April 27, 2002
Li Hongzhi
A lot of you in the audience are from other regions, and a good number are from
Australia. This time I mainly came to meet with you, and I don't want to say too much. Looking at
the overall situation of Dafa disciples right now in the Fa-rectification, I think things are good.
You're doing really well in some regards, and a bit poor in others. But the overall, main body is
doing really well. There are a lot of things you still aren't able to do well as Dafa disciples,
though, and I can tell you that this is in fact because you've neglected Fa-study. The reason is,
your surface, which is still assimilating to the Fa, needs to be constantly improved, and as you
constantly improve, the things that you need to cultivate away have to be arranged for. Every realm
has its own state of being. If you remain stagnant, you definitely won't be able to keep up with the
Fa-rectification. When you do well in the Fa-rectification, I can see that it's always because you
are able to understand the Fa from the Fa; and when you do somewhat poorly, I can see that it's
because you aren't making a priority of Fa-study and you aren't able to understand the Fa from the
Fa. As a Dafa disciple, no matter what the situation or what the circumstances, you have to study
the Fa, and you can't neglect your own assimilation and improvement; you can't forget to study the
Fa. If you don't study the Fa well, you won't be able to do Dafa work well. And when you run into
conflicts or problems that need to be resolved, you won't be able to balance things and you'll have
arguments. Of course, I don't think it's necessarily bad that you have arguments when conflicts
arise. That's because in cultivation what you have to do is get rid of attachments, and in
cultivation what you have to do is improve yourself; so those ordinary human attachments of yours
have to be exposed so that you can get rid of them. But sometimes, because we don't keep up our Fa-study,
we handle like an ordinary person some of the things we do to spread the Fa and save sentient
beings. This makes a lot of the sacred things we do not so sacred, it prevents us from doing
them well, and it also causes people in society not to understand us sometimes. So it not only
prevents you from improving, but also causes Dafa some losses.
As you know, in the time following April 25th of 1999, in many regions
of the world nobody other than Dafa disciples knew what Falun Gong was about. That was the case for
a lot of regions around the world. When the persecution against us first started, all the world's
media wanted to know what Falun Gong was about. But nobody was able to get positive materials, and
they all copied what the lie-breeding media in China published. Of course, a lot of international
media didn't do that intentionally--they had to report on it. Think about it, in that environment,
and under that kind of overwhelming pressure, we have been able to rectify the Fa in the human world
to this extent, to have the world's people come to really know us, and to have people all over the
world truly see what we're about. That's no easy feat. This shows that you've indeed done really
well validating the Fa, and that's what allowed you to achieve so much. If we're careless [with our
conduct], then there's a good chance we'll cause losses as a result of our conduct not conforming to
the Fa. So we really have to pay attention to these things.
Since you are indeed busy these days, with many of you having volunteered to
shoulder a lot of work, this makes it hard for you to focus when you do Fa-study. You're always
thinking about Fa-rectification things and aren't able to quiet your mind when you study the Fa.
Then you're actually studying in vain. If you can't study the Fa rationally and clearheadedly,
you're studying in vain, and you're wasting your time. So you have to recognize this. I know that
you're busy and are working hard, and that some disciples sleep only a little each night. You're
doing so many things, and you have to study the Fa and do other things, too, of course. So sometimes
I can't tell you that you have to do this or have to do that. When it comes to specific things, it's
completely up to you to work them out--you have to figure out for yourself how to handle them and
arrange them better.
Also, I've seen that certain problems that were more prominent several years ago
have become noticeable again recently. Which problems? Many of the students outside Mainland China
have a lot of skills and have advanced knowledge, and they hold academic degrees among everyday
people. In other words, your thinking is clear and you are very capable. And that's why you have
indeed done a lot of things quite well. This is especially so when you were proactive about doing
things well. But, exactly because you're capable, problems come up when each of you has a good idea.
You have a good idea, he has a good idea, too, and everyone thinks that his own idea is good... this
is usually how arguments happen. And when you argue, because you've neglected your day-to-day Fa-study
or have slacked off in your cultivation, you fall into ordinary people's ways of arguing.
