Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference
Li Hongzhi
October 16, 2015, in Los Angeles
(All in attendance stand and applaud enthusiastically.)
We have two Fa conferences a year [in the U.S.]. A large number of practitioners flock to the conference each time, coming from many places to the host city. The expenses involved are significant. Sometimes I’m even thinking that all of that money could really resolve major issues if it were used instead on Fa-rectification things. So what I’m thinking is, we absolutely cannot let our Fa conferences become mere formalities. You really need to learn from each other and find where you fall short through the conference, such that it truly becomes a Fa conference of Dafa disciples that helps you all to cultivate diligently together and do better in your efforts.
As you know, each time there’s a Fa conference everyone wants to hear Master teach something and hopes for some kind of change in the larger situation. But if you can, as cultivators, steady your minds a bit and do well at what you’re supposed to do, everything will be there for you, in fact. If you can all manage to do the three things well, divine beings will look after you even if you are off in a remote corner of the world, and so will Master’s law bodies. Any human thoughts or attachments you have will make it hard for you to improve and elevate, and at the same time, will be seized upon by the old forces and evil factors, for sure. From the perspective of a high plane, the old forces only aim to get things done according to their designs for this affair. They don’t care whether you are diligent, what interference demons cause, or whether the impact of the trouble brought upon the world’s people is appropriate. Then there are those middle-level beings who are carrying out the specifics [of the old forces’ designs], just mechanically completing their tasks, maintaining the balance between the evil and Dafa disciples. Those that are directly involved and playing a negative role don’t intend for you to cultivate. Each instance of human thinking during a test, each instance of inadequate righteous thoughts, and each attachment that a cultivator has will be seized upon by them as an excuse to drag you down and take you out from among the ranks of cultivating Dafa disciples. This results in our paths of cultivation being full of tribulations as well as danger.
Each of your attachments could cause your cultivation to fail. Each of your attachments could result in physical issues, and lead your once-firm faith in Dafa to waver. In other words, to tell you the truth, no one intends for your cultivation to be a success and no one is giving thought to how your cultivation goes. The old forces want only to complete what they want to see completed, and that’s it. And as for those who are carrying out the specifics, inflicting harm, and playing negative roles, they want to bring you down and to ruin this affair, as they don’t know how this affair is going to conclude. Evil is just evil, after all. Master is the only one who is steering your cultivation toward consummation; Master is the only one truly doing so. What Master is doing isn’t a mystery to only human beings, but also to divine beings. Nobody knows what I am doing. That was especially so at the beginning. Thus they have been so bold as to interfere and to put in place their own designs. And it is under precisely these circumstances that you cultivate. It really is dangerous if you can’t treat it with all due seriousness. And in some cases they go so far as to select a practitioner, not even considering whether the person has attachments, for purposes of testing the practitioners in that locale, so as to elevate people’s xinxing and test their faith. They will cause that cultivator to die, make that Dafa disciple depart early, and make others waver. This approach doesn’t seem right, but on a larger level they do have grounds for it, which are, how could such a large group of cultivators not be put to the test—not be tested to the core? So they do have grounds for it, and all of this is thus terribly serious for you.
You have gone through so much in all these years of cultivation, and yet many people have really done poorly. They constantly make all sorts of mistakes, and have even grown used to it, and consider it nothing; even when ordeals come they don’t realize where the problem lies, as they have become accustomed to it and consider [their attachments] just little things. But it’s cultivation—whatever happened to being “free of gaps” (wu-lou)? There are no little things. Also, in these years many terrible things have come about among the ranks of our cultivators, and served as all kinds of interference to our practitioners. It may seem that [it’s only a problem of] the old forces arranging for you to stir up trouble among us so as to reveal people’s attachments, and that is the old forces’ goal. But when you are doing those things, have you thought about all of the consequences? What’s in store for you in the future? You really aren’t being rational. Some people have repeatedly cheated our Dafa disciples out of money. They collect funds and swindle Dafa disciples in the name of all kinds of alleged causes. Everyone came here for the Fa. Now that you have done those things, I have a few words for you. Master came here to save all of creation. As long as there is a sliver of hope that you can be saved, I will try to save you. Regardless of how poorly you have acted, I will treat you the same as I treat the good practitioners. So that you may be saved, you won’t see any difference in how I treat you. And this even holds true for secret agents—you won’t see me treating you any differently, or acting in any unusual way toward you.
Saving people is an enormous challenge. At each Fa conference Master addresses certain issues that specific people have, with the purpose being to help you to truly understand the Fa and cultivate in line with it. And at each Fa conference Master is explaining Zhuan Falun; never does it go beyond that. If you can manage to persist in studying the Fa, truly set aside your human thoughts and attachments when you read the Fa, and sincerely read Zhuan Falun every step of the way, then you will win the admiration of divine beings. Even ones who have been causing trouble and playing an adverse role will think, “Wow, this person is really outstanding.” That’s what they will think.
The old cosmos has ended and the new one has begun. This is not a simple concept. To illustrate, consider how the cells of your body that are constantly subject to metabolic processes are always being renewed and replaced. The planets that we can observe are likewise constantly being replaced and renewed. It is catastrophic to the lives there; as long as they reside there, they cannot escape it. So, such catastrophes happen constantly in the cosmos. When a person dies, all of the cells of his body must die, and the person is no more. So, never in the cosmos has it been the case before that, when the old cosmos was no more, someone who wanted to be part of the new cosmos could do so. Why is it that even divine beings are unaware of [what I’m doing]? Because it has never happened before. There has never been an instance where lives that had cultivated well were directly transferred over to the new earth and the sentient beings of the old universe were brought over to the new universe after they were renewed. So isn’t this a difficult undertaking? There is no precedent from the past to draw upon. When at times I reasoned with the old forces and they had no way to respond, they said, “We don’t know how.” They said, “We don’t know how to do what you are talking about.” Today I’m speaking to Dafa disciples, and veteran disciples can all understand my words. That’s why I have said these things. Those who aren’t cultivating or who haven’t been diligent could never believe what I am saying or comprehend it.
All of the interference that has come about among the ranks of our cultivators has in fact revealed the problems that the body of Dafa disciples has. Those who have been stirring up the trouble are still at it regularly, and all along there has been interference. In the end how many people will be able to come through, and how many people will truly be able to meet the standard for a Dafa disciple’s consummation? Sometimes I’m really not optimistic. The Fa-rectification is bound to succeed; that’s certain. And for sure there will be Dafa disciples achieving consummation. But how many? I’m really not that optimistic at the moment.
