PureInsight | December 10, 2001
Recently, when I read the experience sharing articles of fellow practitioners on the Internet, I was extremely moved. Especially when I learned that all Dafa disciples were doing Fa rectification with all their strength, I really felt a kind of encouragement.
I used to have a very shallow understanding of “Eradicating Evil.” I only knew that evil beings were those that Master does not accept and will be eradicated with righteous thoughts. But in the process of “Eradicating Evil” I always felt that I was obstructed by something.
I suddenly remembered a dream I had one year ago: I dreamt that I was flying over a boundless black sea where the ferocious waves billowed, all around me was filled with gloomy terror, and everywhere concealed murderous intentions. While flying and flying, I saw in the sky massive dark clouds that welled up unceasingly from all directions but could not tell where they came from. They intended to enclose me. At that moment, I really felt that it was impossible for me to fly away from them. I felt that I was surrounded by a kind of nameless terror. Then I woke up. In the dream, the vision was so clear that my heart fluttered with fear for a few days. Through Fa study, I became steady but still could not understand where the dread came from. Now I understand; it came from the old forces. After studying Master’s articles for the Fa-rectification period, I really felt that the hateful old forces were extremely evil and fearful.
I felt, particularly in recent times, that the evil was really seizing any opportunity to do everything possible to take advantage of me as long as I had a flaw. Although I had been sending righteous thoughts and studying the Fa, I felt that I was still not in a very good state. What on Earth were my barriers?
Through Fa study, I understood that deviated notions were one of the reasons. I discovered a kind of fear attachment that I had not realized before. Before, in my vague awareness, I always thought the evil old forces were extremely fearful. Because they always created interference and destruction, I really felt somewhat unable to be effective in eliminating them. Sometimes, I even thought it was because my life was from a low level. After doing further soul-searching, I realized that the real reason was an insufficient understanding of the Fa.
I started to re-consider, as a Dafa particle, how to regard the evil old forces.
“All matter in the universe, including all substances that permeate the universe, are living beings with thinking minds,” (Zhuan Falun, Lecture One, Why Doesn't Your Gong Increase with Your Practice).” Over countless years, they have distorted and deviated from the fundamental Dafa from which their lives originated. If they continue to degenerate, they will face complete extermination. I have realized that the old forces are the result of deviation of celestial bodies of a certain scope from the characteristic of universe “Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance,” or representatives of various beings at each level. If the Lord Buddha had not rectified the Fa today, the celestial bodies of a certain scope that have deviated from the universal characteristic “Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance” would have fallen apart a long time ago. It is because of the mercy of Lord Buddha, to save sentient beings at every level as much as possible, that the current form of Fa-rectification is adopted. Even deities in the higher levels are not able to know who our Teacher is, because all the beings in the celestial bodies that have deviated from the universal Dafa must position themselves in the maze. I have realized that this is the reason why the old forces dare to disturb and hinder Lord Buddha’s Fa rectification.
Master said in 'The Effect of Righteous Thoughts': “Before the Fa-rectification, the old forces crammed the lowest-level section of each of those tens of millions of remote cosmic systems into the Three Realms of the central cosmic system where we are.” I became aware that some of the matter has become deviated, such as time, space and so on. Because the Earth is a garbage dump, all of the degenerated matter will fall towards it. Therefore, the old forces pressed all the bad things onto the Earth. They take advantage of Dafa disciples who “have bad elements that have accumulated over the long course of their existence, as well as karma produced in low-level realms” ('Master Li Hongzhi's Lecture at the Great Lakes Conference in North America') to carry out interference and destruction. The real reason that they persecute Dafa disciples is that they want to achieve their true goal of persecuting Dafa. Their real purpose of hindering sentient beings in obtaining the Fa is to destroy them. In order not to be exterminated, they stubbornly defend their deviations so as to hinder Fa rectification.
Master has endured tribulations that we can hardly imagine for layer upon layer of sentient beings in the celestial bodies, since Master is benevolent to sentient beings and wants to save all of them. But this does not mean that the old forces are capable of hurting Master. They are nobody in front of Dafa, let alone in front of the Lord Buddha. Master’s benevolence is so vast that even to those sentient beings that have hindered Fa rectification, Master has still given them many chances. Unfortunately those beings have deviated so much that they just cannot discard their mind of testing Dafa. They have become lost in their deviated realms. They lay barriers everywhere for Lord Buddha and Dafa disciples. They are very similar to ignorant villains among everyday people. The only difference is that the manifestation is different in different dimensions and levels.
