Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference
May 17, 2019
Li Hongzhi
Good morning!
(Audience says, Good morning, Master!)
We have one Fa conference a year nowadays, and some of you have come from quite far, including from China, and so the costs involved are large. You spend tens of millions on travel, food, and lodging for our annual conferences, because you see the conferences as an opportunity to improve in cultivation and to learn from each other’s experiences. This indicates that cultivators take their own spiritual development seriously. Dafa disciples need to do the three things well. But you won’t be able to if you don’t cultivate yourselves well. Of course, I realize that some of you view this as a chance to see me as well. But in any case, you should remember that the Fa is there for you and can guide you in your spiritual development.
I lead a regular life while part of this ordinary world, and have to do certain things in human ways. Many human affairs can’t be handled in divine ways. And so I ask you to base what you do on the Fa’s teachings. It is the Fa that has made it possible for Dafa disciples to make it to this point. And it is by following the Fa that things like today’s conference as well as your own spiritual development are what they are today. What I mean is, if it weren’t for the Fa you would not have made it to where you are today. So cultivation is always first and foremost for a Dafa disciple, and this is especially so in the final phase.
And speaking of the final phase, you yourselves have seen that changes are happening here in this world that parallel larger, cosmic changes. For example, the evil’s persecution of Dafa disciples is reaching a dead end, and the evil can hardly sustain itself anymore; it is just that the engines of the persecution are still running. But as I just indicated, having made it through to the final phase, we should do even better at what we are supposed to do, for things are all the more critical toward the end. You made it through the earlier days when circumstances were so difficult and things were so evil, so there is no reason not to do still better now, in the final phase. When the persecution first began, the world’s media were passing on purposely misleading stories from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) state-run media, and it was hard for people to figure out what was really going on. But even in those trying circumstances, Dafa disciples around the world managed to change people’s views by explaining the truth to them, and overcame those challenges. So now, when we are at the end, you should cherish all of what you’ve accomplished and not—definitely not—let up in your own cultivation.
I have been observing, and seen that it has been hard for many Dafa disciples in China to be unaffected by the society there, where people’s relationships, conduct, and ways of thinking have become warped. Although Dafa disciples are supposed to follow Dafa, as soon as they go out of their homes they are exposed to how people in the ordinary world interact, and things are warped throughout that society. And so they have to go along with it, and over time, they begin to go along with how people there interact, and even get accustomed to those ways of thinking and acting in life, and just take it as a given. So a lot of people from China who go abroad are struck by how simple people are there and calm when they speak or even when they do things. People from China, by contrast, go about things in extreme, radical ways, are over the top with things, and go too far. That’s their psychology. But that’s not how human beings should be. So if you bring that kind of thinking or behavior with you beyond China’s borders, people are going to be put off by it.
People from China almost always seem inscrutable to others, and people wonder why Chinese are like that. It actually results from the wicked CCP’s having intentionally corrupted the Chinese people’s conduct and character, and it was systematically done. The Party did away with their traditional culture, morals, and universal values. All that China is left with is that extreme communist stuff, which is different, of course. People only start to recover from it after having lived abroad for a long time.
Some practitioners from China now live in other countries, and might not have done well in the setting of China. So all the more so should these practitioners cultivate themselves well and do well at what they should do in their new setting. Don’t do things with extreme thinking, or you will probably be disruptive in the environment that Dafa disciples have here. You should know that people outside of China don’t usually talk about other people behind their backs. Many people have universally recognized values, and simple and honest thinking and conduct, and try to be good people and treat others well. Normally they wouldn’t try to undermine others in order to advance themselves, the way some Chinese people do. So those of you who have a lot of habits and ways of doing things that you formed in China really have to change, now that you’re abroad. I’m talking about this because more and more practitioners are coming out of China now, and they outnumber the Dafa practitioners originally living in other countries; they even make up the majority now. So that’s all the more reason for you to be mindful of these things.
You might not realize it, but back in the early days, when the persecution of Dafa disciples was simply overwhelming, and in China took the form that you know about, around the world it was also very difficult [for Dafa disciples], even though they didn’t face violence. There were pressure, prejudice, and misunderstandings that resulted from media around the world spreading deceitful propaganda from the wicked CCP’s media. Nobody knew the truth back then. There was a limited number of Dafa disciples outside of China at the time, but they made an impact. They established their own media and many teams that clarified the facts to the government, the media, and so on. And they set up many sites for raising awareness, along with media, websites, and so on. With these efforts they managed to turn around the situation outside of China and undo the lies and misperceptions people had about Dafa disciples that the wicked Party’s media had fed them. That was extraordinary. The circumstances we have today weren’t easily come by, and it’s something they really appreciate having. So I don’t want to see practitioners from China whose thinking and actions are tainted with communist traits undermining the situation here. I say this because I’ve seen many cases of non-practitioners from China giving people in other countries a bad impression. Their conduct is really shameful, and makes Chinese people look bad. Don’t be like that. As someone who seeks to develop spiritually, you should be aware of your shortcomings. It’s not just about the image of Chinese people. It’s bigger than that, for the responsibility you shoulder is that of saving everyone in the world. So you must change your thinking and conduct.
Don’t think that the people outside of China are naïve. Though their thinking is relatively simple, the more simple one’s mind, the better one can see things for what they are. These people just don’t express or talk about things the way you do, but they know quite well what’s going on. Human beings have the same structure of thought as one another and are as intelligent as one another. These people are no less smart. Non-Chinese have certain boundaries that they won’t cross in thought or action, and have moral standards, and so they won’t do things the way some mainland Chinese do. One tendency that people in China develop is to be quite extreme in their writing or approaches to things. That kind of behavior and thinking really isn’t something that others are going to be receptive to. Before the wicked CCP came into the picture, the people of China had good values and strove to be virtuous, in fact. The reason the wicked CCP launched one campaign after another was because the Chinese people used to be highly civilized and shared in the same universal values as others. So each successive campaign was meant to destroy Chinese culture, to bring down the cultural elite, and to indoctrinate people with evil communist things. Their motive has been perfectly clear: to turn the Chinese people’s thinking and conduct into rubbish. Since more and more Dafa disciples from China are coming to live abroad, these problems are becoming more prominent, and so I had to address them. You really need to be attentive to this.
Another thing is, you have really had a tremendous impact in making the truth known and saving people with all of the truth-clarification teams and activities you have initiated as Dafa disciples. It’s wonderful! It’s not about the size and scale of what you do. It’s about the results, the heart you put into it, and whether you go about it as a cultivator. Those who have spent many years outside the Chinese consulates and embassies and at our sites for raising awareness are truly amazing! Some of them are older practitioners, and so some others have remarked that these older practitioners are “well suited” to those activities. Well, then let’s ask those who are saying this: it’s great that you’re young, but what have you been doing? For all Dafa disciples it’s a matter of what you do with yourself.
A practitioner once asked me, “Master, how many people need to quit the wicked CCP for it to collapse?” (Master chuckles) I held up five fingers. So he thought, “Oh, five thousand people and then the Party will fall.” (Laughter) In no time five thousand had quit. So then he thought, “Huh, how could that be? Master held up five fingers… Oh, He must have meant fifty thousand.” And in no time fifty thousand had quit. Then he thought, “This doesn’t make sense. Why was Master holding up five fingers, then? Oh, he must have meant five hundred thousand.” (Master chuckles) Both the 5 million and 50 million marks have now been passed, and the number is now more than 300 million. China has a population of over 1.5 billion, so five thousand was nothing. (Master chuckles) Actually, I meant it symbolically. The point was, the things we are doing are critical, and they deliver a fatal blow to the morale of the wicked CCP. And how is the CCP faring at present? All of its members, with the exception of the few who are in power, are wondering, “When is it going to fall?” And they are trying to prepare a way out for when it falls. All of them are making preparations for its end. They are trying to move their money overseas, sending their children abroad, and working on gaining legal status, including passports, for themselves in other countries; they’re preparing to sneak off as soon as something goes down. All of them are of the mindset that the end is near.