The time that we have to cultivate is, as you know, just extremely brief for us. The pace of Fa-rectification is exceedingly fast, and yet in this short span of time we also have to fulfill our missions as Dafa disciples! What is a Dafa disciple? A disciple of the Great Way (Dafa) of the cosmos. Could it suffice to just attain your own, individual consummation? Who wouldn’t have become a Dafa disciple if that were the case? Dafa’s power to save people is simply enormous; it would have been really easy to achieve that. Dafa disciples have a mission, and it is both a formidable and difficult one. And added into the mix are the old forces. But actually, I can tell you that what you are doing is by nature that difficult, so if the old forces had not tried to intervene, some other force surely would have. They would have caused the same sorts of disturbances for you; that’s just what they would do. Because Dafa is so pure, righteous, and majestic, upon seeing such mighty virtue and power, and its positive qualities shining through as it saves lives, even gods are in awe, and no one would be so bold as to do negative things toward it. They would put up a positive front but still be trying to attain what they want—even forming something as large as they have in order to achieve their ends. That is how the old forces are, and what they are doing is interfering and doing harm. I knew how trying this affair would be, and so I resolved many things for Dafa disciples over the course of history, and for this reason I protected you life after life, watching over you all the way through. Yet at the present moment in history, at this brief-yet-critical moment that determines everything, the requirements for you are strict.
What’s going to become of you practitioners who haven’t done well? You all like to see me smile at you, but you should know that I do that to encourage you and express my hopes for you. Given how time is so extremely pressing, have you thought about what’s going to become of those who haven’t cultivated well? Some people still have a chance, but some no longer do. For some there is still time left, and for some their only hope is to sprint. But if the person hasn’t laid an adequate foundation, and if the person’s understanding of the Fa is limited, how could he have the drive to persist? Have you been diligent? If you haven’t laid a solid foundation that’s built on the Fa, you won’t be able to do that. That kind of determination and firm sense of conviction come from the Fa. Time is pressing, so I don’t want to just say pleasant things; I’ve already said many words of encouragement. (Master nods, pauses, and then scans the conference hall.) If many people indeed have fallen behind, or can’t keep up—and I’m referring to Dafa disciples—then really nothing could be sadder to see.
You have all seen how the situation has changed. I have always told you that the situation in the heavens, the situation of the cosmos’s Fa-rectification, and the situation on Earth correspond to one another. I’ve indicated this since the earliest days. Everything that happens on Earth is overseen by, and in the hands of, divine beings, and the changes that occur on Earth correspond completely to those happening in the heavens. All of the persecutors of Falun Gong are now meeting with retribution. There is still a portion of Dafa disciples who haven’t cultivated to the standard of consummation, as well as a portion who have done poorly but are still being given an opportunity. And that is why it is not the conclusion of this affair that is causing those persecutors to meet with retribution. If all of those who have persecuted Dafa disciples were to be arrested and brought to justice, this affair would be over, and there would be no further opportunities for those who haven’t cultivated or for those who haven’t cultivated well. So, it is in the form of political or power struggles, or corruption charges, that those who have persecuted Dafa disciples are being dealt with. All of those who are now being punished fall into this category, and none have escaped it. And it’s continuing. I know for sure that none of them will escape it, no matter what their rank is. It’s what ordinary people call “payback.”
Because this affair is being brought to a close, the evil doesn’t have the means to muster up a large force and once again do what it did starting on July 20, 1999. The tests of Dafa disciples have reached their final stage. This has led to some people wishing only to see things “end soon.” But why would you want that? So that you can start to lead a happy life? A stress-free life? Is that it? For a Dafa disciple, or for many a life, in fact, you would lose the chance to shed karma and lose the chance to progress toward consummation. I oppose the persecution, as I completely reject the old forces. Do you think that the suppressions Buddhism underwent in the past or the three hundred years of persecution that the Christians went through were because the evil overpowered the forces of good? No, that’s not why that happened. Those were cases of divine beings utilizing unbridled evil in order to perfect their disciples, to help their people reach consummation! The further that things now progress, the closer the end becomes. Once the wicked despot is brought to justice, won’t all of this come to an end, and the next phase begin? (Master nods with a look of seriousness.) Many of us haven’t made the most of this window of time.
As I just indicated, I don’t accept the persecution, for I have my own designs. However, since the persecution has taken place, I have been beating them at their own game by saving sentient beings and helping our Dafa disciples to achieve consummation during this period of time. As I just said, with something this big, there would have been some other force at work if it weren’t the old forces. Something like that would have surely unfolded. So, looking at things from a different angle, haven’t they also provided you with an opportunity to cultivate, and provided sentient beings with a chance to choose salvation? It is not possible for every person to gain salvation, nor to cultivate. But every person must inevitably, during this battle of good and evil, show their attitude, and each must even give their stance, which decides where they will go in the future. Each time in the past when a civilization was to be destroyed, it was never any worse than today’s. If it weren’t for Dafa being taught, humankind would not have made it past the final day of 1999. Why did people celebrate in such a way at the start of the year 2000? Why were they so happy? Although it seemed to be for a superficial reason—a new century had begun—everything is in fact arranged by divine beings, and people have a knowing side. But that wasn’t true salvation. People now must give their stance. How a being acts as Dafa disciples clarify the facts and save people determines his or her future.
Of course, a couple of years ago it was still difficult to clarify the truth. Some people were totally irrational since at that time there were a huge number of evil factors, which were controlling people. Those evil factors have now been progressively wiped out as the Fa-rectification has pressed forward and the bad things in the cosmos have been cleaned out, destroyed, and dissolved in large volume. And those changes are paralleled here among human beings. Now people are able to think things over with a clear head, and can have a good understanding of the persecution and of Dafa disciples and the evil party, so they are asked to take a position. So, naturally, it’s different now. When the circumstances were so evil, if someone had the audacity to take a positive stance, that being was just extraordinary. Beings are different; the cosmos has different planes, and beings of different levels are present at different planes of the cosmos. It’s different if a being was able to act in a positive way at the start of the persecution, when things were exceedingly harsh, versus doing so when circumstances have eased up.
Haven’t we seen a similar scenario play out among Dafa disciples over the course of their journey? Ultimately there’s a difference in levels between those who have done extremely well all the way through and those who have stumbled time and again, writing some [“repentance”] statement one day and then nullifying it the next, although pulling through in the end. If those who still aren’t rational even to this day really wake up today, start sprinting and try to catch up with others, and can really manage to do well, then consummation is possible for them. They won’t be able to catch up with those who are well ahead of them, however. In cultivation there are different realms. I am really anxious about this. The more time passes the more anxious I get. Back when the evil was rampant and at its maddest I was anxious too—anxious that you wouldn’t be able to hold up. But with time I saw that Dafa disciples could withstand any evil, and it was truly comforting to me. But now, when the end of the persecution is near, I’m feeling even more anxious than before. We have some people who just aren’t rational and are merely drifting along half-heartedly among Dafa disciples. So what are we going to do with you?
