(Minghui.org) We once took enormous risks to descend to this human world so that we could assist Master in Fa-rectification and save sentient beings, so we should, to the best of our ability, put our whole heart and energy into accomplishing that.

I know a healthy elderly practitioner who has her own home and lives alone comfortably on a pension. She is kind and always ready to help fellow practitioners whenever asked. All her children are married and live on their own. However, she has a strong attachment to her grandchildren.

Although she is retired, for a long time she has remained very busy, mostly with trivial things. She rushes around here and there, but her cultivation state is not very good. She does not study the Fa teachings enough and often dozes off while meditating. She seldom sends forth righteous thoughts and can hardly keep her palm up straight when she does. Even less does she clarify the truth.

This practitioner had a dream that she was catching shrimp and caught quite a few. Other practitioners suggested to her that it was a hint from Master, telling her not to busy herself with trivial things instead of doing what she should do (the Chinese phrase for catching shrimp, zhua xia, is a homonym for “busying oneself while at a loss”). However, she brushed off the suggestion and said it was a good dream and that she had gained a lot from it.

There was another elderly practitioner whose husband was a retired high-ranking cadre. They had a joint pension of over 10,000 yuan per month and lived quite comfortably. Not content with what they had, they purchased a bigger and better apartment. Since her husband had never done any physical work and had no idea about renovations, the practitioner, who was in her 60s then, had to take on all the responsibility. In a few months, she was exhausted and experienced health problems. She seldom joined group Fa study during that time. The work on their new apartment was finally completed, and they moved in. Then, to everyone's surprise, she suddenly passed away.

There are other practitioners who are not that well-off financially and yet take out a loan for another property when they already have a house of their own. They do not hesitate to spend money on their children so that they can attend a well-known school. As a result, they have to work hard from morning till night to repay the home loan and the high tuition fees, on top of taking care of their children and helping with their studies. As a result, they have hardly any time left to study the Fa, do the exercises, or send forth righteous thoughts, let alone clarify the truth. Their children, who used to come along with them to study the Fa and to do the exercises when they were little, don't do it anymore due to all their schoolwork and after-school tutoring. When they do have a bit of spare time, they spend it on their mobile phones.

Some practitioners were very capable, earned a good living, and received regular promotions. That is not a bad thing in itself, but they lost their direction and started to pursue fame and personal gain. They had very little time left for themselves and behaved more and more like everyday people, drifting further and further away from Dafa. In the end, they gave up Fa study and doing the exercises.

Some practitioners have abundant spare time and few responsibilities. They have no family burdens and live quite well. Some of them are still young and do not need to work to make a living. Still, they do not spend sufficient time on Fa study and the exercises. Some have kept up with Fa study and the exercises but seldom get involved in clarifying the truth. Others are doing fine in Fa study and the exercises, and they also get involved in making truth-clarification materials, but they take their time and do things slowly and inefficiently. They use the time reserved for Fa-rectification to live lives of leisure.

To earn money, some practitioners are prepared to wear themselves out. They busy themselves from morning till night for their parents and children. For some short-term comfort, they work their guts out, and yet they still call themselves “Dafa disciples.”

Are we to limit the value of our lives to this? If we do not value our sacred mission to assist Master in Fa-rectification and save sentient beings as something that deserves our whole heart and energy to accomplish, then we need to ask ourselves why we took the enormous risks to descend to the human world in the first place.

As Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, we have a great mission to assist Master in the Fa-rectification and save sentient beings. How well we cultivate ourselves and do the three things we are supposed to do has a direct impact on our survival, the survival of the world, the survival of sentient beings, and the survival of our corresponding universe. How can we treat it as child's play? Going all out and doing our best is the requirement for all Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples! We must do all three things and do them well. Only by doing so can we say we are truly doing our part well.

Of course, I am not saying that we should go to extremes and force ourselves to do things irrationally. Everyone's situation is different, and we cannot do everything the same way. However, some practitioners are passive and relaxed and have the attitude that we should “do as much as we can,” “not go to extremes,” or “conform to the way of everyday people” to cover up the fact the they are not doing their best and not doing things wholeheartedly. They are doing the three things halfheartedly, and their bottom line is protecting their self-interest. They become content after they have struggled to break through one level and are unwilling to elevate further.

The state of our cultivation, our environment, and how well we do the three things also reflect the perspective from which we look at things, the basis of our actions, and how much we put our heart into the Fa-rectification.

Gods look at people' hearts. Those who say they believe in Jesus are not necessarily going to Heaven. They need to actually do what Jesus said—that is truly believing in Jesus. Dafa disciples also talk about having faith in Master and the Fa, and we also talk about being firmly committed. However, if we fail to do things according to the Fa principles, we do not truly have faith in Master and the Fa, and we may not reach Consummation or return to Heaven.

Master said,

“Clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings are what you need to accomplish. There is nothing else for you to accomplish. There is nothing else in this world that you need to accomplish. Those are the things that you need to work toward, and yet some people no longer pay much attention to even their own cultivation, and have instead made a priority of ordinary things. Haven’t you strayed from the path of Dafa disciples’ cultivation, then?” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference”)

Our work, our life, and the fact that we maintain the state of human society are to ensure that we can cultivate and save sentient beings. If we become attached to trivial things in society and pursue fame, personal gain, and human sentiments, aren't we putting the cart before the horse and going against our original intention for coming to the human world? What is the point of busying ourselves in the human world only to find ourselves rushing around to try to make up for our shortcomings in the end?

People are being poisoned by lies, and our fellow practitioners are being persecuted and killed. How can we do what we need to do in a leisurely manner?

Master said,

“It is a xinxing issue if you do not help stop a murder or arson when you see it. How will you otherwise demonstrate that you are a good person? If you do not help stop a murder or arson, what will you get involved with?” (Zhuan Falun)

If we end up being “selfish” in our cultivation, just think how far that is from the cultivation requirement to “attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature” from Essentials for Further Advancement)

Master told us,

“If a student [of Dafa] does poorly, however, it is not just the old forces that will not forgive you, but all gods in the cosmos. Time is pressing for you as well as for the countless sentient beings in this cosmos. Perhaps Master has used heavy words. But I must ask those students who have long been in a state of confusion: have you really thought in earnest about what course to follow?” (“To the European Fa Conference”)

Master also said,

“Anyway, I just want to tell you that, as Dafa disciples, you should know how enormous your responsibility is, and this is not a child’s game. This undertaking has already come to the last stage, and I am extremely worried, yet you still do not treat it seriously. In the end, however, it will be too late even if you cry.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference”)

I don't mean to criticize any particular practitioners, as I also have shortcomings. I just hope that we can all do better so that we have fewer losses and regrets, so that we do not let Master, sentient beings, and ourselves down, so that we are worthy of this great historic moment.

Please kindly point out anything improper in this sharing.