and not fighting back when treated unfairly is just a portion of my understanding at one level of these principles.
In Zhuan Falun, Mr Li says that 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is the sole criterion for judging good and bad people... No matter how the human moral standard changes, this characteristic of the universe does not change.' To me, Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance encompass all that is good. All who practice these principles will improve one's self, will improve one's immediate environment, one's community, one's nation and beyond. This is not idealism and everyone that has experienced it has an understanding. Laws and principles do not need to be complex to govern people or to upgrade and maintain human morality. All good people of the world can improve themselves and at the same time improve all that is around them.
