(Clearwisdom.net) Several fellow practitioners around me have been severely persecuted by the evil and their lives have been seriously disrupted. They no longer receive any wages, retirement pensions, and other income, while some were dismissed from their workplaces and have lost their jobs. The evildoers normally make jokes such as: "Aren't you good people? Aren't you taking money and interest lightly and do not mind gain and loss?" In fact, when calmly looking at these words, it is obvious that those who speak them are controlled by evil and are acting as hoodlums. They know they are not reasonable, but still use a loophole - because the real issue is not money itself but our attachment to it.
Teacher said in Zhuan Falun:
"In our school of practice, those who practice cultivation among everyday people are required to practice cultivation precisely in ordinary human society, and to fit in among everyday people as much as possible. You are not really asked to lose anything materially. It does not matter how high your position ranks or how much wealth you own. The key is whether you can abandon that attachment." (Lecture Four, "Loss and Gain")
Looking at it from this aspect, due to the evil persecution, it is difficult for Dafa practitioners to ensure a decent living for themselves and their families. This in turn will cause them to focus more on the issue of survival. Originally, before the persecution began, every practitioner had a job, which guaranteed a living and a source of income. However, when this persecution happened, which was forced upon us by the old forces, Teacher told us to negate it and to not acknowledge it. Therefore, aren't we still acknowledging the old forces' persecution when we accept that the evil is not issuing our wages or is dismissing us from work and so on? The evil also takes advantage of individual practitioner's fears, and requires them to write a so-called guarantee statement; otherwise the practitioner will not have any employment.
Teacher said in, "The Issue of Killing":
"As human beings, we have the right to maintain human lives. Therefore, our living environment should meet the needs of human lives." ...This story tells a principle: We should not have to stop taking baths because there are insects, and neither should we have to find another place to live because there are mosquitoes. We also should not have to tie up our necks and stop eating or drinking because both grains and vegetables are lives. It should not be this way. We should cope with this relationship properly and practice cultivation in a dignified way. It will be fine as long as we do not harm any life intentionally. Meanwhile, people also must have a human living space and living conditions, and these should also be maintained. Human beings still need to maintain their lives and live normally." (Lecture 7, Zhuan Falun)
My understanding from the Fa is that Dafa practitioners are cultivating and validating the Fa in society, and therefore must have assurance that they are able to live in this society. When just surviving becomes a problem, how can we validate the Fa? Moreover, without a work environment, we not only lose the environment for personal cultivation, but more importantly, who will clarify the truth about Falun Gong to people?
I suggest that those practitioners who are facing problems such as dismissal or not receiving wages look inward. See whether you are intentionally or unintentionally acknowledging the persecution imposed upon us by the old forces, or whether you still are afraid and do not dare to take the opportunity to clarify the truth. If this is the case, perhaps you have never explained the truth to your colleagues, so they are still blinded by the evil.
The article of a fellow practitioner entitled, "How I Got My Job Back after Clarifying the Truth with Righteous Thoughts" (http://clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/11/6/66566.html) truly touched me. Therefore, I would also like to talk about my own experience. Because I am still studying and have no job, after my mother (a practitioner) had been persecuted and imprisoned, my survival also became a problem. In the beginning I did not think about that, and just went to many relevant departments to let everybody know about the persecution of my mother. The cadres at her workplace worried about me and said they would take care of my living expenses. They told me to come and see them if I encountered any hardship, and said that they would pay me a subsidy and so on, but they never kept their promise. Later, somebody reminded me that I should take the initiative and apply for it. I thought that I should not simply apply for money, but should use this opportunity to clarify the truth. So I wrote down all the facts about my mother's persecution, and finally asked for a subsidy from her workplace. Then I submitted this application to the cadre in charge and told him the facts. Not long afterwards, the workplace told me that they would give me a 300 yuan basic living allowance per month.
The evil actually told my mother that they had stopped subsidizing me. When I visited her and she told me that, I told her that the evildoers had lied to her. Afterwards, I still received the allowance every month.
My personal experience shows me that Teacher has given us everything and has prepared the best for us; however, we must walk the path arranged by Teacher in order to acquire everything.
