PureInsight | August 18, 2011
[PureInsight.org] I once read a story not long after the persecution of Falun Dafa started. In their efforts to validate the Fa, many practitioners were arrested and held in detention centers. But because of such massive pressure, some gradually became confused or lost. The detained practitioners began to discuss among themselves and shared understandings with each other based on the Fa.
One was a farmer who, in spite of slander and false propaganda in the media, remained as steadfast as a rock. Other practitioners wanted to hear his thoughts, hoping to know what he had enlightened to from the Fa. To their surprise, this farmer practitioner said, “After cultivating for so many years, I was enlightened to only three words.” Upon being asked what those three words were, he said, “The three words are ‘following Master’s words’.”
For several years and on many occasions, I thought of this story when discussing understandings, enlightenment etc. In fact, to some extent, enlightenment means faith—that is, following Master’s words.
Without faith in Master and the Fa, there is hardly anything that we can enlighten to. In “Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Europe,” Master said, “For thousands of years people have thought that they themselves were cultivating and elevating. Actually, you can’t achieve anything cultivating [on your own]. Nothing can be resolved if you don’t have a master taking care of you. That is, the real issues are resolved by your master—they’re resolved by the factors behind the Fa. Your own enlightening is only about your continuing to cultivate after you overcome difficulties in your practice. That’s what we mean by 'your own enlightening.' As for truly enlightening to something from the principles, if this Fa doesn’t let you know it, you can’t enlighten to it no matter how you try. So you have to meet one condition: You must genuinely practice cultivation.”
During cultivation systems of the past, many theories were not clearly stated and required cultivators to comprehend the content in the scripture. Now, Master has elaborated in detail Fa-principles and it is really up to us whether we are able to believe the Fa and believe in Master. That is, it all depends on whether we can follow Master’s words.
At this stage of Fa-rectification, each of us should examine ourselves clear-mindedly where we believe the Fa deep in our mind. In other words, do we have faith in the Fa one hundred percent or are there some reservations?
In contrast to the farmer practitioner’s attitude of “following Master’s words,” some practitioners believe the Fa selectively, accepting Fa-principles consistent to their own notions and leaving out those different from their understanding.
Master said, “For example, when Master says something or decides how Dafa disciples are to go about something, there are always some students who size up Master’s [plans] with human thinking, forming opinions about how Master should handle some particular matter or thinking about how it would be if Master did it differently, rather than putting their minds to how to best fulfill what Master expressed or how to carry out the specifics; some students even wish to change Master’s thinking; some go and extol the virtues of their own ideas among fellow students; some people are confused as to what Master has said on account of their human attachments, and react negatively; and some people go so far as to seek out my family members to try to garner support for their own approaches.” (“What Does it Mean to ‘Help Master Rectify the Fa’?”)
In my understanding, these incidents took place because we did not have one hundred percent faith in Dafa. When we follow our own thoughts instead of the Fa, whatever we do is not to “Help Master Rectify the Fa”.
When we enlighten to some Fa-principles, it’s actually because we are determined in the Fa and thus the Fa-principles were displayed to us. If someone really believes in the Fa, he is able to follow the Fa from his every thought, every word, and every action. Even if there are places that he has not yet fully understood, he would nonetheless place the Fa-principles as the most important. He knows the righteous enlightenment means to do whatever it takes to achieve Master’s expectations.
Right now, the continuity of Fa-rectification every day is made possible only because of Master’s compassion and enormous sacrifice.
If we are still unable to believe in the Fa and believe in Master one hundred percent, and unable to “follow Master's words” as the farmer practitioner did, what is waiting for us upon completion of Fa-rectification will be endless regret. In other words, after years of cultivation we should be mature enough to no longer take the Fa so casually. We should follow the Fa.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2011/6/28/75526.html