Of course, some of our practitioners have done quite well. But even those who have done well haven’t reached the degree required for consummation. In the past, cultivators would remove attachments one after another. But in your case, almost all of your attachments remain while they are weakened and lessened one layer at a time, weakened and lessened continually, further and further. That’s the approach that I have taken with you, and it allows our Dafa disciples to live normally among ordinary people prior to achieving consummation and to save people in a normal manner while being one of them. At the same time, precisely because your human thoughts haven’t been fully removed, it allows you to cultivate against their interference, and if you can stay alert and cultivate yourself at all times, and fulfill your responsibilities as a Dafa disciple, that is mighty virtue and is simply extraordinary. And that is your path.
I’d still like to answer questions for you. (Applause) You can pass up your question slips.
The Fa is not going to change, and Master has not changed. Some people have changed for the worse in cultivation, and aren’t as good as they were at first. It really hasn’t been a long time, though. In the past people talked about certain cultivators meditating facing a wall for nine years or their entire lives and enduring suffering all alone. Practicing in monasteries, mountains or forests, cut off from the ordinary world, and going through years of toil and suffering—how lonely would that be? But that is not the approach you are to take. And yet some people still loathe how long it’s taking. Yet in all of history no one has ever cultivated for only such a short time. But these people have allowed themselves to grow lax, and when even just a little interference comes, they forget that they are Dafa disciples. What are you cultivating for? For your reputation? Out of resentment? For the attachments you harbor? For your loved ones? For the things you’re attached to? For the things you can’t let go of? Aren’t all of these exactly the things that you should be getting rid of?
Disciple: I’d like to ask, Master, is it possible for us to save eighty percent of all lives? Can we achieve this goal?
Master: No, it’s not; not that many can be saved. The strength of the mighty virtue that many Dafa disciples have from cultivation is not great enough, and their righteous thoughts are inadequate. We have already lost many opportunities, lost many living beings. (Master pauses) We can’t now, for sure; this I know. It’s not entirely our Dafa disciples’ fault, of course. The old forces’ arrangements for this affair have caused this world to become terrible. There’s the modern thinking that people have, modern art, modern trends, and modern culture, on top of which there is the damage done to the culture by the wicked Party. It’s especially difficult for young people, who are growing up in such a setting. They can’t see these things for what they are.
Disciple: How is it that the old forces are still able to keep the world’s attention away from what’s happening in China?
Master: That’s how the old forces have arranged it. China is the stage around which everything in this world revolves. If you think about it—and I’ll give you a few simple examples—whenever something is happening in China, when a positive development is taking place, and other nations are about to put some pressure on China, problems come up somewhere else in the world, like with terrorists, religious extremists, or the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. But just think about it: nothing happens by chance. When the persecution of Dafa disciples was at its most severe point, the attention of the entire world would have been fixed on China if it weren’t for the other things that were happening. And that was when the Twin Towers in the U.S. were toppled. The terrorists were just out of control, and drew the world’s attention away. Nothing happens by chance.
Disciple: Can we use righteous thoughts to contain the old forces?
Master: What you can do is to reject the old forces. You can’t really alter this system of things that they arranged. Master is able to, but I must not, because if I were to do so at this point, my destroying their things would destroy everything; each and every thing would be ruined. So I try to beat them at their own game—that’s the way to do it. They aren’t able to affect the fundamental things. So as Dafa disciples you should just firm up your righteous thoughts, and do well with what you need to do. If you can manage to really do well in all three regards, nobody will dare to touch you.
Disciple: Do those in China who have already filed a withdrawal request with the wicked Party still need to make a public declaration on the website for quitting the CCP?
Master: For sure. They were able to take the initiative to quit the Party, which counts as having withdrawn from the wicked CCP, but their reason for doing so is unknown. Was it because they didn’t benefit [from the Party] as they had hoped to? Or perhaps it was some other, human type of motive like being upset about something? Then it doesn’t count, for a person has to state his or her stance, while good and evil play out so dramatically, for the mark to be removed.
Disciple: I’d like to ask whether we can regard the old version of Lunyu as one of Master’s regular articles (jingwen)?
Master: No, don’t do that. There was nothing wrong with the old Lunyu, but, since it was replaced, it should be replaced. Everyone is destroying theirs. The reason is, even if it were regarded as a regular article, it would still be putting science on a pedestal. Back in the early years it was used for the sake of saving people in modern societies that were heavily infused with scientific notions, and it wasn’t meant to be given such a high status. But later on people were giving it such a high status, and elevating it so much. But my—the things of this tiny little earth really amount to nothing in light of such a massive Fa as we have. So it wasn’t appropriate for it to be elevated so high.
Disciple: Can we print and distribute widely in China the two recent special reports from the Chinese Epoch Times newspaper?
Master: No, don’t do that. I’ve read them, too, and they seem to be addressed to those in the current regime. They aren’t written for or relevant to saving people.
Disciple: Some practitioners who have come to the U.S. from China once served as “helpers” in jails or detention centers—people who helped the evil in trying to convert practitioners—and some of them have long been terribly off-track in their understandings. Although they may have joined in with Dafa activities in the U.S. and consider themselves Dafa practitioners, they have yet to really recognize, deep down, the mistakes they made, and they even make excuses to try to cover up for what they did. For example, some of them say that they served as “helpers” in order to “protect” practitioners, but it seems that they are still hiding the attachments that they harbor deep within, even if they have written solemn declarations [to retract what they did while under duress].
Master: Indeed, cultivators are no ordinary people. Well actually, ordinary people aren’t ordinary, either. The ordinary people here today are different from those in history. They all have a knowing side. When you speak truthfully or falsely they know, in fact, and it’s very clear to them.
So what can you do if you’ve made mistakes? Yes, I have said that before the persecution has ended you still have the opportunity to cultivate and do well. And though I have said that, if you really understand what I meant, you should know not to always interpret things to your liking. What I was saying was, you still have an opportunity before the persecution ends. Yes, you still have a chance, but if you don’t make use of the chance that’s provided to you, or if you are still indulging yourself, then you are destroying yourself.
I have said before that, for a Dafa disciple, it’s okay if you’ve made mistakes. Just openly and honestly admit to your mistakes and show that you’re getting back on track and want to do well, and everyone will admire you for that. But if you try to hide those things and cover them up, those human thoughts of yours will only grow more complicated and stronger. And if on top of that your cultivation is a complete mess, what will practitioners think of you? What will they make of it? And how will gods regard it? And what am I to do with you in the future? Saving people, saving lives, is an act of compassion. But there will always be those who aren’t savable, after all. And who are they? They are the ones who don’t treasure their own lives. Those are the ones who can’t be saved.
Disciple: For more than a year after July 20, 1999, Master didn’t teach the Fa, yet during that time the general direction provided by Minghui.org was quite clear. Yet now Minghui.org has become more of a platform for publishing announcements or providing information and doesn’t offer much in terms of deeper sharings about the principles of the Fa, and…
Master: I don’t want to weigh in here on the different views that our Dafa disciples have on things. Those who run media have their ideas and thoughts on how to run media. That is their path, their cultivation, and so I’d rather not talk about those things. It’s really hard for anything to fit each and every person’s notions and thinking. The people you’re referring to are cultivating, like you, and are bound to have shortcomings, for sure. And the same would hold true for anyone else in that position. You can discuss and explore the issues together and raise your concerns constructively.
