PureInsight | February 25, 2002
I was with a fellow practitioner when an everyday person asked us a question. He asked what the real truth behind the "self-immolation" episode in Tiananmen Square was. The other practitioner answered that our Teacher has made it clear that killing is sinful, and that suicide is killing too. He also explained to this person that there were many suspicious circumstances regarding that incident. I said it was a big joke to think cultivators would try to reach Consummation by means of self-immolation.
It just happened that someone in our city who committed suicide had supposedly practiced Falun Gong at one point. So this person asked us to explain what happened there. The fellow practitioner explained that just doing the exercises does not make one a genuine practitioner. He also said, "We should maintain a clear main consciousness since there were a lot bad things affecting human beings in this dimension and in other dimensions. Human beings must keep their minds clear and rational, and control their words and deeds because they can have certain manifestations in other dimensions." At that point, I felt that the other practitioner had been talking about things that are at too high of a level, and we should talk about things that are easily understandable by everyday people. So I told him, "Suicide is a social phenomenon that exists in all social groups, and we cannot arrive at any conclusion just because one or two suicidal people may have come into contact with Falun Gong at some point in their lives. Also coming into contact with Falun Gong is a totally different concept from being a Falun Gong practitioner. Furthermore, even though the Chinese media wrongly says Falun Gong leads to suicide, if compare Falun Gong practitioners with other groups, using the numbers given by the Chinese government, the suicide rate of Falun Gong practitioners is only one fifth that of the general population. This still proves from another angle that Falun Dafa is good."
Then this person asked, "Your Master should be protecting his disciples — why can this still happen?"
I didn't expect him to insist on getting to the bottom of the matter. My immediate reaction was to tell him that the most important thing for a human being to do is cultivate his heart. But I didn't have enough confidence in myself to explain it well, although I understand the answer quite well in my heart. I felt hesitant. At that moment, another practitioner joined us and the subject was dropped.
Today I was reading Zhuan Falun, and in first section of Lecture Three, Master Li says, "I treat all practitioners, including those who are able to truly practice cultivation through self-study, as my disciples ... But there is one point to be made. Now, times have changed. We do not practice the ritual of kowtowing or bowing. That kind of formality serves little use, and it performs like a religion. We do not practice it. What's the use of your kowtowing and worshipping Teacher if once you step out the door, you still continue to conduct yourself as usual and do whatever you want, competing and fighting for your fame and self-interest among everyday people? You may also damage the reputation of Falun Dafa under my banner! …… True cultivation practice depends fully upon your heart. …… Therefore, you must truly follow our xinxing requirements—only then are you a genuine practitioner."
To me, this means that cultivation in Dafa is not concerned with formality and is only concerned with the human heart. Master will look after those who truly act according to Master's teachings and upgrade xinxing [heart / mind nature, moral character]. "Master takes you through the entrance, and it is up to you to practice cultivation." The level that every student can reach is directly related to the amount of progress he painstakingly makes in this regard. He is still an everyday person if he fails to follow Master's requirements for practicing Falun Dafa. Everything that is supposed to happen to him will then befall him, as everyday people are meant to suffer through birth, old age, illness, and death.
There is a specific standard for whether one is supposed to get anything or not. The requirement for practicing Dafa is that a person must always check to see if, in his heart, he is living according to the Dafa standard. What we cultivate is our heart.
Previously, I was unclear in my understanding of how to clarify the truth from the viewpoint of the Fa. Now I realize that Master has actually made everything clear in his Lectures. We are explaining from the viewpoint of the Fa if we can talk according to what Master has taught us, and it doesn't matter if we recite Master's words or use our own words based on our righteous understandings of the Fa.
When my fellow practitioner and I first offered answers to that question about the self-immolation, the practitioner talked about what he had enlightened to. However, he did not realize that Master had not answered that question that way in his lecture. The talk of interference from the other dimensions was addressed elsewhere. I thought that an everyday person wouldn't understand high-level things and would find it inconceivable if we talk about interference from other dimensions. The explanation I gave was thus based on the reasoning of ordinary people. This person thought my explanation made sense, but I didn't fully address his question. This was why he kept asking more questions. In fact, only if we explain something from the real principles of the Fa can the question be fully answered and the problem completely resolved.
In his lectures, Master answered many questions that we had when we first came in contact with Dafa and were still at the level of everyday people. He answered them in such a way that we could understand them using ordinary human minds. All of these are manifestations of the Fa. We should pay attention to this point. Otherwise, even if we are talking about matters that are related to cultivation, we might not be talking from the viewpoint of the Fa.
I now understand that we should have answered that person's question by starting from the viewpoint of the Fa. After he understood the principles, we could state the facts that 65 thousand out of 10 million people die in China every year according to the national average death rate. There are 70 million people practicing Falun Gong according to official statistics taken before the crackdown on Falun Gong in 1999. Using these numbers, the death rate is extremely miniscule in comparison to the national average. So in this way, the propaganda stating that Falun Gong caused 1400 deaths actually demonstrates the indisputable healing effect of Falun Gong, which testifies to Master being responsible to his students and the society.
People will simply be convinced when they are presented with the facts and principles of the Fa.
While I was writing this article, the genuine words from a fellow practitioner's heart kept turning up in my mind: "I truly wish to have a long heavenly sword, to eliminate all evil persecuting Dafa in the human world." Let's stand from the viewpoint of the Fa all the time. Then we will hold a long heavenly sword all the time. We must study the Fa with a tranquil heart every day.
This is my personal enlightenment at my current level. Please correct anything improper.
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2002/2/6/13685.html
