My Thoughts on the Story about a Monk Printing Scriptures

This is a story from Japanese history. A monk wanted to help more common people receive the Buddha Law so hat they could understand the consequences of doing good and evil and avoid the suffering brought about by producing and accumulating karma. So he decided to raise funds to print large quantities of scriptures.

For ten torturous years he accumulated money through begging and finally gathered enough to fulfil his wish. But that year the rivers swelled and burst their banks, engulfing fields and houses and leaving the people mired in famine and poverty. The monk could not bear to see the people's suffering, so piece-by-piece he gave out his hard-earned money to those without food or clothing.

He started again on the path of accumulating money, and after years of hardship he once again had the funds to print scriptures. But then came a pestilence, and once again suffering took hold of the land. Seeing the people in such agony, without money for medicinal herbs, the monk freely gave his money away so the people could pay for medicine.

Again the monk began accumulating money. He went from house to house, giving each person heartfelt words about the Buddha Fa, and telling passers-by the principle that good is rewarded and evil is punished. Years passed and he was able to obtain the necessary funds and finally fulfil his wish to print a large number of Buddhist scriptures. He gave them to all who were willing to listen to the Buddha Fa and all who longed after the Buddha.

From start to finish the monk spent 20 years fulfilling his wish. He travelled far and wide to beg for contributions, suffered and acted with kindness, and finally was able to obtain the Buddhist scriptures, which were able to lead people to goodness and help them obtain salvation. As the scriptures were being printed, the monk saw with his own eyes that they emitted dazzling light.

The scriptures helped believers to abandon evil, strive towards goodness, and free themselves from sinful karma. Whether they were cultivators or ordinary people, his gift to them was precious beyond words and should be treasured to the utmost.

Amidst our disciples of the Fa there are also many who give freely the funds and materials needed to print Zhuan Falun or other books to help spread the Fa widely. But sometimes, due to the cultivation states of individuals or groups, mistakes are made when printing these books.

I heard that Russian speaking practitioners printed Russian versions of Falun Dafa and The Great Consummation Way, but the Chinese characters in the verses before each set of exercises were blurred, unclear, and hard to distinguish. Even though it was printed from a photo of the original version, the section with the exercise verses was printed unclearly. There were a lot of arguments among practitioners and a lot of mixed feelings, which drew out the discussions and delayed a resolution. I heard that this was not the first time mistakes had been made printing Russian language books.

Maybe Russian practitioners need to think about how Dafa disciples need to get things done in a way that is respectful to the Fa. In "Inscription for the Russian Version of Falun Dafa," Essentials for Further Advancement II, Teacher three times reminded us to "Cherish it!". He repeatedly urged Dafa practitioners to treasure the Fa.

After going through this tribulation, have we or have we not been able to truly search within ourselves? Have we or have we not been able to protect our one body cultivation environment, not lay blame on the printing factory, and not lay blame on the practitioners who were involved in the printing?

Or have we quietly held onto notions about other practitioners, taken the printing of such-and-such many scriptures as true faith, meanwhile falling short on true cultivation? If we don't cultivate according to the Law, if we don't act according to the Law when carrying out activities to validate the Law, then we are just like ordinary people doing Dafa things.

This is my humble opinion. I hope Russian practitioners can quickly resolve the mistakes made while printing Great Law books, and help our one body cultivation environment become even better. Doing this can enable us to save more of the world's people.