They are deceiving one another in order to keep the regime going. Many of their secret agents are loyal to the toad demon, and they are deceiving the current Party boss. Even before the current Chinese administration came to power they were making false reports, and have continued to do so ever since. The administration knows little about what’s really going on elsewhere, and the misleading reports they have received trace back to that devil Jiang. Their policies don’t even make it out of their Zhongnanhai headquarters. The infighting going on has grown only more intense with time, and they’re fighting with the gloves off, with no holds barred. The current Party boss is unable to please anyone now, no matter what he does, and he’s lost the confidence of both the democracy-minded reformers as well as the ranks of the CCP. Nobody is really loyal to him.
As you can tell, the wicked Party won’t last long. That’s because the CCP’s very existence and the persecution of Dafa disciples are meant as tests for Dafa disciples by the old forces, right? China is like Lord Lao’s crucible, smelting Dafa disciples, and the flame has been cranked up. It’s like a severe test, designed to rid you of human thinking and attachments. The torment is hard to bear, of course, but what comes from it is true gold. The wicked CCP serves as coal in the process, and the hotter the flame, the more alive it seems. But take another look after the flame dies out, and you will see that true gold has come out of it. And what will become of the wicked CCP? Ashes. With just a puff, poof—it’s gone. (Applause) One feels pity for Dafa disciples when they are being persecuted, but what is really sad are the people who have gone in with the wicked CCP—they are the ones to feel truly sorry over. They are going to be held accountable for all of the crimes committed by the sinister Party throughout history.
If you think about it, the wicked CCP’s leaders have committed all kinds of horrendous crimes, and yet they have also gotten to enjoy many things. During their lifetimes they have done all sorts of evil things, as well as enjoyed all of the pleasures available to them. But the current Party boss should consider this: if you continue to go with the wicked Party, you will be the fool who gets hauled off for all of the crimes it has done. In other words, he would be the one held accountable, in the end, for all of the CCP’s crimes. I think you can see how it works, right? It’s because he is the wicked CCP’s leader. It sometimes occurs to me, in fact, that he’s thinking he can use the CCP to sustain his power. That might have been the case before, but now? In China it used to be that even if someone was alone in the bathroom he wouldn’t dare criticize the wicked CCP. It really was like that. The specters of communism were everywhere. Now they have been wiped out, and everyone is berating the sinister Party. It’s almost like criticizing it has become an indispensable part of the conversation when people eat together, and if someone doesn’t speak badly of it, others will think there’s something wrong with him. That’s how it is now. (Applause) At this point the CCP is teetering on the brink of collapse, and yet you are relying on it to help you maintain power. Aren’t you making a terrible miscalculation? The CCP is relying on you to keep going, not vice versa! If today the person in power were to simply say, “We want no more of the CCP,” then it wouldn’t last even a day. It would be gone by the next day. (Applause) That’s because everyone is waiting for that day. (Applause) I would say that the person in power has been doing something really foolish.
But whatever the case, we see things clearly. I was just speaking about how things stand at present. At this point there are few elements left that can test Dafa disciples, and little coal remains. Not much more true gold can be made. Then wouldn’t you say the fire is about to die out? That is what’s about to happen. (Enthusiastic applause) So what will follow immediately after? It will be the consummation of Dafa disciples’ spiritual journeys, right? (Applause) Even if some Dafa disciples will continue on with me in the period of the Fa’s rectification of the human world, we nonetheless need to draw a demarcation. The era of Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples is something monumental. I won’t get into what happens after that.
Last night when I was speaking at the celebration on the Mountain, I remarked about how I have often talked about the old forces. You’re mostly clear on the concept, but you’ve been somewhat hazy on how the old forces came to be. There are historic reasons for the emergence of the old forces, if you think about it, in fact. The cosmos goes through the process of formation, stasis, degeneration, and destruction, while human beings are subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death. As you’re aware, when someone is in his teens, say, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen, he is in the process of growing; and then around eighteen, nineteen, or twenty on up through his thirties, he is in the stasis process; then beginning from around forty he starts to decline, which is the degeneration process. And when his body is in very poor shape and really weak, and keeps aging up to the point of death, that is the process of destruction.
For human beings the process is quite brief, but do you realize how long and drawn out it is for the universe? Or what it means for a cosmic body of even greater size? I’ll try my best to find words to describe it. The stage of Formation spans countless, countless, indescribably many trillions of years. And you can just imagine how many lives came into existence and eventually perished during the span of those indescribably many trillions of years! Divine beings go through a cyclical process as well; it’s not that they never perish. But they know when they are to die, and know when they are to be born. It’s only that they will not bring with them their memories from before. The difference is mainly that their lives are of great length, and at some point they may even come to find life boring. And during the process I’ve been describing, beings are renewed as their lives go through cycles. But beings in the cyclical process don’t realize that they have been born countless trillions of times within just the stage of Formation alone. I’m describing it in terms of “trillions” since it’s the largest unit that people typically use for counting; using yi (100 million) as a unit wouldn’t suffice; it’s a matter of countless trillions. The number is unimaginable even for divine beings, and much more so for humans. The span of time in the cosmos is extraordinarily long.
Then there is the stage of Stasis, which is the longest one. There is simply no way to describe the incredible length and duration of this stage, even using however many trillions to describe it. There isn’t a single life in the cosmos that could have existed straight through the cosmos’s formation, stasis, degeneration, and destruction, or even just from formation through stasis. Not even the highest being in the cosmos has; even the highest of lives haven’t. It’s similar to how with the metabolic processes of the human body, one’s original cells are no longer present. It’s like this for all lives, carrying on in a relay-like fashion. With these stages being so enormous and long, if you were to ask a being from the stage of Stasis what it was like during the stage of Formation, he would have simply no idea, even if he tried to imagine it.
When it arrives at the period of Degeneration, this too is a long process, an extraordinary amount of time—countless trillions of years. The number is like that of the particles permeating the space here—just imagine how many particles there are in the air! If you were to ask the beings of very high planes in the stage of Degeneration what the beings in the stage of Stasis were like, they would have no idea. And why not? Because even the Way of the cosmos has become askew over the course of this process—everything has been changing during the processes of birth, aging, sickness, and death—or formation, stasis, degeneration, and destruction.
When it gets to the stage of Destruction, it is again a very lengthy process, and ends in things heading toward utter extinction. This period, too, is measured in terms of countless trillions of years’ time. And within this stage there are still countless planes of gods, with even larger, larger, and still larger gods, as well as sovereigns, and lords of every realm. Were you to ask them what the cosmos was like during its initial or middle periods, they would have no idea.
So what gave rise to the old forces during my Fa-rectification, then? If I didn’t rectify and restore the Fa to the beginning stage of the formation, stasis, degeneration, destruction cycle, it surely couldn’t be considered Fa-rectification. (Applause) But none of the planes upon planes of gods during the Destruction stage have any idea what that is like, for they are divine beings of the Destruction phase. Even though among the gods of different planes there are differences in their realms, none of the planes can match the standards that were originally in place. The entire cosmos had degenerated, and so it was heading toward destruction. It was precisely the beings of the Destruction era that formed the old forces, and who said to me, “Your rectifying the Fa in this manner won’t work. We’ve never seen anything like this before. It won’t succeed. We will help you succeed.” And so they went about what they did. But what is their standard? They are gods of the Destruction phase, kings of the Destruction phase of the cosmos, so what do you think the gods who wanted to get involved and help me rectify the Fa could accomplish? Their highest standards are but the highest of the Destruction stage of the cosmos. So if things were done their way, would the Fa be truly rectified? Could it really be rectified if I went along with them? If their standards were used, could things be restored to how they were at the initial stage of Formation? Things would just be restored back to the Destruction stage’s standard, and no progress would be made. You can just imagine how far that would be from the most fundamental standard of the cosmos—that of the Formation era.
