On the Importance of Diligence in Cultivation

(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!

I had a vivid dream before waking up recently. In the dream I entered a large room where there were many practitioners. On one side were many practitioners sitting on the floor, concentrating as if they had just been sending righteous thoughts. They look very dignified. On the other side were many practitioners sitting on chairs with their backs turned to the other practitioners. They seemed to be busy with ordinary things such as watching television. Their wisdom seemed very limited and their eyes were wide open as if they were enchanted by the human dimension. Suddenly I heard a voice say, "You can see here that we have two groups of practitioners. One group is diligent and the other is not. And in that latter group there are also many coordinators."

The dream ended and I woke up with a clear mind.

I thought initially that the dream might relate to our local situation, but I felt later that it reflected the situation worldwide. I understand that practitioners who are not diligent are in a very dangerous situation, as are the sentient beings they are supposed to save. We cannot use Dafa as insurance for our own lives; instead we must really cultivate and do the three things well. Our own destiny is tied to the destiny of our sentient beings.

Regarding xinxing cultivation, if your gong column is very short, how can you save many sentient beings? It will not work, since you don't have the power to save many people.

Master says in “Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference:”

"For a Dafa disciple, cultivation is first priority. That’s because if you fail to cultivate well, you will not be able to accomplish what you are to do; and if you fail to cultivate well, your power to save sentient beings will not be that great."

In Zhuan Falun Master says:

"I think that for a well-known qigong master, his gong has decreased quite pitifully. Hundreds of people are lining up for him to do guanding. His gong is limited to that height and will soon fall to nothing. What can he use to do guanding then? Isn’t he deceiving people?"

My understanding is that the hundreds of people lining up are the sentient beings each Dafa disciple is supposed to save. If our xinxing levels are low, we will deceive the sentient beings who put all their hope in us. I understand from Master's teachings that the world's people have been arranged and divided into two equally large groups, one to be saved and one to be weeded out.

Master said in "Teaching the Fa at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America," from Guiding the Voyage:

"Yet this matter has also been arranged by those old beings. They divided these beings who’ve come to this world into those who would obtain the Fa and those who would cause tribulations for Dafa."

"Fifty percent of humankind is supposed to obtain the Fa—that’s a few billion people."

It is my current understanding at my limited level that the old forces since ancient times have also arranged for 50% of all Dafa disciples to be weeded out along with all their sentient beings. We must absolutely deny all their arrangements and cooperate better. The reflection of a not-so-diligent practitioner can be spotted in the worse behavior among the sentient beings in his area and they are all in danger.

About being responsible to ourselves, Master said in “Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference” in 2003:

"Every person's spirit is being hit upon, every person is genuinely cultivating himself, and every person is thinking about how to be responsible to his own existence! Why are some of you not able to do this?! Looking at you, Master is so worried! Looking at you, Master is so worried! Master's words today might have been harsh, but maybe it wouldn't work if I didn't use a heavy hammer. If I'm not able to save you it will be my greatest regret. It would be great if you could be as worried as I am."

Master also said in "Be More Diligent:"

"I hope that now, at the end of this process, Dafa disciples will do their utmost to save more people and do even better, such that their mighty virtue becomes even greater. You mustn’t let up, and you must do even better at this."

Cultivation is serious, and Dafa cultivation is the most serious of all. If a practitioner is lazy, his millions of years of preparation can be squandered in a few years! We cannot expect Master to save us if we still behave like ordinary people. Master has explained this over and over.

As practitioners we must work hard and help ourselves. Master cannot help those practitioners who refuse to follow his instructions about doing the three things well.

My understanding is that a great catastrophe at the end of Fa Rectification will test every practitioner's courage to stand up for him or herself and his or her sentient beings without any attachment to life or death. At the same time there is a question of whether we can face Master with dignity and say that we tried our very best to assist him in saving our sentient beings. If we feel in our hearts that we have tried our best, then I believe that will be sufficient.

Recently I have sometimes had the feeling of truly longing to go back home to Master and my own paradise. At the same time there is a question of not being attached to a quick ending of the Fa rectification. I believe there is still time left before the very end, and we still have so many people left to save, so we can absolutely not relax now.

Dear fellow practitioners, let's become more diligent and compassionate and remember that all of our sentient beings are waiting for us to save them and give them a glorious future. Let's calm down and listen carefully to Master's words about diligence and being responsible to ourselves. If we think it over carefully, I am sure we will find new motivation to do the three things well and cooperate better.

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