PureInsight | April 1, 2022
From Minghui's report, the evil's persecution of Dafa disciples is shocking to this day. Illegal kidnappings, illegal detentions, illegal sentences, and persecution to death have occurred continually. Now, I would like to share what I have understood from the perspective of anti-persecution.
1. Is It Possible to Pass the Test in Persecution by Letting Go of Life and Death?
Case 1: Fellow practitioner A was reported during a truth clarification, and illegally kidnapped by the evil; her home was illegally raided. The evil has always threatened her that she would be sentenced by giving some examples of the other similar practitioners’ experience. They requested fellow practitioner A to cooperate with them by telling them everything and giving up her practice. She might get a so-called lenient treatment if she did so. During the interrogation, fellow practitioner A had always been full of righteous thoughts. What she thought was: “the worst case is death or being illegally imprisoned and sentenced (my mother-in-law will take care of the kid, no worry about it), I will never betray fellow practitioners or bring shame on Dafa no matter how the evil tempted me.” Fellow practitioner A gave up the attachment to life and death at a certain level, but the evil did not let her pass the test.
After receiving the news of the illegal kidnapping of fellow practitioner A for the first time, the relative and fellow practitioner B described what they felt during the process of helping practitioner A send forth righteous thoughts as follows (this conflict was described in the form of dialogue):
Fellow practitioner B told the old forces: You cannot persecute fellow practitioner A, you must release her immediately...
The old forces: We are helping her (Practitioner A) cultivate; she did it voluntarily (in history, she agreed to eliminate her last attachment and affection in prison). She was willing to get rid of her last attachments and emotions that she can't let go of in this way ...
Fellow practitioner B told the old forces: Although she (practitioner A) volunteered in history; she is a Dafa disciple during the Fa-rectification period. She wants to help the Master to rectify the Fa and save sentient beings; you can't prosecute her…
The Old force said: She still has karma (the old force were reluctant to release on the pretext that fellow practitioner A has karma to be eliminated in prison). We want to help her eliminate her historical karma in this way...
Fellow practitioner B told the old forces: Even if she (practitioner A) has the karma in history, she cannot be illegally detained. Her karma can be released by.... If she is not released, you will be wiped out according to the requirements of the Fa-rectification. ...
Later, fellow practitioner A suddenly realized: I cannot be illegally detained here. I cannot stay in such a place because this is not where I should stay. I have to go out to take care of my own child and clarify the truth to sentient beings. I won’t let my relatives have negative thoughts about Dafa (some relatives around her cannot understand what Dafa disciples are doing and will complain that Dafa disciples left their families)... So she asked for the blessing of the Master, and was immediately released.
Sure, the evil did not sentence her or imprison her illegally, but released her on the same day.
Case 2: Practitioner C who had mutilated limbs and walked on crutches was reported by someone when she distributed the leaflets and clarified the truth. She was kidnapped and detained by the police. The police were directed by the local government officials to beat her to death. They did try to beat her to death with a thick wooden stick and she was almost killed.
When she was dying, the police told her, "Don't blame us, we were told to beat you to death. I would let you know everything before you die. You will be sent to the crematorium to be cremated and turned to ashes.” The fellow practitioner C knew that she was about to die and thought: I am crippled but I have obtained such a good Fa and practiced for a long time. Nothing is a big deal at this moment.
Fellow practitioner C also eliminated the attachment to life and death during this persecution. However, the evil did not let her pass the test and really wanted to "beat her to death".
Fortunately, fellow practitioner C was full of righteous thoughts: I can't die yet, and I need to let more people know Dafa is good.
After the righteous thought came out, a miracle happened! She found that she was able to move with energy, and she got up.
When the police saw her getting up, they thought: What a fate! They gathered around and beat her even more frantically. The big stick was broken, but she didn't feel the pain. The more she was beaten, the more comfortable she felt. The wicked police were dumbfounded. How could a person couldn't be beaten to death?! They didn't dare to beat her anymore, saying she was "a Tieguai Li who couldn't be beaten to death". And of course she was released.
2. The So-called Helping Dafa Disciples to Cultivate from the Old Forces Apparently Is a Test, but Is Actually a Persecution.
Master said in Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference, "Isn’t that how they would respond? Back when they persecuted the followers of Jesus and Shakyamuni, it was on similar grounds, claiming to be ‘helping them make spiritual progress.’”
Let's take a look at the historical cultivation story of "cutting the flesh to feed the eagle", which was regarded as a classic by Buddhists, to see how the old cosmic gods helped cultivators cultivate.
