(Minghui.org) Master Li Hongzhi taught us,
“I said long ago that the criterion for evaluating a disciple is nothing but his xinxing, and I will never allow anyone who hasn’t attained Enlightenment or reached Consummation to see clearly my disciples’ actual cultivation states. What is visible to those who can see are merely manifestations shown to them at their particular low levels, and they are unable to see things at higher levels.” (“Another Comment on Evaluation Criteria” from Falun Dafa Essentials for Further Advancement)
Many years ago, I met a veteran practitioner. He had profound knowledge. When he shared with us, he often broadened our minds, and helped us to become more clearheaded. However, he had many notions, and had some notable shortcomings in his cultivation. When other practitioners pointed out his shortcomings, he always denied them, and made up all kinds of excuses.
I once had a heated argument with him. After that, I saw my impurity confronting his impurity in a void dimension. Let me call his impurity “Cunning.” It existed in a dimension quite close to the origin of that practitioner, and looked the same as that practitioner, except that it had a very cunning and sly look on its face. I was wearing black armor, with a fierce look on my face, and looked cold and serious.
“Cunning” said to me arrogantly, “Few practitioners can reach me. You are pretty good being able to reach me.”
I was irritated by its arrogance. I was going to conquer it, when it pointed to me and said, “Don't try it! You can reach me, but you can't change me. Your energy and your level cannot overpower me.”
I ignored what it said, and continued to walk towards it. “Cunning” stepped back and said, “I know who you are. Your name is Fierce. You are also impure, and cannot transcend me. So don't dream to change me.”
I had been in one tribulation after another for years, as if I had been thrown into a whirlpool of tribulations. Under the tremendous pressure, I became tough, irritable, and impatient. So I appeared to be fierce – a manifestation of my demon nature as a cultivator. My “Fierce” didn't listen to it, and continued to move toward it. “Cunning” took another step back, and said, “If you push me, we will both get hurt. To save myself, I'll use cunning means to mislead the practitioners around you. They don't understand the truth, and don't cultivate well. They will oppose you. They will gossip, criticize you, accuse you, or even create tribulations and obstruct what you do.”
I questioned it angrily, “If you do that, you will create obstacles for their cultivation and destroy them. Don't you cultivate Dafa? Why would you do this?” “Cunning” replied helplessly, “My principal being has not cultivated to the level where I exist, so he cannot change me. I know I'm impure and I'm not good. I also want to change, but I can't unless my principal being has cultivated to this level. If you push me, the natural response of the [principal] being would be like that, and I can do nothing about it.”
My impure nature “Fierce” wanted to overpower “Cunning,” but was afraid of the potential consequences. So I asked indignantly, “Isn't there a solution?”
“Cunning” replied, “External pressure and force cannot change the fundamental impurity of a being. There are only three ways to change me. First, my principal being cultivates himself and assimilates me to Dafa. Secondly, your principal being in the human dimension cultivates to a level that surpasses my level (i.e., the level at which my principal being deviates and introduces the degenerate “Cunning”). It's crucial that your principal being cultivates until your impurity of “Fierce” is gotten rid of, and you have a powerful energy of mercy to encompass me. I may be changed by assimilating to the power of your compassion. Thirdly, most practitioners around you cultivate to a high level and can see problems rationally and clearly from the Fa point of view. They will not be misled by my cunning manipulation, or even tolerate me with mercy and guide me. The power of the one-body can restrain me, prevent me from interfering, and thus change me.
My “Fierce” refused to give in, and still attempted to conquer it and change it. I raised my sword in an attempt to slash it. “Cunning” backed up hurriedly, and cried out, “Master said everyone had opportunities before the Fa rectification has ended. You are impure, too. Why don't you give me the opportunity to change through cultivation? If you fight me, it does good to neither my principal being, nor to yours.”