Disciple: Were the old and new cosmos created by the same god?
Master: A new student’s question. It was Zhen, Shan, Ren that created the cosmos.
Disciple: Large amounts of funds are needed for Fei Tian College’s construction project. Can cultivators who are willing and financially well-off help out a little?
Master: Since you’ve brought this up, I want to state that no one is allowed to solicit or collect funds without my consent. I have sternly told the practitioners involved in Fei Tian College’s construction project that they are not allowed to raise money among practitioners! Some of our practitioners accept other practitioners’ money, or ask practitioners for money in the name of fundraising for Dafa projects, yet they don’t have financial and accounting management in place and have used the money recklessly. Some people are swindling others. Some started off with good intentions, but when they started seeing lots of money they began to hoard it for themselves. Or in some cases people kept a portion for themselves and gave the remainder to practitioners or Dafa projects. These problems… I wonder what’s going to become of you in the future?
This applies to each and every Dafa disciple: if you were not a Dafa disciple today, you would have been one of the world’s big tycoons, with loads of money. That’s because if you weren’t a Dafa disciple, your mighty virtue—the massive virtue that you brought with you—could have been exchanged for a large amount of wealth. And that holds true for all of you. But you gave up that wealth when you made a conscious decision to be a Dafa disciple. You wanted to be a Dafa disciple, and you gave up those things. You actively made that decision, of your own will. And yet now you are stashing away that little bit of money that comes your way. How are you going to repay it? Today at this critical moment in history, with every penny and every little [thing], what’s being revealed is your realm, your state of mind, and your attachments as a cultivator, as well as whether you can achieve consummation or not. (Master pauses) What’s going to become of you?
Countless sentient beings in massive and distant cosmic bodies are waiting for you to save them. Those are your beings, and yet you are acting like such a disappointment here in the human world. All the beings that belong with you out there in the cosmos are watching you. They can all see it—your every move and action, your every thought and idea—they know them all. It’s so complicated here among humans. In the human world there is both faith in the divine and there is atheism, and the entire culture is being used as a demonic force against the positive elements! The way that humankind is today, during the Fa-rectification period, was made to be like this by the old forces. [Your beings] are watching and know how much those things of yours occupy your mind, what you are attached to, what you seek, and where you are headed. And yet sometimes some of you are being really ridiculous! It is these people that I’m talking about; many Dafa disciples are actually very good.
Disciple: I’d like to invite Master to have a seat.
Master: If I stand everyone can see me better. (Disciples applaud enthusiastically in appreciation.) From what I know, the construction at the Mountain and Shen Yun have accepted a small number of practitioners’ financial contributions, but the amount has been small. Shen Yun rarely accepts donations from practitioners; the majority of sponsorship has been from ordinary society, but the figure is small as well. With the other projects out there, I haven’t allowed people to ask practitioners for donations. Instead, I have even told them that financial support from practitioners is not allowed. Did you all hear that? Relay that to the others when you get home. Basically no projects other than the Mountain’s construction have been allowed to accept financial support from practitioners. I am aware that you are all footing the bill yourselves for your Fa-rectification work, and doing it of your own initiative. In China, practitioners are proactively using their own money to make [truth-clarification] materials, while elsewhere practitioners are proactively shouldering the [financial] burdens of the projects they are doing, and that is your mighty virtue. Some people, some Dafa disciples in particular, although they were kings with immense wealth, they became Dafa disciples and have never laid eyes on much money, especially large sums of money, and when they do lay their eyes on that, they have a bit of a hard time handling it psychologically. You need to watch out for this.
Disciple: Greetings, Master. I’d like to ask Master something. Before 1999 there were nearly 100 million Falun Gong practitioners. Now, after the persecution started, although not as many people seem to be practicing, to have only less than one hundred ninety thousand people suing Jiang between May and October is something we all find hard to believe. What’s the reason behind this [small number]?
Master: (Master laughs) It’s not like what you think, actually. Some of our practitioners feel that this is something they really should do, that it’s something Dafa disciples should do. Others believe that if they don’t make their identity public it will be helpful for the things they do. Still others worry that if they make their identity public they might get arrested someday. And some people simply haven’t given it any thought at all. In cultivation not everyone is in the same realm, they have different understandings of things, and of course their thoughts are different. I actually support the approach whereby key practitioners, practitioners who can make a significant impact, don’t reveal their identities.
Disciple: During group Fa study when we come upon the part about “2,500 years ago,” some people pronounce it [in Chinese] as “liang-qian” while others “er-qian”—in two different ways. Master, may I ask which way of pronouncing it is better?
Master: I think we’re accustomed to pronouncing it as “liang-qian-wu,” actually; nobody reads it as “er-qian-wu.” But Taiwanese practitioners do prefer the “er” pronunciation. I think any way of pronouncing it is fine. If you want to make it consistent during group Fa study, let’s just read it however I say it. Since I have said I pronounce it “liang-qian-wu,” let’s do that, then, okay? (Disciples applaud) These kinds of things don’t really have any impact on our cultivation. Different countries have different languages and pronunciations, and these things don’t affect anything.
My Dafa disciples, do you realize something? In terms of what I expect of you in relation to the Fa, I don’t have a lot of outward rules or requirements. But other religions and cultivation forms are quite stringent on those things. So why the difference? I only ask you to focus on the substance of Dafa, for that is what you are to cultivate by as Dafa disciples at present. As to surface things, I haven’t asked you to focus on them much, for those will be things addressed during the period of the Fa’s rectification of the human world. They are of too low a level for you to concern yourselves with—that’s the idea. The requirements will be high, however, during the Fa’s rectification of the human world, and at that time it won’t work if you aren’t reading the Fa in Chinese, if you don’t understand the meaning at the source.
Disciple: Right now we’re suing Jiang. In the next stage will we be suing the wicked Party?
Master: Suing the wicked Party? The Party will be no more after it’s eliminated. Even if you wanted to sue it, how would you put it on trial when it doesn’t have a physical form? You couldn’t try it in court. The evil elements are being eliminated, but in the future people will feel remorse over [the existence of] the wicked Party. People will be reflecting on what happened, and history will make a lesson of it.
Disciple: The culture of the wicked Party has poisoned mainland China’s Dafa disciples badly, and currently this is severely affecting our ability to do the three things well. Some practitioners in my area think that we should make purging the culture of the Party a focus by sending righteous thoughts at additional set times to specifically purge the evil specter, while still maintaining the four standard times for sending righteous thoughts. Some of us are looking within for our attachments, and repeatedly reciting the word “explode” from the line “the thunder of the gods explodes” in the poem “The Heavens Become Clear Again.” But some cultivators hold that this is a disruptive divergence from the Fa, and there have been big disagreements over this.
