Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day

Given at the 2014 New York Fa Conference

Li Hongzhi ~ May 13, 2014

     (All Dafa disciples in attendance stand and applaud enthusiastically, respectfully welcoming Master. Master responds with heshi, then gestures for people to be seated.)      

     Good morning! (Disciples reply, “Good morning, Master!”) (Disciples applaud warmly.) You’ve been working hard! (Disciples reply, “It’s Master who has!”) A number of you gathered here are Dafa disciples from mainland China. Be it around the world or in China, the state of Fa-rectification is the same. Overall, its progress may appear to lack order, but it is in fact all extremely well-ordered.      

     I have said before that the goal of the old forces behind the persecution is to, through persecution, make Dafa disciples let go of their human attachments. They will only recognize the Consummation of your cultivation if you are able to make it through this harsh trial. That’s what they arranged. I completely oppose these things of theirs. My approach was to benevolently resolve everything. The approach I am now using is a result of their interference.      

     But in terms of personal cultivation, with the spread of the Fa this time the door has been opened completely, and many people have entered and become Dafa disciples only this time. And these people, which are the third group of practitioners I referred to before, did not systematically eliminate their karma over the course of history. Those who followed Master to descend here, or formed ties of destiny with Master in different periods of history, those people were cleansed of their karma in each lifetime before reincarnating again. However, those who have just entered this time didn’t go through that over the course of history, and they bring with them enormous amounts of karma. A person inevitably generates karma in this world, and in each and every lifetime a great deal of karma is accrued. Then think about it, as cultivators, could they achieve Consummation so easily? That’s not possible. Didn’t Jesus say that man has sins? However one may interpret it, the fact is that for as long as a person is alive, he generates karma. So a person must cleanse himself, and must cultivate away every bit of karma and achieve a state of purity before he can achieve Consummation.      

     I object to what the old forces are doing. But that said, when it comes to your personal cultivation, you must cultivate and you must work hard. In this regard, think about it: in the time since the CCP began to persecute Dafa disciples on July 20, 1999, many human attachments have really been revealed. Many people who weren’t solid pulled out during the persecution, and some didn’t find the courage to step forward. Circumstances have changed dramatically now, and things seem to have eased up. Some people have managed to summon up their courage now, and some people have returned [to cultivation]. As things have taken their course, however, we have really seen all sorts of human attachments rear their heads. While you hope to see the persecution end soon, that by itself is just a wish; what a Dafa disciple should be doing is working on exposing it and facing it with righteous thoughts. Yet some people want to find a place where they can evade the persecution and have a quiet, comfortable life. And such people have all sorts of takes on the persecution. Whatever the case, all sorts of human attachments have indeed shown themselves during this ruthless persecution.      

     Then in this light, many of us really have done poorly. So the old forces have used it as justification, and say: “Take a look—is this your disciple? You want him, so we’ll help you eliminate his attachments. Could someone like this go to heaven? Look at all the different attachments they’re displaying.” Even in the midst of this harshest of persecutions, there have been people spreading hearsay, showing off—all kinds of attachments have emerged, and this has only exacerbated the cruelty of the persecution. Once an attachment of yours arises, the old forces will have the police come knocking at your door. The evil will come for you.      

     The same holds true in the rest of the world. The persecution was just brutal at first! There were pressures of every sort, and even outside of China the pressure was massive. At that time Dafa disciples couldn’t make their voices heard anywhere; all of China’s media were controlled by the wicked CCP and were attacking and suppressing [Falun Gong] with one uniform voice. The outside world had no idea what Falun Gong was, and so media all throughout the world simply carried the deceitful, persecutory reporting from the evil CCP. So if you think about it, such persecution amounted to an avalanche of attacks and suppression by the media of the whole world. Being up against such enormous pressure back then, the practitioners outside of China also exhibited all sorts of human attachments. As a result, many practitioners fell away. Those who can make it through to the end are truly outstanding. Even in gods’ eyes you are outstanding. As they see it, you [achieved this while] in the human world, and the difference is really astounding, so they admire you.      

     The lives of the various domains of the universe were originally wonderful, and things were unlike how perilous and trying they are for human beings. So those who have had the courage to come here are simply remarkable. Since the principles of human beings are reversed—such as what’s good and what’s bad—people generate karma simply by living here. And it is precisely because human beings live amidst these reversed principles that no beings in the heavens dare to get near this place. Thus, whoever does come is all the more remarkable. If someone can manage to get through this persecution, gods will truly esteem him. If one compares how the beings in the heavens exist with how human beings here live, one quickly realizes just how remarkable those who dare to come here are.      

     The people in this human world today—I wouldn’t say all of them, but the vast majority—came from the heavens, coming here from a variety of gigantic, distant cosmoses, different realms, and different places in order to obtain the Fa. But once they reincarnate here, they no longer know where they came from. That is because human society is a maze, a deluding place. When someone enters here it is equivalent to leaping into a maze. Only having leaped into the maze can a person cultivate. Now that you have leaped into the maze, a setting as perilous and grueling as this, if you can still form righteous thoughts, if you can still realize that you should cultivate, if you can help Master rectify the Fa when Dafa spreads, and if you can save other people even while undergoing great trials, that is just simply extraordinary. That is how it’s looked at, and that is why I say that those who have made it through since July 20^th are simply extraordinary.      

     Of course, you might get bumps and bruises here and there sometimes, or frequently stumble, or handle one thing well and another thing not too well, but that’s all part of the cultivation process. As long as you can persevere and get through it, you are remarkable. If you can do what a Dafa disciple is supposed to do, you are remarkable. That’s how it is looked at. To truly have no problems at all, handle everything well, and charge forward all the way through, well, there are individuals like that, but they are few and far between and truly just extraordinary. However, not everyone can be like that. With cultivation, who is mistake-free? Looking at what’s happened during this persecution, some people might have made more serious of mistakes, while others somewhat lesser of mistakes. But if you can wake up to it, take responsibility for it, figure out your problem, and do well going forward, then that is cultivation.      

     When some people stumble and fall they can’t get back up again, and instead, they write themselves off as hopeless and start to act recklessly. In some cases they even end up heading to the other side. There are also some people who learned some truths through Dafa; prior to this, they had no idea about religion, faith, or cultivation. Through Dafa they learned about Gods, Buddhas, and cultivation. But then during the persecution, out of fear, they tried to evade harm and so they joined other religions. But no matter which way you run, you won’t be able to achieve Consummation while harboring fear. Any fear is an attachment.      

     Of course, Dafa cultivation doesn’t resemble the past approaches to cultivation, where one would have to strictly eliminate all human attachments during one’s cultivation. Because Dafa disciples still need to cultivate among ordinary people, a certain portion of ordinary human things are kept, ensuring that they can have the thinking and conduct needed for living among ordinary people. And along with this, it ensures that you can assist Master in rectifying the Fa in this setting, as well as save sentient beings in this setting. If all of you were to head for monasteries or go into mountain caves, who would save all of those people in this world who came here for Dafa?      

     What is a “Dafa disciple”? Whom Master teaches are precisely you, these disciples of Dafa. You are being cleansed, being tempered to maturity, and made ready to save sentient beings. These are Dafa disciples. The designation “Dafa disciple” is nothing at all like the concepts of personal cultivation or personal consummation found previously in ordinary society. They didn’t have the responsibility of saving sentient beings. For them it was just about personal consummation. What Dafa disciples will one day achieve is nothing like what those lesser practices or paths involve. I think you’re all clear on this already. “Dafa disciples” are those who shoulder the responsibilities of a Dafa disciple and save sentient beings.      

     As to saving sentient beings, this is something that many of our Dafa disciples really have done an excellent job of, regardless of their age or education levels. Some older Dafa disciples, even ones with little education, have done very well. With the Dafa disciples who are participating in the various projects out there, many have expended a great deal of effort, and they too have done pretty well. I’ve said before to our various projects—the media companies, in particular—that to do a better job of clarifying the facts, counteracting the persecution, and saving sentient beings, the media companies must be grounded in ordinary society, run their business operations well, maintain healthy financials, learn from regular media companies, and really operate in a normal fashion. Only then will our companies be effective at what they’re supposed to accomplish.      

