Take the Fa as Teacher, Because There Are No Role Models to Follow in Cultivation Practice

One day, when I was searching for something on the Minghui/Clearwisdom website, I came across a familiar name. I knew this man from my time in the forced labour camp. He was sent there in 2001, was "transformed" and became a collaborator. He had beaten many practitioners. In particular, when he was trying to "transform" me in 2002, he had said many slanderous things about Teacher and Dafa. At that time, I thought that this being must have been arranged by the old forces to damage Dafa, and was one who could not be saved. But in the article, I read that he was arrested in October 2007, and that his money and a copy machine were confiscated. The article stated that a police officer had continuously tortured him for 26 days and that he had passed out several times. Also due to the brutal treatment his weight had dropped from 210lb to 155lb, and that he is still being kept in a small cell in the detention centre.

Surprised to read this, I was both happy for him that he had resolved to return to cultivation, and I was angry at the CCP. I was happy for this life who returned to the Fa and chose a bright future. As a Dafa practitioner, I do not pay attention to what any being has done in the past. What could possibly be more important than a cosmos being saved? Teacher said,

"Dafa disciples have made it through during cultivation and unparalleled evil persecution, so they are deeply aware of the hardships in cultivation, and they won't fail to understand the students who have gone down the wrong path."
"Dafa disciples and I will not regard students who have gone down the wrong path in their cultivation the way ordinary people would." ("Pass the Deadly Test")

Teacher and Dafa do not acknowledge the persecution and see saving sentient beings as the most important thing. A Dafa practitioner can let go of all attachments to personal loss or gain. However, the old forces and the gods in the old cosmos do not want to forgive wrongdoings. Teacher said,

"So, for those students of ours who are momentarily in a fog and whose states of mind aren't right, think about it, once you become disrespectful of me, the old forces will do ruthless things to you." ("Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")

In my understanding, a practitioner's being arrested during this time is perhaps because the old forces are using the excuse of his not respecting Teacher and the Fa, and therefore they use his attachments and loopholes in this respect as their excuse to ruthlessly persecute him. As Dafa practitioners, we do not acknowledge any persecution. But since it has happened, we should look inside to find the reasons why and the lessons that we need to learn from this. "Respecting the Teacher and the Fa" is the fundamental mindset of a Dafa practitioner. Let's not let our demon-nature loose and let the black minions and rotten ghosts take control, thereby allowing the old forces to use the biggest excuse of all to persecute Dafa practitioners. I wholeheartedly wish that he will walk his future cultivation path well.

The second incident I'd like to share with you is about a woman practitioner I know. She was always very diligent in doing the three things and had put a lot of effort into it. She would clarify the truth to everyone that she met and would not waste a single copy of the truth-clarification materials. She had given out truth-clarification materials on the streets many times and had persuaded many people to quit the CCP. One day, she ran into a National Security agent and moved him with her pure righteous thoughts and righteous actions. In the end, even the agent decided to quit the CCP. She liked to help others, and was very consistent in practising the exercises and sending righteous thoughts. Many practitioners liked to listen to her experience sharing and understanding.

Around the Chinese New Year (Feb. 2008), she was illegally arrested and sent to a forced labour camp for the second time. Before long she allowed herself to be "transformed" again and even tried to persuade her family members to "transform." She went so far as to claim that she had been "transformed on the Fa." I was shocked when I heard about this. At first I couldn't believe it, but after pondering for a while, I realized there were other reasons in addition to her not having a thorough understanding of the Fa.

When she was in the forced labor camp the first time, she was "transformed." Although she had published a solemn declaration after she got out, she did not soberly realize the wrongful nature of what "being transformed" meant and she also did not actively search for any loopholes in her cultivation that had allowed this to happen. During group sharing, she would talk about this repeatedly, "It wasn't because of the pressure that I was transformed. At the time I thought it was right to do this, to be transformed, and I thought I was on the Fa." She always seemed to be trying to find excuses for her wrongdoing, but in a disguised form.

But looking inward, weren't we also responsible for what happened? Many practitioners thought she was very good at cultivation practice and that she had strong righteous thoughts, and would go to her to find answers to their questions. They relied on her and looked up to her. Teacher has said before that each and every Dafa practitioner will become a god and be in charge of his or her own paradise. In my understanding, can a practitioner ask others for advice or to run his or her paradise? A practitioner is bound to have shortcomings. Doing well in some aspects does not mean doing well overall. There are no role models in cultivation practice, and we should take the Fa as our Teacher. Although everybody understands this in principle, in real life, many local practitioners had formed an attachment to her. When the old forces saw this, they found a good excuse to remove this attachment. So they arranged her being arrested and "transformed," to see our reactions and to cause confusion. Therefore, aren't our own wrong thoughts a reason for her current state?

Yet, this incident is a good opportunity for us to improve as a whole. We should do the three things more maturely and rationally. When tribulations arise, every one of us should think about it based on the Fa to determine what to do and how to do it. We can take others' opinion as a reference, but we have to measure it with the Fa. We cannot merely echo other people's views without using our own judgement. Moreover, we cannot use others' opinions as the standard to measure anything. When we see others' shortcomings, we should point it out compassionately and not be afraid of being rejected due to his or her attachment to self-esteem. I think this is also being responsible to Dafa and fellow practitioners. In my opinion, there are no small matters in cultivation practice. If we have some attachments that are being irritated, we must truly look inside to find the attachment that is being hit upon and quickly eliminate it before it forms a notion.

I have learned a great deal from these two experiences, and have realized that cultivation practice is the most serious matter in life. To conclude my sharing, I came to truly understand that in the path of cultivation practice, there are no role models. One should take the Fa as Teacher and measure everything with the Fa.