Cultivators’ Upright Conduct During Fa-rectification is Decisive

By a German practitioner

Master has pointed, out time and again, the importance of Fa-study. I want to relate my experiences in this regard.

The working week in my profession amounts to between 60 and 90 hrs. It is demanding work, especially at the beginning when I first started this job. That was the reason why I could not manage to devote and pay attention to allow for sufficient time for Fa-study during my non-working hours.

Master had said in the Teaching the Fa in Florida, “When a cultivator’s thoughts deviate from the Fa, the evil will find a loophole and take advantage of it.” “When a person has no upright thoughts, then all the bad things from the Three Realms and the universe will find their way into his body. Even if they remain there, a person will not notice this.”

I visualize these words this way: It is like being on a river – if you stop paddling, the current will take you downriver. That is exactly how I felt when I read less than I usually did. The result was that my realizations were no longer so solidly based on the Fa and some loopholes appeared. This awareness jolted me into deliberately taking more time to read. I have now made a habit during my leisure hours to first read the Fa before I do anything else. Since then, not only has my professional work gone easier, but Dafa work has also gone smoother. As I understand Master’s teachings, every Dafa disciple’s noble conduct and demeanor is based on how well one studies and comprehends the Fa.

Last summer someone presented me with an unusual request. During an Informational Day Event on July 20, 2002, another practitioner spoke with me and mentioned that a planned German-language Dafa film is in need of a script, and would I be interested to work on it. Cooperation with another practitioner was soon established. This was a person who had some prior film making experience. We were both amateurs with scant skills in this area, but in a small group we managed to produce a Dafa-film in about five weeks.

I look at it this way: Even though we are not professionals, with our noble hearts we can accomplish great things for Dafa. Another example is translation work that, for the most part, is done by non-professionals. When doing these things we cannot merely rely on our abilities and knowledge learned from older systems in this human realm. As a matter of fact, sometimes our conventional knowledge can present a stumbling block for Dafa work, because influences from the old powers and their views do frequently sneak into our stored, conventional knowledge. I firmly believe that if we absolve our Dafa work with noble hearts and, while performing those tasks, try to do the best possible work we are capable of doing, then the world around us will recognize the effects. Another thought had occurred to me in this regard: it was probably not a coincidence that I had three weeks of vacation during the time of producing this film, and it was also probably no coincidence that the person working with me on the project was laid off from work. I consider it a predestined event – prior to this we did not have a German-language Dafa film, geared to the European mentality.

Many people expressed their various opinions when the film was completed. One practitioner offered, “This is one film about Dafa that I am really willing to show to my family.” Another practitioner had presented his boss with a copy of the film. After he and his wife and daughter had viewed it, they wanted to learn the exercises immediately and had sent and order for the exercise video. Others has the following experiences: when they showed the film to friends and acquaintances, many people asked pointed questions which in turn allowed for further discussions about Dafa.

TV stations in several cities have shown this film on their regional channels. It has already been shown three times in Berlin. I look at it this way: many things might be improved and influenced, but it is up to us to take the first step, which in this case was to complete a film. This has led me to the realization that our learned skills and stored knowledge can definitely be utilized for Fa-rectification, but that must not prevent us from treasuring those skills we have acquired through our cultivation efforts. The old powers are trying to prevent from succeeding to cooperate, and hinder our mutual Dafa-work by reminding us sneakily of the usual profit motives and conventional criticisms.

Master has said in the Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Philadelphia, “As I've said, everything that happens today in the ordinary society is the result of Dafa disciples' thoughts.” Those words represent a huge responsibility, because how one’s surroundings react depends solely whether one’s heart and mind are noble or ruled by one’s notions and attachments.

In October 2002, many other practitioners from Germany and I went to Houston, to send righteous thoughts in close proximity. I made the discovery that our cooperation and bonding was especially effective. But that had not occurred to me until later. I realized why this happened: when we were in Houston, we were always together as a group. We only helped the American practitioners with certain ancillary tasks and did our Dafa work
As autonomous co-cultivators, that’s why no loopholes appeared, such as boasting, bragging or notions of self-importance. I experienced an atmosphere of a noble Fa-rectification climate. As I understand it – if we, as happened in Houston, don’t take ourselves too seriously and consider the total task of Fa-rectification of primary importance, then we can avoid those loopholes trying to open that could destroy our mutual Dafa work. As Master had said at the Teaching the Fa in Florida Conference,
“I must tell you – the remainder that can damage Dafa and Dafa disciples is due to the disciples themselves.”

The tasks that come at us cultivators during these days sometimes present us with demands that catch us short: we have to study the Fa, we have to participate in Fa-rectification, we have to place particular emphasis on offering salvation to the Chinese people, and other demands. I have noticed, in others and in myself, that one can easily lose balance, because we want to do well in everything. One event sticks out in my mind; I observed another practitioner attempting to inform a politician about the persecution and “Article 23.” This happened more or less as if the practitioner was delivering a monologue. To my mortification I had to witness how this politician, who had already assented to our human rights stance, suddenly began to doubt us. That incident taught me that it is not enough to recite persecution information to common people. One has to demonstrate one’s nobility of heart to the listeners. If this is done, the effect of the explanation and the information itself gives solid credence to the truth. Our noble demeanor and conduct is often more important and also much more effective than the information we relay. When we wisely convey the truth to anyone, we must always think of the other person first. Only if we genuinely listen and hear, and try to understand their point of view will we find a ready and willing ear for that person to listen to the truth with his state of mind.

Mutual listening and hearing the other person is not merely important in social contact with common people, but crucial during interactions among practitioners. If we would pay more attention to that, we would truly be a united entity, free from almost all interferences.

(Original text in German)