     At first, many people had short-term thinking. They thought that they would just need to put in a great deal of effort for a short while and it would be over. They’ve now realized that things are not happening that way. A Dafa disciple must do everything steadily, put his heart into it, not be attached to time, and not think too much. You have to give your very best in whatever you are supposed to do, and it will go well. Under the pressure of the persecution, many people were always hoping that the persecution would end sooner, and so they put in a great deal of effort for a while. But that’s not how things are going. It should be said, of course, that your media have indeed had a major impact in saving sentient beings.       

     So as for saving sentient beings, consider the following. Many of our Dafa disciples outside China have become accustomed to normal ways of thinking, unlike people in mainland China. What do I mean by that? It’s because the minds and ways of thinking of people who have lived in a nation ruled by evil communism are those of the Party’s culture. The communist regime seeks to destroy the national heritage and then indoctrinate you with the exceedingly sinister values and conceptual foundation of the wicked Party—all of those things are formed in the mind via the evil Party’s indoctrination. So that is the manner of thinking of people who grow up amidst the wicked Party’s culture, and it even shapes how they view things. It’s hard to completely remove that stuff. But people who have lived outside China for a good amount of time will sense that there’s a difference between their and others’ thinking, that it’s not the same. Those who come out of the evil Party’s country are highly self-protective, and they have a strong desire to air their opinions on certain matters, whereas people outside China aren’t like that.      

     And especially in the case of the media, if you use those Party-culture theories, terminology, or line of reasoning, then that amounts to spreading the Party’s culture. So you need to pay attention to these things. In particular, some new people have joined the media of late, and these young folks came out of mainland China. You need to be especially careful with this. Whichever of our media you’re in, you need to watch out for this. Dafa disciples have worked so tremendously hard to establish these media during the persecution, and they have actually managed to turn around the atrocious situation outside of China—just amazing. Our media have made a tremendous contribution. You should really value them. Don’t alter them with the Party’s culture and make them similar to mainland Chinese media, with that kind of odd look and verbiage, and don’t directly reprint or carry mainland news pieces. You need to pay attention to such things.      

     So I’ve been describing issues that have come up in the course of saving sentient beings, and which you need to be mindful of. Another is, we have a lot of people who’ve braved the elements in order to clarify the facts, and they’ve really worked so hard. As I mentioned at the last Fa conference, [our group as a whole] must not let up with our truth-clarification at tourist spots. Especially with tourists coming out of mainland China, you really must focus your truth-clarification on them. Practitioners everywhere are taking action, and doing well. I’ve been observing, and it really has been excellent. Since the overall state of things is changing, the attitudes of the people coming from mainland China are different now. In China they now dare to criticize the wicked Party, and when overseas they’re even less afraid—they’re actually more vocal than the Chinese who left China earlier. The latter have been so intimidated by the wicked Party’s consulates and embassies that they don’t even dare to go see Shen Yun, whereas those who travel outside of China nowadays do dare to go see it; if they come upon Shen Yun they go see it. And with quitting the Party, it takes just a few sentences of explanation and they get it. And when they do quit and you suggest a pseudonym, they say, “No need. I’ll use my real name.”      

     Speaking of this, things are not as simple as they seem. What’s happening is the result of the overall Fa-rectification having progressed to this point. These changes were made possible by Dafa disciples’ tremendous contributions in saving sentient beings and clarifying the facts. Dafa disciples are having a huge impact on the state of human affairs here at the surface, while the immense force of the Fa-rectification is continually charging forward, and the evil’s factors are continually being destroyed. Dafa disciples are no longer the only ones who know what Dafa is; the people of the world have begun to learn about Dafa anew. In the depth of a person’s being, on his knowing side, he knows who you are. But the human surface is like an article of clothing that is put on by a being, and this surface doesn’t know anything. Many people think that Falun Gong is just qigong. They would never expect that Falun Gong is something so enormous—that the entire Three Realms was created for it, that it is for Fa-rectification that human society was put in place.      

     Man’s fundamental being, which you call his “soul” (ling-hun) and we refer to as his “primary soul” (yuan-shen), comes from the heavens, and they have come to obtain the Fa. Why would they come here to obtain the Fa, then? Wouldn’t it be great to obtain it up there, where everything is crystal clear? But why can’t they do that? As I have said, only here can a person cultivate, and only in a setting full of suffering can you be tried to see whether you are worthy of obtaining the Fa. That’s what was decided way back when.      

     Another thing is, human society is the lowest plane. “Saving sentient beings” refers to all beings, not just human beings—all lives. As you know, this dimension in which human society exists is not only occupied by human beings. People now realize that there are aliens. Do you know how many types of beings there are? People cannot imagine how many beings of various forms there are, and yet there are still other beings existing at different planes. This space here is but the lowest of dimensions. Only when the Fa is taught here, can each of the planes, from higher to lower, throughout the cosmic body, as with each and every life form, possibly obtain the Fa. If it were done at one plane higher, the lives below would not be able to obtain it; and if they weren’t able to obtain it, that plane would cease to exist after the Fa rectifies the cosmos—it would be no more. That is why it is at the lowest plane that the Fa is taught, at the lowest plane that things are done, and this lowest-plane language is used. Also, if the Fa’s principles were difficult [to comprehend], then only divine beings would be able to grasp them and only they could be saved. How, then, would the lives at the lower plane have had enough wisdom to obtain it? The Fa that is taught this time is free of mystery. That is why it’s said to have “plain truths,” as the Fa’s principles are simple and clear. “Plain truths and plain words”—meaning, the words said are as plain as could be, most simple and straightforward. So the beings at the lower plane have understood it, but it has actually baffled many beings at higher planes. They wonder how this Fa could be so simple and straightforward, and, as a result, they don’t believe it. They actually wonder how this could possibly be. Indeed, it is that self-evident, simple, and straightforward. Only someone who truly studies it and truly cultivates by it will be able to see its higher truths. That is why, as I’ve said, while there is no mystery, it has actually confounded the beings at higher planes. That’s the idea.      

     Humankind, viewed in light of this cosmos, is but one life form upon a tiny little particle. It doesn’t amount to even a speck of dust in the massive, larger cosmos. Beginning from this planet, if you broaden your vantage point and look at the solar system, and then broaden it further and look at the Milky Way system, you will realize—and perhaps those in astronomy, or college graduates, know—that, to humans, remote galaxies just look like stars. But in many cases, if one uses an astronomical telescope to look closely at a star, it turns out to be a galaxy. And the same holds true for even this universe: look at it from afar and it appears to be just a particle. This particle also has an external boundary that looks simply immense to people—so massive as to appear boundless—leading people to thus call it the universe. But this universe is not the largest particle in the cosmic body. And such universes number as many as the stars that we see. Looking further, this universe is part of a larger universe. And if one were to take a look from still greater and further distances, that second layer universe would again seem to be but a small star-like particle in the cosmic body. What I’m saying is, in the massive cosmic body humankind doesn’t amount to much. Yet during this Fa-rectification, it has become the focal point of the cosmic body. Many lives of high planes have incarnated here to obtain the Fa. No one can imagine just how enormous this affair is.      

     Human society is indeed a maze. As I have shared with you before, for example, in China the dynasties change: when a dynasty eventually becomes morally untenable, terribly rotten, marred by corruption and decay, with its values having bottomed out, it’s done for, and it is to be replaced by the next dynasty. This became a pattern in China. As for today’s China, even the average citizens have seen that the wicked Party’s days are numbered. I’m just pointing out to you that this, too, is part of the universe’s law of formation, stasis, degeneration, destruction. As it plays out with human beings, it manifests as birth, aging, sickness, and death. And as it plays out for a nation, it manifests as the beginning phase being full of vigor and vitality; then comes the flourishing phase; then a phase of decline; followed by the eventual phase of collapse. This is a law. Has any dynasty or kingdom lasted from ancient times to the present? Has any nation ever remained unbreakable from ancient times to the present? None ever has, for such is the universe’s law.      

     With any living being, regardless of what level of being he is in this cosmic body, with the Fa-rectification and the teaching of the Fa this time, even many gods, even gods at very high planes, don’t realize how enormous this affair ultimately is. They merely know that it is incredibly massive. And even less do human beings know, and so they do not believe and even dare to bad-mouth Dafa and persecute Dafa disciples. Even describing their crimes and sins as “sky-high” wouldn’t capture it. Yet those lives will have to pay for it in the end, to pay for those massive crimes. If Dafa disciples can’t manage to save them through their truth-clarifying efforts, those lives will have to later pay for their boundless sins and karma, as virtually all of humanity—and especially Chinese people—has added fuel to the fire in the persecution, and most everyone has had a negative effect, and has sinned. Yet they came here for the Fa. What happened is the result of the evil’s making use of them.      

     Since this Fa is so significant, if a person is even just slightly irreverent toward it he is at risk. Just think about it, with such an enormous Fa how could a person pay for [his offense]? I have said that human beings came from high planes, each representing lives of a certain domain, where there could even be countless lives that belong to him, simply too many to count—that’s how many. Those lives that belong to him would all be eliminated in order to pay for the sins he committed. And that person himself would also have to endure the agony of being destroyed level by level. It’s just horrifying. I didn’t intend to talk about such things. What I want to say is that with saving sentient beings, we must realize what an enormous matter this is, and that each link, each happening, is by no means a simple thing.      

     In human society one sees people doing business as usual, serving in office, attending school… the various trades and professions are all carrying on, following a normal pattern. Think it over carefully: I’ve spoken before about how in the past, cultivation was done in a way such that a person would leave the secular world and become a monk or nun, or a master would guide a disciple or group of disciples in their cultivation. That was the form it took. But it’s different for Dafa disciples: you do your cultivation throughout all of society. Whatever profession you are in, whether you’re in the field of cultural preservation, business, the arts, politics, or you’re a student, all the same, you can cultivate in your respective setting. Then think about it, isn’t this setting itself, isn’t human society, a practice site provided to Dafa disciples? It provides you with a setting and factors that can stir up all sorts of attachments in you, and provides you with all sorts of opportunities to improve. With this affair being so immense, the entire human society has become a monastery [for your cultivation].      

     Having said this much, I’m thinking this matter is just incredibly serious! It is so serious, yet many people are not treating it seriously. That’s notably so for some veteran Dafa disciples. Has it occurred to you that everything in your daily life is part of cultivation? Your every word and action, and everything you do—all of it is part of your cultivation. Do you realize that? With many people, in the Dafa projects they’ve been working on, there were a lot of problems with cooperation. Things have died down a bit now. Maybe you don’t quite know what I mean by “died down.” It’s a northern [China] expression, meaning, “calmed down.” Whatever the case, people are now able to cooperate.      

     Another thing is, many people have not behaved decently, and have not taken their own cultivation seriously. This will bring you trouble, hardship, even pain, or even the loss of your life. Some Dafa disciples participate in every Dafa event, and on the surface they seem to be doing well. From what others see, their cultivation seems fine, and they seem rather diligent. But nobody knows what attachments lie inside, or what might be preying on their minds; nobody knows what they might be stubbornly holding onto inside, or how difficult it is for them to overcome it, as these things are not displayed outwardly. However, for a variety of reasons, Dafa disciples are a group that’s meant for serious cultivation, and the old forces will utilize any possible opportunity to make trouble for Dafa disciples, and will use various opportunities to cause some Dafa disciples to lose their lives. Some people like to watch how others handle things and then follow suit. Then you are not cultivating yourself but are just following others. Yet cultivators must walk their own paths to Consummation. In order to teach you a lesson, to make you really think hard about things, the old forces may go so far as to cause trouble for that person you take as a model, and may even cause him to depart early. There are also some people who have concealed their attachments. But in fact, all human thoughts are attachments. The persecution was done precisely to turn the sense of good and bad upside down, to blur good and evil, to make a mess, and to see which direction you head in and how you interpret and understand things.      

     There have been big lessons from these instances. But they cannot be attributed to the persecution. Rather, they result from your not being serious about your own cultivation. Of course, it’s not necessarily that the practitioner lost his life on account of not being serious. It’s possible that it was caused by others—when others looked to him as a model. So the old forces take someone down in order to further weaken the faith of those who are not diligent. And they’ve said, “If they’re not good enough, time for an early exit.” That’s a very possible reason. Of course, there have also been cases where it was due to the practitioner having a large amount of karma. There are many scenarios.      

     Cultivation is really serious. For a common, ordinary human to become a divine being—think about how pure his mind must become in order to achieve that. Although Dafa disciples cultivate among ordinary people—shouldering the responsibility of saving sentient beings—and only by keeping certain human traits can Dafa disciples manage to live here, nevertheless, cultivation is still a serious affair; that makes it even more serious, in fact. Whenever I see some Dafa disciples losing their lives, I find it so regrettable. But the person him or herself really couldn’t become diligent. And then there are people who think, “Now that I cultivate Dafa, I have a protective shield. From now on I’ll have Master protecting me.” Isn’t that attachment even worse? Could someone be allowed to cultivate with that kind of attachment? Then didn’t you come here for protection? How could that be cultivation?      

     A Dafa disciple must be able to let go of any attachment, and on top of that he must save others. The requirements are high, in fact. Some people think, “It doesn’t feel like I’ve cultivated to a high level. I don’t sense it, even after all these years.” Indeed, [you may not sense it,] for as I have said, the approach to cultivation that’s used with Dafa disciples is meant to ensure that you can cultivate in this complex setting of human beings, and so after a part of you has been fully cultivated it is immediately separated. It cannot be made use of by the part remaining at the surface that hasn’t been fully cultivated. And one does not even sense anything when the separation occurs. This is the best approach to ensure that you can ultimately reach Consummation. However badly a person might do on the human side here, it won’t affect the fully cultivated side. This is what I decided upon for you at the beginning, and this is how it’s done. Otherwise, no sooner would one part here have been fully cultivated, than another part would have been affected by human attachments developed in ordinary society and would fall, and you would have cultivated in vain. That wouldn't work. We have such a large body of people, and no two people have the same thinking or same approach to things. There are over 7 billion people in the world, and countless human thoughts could arise in any person’s mind. There are such a large number of complex things that interfere with cultivators. That’s why this approach was adopted and why you would cultivate this way. Even with it being like this, the closer it is to the end, the worse the things are that come out—even though the evil things have less and less strength. That is why some people find that the things coming up in their minds are filthy. I would like to tell you, and I often have encouraged practitioners by saying: it’s okay, just repel it, handle yourself well, don’t let it interfere with you, and you will be fine.      

     Since you are here among humans, what your eyes have seen and ears have heard include terribly filthy things from society. Do you know what it means to “have heard” or “have seen” something? It’s not what people think, where after you’ve viewed something, it’s over with if you didn’t take it with you; or when you’ve heard something but didn’t pursue it further, it doesn't matter. That’s not the case. All things are material. When you have heard something, it has been infused into you, and it enters your body. When you have seen something, it has entered. Do you know why some cultivators in the past made themselves blind or deaf? They understood this. They wanted nothing other than cultivation, and did not want to be polluted any further. And so they did that. Of course, those are the methods of lesser practices. I’m just getting at the idea. We aren’t worried about those things, as society is what it is. Master saw this long ago and made sound arrangements for you, ensuring that you wouldn’t be affected by it. But whatever the situation, and however trying it may be, you have to remember that you are a cultivator, and you have to strive to forge ahead. And it will work out. That’s how you should handle it.      

     As your Master, when I teach the Fa and am addressing so many people, I can only speak in general terms. Some of you might have questions you are anxious to ask me about. Yet with so many people here, I won’t be able to answer everyone’s questions. But even if I just answer a few of them, perhaps you’ll find this to be a good opportunity. (Applause) I’ll stop here, then. I’ll now answer some of your questions, even if not for very long (applause), as I know that the conference started a bit late today and you haven’t had a lunch break. I’ll do what I can to answer some questions for you. Okay, you can pass your slips up.

     Disciple: This year the New York Fa Conference is being held on May 13^th, which is a weekday. We’ve come to the understanding that this is because we need Dafa disciples to clarify the truth to mainstream society on a larger scale during the period of the Fa Conference. But many practitioners don’t understand why it’s being done this way.

     Master: It was decided by me. (Applause) Every time we’ve had a Fa conference, I have wanted to make use of it to save sentient beings. We want the world’s people to see that so many people are cultivating and that it’s not like what the evil Party has claimed. And during the period of Fa conferences, Dafa disciples go clarify the facts and save sentient beings. But Fa conferences have always been on the weekend, and so the cities are virtually empty. There hasn’t been anyone there to see your marches, so they haven’t drawn anyone’s attention. But that’s how it was always done. I told [the organizers] that, after all, most of the people who come to the Fa conference are from out of town, and they have to take off from work anyway, so it doesn’t need to be on a weekend. That’s why I said not to hold them on the weekend anymore. (Enthusiastic applause)

     Disciple: Recently I’ve sensed that there is a rather widespread issue with people letting up in their cultivation. And many people regard the projects that they’re working on as more important than clarifying the truth more widely and working together.

     Master: I actually noticed this problem a while ago. I’ve been observing. My reason for not saying anything was that the media must really do a very solid job and put their hearts into what they’re doing. But, you cannot forget that you’re cultivators.

     On that note, I’ll say a few words about our media. Previously, several of our media coordinators asked me how to do a good job with the media, and how things should be handled differently from ordinary people. I said that it’s simple: just do things the way ordinary media companies do—the more similar, the better. Be the same as them, run your business operations well, and maintain healthy financials. Just be like an ordinary company. The one thing to remember is, know that you are Dafa disciples, and that’s it. So, that said, whatever the case, don’t slack off in your cultivation.

     Disciple: In previous teachings, Master talked about Buddha Maitreya. You mentioned that the [Chinese] phonetic rendering as “mee-luh” was not accurate, and indicated that you would later tell us what the accurate rendering is.

     Master: At present the wicked CCP is constantly spreading lies. I’m not afraid of those, nor am I concerned about them bad-mouthing me. Rather, I don’t want them to interfere with the salvation of sentient beings. So with certain things, let’s talk about them at a later time. (Applause)

     Disciple: I’m a Dafa disciple who came to the U.S. from mainland China in 2012. I’ve heard that the Dafa Association issued a notice that those who came from China after 2005 are not allowed to help out with Shen Yun events backstage or with food service.

     Master: Since this has come up, I’ll say a few words about the situation right now. This time we discovered, via people’s registration paperwork in different places, that there’s a big problem. Namely, nearly half of our practitioners outside of China have gone back to visit China, and some go back and forth constantly. Some who have only recently come from China, notably, go there often. There are veteran practitioners who have done that too, though only a few. And among those who have recently left China, who left after the start of the persecution, some of them go back frequently. Give it some thought. I know that in many cases after a person went back, the CCP sought him out for “a chat.” Everything you said, and however you handled it—countless gods saw it.

     Do you realize something? With what I just said, I was alluding to something: you are treating cultivation too lightly, and you are toying with both your own existence and that of the countless sentient beings of yours who are waiting to obtain the Fa and be saved! You’re being so casual about cultivation. Do you think that the few words you said to the CCP to get them off your back, that the words you said in their presence, weren’t heard by anyone else and that it ended right there? It has been said that, “Gods are even just three feet overhead.” There are countless gods.

     As you know, I was just talking about how massive the cosmos is and how many sentient beings there are. All of what I told you is absolutely true. Right now, in the space where this Fa conference is being held, in the air here, at a very dense, extremely microcosmic level, there are eyes on every single particle—eyes peering in from great distances, looking at the conference hall, listening to me speak, looking at your thoughts and listening to your words. Something so significant is happening here in human society, something that impacts the lives of the cosmos. Just think about how many gods are watching you intently! With every single thought or idea, before it is generated in your mind—and even as it is being formed—they already know what you want to express. Sometimes I really am wondering: how could some practitioners be so disappointing? Why are they still like this after obtaining the Fa?

     If you are not responsible to yourself, it will bring others harm as well. The wicked Party has units that specifically probe into Falun Gong. Did you know that they have something as ridiculous as so-called Falun Gong “experts” and Shen Yun “experts,” who specifically study Falun Gong’s developments and this or that about Shen Yun. Everything is “intelligence” to them. What the Party does is abuse people on political grounds, so they want to find out even the trifling details of people’s daily lives. So, once they approach you, they appear to know everything already and to know you inside out. The goal is to scare you into divulging things and thinking that they know many things even without your telling them. The wicked Party has decades of experience abusing people for political reasons.

     I won’t fault that notice or the policy that was issued. The problems I just described do exist among you. I described just a few of them, and only one aspect, at that. The power of Shen Yun in saving people is significant, so isn’t it necessary to not let anything related to it be compromised?

     Disciple: Please allow us to pass on regards to Master on behalf of the Dafa disciples in Chengdu city of Sichuan province. Master has put forth such an incredible effort with everything.

     Master: Thank you. (Applause)

     Disciple: The Dafa disciples in Chengdu miss Master a great deal, and hope that the day when they can see Master will come soon.

     Master: Thank you. Since time is limited, let’s not pass up slips with greetings.

     Disciple: There are many older cultivators around me who on a daily basis do the three things well, including Fa-study and the exercises. But they are very stubborn. They have cultivated for over a decade, but their exercise movements aren’t accurate, and when they do the exercises or send righteous thoughts they often doze off. When it’s pointed out to them, they won’t listen or make a change.

     Master: Many of the older Dafa disciples’ bodies have aged. Perhaps there are some problems there. But on the whole, many of them have done a good job with cultivation and doing the three things. All the same, let’s really try to pay more attention to these issues and not give others cause for worry. Let’s set a good example for our younger practitioners. (Master laughs) (Disciples applaud)

     Disciple: A certain project coordinator is too attached to profit, and evaluates everything in terms of money. The person is not honest in business dealings, and often uses coercive approaches to manage people. This has made me question whether the project is on the right track. If I resign from the project, does that mean I’m changing my cultivation path with my own intentions?

     Master: Here’s what I think. If we’re talking about one of the media, which is a Dafa disciples’ project, then it should be run in the way that ordinary companies are run. But some Dafa disciples think, “These are all our own things. Why does the management have to be so strict?” And they even just do as they please. I don’t agree with that way of viewing things. What I advocate is the use of standard management practices.

     Don’t think of our media as some special kind of media that’s different from ordinary media. A company is a company. In Dafa there are no companies, and in Dafa there are no media. Those aren’t cultivation, and they are not part of Dafa. However, in that setting you can do cultivation, and you are cultivators. That’s how I look at it. Whatever company you are in, you should try to do better and not be averse to being managed.

     When running a company one has to think about financial performance. I am adamantly opposed to your constantly relying on practitioners for sponsorship and funding. So, the person in charge is naturally going to think about financial outcomes, and there should be nothing wrong with that.

     If the person in charge forgets, however, that he is a Dafa disciple, if he forgets that he’s a cultivator, then that is a problem. That’s my take on it. Of course, if on the management front people overdo it and go beyond what ordinary companies would do, then I think that’s not right.

     Disciple: 1) Certain family members have misgivings about how overseas Chinese Dafa disciples had to submit identification recently. Could I ask Master to say a few words of explanation?