Although “Cunning” was still involved in chicanery, what it said sounded reasonable. As a practitioner, I shouldn't push too hard. I stopped and thought for a moment, then slowly put down my sword, and said, “OK, I won't push you. Good luck!” Then I left.
Later, I found an opportunity to share with that practitioner what I saw in the other dimension. I really hoped that we could all understand the truth and improve ourselves. However, this practitioner was so buried in his notions, that he thought I was accusing him and showing off my capabilities. He was especially irritated by what I saw in the other dimension, since he couldn't see it.
Soon after that, some other practitioners came to me, told me how I fell short in cultivation and how they hoped for me to improve. I realized that they had been misled by “Cunning.” I didn't say anything. Gradually we grew apart.
We stayed distant for quite some time. Especially when I was busy, I didn't think to contact that practitioner. However, whenever he came to my mind, I felt uneasy. I recalled my experience with him since we met, analyzed every encounter with him, and searched inward again and again. I didn't find I did anything wrong, except arguing with him that once, and I could apologize to him. I didn't realize that I could do better, until one day when I calmed down completely, let go of every attachment, evaluated the situation from the Fa, and measured everything based on how to better coordinate as a whole body to save more sentient beings.
When I finally realized this, I felt relieved. I had a dream that night - a vivid dream. In the dream, Master Li came to me, with mercy and dignity. HE pointed out my problems one by one, exactly the same as those that I had enlightened to before I fell asleep. Master Li then showed me one by one the tasks arranged for me to accomplish. I failed to meet the standard in some of them, and didn't fulfill my mission of rescuing fellow practitioners. In others, I didn't do well enough and had regrets. In the end, Master told me that it not only had to do with me, but also had to do with problems existing locally. There were problems in the local region as a whole. We didn't do a good job because we didn't cultivate well. Master would point it out in HIS next article. Master clearly transmitted the thought to my mind, and it was clear to me that HE was talking about HIS next article instead of teaching in another conference. I also had the feeling that the article would be published in a few days.
Master Li then left. I woke up from the dream in a cold sweat. From my past experience, I knew it was not an ordinary dream, it was real. If so, what would Master Li write in HIS next article? HE looked so serious, I was afraid... I was troubled for the next few days.
A few days later, Master Li's new article “To the European Fa Conference” was published. When I read it for the first time, I could hardly finish it, and I was bathed in sweat. The article was so seriously phrased, like a blow with a heavy hammer. We know that Master does not publish an article to point out problems for just a few practitioners or in specific regions. When the article was published, didn't it refer to many regions and many practitioners? I knew that I and my local region were included.
If Master hadn't given me the hint in advance, when Master pointed out our problems so seriously, would I have not checked myself against the article, or even cunningly assumed that Master was referring to other practitioners and other regions instead of myself?
I calmed down, and seriously reflected on every contact I had with that fellow practitioner. He indeed had some notable shortcomings and a bad reputation. However, he cared about me personally. In many cases, he was sincere, and truly wanted to help me to validate Dafa and clarify the truth. However, his shortcomings were so annoying that few practitioners could stay unaffected and tolerate him with compassion. Debates among local practitioners who agreed or disagreed with him had caused a lot of disturbance and interference. I was very clear about his problem, especially after my experience in the other dimension, so I no longer cooperated with him proactively like I did before. Unless the local practitioners all cultivated well, we all had various human attachments. So what we were supposed to do to validate Dafa and clarify the truth was interfered with by our attachments and lack of coordination.
From another angle, if I had not been affected, and continued to cooperate with that practitioner sincerely and proactively, if every practitioner in our region ignored other practitioners' shortcomings, and coordinated sincerely and proactively, wouldn’t the local practitioners form an indestructible one-body?
Based upon many years of experience, the key for us not to be affected by any practitioner's shortcomings is to have positive thinking, as is discussed in the article “Send Forth Righteous Thoughts to Eliminate Evil, Not Practitioners' Shortcomings.” http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2013/4/10/138848.html