Master: As for Dafa practitioners sending righteous thoughts, if you are able to send righteous thoughts at the set times, and if you are able to send righteous thoughts when you experience interference to clear it out, then that’s good enough. You can send righteous thoughts when you encounter obvious interference and clear it out. But don’t do this very frequently or get a large number of people involved. That’s because Dafa disciples are all working on saving people and clarifying the facts, and so wouldn’t doing other things interfere? And if you try to come up with some new approach or some other format of doing things, then that’s also a problem. In that case of course Dafa disciples will be opposed to it. You should just handle these things rationally, in fact, and be sure to keep a clear head.
Disciple: Last month in one of the phone calls I made to raise awareness [in China], I clarified the facts to twenty or thirty people who were working together, and they all withdrew from the Party’s three organizations. They also repeatedly asked me to give their regards to Master whenever I next saw him. I’d like to take this opportunity today to pass on to our compassionate and magnificent Master all of the greetings to Master that kindhearted people have passed on over the years as I’ve raised awareness through phone calls. Best regards to you, Master! Thank you, Master! (Disciples applaud)
Master: Although it’s just a simple greeting, they did manage to express it at this time when the evil is persecuting Falun Gong, and they did so amid all the slander, lies, and vilification. That tells us that they are really quite decent. Of course, this happened as Dafa disciples clarified the facts well. It has to do with your managing to explain the facts to them well.
The cultivation that our Dafa disciples do, the cultivation that you do in this lifetime, is not, in fact, for the sole purpose of your consummation. In other words, if it weren’t for the responsibility you have to save sentient beings, I would have you achieve consummation even if you didn’t cultivate in this lifetime. And that is because some of you have cultivated many times in the past, and your foundations far exceed that of the average cultivator. So that’s speaking in terms of individual cultivation. Then what does the title “Dafa disciple” signify? Who came here to be a Dafa disciple? [You earned that title] because you have taken on the mission of saving all sentient beings. The cultivation that you have done as a foundation, and the righteous thoughts that you’ve developed through cultivation, are for the purpose of saving all lives. I’ll put it even more clearly: the cultivation that you are doing in this lifetime is to strengthen the righteous thoughts that your being at the surface has, and that is so that you can save all living beings.
Having heard this, some people are now thinking, “I see, we can achieve consummation even if we don’t work on those things.” But what I was saying was, if it were a matter of personal cultivation, yes, you could achieve consummation. But Dafa disciples are beings with missions, and so Dafa cultivation during the Fa-rectification period is different. If you are attached to personal cultivation, then that is considered an attachment! This is different from how things are in any other religion or cultivation way. Saving lives is the purpose of your cultivation, and it is the culmination of your vows, so how could you not do it?
Disciple: The coordinator at a certain materials site [in China] uses content from only PureInsight.org for making materials, and isn’t willing to use content from Minghui.org—even when there are good articles.
Master: Then isn’t there something he can’t get over, which is an attachment? Does he feel something was unfair? Or is it that Minghui.org doesn’t fit his thinking? Whatever the issue may be, if a person can save people [with the materials that he makes] then that is also fine. But he can’t take that attachment with him. It has to go.
Disciple: Recently in my area people have adopted a new approach to group Fa study, where after we read a paragraph of Zhuan Falun, we stop and discuss what we gained from the paragraph and what struck us the most about that part of the Fa taught by Master, or what insights we came to. I’m not sure whether this approach to Fa study is appropriate.
Master: No, no, that’s not appropriate. Don’t try to come up with some kind of novel approach. Just read as normal and try to understand the Fa. Whether you comprehend the Fa will change in the course of reading, and not through discussion and sharing. But, that said, the discussion and sharing Dafa disciples do can serve to strengthen each other’s righteous thoughts in cultivation, or help you see how others understand things. That is, it helps you have righteous thoughts toward cultivation, in some ways. It’s possible that something another Dafa disciple says could give you a hint as to an attachment you have or where you fall short. But your real improvement is sure to come from the Fa. You should read the Fa earnestly instead of coming up with newfangled approaches.
Disciple: I have joined my parents in studying the Fa since I was little, and now I’m an adolescent. I’d like to know what’s different about young disciples versus older ones.
Master: As a living being, each life has its own responsibility. Each is an individual life and represents its own group of lives. Young children follow their parents, and how well their parents cultivate will have an impact on them—especially when the child is the type that’s quite dependent on his or her parents. With the students at the Fei Tian school, or even Shen Yun’s intern performers, you can tell from how the person behaves how his parents’ cultivation is. It’s different if the student is very independent and has his own thinking. In that case he’s pretty much acting on his own.
Disciple: For a long time now we haven’t studied Zhuan Falun at the large group study in our area. We just study the Fa teachings given in different regions. Is that okay?
Master: No, it’s not. It’s okay to study the Fa teachings given in different regions occasionally. I’d encourage you to read those on your own at home. Just study Zhuan Falun at group study or large gatherings. Everything taught in the Fa lectures given in different regions is explaining Zhuan Falun.
Disciple: Practitioners who have been making phone calls to China sometimes encounter corrupt officials, who say things like, “We’ve embezzled huge amounts of money. The campaigns against corruption in China are worrying us, and we’re not sure what to do with the illicit funds we have.” And some have said things such as, “How about I donate the money to Falun Gong? And I will go live in America, too.” Some practitioners say that we shouldn’t accept their money, since it’s not clean. We aren’t sure how to respond if this comes up again.
Master: That’s what has become of this modern society, especially in mainland China. [Who knows] what is clean and what’s not? And even the money that does seem clean to you might not be, indirectly. That’s what has become of this society, after all. But we don’t look at the way things are on the surface. What we look at are people’s hearts. In this case, those people have the right heart when they say they are thinking about donating the money to Falun Gong—money that they embezzled, went to such lengths to acquire, and put themselves at risk for (everyone laughs). Then let’s think about it, while it is true that they’re doing this under the pressure of the situation they are in, whatever the case, they were thinking about giving it to Falun Gong rather than to others. Then there is still grounds for saving these people, wouldn’t you say? If the truth-clarification materials sites that Dafa disciples run are truly in need of funds, of course, and if these people want to donate some, then let’s let them. What would they otherwise do with that money, anyway? Although the money is not “clean,” if it’s used for saving people, then would you still say it’s not “clean”? That’s different then, isn’t it? And it will eliminate karma for whoever donated it. (Everyone applauds)
Disciple: Disciples in northern China want to help the disciples in southern China with their efforts to clarify the facts. What can we do to be more diligent together and help one another better?
Master: Some areas have been a bit weak, while some in the south haven’t. Things in China are changing quickly. As long as you all can do things wholeheartedly, you should be able to be self-sufficient wherever you are, since you are Dafa disciples, after all. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with helping one another, but if you do so, be sure to keep safety in mind.
Disciple: Should coordinators in different areas of China devote significant effort right now to finding former practitioners? And try to help practitioners who haven’t been diligent to organize more Fa-study groups and study the Fa more, and prompt them to step forward and help clarify the facts and save people?
Master: That should be done, it still should be, but you need to keep safety in mind. But here’s the thing—when I mention keeping safety in mind, you may be thinking, “But things have eased up now.” And yes, that’s pretty much the case in China, as the evil is on the decline. But the mechanisms formerly put in place for persecuting Falun Gong are still operating. They haven’t explicitly told people to stop persecuting and to do away with the mechanisms. So people in subordinate positions who do the actual work, such as those in the 6-10 Office and the police, are still doing things in accordance with what’s in place. But, nevertheless, the mechanisms are now quite worn out at this point. Many police are clear on the truth now and don’t do a thing [against us]. And many who have persecuted Falun Gong have now become afraid, sensing that the tide seems to be turning. They have been jumping ship. So this results in things seeming relatively relaxed now in some areas, and some individuals or in some places people now go out to the parks to do the exercises—you can even hear the music playing. But in some regions things are still quite evil. That’s how things stand.
Disciple: In some parts of China for a long time now there have been people undermining the Fa by giving speeches. How can we put a stop to this?
Master: I had addressed this matter before the persecution began, and stated that this is not allowed. Whoever is doing that is being driven by human thinking, attachments, and a desire to show off. And if it’s still happening now, that is a serious issue. It would be a different matter if things were really problematic in that particular area and this practitioner wanted to share and discuss with others. But if they are doing on a large scale what you indicated, then I would say they are doing the work of demons.
Disciple: I’ve worked at our media for a number of years, and feel increasingly confused. The management has a tough job to do, and in order to run the company well, they run daily training sessions. But to me it seems as though things are getting further and further away from cultivation. I don’t want to go to the meetings, and don’t want to listen to so much of those things, but am worried that people will say that I’m not complying with the management. I have to try to repel it with righteous thoughts every day, as I’m afraid that otherwise I’ll become more and more like an ordinary person. I’d like to know whether we can replace the time spent on meetings with Fa study instead?
Master: I will discuss specific things like this with the coordinators one-on-one. But I will say a few words here about something else. Here it is. Some of you working at our media really have no idea what you’re doing, and some people are even identical to ordinary people. Some people no longer even think about what Dafa disciples’ media are for. But who are you? You are a Dafa disciple, and you are here to save people. The purpose of your media is to clarify the facts, save people, stop the persecution, and expose the evil. And whatever else you do is to raise the profile of your media so that they can be successful at those purposes. So you have to know what you are doing. I have spoken with the people in charge of the larger media about the need to emphasize Fa-study, and they are making efforts to do so and improve the situation. Other media are doing the same.
But whatever the case, sometimes when I see the articles [you are publishing], I can’t bear to read them, for they almost seem to be speaking on behalf of the wicked CCP. And some of you write critical opinions on things that are of ordinary people, and even sometimes sensationalize those things. Do you not realize that you are supposed to be saving people? You must not make enemies. You should report things the way other media do, as you are media. Why would you want to go and offer opinions on things that are of ordinary people? And you even feel compelled to give your opinion on whether something is good or bad, and get all worked up. But you are a cultivator. Do you not know what you are doing? If something you have said causes people to think that your media has a negative opinion of them, and they develop an aversion, or form an aversion toward Falun Gong, then how are we going to save them? Then what role did you play? And in some cases you have even gotten all worked up about certain things that have happened in China. When someone was arrested, you got worked up and went off about how they only arrested people who didn’t have much power, and so on. You don’t even know who you are anymore. Are you a member of that evil Party?
I can tell you that as for the arrests that are happening in China right now, whether we’re talking about big figures or small ones, none of them are a mistake—not a single arrest—because under the current circumstances that’s just how things are being done. And even those people who don’t have much political power but do have a lot of influence on the public, such as artists, who attacked Falun Gong, are also experiencing retribution now. No one can escape it, as I have said before. The siren of a police car going off was immensely stressful for Dafa disciples in China a few years back, while now it’s those who have persecuted Dafa disciples that are experiencing it. What goes around comes around. (Everyone applauds.) And these people are even more afraid than our Dafa disciples were in those years. Our Dafa disciples had nothing to hide, and when they were dealing with that huge amount of psychological pressure there was really nothing weighing them down. Those corrupt officials, on the other hand, who have amassed millions or even hundreds of millions, are now seeing their fortunes get confiscated, and are being investigated, arrested, and jailed. So what they are losing is simply enormous. It’s retribution. Why did they have to act so evilly when they persecuted Falun Gong? And another thing is, our media shouldn’t thoughtlessly report on or republish articles from China—you have to check and see whom those articles are speaking on behalf of!
Among the overseas Chinese media companies there are some newspapers that are run by ethnic Chinese from South Asia. The papers that circulated outside of China in the early years weren’t attentive to Chinese semantics and grammar. They paid little attention to that sort of thing since they weren’t grounded in traditional Chinese culture to begin with. That kind of practice continued, however, and many other Chinese media have followed it. I’ve found that sometimes the headlines you run are really confusing, and I can’t tell what you are trying to say or express. And sometimes the choice of words is downright bizarre, as if you suddenly became uneducated. Don’t imitate others with these things. Figure out and take your own approach; walk your own path.
Disciple: Many practitioners in Europe are having a hard time reconciling when to “take the Fa as the master” and when to “unconditionally comply with the top coordinator.”
Master: I don’t see any conflict between the two. It’s not as if the coordinator is coming up with his own Fa and asking you to follow it. You do your cultivation according to the Fa and base your actions on it, whereas the coordinator is coordinating your work. These are two different things.
Disciple: Can the coordinators in each area pool together the greater wisdom of all of the practitioners and use it in truth clarification? I worry that if practitioners just blindly follow along it won’t be good for saving people.
Master: I know, of course, that some of the assistants in certain areas really aren’t that capable, so they try to force things instead of sharing with people openly and sincerely. If you truly lack wisdom, then you can tap into that of others, affirm and use what’s good and positive, and lead people in working on the initiatives you are doing. No cultivator is immune to making mistakes. It’s not as if once you become a coordinator you’re like Master. Don’t you make mistakes? You do. Sometimes your ideas are poorly thought out and not comprehensive. Then you should affirm whoever does things well, and then coordinate things for people well. You’re a coordinator. If you try to force your way upon people when they don’t listen to you, even at times when they might be right, and when that doesn’t work you make things difficult for them, then how are you any different from a Party official? You need to change that, and should do a good job with the tasks I’ve entrusted to you.
Disciple: I send greetings to Master on behalf of the Dafa disciples in Handan city [of Hebei province].
Master: Thank you. (Applause)
Disciple: There is someone who calls himself a Dafa disciple in Jin township of Jining city, Shandong province, and he travels everywhere claiming he’s on a special mission, saying that he can use his supernormal powers to remove karma for practitioners and help them overcome difficult tests.