     Master: I’ll explain by way of example. A practitioner told me about how in Hong Kong there are a handful of people who show up whenever there’s a critical meeting or a project meeting, but normally you have no idea where they are. You don’t know them and nobody knows their real names. Although I’m giving the example of Hong Kong, there are many places where the same problem exists. Dafa disciples’ projects need to be kept secure, and this is a special period of time after all, with the wicked Party persecuting people. So I think it’s fine that it was handled that way.

     Someone asked me, “As Dafa disciples, our cultivation isn’t supposed to have membership rosters, right?” Right, we don’t have membership rosters. The information that people submitted isn’t going to be used for a membership roster. It was only about wanting to know who you are. This is a unique time period. When in history have cultivators ever formed media companies? Who has ever fought back against persecution? Indeed, those are not part of cultivation. But, those are projects that Dafa disciples do to save sentient beings.

     Disciple: 2) After Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples have departed with Master, will there still be a Dafa Association in the future? If there will be, what will its relationship be to Dafa?

     Master: Your mind is too active. (Everyone laughs) Future matters are future matters. Things at the time of the Fa’s rectification of the human world won’t be handled at all like they are today. Whether or not there will be an Association will depend on whether it is needed at that time. (Master laughs)

     Human beings are not as simple as they seem. Human beings, the human beings I’m referring to, are people who tend to go by “seeing is believing.” They don’t acknowledge what they can’t see. But cultivation enables you to understand things by enlightening to the truth. So that’s the difference. For the people of the future, I will reveal to them and display before them the full picture of reality. So things will be different then.

     Disciple: For this Fa conference the Dafa Association was supposed to regulate attendance strictly. Yet there are practitioners who don’t meet the regulations but still tried to get in by pulling strings, and they even sought out all of their contacts.

     Master: Wanting to attend Dafa’s Fa conference—we can’t say there is anything wrong with that intention, and it’s a good thing. But, those managing the event won’t look at it that way. They have to be concerned with security and ensure that our Fa conference proceeds as planned, free of interference. These [two things] are at odds with each other, so I’ll let you figure it out for yourselves. (Master laughs)

     Disciple: Some practitioners got to know many Dafa disciples around the world via Dafa projects, and then started their own businesses. Should that be considered interfering with Dafa disciples?

     Master: Yes. If you use Dafa’s resources to make money for yourself, then what you are doing is no different than persecution. You will realize this in the future. This form of interference depletes Dafa disciples’ resources. Resources are limited, and they are meant to be used for Fa-rectification and saving people. In the future, there will turn out to be serious consequences for this.

     Disciple: I’m a Western practitioner. I’ve been working at our media in New York for several years. I’ve found that many Chinese practitioners even today still don’t know much about Western society.

     Master: That’s absolutely right. A lot of our people spend all of their time in the Chinese community. I’ve often suggested to them that they should find a job out in ordinary society and get to know the society, to learn how people in a free society think about things and do things. I’ve often said that.

     Disciple: I don’t quite have a good understanding of how we can make our media become well-grounded in society.

     Master: I think this question does warrant serious consideration from us. I’ve heard that there aren’t many people working at the English Epoch Times in New York, but that some Western practitioners there are very organized in the way they do things. I was delighted to hear that. It will surely grow in a healthy way in the future, and even surpass our Chinese language media, for this is an English speaking society after all. (Applause slowly rises)

     Disciple: When a practitioner was interfered with by sickness karma, another practitioner suggested that we ask cultivators whose third eyes are open to help “achieve benevolent solutions.”

     Master: Then that person has allowed demons to develop in his mind. What “benevolent solutions”? Is anything that happens to a Dafa disciple just by chance?

     You know, after arrangements for a Dafa disciple have been made, even I, his master, can’t change them again. There are two reasons why I can’t change them. If I were to change them, his entire path of cultivation—from start to finish—would be altered completely, and everything would have to start over. The other reason is, if I really were to change the arrangements, all of the old factors would interfere.

     I don’t accept this persecution. Then how is it that they can interfere? It is because Master’s human body is in the outermost dimension. My enormous body and enormous power are separated from the parts of the cosmic body that have yet to be rectified by the Fa, and contained in those places are countless levels of universes and lives, all of whom are gods. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be blocked. In the Fa-rectification I am constantly pushing forward, rectifying the Fa level by level. Level by level, those that are to remain are being kept and those that are not to remain are being destroyed; I am pressing forward constantly at lightning speed. The cosmic bodies that have yet to be rectified by the Fa separate me like that, and for this reason, the old forces are able to go about persecuting Dafa disciples and interfering with me. So what could you “benevolently resolve”? Could you impact something as enormous as that?

     Moreover, dimensions are exceedingly complex. Within even something as thin as a sheet of paper there may be hundreds of millions of dimensions. Each dimension has its own, enormous timescale. As you know, the more microcosmic a particle is, the greater its energy; or in other words, the greater its power. Molecules cannot do anything to atoms, but atoms can disintegrate molecules. You see the idea, right? The more microcosmic a particle, the greater its power. How could you impact it? They are at different layers. Some of our practitioners are often not on the Fa. They’re very interested in lesser paths and all kinds of messed up things, and they talk nonsense.

     With dimensions being that complex, some students with third eyes that are not open completely, but partially open, cannot see the full picture, and all of what they see are complicated, false visions. It is not that someone is trying to show the person false visions. Rather, he simply cannot see all of the true picture. He can see just a speck of it, and that one speck will become a false picture for him. When there is a person before him, in front of and behind that person, and to the left and to the right of him, there are countless, innumerable dimensions within which there are countless and overlaying lives, so how could he possibly sort out those things? How could he know what the connection is between those beings and that person? That’s why sometimes when a practitioner talks about this or that spirit possession, I’d say he’s the one who is possessed. I have always told you: you cannot see the true picture, so don’t make irresponsible remarks, and be sure that you cultivate on the Fa. Anything one encounters in cultivation is a good thing.

     Disciple: A group of young practitioners are about to graduate from the Fei Tian school in Taiwan and become college students. I’d like to ask how they can do well at validating the Fa in the future.

     Master: I think that if you are qualified you can join a professional [performing arts] company, or you can pursue advanced studies in your field. If you don’t have the qualifications for it, you can choose a different area of study. Whatever it is you study, do well at it, so at a minimum you’ll be proficient at something in this society. There are a lot of Dafa disciples who are computer experts, scientists, and people with top-notch talent. That is why the web technologies developed by Dafa disciples are the only ones in the world that can break through the wicked CCP’s Internet blockade. (Applause) Various governments and major corporations are using our web portals to connect with mainland China. What I am saying is, make use of your expertise. To use your words for it, help Master in Fa-rectification and save sentient beings. That’s what you should do.

     Disciple: Last year my sister brought a friend to Japan specifically to see Shen Yun. After returning to Hong Kong, the friend resolutely joined in with a Falun Gong march, walking the whole route. She wished she could have come to this year’s New York Fa Conference, and three times asked me to send Master her regards and thank him. My [ordinary] friends also left me a voicemail wishing the Dafa conference success. Sentient beings are awakening.

     Master: Some other ordinary people, people who don’t cultivate, have also joined in Dafa marches. They’re all awakening.

     We have some new practitioners, Western practitioners, who might not grasp what it means when I say that this affair is so enormous. I’m telling you, whether you believe it or not—since this is a Fa conference and I’m teaching the Fa to Dafa disciples, I speak at a level somewhat higher than normal, so it’s possible you might not be able to accept it and new practitioners might not understand it—but I want to tell you, the kings of every country throughout the entire world of every historical period, and numerous kings in the heavens, all incarnated in China and [many of them] are currently Chinese persons. That is because China was to be the heart of the Fa’s spreading and cultivation. This was something decided before history began.

     Chinese people, owing to all the persecutions they’ve been through, have been in terribly bad shape in recent times, and their outward appearance is even unsightly. But I will tell you: your king, your people’s king, may very well be one of them. This is absolutely no small matter, as you will one day realize. As for other countries, besides the ones that will be able to remain as a result of our efforts to save sentient beings, there will be the Fa’s rectification of the human world, which will happen later. But that’s a future matter, a human matter.