Becoming a Fa-rectification disciple does not just happen by accident. No matter how the old forces want to suppress and arrange it, none of the beings that should become a Fa-rectification disciple has been left behind. Everything is firmly under the control of Master. “Some people say: ‘While a Tao is one foot tall, a demon would be one yard high.’ That is a false statement made by everyday people. A demon will never be higher than a Tao.” (Zhuan Falun, Lecture Five, “Practicing Evil Cultivation”) Thus it can be seen that the evil old forces are actually nothing in front of the universal Dafa. Then, what about in front of Dafa disciples?
What I have worried about that “my life probably originates from a low level” is actually an indication of my insufficient righteous faith in Master and the universal Dafa. I have realized that all the beings in the celestial bodies are now re-positioning themselves. The previous origins do not count anymore. Master has given all the best to the Dafa disciples. It now depends upon how the disciples cultivate in the Fa-rectification process. Once completing cultivation, we will no longer be at our previous positions. Instead, we will be at higher positions than before, since we exist as Dafa particles.
One afternoon, I went out by bike to distribute Dafa newspapers door to door into mailboxes. It was a sunny day and the sky was blue all around. But less than about ten minutes later, it was stormy and dark clouds suddenly covered the blue sky . Seeing the dark clouds were increasing, I was a little bit worried that it would rain. But all of a sudden, I enlightened that this showing of bad weather was targeted against my distribution of Dafa newspapers. Therefore, I sent forth my strong righteous thought: to eradicate the evil factors that hinder sentient beings in obtaining the Fa, to eradicate the evil factors that hinder the Fa rectification. “The Fa rectifies the Cosmos, the Evil is completely eliminated. The Fa rectifies Heaven and Earth, immediate retribution in this lifetime.” I kept sending forth righteous thoughts all the way while distributing the newspapers. The rain really did not fall. It seemed that everything was going to be smooth. Half of my newspapers had been distributed. Then I felt an unusual weariness.
It started getting darker and darker as though the dark clouds would occupy the entire sky. I kept continually sending forth righteous thoughts. However, sporadic raindrops still started to fall. At that moment, my first thought was to use my gong to protect the newspapers that I had placed inside of the mailboxes from getting wet. When the rain got heavier, I vacillated a bit and thought it was probably because I did not have enough power. Originally, I intended to finish the distribution of newspapers in the bag. But then I thought, “According to the current situation, it could only be done with other practitioners on some other day, since more people would produce more power.” When I turned my bike around, I was suddenly aware that I was running away. As a disciple of Lord Buddha who was cultivating the fundamental Dafa of the Universe and assisting Teacher in his journey in this world, how could I simply turn around and run away when the evil was ravaging? It is a Dafa particle’s duty to safeguard the dignity of Lord Buddha and the sanctity of Dafa. Having thought about this, I turned my bike back to go on with the distribution of newspapers while tenaciously sending forth righteous thoughts again and again: eradicating the evil factors that hinder sentient beings in obtaining the Fa, and hinder the Fa rectification. “The Fa rectifies the Cosmos, the Evil is completely eliminated. The Fa rectifies Heaven and Earth, immediate retribution in this lifetime.” I felt I became incomparably huge. My whole body emitted tremendous golden light. The rain stopped. I just could not help laughing exuberantly from my innermost being, admiring that the wisdom of the universal Dafa is so immense; laughing at the evil that is as tiny as a grain of dust. I looked up at the sky when I finished the distribution of newspapers. The dark clouds had vanished without a trace. On the way home it was already night. While I looked at the starry sky, I felt as if I had not been in this human dimension but had already traveled to a distant place.
I have realized that all the arrangements of the old forces are actually illusions to be eliminated by Dafa disciples. As long as we unceasingly improve ourselves based on the Fa and purify our every single thought, we will achieve the realm that “The Great Way is unmatched throughout heaven and earth.” ('Taichi' in Hong Yin, Teacher's Poetry Collection)
I feel that no matter what level we think we are at, high or low, we should remember that we are disciples of Lord Buddha. We are assisting Teacher in his journey in this world. No matter how rampant the old forces are, in front of Dafa, they are always something filthy and insignificant. The various obstacles they laid for the Fa rectification are illusions that Dafa disciples must eradicate. I have realized that however strong our righteous faith in Dafa is, however strong our righteous thought will be!
I would like to use 'The Great Enlightened' in Hong Yin for mutual encouragement with fellow practitioners: “Experienced tens of thousands of tribulations, Two feet treading on thousands of demons; Erect a palm, shaking heaven and earth. In the air stands a giant Buddha.”
These are some understandings I have at my level. If any are inappropriate, please kindly correct me.
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2001/11/24/12610.html