A Dafa disciple should put the Fa first in everything he does--whenever you
evaluate something you have to consider the Fa first. You probably remember something I've said to
you often: a Dafa disciple should consider others first in everything he does. Whenever something
happens or whenever a situation comes about, even if it's a minor thing, my first thought is of
others, for it's already become natural for me--I just think of others first. If all of you can do
this, there won't be any of that stubborn arguing in your validating the Fa; if you really have a
solid foundation like this and are able to calm yourselves, consider others, and examine yourselves
when anything happens, I think you'll be able to handle a lot of things well. Sometimes you really
argue like everyday people, and a very small number of you even get so worked up when you're arguing
that you become flush with emotion, and you even disregard your surroundings and the effect it has
in society, completely handling yourselves as everyday people. But you're a cultivator, a Dafa
disciple--not just an ordinary cultivator. You all know that no matter how wild the evil gets, it
won't last. The closer it gets to the end, the more evil it acts when it's affected by the force of
Fa-rectification, and this tells us that that must be its final wild act. If this thing really ends
one day, the first thing that will be done is to have Fa-rectification Dafa disciples be Consummated
and returned to their positions. At that time, when you look back at the path you've traveled,
everything will be clear to you. Of course, a Buddha, Dao, or God who's fully Consummated at his
position won't think about things like whether he did well or not --it will just be like a dream is
over, and he won't even think about it. However, your performance during the present process is
forging you and establishing everything of yours. Whoever misses this opportunity, or doesn't do a
certain thing well, will see at that time the cause of his mistake.
In this Fa-rectification, the best opportunity has been created for the colossal
firmament's sentient beings; all sentient beings have the best opportunity to lay a foundation for
their future. The same is true for Dafa disciples. The fruits of your cultivation, your position,
your mighty virtue, and everything of your future is also established in this opportunity of Fa-rectification.
Then, if you don't do everything well, you're really letting yourself down! So when you argue with
ordinary human attachments, I think to myself: "If they saw the true situation, they wouldn't
argue even if they were asked to." But it's exactly because you can't see the true situation
and you have ordinary human attachments that you can cultivate here. When you have ordinary human
attachments, you can validate the Fa; when you don't have those attachments, you won't be able to
validate the Fa, and you won't be able to stay here anymore; in other words, you won't be able to
cultivate anymore. But I need to ask you to seriously think about how you can make the most of these
existing conditions and do even better.
No matter how busy you are, you have to see yourself as a Dafa disciple; no
matter how busy you are, you have to consider how you might affect those around you. Since April 25th
of 1999 and after July 20th, the evil has used the scoundrel means of slander and put us
on the defensive, causing the minds of numerous beings to be poisoned. In your efforts to save
sentient beings you've labored so hard to allow people to have a new understanding of us. So when
you don't do well, it's quite possible you are unwittingly undermining the efforts you've made and
some of the things you plan to do. You are cultivators, whose conduct is [supposed to be] pure and
righteous. There are so many people who think you're great just by having seen how you act. If we
don't pay attention to our own behavior in our daily lives, everyday people will see our actions
and, since they can't get to know you at a deep level such as by studying the Fa, they will just
look at how you act. And it's possible that one sentence or one action of yours will make them
unsavable or create a bad impression of Dafa. We need to think about these things.
Being your Master, of course I can see your shortcomings, and of course I can see
your problems. Every single word and every single action of yours, for example, I know what's
included in it. Usually your Master doesn't teach you the Fa on an individual basis. That's because
if I were to point out someone's problem to him individually, his mind would be hit really hard, and
this might in fact affect him. That's why I rarely speak to someone individually that way. But when
I bring up these problems in a large forum, don't think I'm not referring to you.
There are many Kings in the heavens. As you know, Sakyamuni said that the number
of Tathagatas is like the number of grains of sand in the Ganges River. Think about how many grains
of sand India's Ganges River has! And there's more than that--what Sakyamuni said was in a
figurative sense. Every Tathagata is a Fa-King. And the Buddha School isn't the only one--the Buddha
School is only one widespread type that has a huge number of Gods. How many Gods are there? How many
Kings like that are there? If every King handled things the way you do when something happens,
that'd be big trouble. They don't have those kinds of arguments, which aren't consistent with their
levels. Of course, they can see the truth and they can see the best way, but often they, too, have
certain differences in some of their views. But they would never argue. They are in a state of
immense tolerance, of mercy toward all beings, and of being able to understand everything with
kindness. To put it in human terms, they're always able to be understanding of others. So sometimes
we shouldn't "burrow into the horn's point"[1] with strong
everyday people's attachments, be unable to get out of it for a long time, and get more attached the
more we think about it--the more you think about it the more your mind seethes, and the more you
think about it the more demons take advantage of you. When you're not coolheaded, I'll tell you,
that's when demons are using you. I don't care how long you've cultivated for, and it doesn't matter
what reputation you have among Dafa disciples, I can guarantee that's what's going on when you're
not paying attention to these things. Let me tell you, no matter how well you've cultivated, as long
as you still have everyday people's attachments, those are what demons can use, and when you're not
paying attention they can be used at any moment. So as a Dafa disciple, you should try your best to
restrain those everyday people's attachments, try your best to prevent them from having an effect,
try your best to walk a righteous path, and try your best, in all environments and with everything
that happens, to conduct yourself in an open and dignified manner, to be tolerant and broad-minded,
to be able to understand others, and to be able to consider all perspectives. Then, I think you
might be able to do a lot of things well. Acting this way is not compromising! Everybody can share
their views and you can evaluate them in a kind manner.
