PureInsight | February 25, 2002
Recently, the number of new students in Taiwan is quickly growing, much like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. These new students are gaining understandings of Fa principles at a very fast speed. This is a very good phenomenon. On the surface, that is because people now have a deeper understanding of what Falun Gong is. They are no longer deceived by the lies and know that “Falun Dafa is good.” That is why so many people have joined the ranks of cultivators. As a matter, none of this has happened by chance. Everything happens due to the systematic arrangement of our great Master. We are all Dafa disciples regardless of when we received the Fa. We should treasure this splendid opportunity for cultivation.
With so many newcomers, veteran practitioners must take the important responsibility for creating a solid cultivation setting for the new students. As Master said, “Veteran disciples should also pay attention to this matter. As more people study the Fa, you should pay more attention to guiding new students to actually practice cultivation. Meanwhile, you yourselves should not slack. If circumstances permit, you can increase the time spent studying the Fa and doing the exercises. Maintaining Dafa’s tradition, upholding Dafa’s cultivation principles, and persevering in true cultivation are long-term tests for every Dafa disciple” (from “Abandon Human Attachments and Continue True Cultivation”, Essentials for Further Advancement).
It is not so easy to obtain the Fa. We have all waited for thousands of years for this very moment. There are some new practitioners who cultivate at home. There are also others who only go to the practice sites to perform the exercises and study the Fa but have not participated in spreading the Fa or clarifying the truth. As veteran disciples, we should encourage them to make advancement in their understandings of Fa principles as quickly as possible, rid themselves of the old force’s influences, and understand the majestic yet challenging responsibilities of disciples during the Fa-rectification period. Once the new students improve their understandings of the Fa, it is certain that they will quickly join force with the veteran practitioners and all will shoulder these historical responsibilities together.
Our benevolent Master has provided us with such a good cultivation environment. We are fortunate to practice and study the Fa in a free land without the threat of persecution. This is not so just across the strait from Taiwan in Mainland China. There the magnificent and solemn Dafa has been misrepresented and its reputation tarnished. Dafa disciples there are going through trial by fire. However, the Chinese government’s tactics do not scare them. They are bravely upholding the Fa. There are so many touching stories. It is said that the evil ones are now making secret plans to persecute Dafa disciples even more severely. Under these conditions, the most urgent task for us is to break through the information blockade and clarify the truth to save the people in China.
No matter if you are a veteran or new student, we are all in the same boat. We need to encourage each other in good times and bad times. We also need to endure any setbacks with courage and weathered severe storms with bravery. Without strong winds and turbulent waves, how can the sailors know how much strength they have? Let us finish these important duties that were given to us by history and ride on the wind and surge the waves together.
In conclusion, I would like to share Master’s poem with fellow practitioners:
With Teacher at the helm, the Fa saves all beings,
One sail is hoisted, one hundred million sails follow.
With attachments left behind, the lightened boats sail swiftly,
With a preoccupied human heart, crossing the ocean proves arduous.
The wind and clouds suddenly change, and the heavens seem to crumble,
The mountains shake, the seas churn, and the ferocious waves billow.
Follow Teacher closely, steadfastly cultivating Dafa,
With attachments too strong, bearings are lost.
Some flee for their lives, deserting capsized boats and torn sails,
As the mud and sand are completely sifted, gold shines forth.
Grand talk counts for naught when it comes to life and death,
Actions reveal what is true.
When the day of Consummation arrives,
The great disclosure of the truth will leave the world in amazement.
(“Knowing Heart”, Essentials for Further Advancement II).
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2002/1/28/13563.html:
