(Minghui.org) The fine traditional culture and etiquette of China had very strict requirements for relationships between men and women. However, decades of Communist Party culture have almost ruined all of this, and it has become a very important step for the old forces to destroy mankind.
In such an environment, a cultivator should maintain his integrity and rectify himself at all times. As a female Dafa disciple, I also constantly cultivate myself while looking inward. I went to another city once and stayed at a fellow cultivator’s home. One night when I returned, I noticed several of the female residents were not home. Only a young male fellow practitioner was home. His age was similar to my son's. I decided to leave for another place, even though the apartment had two rooms. I regarded this strict behavior as being responsible to myself as well as to that person.
Housing prices and rental fees are high in big cities. After paying rent, not much income is left over for members of the average working class; therefore, many young people choose to share an apartment or group rent to reduce their rent burden.
During the Dharma-Ending Period, the old forces want to corrupt mankind by exacerbating human lust, and society now is overflowing with sexual desire. Group rent greatly increases overlapping spaces between people, and even private spaces have been compromised.
For practitioners, sharing and renting a place with a member of the opposite sex does not comply with Dafa's standards. If one searches for the keywords “male and female share rental” on the Minghui website, a lot of related articles can be found.
If a man and a woman share the same apartment, they would come into contact with each other day and night. It is inevitable that they would develop sentimentality after a while. In addition, the old forces are watching Dafa disciples at all times. As soon as an opportunity arises, they would manipulate the demon of lust and lure fellow cultivators into making mistakes.
On the major issue of the relationship between a man and a woman, as a determined Dafa disciple seeking to achieve consummation, one surely needs to remind oneself to walk his cultivation path correctly at all times without providing any room for invasion by the demon of lust.
Male and female cultivators who are not married and/or who are in a relationship should not rent the same apartment. They should consider what everyday people would think and what the landlord would think, even though they may think they can handle this issue well and walk their paths correctly. Moreover, can fellow cultivators who fall in love with each other really manage to uphold their xinxing and not develop sexual desire?
Everyday people value material things, such as money and a house. If they are unable to achieve these desirable conditions, they would rather live together without marriage. This kind of difficult-to-explain “dating relationship” is a manifestation of moral corruption. It is sinful in the eyes of gods. A Dafa disciple, whose goal is holy and divine, must never fall in this regard.
We all understand the difficulties some fellow cultivators face. They have limited income and high expenses. They require money to validate Dafa. However, this is cultivation. Mighty virtue can be gained only while walking the path correctly during tribulations. The old forces can thus be convinced and would run out of excuses to persecute practitioners.
Cultivation is not limited to validating Dafa. Some male practitioners know they have not cultivated to a level where they have cast off their sexual desire, even though they have cultivated for a long time. They, therefore, try to avoid being alone with young female cultivators. If they have to go to a female practitioner's home, they would remind themselves to straighten their clothes and sit upright without being distracted by unrighteous thoughts. They try to block out interference from the demon of lust.