Li Hongzhi
March 29-30, 1998, New York

I’m here to attend this conference, and like everyone else, I’d like to listen to your experiences. I was the one who initially suggested holding this conference. Since we have never held a nationwide Dafa¹  students’ experience-sharing conference in the United States, I thought it would be quite appropriate for students to convene and share experiences with one another; the time is also right. A year has passed since I last came to the U.S. to teach the Fa².  All of you have been making progress through this one year of practicing cultivation. Especially after the last time you heard the Fa, you all felt it accelerated your progress to a certain degree. But to find out how much you’ve really progressed, I thought sharing your experiences would benefit you. Additionally, this can accelerate the further spreading of our Dafa.

Speaking of its spreading, there is a misunderstanding at present. Some people have said, “Teacher has taught us to hurry up in genuinely cultivating.” They thought I meant they should stop doing everything except genuinely cultivating with all of their time. Of course I didn’t mean that we should no longer do everyday people’s work. You are able to properly balance the relationship between everyday people’s work and practicing cultivation. The main problem is that you haven’t taken spreading the Fa seriously. You have obtained the Fa, but there are still other people who haven’t yet. In fact, let me tell you that no one in today’s human society should be a human being. What’s meant by this? In a rather ancient historical time I had already made arrangements to teach this Fa. In addition, what’s being taught is such an immense Fa—the Fa of the entire cosmos. Last time, in San Francisco, I explained to you the structure of the cosmos. Many of you have gained some understanding of it and think, “So this is what the structure of the cosmos is like.” Actually, let me tell you this: The concept I taught you last time about the structure of the cosmos, which you think is incredibly enormous, is still merely a speck of dust in the grand cosmic body. On this account, think about how vast the cosmos is. Since such an immense Fa is being taught in human society, think about how remarkably easy it is to assimilate one person. Let me draw a most simple analogy: If a piece of sawdust drops into a furnace of molten steel, it will vanish in a twinkling. It would be effortless for an immense Fa such as ours to assimilate a person like you, to eliminate your karma, to remove your improper thoughts, and so forth. Given that the Fa’s power is so mighty, why don’t we do it this way? We can’t do that in the society of everyday people, because cultivating that way wouldn’t be considered cultivation. Rather, it would be regarded as re-creation, which would mean discarding you completely and re-creating another person. So you have to genuinely cultivate in order for it to be you, yourself. Many xinxing³  tests will nonetheless come up during the course of practicing cultivation, and friction will arise from poor cooperation among students as they try to handle things properly for Dafa, and so on. All of these are inevitable—you just don’t realize it.

If when a Fa is made public it doesn’t have its own tribulations and doesn’t leave mighty virtue for future generations, I would call it a wicked way. There would be nothing great about it, nothing to rejoice over, and no mighty virtue left behind for future generations. It would certainly be that way. When you obtain the Fa that I teach and are able to cultivate, you still need to consider how other people will be able to cultivate and how they will be able to obtain the Fa. As I just said, no one in human society has come for the purpose of being human. Yet you shouldn’t feel complacent—if you don’t obtain the Fa, or if you can’t return through cultivation, you are just a human being. You might even drop further and actually become inferior to humans. So you also need to recognize the importance of spreading the Fa. That’s all I will say about this matter.

Many students want me to talk about something higher and unheard of. If this attachment isn’t let go, you will be unable to reach Consummation—isn’t that right? Any attachment is an obstacle. I can tell you that the development of the current society and its entire developmental process has, in its formation and evolution, been controlled and pushed forward by alien beings. I just spoke about this issue today. I could probably explain it more thoroughly if I were to use the language of ancient Chinese culture, but you wouldn’t be able to understand it now. Your entire mindset is that of contemporary people, so in my teachings I have to integrate knowledge of modern science, which is actually quite shallow. Its understanding is very, very superficial. What’s known as “empirical science” is limited to the physical dimension visible to the human eye—only one dimension within the Three Realms⁴. So how many layers of matter are there in the Three Realms? There are so many that the number is incalculable, and humankind inhabits but one of them. Your eyes can only see what’s within this one layer; they are confined to this scope alone. This vast cosmos can never be sized up by the human mind, for your mind lacks the capacity. Human language can’t describe the way the cosmos is at very high realms. There’s no such vocabulary, nor even concepts for it—nothing can describe it clearly. So human language can’t be used to teach high-level things. Only through your continuous advancement during the course of practicing cultivation can you yourself gradually understand or enlighten to it. When you read the Fa, the Fa will point it out to you.

How can this Fa have such an enormous effect and enable you to obtain such high-level principles? In fact, let me tell you that a book—that is, an ordinary humans’ book with leaves of paper bound together and black ink printed on white paper—has no effect whatsoever. All it can do is spell out the plainest human principles known to humankind. The book Zhuan Falun would be no different if there were no deeper meanings to it. Why is it that by reading Zhuan Falun over and over again you can see or enlighten to principles in various realms at exceptionally high levels? It’s because behind each word there are countless, layers upon layers of Buddhas, Daos⁵,  and Gods. Their number is incalculable. No matter how high a level you can cultivate to, those of you in the audience will still be unable to see the end of it even when you reach Enlightenment in the future. Think about how high a level you can achieve if you cultivate in accordance with this book. When it’s time for you to advance, all of the Buddhas, Daos, and Gods behind a word can see this. As you reach a new level and are entitled to know the principles at that level, they will reveal to you the real meaning behind that word or that row of words; you will suddenly become aware. In fact, it’s not that you have become smarter, but rather that they’ve intentionally pointed it out to you so that you would become aware. So there is a strict requirement for this: If you haven’t reached that realm through practicing cultivation, you are absolutely not allowed to know that level’s principles. When you’re aware of the principles at that level, you are already in that realm.

Many of our students become anxious since they often feel that their cultivation progress has seemed slow and that improper thoughts and states of mind frequently crop up. Actually, let me tell you that you don’t need to be anxious. The form of our cultivation today is different from all of the ancient ones, though there are also similarities. They are different in that we don’t take the path of a small Fa or a small Dao. They’re alike because all of the ancient Fas belonged only to the lowest and most limited forms of cultivation practice within this cosmos’ Dafa, which is what we teach today. Of course, in teaching Dafa, its mighty powers, the path we take, and the methods used for saving people are the best choices. Then how can this Fa not assume such a large role? I mentioned earlier that there are profound dimensions to the book’s words.

The Buddhas, Daos, and Gods I told you about aren’t fake—they are true Buddhas, Daos, and Gods manifesting in this Fa. They have these mighty powers. They are behind each word yet can be infinitely large; that is nevertheless their responsibility. They are a manifestation of the Fa. So it’s easy for this Fa to assimilate one person. All of the Fas and cultivation forms in the past were merely a few very low-level forms of the cosmos’ immense Fa, and they were at fairly low levels. Should time permit, I’ll tell you more later on about the structure of the cosmos at certain levels.

First, let’s talk about the importance of studying the Fa. In other words, studying the Fa can further your advancement. This is because there is deep meaning behind the Fa. Why can no other book achieve this realm? Why can’t they achieve this effect? It’s because they have nothing behind them, although it’s not true that they have nothing at all, as everyone’s own situation is different. I often tell you not to keep books from bad religions. Of course, I’m referring to those books from wicked or bad religions, or bad qigongs⁶.  It’s because their words also have certain things behind them and their things are embedded there. But those things aren’t Buddhas, Daos, or Gods, but filthy things such as animals that possess (futi⁷), ghosts, spirits, and so forth. A human body is just like a piece of clothing and a person’s mind is just like a hat. They become whoever wears them. Why is it like this? Humans are so weak that anything can control and interfere with them. Aren’t humans pathetic? Yes, but so what? Humans dropped to this level because of their own doing. Indeed, for each one of us and those of you sitting here who study the Fa, it hasn’t been easy—you have all kinds of interference and tribulations. Whenever you want to study the Fa, you become busy with work, short of time, and so forth. Perhaps these seem to you like natural occurrences. Actually, there are all kinds of factors interfering with you and preventing you from obtaining the Fa. There are indeed some people who claim that this Fa isn’t good. Yet let’s not judge this person, for his thoughts are most likely not his own but someone else’s. Those bad things control what he says. We can’t save this kind of person. Since this person isn’t being himself, how can he still be saved? It’s because a person has such bad thoughts that he’s being used. So we can’t save those people who directly do harm to Dafa. There are also people who are rotten to the core and who have completely lost their senses; although it is bad things that determine what they say and do, it is the people who have lost control of themselves. Our Fa calls for practicing cultivation with an aware mind. We can’t give the Fa to someone who isn’t conscious or is muddle-headed and willing to be controlled by foreign spirits, for how could bad things be allowed to control our Fa?

You will encounter many difficulties in practicing cultivation. When from time to time I see you suffering a great deal in practicing cultivation, it discomforts me as well! Sometimes I think about when a student can’t pass a test and pitifully looks at my picture with tears in his eyes, begging in his mind for Teacher to help him by further eliminating his difficulties or freeing him from the misfortune. But do you know what I think? Had I taken away that tribulation for you, you would lose the opportunity to make progress. Do you think you can smoothly, without any tribulations, raise yourself to such a high realm? It is absolutely prohibited. We all know that human beings have accrued much karma over their lifetimes—it’s just as Jesus said, man is sinful. If you want to just go to heaven without paying for your karma and sins, how could you brush them off, leave them behind, and then go to heaven? Think about it: Could this be possible? Absolutely not. That’s why you yourself have to eliminate the karma by paying what you owe. You also have to improve your xinxing while eliminating your karma. Only upon reaching a realm that high can you ascend to that level. It’s the Fa that enables you to elevate to that level.

You will encounter many tribulations during the course of practicing cultivation. As long as you study the Fa earnestly, you can overcome any difficulty. As long as you study the Fa earnestly, answers found within the Fa can solve any hard-to-untie knots in your heart, or any hang-ups. This Fa encompasses how to be a human being as well as how to be a heavenly being. I’m also telling you how to be a Buddha, Dao, God, and even a god in still higher realms. How could the Fa fail to eliminate your hang-ups? How could the Fa not open your mind? How could the Fa not resolve your problems? It can do all of this. You are often unwilling to part with the various notions developed through living in human society for a long time. You think that you’ve made some achievements in various fields, and you’re unwilling to let go of them. You also hold on to those “accurate” concepts learned among everyday people. It’s usually these things that hold some people back. Moreover, impediments extend to include: the habitual forces of various kinds that many of you develop in the society of everyday people, a person’s established way of life, and those things that everyday people are supposed to pursue. These things are the most sensitive and the most afraid of being changed. Once challenged, they will object right away; some people would rather give up learning the Fa. Nothing can be done about this. Whether to learn the Fa or not can only be decided by a person him or herself. No one will force someone to learn it.

Generally speaking, everyone has an obstacle in studying the Fa. For intellectuals, the obstacle is modern science. If something conforms to this science, they can accept it; if it doesn’t, they cannot accept it. They are severely impeded. No one knows why I incorporate modern science in teaching this Fa. Why do I do this? The reason is that I want to break that shell of yours that prevents you from obtaining the Fa. Some people are influenced by various religions. If something agrees with the beliefs in this person’s religion, he or she will say it’s good and study it; otherwise, he or she won’t study it. In order to save you and enable you to obtain the Fa, I’ve also spoken about things from religions, as well as the process and form of their corruption. For an everyday person who can’t let go of his job in the society of everyday people, my Fa has also even discussed practicing cultivation while complying with everyday people as much as possible. As a matter of fact, it’s not that I’m indulging you—this Fa truly enables you to practice cultivation while keeping a job at the same time. There are many other situations as well. Everyone has obstacles and one or even more notions that they can’t let go of. Any human notion is an obstacle. I’m not against the glorious achievements resulting from the development of human society up until today. Neither do I disapprove of the knowledge accumulated from the development of human society up to this day. Let me tell you, however, that you, as cultivators, need to clear them from your minds. Everyday people can enjoy such glories and live with a human frame of mind, but, as cultivators, you have to discard these acquired notions. In other words, this is the principle I’ve taught—you should practice cultivation while complying with everyday people as much as possible. Since you are living among everyday people, you can work and go to school like an everyday person. But you have to let go of human notions.

I’m not saying that as you let go of human notions you’ll have no material possessions, like a monk or a friar—that’s not the case. Since I ask you to practice cultivation among everyday people, you have to be in line with the way of everyday people’s society. In other words, what you really let go of are attachments. Humans have great difficulty letting go of attachments. When you can truly discard an attachment you will find that you haven’t lost anything. Learning the Fa is itself a blessing—why would you lose anything? Actually, if you really lose something, it’s only caused by your unwillingness to let go of that attachment. Your attachment is always being rubbed in order to have you break it. If a crisis really occurs for you, it aims at having you eliminate your attachment. So what will happen if you insist on not eliminating it and still cling to it? A deadlock will result. The more persistent you are, the worse your situation and living environment might become. When you truly let go of the attachment, you might find that things turn around immediately, that your mind is suddenly relaxed, and that your body has changed and become altogether light. Looking back, you’ll find that you’ve lost nothing. It’s just like the Chinese saying, “After passing the shady willow trees there will be bright flowers and another village ahead.” Good things will suddenly come your way again.

Nevertheless, when these good things come to you again, even if you have more wealth, more fortune, or more difficulties, you will find that you are no longer attached to them like an everyday person. You will take these things very lightly, but you will still have everything. Isn’t that better? Why do you have to get so painfully entangled in holding on to your money, job, or desires that you can’t eat or sleep well and always fear losing them? Do you think it’s good to live this way? Actually, what people can’t let go of are attachments. Human society won’t lose its form because people practice cultivation. Humankind’s form of existence will remain forever. Whether you want it to be or not, it will always be here. It’s just that everyday persons make their own lives tiring since they can’t let go of their attachments.

Of course, humans are also very complicated. The extent of a person’s blessings has to do with his previous life, the one before, or even earlier lives of different times. Seeing that someone else is a prominent boss shouldn’t make you think that if you practice cultivation and forgo your attachments you might also become a big boss like him—you won’t. As it is in human society, it has to do with what you carried over with yourself. You have a certain number of blessings while you practice cultivation, and you would probably have the same number of blessings if you didn’t practice cultivation. What’s the difference? The difference is that your mind is relaxed. In the other case, your mind would be tense; you already lead a very tiring life, and your mind would be even more exhausted, rendering you unable to eat or sleep well. Of course, your body would get tired and aged, deteriorate, and, like an everyday person, catch many illnesses. On the other hand, if you discarded the attachment, you would be very much at ease—even if you were poor. Actually, you won’t become poor because of learning Dafa. I think living happily is better than being attached like that. Yet you do need to do your worldly jobs. With more people starting to practice cultivation, I’d say that it is absolutely unacceptable for all of you to stop working. It’s just a matter of how we correctly balance this relationship in our thinking. Anyway, it’s a blessing to learn Dafa. Dafa will bring good fortune to its disciples after they let go of ordinary human attachments. Good fortune, however, is definitely not obtained by being attached to becoming a big boss.

Furthermore, when questions arise in studying the Fa, or when you run into problems that can’t be solved, you shouldn’t always pursue and search for answers externally. For example, when problems occur among students or persons in charge, it’s not right to point fingers at others and thereby cause friction and bring about tension. If this happens to Dafa disciples or if you’re angry about these things, your mind will then be that of an everyday person. You should always turn to the Fa for answers upon encountering any problem. You should examine yourself and look inside: “What did I do wrong? Did I do something wrong and cause the problem that suddenly came up today?” Think about it carefully.

In times of trouble, how many of you can genuinely look within yourselves for reasons? Of course, many of you are able to do this on some occasions, but numerous other times you are still unable. If when you find the real reasons within yourself you dare to face and recognize them, you will find that the matter instantly changes and the problem disappears. Suddenly, for no known reason, it will seem that no friction or matters have ever happened between you and the other person. This is because for a cultivator there’s no such thing as coincidence, and no accidental occurrence is allowed to disrupt the course of your cultivation.

Everything that happens to you is a test to see whether you can regard yourself as a cultivator, find your own wrongdoing and mistakes, and conduct yourself as a cultivator. Remember these words of mine: No matter what trouble you encounter, no matter what makes you feel unpleasant inside, and no matter whether on the surface you’re right or wrong, if you are to truly regard yourself as a cultivator you should always examine yourself for causes. Ask yourself whether you have a wrong, hard-to-detect motive that’s related to the problem. If you, as a cultivator, only part with things superficially while deep down inside you still stick to something or cling to your own vital interests that you don’t allow to be undermined, I’d say to you that your cultivation is fake! If your own thinking doesn’t change, you cannot advance even one step and are deceiving yourself. Only when you truly improve from within can you make real progress. So be sure to remember this: Whenever you come across anything such as troubles, unpleasant things, or friction with others, you need to examine yourself and search within. You will find the cause of that insurmountable problem. Previously, during the qigong craze, many people understood that one’s own energy field could influence one’s surroundings. In reality, that’s not how it is. It’s because there is discord within you, which contradicts the essential nature of the cosmos, that you find everything around you in disharmony with you—that’s the relationship. Everything will follow smoothly if you adjust yourself. That’s exactly how it is.

There’s another thing in studying the Fa. If we say that some students aren’t striving diligently, yet they have read the book some; if we say that they are making earnest efforts, yet they haven’t finished reading even one book and have yet to complete Zhuan Falun, I’m telling you not to take this matter lightly. Especially when you new students read the book for the first time, if you can’t finish reading it in its entirety, you will find that from now on you won’t have the time or opportunity to read it. Even when you have time you won’t remember to read it again. Why? Everyone has thought-karma, which is selfish and bad. When it finds that the Dafa you study is so righteous and good, and that [the thought karma] will be eliminated, the karma will become afraid and will try to stop you from studying and reading the book. If you stop reading the book halfway through, that thought-karma will try to prevent you from having another opportunity to read or touch the Dafa book. This is the reason some people discover that after reading just a little part of the book it’s difficult to find a chance to learn the Fa. So once you decide to read the book for the first time, you must read it from beginning to end without letting up. When you’ve finished reading the book the first time, you will find that all of the bad notions that affected your thinking have been basically eliminated. The next time you study the Fa there will no longer be obstacles in this respect. So our students, particularly our veteran practitioners, must be sure to pay attention to this matter. When you ask someone else to learn it (if he wants to read it), ask him to read it from beginning to end without stopping. If the first time he doesn’t finish reading it and stops, when you next ask him to read the book he’ll immediately say that he has no time and has only read a little. This person is actually quite foolish. I’ve said that a person’s body is just like a piece of clothing, as it becomes whoever wears it; one’s mind is just like a hat, for it becomes whoever dons it. He claims that he has no time. That statement is actually made by that karma, which prevents him from reading, keeps him busy, and prevents him from remembering to read the book. This is a problem that can easily occur in studying the Fa. Be sure to heed this warning.

The foreign language versions of Zhuan Falun have exactly the same effect as the Chinese book. But a problem needs to be addressed here. Many of our students who translate the book into different languages always tend to argue with one another: “There’s this meaning which you’ve not included; there’s that meaning which you’ve omitted; this word isn’t translated correctly; that word is translated wrong.” They often argue like that and can’t finalize the translation. In fact, let me tell you something. Are you wrong to do that? No, you aren’t wrong, yet you’re also wrong. Why can’t we say that you’re doing wrong? The meaning that you bring up is indeed what you have comprehended, but it is beyond the level of everyday people. But what’s left in black ink on white paper can’t exceed the level of everyday people. So when you do the translation, it’s all right as long as the words’ original meanings at an everyday person’s level are rendered to the greatest extent. You have come to realize the inner meanings and principles behind the words because the elements behind them have been at work. These are a few common issues in translation efforts.

As students are making constant progress, a problem may occur; I want to make it clear to you here. I wish to talk to you about a matter that particularly concerns some of our Caucasian disciples and disciples of other races. As they practice cultivation in Dafa, many people are able to see a situation: They find that among our students, many bodies developed through cultivation don’t belong to the Buddha School. Instead, some are of the Dao School, some are like those of Gods, while others resemble the images of Gods in the Caucasian heaven. Let me tell you that your perceptions of which school is better and which isn’t so good come from an ordinary human standpoint. The perception is different at high levels. So why do some of our disciples acquire the bodily appearances of various paradises? It’s because you come from different places, and perhaps you’ve reincarnated on the earth into various human races. But if you’re a being who came down from a high level, in terms of your true nature, you certainly would want to return to your own original place. Right now you’re thinking that you want to go to Master’s heaven. That thought comes from your human way of thinking. So in order to ensure that you can realize your original wishes rather than your present human wishes—in other words, in order to ensure that you can assimilate to the Fa and then return to your original place—while the Fa that I’m teaching is based in the Buddha School, it is the Fa of the entire cosmos and includes principles for all of the lives at different levels, in different realms, and in different unitary paradises.