Master: Then he has turned wicked. That’s definitely the behavior of someone who has turned wicked. But how could anyone like that have a forum? Isn’t it that the Dafa disciples in that area are giving him a forum? So it’s not by chance that this happened in that area. It means that you have issues there. It is only because those issues are quite common in your area that he’s been given a forum, isn’t it? Of course, the people who are free of such issues are able to see the situation clearly, and have figured things out. But those who have the issues or have such attachments aren’t able to see the problem.
Disciple: If a large number of Dafa disciples haven’t achieved consummation and the Fa-rectification process ends, then what will happen to those Dafa disciples? Will they remain here and continue to cultivate?
Master: I can’t tell you how it’s going to be. It will vary from case to case. Generally speaking it will be handled based on the vows each person made, and there won’t be a second chance—none at all.
Disciple: Do we really need to hire so many administrative staff when our company’s business operations haven’t been sufficiently profitable yet? Their salaries aren’t that small, and yet nobody knows what they are doing and we can’t see how they have helped our media.
Master: Which media is doing this? Some practitioners are just not clearheaded sometimes.
Disciple: I’m an editor at NTD. I’ve seen a problem that’s quite prominent, which is, among colleagues and between management and staff, there isn’t much communication and it’s hard for them to share information or their thoughts with one another. Each person does his own thing. They rely on text messages to give us assignments, and rarely have in-person discussions. The editorial department doesn’t have regular meetings, and departmental meetings are few and far between, so the staff doesn’t know the direction of the station or how things are going overall. And those who have the heart to take on more work can’t find a way to help.
Master: Without knowing the specifics of the situation I can’t say much. But you touched on an issue, which is, that people don’t directly communicate with each other even when they see each other, and instead they send text messages. I can tell you that that’s what aliens do. Human beings are supposed to interact with one another. For thousands of years of human societies, with traditional, god-given culture in place, human beings never went without interacting.
Then what kinds of beings don’t interact with each other? As you may know, there are no emotions over on the planets of alien beings. But how scary to think of Earth becoming like that! Yet for cultivators, emotions are an attachment. Breaking free of emotion is a challenge put in place for cultivators, and it helps you to eliminate karma and human thoughts and attachments as you cultivate. The existence of emotions also serves to sustain the human way of living. Aliens, meanwhile, cannot cultivate, and they don’t have this special environment that human beings do. But “aliens” are dubbed as such by the people on Earth. They are just odd creatures, strange entities. Strictly speaking, man was created from clay by gods. Gods regard the basic particles of the Three Realms to be soil, or dust in the cosmos. As I see it, aliens climbed out of a garbage dump, as they are lower than humans.
They don’t have emotions, so what holds their societies together? Technology. Whoever’s technology is superior has a higher status there. And whoever’s technology is even higher gets to be the leader. They live for technology. Initially they were just a lowly life form, existing for no real purpose. As they gradually came to use technology to maintain their existence, technology came to be their top priority. That’s how they are. They don’t understand humankind’s thinking, and of course you wouldn’t understand theirs, either, as it’s completely different. Because their technology is highly developed now, they can tell quite well what you wish to communicate. They know it. So that’s how they are.
Disciple: It’s not clear to me under what circumstances we should seek to benevolently resolve things while sending righteous thoughts…
Master: I never told you to try to “benevolently resolve things” while sending righteous thoughts. Sending righteous thoughts is done to clear out and dissolve things, isn’t it? If you’re trying to “benevolently resolve things” while sending righteous thoughts, then why bother sending righteous thoughts? Isn’t it done to eliminate bad things? Why would you try to find “benevolent solutions” with those bad things? I’ve told you that poison is poisonous, and you can’t make it non-poisonous, can you? You can’t, since it is poisonous by nature. If you try to turn that poison into something non-poisonous by clarifying the facts to it, that doesn’t seem too feasible, does it?
Disciple: Some practitioners in China haven’t joined in the effort to sue Jiang.
Master: This is something I talked about earlier. If some people aren’t getting involved in the effort to sue Jiang because they have been having a good impact and don’t want to let their identity be made known, then I wouldn’t encourage them to join the suit. But not everyone falls into that category. Some practitioners haven’t taken this initiative seriously at all, due to where they are in cultivation. And there are others who are simply afraid, and that is also dictated by where the person’s cultivation stands. So that’s the situation.
Disciple: Recently we’ve seen some U.S. dollar bills with Chinese or English writing on them and the addresses of Dafa websites. Is it appropriate to do that in the United States?
Master: No, it’s not. I think that must have been done by people who recently came from China. You don’t need to do that in the U.S.. The international community views the evil CCP as a monstrosity. They may not say it, but they know it. So you don’t need to tell them that, or do those things.
Some practitioners who have come from China do things here with the kind of mentality people have back home, often doing things in a strange way. People in the outside world won’t understand you. Certain projects don’t let you be part of them, but it won’t always be that way. You have to turn your thinking around since you live in a normal society now. You have to get rid of those habits that you formed while living under the Party’s culture and amid interpersonal relationships that have turned abnormal. I was like that too when I first came [to the States], but I quickly became aware of things. You tend to go to extremes with things. For example, when you write an article your choice of words is extreme, and when you write something you express things in really extreme ways. Such things aren’t received well in this society, where people are very much fact-oriented and don’t exaggerate things.
Disciple: What should we do with the older Lunyu that’s been replaced—keep it or burn it?
Master: Burn it, just go ahead and burn it. If I tell you to burn it, just burn it.
Disciple: Could Master please say more about the significance of the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra? This is our first year presenting it and we’ve had a hard time effectively promoting it; it’s been harder than with Shen Yun.
Master: As Shen Yun’s quality and technical skill have improved, the effect of its performances has gotten increasingly better as well. The technical skill has improved in two regards. One is that of the performers, the improvement in skill level of the performers who appear on stage. The other is, since the dancers on stage are performing to musical accompaniment, if the music didn’t sound good it would bring down the overall impression made by the performance. And another thing is, the sounds that they produce are utilized by divine beings to cleanse people’s bodies of bad things, and they can penetrate down to deeper layers, and have a great, positive effect. Everything that’s part of Shen Yun has a role to play in saving people. Skilled artists can inspire people with their music, promote divinely imparted culture, and help to restore traditional culture. Since the orchestra can’t save people outright, I have them tour for a short span of time and make people aware of what high quality music Shen Yun performs; the experience also tempers the musicians themselves. We have excellent musicians, so I’d like to showcase their high caliber. Our dancers have many chances to show their skills, whereas our musicians don’t.
