Frankness Helps Eliminate Barriers Between Practitioners

(Minghui.org) After reading a recent article on Minghui titled, "Eliminating Divisions Among Practitioners" I thought a lot more about how to let go of self amid conflicts. Here I would like to share the following about resolving conflicts and improving together as one body.

Regardless of whether one is leading a project or coordinating practitioners in a local area, the fundamental solution is to study the Fa well and cultivate well according to the Fa-principles.

When we see practitioners' shortcomings, we should bring them up frankly yet compassionately, instead of flippantly commenting or criticizing them behind their backs. This is a critical step in eliminating barriers between practitioners.

Eliminating Barriers

From my experience, when practitioners are able to speak freely from their hearts and point out shortcomings directly (either in private or during a group discussion), there will be fewer problems or barriers between practitioners. This seems true for both personal cultivation and the Fa-rectification period of time.

One time, Practitioner A wanted to do something that was not directly related to truth clarification; there were also issues involved regarding safety. When he discussed it with about a dozen other practitioners and asked for their support, most of them thought the plan was inappropriate, but they did not say anything.

One practitioner, however, pointed out the plan was improper and gave several reasons. Although Practitioner A was not convinced at the time, after some further discussion between the two of them, he came to agree. The two of them also worked well together afterward. This is one example of how when each of us can look within based on the Fa, conflicts will be resolved and not lead to barriers between practitioners.

There was another incident where the result was not so good. Several years ago, a few practitioners established a material production site. It worked well in the beginning and played an important role in the truth-clarification activities in that local area. Later, because some of these practitioners became too attached to accomplishments, as well as to winning admiration from other practitioners, they became self-centered and no longer spoke frankly.

The misunderstandings among them that followed were taken advantage of by the old forces in other dimensions. As a result, they became unable to collaborate with each other anymore. Several of them experienced enormous tribulations, and some even lost their lives. This is a serious lesson and we need to learn from it.

Candidness and Speaking from the Heart

Being candid does not mean saying things at will or speaking irresponsibly. To speak from the heart, we need to study the Fa well and consider things based on the Fa. For things inconsistent with the Fa, we can discuss them peacefully and rationally.

Although sometimes our mind cannot become calm, or another practitioner does not accept our opinion immediately, we can still look within afterward: Why did he treat me like that? Did I really have the problem? When we are all looking inward, there will not be any barriers between practitioners.

If we only choose to wait until our mind calms down, the situation suitable for speaking about the issue may change, or we may just choose not to mention it anymore for this or that reason. As this tendency to harbor grievances continues to accumulate, and especially when we have human notions, it will lead to barriers between practitioners. There are many lessons of this kind.

I once ran into some problems with a practitioner. I was emotional and criticized her. Later, I realized that I had a really bad attitude. As soon as I met her again, I sincerely apologized about my attitude. She accepted my apology and said that, although she could not accept my harsh words at that time, she did appreciate my frankness. Several years have passed and we now work very well together. I am not saying that every practitioner has to do it this way. But being honest and speaking from the heart will help us in the long term.

Tolerance Does Not Mean Blindly Giving in

We practitioners should be tolerant of each other. This is especially the case since each of us have different temperaments and skills. Some practitioners may be good at writing or drawing, but they may have done poorly with face-to-face truth-clarification. Some might be good at truth-clarification, but they cannot handle coordination work. We need to be tolerant of each other and make good use of each person's strengths. When letting go of ourselves, we will work together well and complement the weaknesses of each other. This way, the things we work on will become smoother and miracles will happen.

In ancient China, people emphasized being an upright person with principles. That is, when running into conflicts, we should talk it out instead of blindly giving in to avoid conflicts.

I have seen situations that, when some practitioner has shortcomings, the coordinator does not point it out with the excuse that the practitioner has already sacrificed a lot and done well in other aspects. But as this continues, the practitioner may run into more and more problems, making it harder for him to accept opinions from others. Such a situation can create tremendous tribulations for a practitioner, which can sometimes lead to an arrest or even death.

This is one extreme we should avoid. Although the things encountered on the path of cultivation are directly linked to the practitioner involved, they also create an environment for surrounding practitioners to look within and exchange understandings. When noticing the problems of others, we should use it as an opportunity to improve as one body. This way, we will all benefit from it.

I wish to conclude my sharing with Master’s words from "Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles."

“From the day that a Dafa disciple takes up cultivation his whole life is rearranged. In other words, this life of yours is now the life of a cultivator. Nothing is by chance anymore, and nothing will happen just by chance. Everything on your life's journey is directly related to your improvement and cultivation.”