The Emperor of Heaven heard that there was a king (the predecessor of Shakyamuni in practice) who was perfect in precepts, lofty virtue, and merciful to all beings. To test him, the Emperor of Heaven turned into an eagle, and let a guardian deity turn into a dove. The eagle chased the dove and flew to the king. The dove got into the king's armpit and begged the king to protect him. The eagle told the king, “I have been hungry for a couple of days, please give the pigeon to me. It is my delicacy."
The king said slowly, "I vow to save all sentient beings and protect all sentient beings. I cannot let you kill life in front of me. I want to protect it."
The eagle asked, "I will starve to death if you save the pigeon. Don't you also leave me to sink?"
The king said, "As long as you let this dove go, I will do my best to satisfy you."
The eagle said, "I only eat freshly killed, hot meat."
The king thought, “The eagle wants to eat the hot meat that has just been killed; but I can't save a life by killing a life.” He took out a knife and cut off a piece of his own flesh for the eagle in exchange for the pigeon.
When the eagle finished eating, he said, "King, you should treat all beings equally. You exchange your flesh for the life of a dove. The meat you cut must be equal to the weight of the dove."
The king asked someone to bring the scale to put the pigeons at one side; the meat cut from him at the other side. However, no matter how much meat the king cut off, it was not enough to be equal with the weight of the pigeon. With all the strength, he climbed up on the weighing pan, and finally the two sides of the scale were balanced.
The king passed the test from the Emperor of Heaven by giving up his own flesh disregarding the pain of cutting off his flesh and blood. This was the usual practice in the history of the old cosmic gods to test cultivators to become gods. It was actually a mutated idea because of the limited wisdom from the old cosmos god.
During the Fa-rectification period, the tests from the old forces to Dafa disciples were essentially persecution and interference.
3. Anti-persecution Cultivation from the Standpoint of Assisting Master Rectify the Fa and Saving Sentient Beings
Before July 20, 1999, it was the personal cultivation period for Dafa disciples. After that, it was the cultivation during the Fa-rectification, the anti-persecution cultivation.
From the Fa, I understand that the old forces didn’t understand the relationship between Dafa disciples' personal cultivation and Fa-rectification cultivation. They had systematic and specific arrangements for Dafa disciples' cultivation based on the individual cultivation because they didn’t know what the cultivation was during the Fa-rectification. The so-called tests for Dafa disciples were all persecution and interference. It required Dafa disciples to fundamentally deny the arrangements from the old forces. In essence, Dafa disciples were not cultivating under the old forces' persecution, but on the basis of completely denying the arrangements from the old forces which means anti-persecution cultivation.
My understanding is that Dafa disciples should not be caught in the frame of the old forces' persecution and bear it blindly during the Fa-rectification period. It means Dafa disciples acknowledged the arrangements from the old forces and cultivated themselves in their so-called tests (persecution). Thinking carefully, the old forces’ arrangement was to achieve personal consummation, not the righteous thoughts and actions for Dafa disciples needed in assisting Master in the Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings during the Fa-rectification period.
The above two fellow practitioners had endured blindly and even let go of life and death, but the basis of their cultivation was the personal achievement to become a god. Based on this cultivation status, the old forces have reasons (the principles of the old universe) to take away the cultivators' physical bodies; they wouldn’t let the practitioners pass the test easily. The old forces are very strict with cultivators in letting go of life and death in personal cultivation, as we can tell from the historical cultivation story "cutting the flesh to feed the eagle".
However, the old force’s harsh persecution is neither what Dafa needs, nor what Master needs; and it isn't acceptable during the Fa-rectification. My understanding is that Dafa disciples will eliminate the last attachment and karma while doing three things until they reach consummation during Fa-rectification. In that way, Dafa disciples can save the people and sentient beings in the world by conforming to the ordinary people's status. No one in the old cosmos is qualified to manage Dafa disciples' cultivation, and Dafa disciples are only under the control of Master. In the meanwhile, Master has given Dafa disciples the ability to completely deny the old forces. When Dafa disciples are cultivating against the persecution, they stand on the basis of assisting Master rectify the Fa and saving sentient beings. Just like the two fellow practitioners above, they refused to acknowledge the persecution from the old forces and wanted to get out to save sentient beings. Master said in 20th Anniversary Fa Teaching, "When disciples have ample righteous thoughts; Master has the power to turn back the tide." After the basic point was set up correctly, the persecution disappeared as soon as the righteous thoughts came out.
My understanding is, during the Fa-rectification period, the practitioners who just endured persecution based on self-cultivation, even if they let go of life and death, they still had flaws in their cultivation and didn’t harmonize enough. To oppose and deny the persecution based on an altruistic foundation; think more about those people who were related to him, and think about saving more sentient beings without being persecuted.
Only through this, can we attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism without any omission.
Chinese version: https://www.zhengjian.org/node/273205
