From What Happened in Vietnam to Past Lessons

(Minghui.org) According to recent articles on Minghui.org, some practitioners in Vietnam plan to hold large-scale activities. This reminds me of a major arrest case in China which was triggered by a large-scale outdoor group exercise.

Lessons Learned

Shenyang police in Liaoning Province arrested numerous Falun Dafa practitioners in March 2013, claiming that they had participated in or may have participated in outdoor exercises. The police formed a F321 task force and tortured 13 detained practitioners badly, leaving them with serious injuries. Except for one practitioner from Inner Mongolia, the others were from Heilongjiang Province (6 were from Harbin, two were from Daqing) or Liaoning Province (two were from Shenyang and two were from Benxi). A number of them were sentenced to prison. Liu Zhanhai died in prison, Zhao Shuyun developed a mental disorder due to mistreatment, and Li Yuping died.

Some practitioners in Harbin had begun to organize large-scale outdoor exercises in 2012. This was later expanded to other areas and led to the mass arrest in Shenyang. Liu Zhanhai (mentioned above) was a main organizer of these activities in Harbin. Practitioners who knew him said Liu had the issue of following a second cultivation way because he worshiped Buddha statues. When practitioners pointed this out, Liu became emotional and refused to listen.

It was said that many practitioners in Harbin participated in these group exercises. Some of them actively did things related to Falun Dafa, but lacked a clear understanding of the Fa teachings. They seemed to wish to validate themselves, and got involved in anything related to Dafa. Some of them were afraid, and they hoped to eliminate their fear by participating in this public event and felt this was a way to validate Dafa. Others experienced physical tribulations, but instead of looking within and improving their xinxing, they felt this was a shortcut to pass the test.

After the persecution started in 1999, it was especially intense in Harbin and Shenyang. So, it was dangerous to go to extremes and do the exercises in public. These practitioners occasionally did the exercises outdoors, but did them in the early morning when few people were on the street. The effect of validating Dafa and helping save people was limited. Some practitioners like Liu who participated could not calm down and do the three things. This interfered with other practitioners, who had difficulty remaining calm and focusing on helping save people.

After the mass arrest occurred in Shenyang, practitioners in Harbin stopped doing the exercises outdoors. Some practitioners were afraid and some reflected on themselves. They realized what they did was irrational and they may have been motivated by human notions. They also felt that Liu and the others seriously deviated from Dafa’s teachings. These incidents then stopped.

Staying Clear-minded

Liu was considered a Falun Dafa practitioner, and his death was attributed to the persecution. But we may wonder what role he played. For years, there have been practitioners like him in China and overseas. They say they are Falun Dafa practitioners and propose various initiatives in the name of validating Dafa—but the results are the opposite—they violate Dafa’s principles, undermine Dafa, and prevent other practitioners from helping to save people.

For example, they form social media groups or launch websites in the name of promoting Dafa and improving as a group; but they are undermining Dafa and pulling practitioners away from Dafa or Minghui. Some energetically promote unrealistic projects, claiming they are safeguarding or promoting Dafa—but the outcome damages the cultivation environment and stops others from helping to save people.

Some collect money from practitioners in the name of supporting Dafa projects. Others vent their anger at tourist sites, which prevents other practitioners from clarifying the facts. Some publicize information from Shen Yun or spread what Master said to small groups of practitioners. Others propose large-scale group exercises or experience-sharing conferences be held in China. They might collect information from various material production sites. Some undermine Dafa by giving lectures, or they defame Minghui.org and mislead practitioners.

Some of these practitioners may have practiced Dafa for many years, while others are enthusiastic new practitioners. Some participated in various projects or have high social status. Others were active in doing things and some were badly persecuted. Others are exceptionally capable. Some of these practitioners are coordinators, while others are regular practitioners. Instead of being modest, they stir up issues and fulfill “special missions” even at the price of their own lives. By doing so, they cause losses to practitioners and prevent people from being saved.

Although they say they are following the teachings, their actions confuse people. Some practitioners are reluctant to point this out. As a result, such incidents may continue to undermine Dafa and mislead practitioners. By doing so, they are accumulating karma instead of virtue.

Seeing Through the Perplexing Situation

Fraudulence and deceit have become a norm in today’s society. This is especially the case in China where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) openly defames practitioners.

There are also complicated situations among practitioners. Similar to a Buddhist prophecy about “the demon’s sons and grandsons wear a monk’s robe,” some of these people might be CCP agents or are arranged by the old forces to play a negative role. They appear to be practitioners, but they mislead others. Some may change and truly cultivate, while others may not.

Master said, “Dafa is the wisdom of the Creator.” (On Dafa, Zhuan Falun) Practitioners should have wisdom instead of falling into traps. It could be that we easily believe those who appear to be kind; or we only pay attention to the second and last words of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, instead of being truthful. Being truthful includes the ability to see through superficial appearances and understand the essence. We are telling people the facts and, to do that, we also need to understand the facts ourselves.

We don’t need to say much to those who we know aren’t real practitioners. But some genuine practitioners also take things for granted and blindly follow others. Without a strong main consciousness, they simply believe others and assume things will be just fine. They trust “veteran” practitioners and become passionate when they hear about activities related to Dafa. They refuse to listen to other practitioners or act according to Dafa’s teachings. Some practitioners suffered a lot in the past, but they keep doing bad things that hurt others and harm themselves, including losing their own lives.

Being a Falun Dafa practitioner is not lip service—the teachings guide our cultivation. We cannot judge other practitioners, but we should evaluate their actions do based on Dafa’s teachings. Doing so will help us cultivate well and we are upholding the Fa.

My Thoughts on the Situation in Vietnam

The CCP engages in spying and other types of warfare outside China. The CCP agents’ infiltration is deep and long-lasting.

The Vietnamese government is not the CCP and it is not a main perpetrator. But the CCP wants to push it against Dafa. It tries to mobilize the Vietnamese government and attempts to stir up issues among practitioners. These are common strategies of the CCP.

The persecution in China ruined the future of hundreds of millions of people. Practitioners have also suffered tremendously. The attitude of the Vietnamese government toward Falun Dafa and practitioners will affect the country and its people. We practitioners should not allow the CCP to harm more people; nor do we want to create trouble for ourselves. So we cannot fall into the CCP’s trap by doing things that cause problems.

In his article, “To the Practitioners of Vietnam”, Master gave Vietnamese clear guidance. If they ignore this and insist on organizing large-scale activities, it means that someone must be behind the scenes, trying to create issues. We need to be careful—we are either following Master’s arrangement, or if we ignore them we need to look within and identify our loopholes. We need to be clear which path we are taking.

We don’t wish to alienate any practitioners. But we cannot ignore the things which undermine Dafa and let them continue. We need to be careful and minimize losses. Even if they are genuine practitioners, they are not following Dafa's teachings on this specific matter. So we cannot support that. Only if we follow the teachings at all times, can we be called genuine practitioners.

We sometimes need to take a step back and look at the big picture. It allows us to gain a clear understanding. Every situation is different. But we need to be rational instead of emotional. Going to extremes and showing off are all human notions. We should be humble, and believe in Dafa and Master so that we can do better in helping to save people. I hope practitioners in Vietnam will make the right decision.

Practicing Falun Dafa gives us wisdom, so we should not fall into traps. As practitioners, we should be able to see through these issues.

These are my understandings. Please point out anything that is inconsistent with Falun Dafa’s teachings.