The Danger of Relying on Other Practitioners Instead of the Teachings

(Minghui.org) We were all saddened when Song Zhumei passed away. She was diligent and the other practitioners looked up to her. We knew that she cultivated diligently, so why did she leave so early?

She did the three things well. In terms of personal cultivation, she could endure hardship. She always communicated with the other practitioners from the standpoint of the Fa, and she helped and reminded others to improve their cultivation and comprehend the Fa principles—thus we improved together. Over the years, practitioners discussed things with her.

On the morning of her death, she and three others watched the NTDTV video “Whispers of Life,” read the latest edition of Minghui Weekly, and studied a lecture in Zhuan Falun. She was known to read a lot and was very fluent. However, she unexpectedly passed away that evening.

The tragic news was hard to believe, and we thought we must have misheard.

Song began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998 and cultivated for 26 years. She abided by the principles of Dafa and was a wonderful wife.

After the persecution began in China, she validated Dafa with the other practitioners and clarified the truth to people in various ways, including going to surrounding villages. Because she was diligent, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecuted her. She became homeless and fled to our area. She quickly integrated into the local community, helped the overall improvement of practitioners here, kept up with the progress of the Fa-rectification, and endured hardships.

In 2003, the persecution escalated; the local material production center (where flyers containing information about Falun Dafa and the persecution were produced) was destroyed, and she was arrested. The police attempted to arrest all the local Falun Dafa practitioners and tortured her savagely to get their names, but she refused to tell them anything. One officer said Song Zhumei was “really tough.”

When she was sent to a labor camp, she endured the most inhuman abuse. She was deprived of sleep for over 20 days, her legs were crossed and tied tightly for over 6 hours, and the guards stood on her legs to intensify the pain. She refused to give up Falun Dafa no matter what they did to her. She endured 40 months of brutal persecution and walked out of the labor camp with her head held high.

Diligent Despite the Persecution

When she returned home, her house was in shambles. She remained diligent despite the difficulties. She encouraged her husband who was devastated by what she endured. With the help of local practitioners, she and her husband rebuilt their home, and their situation improved every year.

She practiced diligently on her own while closely cooperating with local practitioners. Song was a coordinator for my area, and led fellow practitioners to assist Master in Fa-rectification.

She unconditionally cooperated with fellow practitioners to hang thousands of banners with information about Falun Dafa displayed on them, and distribute Falun Dafa materials.

Whenever a practitioner had a tribulation they were unable to overcome, they discussed and shared with her; she always treated them with sincerity and helped them elevate in accordance with the Fa. Since my enlightenment quality was relatively poor, for more than 20 years, whenever I encountered a problem, I went to her first, taking her as my role model. Other practitioners did the same—we all relied on her.

I helped her write and organize her cultivation experiences. They were published on the Minghui website, and some of them were published in Minghui’s special issues for years. Therefore, in my eyes she had a certain status, and I viewed her as someone to emulate.

I was extremely saddened by her sudden passing. My heart was empty and restless; it was difficult for me to settle down and study the Fa. Everything felt like a dream; it felt like she was still alive. She should not have left so soon—she was only 59.

I knew that I had a strong attachment to sentimentality, and the only way to eliminate it was to study Master’s lectures. I intensified my Fa study and stayed focused while studying. I knew that only by studying the Fa thoroughly would I set aside my attachment and elevate quickly.

Learn From the Fa, Not Other Practitioners

I found that I made mistakes in my cultivation. The passing of a practitioner was definitely not accidental. The old forces dragged away her physical body under the guise of an acute illness. Why did the old forces dare to harm her? It was because I relied on her in my cultivation. I made the grave mistake of learning from her instead of from the Fa.

Dafa cultivation is serious. My attachment gave the old forces a handle, so they took her away to test my fellow practitioners and me. She was so diligent, but she passed away. Did I still believe in Dafa? Would I still practice Dafa? I realized that Song’s departure was directly related to the fact that I and other practitioners had over-relied on her.

Especially in recent years, it seemed I could not cultivate without her. She was like a tranquilizer that stabilized my mood; whenever there was a problem, I went to her. I relied on her to cultivate, and treated her like a crutch and the most trustworthy and reliable person I knew.

Upon reflection I understood this is precisely how it happened—I learned from her instead of from the Fa. I did not take the Fa as teacher and I unknowingly gave the old forces a green light to persecute her and drag her away.

I realized that I harmed Song. Although she went to a beautiful place, she left too early and was not able to follow Master to the end, which is regrettable.

Especially now, as the Fa-rectification is drawing to a close, time is so precious, and sentient beings are eager to be saved. If a practitioner loses their human body and fails to complete their mission of saving people, it is a pity. It is also a huge loss to Dafa.

The old forces exploit every loophole to destroy practitioners and all living beings. We understand that the old forces cause fellow practitioners to pass away before they should.

The old forces will seize upon every loophole we have to destroy us and the sentient beings we are responsible for. We know that the old forces take away practitioners to test us and see if we continue moving forward. Can we forge our own path? In a word, can we take the Fa as our teacher and walk our own path of cultivation?

I bear some responsibility for Song’s early demise. I did not cultivate well. From the bottom of my heart, I apologized to her: “I’m so sorry; please forgive me.”

I want to remind practitioners to take the Fa as your teacher and recognize the danger of relying on another practitioner too much. This was a painful lesson for me.