Speaking of this, I’ll take this opportunity to elaborate from another angle on the topic of dimensions. I just said that humans come from various dimensions and levels. In passing, I’ll talk about the structure of the cosmos. As I’ve said, our Earth is located at just about the center of the cosmos. An extremely miniscule number of planets like Earth exist elsewhere, but only our planet is at the central position. Occupying a central position has its distinctions, but this isn’t the concept in the cosmos. For example, when everyday people acquire knowledge in our human society, they regard the center as the highest or the best. I can tell you that according to the cosmos’ concept, however, Earth, being in the center, is in the worst place. Why? It’s because the cosmos is round, and various kinds of lives in the cosmos drop. To where do they drop? Since the cosmos is round, the left is the top, but isn’t the bottom also the top? The right is the top (making hand gestures), the rear is the top, and the front is the top as well. Degenerate things in the cosmos drop. To where do they drop? They drop to the center, don’t they? Yet the cosmos is extremely complex, and there are still other concepts regarding the central position.

There are so many levels in the cosmos. For example, roughly less than 3 billion galaxies like the Milky Way comprise the scope of one universe; we usually call this a small universe. Then there are about three thousand such small universes beyond this one, and the distance among them is quite far. Ordinary humans cannot conceptualize this. Even for common gods’ conceptualizing, that distance is still considerably long and beyond vision’s range. Yet there is a shell outside of these three thousand universes that constitute a second-layer universe. Continuing to go on like this, beyond a second-layer universe, three thousand universes of this size make up a third-layer universe. The concept of these numbers is enormous. If a grain of rice is used to represent a universe, its multiplication grows exponentially. The volume of three thousand grains of rice is already as large as a desk, or even larger. Then three thousand desks, in turn, couldn’t be contained by this auditorium. So the size of the multiples is considerably vast. This is to say that its volume and scope are extremely immense.

Nevertheless, what I have told you about this cosmos is merely a simplistic concept. A cosmos such as this one is still considered a particle. In fact, it’s indeed a particle, and it is a form of very small particle in the macrocosm. Besides this, in the composition of the entire cosmos, each particle within it also contains its cosmic body’s different forms of existence. There are also different layers of heavens within cosmic bodies. Within each particle of a cosmic body there are different layers that, to the beings inside them, are different heavens or different layers of heavens. In these different layers of heavens there are the innumerable paradises of different gods. Last time when I came to the United States and taught the Fa in San Francisco, I told you a concept that was already enormous. How many layers did I mention? At first I spoke of eighty-one layers, and later on I spoke of over one thousand layers. This scope is quite vast. Let me tell you that the scope I talked about, which you consider inconceivably vast, is in fact still extremely small. If you go far away from it, rise above it, and then look back at it, it also looks like a speck of dust in the cosmos. The cosmos is that vast.

Yet I’m telling you that the gigantic cosmic body that develops (“develop” isn’t the right word; I can only use human language since there is no other language available) and expands with the Earth as its base—such a relationship can only be described like this—is merely one system. Systems like this are innumerable as well, and are incalculable with numbers known to humankind. There are different lives in those cosmic bodies, and they have great distances among them. Think about it. This cosmos is so immense that you can’t describe its immensity with human language. So the differences among beings are quite substantial. Humankind is always proud of the civilization it has developed so far, such as Manhattan having the highest and most numerous skyscrapers. Humans are also complacent with their present scientific achievements, which are considered remarkable. Looking back, they think that the ancients were worse off than modern people. The ancients had to ride horse-drawn carriages, while contemporary people travel by car, train, and airplane. People think that their developments are brilliant. Actually, let me tell you that you came from different cosmic bodies and paradises. All of the things that have been developed in human society are a result of traces or messages  from different cosmic bodies and societies left in the human mind that enable you to re-create them among ordinary humans, using these coarsest materials of the human dimension. In other words, these things already existed a long time ago in different dimensions of the cosmos.

As I just stated, many people come from remote places. Think about it, then: The differences among them and in their characteristics are quite substantial. As a long period of time passes and living beings continually become no longer as good (in the language of the heavens, there is nothing like “good” or “bad”; the words or concept they often use is that something “becomes heavy”), they begin to sink and deposit. When they’re no longer so pure, light and floating, they deposit. In fact, the substance has varied; that is, it’s already impure. The course of its continual deposit was this type of process. Yet it’s an extremely slow process, and people don’t perceive any changes in themselves; neither do gods feel that they have themselves undergone changes. This is because the time it takes is extremely long—it can’t be calculated with human time.

In terms of time, different dimensions have different times. Time is incredibly complex. It’s almost like the gears of different sizes inside a clock, but the actual complexity is more than a billion-fold or trillion-fold that. It can’t be generalized with any human concept. It has its own revolution and its own time. Those substances have deposited, bringing these variations with them. Upon reaching the human level, people perceive the human mind to be complicated. In fact, I can tell you that the human mind is indeed very complicated because it went through a much-extended period of time before arriving here. During that much-extended period of time, your life carried with it things from every level. Scientists today know that seventy percent of the human brain goes unutilized. That is, human intelligence is reduced. If there were no restraints on human intelligence so that humans could have as much wisdom as gods, it would be terrible for those complicated thoughts of yours to exist in human society. It would be hard to say what changes might take place in human society. So speaking of this matter, I want to tell you in passing that the current development of humankind is not a good thing. There’s no limit to human greed. It’s really a bad thing when a person achieves a high level and still has greed, hoping to go even higher. Why is it? If people were to go beyond the state of human beings or beyond what can be known by human beings, it would be extremely dangerous for humankind. The reason human intelligence is restricted is that humans are forbidden to know that much or have that much wisdom.

Since I’ve come as far as this, I might as well make a few more remarks. Consider the following: If every one of you really pays attention to your own thoughts, you will find that they change instantly. Many thoughts can crop up within a second, and you have no idea where they come from. Some thoughts are quite bizarre—they are those various notions from your many previous lives. They will come forth when you run into a problem. Every person acquires notions postnatally that are selfish and protective of his or her own interests, and this is why humans are becoming more and more immoral. It’s for this reason that human beings can only fall downward instead of rising to higher levels. The Enlightened Beings, Buddhas and Gods, come to save people since they see these things. Of course, numerous other complicated factors are involved as well. Gods will not save just anyone—all of them look only to save their own people. Of course, I’ve disclosed another secret. I’m the only one who has opened up all these constraints in order to save everyone. Some of you say that it’s merciful of Teacher to save you. In fact, there are so many things that you can’t know. You will never be allowed to know how difficult it is to save you. Think about it: Those complicated notions of yours involve matters in different levels of heavens, different paradises, and different realms. There’s a saying in China now, in which working something out is known as “balancing things evenly.” How do you balance such things evenly?

There have been many remarks about saving people, but no one knows how to save people to high levels—it’s too difficult. As I just said, all Enlightened Beings are looking to save their own people; they don’t involve other people and try their best to exclude them. Once other people are involved, they not only can’t save them, but also might be in trouble themselves. It’s because this world is much too complicated. Even the concepts of good and bad vary at certain levels. They don’t share the human concepts of good and bad. When you’ve affected their things, you may have affected numerous things of theirs, their worlds may have been altered, and so forth. Can you take responsibility for that? You can’t. Doing it forcefully would be the same as doing a bad thing—even when you’re trying to save people. It’s not like what you have imagined. This is an extremely difficult undertaking. Every additional disciple or student adds a share of difficulty for me. But I still want to save you, and I’ll try my best to save more—as many as possible. I’ll give you a simple example: Let’s say that I want to save you but you believe in a certain religion. That religion used to be a righteous one, but now it can no longer save people and has become a form of politics. So in order to save you, I have to inform you that this religion can no longer save you. Won’t this religion be offended? So it will obstruct and disrupt, or even do bad things of various sorts. This is a simple example.

Of course, I’ve discussed things to this extent because all of you in the audience are my Dafa disciples. We can’t say that many religions in the past were wicked. I recognize that religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Catholicism, also Judaism and some other religions in history were upright. But in this present historical period where the human mindset is modernized in today’s society, people are no longer able to use their original human nature and ancient mindset to understand those religions. That is to say, your mindset is disconnected from their original teachings. Since you can no longer understand them, you cannot be saved by them and they don’t look after you. Yet people in religions brag about themselves and flaunt their credentials to have others believe in them and provide for them. They seek fame and personal gain, even becoming politicians. So reflect and look back at it: Are these religions still upright? I didn’t say that Buddhas, Daos, and Gods aren’t righteous. I’m referring to religions. Religions are created and acknowledged by human beings. Gods don’t acknowledge religions; rather, they only consider the human heart. Although your goal is to go to the heaven of a Buddha or Jesus, your conduct doesn’t conform. When the entire religion is like this, can you say that it’s a righteous religion? It’s hard to say that. I have to be responsible to all of you. I tell you this because I fear that you may be hampered by those religions, which can’t save you.

Like everyone else, I’m here to attend this conference. I’ll address any problems that I notice.

As I was listening to the students’ speeches, some of you could no longer sit still and wanted the students to cut their speeches short so that I could talk. This Fa-conference is an experience-sharing event. Let’s not disrupt it. I only lecture on the Fa with specific purposes, and in order to target specific issues. As I notice problems, I clarify them to facilitate your improvement. Of course, there are also numerous questions that arise during the course of cultivation. I’ve said time and again that our practice of cultivation in any part of the world should follow the way and form it’s taken in China. Why is that? As you know, Chinese society can be considered rigid in terms of regulating people. If we can disseminate the Fa smoothly in such a rigid society, spreading the Fa in any society in the future can probably be done without incurring any damage. In other words, during the course of teaching the Fa over the years, I’ve told persons in China how they should do things. I rectified problems when they arose to ensure a smooth and healthy development. All of you from other countries and regions should follow suit so that the Fa takes fewer detours and practitioners suffer less harm. This is the purpose.

