Responsibilities

Teacher said at the beginning of "Zhuan Falun,"

"For the whole time I've been transmitting our teachings and exercises, I've made a point of being responsible to society and to our students. The results have been good, and the impact on the whole society has been pretty good, too."

The first thing that Teacher talks about in Zhuan Falun is "responsibilities." In my understanding, we should be responsible to sentient beings, fellow practitioners, the cosmos, and the Fa. However, only recently did I truly come to realize the deeper meanings of these "responsibilities."

Before I started to practice Falun Dafa, I didn't have much sense of being responsible for anything. When there were things assigned to me, I'd work on them. Otherwise, I'd do nothing. During my cultivation, Teacher has been pushing me forward. When I wanted to practice, Teacher created opportunities for me to cultivate myself. When I wanted to clarify the truth to save people, Teacher gave me chances to talk to people. Everything had been very natural, including setting up a truth-clarification materials production center, distributing Falun Dafa fliers, clarifying the truth to people face-to-face, and writing truth-clarification phrases on currency bills so people would see the messages when using cash. I felt as if I was pushed forward by some kind of force to follow Teacher's arrangements. However, I have just recently come to more clearly realize the depth of my responsibilities.

Before, when I was carried forward, I eliminated attachments either passively or unintentionally. However, after I recognized my responsibilities, I found I have not been actively removing my attachments. It is my responsibility, therefore, to take the initiative to actively work on these things. Before, I forced myself to clarify the truth, distribute materials, and save people, in order to remove my attachments and pursuits. Now, it's totally different. We are Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples. We have huge responsibilities. We must be responsible to the Fa, the cosmos, sentient beings, and the future. It's not just for us as individuals to reach consummation, it is also our responsibility. Simply because we carry huge responsibilities, we will eventually obtain a higher level of fruit status. In order to be able to take on those important responsibilities, we must be broad-minded, and we must remove our attachments and pursuits, until we reach the Fa's requirements for us. We must monitor our thoughts, our words, and our actions, based on the requirements of the Fa's high-level principles. We need to remember that we are responsible for the future, the cosmos, the Fa, and sentient beings. This corresponds to xinxing (character) level and these are the requirements that we should have and meet, as Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples and practitioners.

If we cultivate ourselves and remove attachments and pursuits in order to reach consummation, it is still selfish. When looking at it from the perspective of taking responsibility, it is individual cultivation and it contains omissions since it wouldn't help us reach the realm of being completely responsible for the Fa, sentient beings, the cosmos, and the future. Teacher said, "... whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism." ("Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature" from Essentials For Further Advancement) We should become true Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples. I now have a better understanding of this because I came to truly realize my responsibilities.

Our responsibilities are related to our cultivation level, xinxing level, and gong level. The more responsibilities there are, the higher the cultivation level is, the higher the xinxing level is, and the higher the gong level is. It is our most important responsibility to safeguard the Fa and validate the Fa as Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples.

After becoming more responsible, it also became easier for me to remove my attachments and I'm able to do so actively. For example, I used to be very lazy. Now, in order to be responsible to sentient beings and save those who are deceived by lies, I'm more than willing to work through hardships to talk to people, distribute Dafa materials, and send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil. When doing this, my laziness disappeared and it's easier for me to get rid of the attachments of fear and lust and the attachments of fame, physical interests, and sentimentality. Before, it was very hard for me to remove attachments and pursuits and they'd come back again and again. Now I realize that it was because I wasn't clear-minded with my responsibilities. We are Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples. Safeguarding the Fa, validating the Fa, and saving sentient beings are the responsibilities that we must take on.

Teacher has empowered us with the abilities needed to fulfill our responsibilities. Teacher pushed us to the highest fruit status that we could attain, and strengthened our supernormal abilities to the strongest level. Even in the most evil environment, the evil wouldn't dare to do anything to us and is actually afraid of us, as long as we keep righteous thoughts and righteous actions, always see ourselves as Dafa disciples, and think about saving sentient beings. We should be able to eliminate the evil, safeguard the Fa, protect the cosmos, and save sentient beings. During our cultivation, if we can constantly maintain these strong righteous thoughts, the evil will be eliminated in a second since we have boundless power from the Fa. Teacher's law bodies and righteous gods are also eliminating the evil. It's really like what Teacher said in his poem, "The Master-Disciple Bond":

"When disciples have ample righteous thoughts

Master has the power to turn back the tide"

My realm and xinxing level improved when I came to recognize my responsibilities. This is also a true manifestation of Teacher's immense compassion and boundless Buddha Fa power.