So having said all that I have, it in fact all boils down to cultivation issues.
In Fa-rectification you still need to read and study the Fa more. Actually, this isn't to criticize
you. Since I'm your Master I can of course see your shortcomings. You call me Master, so I have to
tell you what your shortcomings are, and then you should recognize them. Of course, I often praise
you as well, like "Dafa disciples are remarkable, magnificent," and "You've done so
well." But too many of these words doesn't do you a lot of good. Many times when Master sees
that you're doing so well, I keep my happiness for you to myself.
Every Dafa disciple is doing things proactively to validate the Fa and save
sentient beings, and Master sees this. This is something that today's everyday people couldn't do.
The students outside Mainland China are devoting themselves fully to this, and everybody is doing
what they're supposed to do in this Fa-rectification period. Meanwhile, the students in China have their
ways of doing things, while you, the students outside of Mainland China, have your ways of
doing things. All of you are remarkable. It's not that everyone has to do the same things; every
person is doing in his own environment what a Dafa disciple is supposed to do at this time. You're
doing it from your heart, and each disciple is safeguarding the Fa and saving sentient beings really
just like a particle of Dafa. From this perspective, the world's people can't compare.
You know, nowhere else is there anything like what the evil gang in China has at
its disposal for attacking people. You could say that they've gathered all the means from all times
and all lands. On top of that, the thinking of today's Chinese people, after going through various
political struggles, has warped into something more and more crafty and cunning, and so the bad
things they do are terribly evil. But despite this, a lot of people are being used and made to do
bad things, so they aren't really trying to damage the Fa from their hearts. We do see this. No
matter what methods the evil uses or how much money they spend, they can't achieve what they want to
achieve in damaging Dafa. We're doing these things with our hearts, while they're doing things with
money--they could never compare. They have such a powerful state propaganda machine, they have
consulates all over the world, and they have such an enormous army. What we face is an evil
political gang of scoundrels like that who want to suppress us. In just a short time we've been able
to help people all around the world truly recognize this evil persecution--isn't that remarkable?
Isn't that something only achievable by Dafa disciples' doing things from their hearts? Isn't that
something only achievable by Dafa disciples taking the initiative to do things? Of course, the evil
will never have any chance of success in its attempts to damage the Fa of the cosmos.
Of course, a lot of things aren't as simple as everyday people think they are. Doing whatever one wants isn't allowed, and this goes for the
evil, too. I've said that the old forces have made very detailed, thorough, and systematic
arrangements in history for the entire Fa-rectification period and everything that manifests during
the Fa-rectification. Although it's this chaotic--chaotic to this extent--and this evil--evil to
this extent--still, around the whole world, including in China, including all of it, there are still
a lot of very bad beings in the ordinary human society and in every dimension that have not taken
part in this. They're all being restrained. In other words, they have no part in it, and they're not
allowed to take part, regardless of whether they're good ones or bad ones--there are ones from both
groups. Things look like they have no order, but they're in fact very orderly. The evil beings that
have participated in this seem to be acting maliciously, but the old forces are merely using them,
and the purpose of their using them is to have us clear away those pieces of trash in the universe
during the Fa-rectification. The evil beings can't see the true situation and they act rampantly.
When the true situation reveals itself, all beings, and this includes everyday people, will exclaim
with astonishment: "Wow! So that's how it was!"
Of course, the things in this environment are different from the situation in an
environment like Mainland China. To talk about things related to the Fa-rectification or saving
sentient beings under that kind of evil pressure and in that kind of situation, where the dimensions
are filled with evil, is different from talking about them here. But even so, it's actually because
the old forces insist on testing Dafa disciples' xinxing that they've done this. That's
definitely the case. If it weren't, this definitely wouldn't have happened. The best way to deal
with this situation is for Dafa disciples to walk their paths righteously, to try their best not to
let the evil or the old forces take advantage of their gaps, and to solidify their righteous
thoughts. The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings.
What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things.
Let me use this chance to mention one minor thing. As you know, our manpower is
very limited right now, so in your efforts to validate the Fa, don't neglect things when you turn
your attention to something else. In other words, we shouldn't focus all of our efforts on one
thing. We should try our best to cover things as a whole and do a good job with all the things we're
now working on.
