Progressing in Fa-rectification As One Body

Master Li says in To the Second Dafa Conference in Russia:

“You should communicate with students in other countries often, encourage each other, and progress together with diligence.”

Dafa practitioners in Europe, and of course in the world should function as one body. Barriers of language and country are meaningless to a compassionate heart. The Fa-rectification is partly dependant on practitioners truly breaking down the barriers between them, so that the combined wisdom and righteousness of the practitioners can truly break the arrangements which have separated things into different countries and languages. Working as one body is not simply an issue of physical action in this human world. It does not simply mean co-operating on projects involving practitioners from different countries, or just mean over-coming barriers of language and race in order to do so. It means also that we need to share experiences, and to share understandings, and encourage each other, so that we progress as a whole in Fa-rectification. The overall progress in Fa-rectification involves the improvement of each and every one of us disciples, and is an issue of whether we can progress together as a whole. We are each responsible to Fa-rectification, not just to our own cultivation; so ensuring that the understanding and progress of practitioners as a whole keeps up with Fa-rectification is the responsibility of every Dafa disciple. If practitioners in different areas/countries hold onto their own understandings, and their own tribulations, and do not share their good experiences and new understandings, and do not look to other countries for help with ongoing tribulations, because of the notion of country, then the evil forces will be only too happy with this arrangement.

Different regions and countries have different characteristics, and different environments. Thus each environment, region or country probably has aspects of cultivation and Fa-rectification which are easy, and those where it is difficult. But to think that each individual region or country must resolve it’s own problems on it’s own is to impede the Fa-rectification. Many of the tribulations and difficulties we face can be solved through communicating with one another and transcending as a whole. Many of the understandings we have can help practitioners in other far-away places. It is the arrangement of the old forces that we should separate ourselves according to region, country or language. Different practitioners throughout Europe will have experienced a vast variety of different tribulations, and have a lot to share with each other and have a lot which can help each other. It may be that tribulations are unresolved precisely because we are following the evil forces arrangement of segregating ourselves, and creating barriers within Europe, and have thus not had the opportunity to rectify what is unrighteous in each other. It sometimes may be that we are stuck in a tribulation precisely because it is time to let go of our individual mentalities, our notions of country, or our fear of admitting to others that we cannot understand the problems we are stuck in.

I think that we will all have had the experience of getting stuck in a tribulation for a long time, until we talk to another practitioner, and then we find that their experiences and understanding helps lift us out of the tribulation and help us to strive forward diligently once again. At whatever level we look at it, from local practice site, to region, to country to continent, at each level we must create a truly open environment to enable us all to diligently strive forward together.

I think that if we are resistant to this idea of truly working as one body, thinking that each practitioner is only responsible to their own cultivation, we have not stepped out of individual cultivation into Fa-rectification and we have not fully enlightened to the fact that our own responsibility is fundamentally to Fa-rectification. Tribulations are not simply for us to improve as individuals, they are the opportunities we can take to rectify the Fa. We should not see tribulations from the angle of self, but from the perspective of a Fa-rectification disciple. The issue is not how I can solve the tribulation or how you can solve the tribulation, the issue is how the tribulation can be solved, how to rectify the Fa. Sometimes I do it, sometimes you do it, sometimes we do it together.

We all have a human side, and this is necessary to do Fa-rectification. Without this human side we could not live in this world, and thus could not do Fa-rectification. But conversely, precisely because we have this human side, it can be taken advantage of by the evil forces. However, if practitioners work together as one body, it is very likely that the righteous side of a practitioner can prevent the uncultivated side of another practitioner from being taken advantage of by the evil forces. Individually, we all have a human side, – a flaw – manifested in different aspects in different practitioners - but together, we are like an indestructible diamond – the uncultivated aspects, and distorted aspects of each practitioner are safely protected in the complete righteous field. The righteous side of practitioners can help correct the unrighteous side of other practitioners. It is thus vital for Fa-rectification that we are able to create an environment together – a field – to prevent the interference of the evil forces, and finally eliminate them. It is not that we should not have this human side – we need it to do Fa-rectification – it is, viewed from a certain angle, very precious. Master Li says, in expounding on the Fa “I cherish your human side so you can go up in your understanding of the Fa” The evil forces are trying to take advantage of this human side. We should cherish and protect each other’s human side with our righteous, enlightened side, in order to ascend together in Fa-rectification.

If the practitioners do not function as one body, this has the effect of preventing the practitioners from merging together as one field, and allows the old forces to take advantage of the unremoved notions and attachments at different practitioners surface. It is like having an army – as long as the airforce, troops, navy, artillery etc remain separate, the effect of the army is weak. As long as the separate aspects cannot unite as one, and as long as they are unable to communicate, the army is weak, and the weak-spot of each part can be exploited and attacked. The arrangement of the old forces has both been to separate out the different practitioners through various barriers, and also to make the practitioners forget that they were ever parts of a much larger whole, thinking that these are their own individual tribulations, rather than something to be rectified by the practitioners as a whole.

Master Li has said that even if you see a conflict between two other people, we should look inside ourselves. When we see another practitioner, or another group of practitioners stuck in a tribulation, we cannot simply think that it is their tribulation. We must consider ourselves. Perhaps we have not shared experiences enough with them, perhaps we can help them overcome the problem through talking of our experiences and understandings, perhaps we have a similar problem, and together we can overcome it. (Of course sometimes it just reflects an incorrect element inside ourselves, and with this corrected the tribulation goes) I think that it is pointless and destructive just to blame others and ourselves - the most important thing is to rectifying the underlying problems with compassion and righteousness. Master Li says, “rectify all that is not righteous” I think that helping each other through tribulations is an issue of rectifying the Fa, not a matter of assigning blame.

Master has allowed us to take part in the Fa-rectification, and in doing so enabled us to return to our highest original positions, and enabled us to establish our own mighty virtue through saving people, and doing Fa-rectification. Master has, I believe, also left us with some responsibility to each other. I believe that it is the same principle - part of the process of our progression in Fa-rectification and cultivation, and the accumulation of our mighty virtue, is to fulfil the responsibility for helping the improvement of our fellow practitioners. Our cultivation paths are linked. Fa-rectification involves all practitioners’ cooperation. Rather than carrying us along it, Master has left us with a path to tread together to truly establish everything magnificent for ourselves. It is part of one’s own Fa-rectification cultivation to help fellow practitioners. Of course each practitioner must be able to enlighten on his own to tribulations, as no one can force someone else to cultivate their heart, but through each others compassion, righteousness, and understanding we are nonetheless able to enlighten to tribulations, to break the old forces arrangements, to understand the Fa better, and to keep pace with Fa-rectification. This is still our own enlightenment, it is just that others have been instrumental in the process of our reaching this enlightenment.

Through this we are given the opportunity to establish our own mighty virtue and truly enlighten to what it is to function as one body, and to melt into a state of selflessness. At the same time we truly break the old forces arrangements, and move forward in Fa-rectification as one body.

I think that sharing understandings between practitioners in different regions and countries is a significant aspect of breaking the old forces arrangement, and of Fa-rectification. This is not something to do in name only – we must truly open our hearts to each other. I sometimes think that as practitioners we should have the same feeling of deepest compassion towards each other as we do towards everyday people. We should have the same feeling of compassion and mercy towards fellow practitioners stuck in tribulations, or clinging to attachments as we do towards everyday people deceived by the evil forces. To save an everyday person, we often have the feeling that we could give up anything. We should have the feeling that to help another practitioner reach consummation, we would give up everything - truly give up everything in our hearts.

A practitioner in Europe