Shared at the 2004 UK Falun Dafa Conference
(Clearwisdom.net)
Hello, revered Master! Hello, fellow practitioners!
It has been several months since the lawsuit against Chinese official Bo Xilai was filed in the UK, for his role in the persecution of Falun Gong. Since then, through the resulting ups and downs of the case, I have learned a lot. I have also recognized many of my attachments. Today I would like to share some of my understandings and experiences with you.
1. The Power of Righteous Thoughts
The lawsuit is taking place at a time when the entire human society and the human law system are degenerating. No matter the country or breadth of the law, it has developed a fundamental base of corruption and deformation. Therefore, today's human society is unable to play a fundamental role in the Fa-rectification. For that reason, regarding the lawsuit, we must realize that no matter how famous the lawyer, judge or court, the power of validating the Fa comes from Dafa disciples' righteous belief in Dafa, and how well the truth has been clarified to all the related entities. Thus, maintaining strong righteous thoughts is very important during the lawsuit. In the event of problems, using righteous thoughts towards analyzing the problems is of greater importance than understanding the situation from a purely human standpoint. That the lawsuit goes forward is more important than concentrating on how to solve the problems by ordinary human means. Otherwise, one is easily trapped by everyday people's attachments.
At the beginning of May this year, once we knew that Bo Xilai would visit the UK, the European legal team and all UK practitioners hoped to file a lawsuit against him. After the first contact with our attorney, all we heard was, "NO." This answer made me very upset. I had let Master down! I had let the sentient beings in my universe down. At that moment, I believed that if we could not file a lawsuit against Bo, just watching the evil go free and unfettered, I could no longer face Master. I could not face practitioners. I found it difficult to accept such a condition. Consequently, I called the attorney back. The attorney said immediately that local laws prevented him from accepting such a case, and he gave me some other reasons as well. I did not give up! I told him how important it was to file such a lawsuit, the evilness of Bo and about all the Falun Gong practitioners he has persecuted. I challenged him, acknowledging that a civil lawsuit was not possible, but what other venues might be open for us? It really was not important that the court would accept such filing, or whether the Metropolitan Police would arrest him or not. Such would only be the outcome. But we just had to take action first. Without our action, there wouldn't be any result. As I was talking, I could sense a change in the attorney. After I had my say, he agreed with me. He decided to file a complaint, charging Bo Xilai with the crime of torture, and present it to the Scotland Yard Metropolitan Police.
From this I learned that, "However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is." ("Also A Few Words" Essentials for Further Advancement II). Attorneys after all, are everyday people. They do things in everyday people's way. Their thoughts are based on the rules and principles of the old universe. During the years in ordinary society, we have all adopted many ordinary human ways of looking at and doing things. In the opening page of Zhuan Falun, it is clearly pointed out that cultivation of Buddha Law requires that all "have to fundamentally change their way of thinking" ("On Buddha Law" Zhuan Falun). As Dafa disciples, we need to continuously break through the old concept of the old universe. Once we improve our level in understanding the Fa, there will be progress in the lawsuit and we can help the attorney move forward. This clear understanding of the Fa (1) is based on firm belief in Dafa and Master.
2. The Importance of Maintaining Righteous Action
You can only act righteously when you have righteous thoughts. But maintaining righteous action is the result of cultivation and a reflection of one's xinxing (2) level. I realized that the process of the lawsuit is also a process of personal cultivation, a process of constantly looking inward and eliminating attachments.
The time from September 2003 to June of this year, was the busiest time since I began to cultivate. I was under much pressure, financially and time-wise. I also had to deal with a lot of family affairs. Especially between January and June, I taught 7 days a week without a day off. I was very often tired. During those days, and for the first time, I could not do the 5 sets of exercise daily. Due to time pressures, I did not keep up with the truth clarification to the attorney. This led us into a passive situation. The attorney cancelled our appointments again and again. I only felt anxious, but could not break through it, forgetting that clarifying the truth was more important than the process itself. I knew I should look inward and improve, but there was no fundamental change in me.
In June when there was some progress, I became complacent, thinking that now we would see some results. This incorrect thought resulted in the cancellation of the appointment with the attorney. When the appointment was cancelled the first time, I was calm and agreed on another date. I sent righteous thoughts every day, worrying that the appointment would be cancelled again. Then this appointment was cancelled again. I started to feel uneasy, but still remained calm and accepted another appointment. I kept sending righteous thoughts. I asked Master to please assure that the attorney would not cancel the appointment for the third time. The day before the appointment, the attorney's secretary called and cancelled the appointment. This time, I was anxious and upset. I started to tell the secretary how important the lawsuit was and how important the appointment was to us. Even though I was clarifying the truth, I did not do it with a peaceful and calm mind, instead I did it with a mentality of complaining. This type of truth clarification would not be effective, instead it had a negative effect. The attorney was upset with me.
Afterwards, I was annoyed with myself, wondering when could this piece of rock in me be cultivated into gold? When could I attain the stage that my heart would always remain calm no matter what pressure I was under? I deeply felt how angry the evil forces were about us filing the lawsuit. Our every single thought and every single action has been watched by them. If we have only the tiniest loophole, they will use it. I also learned how important it is to maintain righteous actions with righteous thoughts. It is an indication of what level one has reached and the depth of one's xinxing. It is not enough just to understand the Fa, it is more important to put into practice what one understands.
"Comparing everything, it is true cultivation when it comes to action" ("Solid Cultivation" Hong Yin). I also realized that all xinxing manifestations that do not meet the requirements of Dafa in this Fa-rectification period, are elements of the old forces. All attachments derive from selfishness, and selfishness is a big stumbling block during the Fa-rectification.
3. The Realm of Tolerance
The realm of tolerance derives from cultivation. It is the reflection of one's xinxing level. When there are different understandings among fellow practitioners, being able to be tolerant and able to trust fellow practitioners is the realm of righteous Fa and righteous enlightenment. Feeling anxious and worrying about not being understood is not a realm of selflessness. This is an attachment I needed to work on. Whether I myself could be understood by others is not important. It is more important to be tolerant, understand and trust others, cooperate silently and close the loophole when there is one. This is the realm I am trying to attain. In my understanding, cultivation will lead to the achievement of this realm.
Recently, when I was sharing with practitioners, we talked about one of my attachments. I have been struggling for a long time with this attachment and I have not managed to break through it: I select the practitioners whom I wish to communicate with. If I feel discordance with a certain practitioners, I will choose not to communicate with them. I wish to avoid conflicts under all circumstances. This notion itself has created a blockage. I use my own notions about others first, and then decide if it is worth it to communicate with them or not. When problems occur, I talk with a mentality of blame. This can only have a negative effect, because my purpose for the conversation is wrong. I want to change other people's opinion instead of discussing where the loophole is, what loophole it is and how we can close the loophole and gaps. When I finally could make the distinction and realized my own loophole, the feeling I experienced was almost like the time when I understood the profound meaning of "Compassion."
I am very grateful to Master for giving me opportunities again and again so that I can gain awareness of what I have not let go. I am very grateful for Master's hints. At this last stage of Fa- rectification, let us truly help each other and improve together as a whole body, and do the three things well (3).
I wanted to share with you what has taken me so long to face up to. Please share with me if you find anything inappropriate.
Thank you Master for your patience and compassion! Thank you fellow practitioners!
Notes
- Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa.
- Xinxing: mind-heart nature; moral character.
- The three things Master Li has asked practitioner to do are to study the Fa, send forth righteous thoughts and clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China.
