(Clearwisdom.net) Our practice site assistant, whom I will call "Elder Sister," has always maintained an open mind when she assists practitioners with their cultivation. However, this has caused many practitioners to idolize and worship her, and they always insist on seeking her advice when tribulations arise. But I think her behavior doesn't comply with the Fa's requirements and could easily lead practitioners to go astray. When we held group Fa study, I wanted to direct some questions to her to get her to change her way of thinking, but it never seemed to work.
During group discussion, if I said anything, other practitioners were quick to point out my shortcoming, even before the Elder Sister had time to respond. Each time Elder Sister would just smile and say, "It is OK because the Fa is so profound and everything is covered by the Fa." Not only did I not have the opportunity to correct her, but it made me felt even worse inside. After such discussions, I frequently heard other practitioners talk about her behind her back, and they too spoke about how she was misleading practitioners and ruining their cultivation. I felt relieved and pleased that I had found practitioners who thought as I did. Later, these practitioners and I often got together to talk about what Elder Sister had been saying, and about what new phenomena she had seen and was telling fellow practitioners about. We would also talk about the projects that Elder Sister and other practitioners were doing that we felt did not comply with the Fa. This "backstabbing" form of human behavior created big gaps among practitioners.
One day, I suddenly enlightened to something. Wasn't this an old forces arrangement? We were playing "Whisper-Down-the-Lane." One practitioner heard something about an Assistant's behavior that was not according to the Fa's perspective and told it to another practitioner, and that practitioner passed it on to another practitioner, and so on... In the end, this gossip materialized into something considered factual and set in stone in practitioners' minds. We hadn't realized that we had fallen into the old force's arrangement. Some practitioners even went so far as to put these incidents on a website, with the intent of helping to correct Elder Sister and fellow practitioners' mistakes, so they could find their correct path and advance with the progress of Fa-rectification. But this did not help matters. Instead, it created even larger gaps between us. For a while, I felt very bad. Since I couldn't do anything to repair the damage, I just looked inward and kept myself and other practitioners from doing any further damage.
My heart always lights up from diligently studying the Fa, especially after watching Teacher's DVD "Fa-TeachingGiven to the Australian Practitioners." I have now been able to see clearly the whole incident, and how I accepted and walked the path from my past. After all these years, why am I not able to escape my attachment of "validating myself" with practitioners in the Fa study group? Do I really have to to do this? Teacher's words shook me, and I immediately sent out righteous thoughts to eliminate my attachments towards Elder Sister's conduct. When I realized that it really didn't matter if Elder Sister was right or wrong, I was able to use my peaceful and benevolent heart to point out her shortcomings.
Using my benevolent heart, I said to her, "Elder sister, you said one of Teacher's closest disciples had told you to do this and that. This has proven to be very dangerous. A true practitioner would not do that. That is to say, you are validating yourself and not the Fa." I made reference to some of Teacher's Fa lectures to help explain further, and said, "Teacher lets us take responsibility for the Fa and responsibility for fellow practitioners. I say this to you for your own benefit. If I didn't tell you this, when we reach consummation, I couldn't face you, nor could I face the sentient beings that are expecting you to save them." Then I wholeheartedly pointed out to her much of what she did that did not comply with the Fa's requirements. Excitedly, she held my hand and said, "Yes, Yes, what you said is all true. I am also a practitioner and I have made mistakes. I have to face my own retribution and break through each of my own barriers, too." That said, we held hands tightly and, with tears in our eyes, we felt a warm current run though our hearts. For the very first time, I sensed our closeness, and I recalled all the good things she had done for Dafa.
Only with our benevolent hearts can we break through the barriers and be able to help other practitioners by pointing out their shortcomings so that we can advance together in the Fa. If we can all take a step forward in our cultivation, then the old forces will not be able to use our gaps to separate us. Then we won't be afraid and can become a stronger entity. Throughout my entire dealings with Elder Sister, I maintained my purest heart, with no criticism. I only tried to be responsible to the Fa and to practitioners. After this incident, I had a dream. I dreamed that I was climbing a high mountain and quickly reached its peak. I stood on the top and the crowds below cheered for me! Then I knew it was Teacher encouraging me.
