A Few Thoughts on Tolerance

I am English. I have practiced Falun Gong for nearly five years. I am about as close to the classical stereotypical view of a well brought up middle-class Englishman as you can get. My father studied Law at Cambridge University and went on to become a solicitor and my mother was a language teacher. I went to an all boys grammar school with an outstanding reputation from 11-16, then to another mixed outstanding grammar school. I lived in the same house for 18 years, before I went to university. I was brought up to be polite and well mannered. I had the classic British sense of reservation which is typical of people of my up-bringing, education and background. I am slow to criticise others openly, and in the past have often been afraid to express my own opinion openly. Through practising Falun Gong, and deepening my understanding of it’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, interestingly, the elements of reservation in my outlook and character have been subtly altered, and I now see Tolerance and reservation differently from how I used to.

I used to be afraid of challenging others views (with the exception of my very close friends and family members!) and used to hide my fears with the excuse of patience and Tolerance. I was also afraid to stand up for myself; rather than justify my actions in the face of criticism, I would quietly endure it. Within this were both good and bad aspects. The good aspect was that I genuinely felt that I should try not to be egotistical, and that I should be tolerant and forgiving. One bad aspect was a kind of arrogant mentality that I felt I did not have to justify myself to others. I have heard that other nationalities think British people look down their noses at others. I can see that sometimes reservation can hide a unique sort of arrogant snobbery. Another negative aspect was being afraid of others, being afraid of how they might react if I pointed out their mistakes, and also a lack of confidence in standing up for myself and what I believed in. To put it more it more simply – I was not righteous. Because the good and bad elements were inter-fused in the characteristic of reservation, it was actually hard to tell whether my reservation was a good thing or a bad thing. Although sometimes I may have appeared modest and tolerant, sometimes my real motive and reasons behind were my fears, lack of integrity and my subtly hidden arrogance. On the other hand, at times, when others thought I was lacking in confidence and afraid to stand up for myself, I may have also genuinely been considerate and tolerant. Most of the time, they were all mixed in together.

Through practising Falun Gong, and studying the books of Falun Gong, the good aspects within myself have been strengthened, and the bad aspects have become weaker and largely disappeared. My characteristic reservation has not altered much on the surface, but it is now a purer, more genuine manifestation of Tolerance, patience and being able to put others before myself. The fears, arrogance and lack of self-believe that were hidden behind it have largely disappeared.

I have found that a passive and reserved attitude in some situations really is not at all right, and is not at all kind to others. On the other hand, criticising others out of selfish motives in the name of righteousness is really not at all correct either.

Before I practiced Falun Gong, I used to fear that if I clearly pointed out what was right and wrong to others, they would criticise me for judging them, or accuse me of preaching. When people unfairly were critical of me, I worried that it would appear arrogant if I defended myself or my opinion. I came to realise this really wasn’t righteous, and showed that I didn’t truly have faith either in my own judgement between right and wrong, nor did I have enough faith in truthfulness and compassion. As I learned to let go of my fears, arrogance and to have the courage of my own convictions, I have learned to speak my mind on occasions where previously I was not able to. I was surprised to find that the results of doing so have always been positive, often very touching, and it has always deepened my faith in the power of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance.

After studying the principles of Dafa more deeply, I found that I became naturally able to judge when it was right or wrong to be reserved in each situation, and when it was right or wrong to kindly point out others mistakes, or to defend my own actions and opinions. I found that this did not at all contradict the principle of Tolerance.

About two years ago, I worked for a year in a home for children with learning difficulties, taking care of the children, playing with them, and handling any behavioural problems which they often had, including various other tasks and responsibilities. The day I left, I had the opportunity to talk to my manager. He said that they were very sorry to see such a good worker leave. He said that I really worked with a whole-hearted commitment to the children in my care, and always put them first, and that my standard of practice was very high. He also said that I raised the standard of practice of the other staff around me. He said he had noticed that if I walked into a room, the standard of care and work of the other staff in that room would improve. He also mentioned that if someone was doing something wrong, acting unprofessionally, or not treating a child well, sometimes it would only take a look from me, or a raised eyebrow, and they would stop, and do things or consider things properly and correct themselves. I was a little surprised to hear this, as I had never consciously thought that I was that kind of person. Then I realised that a few years ago, I wasn’t that kind of person. Falun Gong had really changed me. To put it plainly, I had become more righteous. People at work would often try to wind me up, and to tease me, for fun, and were always disappointed to find that I never seemed to mind, or never thought anything bad of them, no matter how hard they tried. It was very clear to them that I was a person of great Tolerance, of little ego, who never had an angry word for others. Yet they did not take advantage of my tolerant nature to attempt to get away with being lazy, or with lowering their own standard of work. On the contrary, they were very aware that I had a very high standard of conduct, and was very clear about right and wrong, and they respected that and responded to it. I think that people often do what is wrong because they think they can get away with it because they know others are too afraid to point it out, or that others do not care enough to bother. People sensed that I was not afraid of pointing out when they did something wrong, and saw that I held right and wrong as very important, so they seldom did wrong things when I was around. A few years previously, before practised Falun Gong I know that after a while people would have sensed my own reservations and fears about pointing out others wrong doings and noticed that right and wrong were not so important to me, and would have taken advantage of it.

I really think that Tolerance does not mean that one should be overly reserved and afraid of defending one’s actions or pointing out others mistakes, nor does it mean that one should passively endure unfair criticism. I think that Tolerance means when unfairly criticised, or when seeing others do something wrong, we should be able to think of the bigger picture, and consider others and the rights and wrongs of the whole situation. If we find it is right to explain the truth and point out others mistakes, Tolerance will enable us to be patient and kind when explaining the truth, to be always considerate of others ability to understand, and only to focus on helping others to understand instead of wanting to show others that we are right for our the sake of our own reputation and our own ego.

I know that some people, in particular some Chinese, say, “You practice Tolerance. Doesn’t it contradict the principle of Tolerance to go to Tiananmen to appeal? Doesn’t it contradict the principle of Tolerance to expose the wrongdoings of the government? Why don’t you just stay at home and practice?” Practitioners definitely do not understand Tolerance in this way – to a practitioner Tolerance is a noble, dignified, and righteous state of mind, not some passive acceptance of unjustified persecution. To appeal for Falun Gong and to point out the injustices and wicked deeds does not contradict the principle of Tolerance. It is upholding the principle of right and wrong for the sake of others.