Cultivation practice is an extremely serious matter. Let me tell you that throughout the development of human society, not a single occurrence is coincidental. My view of the development of human society is entirely different from yours. All human thought and reflection is in the interest of one’s own nation, region, or even self; ideas formed on such a basis are all human thoughts. I don’t view things this way. I don’t analyze history or look at the entire development of humankind in the same way you do. What humans perceive is likely to be the opposite of the truth, because their starting point is the pursuit of happiness among themselves. Gods intend to have people pay off their karma while among humans as soon as possible so that people may return to their original places and then live in ease and comfort. This is the essential difference. Meanwhile, humans just want to live comfortably over here. Of course, this is how they think without having obtained the Fa. If they obtain the Fa, their mindset will change and become completely different. So I often say that it’s a good thing, rather than a bad thing, for humans to suffer a little hardship and encounter some tribulations. And why is that? When humans want to protect themselves, their thoughts arise from selfishness—a self-serving desire. They don’t want suffering, but only happiness and good fortune. But think about it. Humans, including many people in Western society, all desire happiness and good fortune. It’s true that compared to China and many Asian countries, their living conditions are much better. They regard that as great happiness, but in fact, they suffer other hardships. Mortals can’t escape the suffering resulting from birth, aging, illness and death. Worse yet is the hardship caused by the swing of emotions due to unsatisfied desires. They may also feel that their lives are purposeless and that they don’t know what they live for. They feel isolated and lonely. Unendurable loneliness is most dangerous to humans, and it’s also the greatest tribulation in practicing cultivation. So in the process of enduring hardships or in various environments, humans can practice cultivation and advance themselves. It’s not a bad thing to suffer and experience some misery, because as gods view it, after the suffering your karma dissolves. However serious your trouble might be, you have to handle it properly, with a very peaceful and calm state of mind. Just as I said, when experiencing discord with others, you need to examine your inner self to find faults within—don’t look externally. By doing so, your xinxing is being fundamentally improved.

I mentioned before a saying in the world of cultivation: Some people are “already in the Dao without practicing the Dao.” What does this mean? This type of person has meager means in the society of everyday people and constantly encounters tribulations. But whenever troubles occur, he’s able to treat others with kindness and find faults inside himself. This person is truly the best kind of human being. If he keeps on conducting himself this way and is able to persist until the last moment of his life, you will find that he attains the Dao. Why can he attain the Dao? For example, you all know that Western religions differ from what I teach you today, as do those cultivation practices in the East. They believe in “faith.” As long as you have faith in the Lord or Jesus (Christ) and follow God’s teaching, you’ll be able to go to Heaven. It’s the same idea.

Of course, Western religions are in fact also cultivation practices. Why is that? When a person prays, he confesses his wrongdoing. The next time, he does the right thing and stops making the same mistake. He gradually comes to conduct himself better and better, and he doesn’t repeat any previous mistakes. Isn’t he behaving better? Isn’t he improving himself while cultivating xinxing? Cultivation is about cultivating one’s mind. So isn’t he elevating his mind? And isn’t this type of elevation a practice of cultivation? He’s nevertheless missing one thing: Our cultivation practice uplifts both mind and body at the same time, while his cultivation way only cultivates the mind. So at the end of his life he will be judged by Jesus Christ or the Westerners’ God, Yahweh, to determine whether he meets the criteria to ascend to Heaven. If he does, He will create a divine body for him and take him up to Heaven. Our cultivation way today, on the other hand, is similar to the characteristics of some ancient cultivation practices in the East. While improving your xinxing, your original-body (benti) is also being transformed and replaced by high-energy matter. This is a feature of our cultivation way.

In regards to cultivating a Buddha’s body, it used to be said that as a person increasingly improves his level during his practice of cultivation, an Immortal Infant will arise in his dantian⁹.  The Immortal Infant continually grows. When it becomes visible, it will bear the image of a little Buddha or little Dao infant. It grows bigger and bigger. When it has grown to be the same size as the person’s body, it will replace the person’s original flesh body. Buddhism believes in Nirvana¹⁰ —the flesh body isn’t carried forth. Those who have seeing abilities can observe that when the flesh is cast off, a Buddha will emerge from the body and take off. People of the East and West have different views because their cultures are different nowadays. In ancient times, some people in the West also cultivated the Dao and some cultivated their bodies as well. It’s just that modern Westerners have lost this heritage.

I’ve been to various regions in the past few years. In the mountains of Australia I saw Caucasian-type deities; they were all earthly deities practicing cultivation. I also saw earthly deities in the Alps of Europe and in the Rocky Mountains of the United States. Don’t get excited now that you’ve heard this—you won’t find them even if you go there. In other words, they won’t dare to meet you. Why is that? It’s because what you’re cultivating is Dafa, which is extremely righteous. Let me tell you that the reason you don’t sense its being extremely righteous is that cultivation of your surface body progresses fairly slowly. In contrast, when practicing cultivation, the transformation of your life’s microscopic substances progresses very rapidly. Why does it progress so fast? It’s because the body from your life’s origin is in heaven to begin with. Yet this concept of “heaven” isn’t the same as the human concept of distance, as you imagine it to be. Think for a moment. If you observe the earth from Mars, isn’t the earth in the heavens? It’s also in the heavens. Take the area of space that’s less than an inch from your finger and pointed at by it, isn’t it heavens? It’s heavens as well. It’s not like the heavens that you imagine with the human concept of distance. For example, from macroscopic matter to microscopic matter, like cells in the human body, cells are composed of molecules and followed by atoms, atomic nuclei, and neutrons, until at last they reach the point of quarks or neutrinos. This is still very elementary. It can go on and on to even more microscopic levels. From the perspective of the human concept of distance, they, being in your body or in any objects outside of your body, haven’t much distance among them and are almost united. The scope of that cosmic body, however, is extremely enormous. The more microscopic a substance, or the more microscopic the particle of a substance, the greater its overall domain. One particle is tiny, but since it’s a whole body composed of innumerable particles, it is extremely enormous and even surpasses the scope of the dimension of humans. The dimension of humans looks really large, when in fact it’s not large at all.

During your practice of cultivation, no matter what type of trouble you encounter, as long as you can start by examining yourself for the cause, you will be able to resolve any kind of problem. You have to search inside yourself when you encounter problems. As I said earlier, it’s not because others treat you improperly, but rather that there’s something wrong on your part. For example, if the grand cosmic body is in harmony but there is discordance on your part, and a knotty situation occurs only where you are, you are the one who isn’t in accord with others. When you spot the cause within yourself and correct that problem, the situation will become harmonious and calm, and everyone will treat you nicely once again. I used a simple example to illustrate this principle.

Since this is a Fa-conference and people are here to present their speeches, I think it should carry on. Tomorrow I’ll speak to you again and then answer your questions.

I’ve told you that practicing cultivation is not easy. You have endured many hardships. Enduring hardships only occurs in upright religions or upright cultivation practices. If a practice can be carried out smoothly without any tribulations, it can’t be called a cultivation practice and it cannot lead one to reach Consummation—this is an absolute truth.

Speaking of cultivation practices, I’ll take this opportunity to address the array of diverse religions existing in society today. I’d also like to make it clear that our Falun Dafa is not a religion, and I will never engage in religion. Our Falun Dafa is absolutely not a religion. Let me also tell you that corresponding with the Fa’s dissemination in society there exists in certain levels of this cosmos a principle called “mutual-generation and mutual-inhibition.” That is, while I’m teaching the righteous Fa, evil teachings also emerge in turn. This is caused by the principle of mutual-generation and mutual-inhibition. Which practice one adopts and what principle one chooses to enlighten to in this situation are what’s looked at. Because humans fell to this level of their own accord, they thereby created for themselves the obstacle of being deluded. In the midst of this maze, whether you can still recognize a righteous cultivation way and what you seek after become critical. In fact, it hasn’t been easy for you to be able to sit here and obtain the Fa. You have no idea which of your various consciousnesses have—whether intentionally or unintentionally—led you to overcome many difficulties so that you could obtain this Fa.

There are also some cults that are spreading. All of them teach about the end of the world—they all talk about these things. Of course, I’ve said that catastrophes do exist. Buddhism also believes in them, and Christianity, Catholicism, and Daoism share the same viewpoint. This is the law of the cosmos’ evolution, but it’s absolutely not like what the cults have professed. Moreover, I’ve also observed that such an event might indeed exist at a certain period in time, but it’s not unsolvable. I can proclaim here to everyone in all earnestness that all of those alleged catastrophes on earth, the doom of the universe, and things of this sort in the year 1999 are absolutely nonexistent. Why would there be catastrophes? Let me tell you a principle. Suppose that as humankind’s morality decays, all matter is rotting. In other words, it has become tainted. At present, the cultures of humankind are in a muddle—they are messy combinations of all sorts, and human races are becoming more and more mixed. These have indeed driven humankind to slide to a very dangerous stage—this is certain. As I said, catastrophes happen because humankind is depraved.

Why are those so-called “catastrophes” non-existent, then? I said that there are now 100 million people in China studying our Dafa. We also have many disciples everywhere throughout the world studying this Dafa. The number has become quite sizable. If all of them are trying to be kindhearted, are cultivating, and are behaving as good people, what would happen to all these good people if the universe or Earth were destroyed? Isn’t this the principle? Destruction is only carried out when the planet is no longer good. With so many good people around, how could it be destroyed? In other words, such danger no longer exists. (Applause) I’ve told you this because everyone sitting here came to study the Fa. Since I’ve already touched on this issue, I’ll explain it to you in detail to further dispel those evil things and chaotic ideas.

You all know that I’m teaching the Fa and offering salvation to people. Because all of you have benefited personally, everyone here believes it. You have truly learned this starting from the Fa and its principles. I can tell you, however, that I’m not here to only offer salvation to people; what I’m doing includes offering salvation to people. Since the concepts I’m talking about are of a very high level, some beginners among you may find them hard to accept. I spoke before regarding the matter of when the entire cosmos deviates from the essential nature of the cosmos and becomes impure (regarding the nature of the cosmos, I have already explained this clearly in Zhuan Falun—Zhen-Shan-Ren¹¹  is the essential nature of the cosmos). When all creatures, matter, and beings in the cosmos become impure, it’s a deviation from the essential nature of the cosmos; it deviates from the Fa. The Fa of the cosmos has created living environments for beings at different levels. When the beings and substances over a long period of time become impure, they no longer fulfill the Fa’s requirements at that level. This is why beings can drop down—they descend when they no longer conform. The worse they become, the lower they drop until they reach the level of humankind. Yet this isn’t the last stop.

In this scenario, if that kind of problem occurs for substances on a large, full scale, the danger will become very serious and hard to detect. Had I not taught this Fa, and had you not come to study this Fa, no one would realize the current human society’s degree of deterioration. Because you’ve studied the Fa and have come to understand, when you look back at human society you can see how bad humankind has become. So although today I’ve taught you this Fa of the cosmos, in the past even gods didn’t know of it. No beings were allowed to know that there is a Fa in the cosmos. They only knew that the cosmos had different requirements for the way beings at each level were to be—they didn’t know anything specific at all. So even though it’s been a long period of time in the cosmos during which they have deviated slowly from its Fa, they can’t sense the process of transition. I’ve undertaken a task this huge. Why am I doing this? There are reasons behind it. I can’t describe them now, of course.

