(Clearwisdom.net) When I was clarifying the truth of Falun Dafa to a young man on the bus, he said, "I have read the book Zhuan Falun. There is nothing wrong with it, but as a [Chinese] citizen, we should think of the big picture and follow the decision made by the government. You should stop practicing it." It occurred to me that many people have this mentality. One of my classmates in college who is now the secretary of a provincial governor, the head of the detention center, my sister, my boss, and my colleagues in the office, have all said similar words to me. The wife of the policeman who sent me to the detention center used to be a practitioner, yet she gave up practicing because of this way of thinking.

To think of the big picture in the human world is to think for the well being of mankind and the future of the nation. It is a noble way of thinking, meaning to sacrifice for others, to think of society as a whole, and try to improve it through personal efforts. "To think of the big picture" does not mean to follow orders from the authorities without consideration of one's principles, nor does it mean to follow some ill-intentioned people in the government without discerning right from wrong. It is not to stay indifferent to the conduct of cruel persecution against innocent people, thus consenting to and encouraging evil deeds. It certainly does not mean to shy away from and give up truth and justice.

One hundred years pass in the blink of an eye. People are born and then die. Where will we be then? Who will be in charge of the government then? The edicts and fate of a government, one's own life pursuits, relatives and friends, the material comforts in life, all of this will dissipate after the completion of predestined relationships. Nothing can be brought along to the other world except for karma. If one can tell right from wrong, hold to the truth, and safeguard justice at critical moments, he can truly help mankind progress on the right path. That is being responsible to the future of the nation. That is "to think of the big picture." That is the definition of doing the most benevolent, noble deeds, and in the end benefiting others as well as oneself.

Human life is unpredictable, and the material world is as illusive as the reflection of flowers in a mirror. Practitioners know that only when they clarify the truth to people, help them establish righteous thoughts, and let them know the Fa, can people have a bright future. Practitioners are responsible for their cultivation practice and for Dafa (the origin of life), which created all beings and matter in the cosmos. Practitioners are unwavering when confronting evil. They are clarifying the truth and offering people salvation, even while they are under the pressure of persecution. That is a manifestation of fundamentally "thinking of the big picture." That is being responsible for the future of the cosmos and the future of all sentient beings. It is the greatest "thinking of the big picture."