Having an excellent orchestra raises Shen Yun’s overall quality. [The practitioners in] some areas see what a great impression the Orchestra makes on people, and want to present them, while some areas have heard about it and likewise want to present the concerts but don’t have the conditions for doing so. And some do wish to present, but are challenged by certain changes in circumstances such as practitioners moving away, and it’s not easy to sell the tickets. Anyway, each area has its challenges. But I think in most cases when you don’t manage to do well, it owes more or less to your own part in it, such as people’s thinking or ideas not being right.
My Dafa disciples, if you think you should do something, then you should go and do it well. Everyone is busy of course, and I see that. I’m not criticizing you. But I would say that whatever circumstances you may have, if you, as a Dafa disciple, can do well the things that you do, divine beings will really admire you. But if you don’t put your heart into anything, and don’t put your mind to and aren’t willing to work on saving people, then what are you doing? You know that Dafa disciples are supposed to do the three things well, but whatever you do, you don’t take it that seriously. Once time passes, it is gone. If you don’t do anything well and never cultivate well, then what’s going to become of you?
Disciple: Atheism is deeply rooted in many Chinese people’s minds. How can we use righteous thoughts to eliminate it?
Master: That’s not something you can eliminate at present. Just do your best to talk to people about it as you try to save them. Of course, it can be said that the atheism that human beings subscribe to, that whole system—including the culture—was designed to play a negative role. Everyone in the past believed in the divine, and only in recent times have things become how they are. The conflicts of the past used to be between different religions, with either side arguing for the god(s) it believed in. But now it’s about whether or not a god even exists. This has never happened before. It’s solely a modern phenomenon. Wasn’t this also put in place for you, to make saving people that much harder? So it’s disastrous for people. It’s the biggest barrier to people’s being saved.
Even if you didn’t clarify the facts about the evil CCP, people would gradually come to see it for the evil thing it is. But as for atheism, those who grow up in that culture cannot see it for what it is. It’s really hard for them to do that.
Disciple: In our area and in some others there are a few irrational people [among practitioners] who shout at the top of their lungs and do other things at tourist sites or in Chinatown that the police or local authorities don’t approve of.
Master: I can tell you that there are people like that in every area, and there will be as long as this affair hasn’t ended. The old forces make them act out like that and have a negative effect. Otherwise, they think, if every Dafa disciple were so great and positive, everyone would soon realize [the truth] since there would be no negative elements in the mix. Another thing is, if it were otherwise, how could they test your minds? Some of you are indeed attached to the things said by those people who act out, and isn’t that a concern that should go? That’s what the old forces think. They consider it a gap, and so they make those people act out and see how you handle it, what your mindset is, and whether you are interfered with. The old forces don’t care about whatever impact these things may have on everyday people. They only care about completing what they want to see done. Those people came here to interfere, even though on the surface they pose as Dafa disciples. I can tell you that all of them came to interfere, and it was arranged by the old forces that they would join your ranks.
Master saves everyone, though. Even secret agents. I have indicated that in the past, haven’t I? Back when there was time and space for it, I addressed these people and told them to make a sincere effort to do well, and that the opportunity was hard to come by. But now I no longer say such things. Some people who fall into this category have asked me if they could achieve consummation. I replied that if you can’t reach consummation, then you can’t reach consummation. How could that possibly happen? They’ve been doing things that undermine Dafa all along, and haven’t cultivated at all, so how could they possibly reach consummation? They are even worse than ordinary people, so how could they reach consummation? There are few chances left for them now, and even if they try their hardest now they won’t be able to catch up with others. If they could really manage to do well, consummation would be possible, but there are extremely few chances left now.
Disciple: These people are very enthusiastic about going to the tourist sites, and go every day.
Master: Right, these people are really enthusiastic.
Disciple: Some Chinese people and members of the general public shun them, yet some practitioners still support them.
Master: Indeed, some practitioners think that their coming out to help is a good thing, and that of course people should support them. These practitioners aren’t able to tell who’s causing interference and who’s not. It’s exactly because there are practitioners like this, who are giving those people a forum and the necessary conditions to do this, that those people are able to do what they do. [Some people may think we should] “tolerate” them. But why should you tolerate them? Should you tolerate it when they affect your saving of people? Sure, I too at one time was of the mind that we should tolerate them as much as possible. But now it looks like some of these people will never repent or change, so let’s not give them any more chances.
Disciple: Dafa disciples from a total of eighty-eight countries, regions, and cities send their regards to Master.
Master: Thank you all. (Applause) I think there’s something else I would like to speak about. (Applause)
We have two Fa conferences [in the U.S.] each year now, which is a lot less than we used to have. But all the same, the effect that comes from your being together, sharing and discussing, and spurring each other on really is excellent. And that’s what our Fa conferences are meant to do—to have a positive impact on our cultivation. Our Fa conferences have also done a lot to help our practitioners overcome adversity over these years. By encouraging one another in hard times you can help each other pull through, and that’s exactly what the Fa conferences help to do. So I hope your trip here was fruitful. As I mentioned at the beginning, you traveled here from great distances, and, all told, the expenditures on travel, food and lodging, and other purchases have been just enormous. So it’s essential that all this money be spent in useful ways. It can’t be just for the purpose of joining in the activities and the fun. After the conference, tell those who haven’t been diligent, when the opportunity arises, “You are running out of time. What are you going to do?” Ask those who have made mistakes, “What are you going to do about your mistakes?” And ask those who have taken practitioners’ money for themselves, “What are you going to do?”
Some of our practitioners are struggling with passing the tests of sickness karma. Don’t think that it’s necessarily something major [that causes that]. You might think that you haven’t done anything majorly wrong, and that you are very firm in your faith in the Fa. However, you shouldn’t treat the little issues you have like they are nothing. The evil will seize upon any gaps. Many practitioners have even passed away on account of little things; it really was due to something very minor. That’s because cultivation is something serious, and requires having no gaps. If for a long time you haven’t dealt with those things through cultivation, small as they may be, if you haven’t taken them seriously for a prolonged period of time, then it is a big issue. Many people have passed away on account of such things. The old forces wouldn’t venture to directly persecute Dafa disciples at present—none of the larger beings that assume a form would venture to do that. Then what sorts of things are doing that now? Things like worms, bugs, bacteria, and all kinds of foul things like that. Sending righteous thoughts is extremely effective in these cases! They are annihilated in large batches. But there are a lot of them, given how big this cosmos is; and the cosmos consists of many layers. So after you have wiped these things out, shortly after, before long, they might infiltrate again, and you need to eliminate them again. So you need to keep sending righteous thoughts like this, and persist with it for some time, before you will see obvious results. Don’t lose confidence just because, after feeling good following a while of sending righteous thoughts, things don’t seem to go well again. I can tell you that they are using this approach to wear you down—to whittle away at your strong sense of conviction. So you need to be alert to these things.
All of the “three things” that I speak of are important. I hope that you will do even better on the last leg of your journey. Those of you who have done well must not let up. You mustn’t. It hasn’t been easy for you to persevere through all these years. I cherish you, and I thank you. Thank you all! (Disciples applaud and stand in respect.)