What I’m saying is that this task that I am undertaking doesn’t just offer salvation to human beings. I also want to rectify all deviated lives and substances. (Applause) Otherwise, it will be dangerous up there as well, and you’ll have no safe place to stay, no matter how high a level I enable you to cultivate to. So all this needed to be done. You have no idea how difficult it is to do such a thing. Even though I’ve explained this to you, you nonetheless can’t see what I have done over on that other side. The image I carry is simply of a human being, Li Hongzhi, with a complete human figure sitting here talking to you. So you should just regard me as a human being like you. What I’ve discussed isn’t alarmist talk—I’m only teaching the Fa and telling you the principles of the cosmos. Whether to believe it and whether you can cultivate are fully up to you, yourselves.

Having said that, I’d also like to take this opportunity to inform you that this cosmos has basically been rectified, leaving only humankind and substances in this most exterior layer still unfinished; but completion is in progress. My gong¹²  is able to completely restrain this layer of matter from splitting, exploding, or other such activities—it can fully restrain it. (Applause) So the phenomena predicted in history absolutely no longer exist. Of course, I’ve also mentioned that for me to do this task, I have to rectify whatever is to be retained. I gave the example of a bad apple before. If the apple is already rotten, keeping it would be a bad deed. To the eyes of beings in very high realms, humankind is like garbage. They don’t regard humans as their species: “You want to spare them, why? If you keep them, you must rectify them.” This doesn’t just apply to humankind—all substances, plants, animals, and numerous things on the earth are included.

What I do today is for the purpose of rectifying humankind and the substances of the entire earth—I can do all of this. Since it’s not necessary for other organisms, plants, and animals to understand the Fa, I can just convert them directly—directly re-creating or assimilating them. All the same, let’s only talk about humans. It’s impossible to rectify every person on earth. Why is that? It’s because some people have become too bad to be allowed to know about the Fa. Even if they know the Fa, they’re not permitted to learn it since they are no longer deserving. There are a considerable number of people like this; it’s a pretty large number. What’s to be done? Never have I said that there would be catastrophes happening to humankind or to the earth. Yet I can tell you that it’s no coincidence that so many incurable diseases and all kinds of natural disasters occur in society nowadays. Modern science can’t recognize that all substances are living beings and that all of them have a living side; it only explains physical phenomena at a superficial level, and it can’t reveal the living nature of substances. So it’s certain that humankind will experience elimination on a large scale. Those who aren’t so good will certainly be eliminated. It’s like the human body’s need to metabolize: Unfit parts are eliminated. This type of thing will happen.

In fact, this type of thing has happened in every historical period. It’s been like this for several thousand years. Humans are eliminating the stale and incorporating the fresh; their bodies are metabolizing. So is the earth and so are human societies; there are births and deaths. Yet what I’m saying is that there will be this kind of occurrence that’s more devastating and on a larger scale. People who truly have a lot of karma will no longer be able to continue to exist like this. So how can the earth be preserved? Just as with your practice of cultivation, as your bodies are being transformed, so is the new earth being made. Some people wonder if once the new earth is made we’ll ride on something to be transported over. That’s a human way of thinking and a human concept.

As I said earlier, all matter in the cosmos is formed through sequential formation of microscopic substances and particles that constitute bigger particles until they reach the level of cells—particles the size of molecules that can be observed today by humans. That is, all substances below the level of molecules have been renewed, and only this surface level of molecules or even more exterior levels are left. In other words, the earth, as formed by microscopic particles under the surface level of molecules, is already a new earth. These substances at the surface-level dimension will let the good people, who are kept to go on to the new earth, one day unwittingly find that the world has suddenly changed; or they may wake up one morning and discover that everything on earth has been renewed. Other than that, humans might not feel anything else. People will be able to sense the change, but there won’t be any shock waves.

Why is that? It’s because every level of matter below the surface level is composed of microscopic matter. And when the microscopic matter disintegrates, the matter at the surface level also disintegrates and disappears; its disintegration is unnoticeable and imperceptible, just like that of mist and smoke. At that time, humans will still be in the same spot but already on the new earth. My purpose of telling you these things is to inform everyone that on the one hand, so-called catastrophes don’t exist; on the other hand, it’s dangerous not to be a good person. This issue relates directly to our humankind today as well as to our cultivation practice.

Next, I’ll take this opportunity to also tell you that nobody should seek novelty in my words, quote them out of context, or disseminate them recklessly with an attachment of zealotry or various other attachments. You, as disciples, should know what to do. I still feel that some people can’t keep things to themselves. Let me explain this further. Why are humans what they are? Why are they said to be so deficient? For one thing, they have little wisdom. Additionally, they have to accomplish things by using their hands and feet, through physical labor and hard work. A god, by contrast, doesn’t need to move his hands or feet to once in a while get things done. That god can do it with his mind—whatever he thinks of will come true. It’s because a god’s gong exists in particles ranging from the extremely microscopic to the very macroscopic, and every one of those particles carries that god’s image. His gong contains particles of all sizes. Whenever that god wants to form an object, he will create it simultaneously from the most microscopic level to all other levels, as well as to the surface level. As that god thinks, his gong brings the object, which was nonexistent, into being, and in a very fast time-field. This is why a Buddha has such great abilities and a God is so powerful.

Human beings, on the other hand, are the most deficient. They have to labor with their own physical bodies to accomplish anything. To construct a building, so many people need to go up and down, just like hundreds of molecules that are busy working here and there, back and forth. This is the clumsiest method. What’s more, when a Buddha wants to do something—unlike human beings who do things in this human time—it’s done in the dimension of the fastest time. So it can be accomplished instantly in this dimension; in the human field of time, it seems to be accomplished by just a thought. The higher one’s cultivation level, the more powerful one is and the more time-fields one can command.

Next, I will answer questions.
 

Question: My four-year-old son likes to read and recite Teacher’s Zhuan Falun and scriptures very much, but he doesn’t like to do the exercises. Does it count as cultivation?

Teacher: Young children aren’t the same as us adults. Young children like to play. This is their nature, and it can’t be regarded as an attachment since they just live this way. If a child is able to study the Fa, it’s best to let him study it. I like to watch children very much because their thoughts, minds, and bodies are so pure. If they practice cultivation they can proceed really fast. They don’t have any of the attachments developed later on in life. When listening to teachings of the Fa, some children play at the same time as they listen, as if they don’t hear anything. In fact, they hear it all. If you ask them, you will find that they know everything. It’s very good if a child can perform the exercises, but it’s not feasible if he’s too young. Since he’s a young child, he has to play. Young children need to be treated differently.

Question: When spreading the Fa among Caucasians, we’ve noticed that some of them can’t let go of their faith in Jesus. What kind of impact does this have on their cultivation in Dafa?

Teacher: I’ve discussed the matter of “no second cultivation way.” If one can’t focus on cultivating Dafa exclusively, one cannot reach Consummation in our Dafa. I already said earlier that the entire cosmos, or an even greater reach, has deviated from the Fa. Doesn’t that include humankind? Weren’t religions established by human beings? If all beings in the cosmos have deviated from the Fa, do the beings that have deviated from the Fa not include the heavens that humans believe in? If the heavens of Buddhas, Daos, and Gods are all part of it, think about what kind of problem this is. Regardless of who taught in those years—Jesus, Sakyamuni, Lao Zi, or Yahweh—at the time when they did their teaching, all beings and lives in the cosmos had already deviated for a long time from the essential nature of the cosmos.

Let me give you an example in the coarsest language. Suppose the heavens of Buddhas and Gods are made of gold, but that over the course of a long period of time they had become impure and no longer of solid gold. They were still made of gold, but the gold was only 18-carat or 16-carat. Today, the Fa is rectified; the gold is pure, solid, and 24-carat. Nevertheless, the religions or cultivation practices they left behind all came from the 18-carat-gold or 16-carat-gold periods, and they can’t meet the criteria for the new heavens of Gods and Buddhas. Could a person still return to a heaven of 24-carat pure gold? Even if one such molecule were to return, it would contaminate that heaven; so this isn’t allowed to happen. Isn’t that the case? So I’m taking this opportunity to tell you that none of the religions in the world today—which includes all of those righteous ones taught by Buddhas, which I won’t call wicked—can provide the means for humans to reach Consummation anymore.

Regardless of which religion a person chooses and how well he cultivates, even if he completely follows what was taught by a Buddha or Jesus in those years, the most he can accomplish is to reach the highest principle then taught by Sakyamuni or Jesus. Yet it’s only of 16 or 18-carat gold. Could he still return to a heaven of solid gold? This isn’t to say that Sakyamuni and Jesus aren’t good enough. What I’m saying is that beings in the entire cosmos have deviated from the Fa, and both of them are just among the elements—that’s the case. I won’t go into detail, as it’s a big issue. Humans just obstinately stick to a wrong course; they only believe what they can see now. Humans also have a very serious and ingrained habit—they don’t look at things rationally; rather, they like to do them emotionally. Because of their emotions, they can’t forgo things inherited from ancient times and don’t use their rationality to analyze what exactly is right or wrong.

Question: What should we take note of when spreading the Fa to Caucasians?

Teacher: People of the white race have a different way of thinking from people of the yellow race, like us, so you should take their special traits into consideration. Don’t baffle them by using the really complicated Chinese ways of thinking and language. That would make them think “this is too difficult,” and a good result might not be achieved. So my suggestion is this: In your effort to let Caucasians obtain the Fa, show them China Falun Gong (Revised Version) first. After they’ve studied it, they can then read Zhuan Falun. This way, learning will be relatively easy for them. If they begin by reading Zhuan Falun, it’s likely that most of them will give up in the event that they don’t understand. Of course, there are also some who are exceptionally good and can get into it right from the first glance. Another problem is that you need to find ways to have them finish reading the book on the first try. If they stop halfway through, it will be hard for them to again find time to read it; if you then ask them to study it or read it, they’re bound to say that they have no time. This is always the case. In fact, it’s thought-karma that prevents them from continuing to read the book, because it’s frightened. After reading this book, their thought-karma can be eliminated.

Question: We’ve introduced Dafa to American radio stations, television stations, and newspapers, but haven’t received any responses. Should we continue these efforts?

