Which Should We Place First, Ourselves or the Fa?

A UK Western practitioner

I would like to describe why I place Dafa before myself, and why I want to validate the Fa with my whole heart.

It is Dafa which brought me into existence. Without Dafa, I would not exist. It is learning Dafa that has brought me up out of my human existence, taken me out of this sea of suffering, and breathed true meaning into my life again. It is learning Fa that has awakened me to the selflessness of my true nature, shown me the boundless, magnificent and infinitely profound characteristic of the universe - truth, compassion, forbearance. Without learning the Fa, I would remain a hollow human shell, living blindly with little purpose and meaning in life, with an empty heart, lost in selfish illusion, never able to imagine that such a subtle and beautiful truth could exist.

My gratitude to Master Li is beyond words and beyond all description.

It is Dafa itself which raises me each step of the way, to higher, and higher levels. I cannot do such things myself. It is the Fa which has come first, teaching me to return to my original nature. I cannot teach myself. It is the Fa which has guided my cultivation each step of the way, catching me when I fell, and putting me back on the correct path. I could not guide myself.

When I dropped, completely lost, into this dark, filthy world because of my own selfishness, it was Fa which found me and pulled me back up out of the filth and gloom, and shone with a pure and brilliant radiance, rectifying my heart and forgiving me for countless sins. I did not find the Fa when I had lost it - The Fa found me when I had lost myself beyond all hope.

It is Master Li who has given me a precious Falun, dissolved my karma, arranged countless things in other dimensions, and suffered unimaginable hardships to save me, asking for nothing in return but a kind-heart. I myself have done nothing more than follow his words. Without his words I would remain lost in the maze, suffering endlessly.

Fa has created my very being, my very understanding and my very nature. How can I place my life above this Fa?

There is an idea that if someone saves your life, then you would owe him your life. Master Li has done more than save one little human lifetime, he has raised me out of endless lifetimes of suffering--he has saved my life in the most pure and holy way imaginable.

So when Master Li and his Fa are so viciously attacked, I cannot stand back and watch, and do nothing. I must step forward to defend and uphold it with my whole heart. I cannot help putting the Fa before myself, because it has always come before myself. Without it I would be nothing.

This Fa has melted into my heart, and I cannot betray my own heart. I cannot miss this opportunity to repay Master for the boundless mercy he has shown me. Having seen the deep benevolence of my Master, I cannot help defending against anything which slanders the name of such an indescribably pure and noble heart. I know that all I can do to defend Master's name and to validate the Fa is to give my own heart, which is so feeble and pale in comparison.

Master Li says (Zhuan Falun Vol.II - Buddha-nature) "If one does not form any notion when viewing a problem, he would come to the understanding out of his good nature, the real understanding of his own and deal with the problem with kindness." To all those who hesitate whether to step forward to validate the Fa, I beg you to assess the following without any notions - to find the answer from your original kind nature:

Which should we place first, ourselves, or the Fa?

October 19, 2000