(Clearwisdom.net) Many articles on Clearwisdom have addressed the topic of “safety”; the safety involved with using cell phones, the safety of the materials production site, and the safety of individuals while telling people the facts about Falun Gong. Here I would like to express my thoughts about safety.
Everyone has their own standard in determining whether something is safe or not. Teacher said in Zhuan Falun:
“Different levels have different Laws, and different dimensions have different Laws, and all of this is the Buddha Law’s manifestation in different dimensions and at different levels.”
For example, what is involved with distributing truth-clarification flyers? From an ordinary person’s point of view, this would be considered a dangerous thing to do. If a person is concerned about staying safe, one might as well not do it. But a practitioner looks at this differently: First of all, a practitioner is doing what a practitioner needs to do. Teacher and righteous divine beings will protect us. Secondly, a practitioner is saving sentient beings, which is the greatest act that can be done in the world. The evil is not qualified to interfere. And lastly, when we are truly righteous, the evil beings that try to interfere with us as we save sentient beings won't be able to find us or touch us.
How should we treat safety? Let me explain giving another example. If one practitioner in China were to call another and ask him to do something or tell him something, how should the call be handled? First, the following questions need to be answered: Can the person take the cell phone call? Is the person's xinxing at the right level? Are they able to treat the objects they use as Fa-implements? Will it impact them in any way if someone just calls them? If all of these concerns are addressed and no harm can be done, then the call can made to the person on a cell phone. If these criteria cannot be met, a pay phone should be used, or the caller should go to the person's home to meet with them. Handling calls in this way is to “think of others at all times”.
A person must also look inward every day. If looking within is not a daily practice, it will cause one to have another attachment, the attachment of zealotry. A person who is zealous can overlook safety. For a practitioner, any attachment can cause safety to be compromised. The act of doing something does not determine whether one is safe or not, but an attachment can cause something to become unsafe. In other words, “safety” only concerns ordinary people. All safety problems come from one’s attachments. Dafa practitioners need to cultivate their hearts and look inward, again and again. Then a person can keep himself or herself safe.
Does this mean that practitioners, particularly those who do technical jobs, don’t have to pay attention to safety? No. They must also pay attention to safety. One should not violate the rules of human society. If practitioners disregard safety rules in society, it gives a loophole that the evil can take advantage of.
The following two examples offer different results. My father was caught distributing truth-clarification DVDs. He lacked sufficient righteous thoughts, which led to the seizure of a dozen Dafa books and a hundred or so DVDs by the police from his home. In the other example, another practitioner somehow leaked information that led the police to suddenly ransack his home. Because he always held the righteous thought that the police would not confiscate anything printed by the printer, when the police were searching the home, the computer became stuck at the DOS interface and did not load Windows. The police searched all over his house but did not see the printer and the other materials stored in the closet.
To summarize: One should pay attention to safety, but the attachment to safety should not keep a person from doing what a practitioner should do. Sufficient righteous thoughts are what is most important. If one is too attached to safety, one drops to the level of an ordinary person. Yet, totally ignoring safety will leave a gap at the ordinary person’s level. If one has sufficient righteous thoughts in dealing with safety, the evil can do nothing to persecute a Dafa disciple.
The above is my own understanding. Please point out any shortcomings.