Teacher: I’ll tell everyone a principle. All of you probably know about my consistent way of doing things. I have said that no form of religion will ever be practiced; I don’t write down your names one by one in a membership roster like those of everyday people. We have no formalities, no office, and nothing tangible. Anything tangible can induce human attachments and so has no place in cultivation practice. What we should let go of is not just money, wealth, renown, and self-interest. Let me tell you this: Since our Fa is spread in human society and is simply so immense, relatively speaking, the requirements for spreading such a great Fa have to be the highest. You have no idea why I’ve taken such a formless way. Because our Fa is so grand, to do It justice we have to take a “great way without form” to spread this Fa in the secular world. Many have come before to teach Fa, such as Buddhas, the Western God Jesus Christ, and even Yahweh. All of them gathered people together, fearing that people otherwise wouldn’t study it well or would drop down. So people were assembled to cultivate together. Sakyamuni required his disciples to have their heads shaved and put on kasayas¹³.  The disciples of Jesus entered monasteries. I can tell you that the reason they did that was because the Fa they preached was lesser. They couldn’t save people without such requirements. By contrast, today we have such an enormous Fa that we certainly dare to open things up and leave everything up to you—only your heart matters. I said that I’ve opened a huge door. In fact, you don’t know that there is no door at all. It’s completely open—only your heart matters!

Let’s say you’ve come from various dimensions and paradises to obtain the Fa. Your human minds have no idea. If you want to return to your paradises, think about it: Can you do it with the methods or religions from the past? Absolutely not. By contrast, our Fa today can save all beings and return them to their original places, because this is the Great Fa of the cosmos. This being the case, a requirement follows that the way this Fa is to be disseminated in the secular world must be extremely upright. So I’ve told everyone that we have taken the most upright path. We ask people to let go of self-interest, feelings, and concern for renown. Starting with me, we all discard these things. That’s not all. We also hold that as you disseminate the Fa in the society of everyday people, you should conform to and not violate the ways of everyday people’s society.

While disseminating the Fa, we have hardly advertised through ads, television, and newspapers or lavishly touted ourselves. No, we haven’t done that. All of the news reports published back when I was giving lectures on the Fa had nothing else but this gist: Li Hongzhi is here. There have been an extremely small number of students who’ve publicized Dafa. Yet those activities were their own personal acts; they were doing good deeds for the Fa as individuals. If our Dafa were to employ any type of promotional media to advertise itself, it would be tarnishing itself. That’s why we haven’t taken that course. Suppose you were a practitioner and also a reporter or editor of a newspaper: If you wanted to promote the Fa, it would be a personal act—our Fa doesn’t require it. A personal act or a personal desire to do those things is a personal inclination. Wishing to do good deeds as individuals has no connection with our Fa as a whole.

Why are there so many people studying the Fa? You all know that our Fa is good. Since It is the Fa of the cosmos, who could say that It isn’t good? Even the most wicked individuals oppose It outwardly but admire It inwardly. Why do they oppose It outwardly? They know that if everyone conducted him or herself according to the Fa, it would really be their turn to be eliminated. So what you do to disseminate the Fa is your personal act. Dafa Itself doesn’t have a formality of any kind. We’ve taken a true “great way without form.”

All of you are regular members of society when you go home. We only value your hearts—we don’t have any dogma or mandatory stipulations of any form. Indeed, no one in the past dared to take this path. Regardless of the religion, if you were to tell people to go home and cultivate without engaging in religious rituals or intention-filled activities, that religion would dissolve. They absolutely would not dare to do it this way since their Fa wasn’t mighty enough. We, on the other hand, do dare to do it this way. When you go home, all of you will do your jobs and your lives will be unchanged. Yet all of you will keep the Fa in your hearts, cultivate yourselves and truly improve yourselves. I’ve said before that Buddhas and Gods neither pay attention to nor acknowledge the religions of  ordinary humans—they only value people’s hearts. Why didn’t Buddhas intervene when religions were sabotaged? Why didn’t Christ step in when a church was ravaged? It’s because those things were humans’ doings. Humans wanted to do something good and so built temples or churches to provide means for people to worship a Buddha or Christ. Those were formalities adopted by human beings. Gods and Buddhas, on the other hand, only value the human heart. So we don’t engage in any formalities.

Of course, as I’ve also said before, there are even more reasons why we shouldn’t get involved in politics. We absolutely must not get involved in politics. Human society’s development, a country’s condition, and the relationships among human beings are all determined by social evolution. Ordinary humans can’t obstruct it at will. All humans can do is rack their brains to try to get ahead, study intensively to achieve something, or have other aspirations; however, without cosmic changes, ordinary humans can’t change a thing. Humankind’s development is on a predestined path, and each step it takes forward in its development will not go astray. So a cultivator transcends an ordinary human. Why should he concern himself with human affairs? Politicians in certain religions engage in politics for the sake of independence, territory, or even some so-called “status.” Some are even killing people or engaging in terrorist activities—this is evil. I say that they are not cultivators. A cultivator doesn’t intervene in the politics of everyday people. Those people are merely politicians. What a Buddha or God wants is a heavenly paradise. Why fight for human territory? Do you think those people are cultivators? Do they meet the criteria? Yet human beings still regard and revere them as divine. In fact, some of them aren’t even decent people; they will go to hell.

Question: Is the material environment of human society that has existed over thousands of years one of the factors that has brought about thought-karma?

Teacher: Yes, of course. You wouldn’t produce any karma were it not for this material environment. Without the current environment of humans, you wouldn’t be able to carry out either good or bad deeds. Without this environment, you couldn’t be a human being—this is for sure. Yet at the same time human society has its own particular characteristics, so it has to exist.

Question: Is the demonic nature of American society the major obstacle preventing Americans from obtaining the Fa?

Teacher: You can’t put it that way. When I visited the countryside and some small towns in the United States, I saw many kindhearted people and kindhearted Caucasians. All large cities in the world are fairly chaotic; good and bad people are mixed together, and it’s hard to discern the good ones from the bad ones. Usually there are exceptionally good ones as well as exceptionally bad ones, owing to the principle of mutual-generation and mutual-inhibition. So you shouldn’t make simplistic generalizations. The U.S. has its own characteristics. It has played a major role for the entire world in the development of the modern style of distorted human thinking, which involves every area and field, such as the arts, culture, and human values. This modern style is perverted culture—it’s not human culture. This is certain. I think that American culture prior to the 1950’s was human culture. People were fairly kind. Western men carried a gentlemanly manner and acted in a very civilized way, while women behaved the way women ought to. I think that was quite good. Nowadays men and women seem to have the same personality. Of course, I’m not saying that the U.S. is no good.

As I said earlier, I’m just talking about the changes in humankind. Nowadays, Asian people are also quite terrible. Everyone is hurting one another and has bad intentions. People have no idea that when two persons meet, they have already started hurting each other without having said much. This is because over the course of a long cultural history, life after life, you never know who owes what to whom. Since it’s been an extremely long time over which grievances and gratitude have built up, when people meet, they each want to have the past repaid and so they harm each other cruelly. Haven’t you said that the Chinese people in America don’t get along? All of you look at the surface, whereas I see the real causes. This is the cause.

Question: I have been affected by demon nature. It’s moving wildly around or inside my body. People around me have also turned black, yellow, green or pale faced, like demons...

Teacher: Let me tell you this: While some people claim that they’re cultivating Dafa or you might claim that you’re a Dafa disciple, I have to see if you’re a true Dafa disciple—your lip service won’t do. My disciples have to genuinely practice cultivation and, when encountering troubles, search for their attachments by asking the question: Was it caused by any problem that’s in my mind? After reading the book only once, some people claim that they’re cultivating Dafa and that they have encountered this problem and that problem. Their minds are full of human matters. They fight with others when running into problems, and, during instances of friction, find fault with others rather than with themselves. They claim that they’re my disciples, but I don’t acknowledge that. These are undoubtedly two different things. Of course, I’m not referring to this question or this person.

What I’m saying is that any problem can be resolved if you search inside yourself for inadequacies. You might find that a person used to learn a lot of messy stuff and his body was surrounded by disorderly messages. He often saw terrifying images or his body had horrible reactions. He came to learn our Dafa for these reasons, as he knew about the tremendous power of our Dafa. But I’m telling everyone that this is called purposefully coming to obtain the Fa with the attachment of pursuit. This doesn’t work and nothing will be attained. Yet we don’t object if you have such an attachment at the beginning, when you have yet to comprehend the Fa. But upon studying the Fa, you need to part with these types of attachments. Then any situation can be resolved. I think I’ve made my point clear to everyone. This matter is spelled out well in Zhuan Falun. You have to read the book and study the Fa more. Reading the book can solve all of your problems.

Question: I’ve always felt that I’m kindhearted, but why can’t I achieve the benevolence described by Teacher?

Teacher: This is a good question. In fact, the question itself is an attachment. I don’t mean that writing this question is an attachment. Rather, you are attached to your benevolence, which can’t come as you wish. As your level is being raised, the part of your emotions that has been removed won’t become vacuous—it will be replaced by benevolence, which grows gradually. Among you disciples of mine sitting here, many have indeed cultivated to very high levels, but why don’t you have the benevolence of levels that high? As a matter of fact, the benevolence of gods is entirely different from the benevolence imagined by modern people. I’ve talked to you about this matter many times before. In order for you to live in the society of everyday people, you aren’t allowed to appear too unusual on the surface. Should you demonstrate so much benevolence, you really wouldn’t be able to live among everyday people any longer. For this reason, your benevolence and everything else that you’ve attained through practicing cultivation are developing at a high speed in the most microscopic levels of your existence, and they are separated from your surface layer.

Human lives are made up of particles formed sequentially from microscopic particles to molecules that are at the surface of the largest particles; molecules, in turn, form cells. As you continue cultivating, the molecules inside your body (I can only describe it in this fashion since human language is limited) and the microscopic particles of your life are all transforming drastically to conform to the criteria of the Fa. Then, as you finish cultivating a piece of yourself, it is the same as its being moved over. As you finish cultivating another piece, it will be moved over as well—even your benevolence is moved over. It’s like a warehouse that’s storing on your behalf everything that you’ve attained through practicing cultivation. It would be impossible for you to practice cultivation if your body were to change too quickly on the surface. You would want to weep over everything you saw. Whatever you would do, it would be just as though the part of you that had been fully cultivated were doing it along with you—that would be equivalent to having a god do human things. Even when you would do bad things, it would be equivalent to their being done by a god. You would drop down as a result. In order to prevent you from descending and, at the same time, to enable you to maintain your practice of cultivation among everyday people, the part of you that has been fully cultivated is immediately separated from the part that’s not yet fully cultivated by you and still composed of coarse particles. It’s forever kept like a god sitting still over there in the lotus position, whereas the part of you that hasn’t yet been fully cultivated will always live among everyday people like a human being. As you continue your cultivation from the inside toward the outside, you are gradually consummating yourself. When the molecules at the most superficial level have been consummated and assimilated, the last step is the final Consummation. This is the course we’ve chosen to take.

