(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa practitioners have established a number of projects since the beginning of the persecution, including various media, all of which aim to oppose the persecution, spread Falun Dafa, and clarify the truth. These projects have played an important role in the past ten-plus years, won international acclaim, and shocked the evil. They are part of Dafa disciples fulfilling their missions.
Disciples can sometimes misunderstand the relationship between Dafa projects and Dafa itself. The reason the projects are capable of shocking the evil is not because the work itself is remarkable, but rather because disciples cultivate themselves in the process of working on these projects, that Dafa has been validated, and that practitioners have manifested the mighty power of the universal Law through these projects.
Master taught us in “Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting,”
“Of course, work at the TV station is not itself Dafa cultivation, and it has no direct connection to Dafa. The station is run by Dafa disciples, and it is for the purpose of validating the Fa and saving sentient beings. That’s the connection. The station is not part of Dafa itself, but rather, it is a tool that is used by Dafa disciples to save sentient beings.”
Master taught us that Dafa is a great way without form. Whether working in projects or not, cultivating our xinxing is aways of utmost important. Disciples in China have many methods to clarify the truth, and have established materials centers all over the country to validate the Fa without joining projects.
After Master published the article “Be More Diligent,” some overseas disciples came to believe that only by joining projects can they be counted as being diligent and able to reach consummation. They therefore compete to join any project and don't consider whether they are suitable or not. This is a misunderstanding of Master's teaching.
Master taught us in the first lecture of Zhuan Falun, “However high your character is, that’s how high your gong is. That’s a Truth, and it’s absolute.” Universal law will forever be measured by xinxing, and not by whether one is involved in a project or not. Involvement in projects cannot be treated as a guarantee of reaching consummation. These incorrect thoughts and actions are caused by selfish attachments that remain hidden.
Projects are a tangible form for us to cultivate. If we are attached to the projects themselves, and work on them as we would ordinary careers, then it is no different from building temples and worshiping. If our xinxing fails to upgrade, but the projects are of world-class calibre, we still won't reach Buddha-hood. Naturally, if xinxing isn't upgraded, then the projects won't be of world class calibre anyway.
Dafa projects should benefit everyone, and all practitioners should cooperate with one another. But due to human attachments manifesting during the process, conflicts appear within projects, which further amplify the attachments to showing off, zealotry, fame, and profit. This also causes projects to interfere with other projects, cause practitioners to fight for profit, even with severe jealousy sabotaging other projects.
Dafa disciples must righteously understand the relationship of projects and cultivation. There are countless media companies in the world, but we only use a few forms to cultivate. Master taught us in “Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles,”
“What we are doing here is cultivation, and this is a process whereby lives are fundamentally transformed into high-level beings. What I am saying is, those in the audience here are all lives who are on their way to divinity.”
The height a cultivator can validate his fruit status depends on the height of his realm, not on the height of his position in a certain project, or how technically capable famous he is. Upgrading xinxing is the fundamental factor. Projects are not umbrellas protecting cultivation, nor can they serve as a harbor to hide from the storm. They are vehicles to save people if done well, but if we fail to do well, they can have the effect of interfering with cultivators. If we work on projects without the righteous thoughts of cultivators, it amounts to performing everyday people's work, and will not contribute to our mighty virtue.
I would like to share a little enlightenment of mine, which is that Dafa disciples must understand well the relationship of other projects with Shen Yun—which I believe is not a project. Master is doing Shen Yun in person, and Master published Shen Yun lyrics in Hong Yin III, which allows me to understand that Shen Yun is part of the Fa, and it is playing an important role in Fa-rectification. Personally, I think disciples' “projects” will be left for future human beings to run after we reach consummation. But Shen Yun is eternal in the cosmos' history. Therefore, none of the other projects can compare with Shen Yun. Currently, our projects occupy a large amount of human resources and material resources, but each disciple in each project should take promoting Shen Yun as the top priority. This is a must in terms of helping Master in Fa-rectification.
Above is my personal understanding, for fellow disciples' reference.