So you might have wondered how they could be so audacious as to do what they have done. They honestly think that they are right. The thinking of the highest-level entities of the old forces has been, “I am the highest of gods, and this is what I know. There is no higher knowledge than mine. This is the truth.” But they haven’t realized that theirs are the standards of the stage of Destruction. Sometimes when I am teaching the Fa, Dafa disciples understand it while the old forces don’t, in fact. At times I’ve thought that they were just pretending not to. But why do they do things the way they do? It actually comes down to the fact that since I have a human body and I act more or less like a human being, and they think they act like divine beings, their attitude is, “How could we possibly not be superior to you?” And that has been their stumbling block! The Fa I have taught is expressed in simple and straightforward words and principles, and there is no guesswork needed; everything is clearly laid out. But the beings in the era of Destruction are accustomed to having to puzzle out and deduce meaning, and they think that one is supposed to put in effort to discover the real substance of something. And that is what they are used to. That’s why while the Fa I teach isn’t mysterious for human beings, they nevertheless cannot see it for what it is, in fact, since they believe that the Fa wouldn’t be so straightforward. So something so straightforward turned out to be “mysterious” to them; they have gotten confused by the lack of mystery. (Master chuckles) Really. So now you know how the old forces came to be.
No beings know what I am truly trying to achieve, since none of even the highest of gods of this era know what the Formation period of the cosmos was like, or how the earliest stage of Formation was. They are way off, and that is why they can’t understand [what I am doing]. They have even said, “We don’t know how to do what you want. We are doing what we know how to.” But if they don’t know how to, what business have they getting involved? They say things like, “I have no choice, as this was the direction from those above me.” And when I eventually caught the worst one of them, the highest one, that entity said, “What I am doing is the best. I have been helping you.” Yet countless lives have been ruined—innumerable lives throughout the cosmos.
As Dafa disciples you should cultivate by following the Fa I have taught. I once remarked that, “You can achieve any spiritual heights if you have the guts!” Spiritual practice is not easy, as you know. You have to shed karma, go through tests and trials, and face trying situations with people that test your character, many of which are hard to overcome—not to mention the bigger tests. People who realize this find it daunting. It is hard. It’s really hard indeed! And however bad the interpersonal things that you encounter may be, you still have to look at them positively, like, “Oh, this can help me improve.” And when problems arise between you and others, it doesn’t matter who’s at fault: start by reflecting on your part in it. If a cultivator cannot manage to form this habit, if he isn’t able to look at things in the opposite way of how people normally do, then he will always be stuck at the human level—at least in regards to whatever issue he may have failed to resolve.
Sometimes you aren’t calm when friction with others arises, but then you calm down and reflect on it, and realize, “I do spiritual practice. It was wrong of me to be like that, and I didn’t pass the test well.” It was surely a test, as you know. That’s because, as I have taught, there is a reason for everything that you experience in life once you become part of our spiritual community, and all of it is for your growth. Yet how many of you instead try to pin the blame somewhere. And on top of that, you have even gotten quite cunning about it. Sometimes even when I am helping people with something, they will be lying to my face or slyly trying to shift the blame for something. As I watch them doing that I find it quite amusing, but at the same time I understand that that’s how people are. Human thinking dominates the part of you that hasn’t been fully cultivated, and that’s just how humans are.
I allow you to keep what you need for living in this human world without it compromising your practice; you can have a normal life. But when you do run into issues with people, those are critical times for you as a Dafa disciple—be it in terms of your own improvement or your working together with others to do well the three things that you should do. It is critical for your spiritual progress. There were many things early on that went wrong due to problems you made for yourselves, and so you didn’t do well what you should have. In the early days of the persecution there were times when you would look at things with human thinking, keep clashing with one another, and even get all worked up. But that anger you felt and those thoughts you had when you clashed with others were all human things!
You should be noble and high-minded, and cooperate well with others. It’s not about whose idea is the best. When someone’s idea isn’t great, or all that well thought out, you should quietly and discreetly find a way to help make it work, and help get all the bases covered! That will be what earns you the admiration of divine beings, and you will have done it without saying anything! Who came up with the idea is not what’s important, but rather, who has fully developed himself through the process; whoever works on himself has grown from it. (Applause) I am bringing this up to let you know that we have now reached the final stage. I can tell you explicitly that early on I had planned on ending the persecution this year (warm applause), at the twenty-year mark. Although it has turned out that the old forces have changed things a bit, the furnace is running out of coal, and the flame is no longer sufficient. So this affair will soon conclude. That’s all the more reason for you to do well. Just the other day I was saying, “Think about who gets to [have the privilege of] becoming a Dafa disciple.” It takes extraordinary destiny.
While I was riding in the car earlier, someone remarked that some people don’t understand terms from physics like “particles” and “molecules.” Well, I’m just using the vocabulary that people now have. What else can you do? Even if I were to really describe things [in the terms of my choice], it would be pretty similar, in fact. If the planets that we can see were viewed from a vantage point where they were as small as molecules, wouldn’t they be just like molecules? When the massive beings in the cosmos look upon Earth and the other planets in space, don’t they look the same as molecules would to us? And in the eyes of even greater beings, wouldn’t Earth look like an atom does to us? That’s how things appear to higher divine beings. Outer space is permeated with planets, only your vision can’t perceive some of them. Man will never be able to see the universe in its entirety, however advanced his technology may be, for in the universe there are all kinds of obstructions to his vision. And this is why I have said that [only a higher divine being can] see the universe in all its details. It’s because man will never be able to see the cosmic body as it truly is.
So in other words, that’s the concept, no matter the plane. When greater beings view the plane beneath them, what they see are tiny particles; when lesser beings view the plane above them, what they see are planets. And wouldn’t the beings living on atoms regard atoms as planets? And when the beings living at the plane of molecules look at Earth—wow, it seems so massive. So that’s the relationship between the particles at each plane and the particles that are larger or smaller than them. There are simply levels upon levels upon levels of planes of particles, among which are Earth—which is but one particle—the Sun, the Milky Way that we can see, and everything else. This is pretty much the structure of the cosmos all throughout.
And there is more to these particles than what the human eye can make out as being particles or planets. There are other types of particles that people can’t see. And while molecules exist in this dimension, they don’t all look the same. There are countless beings on the molecules of various forms, and all of them are in the dimension where human beings are. And along with molecules there are also particles that exist in other forms. So the space here is filled to the brim. Human beings and the other beings at this plane are as if immersed in soil; contemporary science is only aware of the particles it can perceive. I am only explaining things with the human knowledge that’s available to us, when in fact there is more to it—much, much more. Then since there are so many lives—incredible numbers of them—present here, when you breathe you are inhaling a multitude of molecules that make up the air you take in, and since those molecules too are planets, you can imagine how many worlds and how many beings are on them. They are inhaled by you, and inside your body turned into nutrients needed by your body. (Master smiles)
Since all of this involves profound things, and man’s knowledge was limited in the past, divine beings never discussed any of this, nor would they have been able to. Jesus said that “all have sinned,” but he didn’t spell out what “sin” was all about. Similarly, I have told you that while a person lives he inevitably makes karma—by eating, dwelling, moving about, interacting with others in this world, and so on. So suppose you wanted to avoid making the kind of karma that results from interactions with others while living in the real world, and took up the monastic life or decided to just meditate facing a wall. But even just sitting there, without moving, you would still be making karma (Master smiles), since many worlds are being altered just by your being alive. But whatever the case, I have also explained a principle, which is, that man is meant to have a reasonable living environment, and you are not to be faulted for the karma created by leading a normal life that ensures your existence. That kind of karma wouldn’t be counted against you, of course. It does involve another problem, though, which is, the karma does still result from those actions, for sure. And that’s what was meant in the New Testament by “all have sinned.” And this is why some people have said that ordeals are inevitable in life, and that if someone were to go his entire life without illness, he would be sure to land in hell once his life was over. Why? He would not have paid for any of the karma from his life, which would have become enormous. Karma represents sin, after all, and so he would have to go to hell to pay for it. That’s the idea.
For this reason, as cultivators we don’t consider experiencing something a bit unpleasant or trying in our daily lives to be a bad thing. Sometimes when karma is being shed you might think, “Oh no, I’m sick. I have a cold,” “I’m not feeling well,” or “It hurts.” But that is in fact karma being reduced. Newer practitioners might not understand it, and think, “Oh, I shouldn’t use the word ‘illness’ when I’m not well. I should say I’m ‘shedding karma.’” But that’s not the idea. You really are shedding karma. Your spiritual journey has been well designed, and your body isn’t allowed to become sick. Really, it’s not allowed to be sick. That’s because no illness is allowed to invade you now; any pathogen would be killed by the positive energy you have. But people do create karma, and that karma will manifest in your body in a way that mimics an ailment. If the karma manifests in your nose, you will be stuffed up or have a runny nose, which might lead you to think, “Oh, I’ve got a cold.” You think that you’ve got a cold (Master chuckles), but it’s not a cold. If the karma manifests in your stomach, you will have a stomachache, and think “Oh dear, it must be something I ate.” (Master chuckles) But that’s not it. It was caused by karma that was sent there. Then why was it sent there, of all places? Actually, it didn’t have to be sent there specifically; it could have been sent to some other place. They send it there when you have some sort of attachment, and their aim is to help you work on it.
For example, let’s say that before taking up the practice you had a severe illness, which you recovered from by practicing, much to your joy. But from time to time the thought might arise that, “I had a serious illness before, but it probably won’t recur.” So contained in that thought is the idea that it probably won’t recur. So you are in fact worried, even though superficially you are thinking you’re fine. The old forces will seize on this when they see it—“What’s this?” (Master smiles) Isn’t that how they would respond? Back when they persecuted the followers of Jesus and Shakyamuni, it was on similar grounds, claiming to be “helping them make spiritual progress.” And when they see that you are still somewhat worried about the illness, they will wait until your karma accrues to a certain amount, bundle it up, and then throw it at that spot in your body. To which you might respond by exclaiming, “Oh no, it’s come back!” (Laughter)
As a spiritual practitioner your mind will be tested in this manner. And when that happens it will be a real test for you, and will reveal whether you view it as a practitioner or as an ordinary person. If you view it in human ways, then the old forces will think you’d better go to the hospital or see a doctor. In cases of people who haven’t been that diligent or who are newer practitioners, we have to take additional things into consideration. That’s because when the plane of someone’s thinking isn’t sufficient, meaning, his realm isn’t there yet, if you insist on telling him, “It’s not an illness,” he really won’t be that convinced. His realm of mind hasn’t reached that level, and so he really believes, “It’s an illness!” In that case he really should have it treated, because when the old forces test people they are not fooling around. They mean business. Their thinking is, “It’s not my wish that you become divine. Once I see your human thinking, I am definitely going to bring you down. So now that you’ve said it’s an illness, I’m really going to make that part of your body seem just like that—right down to the X-rays and lab results.”
Many of our people have passed away for these reasons. But isn’t that a shame? Yet there is nothing that can be done, as they weren’t diligent. Some of them were diligent, but they just had this one issue and couldn’t quite let go of their concern. So it’s very complicated. They might have been solid in all other regards, and just not up to par on this one matter. As you know, in spiritual practice one is supposed to become “free of omissions.” If you have an omission, will they let you go to Heaven? So that’s what is happening. Although the old forces are beings born of the Destruction era, and their standards are lower, nevertheless the requirements of various levels are still in place, and you have to be free of attachments—or free of attachments by their standards. They will insist, “You have to meet our standards.”
Many practitioners have always done well in the projects run by Dafa disciples, and they have been redoubling their efforts. But there are also many who have done a half-hearted job, as there isn’t that much pressure anymore. But you should know that you are saving lives, and that is what everything you do is for. So you mustn’t let up. So many lives are waiting for you to save them. My admiration goes out to some of the practitioners working on Dafa projects, such as Minghui.org, who aren’t able to join in a lot of activities like other practitioners do. They often cannot participate in other events or activities put on by Dafa disciples. Even when they do participate, they can’t disclose what they are working on, since these are unique times, after all. Others can speak about working as a reporter for The Epoch Times, or being a news editor at NTD, and so on, and there’s a sense of pride that comes with these great responsibilities that Dafa disciples assume. But the ones I’m talking about can’t say such things, and have to keep to themselves even the great things they may have achieved. Maybe that wouldn’t be a big deal if it were just a day or two, or even a year or two. But already it’s been twenty years. (Applause) There are actually a lot of practitioners who have worked quietly on Dafa disciple projects or other things, and all of them are truly extraordinary. Divine beings really have great respect for you. And I, too, have a lot of respect for people like that. (Applause)
I’ll say a few words about Shen Yun in passing. As you’ve seen, for Shen Yun to be very effective at saving people it has to be a leader in the field in every regard, and surpass others in technique, skill level, and artistry. We have to achieve what others have not or cannot do. And only when we are better than others in every respect can we have a greater impact and draw a massive audience. We wouldn’t be able to accomplish much if we were just going through the motions.
Around the time when Shen Yun first began, as you’re aware and as I’ve mentioned before, the practitioners who were involved then weren’t working together that well. I was observing how audiences were responding, and heard all kinds of remarks. The quality of the pieces wasn’t that good, and some viewers were saying things like, “My, this isn’t very good.” I felt bad hearing that. Dafa disciples were putting their hearts into it. But what else could be done? They were already working hard at it, even if they weren’t working together that well. They did put in a lot of effort. So later I decided that I would get involved and lead the effort, guide them, help them to develop, and see how it would go. But now that I have taken the lead, it isn’t possible for me to hand it off since nobody could do what I am doing.
Shen Yun is exceptional in every respect. In many regards other performing arts companies don’t have what we do. We surpass them in terms of technique, our standard for quality, and our operational approach. And along with this, since our artists lead spiritual lives, what they do is often more effective. And why do we ensure all of this? Because that’s what it takes to rescue people. And of course, we have to ensure that it actually achieves that. With each performance, over ninety percent of the one to two thousand people in attendance have a total change in thinking afterwards, and come to understand many things. (Applause) They come to know what kind of people Dafa disciples are, that theirs is a good faith, and why the CCP persecutes Dafa disciples. All of the regime’s lies are dispelled by what they see, wordlessly, with just one performance. (Applause) People understand everything without anything being said, apart from the emcees’ introductions. It would be really hard for other means of raising awareness to explain everything so clearly, be so comprehensive, and achieve that kind of great effect—even if tremendous effort were put in.
And it’s all achieved in one go. Some people want to learn Falun Gong after seeing the performance; some express their understanding towards what we are doing; and some even share that they saw actual, real divine or heavenly beings on the stage. So the impact has been tremendous. With six companies and the performances averaging an audience of around fifteen hundred, that amounts to a million people reached with this year’s tour. (Warm applause) A million—a million people in attendance. You can see what a force it is in saving people. Shen Yun’s influence continues to grow, or to put it in ordinary terms, its market continues to grow and the demand exceeds what we can meet. So to address this, we are forming another company this year. (Master smiles, enthusiastic applause) The CCP’s meddling has proven futile. Since the wretched engines of persecution are still running, they are just itching to make trouble for us. But they can’t accomplish much of anything at this point, for the world is now well acquainted with Shen Yun.