Some students have asked, “Teacher, I’ve been cultivating like this, but how come I don’t feel much improvement, and why is it that improper thoughts are still reflected in my mind sometimes?” I’m telling you not to be anxious. You would really be unable to cultivate if all human substances were removed from the surface. If you didn’t have human thoughts, you would be able to perceive all thoughts that humans emanate. Every single word, act, and thought of a modern person is selfish, and there are even some deep, indecent thoughts which you couldn’t bear. How would you be able to live among them? How would you be able to associate with them? So it can’t be done like that. For instance, if you’ve fully cultivated one hundred portions in your body, only one portion can be removed from your surface, so you will always feel that the improvement on the surface isn’t that rapid. This is normal. Having heard what I just said, you shouldn’t think: “Oh, so that’s how it works. Then I won’t be worried and I’ll just do what I want to do.” I’m talking about principles of the Fa. If you don’t hold yourself to strict demands or if you fail to act in accordance with the criteria, it can’t be said that you’re cultivating. This is the relationship.

Question: The moment I become inattentive, I’m revealed for what I am.

Teacher: Don’t put yourself down too much. Actually, you are a cultivator. You can see your deficiencies, you’ve already risen above your thoughts at that moment, and you have already surpassed your old self. An ordinary person can’t see his inadequacies. He thinks everything about him is good, as if he were a flower, right? Since you can cultivate yourself, examine yourself, and see your inadequacies, aren’t you a cultivator?

Question: I’ve made two major mistakes, and I was very regretful afterwards. Was it my Assistant Consciousness (fu yishi¹⁴) or my messages that were at work?

Teacher: If you’ve done something among everyday people, or if you’ve done something bad, you can’t say that it wasn’t you who did it. Neither can you separate whether it was the Main Consciousness (zhu yishi¹⁵) or the Assistant Consciousness that did it, because you are one coherent body. What’s more, you can’t say that all of these things were done by your thought-karma, because they were also caused by your weak Main Consciousness. That karma will disrupt you until you get rid of it. When that karma isn’t eliminated, its external behaviors should all be considered yours. If you strongly repel it, or if you can distinguish it and keep your Main Consciousness strong, it will be a different case. So you have to take the blame if you don’t fend off what the karma does. Cultivation is about eliminating these bad things and, at the same time, strengthening the Main Consciousness. When practicing cultivation, it’s best not to think about things that occurred in the past. They have already happened, no matter how bad they were. Do well in the future so that you won’t develop an attachment.

Question: We made video recordings of several Fa-conferences in the United States, and we haven’t given them to relatives abroad. Is doing this against Teacher’s will?

Teacher: I can tell you that the approach to cultivation that our Dafa takes is the best and the purest. I’m being truly responsible to you in order to ensure that you’re truly able to reach Consummation. I have to clear away from our Dafa all those things that don’t belong to our cultivation in Dafa. Even if it’s something I said, something I said to disciples in certain regions or countries, or something that’s not suitable for other regions, it should also be cleared away. Words said to only one region that don’t have a universal application should be cleared away as well. The intention is to truly enable you to practice cultivation without any disruption—that’s the purpose.

Some people have asked, “Wouldn’t it be beneficial for students’ progress if, for the time being, we play for them Master’s talk today after we return?” If you’ve recorded it, then let it be, but don’t spread it in society with the attachment of zealotry or excitement. It’s all right if after you go back you show it at your practice sites or to the students in your countries. But I’d say that you, as a disciple, don’t need me to tell you in detail about how to handle this. When everyone has watched it or when books of the lecture are printed, just erase it—that’s all. If someone carelessly records them for other people, plays them, spreads them, or wantonly has publishing houses or factories mass-produce them, he would be committing the worst deed. I’d say that this person doesn’t meet the criteria for being a Dafa disciple.

Question: I wasn’t diligent in my practice of cultivation and failed to pass the test of sexual desire several times. If I mend my ways now, will you still take me?

Teacher: Let me tell you this: Don’t think that you cannot cultivate anymore because you couldn’t pass a test once or twice. Actually, this is how you practice cultivation. Some people who are cultivating well have passed the test; some people who aren’t doing as well have not passed the test well enough, or haven’t even passed the test at all; however, this person can pass tests in other regards. Struggling through it in this manner and passing tests adequately or not—this is how cultivation practice is. If everyone could pass every test, you wouldn’t need to practice cultivation and would become a Buddha at once. Isn’t this true? But you should take it seriously when over and over again you fail to pass a test. Would you still be considered practicing cultivation if you let this go on for long?

Question: Before I studied Zhuan Falun, treating illness with qigong was my profession. After studying Falun Gong, I left this profession. May I learn Chinese medicine and acupuncture now and practice them as an occupation?

Teacher: That’s definitely not a problem. Chinese medicine is a form of medical treatment in human society. It’s a human thing and doesn’t conflict with cultivation practice. As to treating illness with qigong, I tell you to be sure not to do that. I think that if you can learn Chinese medicine and acupuncture, that’s not a problem—you can learn it and do it.

Question: We have a small number of students here, and we live in dispersed areas. We don’t have the kind of great environment for learning the Fa as in China. How can we create better environments?

Teacher: Do you know that in the old days when I went to Beijing to teach the Fa, there were only over two hundred people at the first seminar? Yet now there are 100 million people. All of you have an obligation to tell other people about the Fa. Won’t there be more people in the future? One’s environment is created by oneself. It’s indeed very good to have more people practice cultivation together. People can exchange views, learn from one another, help one another improve, and talk about things that have happened in practicing cultivation. This will heighten one’s confidence in cultivation practice. At the same time, there is a very strong energy field when the exercises are done in a group, and this definitely benefits practitioners—that’s for sure. If a person practices cultivation by himself, he may forget it when he gets busy or do the exercises irregularly at earlier or later times. Anyhow, he is undoubtedly more sluggish.

Question: Why is it that the people I see in other dimensions all appear to be Westerners—some are even angels with wings—while I’ve never seen Asians?

Teacher: If you’ve seen that, then let it be. If I spell it out for you clearly, I’m afraid that you might develop a new attachment or a misunderstanding. Our students may seem to be Chinese today, or you may seem to be Swedish or another type of Caucasian, but you may be of a different race. The cosmos is extremely enormous. Perhaps after you succeed in cultivation you’ll go to the heaven of gods who look like Westerners. This might be the case. I’m not saying that this must be the case—don’t develop an attachment. You shouldn’t become elated and confused and stop practicing things in the Buddha School from now on. If you don’t practice the system that I’m teaching you today, you won’t be able to get to that place. If you say, “What Master is teaching us belongs to the Buddha School, so I’ll go pray in a Catholic church tomorrow,” you won’t be able to return there. I’ve said that my teachings are based in the Buddha School, but what I’m expounding is the Fa of the cosmos. Which school wouldn’t be included within the scope of the cosmos’ Fa? So this is the reason. I’ve been more and more explicit in teaching the Fa. This might not be very helpful for your cultivation practice. You have to cultivate and be enlightened to these things on your own.

Question: I tried to persuade a relative to stop practicing a certain qigong. I didn’t control myself well in my dream one night when I received guanding¹⁶  from him. Many bad things were poured in. I felt a headache after I woke up, and have often had headaches since then. What should I do?

Teacher: You didn’t control yourself well. That is, you didn’t object when he was going to do guanding to you—no objection meant you wanted it. You agreed to his guanding due to a moment of weakness. You must remember this lesson and control yourself next time. Don’t worry, this is a test. Your feeling of a headache is fake; it’s teaching you to improve your enlightenment quality. Undergoing tests in dreams isn’t part of your cultivation practice. It’s trying you under that state to see if your cultivation is solid—that’s what it is. If you can control yourself very decisively even in dreams, that means your cultivation at this level and on this matter is solid. But this only applies to your situation at this one time. Many dreams might not be dreams. If a demon truly comes, it will be a different situation.

Question: Master, you once said that this world of ours is filthy. You also said that things from here are precious to that other side. How can this be explained?

Teacher: If you take something intact from this world to that world, nobody would want it. It would be considered the filthiest thing, even filthier than feces—that’s the truth. Yet substances in this world are precious after they assimilate to that realm through a process of transformation; that’s the relationship. In other words, some substances have gone from here, but substances that are here have dropped from above. It’s just this kind of relationship. Heavenly secrets are all revealed.

Question: When someone practices cultivation to the point that his Immortal Infant comes forth, his Third Eye (tianmu¹⁷) can see the Immortal Infant. What’s the criterion for reaching the middle level?

Teacher: In the past, practitioners of certain cultivation methods in the secular world could see it. For example, it used to be that in the Dao School, when the Immortal Infant (yuanying⁸) grew up to be the size of a seven or eight-year-old child, the person’s Primordial Spirit (yuanshen¹⁸) would go in to control it and the Immortal Infant would jump out of the body. This was called the Immortal Infant Taking Birth. It was too excited to hold back—after all, it was a Buddha-Body—and it wanted to come out to move around and play. If you see the Immortal Infant in your body and it doesn’t come out, it’s not called the Immortal Infant Taking Birth. But our way of practice doesn’t allow it to come out, or at least not during the present period. As I just said, this is the only dimension that’s still not yet taken care of, and it’s very filthy and dangerous here. When dimensions at upper levels were dealt with, many beings actually came into this dimension—even bad things from very high levels came. Some people you see walking on the streets are not, in fact, humans. If you have the ability, take a look at this world and you’ll see that there are many alien beings. Yet they look like human beings and you can’t tell the difference. All these need to be dealt with.

What’s the criterion for reaching the middle level? Can you know which level you’ll be able to cultivate to? Where is your middle level? To ensure that you can practice cultivation, this is how you’re now taught to cultivate. So you have no way of knowing, and you’re not allowed to know. Once you know it you will develop the attachment of complacency or other attachments—you have no idea what you might do. Some people in the past who cultivated like that were ruined. Suddenly, one day, a person saw himself with a Buddha’s appearance, so he went out to become a qigong master. He told himself, “I’m a Buddha.” Then he went off to act on those things. He refused to obey anyone, even his master. You may say that you won’t be tempted, but that is the current state you are in. Once you leave this environment and see something, won’t you be swayed? So in order to ensure that everyone can advance faster, some people aren’t allowed to see. Nevertheless, many people are allowed to see; everyone’s situation is different. We also have a lot of disciples who are on the verge of reaching Consummation. Actually, they’ve already reached it. It’s just that they aren’t yet allowed to make a move. But they seem to know many things. Some people are talking to me, and they see me and want to communicate with me. This phenomenon didn’t take place before, as it would have been impossible for it to happen. It demonstrates that our students are improving rapidly in their cultivation.

Question: I’ve seen some disciples who put on airs as if they were better than everyone else, and I just want to distance myself from them. Is this a normal phenomenon or does it mean that I’m not doing well in my practice of cultivation?

