(Clearwisdom.net) After having practiced cultivation for a period of time, I feel that several widely existing problems among our practitioners are indifference and self-isolation. Perhaps it is because there are tests that a practitioner needs to pass in cultivation, and when conflicts become serious, an instinctive mentality of self-protection arises.
After getting rid of the attachment to sentimentality (qing), a practitioner is filled with compassion, but not indifference. At an experience-sharing meeting, one practitioner mentioned that a woman once came with her husband (a Dafa disciple) to a practice site in southern Taiwan, and practitioners at the site didn't even say hello to her. There was a feeling of indifference and coldness. The compassion a practitioner manifests in any situation should make others feel very harmonious, not unapproachable.
In addition, when clarifying the truth to government departments or other people who treat us unfairly, we should not adopt any extreme behavior or words. Extreme behaviors and words do not satisfy the requirements for practitioners, and they cannot change human hearts either. They are also loopholes which may be utilized by the evil.
I realized from my experience in truth clarification that only by reasoning with people using kindness and patience can we change the minds of people. If the attachment of competitiveness comes out before we state our viewpoints, not only are we unable to save sentient beings, but we can also make things worse. Others might also label us in an unfavorable way, saying, "Are you Falun Gong practitioners all like this?" Master taught us the magnificent Dafa of the universe. If people do not understand Dafa it isn't that Falun Gong is like such and such, but that disciples have not done well in their practice.
When telling people about the real situation of the persecution we are suffering, we should certainly pay attention to courtesy. People are comfortable approaching you after seeing your compassion, while they might want to get away from you after seeing your rude behavior. Compassion should naturally result from one's cultivation, and it is not just for show. If we are genuinely compassionate, we will always consider others around us first in any circumstance. Only then can we genuinely save them.
It's not enough to behave properly just in public. I asked myself if I was really compassionate to all sentient beings even while I was alone. Once I was in a negotiation with a telecommunications company. The customer service person could not give me a satisfactory answer. I complained that the company was unreasonable. Later, my daughter pointed out my mistake, telling me that the customer service lady was just an employee, who had no right to make a decision. Had she been the boss herself, she would have probably considered my request.
The words of this teenage girl deeply touched my heart. Yes, when doing things, we first have to put ourselves in the other party's shoes. Moreover, whether we are in the public or are by ourselves, we should manifest the politeness and courtesy that a practitioner should have. We also need to require ourselves to do minor things well in our daily lives. To others, it demonstrates the steadiness of your cultivation.
April 27, 2006