Shen Yun hasn’t relied on media promotions in its business model. Our popularity largely results from word of mouth. It’s like back when I was teaching the Fa publicly [in China], as you might know: our practice spread by word of mouth, not through publicity. Word traveled fast, from person to person. And the same is true for Shen Yun nowadays. The strength of Shen Yun’s product has earned it worldwide recognition; that is why people think so highly of it. People are talking about it out in public as well as at home with their families, and this kind of snowball effect is real. When you tell your friends something is good, they’ll know you mean it. And the same goes for what you tell your family. So people trust what’s being said. Advertisements can’t achieve that kind of effect. So the number of people who want to see Shen Yun is continuing to grow. In a few situations where performances had to be cancelled, some who had bought tickets and had to take a refund were in tears over it. And why would that be? It’s because many people know about how good the performance is, and people have been exchanging glowing accounts about Shen Yun in private conversations. And we can tell from what some people say that they really get what Shen Yun is doing. And we’ve noticed that over the last couple of years people have gotten an even better sense for what Shen Yun is doing. That’s what we want to see happening.
Many people in history who spread a true faith died of persecution. When human beings’ ingrained beliefs are challenged or they feel something is threatening to them, they will respond in human ways. Shen Yun is just a performance, from the look of it, and it’s up to each person whether he wants to see it. And it’s not free, people have to spend money to see it, and quite a bit. People come of their own free will, and those who don’t want to see it are free to not buy tickets. So there should be no issue. We’re just putting on a show. But this is something that lives have been waiting for. Nobody would have imagined that this approach would be used to save sentient beings. But it’s because the world has become what it has, and there have been many unfortunate lessons from history. Whatever the case, Dafa disciples, we are trying to think of ways to save people, and that’s what this is about.
As I was saying, the CCP is running out of tricks it can use to make trouble for us. They’ve even stooped to posing as practitioners and saying irrational things. The manager of a theater once even showed us a letter the CCP wrote. He found it amusing, and said that they’ve used all kinds of schemes and everyone is aware of it. And it’s getting harder for the CCP to bribe people, as the money in their pockets is running low now. Simply put, they can’t block us now, not even with money. That’s because people know—know that Shen Yun is good—and want to see it. I’ve joked at times that if ticket sales aren’t going well somewhere, why don’t you give the Chinese embassy or consulate a call? (Laughter) And tell them that you are putting on Shen Yun and that perhaps they should take action. (Laughter) The idea is that as soon as the CCP puts out some propaganda, tries to disrupt things, or gets some article published about it, wow!—everyone will know Shen Yun is coming and quickly come to see it. (Applause)
There’s still a bit of time left today, so I’ll answer some questions for you. (Applause) You can pass up question slips now.
Question: Dafa has been spreading for twenty-seven years. In the opening piece of Shen Yun’s program this year, Master said, “Descend with me to Earth, as the Way renews the human world.” Does this mean that a new phase of the Fa’s rectification of the human world has begun?
Master: A performance is just a performance, of course. But you can see from what’s happening that the Fa’s rectification of the human world is fast approaching. (Applause) As Shen Yun continues to perform, people will realize what the company is really working toward. Similarly, when you had the parade here in New York, there was someone watching along the sidelines who asked, “What’s this about?” And do you know how one spectator replied? And this was just your average Joe, mind you. He said, “They’re saving the world.” (Applause)
Question: Things are easier and more relaxed now compared to before. So some practitioners aren’t making the best use of their time on their cultivation or raising awareness as they were before, and are instead expending a lot of energy on their ordinary jobs or focusing a lot on living a more enjoyable life. What can we do to encourage one another and help everyone stay diligent?
Master: It’s plenty clear what the three things that Dafa disciples should be doing are. Have you been doing them? If not, then get to it. You shouldn’t be thinking that those sites for raising awareness are exclusively for our older ladies. Also, you should know that there are many things you can work on if you want to. There are things you can do in your own setting; for example, even if you just write a few good articles [that raise awareness] and get them posted online, it will have an impact. You should, as a Dafa disciple, be doing whatever you should.
Question: This year is Minghui.org’s twentieth anniversary. The Dafa disciples involved with the website feel that to have been able to follow Master in Fa rectification over the last twenty years is both a privilege and a special honor. In the process we have been tempered, purified, and finely honed by Dafa, and we have made it through trials and tribulations. Every disciple who has put his or her heart into the work feels that it’s been deeply rewarding, and well worth the effort. In the last few years, the number of greeting cards that our website has received at the time of the annual World Falun Dafa Day has increased from ten thousand to more than twenty thousand. During the holidays we are so busy sorting through and publishing the greeting cards we receive that it’s hard for us to find a chance to express our own appreciation. We’d like to take this occasion, marking twenty years, to thank Master for compassionately saving us all, as well as for bestowing us disciples with such sacred missions and helping us to develop fully. (Master smiles. Applause.)
With twenty years having passed, some practitioners who are involved are now in their eighties. (Master: Indeed, they have aged.) And those who began when they were young are now middle-aged. I’d like to ask Master, when is the younger generation of Dafa disciples going to follow in our footsteps and take on the responsibilities at Minghui.org the way we did back in the day?
Master: It seems that young people tend to have ambitions in life that are unrealistically high, so they might have a hard time settling down with what they do. But as Dafa disciples, you should be steady and sincere with whatever you are doing, since yours is a spiritual life. People in the past managed to become divine by subjecting themselves to nine years of hardship, where they would refrain from all activity, sitting in meditation facing a wall—and they became divine through it. Although some of our work to save people might be lonesome, you are at least doing something. (Applause)
Question: There have been practitioners who have left Dafa after several years and taken up Buddhism. Will these people still have a chance in the future?
Master: They will. As long as they don’t side with the evil, they will have opportunities. (Applause) What I have been saying is that if you are a Dafa disciple, the opportunities for you are few at this point. The time remaining for Dafa disciples is short, for there will be no more chances as soon as this affair is over.
Question: There are a few individuals who claim to be practitioners but who use ordinary legal means like lawsuits and threats against our Dafa Associations, Minghui.org, and certain practitioners’ projects.
Master: I will tell you that whoever is doing those kinds of things, regardless of what excuses they use, is doing the Devil’s work! Dafa disciples are under duress and working to counteract the persecution and save people, and there you are, working from the inside to disrupt and undermine their efforts? Do you not realize how big of a sin that is? You claim to be doing spiritual practice, and yet you are using ordinary legal means to attack spiritual matters. Ordinary legal means are meant for humans to deal with human things. If instead of working hard on resolving the attachments that you can’t break, you are resorting to legal means, which blocks you from addressing your human thinking, then you are doing the Devil’s work. No matter who you are, if you are thinking about suing a practitioners’ project, a Dafa Association, or any person or anything that involves saving people or cultivation, you’d better quickly drop it! There aren’t many chances left, nor much time. And you need to undo the damage you’ve done!! (Applause)
There are people who have even used the old Chinese expression, “cleaning up the bad officials around the emperor.” Do you think I’m an ordinary person? I am your shifu, your Master. Do you think that I don’t understand certain things? That I’m not capable of handling certain things? Or that I need you to “clean up” for me? Are you worthy of doing anything like that? How could you say something like that? I am saving you! Are you thinking that you’re saving me?! People will dare to say anything once they’ve fallen in with evil.
I am still giving you a chance, so you had better quickly undo the damage you’ve done. But there is little time left. So hurry! The old forces have you in their clutches and are making you irrational and making you carry through with these things.
Question: Big data is now a thing in ordinary society. In China more and more surveillance cameras are being installed, technologies such as automatic face and gesture recognition are being used, and they are doing whatever data analysis they want to. Does this pose greater risks for Dafa disciples who go out to distribute materials and raise awareness, or should we not worry too much about this?
Master: Dafa disciples have their ways. There will be little interference if you are righteous with whatever you do. As I have always said, there won’t be any problems if you are righteous on your part. But if you do things with human thinking or attachments, problems will be hard to avoid—even if you are doing Dafa things. But it is indeed hard to meet the standard, or the level required; that is, it will be hard to meet if you don’t have the necessary foundation, and that’s when problems arise.