     Disciple: As of now more than 160 million people have withdrawn from the three [Party organizations]. But a large number of Chinese people have yet to do the three withdrawals. The number of Dafa disciples is huge. If each Dafa disciple could speak out, we would be able to save a greater number of people. Is it that, right now, the number of Dafa disciples who are clarifying the truth is still too small?

     Master: I believe that all disciples are clarifying the facts to varying degrees, in keeping with their cultivation states. Those with good states are clarifying the facts a lot, and those whose states are a bit lacking are clarifying the facts a little. That’s more or less what is happening. As for the strength of their truth clarification, those who frequently go to clarify the facts to people are really remarkable, and they have grown quite experienced. The number [of withdrawals that they have helped bring about] is quite large. The issue is that many people haven’t taken clarifying the facts seriously. But not taking it seriously is actually no minor thing. If it’s because you’re involved in a project, then that’s not a problem, since you are helping that project to clarify the facts. But if that’s not the case, and you, as a Dafa disciple, don’t clarify the facts, then it means you haven’t taken on the responsibilities that Dafa disciples are supposed to take on.

     Disciple: Several practitioners involved in the media in our area have had serious issues to some degree or other. During Fa-study it’s as if their eyelids can’t stay open, when some of them send righteous thoughts their hands droop over badly, and during exercises they fall asleep.

     Master: In many Dafa disciples’ cases, if they are indeed busy with a Dafa project, then it’s excusable. The demands involved in saving people really can make you very busy, so it can be attributed to circumstances and is excusable. But if that is not your situation, then it’s a matter of you not being diligent in cultivation.

     Disciple: They stand or kneel to study the Fa, but as soon as they sit to do so they get sleepy again. They haven’t been able to break through this for a long time. The practitioners I’m referring to all shoulder a lot of work.

     Master: Indeed. My thought on Fa-study is that, whatever the case—be it standing up to study or whatever approach you use—you definitely have to treat it seriously. Master knows that many practitioners are quite busy, with only a few hours of sleep each day. And that’s how this problem comes about.

     Disciple: Is the same effect achieved if one studies the Fa with an e-book instead of an actual book?

     Master: It’s the same, but I think that using an actual book is best. That book is precious, and nothing can compare to it.

     Disciple: Can a person who frequently returns to China serve as a coordinator?

     Master: Well, if that area has only two people in it (audience laughs), then he can. Otherwise he cannot. (Audience laughs, applauds)

     Disciple: Some practitioners think that circumstances in mainland China have eased up, so as long as one’s righteous thoughts are strong, one shouldn’t have any problems.

     Master: Strong righteous thoughts reduce persecution, for sure. Having strong righteous thoughts is a result of cultivation. But cultivation is something solemn. The old forces absolutely won’t let you off the hook if they see human attachments in you. The old forces have been undermining what I want to do, but they really don’t dare to undermine the Fa-rectification. That’s because if the Fa-rectification were to cease to exist, that would be the end of everything in the cosmos, for the enormous cosmos has already reached the final, last phase of the cycle of formation, stasis, degeneration, destruction, and so all beings have been putting their hopes in this Fa-rectification. If the Fa-rectification were sabotaged, everything would be no more. So nobody dares to truly undermine it.

     Disciple: A fellow practitioner hasn’t joined other projects after his release during the reorganization of our media. He doesn’t study the Fa, do the exercises, or send righteous thoughts much, and stays up late and sleeps in. Sharing with him has proved futile. I’m very worried about him.

     Master: Indeed, that is certainly worrisome, as the old forces will soon go after him. And I’m not just saying that. There have been simply too many cases like this, and too many lessons.

     Disciple: It seems that he is being interfered with by some external force, and that all we can do to help him is to send righteous thoughts.

     Master: When there’s something a person can’t get over, there is an attachment. If the person has a problem himself, it is not something that you can resolve by sending righteous thoughts. If, however, the person’s righteous thoughts are strong but the demons are many and the person can’t handle it by himself, and you assist the person by sending righteous thoughts, then that helps. But if his own thoughts are inadequate, and he doesn’t want to take action himself, then interference is sure to come and it will be hard at that time for you to clear it out by sending righteous thoughts. That’s because the person himself must have righteous thoughts for any action to be effective and for your assistance to be helpful.

     Disciple: For many years we Dafa disciples in Eastern Europe have been at odds with the coordinator. Any time we suggest clarifying the facts he blocks it, yet he and his little clique don’t do anything. We’ve tried to communicate with him but not gotten anywhere.

     Master: Then the person should be replaced. Indeed, some people who hold onto a lot of human attachments are like that. This also came up in the early years when I was imparting the Fa, where someone would lead a group of people and show himself off, putting on airs. And then there are others who lead a group and they all have a ball together, in which case, are you mistaking this for a social club? That’s human attachments at work. All sorts of human attachments do play out in the course of cultivation. If the person himself isn’t diligent, and he leads a group of people in such a way that it affects their being diligent, then what role would you say he’s playing? If you can really get back on track, then you’ll still be a Dafa disciple. But if you can’t get back on track, then you will be dealt with like a demon that causes interference. That is the case, but I’m not saying that I will do something to him. What Master does is save people, not punish so-and-so. However, those old forces will not let him off the hook.

     Disciple: At present, how are we to save those who’ve arrived at crooked understandings, especially those who were assistants around July 20^th or who were at the forefront at one time and who still have influence over a group of people?

     Master: There’s no special approach. Just speak with them, and try to see where they went wrong, see if you can help resolve their stuck points. When it comes to saving people, that’s how we do it.

     Disciple: What can post-July 20^th practitioners do to better handle the test of sickness karma?

     Master: In cultivation a person’s ordeals are not eliminated in one shot. [The karma from] lifetime after lifetime is piled up like a mountain. If it were eliminated in one shot, one wouldn’t survive it. Instead, it is divided into stages, and may even span all the way until the end of your cultivation. So you shouldn’t think, “Why do I still have sickness karma after cultivating for so long?” You can’t look at things in the same way as the cultivators of the past. You do your cultivation among ordinary people, so this is the form that your cultivation takes.

     Disciple: I’m a disciple from the mainland. I’ve interacted with fellow practitioners from various places, and I’m left with the impression that overall we have become more and more mature and rational, and that circumstances are gradually being changed. However, if Dafa’s standard is used to measure things, then, from the surface at least, it appears that not many people have met the standard; of course, it really hasn’t been easy for everyone, given the persecution.

     Master: That’s true. As the circumstances get easier, people become bolder and their fears subside a bit—though it’s not that they have no fear. When their fears subside they have the courage to step forward. Yet the fear has not in fact been eliminated. So, this manifests as people being diligent to different degrees, their doing things with different degrees of vigor, and their cultivation states being different. That’s what happens. Those who have done really well have managed to always hold fast to the Fa and cultivate according to Dafa. They understand things on the basis of the Fa and elevate on the basis of the Fa.

     Disciple: I’d like to ask Master to tell us about the significance of Taiwan’s doing the large-scale formations of Chinese characters each year.

     Master: Taiwan has done a great job with its annual large-scale Chinese character formations. (Master chuckles) I think they’re a magnificent sight. When ordinary people see them, they too find them to be sacred. And when the evil sees them, they are definitely terrifying.

     Disciple: Ever since the labor camp system was abolished in China, brainwashing classes have since become prevalent again. Some lawyers with a sense of justice have collaborated with us to dismantle those dark dens. The last couple of times we went to the brainwashing classes to speak out, and went to the local procuratorate bureau and Agricultural Reclamation Bureau to press charges against the evildoers, it really frightened the evildoers.

