Doing The Right Thing

I think as long as Dafa and I take a righteous path and my students do the right thing, no matter how many biased opinions are out there, they will be turned around. All those who don't understand us, and those who attack us, have the same comment, "You have done it that well? It's not possible." That is to say, they don't believe that there are still good people in human society. Then, we should do it well to show them!!!
(From "Lecture at the Fa-Conference in Canada" in 1999, unofficial translation)

Truthfulness, the first tenet in the “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” law is an extremely important virtue, but occasionally difficult to maintain. Sometimes it is so much more convenient for me to be less direct with someone and tell a “white lie,” but doing so has never failed to create more trouble for me than it is worth. We cannot pretend to care for someone we dislike, but if we see this person as another entity that connects us to the rest of the universe, it is far more charitable to respond to that persons’ question in a kind but assertive way. If another practitioner, for example, asks me what I think my cultivation level is, my first impulse is to respond, “Oh my… that is actually none of your business; besides, Master tells us that we don’t know our levels while we are still in the Three Realms.” But, counting to ten, asking myself how Master would react, will make me respond differently, such as, “Why is it important for you to know? Do you think I need to raise my level in a certain area of my cultivation? If so, could you please point it out?”

Being truthful does not exclude controlling my tongue and does not give me license to be rude and unfeeling toward others. Being compassionate and patient, even with nosey or boring people is also “doing the right thing.” As in all uncomfortable situations, injecting a bit of humour or lightheartedness into a potentially confrontational encounter always helps a great deal. If the other person sees that I am not taking myself too seriously, but am also a traveller on the road to liberation, to fulfilment, and that I am struggling along with everyone else to reach the goal, then not only have I diffused a potentially harmful charge, but have perhaps also shown the other person a different way of looking at things.

We are in a race; sometimes a relay race, where one practitioner passes the “stick” to the next one, to carry on for the next “leg” so that the one who had just run hard may take a breather for a while. The long-distance race, the hard quest, makes us rely on our inner “stuff,” our perseverance, our assurance that Master’s fashen are always with us. He makes sure that our attachments and notions, our foot snares that might trip us, don’t entangle us along the racetrack. Master is not nearsighted – He sees all we do and notices all we opt not to do that needs to be done, especially with respect to the most important ones of all, The Three Things – 1. study the Fa [law or principles in Falun Gong], 2. explain the facts and 3. send noble thoughts. Master tells us as long as we study the Fa we will progress in our cultivation.

But Master also notices the remedies we need and gives us hints along the road of doing the right things. All we have to do is pay attention. When I set myself a goal for the week and then think, “Ah, well, it’s not that big a deal if I fudge for a couple of days,” I get hints in the form of a sudden headache, or something goes wrong with the computer, or my car does not cooperate too well. As soon as I get back on track, these problems resolve themselves.

We have to stay focused on the Fa at all times. Why? I think of an example from hiking: back country hikers in the high mountains often have to cross slippery, single-log bridges across treacherous creeks. Unless they focus and concentrate and put one foot carefully in front of the other, balancing their backpacks well, they will miss their footing, slip and fall into the icy waters. Our focus may be distracted from time to time, but Master’s never is. He wants us to concentrate, focus and do the right thing.

It is difficult to keep calm and unperturbed amid the dozens upon dozens of daily distraction. One day in our back yard I a heard a racket in the sky. I saw two crows badgering a lone hawk, trying to distract him from getting to his nest. No matter how loud they were or how many times they circled him, the hawk kept right on course. Finally, the crows gave up and flew away.

In the midst of all the aggravation around us, if we do things right, Master will protect us, will lead us, guide us and will not fail us, equipping us along the way to finish our journey.