A while ago I held the following attitude. As long as I did not follow evil and was able to tolerate it and it's bad effects that was OK. As long as I stuck to the righteous, I did not need to be concerned with the evil. This limited understanding was reflected into both my own cultivation and my understanding of the process of Fa rectification and the situation in China. I thought we just recognize the evil forces in China as evil, know that we are righteous, tell the truth, expose the evil deeds and that was enough. I accepted the existence of evil with a calm heart, thinking this was a manifestation of Ren, but could not see that behind this lay my own passive and inappropriate attitude. In my heart, I could not take quite that step forward to say and believe that the evil should be destroyed, and that it should not exist. I also met with a lot of thought karma - I thought that this was to test my determination and to give me a chance to strengthen my main consciousness. I accepted the thought karma attacks as they happened, trying to keep a calm heart and to separate myself from these evil thoughts, knowing that they were not me, thinking that if I separated myself from it, that would be it and Master would eliminate it. But it kept returning. In fact I had the same passive attitude towards the evil thought karma as I did in my understanding of Fa rectification. I was somehow afraid that to actively eradicate the evil was an act of "aggressiveness" and was somehow not compassionate. From the idea of not wishing to harm any living being, there remained the trace of a false notion that actively wishing to destroy karma and evil itself was not compassionate or tolerant, as they were included as life-forms. Master Li says in Expounding on the Fa (Essentials for Further Advancement) "You should also be clear that "natural" does not exist and there is a reason for inevitability In fact natural is a word used by everyday people for self-justification when they are unable to explain the phenomena of the universe, life and matter. They cannot imagine what nature itself is. Under the influence of such a notion, you think that all these tribulations are inevitable and this is just the way it is, thereby developing a passive and pessimistic attitude." Through talking to other's, reading articles on Minghui, and Master Li's latest articles, my understanding has changed. My mind is now clear. It is not enough to recognize evil as evil and righteous as righteous. It is not enough to recognize that we are righteous and to separate ourselves from the evil. We must realize that evil should not exist, and we must do everything in our power to destroy the evil. When the thought karma comes, instead of simply tolerating it, knowing it not to be myself, waiting for Master to remove it as I did before, I now summon up every ounce of determination to destroy it with all of my heart, knowing it should no longer exist, and that it is a manifestation of my own demon nature to passively allow it to exist. Before, my determination to eliminate evil was held back by various passive and incorrect notions. Now it is not held back, I am surprised at the utter determination and power behind my wish to eradicate the evil. As this determination rises, my mind becomes solid like a diamond, and I feel that a single move of my mind could break mountains in half. I understand now better the phrase "wrath of the gods". This is not human anger, intolerance, revenge, vengeance, etc. it is the righteous and noble elimination of all that goes against the characteristic of the universe, Zhen-Shan-Ren and no longer deserves to remain in it.
This same change in understanding is reflected into my understanding of the current process of Fa rectification and our role within it. We must not allow old passive notions to leave gaps in our minds and out of our passive attitude allows the evil to continue to exist. To passively watch evil is to approve of it and to encourage it. If we expect that evil is necessary and should exist, under whatever excuse, then it will exist, both in our minds and in the universe. We are not only responsible to our own process of cultivation, of fulfilling the Buddha nature and eliminating our own demon nature, we are also responsible to our part in eliminating demonic nature from the universe. Isn't this just the process of the rectification of Fa?
We should actively eliminate all demonic forces which oppose Dafa, whether inside or outside ourselves - not for the sake of our own progress in cultivation, but out of compassion for all beings.
September 27, 2000
"The understanding is very good. In regards to the effects of thought karma, the damage that the evil forces have created for us, and explaining the truth to people, we are all actively eliminating the demons instead of condoning or passively enduring; but the thoughts and actions must be benevolent."
Li Hongzhi
October 5, 2000