     Master: Dafa disciples have done a great job with these things. Some specific officials who have persecuted Dafa disciples still can’t see the situation for what it is, and the evil is making use of them still. The evil looks not only at Dafa disciples’ human attachments, but also at ordinary people’s human attachments so as to make use of them. All of your surroundings are your cultivation environment. And so those bad people will keep being made to do those things by the evil as long as their superiors haven’t directed them to stop persecuting, for that is what their task is and that is their job function, and the evil is going to keep exploiting them. There used to be a saying in China: one thief has made off with the donkey, while a second one foolishly tries to steal the pole [it was tied to] [and ends up being made a scapegoat]. Those bad people are like the person that steals the pole.

     Disciple: I’d like to ask whether our media should be learning from the culture of Shen Yun, and get rid of the Party’s culture?

     Master: It’s not the culture of Shen Yun; what Shen Yun displays is traditional culture. But it’s right to not have the Party’s culture.

     How did Shen Yun first get started? There was a group of Dafa disciples involved in the arts who wished to use their professional skills to expose the persecution and save sentient beings. Back then, since the persecution had just begun, many people had all sorts of thoughts and ideas about what to do, and they couldn’t pull it together, or collaborate together. The result was that the outcome of their performances wasn’t great and the quality of the pieces wasn’t good enough. I observed that as people were leaving the theater afterwards, they were making all kinds of comments, but not many of these were compliments. The words that I heard weighed on me. The Dafa disciples’ intentions were good and they wished to save sentient beings, but the outcome wasn’t good. After a couple rounds, I found that quite a bit of manpower and resources were going into it, and yet the outcome wasn’t good. Another consideration was, this was something that would require a high level of professional expertise, and so it wouldn’t work if there was no overarching approach to it, and nor could it save people. So, afterwards I thought, “I’ll lead them in doing this.” And that was how Shen Yun was first established.

     Once Shen Yun was established, right from year one it made a big impact. The key thing was that audience members had a positive experience, and the understanding they got from it was what we had hoped for. The response was terrific. But then I also saw that the performers at that time didn’t quite have the physical attributes required for dance. They were recruited in a rush and took the stage after only some brief training. And the same was true for the orchestra: a large group of people came to join, of all ages and abilities. I felt that this wasn’t a sound long-term approach. If Shen Yun was to have greater power in saving people, we would need to develop our own performers. We thus established a school and began to develop our own dancers and musicians.

     So that was the process we went through. In terms of management and the way of doing things, since these were cultivators and at the same time it was a performing arts company, as for how to run it well and balance those considerations well, and what would be more suitable from a management standpoint, I gave it a great deal of thought before finally settling on an approach.

     With regard to the whole process of doing this, I’ve in fact also wanted to show other Dafa-disciple-run projects: you can’t do things in a half-hearted way. I told them long ago that they should develop talent in-house. If you always need to be pushed to do things, then that’s no good, and you won’t do them well. At present, Fei Tian Academy is developing a limitless number of performers—a huge supply of talent. Just look at these couple of years: each year we establish a new [Shen Yun] company. And in terms of how things are managed, as you know, the cultivation states of Shen Yun Performing Arts’ members are excellent, except for those who were recently recruited from society and who don’t quite understand yet. Many have an excellent cultivation state. These are all things I’ve wanted other projects to see. Of course, the show requires a high level of skill, but in a short span of time we were able to quickly raise its profile, making it a world-class show. No other performing arts company can compare. And that’s because these are cultivators. But as it now stands, I can’t free myself from it and it keeps me very busy. Yet nobody would be able to take my place anytime soon.

     Disciple: In our area it seems that some projects haven’t been handled in an upright manner, and even the direction they’re heading in seems to be off. I feel powerless to change anything. It always seems that there are certain factors that don’t conform to the Fa at work behind the scenes, controlling things, with impure motives. So I’ve decided not to get involved.

     Master: It’s not possible for there to be no conflicts. It’s a human attachment if you become passive when things don’t go your way. Whether or not to participate in something is a personal matter. If you decide not to be involved with one thing, and choose to work on another project or clarify the facts, that’s fine. But, as a Dafa disciple, if you see problems in our media, don’t do nothing about it. You are a Dafa disciple, so if you see that someone has a problem and you don’t say anything, then that’s not good for that person, either. Bring up the issue with goodwill and try to resolve it. Regardless of who is involved, nobody is given positions of power among Dafa disciples; the coordinators are just points of contact, and each person is in the process of cultivating. I’ve often said this: if you sincerely do it for the other person’s sake, and there is nothing self-serving on your part, your words will be able to move the other party to tears. Want to give it a try?

     Disciple: In China some practitioners are online from morning until evening. They contact people, study the Fa and share with others online, and run around to different places throughout the country.

     Master: With some things, with some specific things in China, I would rather not comment much, particularly when it might affect practitioners’ safety. Some things play a positive role, while with some, too many human attachments are mixed in. With some other things, I’m observing. It’s a process of cultivation after all, so with these matters we’ll have to watch and see what the results are. If you see problems, do say something—for the sake of saving people. It’s vital that there be a strong positive force among our Dafa disciples.

     Disciple: Master has been teaching the Fa for an hour and twenty minutes now. Should we continue to pass up question slips?

     Master: (Laughing) These will do. Let’s not pass up more.

     Disciple: As Fa-rectification presses forward, it is important that we form one body; each Dafa disciple has a responsibility for merging himself into the one body. Yet a few disciples still haven’t realized this.

     Master: Master has never, with cultivation matters, wanted to impose some kind of hard and fast uniformity, stipulating that things be this or that way. Everything in cultivation is determined by one’s own level, understanding, and cultivation state. Some things need everybody’s cooperation. If you have the heart for it, then participate; but if your understanding hasn’t reached that level, you won’t manage to work together with others even if you do participate. In some cases it’s human attachments at work. Those people may have cultivated very well in some regards, though, so you can’t say that they are no good. Yet if someone has done something well but hasn’t done well with other things, then that won’t do.

     Disciple: In this year’s Shen Yun program the lyrics and emcees refer to “the Creator” multiple times. Audience members have asked staff or our reporters just who exactly this “Creator” is. Disciples aren’t sure how to respond.

     Master: Here’s how you can respond to them. Everywhere in the world people know the idea of a Creator; the Law of the universe is the Law that created the world, and the Creator created the universe, including all lives at every level within it. As cultivators, we know that the universe’s Dafa (Great Law) is being spread. The gods hold that as long as you have a human body, you can’t be called a god. As you might know, in Tibet lamas are called “living Buddhas.” The gods in the heavens aren’t exactly pleased with that expression. They quip, “If you are a living Buddha, then are we dead ones?” (Everyone laughs) As long as a person has a human body he cannot be called a Buddha. A Buddha has the complete look of a Buddha, whereas a human has the complete look of a human. We know that the Creator has now come. Don’t talk about it too specifically, as, currently, Master is just spreading the Fa. (Applause)

     Whatever name is used, the purpose is to arouse people’s righteous thoughts. If you were to say to a Chinese person that “the head of the evil Party has come,” he might figure, “So the evil ringleader has come. What’s the big deal?” When you say that some celebrity is coming, people will just take a glance. If you wish to arouse in people the righteous thought of cultivation, then speak from the standpoint of saving them, and the result will be different.

     Dafa disciples are aware that as Master reincarnated downwards level by level through the universe, he assumed a variety of names. But at this time, with the complete look of a human being, I am your master—the master who teaches the Fa. That’s it. ( Applause) Just regard me as you would a normal human being.

     Disciple: How can we make a breakthrough with clarifying the facts to mainstream Japanese society?

     Master: These things are for you to work out yourselves. It’s going to be hard for Dafa disciples from mainland China to turn things around in Japanese society. Because the sinister CCP has always been stirring up conflicts [with Japan], Japanese people tend to be strongly averse to China—to the extent that they won’t even attend Shen Yun. They are against anything Chinese. That’s how bad it is. This then makes it hard to clarify the facts. At the beginning I named a Japanese practitioner to be the main Dafa assistant, but when it came to the coordination work, the Chinese mainlanders always asserted themselves and snatched [the responsibilities for themselves]. As a result, things haven’t gone well on a large scale in Japanese society. Those are bygones, though, and things are what they are now.