But that said, I’m also thinking about how everyone around the world regards Chinese products as the worst, don’t they? I’ve heard that out of every thousand cameras they install, five hundred don’t work (laughter and applause), and that as soon as they fix one, some other one is broken. So, there is the poor quality of the products they’re churning out, on top of the careless attitude people have when they do things… Anyway, whatever the CCP does turns into a scandal, in the end. Aren’t they trying to get the world to use their 5G technology? It won’t be long before everyone realizes the poor quality of their offerings, so it won’t get very far. People will quickly abandon it. (Applause)
Question: When I have helped fellow practitioners who were going through an ordeal involving serious sickness karma, such as by sharing my understandings with them on a deeper level and trying to clean up the field of their dimensions, I have encountered severe tribulations myself, including physical and mental anguish, or fall into traps set in other dimensions, and so on. Is it a normal form of sacrifice that is supposed to be part of my helping out, or is it because my abilities are not strong enough?
Master: Helping other Dafa disciples to get through ordeals is everyone’s responsibility, and something that should be done. That’s fine to do. But if the person being helped doesn’t change on his part, and relies completely on others’ help, then it is never going to work out. If with your assistance his positive and good thoughts become stronger and stronger, then the external support from you will help achieve better and better results. That’s how these things work.
Question: There have always been some practitioners outside of China who maintain that Minghui.org isn’t suitable for ordinary people and refuse to promote it, and this has gone on for twenty years. Minghui.org has always met with a good deal of resistance among practitioners outside of China, whereas inside of China its importance is well recognized and endorsed. We have been trying to think of a way to resolve this issue.
Master: There is indeed some content on Minghui.org that is meant for practitioners to read and share with one another, and if an ordinary person’s spiritual level isn’t there, it won’t make sense to him or her. Yet there are some articles that can be shared with non-practitioners. But there are always people who make things more complicated than they need to be. Although Minghui.org is a forum for our spiritual community with discussions on how practitioners can elevate their character, there are some regular people who can understand it.
The people in this world are of different calibers. There are differences even among the common people you see walking down the street. Some have better morals than others and view things differently than others. And some have even higher morals still, and look at things even more differently. Some people have special powers, and in some cases they have extraordinary abilities. There are large numbers of people like this, and they are of different ranks, even. Those who have the same special powers contact one another, and those with greater powers are in another league of their own, and they have the ability to contact one another, too. The human world is not as simple as people think. Don’t let rigid notions affect how you see the world.
Question: My cultivation state has had ups and downs. Sometimes I am attached to doing things that I’m fond of, such as spending time on the computer, on video games, or on my mobile phone, and it’s been to the detriment of my cultivation. How can I get better control of myself and stay diligent?
Master: I’d like to give you my take on what people normally refer to as “addiction.” In the medical sciences it’s believed that addiction occurs when the part of the nervous system associated with addictive behaviors is stimulated and develops to a sufficient degree. But that’s not it. What’s happening, then? Over time, that addictive substance accumulates, and forms inside of your body an identical version of you that comes to control you. Because it is composed of strong attachment, and has your appearance, it has an equally strong desire to control you; it was formed out of strong desires, after all.
This holds true for drug use as well. Some people say that recreational drug use is no big deal and that it seems harmless. And sure, people feel pretty good when they try it. What if they do it again? There’s no apparent problem. How about one more time? Then their self-control starts to erode. But why is that? When that substance is inhaled, inside of your body it forms a very thin and light version of you. One hit is all it takes, since it’s highly poisonous. And with the second hit, that version of you that was thin and light grows a bit denser. And it will continue to get denser with each subsequent hit, growing stronger and sturdier. It will have the full structure of your body as well as thinking, and be an entirely drug-induced and demonic version of you. Of course, it may not do anything other than crave drugs. It can’t bear to be without them. That’s because it is now alive. So what happens, then? As you might imagine, it will become progressively lighter if you stop using drugs, as a result of your body’s metabolic processes, until eventually it dies. Since it doesn’t wish to die, it compels you to take drugs again in order to strengthen it.
Spending unnecessary time on the computer or playing video games has the same effect; it’s the same idea. If you want to quit, that thing won’t want you to since it would die. And so it will do all in its power to make you engage in those things. And if you try not to, it will interfere with your work or studies by causing your mind to crave them. If you refuse, it might even make you do those things in your dreams.
It strikes me how easily human beings are controlled by foreign entities. The human body is really just a vessel made up of the foods a person has consumed and that is inherited from one’s parents. With the consumption of food, it grows, but it is really weak, as anyone or anything can control it. Things that are formed in other dimensions are sentient, and though their plane may be low, they still have the ability to control people since the human body is weak.
Question: Every day there are thousands of tourists from China coming to visit our area’s truth-clarification site. We don’t have enough manpower to raise awareness among them. Yet fellow practitioners in our area don’t seem to realize the importance of this, and some say that we no longer need to raise awareness. Some practitioners have come out to our site, but didn’t try to explain the truth to people and instead just studied the Fa or did things on their cell phones while they were there. Very few veteran practitioners come out to our site to help raise awareness.
Master: Indeed, the three tasks for Dafa disciples won’t be concluded until the Fa rectification is done! Why would anyone think you are done? How could you no longer need to raise awareness? How could it be okay to not do that when so many people are waiting to be saved?! Even I am helping you do that! Saving non-practitioners is supposed to be your responsibility. [The way it’s supposed to be is that] I save you, and you save them. Now I am even helping you do it, so if you don’t do it, are you a Dafa disciple? How are you going to fare at the end, when accounts are finally settled? At that point it will be too late for crying.
Question: Our media have run some news stories that forecasted political developments or the rise and fall of political figures, and they were based on information provided by undisclosed “sources.” In the past, our media trusted this kind of “exclusive information,” provided to us by CCP agents, but it ended up hurting the paper’s credibility. This has caused ordinary people to have misconceptions about us, as they think that we have been used by the CCP.
Master: Yes, things are a bit complicated in Hong Kong, so you should be cautious. You can tell how well some people have cultivated, or what kind of person they are, from how they act. Just don’t let your personal feelings get mixed in. If you have a good relationship with someone and so you feel that he or she is pretty good, then you are letting human thinking and feelings bias your opinions. Base your judgment on the Fa, instead, and you will see what someone is really like, including how his cultivation is. You will be able to tell what kind of person he is at a glance.
Question: My question has to do with some overseas Dafa practitioners being deported back to their countries when they came to attend large-scale events in Hong Kong. This has happened every time. The Hong Kong Immigration Department has turned more evil recently.
Master: Indeed, I’m aware of these things and have been keeping an eye on them. But whatever happens, it doesn’t detract any from how exceptional Dafa disciples are.
Question: Some practitioners formed groups on their own and went to different regions to help promote Shen Yun and provide support while the company was performing there. Members of these groups often have complicated backgrounds, and in some cases their backgrounds are unknown. Most of them don’t have supporting references from the Dafa Association. These practitioners have had a negative impact on the cultivation environment in some cities where Shen Yun was performing.
Master: It doesn’t seem to be that serious. I think people should be encouraged when they are proactively trying to help out with Dafa projects. If you think that some people aren’t suitable for this work, you can talk to the organizer. And if that doesn’t work and it’s really necessary, you can say something to the Shen Yun company manager. This isn’t that big of a deal.
Question: The Epoch Times has become a paid newspaper…
Master: Congratulations! (Laughter) The Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times is now sold via newsstands, which means that it is operating in a positive cycle, which is great.
Question: ...however, I have heard that the situation is pretty bad. I believe that the purpose of producing The Epoch Times is to raise awareness and save people.
Master: It’s not that bad. Even if just a hundred papers are sold, I think it’s an achievement. Isn’t it a good thing that The Epoch Times has become a member of the mainstream press? Try to look at the big picture. As for raising awareness, it doesn’t have to be The Epoch Times that does this. Our other media can. Isn’t there Vision Times as well? You can give those out. A lot can be done with the publications that aren’t sold at newsstands, and you can try to make them even better. You can publish powerful stories in these other media, which raise awareness. I’ll stop at that. I affirm this development with the paper.
