(Clearwisdom.net)
I went to a city to set up a place for making truth-clarifying materials. It is a medium-sized city with several surrounding counties. Because of some constraints, practitioners in the area and nearby had tried hard to set up such a place, but failed.
Before I went to this city, I learned that local practitioners had already found a good location and some people willing to work there. They were waiting for me to check out the facilities, the printing materials, and to help with some technical training.
When I arrived, however, the situation was different. The key person planning to work there was not available, leaving only one practitioner who didn't have much experience. It was very hard for him to work alone. Also, although the landlord promised to lease the house to us, in the end he changed his mind and leased it to someone else.
After discussing this situation with practitioners, we felt that we needed to not get anxious through doing this work. Otherwise, things could go wrong. We should take things as they are. We need only to try our best, improve our understanding of the Fa, and look within ourselves. I decided to stay for one more day before going home, and to come back after a new place had been rented.
We all knew that it was our own loopholes that brought the interference. But where exactly were the loopholes? Whenever we sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the barriers on this issue, it always seemed as though we were not firm enough. There were some problems among us. We didn't have strong righteous thoughts.
A practitioner mentioned a dream that he had had before. There was a horrible scene: A flood came with huge waves as high as mountains. Under the waves stood many people. Upon hearing the dream, I realized where our loopholes were. What we want to do is to save people. A flyer or a brochure can save one or several people in the world. How about a place to continuously print truth-clarifying materials? How many sentient beings can be saved then?
What was our standpoint on this issue? When we came across difficulties, all we thought about first was personal cultivation. "What attachments do I have?" "What loopholes do I have that had been taken advantage of?" "How can I find them?" "How can I perfect myself?" "How can I prevent the evil from persecuting me?" It was "my" cultivation, perfection, and security were put as first priority, while saving people was relegated to second place.
As practitioners of the Fa-rectification period, what should we put as first priority? Saving the sentient beings. Why we undergoing Fa-rectification? Isn't it to save all sentient beings that are going towards degeneration and destruction? Otherwise, Master only needs to wave his hand and recreate everything in a split second. Isn't it easy? As disciples at the Fa-rectification period, aren't the three things Master asks us to do meant to save more sentient beings?
Realizing this critical point, I felt ashamed. I became firm at heart and said to the old forces, "I do have attachments. But, is there anything more important than saving the sentient beings? It is a mission that Master asks us to do. No one should stop us and no one can stop us, no matter what excuses they may have."
So I said to other practitioners, "I am not going home. We cannot just accept things as they are. Setting up this place is something we have to do." We sat down to send forth righteous thoughts together. At that moment, I felt I was standing at the right point and I had the power to melt down anything and overcome anything. I didn't worry about whether I had strong righteous thoughts or not, or whether I had great powers. I had nothing. I remembered, "The Buddha School requires emptiness, and the Tao School teaches nothingness." (Zhuan Falun) Now I have a firm mind to save sentient beings. I have to save them, for that is what I come here for.
The next day, we found a new location. I stayed and worked there myself. Thus, the problem of place and staff was solved and the place was set up.
Perspective is a fundamental issue. Why would the cosmos go towards degeneration and destruction? Why after countless cycles of "Formation, Stasis, Degeneration, and Destruction" has this problem not yet been solved? The boundless wisdom of higher beings couldn't stop the cosmos from going towards degeneration and destruction. Why? My understanding is that it is because of fundamental "selfishness."
"When they're helping me, at the same time they hide their selfish intention of protecting themselves. They all want to change others but not themselves--no one wants to change himself--and they even try to preserve as much as possible the things they're attached to and won't let go of." (Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
Seeing the beings below them are degenerating, the enormous Kings and Lords of the cosmos destroy them and create new ones. They never think that the deterioration is caused by their own impurities.
"Yet humans do not know to find the causes within their own nature. After the degeneration of morality, humans are unable to see that the terrible human heart is the poisonous root of social problems, and so they always foolishly try to find the way out in social phenomena. As a result, human beings never realize that all the so-called "ways out" that they create for themselves are precisely them sealing themselves off. As such, there are even fewer ways out, and the new problems that follow are even worse. Thus, with much difficulty humans again find a tiny space and take new measures, thereby closing this remaining bit of space once again. As this repeats itself over a period of time, there is no room left and they can no longer find a way out, nor can they see the truth beyond the enclosed space. Human beings begin to suffer from all that they have created for themselves. This is the final way in which the universe eliminates lives." ("Remaking Mankind", Essentials for Advancement)
If one does not change fundamentally, all the changes on the surface are illusions that won't last long.
October 16, 2003