I won't say much more. I know you've all been working hard. Today I haven't
praised you too much, but I know that everybody has in fact completely devoted himself to the task
of validating the Fa. You see that there are lots of things to do, and you are anxious and want to
do them well. Master sees all this. It's not just me who sees it. I'll tell you, all beings in the
cosmos are watching closely. The surface of matter is composed of sequences of molecules, and the
overall Fa-rectification has already reached the point of this surface. But even though things at
this surface look very coarse to the human eye, in actuality, gigantic, microcosmic systems have
seeped into it and it, too, is very complex. In the Fa-rectification, breakthroughs toward the
surface are already being made. In other words, it's now about to approach what human beings can
see. In the microcosm, though, it also corresponds to gigantic dimensions, and there are still
massive groups of beings there. So there is still a pretty massive number of beings who need to be
saved by the Fa-rectification, and the situation is complex. All sentient beings are closely
watching everything we're doing. There are eyes everywhere in this cosmos, and both the beings that
have been rectified and the beings that haven't been are watching. The beings in the new cosmos are
eagerly longing for the ultimate conclusion, while the beings in the old cosmos are longing to be
saved. The ones that have taken part in persecuting the Fa-rectification are only that one group,
the old forces, and they make up twenty percent of the beings at different levels. All the other,
larger numbers of beings aren't taking part, and these ones who aren't taking part are observing and
watching all of this. They all know one thing, and even the old forces know it: if this undertaking
doesn't succeed, everything will be no more.
Today's scientists, too, have discovered the situation in which great changes are
taking place in the cosmos. They've discovered that the scope of the universe they can currently see
is expanding faster and faster, and the speed of the expansion keeps accelerating. I didn't want to
talk about this before--I only taught principles of the Fa. Let's think about it: what does this
expansion mean? Something only expands before it explodes; it expands and expands, and when it
reaches a certain point it suddenly bursts. So everything is in its final stage. A lot of beings are
watching all this with anxiety. As for the old forces, they, with their requirements in mind, are
also anxious. Of course, the beings in the new cosmos are also eagerly longing for the conclusion of
all this. The immense force of the whole Fa-rectification is doing its final work at an even more
forceful speed, which transcends all times. Now it's only a little bit away from catching up with
the speed of the surface's expansion. Of course, the speed of the expansion seems to be slow in
terms of human time, but it's in fact very fast. I am doing things very fast, too. I've told you
before that however much is done up there, that much can be broken through at lower levels. Although
the universe is expanding, I'm doing things at an extremely fast speed, and I can definitely catch
up with it. If I don't catch up with it, I can tell you, the final disintegration would make
everything in the surface dimension cease to exist. If I do catch up with it, it's resolved. Not
only will I catch up with it, but I will also surpass it, and that's when the Fa rectifies the human
world. Now I'm only just a little bit away from catching up with the speed of the expansion.
Countless sentient beings, countless beings, are all watching. And in fact, there are eyes in every
tiny particle of the air. What are the heavens? I've told you that they're different from the
heavens imagined by human beings. When you look at Earth from the moon, Saturn, or Venus, isn't it
also in the heavens? In the same sense it's in the heavens. The heavens are in the microcosm and in
the macrocosm, and the term doesn't refer to the parallel dimensions that are made up of particles
of the same level--in the eyes of Gods, that's just the concept of distance. In the macrocosm and in
the microcosm, all beings are closely watching all these things on the earth. They know Dafa
disciples' every single action and every single thought. Everything that Dafa disciples do is
clearly displayed before the eyes of higher beings. So be sure to do well and win their admiration.
This is magnificent--truly magnificent. Without the Fa-rectification, Fa-rectification
period Dafa disciples' magnificence wouldn't be shown so prominently. Dafa disciples: the things you
are faced with are magnificent, your responsibilities are major, and then there's your origin, of
course--it's taking all these things into consideration that I say you're magnificent. You need to
be worthy of the title "Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple"! That's something that the
cosmos won't have again. This only happens once since the beginning of time--it only happens once
since the beginning of time in the cosmos. Everything seems to take place among everyday people and
not be much different from everyday-people things. If there were a difference, then people would
believe whatever you say, Fa-rectification wouldn't happen, and cultivation wouldn't exist. People
commit sins while deluded, so at present they have no other choice but to pay for them while
deluded. Although there's still a difficult leg of the journey ahead of us, it won't last long. I
hope that everyone will do even better from this point on.
I won't say anything more. You can go on with your conference. Today I'm just
here to meet with you, because there are people from Europe, Australia, and Asia, and also, you
wanted to see me. If there are things that I have to tell you, I'll definitely meet with you and
tell you what to do. Today I mainly wanted to see you. Thank you everyone.
[1] An expression that refers to getting oneself into a dead-end
alley by way of sheer stubbornness.
(Translator's Note: The translation is subject to improvement to be closer to the original text.
Latest update: June 14, 2002)
Download DOC File