     Disciple: In Hong Kong we now face the problem of having had our truth-clarification banners blocked by the evil.

     Master: Things have gone well in Hong Kong. Hong Kong, needless to say, is situated in the jaws of the evil. Those Dafa disciples who have stepped forward and done things there are outstanding. The Dafa disciples there have been a thorn in the evil Party’s side, and have had a great impact in saving people and clarifying the facts. (Applause)

     Disciple: Dafa disciples from more than fifty countries and two hundred areas send their regards to their compassionate Master.

     Master: Thank you all. (Applause) There are a few more slips. I’ll finish them.

     Disciple: Sometimes I see clearly the difference between myself and those Dafa disciples who have cultivated well. Will I still be able to make it to the level that Master arranged for me to reach?

     Master: There shouldn’t be a problem. I think that Dafa disciples—especially the ones who have made it through since July 20^th—needn’t concern themselves with too much. Just do well with the things you should be doing, and that will suffice. (Applause)

     As for newer practitioners, Master is really concerned about you, and I really hope you can catch up. If you take a look at the things taught in the past by all of those who you call saints, prophets, or messengers of God, and compare it with what’s taught in this Dafa today, you will realize that they did not in fact teach the Law. From ancient times to the present, not a single person was able to explain with clarity cultivation and the structure of the cosmic body, and even less so how human beings and divine beings are connected. Once you have read this Dafa, you will be able to understand the scriptures of any religion, though that’s not what this is for. Many accomplished people in various fields of learning have been stunned when they’ve read this Dafa. Some people haven’t read it sincerely, however, and so, instead, they felt that there wasn’t much to it. People are different and their mindsets are different. Because it is the Fa, after all, if one’s state of mind is not proper, if one’s attitude toward it is off, what it will show you, or reveal to you, will be different. It may even display nothing to you.

     Disciple: The marketing department at the Epoch Times has people study a certain theory of marketing. But this theory is one that’s normally taught to people who do pyramid sales in China.

     Master: Dafa disciples are Dafa disciples, after all. Just get down to it and do a good job at what you are supposed to do, and as you gain more experience you will be able to succeed. With things that require a high level of skill, just master the skills and you’re all set. With certain things, you may not need that kind of study. Actually, with whatever Dafa disciples do, if you put a bit of heart into it you’ll get twice the results with half the effort. If you ask me, it’s a question of heart. Many people say that they don’t know how to do marketing, but I would say it’s that they don’t want to put their heart into it. The key issue is that you haven’t steadily committed to it.

     Disciple: Does getting a divorce harm the Fa?

     Master: Getting a divorce has nothing to do with harming the Fa. No one can harm the Fa, for it is something that exists in the universe. You should just, as Dafa disciples in the course of cultivation, do what you should do, and you cannot do what you should not do. Whatever it is you do, try to gauge it with a cultivator’s standard. Divorce is permitted by law. So, if the two of you have nothing in common in life, and your spouse blocks your cultivation, then that’s a different story. But if that is not the case, and it’s that you are being fickle and have developed feelings for others, or if it’s that you now have some other ideas in mind, then you are at fault. Then there is a problem in your cultivation.

     Disciple: There’s someone who for a long time has tried to pass himself off as a practitioner. He claims that his third eye can see certain things and that he can cleanse practitioners’ bodies.

     Master: People like that have in fact allowed demons to develop in their minds. The more someone is like that, the more he will be given a false picture, which he then increasingly takes to be real. But who could change Dafa disciples? Of course, we don’t regard those who don’t truly cultivate as Dafa disciples anyway.

     In the eyes of gods, everything is conjured up. With just one thought from a god, something can become real. How does a world come to be? I’ve shared with you before the principle that’s at work. Human beings aren’t all that able; they have to use their hands and feet to accomplish things. Take for example the flower arrangement here on this table. Whoever arranged them had to insert them one by one, as well as pick them or buy them, and place them. Gods’ abilities are great, and their gong exist at many levels. Within the expanse of their position and level, whatever they want to accomplish, their gong is able to create it out of nothing. And the time field they use for this is one that’s exceptionally fast, with particles of their gong in all dimensions acting in concert, creating it out of nothing in merely an instant. Yet this is done in the fastest of times possible, so it is accomplished at just the thought of it. Human beings don’t have this ability, so they have to do things manually.

     Disciple: And this person tries to collect money from practitioners.

     Master: Then I would say that he’s not a cultivator, and you should keep your distance from someone like that. He’s not a cultivator anyway.

     Disciple: Recently a practitioner suggested in an experience sharing article that we not use electronic readers for doing Fa-study. I’d like to ask if that’s the case.

     Master: I haven’t said that you can’t use e-books. As a convenience during this special time period, anything is fine to use, but, of course actual books are the best. Technology already is what it is today, so if you choose to use it to study the Fa, that’s fine. It’s just that as a result [that device] will be blessed for it. But it’s no replacement for reading actual books for Fa-study.

     Everything is a being, and everything is alive. What you consider to be organic matter are things that display the traits of life here in this dimension. What you consider to be inorganic matter, such as steel, iron, stone, cement, or electrons, are things that simply don’t show signs of having life here in this dimension. That’s all.

     I’ll stop here. I’ve answered questions for over an hour. With the large number of practitioners here, I can’t answer all of your questions in a short time. The cultivation experiences that practitioners share during the Fa conference are important, for those are first-hand experiences that directly relate to you. I was merely saying a few words about things at present and answering a few questions. You all travel from afar every time and hope to hear Master teach something, so I wanted to spend a little more time with you. Actually, I really enjoy being with you. ( Enthusiastic applause)

     But however much Master says, you still have to make good on your cultivation. What Master is most concerned about is that at present a number of you have become not diligent. When the persecution first began you were full of vigor, and you turned around that entire situation. But as circumstances have eased up, you have instead slackened. Cultivation… There’s a saying, and it’s one I’ve shared with you before: “Cultivate with the heart you once had, and success is certain.” ( Enthusiastic applause) The reason many people didn’t succeed in their cultivation was because they weren’t able to make it through over the long haul. They might have felt lonely or bored, or they might have become so familiar with something or have grown so accustomed to something that they didn’t want to do it anymore. Anything can cause a person to become lax. So you should continue to be diligent. In the past, there would be sudden tests for cultivators even at the very last step. If you grew increasingly lax, you certainly wouldn’t be able to pass that test.

     Of course, that’s not the path that Dafa disciples are taking. What more could possibly block you? I’m just giving you the general idea here. You have already made it through the hardest period. I’ll tell you, the Dafa disciples from the early period, those who formed ties of destiny with me during history, or who came here following Master—each and every one of you—if you had wanted to accomplish something in ordinary society, every one of you could have been a billionaire, every one of you could have been famous, and every one of you could have been among society’s elite. But this lifetime you came here to be a Dafa disciple, and you passed up all of those things. If you had wanted to be rich, you could have long since been rich. Don’t let your soul’s long-cherished wish be extinguished over a few petty, worldly temptations.

     Your life came to this earth all for this. How could you not be diligent, and grow lax? This is your moment of destiny, the chance you have waited all eternity for! For however long it has been, you were all along preparing for this, suffering and shedding karma. Yet now, after all the hardship and pain, when you have made it to this day, somehow you have become not diligent. Isn’t that a shame?! Yet this juncture is critical, and if you are not diligent now, you’re done for. Was it not exactly for this moment that your life came here?

     For what was it that your life journeyed through history to this day? For just one, brief moment. In the long river of time, this stretch is really but a moment. Don’t be so passive and down—get going! You are a cultivator. Sentient beings are waiting for you to save them!

     Thank you all! ( Master does heshi and surveys the hall; all Dafa disciples stand and applaud at length.)

Editors' Note: Translation last updated June 26, 2014