Letting Go of the Attachment to Fame

I read news on the Clearwisdom website that officials from the local 610 Office, along with other officers, recently arrested and detained many practitioners in Zibo City, Shandong Province, then ransacked their homes. This caused a great loss in this area.

Since July 20, 1999, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong, it has adopted the evil policy to "defame reputation, financially crush and physically eliminate." Many practitioners have suffered from unprecedented cruel torture and persecution, such as being wiretapped, monitored, brainwashed, confined, penalized, interrogated, detained, arrested, sent to forced labour, sentenced to prison, discharged from public employment, expelled from school, deprived of rights, and even having organs removed, etc. The CCP continually undermines and interferes with the materials-production sites run by practitioners. Many practitioners in Zibo City have been arrested recently. Informants said that police officials confiscated a list of practitioners who donated money to the materials sites when they ransacked a practitioner's home. I would like to share my personal views here. If you find anything inappropriate, please point it out.

As we all know, due to the persecution during the past ten years, many practitioners have undergone financial difficulties. Even so, they still try their best to clarify the truth about Falun Gong and save sentient beings, utilizing all available means. Many practitioners donate their own income in order to guarantee the normal operation of the materials production sites. The practitioners in the production sites clearly understand that every penny is precious. In order to manage and make the most effective use of the money, some practitioners keep an accounting book, which includes names, dates, amounts, income, expenses, etc. By keeping these records, they don't feel that they have let down fellow practitioners and their great efforts, but because the practitioners' names are kept in the account book, there is a hidden danger to validating the Fa.

Practitioners in our local materials production sites share in discussions about this. Some practitioners thought that proper bookkeeping was necessary for managing the money and products in the materials production sites, as long as we kept the information secure. Meanwhile, they thought it was also necessary not to list the real names of practitioners in the account book. They thought this was a manifestation of being responsible to ourselves, fellow practitioners and the whole body.

Several years ago when the persecution reached its peak, my living conditions were relatively good, so I donated more money so that the materials production site could operate well. In the beginning, I recorded every donation, including the date, amount, expenses, etc. I also recorded the donations of two other practitioners. As time went by, and more donations came in, the account book became full. I later opened the book from time to time, and noticed that sometimes my attachment to fame surfaced. On a certain level, I felt that I had sacrificed more than others. One day, I read an article on the Clearwisdom website about an older practitioner whose living conditions were very bad, yet he donated 100 yuan that he had saved for more than six months to the materials production site, hoping that practitioners would make more materials to save sentient beings. At that moment, I was shocked.

A couple of days later, a relative came to visit me. He opened the account book carelessly and saw the records of donations. He asked me, "What are these donations?" I smiled and said nothing. After he left, I sat there for a while. I reflected on it. I thought that since the money has been donated to the materials production site already, why do I still keep the account book? Isn't this an attachment of showing off and to fame? Isn't it a loophole? The gods attach importance only to our pure hearts for saving sentient beings, compassion and selflessness - not to fame. Thinking about this, I disposed of the book immediately.

Actually, in this unprecedented grand period of Fa-rectification, in this superficial dimension, though we don't write down our names, they still exist in the history of the cosmos. As cultivators, all we have done, our journeys of validating the Fa, and the miraculous manifestations have been written into the annals of history. Teacher encouraged us in the Fa teaching,
"The things that Dafa disciples throughout the world have done are so stirring and inspiring, only they haven't been made into a film in this world. But there are films of you in the cosmos. (Applause) Not a single good thing that you have done has been missed--all of it has been captured on video. There really are video recordings. All those things are being recorded, for they make up the path that you have journeyed, and they are your glory." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2008 New York Conference")

Let's follow Teacher's Fa and encourage each other,
"Walk the last steps of your path well and with determination, study the Fa well, and, with a foundation laid by your having cultivated well, your righteous thoughts will naturally grow stronger and you will surely do well with what Dafa disciples are supposed to do." ("Greetings," May 17, 2009)