Question: Master has been speaking for over an hour.
Master: It’s no problem. (Applause) I would hate to cut into your lunch time is all. There are not many questions left here. Let’s not pass more up.
Question: The wicked CCP has infiltrated the education system and the media in the West, causing many people here, including practitioners, to have a lot of warped notions. This makes it harder for us all to save people.
Master: Yes it’s hard to some extent, but it’s not that serious. Just point out to people the things that come from communism. Don’t we have some practitioners who feel there isn’t anything for them to do? They can go ahead and try working on this.
Question: I found that some ordinary businesses are making and selling yellow T-shirts that have the words “Falun Dafa” printed on them. They sell them to people applying to be refugees, who then wear them to Dafa activities. How should we deal with these businesses?
Master: In some countries that are welcoming of immigrants these things do sometimes fool the immigration officers. That happens, as it’s hard to deal with. You can talk with those businesses and make them aware of what’s going on. Point out that while they are making money from doing that, it won’t be much, yet the consequences are frightening. You can help them to understand what’s at stake for them. But that said, looking at it from another angle, wouldn’t it be scary to the CCP if everyone around the world were wearing shirts emblazoned with “Falun Dafa is Great”? (Applause)
Question: Currently many practitioners have big disagreements with some of the Dafa Associations, and some of these are even quite serious. The way I see it is that the issues practitioners have pointed out to the Associations do exist, but at the same time, the Associations are playing an irreplaceable role during the Fa rectification period. How should regular practitioners like myself view situations like this?
Master: Practitioners who have only recently come out of China tend to cause troubles like these. Practitioners outside of China have their own ways of handling things, and the local Dafa Associations have served to guide Dafa disciples through the most difficult of times. They know how things work outside of China and how to do things, which are not like what you are thinking! Stop trying to orchestrate a group of people to oppose the Association. Don’t do that kind of thing! The Devil delights in seeing you act like that. The Dafa Associations just provide direction, organize group activities, arrange group Fa studies, and so on. Don’t equate them with Master or expect them to be divine beings who have finished their cultivation, free of flaws. They are just serving as facilitators. You are supposed to be proactive about doing those activities yourselves, to begin with. And yet you are always focusing on others.
And of course, when you are doing these things that make the Association members look bad and feel dejected, since they are still human beings who are cultivating, if their human feelings get stirred up, they are going to try to save face so that they can still lead people. So their attachments might get provoked. The more grievances you cause them, the more their attachments might come out, in which case aren’t you making a mess of our own community?
You should know that they are not divine beings, or people who have finished their spiritual journeys. They are just like you, only I have given them responsibilities and asked them to do things. You are always focusing on others and pointing fingers. Don’t go bringing those habits of yours from communist China here!
Question: It has been a long time since the Minghui Editorial Board issued the notice “What All Dafa Disciples Must Know.” Yet some practitioners outside of China continue to use apps that are monitored and controlled by the CCP, making all sorts of excuses for it. We believe that every reminder and request put out by the Board serves as a test to see if practitioners are able to part with their human ways, and those who cannot, show that they don’t want to break free of the human realm.
Master: All of the mobile phones, computers, and other electronic devices that you carry on you that are connected to the Internet, act as listening devices. The wicked CCP isn’t the only entity that is interested in Dafa disciples. I can tell you that many countries have grown increasingly interested, and are monitoring you. You might think that you’re just a regular practitioner, and of nobody’s concern, but when you make a phone call even things like chitchat, when you went grocery shopping, and when you will eat are recorded, and they analyze everything they can about you. Are you aware of how companies go about analyzing commercial intelligence? It’s based on these things. As long as you carry a mobile phone on you, they have already learned a lot about you.
Question: In China the lawyers who have the courage to defend the legal rights and interests of Dafa disciples continue to be suppressed. It’s hard for many practitioners who have been unlawfully arrested or persecuted to hire a lawyer. Was this situation caused by our overly relying on lawyers? How should we handle this?
Master: Handle it however you think is best. If I were to tell you here how to handle it, the CCP would be on it before you. Use your wisdom to handle it.
Question: Recently a practitioner has been experiencing a major ordeal in his practice, and he had to leave the project that he was working for. Other practitioners each have many responsibilities and are extremely busy working on their projects. While they very much want to help this person overcome his ordeal, they sometimes lack the time and energy. How can we balance these things so that we can extend more help to him?
Master: Whatever comes about in your cultivation is meant for you to work on yourself. If I were to answer your question and tell you what to do, your test would be voided. Hard as things may be, I can see that, but they are meant for you to tackle and figure out. The challenges that you face while dealing with others aren’t always negative; they have their positive aspects, too. Wouldn’t you agree that when a problem occurs it is a chance for you to improve in cultivation by handling it properly?
Sometimes the coordinator of a region or one of our projects will keep asking to see me, but I won’t want to meet with him or her. Sometimes the coordinator of a region will want to see me, and since he is a coordinator I’m supposed to meet with him. But sometimes I’m thinking, if I don’t agree to meet with him, it might not be that understandable, since he is a coordinator; yet if I am to meet with him, I really don’t want to! Do you know why? It’s because when we meet, as soon as I give you the answer to whatever question or issue you raise, your test will be completely voided. But if I were to just keep quiet when we met, that wouldn’t make much sense either, would it? You are doing spiritual practice, and so you can’t always treat me, Master, like upper-level management or something, and come to me for instructions. I’m only in charge of your spiritual development; I am not your boss. You really have to figure out for yourselves how to overcome any problems that arise in what you do. Finding good solutions and working through things is part of your spiritual journey, and it will become your majestic virtue.
What you are working on is not cultivation in and of itself. Be it the businesses you own, your Dafa projects, or whatever it is you do—they are not cultivation in their own right. What makes something cultivation is the attitude that you bring to it and the way that you deal with and resolve any issues, namely, by applying the standards for a practicing Dafa disciple! But when you find something challenging you think that you had better ask me how to handle it, or you want to ask me whether you handled something right, so you keep wanting to have me walk that leg of your spiritual journey that you should be walking. So in cases like these when I meet with you, while you are happy to see me, you don’t realize that I have to pretend to look happy when in fact I’m really troubled by it. (Master smiles)
That’s because, as you know, spiritual development happens amidst unknowing; when you don’t know whether you have done right or not in your cultivation, you still have to carry on, and it will be like that all the way until the day your cultivation is successfully completed. That’s because it only counts as cultivation when you are not entirely sure whether something is right or not, and you still go forward based on your own judgment. So if you ask and get an answer from me, then it doesn’t count. And won’t what you did be in vain, then? There are also people who [justify wanting to see me] by thinking: “I won’t ask anything, I’ll just be happy to see Master.” But once you see me and it puts your mind at ease about something, then what you are doing or did doesn’t count anymore.
The bar is set high since you are a Dafa disciple. When people in the past sat for years facing a wall in meditation, who did they have to consult? Although they were just sitting there, their minds wouldn’t have been at rest, and all sorts of mental ordeals or tests would have arisen to see how they would handle them. There wasn’t anyone for them to consult. The bar is set even higher for you by nature, since they were only practicing for their own spiritual perfection, whereas you are tasked with the huge responsibility of saving sentient beings. You are Dafa disciples, and the level you are to reach in your practice should surpass theirs considerably. So with this come higher requirements for you. In the early years the old forces tried to force me to go to the North Pole—did you realize that? They didn’t want me to meet with you, and didn’t want you to be able to find me.
Question: I am a coordinator at a media project. Many young people have joined us recently, and we also have some older disciples. They work hard, but there has been limited improvement in their skills. Should we...
Master: You’re even asking me work-related things. (Master laughs) You are really regarding me as your boss.
Question: What can disciples do to reduce your burden as much as possible?
