(Clearwisdom.net)

Some problems in our cultivation as a group were revealed during the Olympic Games. Many practitioners had become attached to time and certain prophecies they'd heard, and were disappointed when the prophecy was not realized.

I've long pondered the fact that some practitioners are very passive in cultivation. Facing tribulations, they do not follow Dafa, but deal with them from the perspective of everyday life. Later, they find it not right, but still linger at a certain level and cannot not upgrade themselves.

Whenever significant events occur, we should think about them as Dafa disciples and from the perspective of Dafa. The practitioners I mentioned above later discovered the loopholes in their cultivation, but still lingered at a certain level. This has happened again and again. The loss in cultivation manifests in many ways.

I would like to say something about our personal cultivation. Some practitioners only think of sending forth righteous thoughts and looking inward when they meet with discomfort or encounter problems. Why do we only look inward when we feel uncomfortable? Some fellow practitioners don't look inward as the key to upgrading themselves in everyday life, but wait until bad things happen and then look inward. Although they upgrade somewhat, losses still result.

The Problem of Self-validation

Many practitioners cannot differentiate between validating oneself and validating Dafa. For example, when talking about clarifying the truth and doing work for Dafa, some practitioners talked about how they went through great tribulations with righteous thoughts, how many sentient beings they saved during truth clarification, and how many materials they distributed. I think when fellow practitioners get together, we should talk about how to do the three things well and how to upgrade in Dafa, but not talk about individual accomplishments. No matter how much you did, Master will know it, and isn't it what you should do? Doesn't it come from Dafa? Fellow practitioners would know it even if you did not bring it up. Additionally, we should pay attention to security concerns, so it is very important to cultivate one's speech.

When practitioners get together, we should share our experiences in truth clarification and validating Dafa. For example, when a practitioner was putting up a poster, an ordinary person saw it and asked what he was posting. He said it was the bad things Jiang did. That person then asked for a copy from him to read. We should share experiences and talk about the progress of upgrading while doing truth clarification, instead of mentioning achievements with the purpose of showing off.

Some practitioners won't talk after being told they were validating themselves. However, validating oneself and validating Dafa are two different things. Only when you truly have broken away from validating yourself, can you learn the state of validating Dafa.

Some validated their own group. Some said their Fa study group is very good in studying Dafa, and drive away practitioners who are not diligent. They make their group stand out. Other practitioners all want to learn from them and share with them. It is key to study Fa well. However, we cannot tell from one's words whether he did well or not.

Another thing, some fellow practitioners stay at other practitioners' homes for a long time, and talk about nonsense, wasting practitioners' precious time. I think when going to another practitioner's home, a practitioner should only say what is necessary then leave. We should be efficient, and spend more time doing the three things well.

The Mentality of Doing Things

Some practitioners have the mentality of doing things, and take the amount of materials they distribute as their primary concern. Some practitioners use the amount of things a practitioner did as the criteria for measuring one's cultivation. Once a practitioner was detained, some other practitioners commented, "Oh, that practitioner cultivated very well, how could he be arrested?"

One practitioner's home was ransacked. Just after he came out of the brainwashing center, he started immediately to buy computers, materials, and prepared to start over again. Some practitioners discussed this with him, and told him to study the Fa more and to look inward, being mindful of security. He said that it didn't matter and the police treated him very well now. Really? If the police are truly good to you, why did they take you to the brainwashing center and confiscate your materials? They persecuted you and cheated you. Please do not be muddle-headed, fellow practitioners!

I seldom hear practitioners sharing experiences in upgrading themselves in the Fa. The focus on the three things seems to have shifted. Clarifying the truth, sending forth righteous thoughts, and studying Fa--these three things supplement each other. Only when we study Fa well, can we clarify the truth well, our righteous thoughts are pure, we eliminate all the evil and save sentient beings. Now it seems that we sometimes emphasize one and ignore another. In addition, we now assign tasks. When giving fellow practitioners some materials, one practitioner asked them to finish the distribution in a certain period of time. It seems like assignments. In cultivation, we cannot to force anyone to do something, and each of us should move forward, step by step. How can we expect others to reach a certain level?

Another issue concerns coordinators being detained. Many practitioners can't understand why a particular coordinator was arrested since it appeared that they cultivated well. After sharing, we found the coordinators were all very busy; not only busy with coordinating, but with buying paper, ink powder, machines, etc. They also deliver materials to fellow practitioners, help to set up materials sites, and provide supplies for long-term use. These activities take away from the coordinator being able to do the three things. As the coordinator was arrested, maybe local practitioners should try to enlighten soberly, and ask themselves if they are responsible for it also. If the coordinator left for a while, will they continue to cultivate and do three things? Why not walk on your own path as a practitioner?

We Must Study the Fa

The difference between Dafa disciples and ordinary people is that Dafa disciples are guided by the Fa. Whenever Dafa disciples are slacking off in studying the Fa, notions of ordinary people will take effect, even taking over one's thoughts. If you do work for Dafa bearing human notions, you are vulnerable to interference and limitations; you must do well in clarifying the truth, not to mention saving sentient beings. Whenever we encounter problems, it is because we did not study the Fa well and were not clear on the Fa. And we often lack another precious key--looking inward.

Dafa disciples are in the mighty current of ordinary society. Some become infatuated with the waves, some lose their way, some smash into rocks everywhere, and some move slowly with all kinds of burdens. In each of His lectures, Master repeatedly mentioned study the Fa more, study Fa more, so why are some veteran practitioners still muddle-headed? Go against the current. Keep forging ahead or fall behind!