Don’t Blindly Follow Prophecies

(Minghui.org) There have been various predictions regarding current affairs in recent years. Some practitioners also speculated when the Fa-rectification would end based on these predictions. I had not thought much about these things in the past because I knew that we just needed to do the three things well regardless of the end time for Fa-rectification. It's not like we could be complacent just because the Fa-rectification is closer to the end.

However, I have been paying close attention to articles on Minghui.org regarding the 2020 US election and CCP virus (named after the Chinese Communist Party) this past year. There were all sorts of predictions and opinions.

The outbreak of COVID-19 led many practitioners to believe that the final elimination was here and that the perpetrators of the persecution were about to meet their fate. Predictions of the second wave of the outbreak and that prophecy of the CCP not being able to last more than a hundred years all led many practitioners to believe that the Fa-rectification was about to end.

During the U.S. election last year, many practitioners thought if Trump was re-elected, the CCP would disintegrate quickly. When Trump did not get re-elected, some practitioners felt desolated even though we all knew that that was just the arrangement of the Fa-rectification. Some practitioners thought it was too long to wait even if Trump became the president again in four years.

Minghui published an article titled, “Thoughts on the End Time for Fa Rectification and Prophecies” on February 25, 2021. The article foretells some future events based on what a young practitioner saw with his celestial eye at his cultivation level. The author speculated that the CCP would dissolve in 2028, before which time the persecution of Falun Gong in China would continue.

A fellow practitioner sighed after reading the article, “Why is it taking so long? That's seven years away!” I could see that he felt helpless about waiting for a long time to see the end of the persecution. I'd like share my understanding of prophecies and time.

To everyday people living in the illusions of human society, perhaps prophecies can serve as warnings. For practitioners, however, prophecies can also be tests. Master said,

“Dafa disciples can't do things according to some prophecy, though. You should do things according to the Great Law! You should do things according to what Dafa disciples should do! And you shouldn't do things by following something else.” (“Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol.III)

Is it possible that these prophecies are to test whether we would change our cultivation mindset and make decisions based on the prophecies instead of the Fa?

For those practitioners who are not diligent, who do not have the urgency of doing the three things, when they hear a prophecy that says the persecution is ending soon, they appear to be energized and begin to save people seriously. Their human attachments seem subdued also because they feel that everything is coming to an end. Perhaps many practitioners have had similar experiences over the years.

The persecution has lasted 22 years. You can say it is long, or you can say it is not. While there were times when we felt a day was like a year, it now seems that 22 years were only a fleeting moment. If there are another 22 years, can we endure it?

When we hear a prophecy predicting the end is near, we think the pain will finally pass and a good life is just around the corner. Then when another prophecy predicts the situation will last a few more years, we feel it’s a splash of cold water. Why do we care so much about prophecies? Behind our hope of disintegrating the CCP, is there an attachment of not wanting to endure hardship? How can Dafa disciples become enlightened beings in the new cosmos without enduring hardships? How can sentient beings be saved without our enduring hardships?

We all know that prophecies are no longer accurate at key points of time in Fa-rectification. Everything changes according to Master's needs. Master is overseeing everything. Other than Master, no one, including practitioners, can see the changes to come, expect or understand what is coming. Thus, why don't we turn our energy from prophecies to cultivation and saving people?

Think about it from another perspective: if the CCP is eliminated today, would we achieve consummation? Have we assimilated to the Fa? How many sentient beings have we saved? How much of our own body has been transformed into high-energy matter? How much Fa have we internalized? And have we let go of the attachments to fame, gain, and sentimentality?

Diligent practitioners who are busy with the three things every day do not have time or energy to pay attention to prophecies. They absolutely do not feel it is a long wait.

I have not been diligent in my cultivation over the past 20 years. Every time Master gave a warning, I would become diligent for a period of time, only to slowly slack off again. When COVID-19 broke out, I was at a loss. I felt everything was happening too quickly and the big elimination had begun. I felt that I had lost opportunities to become diligent again.

I wished I could turn back the time and restart my cultivation 20 years back, even ten years back. I would be diligent about studying the Fa, doing the exercises, sending righteous thoughts, and putting my heart into saving sentient beings. But time waits for no one. Only Master is merciful and waiting for disciples to catch up so that we do not miss the moment that we had been awaiting for billions of years.

Fellow practitioners, let us get rid of the attachment to time and stop following prophecies. While we wait for the Fa-rectification to end, Master is waiting for us to wake up and waiting for those disciples who have fallen behind to catch up. The pain of missing this eternal chance will be billions of times worse than the pain we endure during cultivation.

Let us cherish the time Master has extended for us and do our best to make up for our past mistakes. Let us be diligent, do the three things well, and do the best we can to assist Master in Fa-rectification.

Editor's note: views expressed in this article only represent the author’s own opinion, for which the author is solely responsible. Readers should evaluate the merit of the article on their own.