Master: You don’t need to worry about this. That’s not something any of you are capable of. There is nothing you can do, and I can’t even tell you about the things I am dealing with. I have said before, “It’s lonely in high places.” It’s not like what you would imagine, though—like what a high official might go through, where he can’t pour out his heart to anyone, and at most, he might feel a bit lonely is all. I have to bear simply enormous pressure as well as the hardship of all sentient beings. (Applause)
Question: In our news analysis pieces, how should we handle topics related to the current regime and the US-China trade war?
Master: The wicked CCP has been persecuting Falun Gong, hasn’t it? Then expose it and let the horrible and ugly things they have done be known to all. Nothing that the Party’s rogue regime does is legitimate, and it is the source of all of society’s problems. Nobody in their right mind would want to align themselves with it.
Question: As soon as some practitioners encounter issues, be it a physical ordeal or some other type, other practitioners will always say, “There must be something wrong on his part,” and work hard to help him find what’s wrong on his end.
Master: Let me put it this way: if a Dafa disciple meets with some ordeal or karma shedding, there is surely a reason behind it, and he should try to find the problem on his part. And for sure, after he finds the cause and immediately does well in that regard, things will change for the better, in a positive direction, right away. But some people don’t want to hear it when their shortcomings are pointed out. And that’s especially likely if the practitioner is going through an ordeal and hurting. If on top of that you tell him, “You definitely have a problem,” it’s going to be all the harder for him to take, and he may not want to hear it. So if that’s the case, let’s try to be a little more thoughtful with our approach.
Question: There are several teams spearheading investigations into live organ harvesting and efforts to raise awareness about this with the influential segments of society. Could you please tell us whether these efforts should be coordinated overall?
Master: It’s better that you discuss this and work it out among yourselves. Use whatever strategy you think is most effective. You can consolidate your efforts if you feel that you can work together well and it will be effective. But doing things separately, with each effort having an impact somewhere, can achieve an effect too. Anyway, you decide. Whatever approach you adopt is fine.
Question: There have been significant developments in the international arena, and Taiwan’s situation seems quite complex and confusing. Would Master please say a few words to Taiwan’s disciples?
Master: All right, so a few words it is. (Laughter, applause) You are most concerned about whether the CCP is going to take back Taiwan, aren’t you? I can tell you that that fortune has not been given to the CCP. (Applause) And as for what will happen once the CCP is gone, that’s something that has long since been planned out by the divine. Once the sinister CCP is out of the picture, no one will be trying to force anything [on Taiwan]. And then if the people [of Taiwan and the mainland] want to unite, they can; or if they don’t want to, then they don’t have to.
But personally, these things don’t concern me. What’s on my mind is the people of the entire world. I want to save, to rescue, everyone—regardless of their nationality or region. And the same should be true for Dafa disciples. Don’t look down on certain people or turn your nose up at some others. Though people may be of different nationalities, and their outward appearance might not be the same, the majority are divine within. People today are different from before.
Question: Misleading news is everywhere in this Internet age, and it’s often hard to tell real news from fake. In the upcoming Taiwan and U.S. general elections in 2020, will fake news cloud people’s judgment?
Master: Degenerate things are common in this troubled world, and it’s hard to accomplish good things. That’s how things are in a troubled world. Many people didn’t expect Trump to be elected in the last U.S. election, but he was. Some people believe that things are supposed to go a certain way, but then they turn out otherwise. I have always said that divine beings are in control of human affairs, and that it is they who have the say. But if I speak too much about it or get into the specifics, it might negatively impact our saving people, so I won’t go into it.
Question: It has been over a decade since I last saw my family in China. Could you please tell me if there will be a chance in the next phase for us to return to China and see them?
Master: My approach with Dafa disciples is to allow some of your human attachments to remain for purposes of saving people, and this way you can live in this mundane world. Having thoughts like those isn’t counted as an attachment, therefore, as everyone wants to see their family. You are asking me to confirm that you will be able to see them, but it wouldn’t seem fitting for me to disclose that, would it? (Master chuckles) And that is because you still need to cultivate yourselves. Earlier, I began by speaking about the current state of affairs. You can tell that things are changing fast, and when the wicked Party’s time is up it will swiftly fall apart—very quickly. (Applause) When the tide rises, it swells and takes some time before reaching its peak. But when it recedes—swoosh—it happens very quickly. (Master laughs, applause) And the evildoers won’t be able to flee, however hard they try.
Question: Around ten thousand Dafa disciples from all over the world are in attendance today, and give their best wishes to our great and compassionate Master!
Master: Thank you all! (Warm applause)
Question: Nowadays many coordinators would say that a practitioner “has issues.” Once that remark is made, his standing in our community might promptly change. And the coordinator might be taking away the practitioner’s right and opportunity to partake in projects by making these kinds of remarks.
Master: Our coordinators shouldn’t rashly make comments like that. Even if you do find that a person has some issue, you should observe him discreetly, and not say anything openly unless it really becomes necessary. But some practitioners do indeed seem a little odd, and go about things in their own way despite what others may think or say. If that’s the case, in your cultivation and daily lives you should try to often take a look at your own actions and how you are doing in your practice, compare yourself with others, and think about whether your behaviors are too strange or extreme, or if you have a bit too much of an independent streak. When you are outside of China and in this special time period, it’s likely you will give people the impression that you’re a bit abnormal. So both [coordinators and practitioners] should be mindful of what I’ve discussed.
I have emphasized repeatedly that the practitioners who have come out of China really have to pay attention to these things. It’s really not appropriate to act and do things in those odd and bizarre ways, and to be so extreme. In Chinese society, even in television dramas people are always plotting against each other. But you don’t see that in other countries. And in China literary and other works usually depict people—regular people and scoundrels alike—scheming and plotting against one another. You see it everywhere—in arts and entertainment like novels, television dramas, and movies. It’s as if people have nothing better to do—always conniving against one another, and people think a television drama or movie is good if the people in it destroy their rivals in a satisfying way. That’s what people’s minds have become there. They look at things in a twisted way. So you really have to be especially mindful of these things if you want to change.
I experienced what people were like during the time before the Cultural Revolution. I have witnessed the changes in the Chinese people each step of the way and seen them clearly. I have always been different from the common man, in that I don’t go in for the latest trends and never went along with any of the Party’s various movements. I have always stayed aware and seen the Party’s things for what they are. Worldly people have a hard time being self-aware, as they tend to get swept away by the tides. So I would suggest you take a good, dispassionate look at yourself, don’t act in extreme ways, and don’t cause people to think you’re strange. If you can do that, the problems among practitioners won’t be nearly as complicated.
The veteran practitioners who have long lived outside of China find it nearly impossible to work together with those of you who recently came from the mainland. Though they themselves came from China years ago, the people who left China during those times were different. Today’s Chinese people have changed into something else, and the practitioners who have long lived outside of China are baffled as to what has happened.
I’ll stop here for today. The title “Dafa disciple” is special. It is something that has never existed since the dawn of creation. Neither has the Fa’s rectification of the cosmos ever existed. It used to be that the cosmos would simply be destroyed if it wasn’t good enough anymore, and then a new one would be created. As you’re aware, divine ones have the power to create with just the thought of it. But with a new cosmos, the only issue is that the original lives, and the best of what had come through over all those long ages, would be lost. All would be gone, things would be created anew, and when everything goes through that kind of a process again it’s hard to say whether things will be as they were. So I felt it would be a shame to lose all of that. And all of those lives were made by the Divine, after all, and so the Divine had wished to see them continue on, out of compassion, and set out to do this.
In other words, this is something unprecedented. Never since the dawn of time have massive and magnificent changes in the cosmos taken place as they are now with the Fa rectification, and nor were there ever Dafa disciples. Master created this glorious opportunity and has led you to this historical epoch. Strive to spiritually perfect yourselves, do your utmost to show what you are made of as you strive to save all lives, and try to do even better!
Thank you all! (Long, enthusiastic applause)
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(Translation by Team Yellow, subject to further improvement. Date of this version: June 15, 2019.)