Teacher: This can only be said to be a normal phenomenon. Some people do have these attachments. Some of our students can’t bear it when they sense attachments brought out by certain people’s thinking—especially new students’, as their thoughts are displayed more. This isn’t to say that these students aren’t cultivating well. It’s because their attachments that haven’t yet been removed are revealed. This is how practicing cultivation is. You can’t say that someone is not good when you see an attachment in him. Neither can you say that he has cultivated to a high level when you see him do something well. A person can only be judged comprehensively.

Question: Master, in the scripture “Expounding on the Fa” you wrote that “Having humanly fostered the evil demons, …” What are these “evil demons”?

Teacher: What are demons? They are just demons. There have always been demons in this universe. The demons you refer to are mainly things of demon-nature manifest from xinxing or thoughts, which means that there is still demon nature in people. That is, our students may sometimes function as demons for each other. Once in a while a person may disrupt others like a demon. But you can’t say that he’s a demon—you can only say that he has played this role. Perhaps this person is quite good. He’s still cultivating himself, only at that time he didn’t do something right and so functioned as a demon for others. There are also some people who have relatively more thought-karma. The demons referred to in the scripture “Expounding on the Fa” are those who do damage to the Fa and harm your practice of cultivation. It’s not that I can’t protect you from these kinds of demons. I can tell you that every situation that occurs during the course of cultivation is related to you, so you have to cultivate.

Question: How should the side that has attained the Fa rectify the Fa?

Teacher: You’re asking about the scripture “Expounding on the Fa.” I won’t explain it to you in detail here. No matter how you understand the scripture “Expounding on the Fa,” you won’t get it wrong; it’s just that the extent of your understanding is limited. Actually, I didn’t write it entirely for your human side. Rather, I wrote it for the side of you that’s been fully cultivated. So to whatever degree you can comprehend it is all right.

Question: Disciples in Xinjiang long to meet Master.

Teacher: They are asking me to go there. I know your feelings. Thank you, everyone. People in many regions want me to come. Let’s see if the right chances come.

Question: I really want to help spread the Fa, but sometimes I’m afraid that maybe I won’t do it right and will damage Dafa by mistake. How should I handle this?

Teacher: Talk about your own experiences learning the Fa. Don’t speak of the Fa as if the words were yours—don’t speak of the Fa with misinterpretation. Talk about your own experiences. If you’re afraid of doing damage to the Fa, you can talk about what you’ve experienced and understood in the Fa, and so on. Then you add the following words: “The meaning of this Fa is really profound. This is just how I understand it now from where I am in my cultivation.” Doing it this way won’t damage the Fa. Alternatively, you can tell the person Teacher’s words and let him comprehend them himself. None of these methods damages the Fa. If you tell my words to others as if they were yours, a bad effect will be created unintentionally. Sometimes a person adds his own notions into the Fa, stating that the meaning for certain words is this or that. It’s awful when he gives his interpretations. Isn’t he arbitrarily interpreting the Fa? In fact, the Fa has profound inner meanings—he can’t interpret it in the least. One can only say this: “I realize that there’s this meaning in the Fa, and there are still higher inner meanings.” This will be all right.

Question: We need to practice wuwei¹⁹  and not interfere with ordinary human matters. In the meantime, we have to consider the interests of others in all situations. How should we balance this relationship?

Teacher: One of the principles in the Fa that I’ve taught is that everyone must cultivate his own heart and mind, turn himself into a good person—a better person—and even meet the criteria of high realms. When problems occur, look for causes within yourself. If you meddle in social affairs that you catch sight of, you might not handle them correctly and might make mistakes. That’s why you should do this as little as possible or not do it at all. Consider this: Why did monks in the past stay away from the secular world? A monk would even plug his ears with cotton so that he wouldn’t hear the whole day, as he didn’t want to listen to anything. He gagged himself to refrain from speaking. He found that, through hearing, bad things would get in. It seemed to him that everything would bring about karma.

Do you know what a wicked person is? Why is a wicked person wicked? It’s because that person’s mind is filled with too many bad things. He has learned too many bad things, and his mind is full of wicked thoughts. He’s a wicked person, regardless of whether or not it’s apparent. So where did these bad things come from? Didn’t they come from what he heard? [That monk would feel:] “I don’t want anything, I don’t listen to bad things, I ignore what I see, and I don’t listen to anything.” What is a good person? You’re a good person if your mind is full of good thoughts. If there are only good thoughts in your mind, what you do will meet the criteria. All behaviors are directed by one’s brain, so what you do will certainly be good things. If you, a cultivator, always like to meddle in ordinary human matters, you will make mistakes because you can’t see the predestined arrangements. If it’s your job, of course you can’t ignore it. In everyday people’s society, if you see someone kick or curse at someone else or if you see people fight with each other due to a conflict and you step in to defend someone against an injustice, then you shouldn’t have meddled in those things. Why is it? There are policemen and people in positions of authority. Your having a hand in the matter equates to intervening. Besides, what you do might not be correct. If one person in his past life owed the other person a kick, he just paid it back in this life. He won’t be able to pay if you intervene. From the viewpoint of an everyday person, you’ve done a good thing. To the god who arranged this incident to settle the karmic debt, however, you’ve done a bad thing, because a cultivator can no longer be measured by the standards of everyday people. This is to illustrate the point that you shouldn’t perform these purposeful actions.

How should you keep the interests of others in mind in all situations? Since I’ve said that your practice of cultivation should maximally accord with everyday people’s society, you have to maintain contact with people. So there will be matters that involve self-interest. I’d say it’s no good if you’re still really selfish, thinking of yourself first in situations and not considering others. After all, you still need to maintain contact with people in society. If at work you just sit there, cold and detached, doing nothing, I think your boss will fire you. You still have to observe the way of life in human society. You have to maintain contact with people, be kind to people, and consider others before doing things. In today’s society, some businessmen just want to take all the money from other people’s pockets so that they can get rich instantly. In regards to this point, I think Caucasian European businessmen have a very good state of mind. A Caucasian businessman considers his business a profession and a duty, and he does it whole-heartedly to the best of his ability. He doesn’t mind even if there’s only one customer a day. He thinks that it’s his job, it’s part of life, he’s doing something, and it’s fine as long as he can support himself or his family and save a little. This is the state of being human. Nowadays, people’s desire to get rich quick is terribly strong. This is the mindset that guides them. People are simply hurting one another, as if they want to get all of everyone else’s money to put in their own pockets. What are other people going to do? Why don’t they think about other people’s hardships? They do things without considering others at all. This is the mentality of the perverted humankind in people’s society today. When acting on something, think about whether others can bear it—this is how a human being should be.

Question: Would you please tell us again about the meaning of the article "Take the Middle Way”?

Teacher: All students ought to know that you shouldn’t understand the Fa with human emotions and thinking. Simply put, that’s the point. For example, someone interviewed me today. He asked me, “So how about telling us what the interior and exterior of the universe are like?” I said to him, “The concept you mentioned comes from a human mindset. In this universe there isn’t the kind of interior and exterior as you suggested—there’s no such concept. What you said was of the thoughts and mindset of a human being.” What I’m trying to tell you is that you need to transform your human mindset as well. That is, in your daily life or understanding of the Fa, you really can no longer approach it with a human mindset, and you must not understand the Fa with those human substances that you firmly hold on to and don’t discard. The surface meaning of “Take the Middle Way” is “don’t go to extremes.”

Question: Teacher, you said that the mighty virtue of great Buddhas in heavens were all cultivated by them, themselves. But since it’s hard to practice cultivation in Buddhas’ heavens, does it mean that all of them need to return to this human world to practice cultivation?

Teacher: There are two sources of  the beings in the cosmos: One is born of parents, and the other results from the motion of matter in the cosmos. The realm of awareness of a being created at a certain realm is just as high as that realm. That being isn’t contaminated by anything at lower levels and doesn’t have to meet any criteria for lower levels. It conforms to the criteria of that realm the moment it is brought into being. Doesn’t it have to live in that realm? Then there are others who reach there through cultivation. Here I’m putting emphasis on practicing cultivation since you are cultivators. Actually, the proportion that reaches up there through cultivation amounts to an extremely small number in the cosmos. Most beings originate in their realms.

Question: I’m very touched by many students’ enthusiasm in spreading the Fa, but I am often apathetic myself. What should I do to change this state of mind?

Teacher: I don’t have any requirement regarding this. I haven’t said that our students have to go spread the Fa or pass the Fa on to others. If someone doesn’t have that enthusiasm or if he or she doesn’t want to disseminate the Fa after obtaining it, that’s fine. You aren’t obligated to do it and are not considered wrong. Yet we say that you, as a student, should tell others about the Fa when you see them suffering, because you have mercy. Any amount of money or any kind of help you give them won’t be as good as informing them about the Fa, which is the best thing to do.

Question: When we’re not doing the exercises to the music, does the speed of our movements affect the results?

Teacher: It won’t be too fast no matter how quickly you do it; it won’t be too slow no matter how slowly you do it. The speed isn’t fixed. You are strengthening the mechanisms, so it’s not that it has to be exactly like mine. But when you do the exercises, the speed should be more or less the same as the audio tape recording. The movements should be the same and in good order when you do them in a group.

Question: One’s Immortal Infant stops growing when it becomes the same size as oneself. Then do children need to wait until they’ve grown up to practice cultivation?

Teacher: How could human beings be compared with the Immortal Infant? The Immortal Infant is brought out through practicing cultivation. Aren’t there many children practicing cultivation?

Question: Other people’s thoughts can often enter my mind. When someone is sleepy, I want to sleep as well; when he’s angry, I become unhappy.

Teacher: This is a state that occurs in one’s practice. That is, your pores are all opened and you can sense external messages. It’s not a supernormal ability. It’s just a state in one’s cultivation process: When someone suffers from pain somewhere in his body, you feel it as well; when someone experiences discomfort somewhere, you also become uncomfortable; when someone is happy, you are happy at the same time. In fact, it’s a state that occurs when your body is opened up throughout. But it will pass quickly. The faster you proceed in cultivation, the faster this state will pass.

Question: I heard that in China there was a student who died not long after he learned the Fa. He insisted on not taking any medicine before he passed away. Why would a person die when he didn’t even fear death like that?

Teacher: When a sick person doesn’t take medicine, you can tell from the surface whether it’s because deep down inside he wants me to cure his illness or because he determinedly deems himself a practitioner. If an everyday person caught a deadly disease and insisted on not taking medicine no matter what, would he die? He died, didn’t he? It was time for him to die, so he died, as he was an everyday person. How could an everyday person’s life be casually extended? He claimed that he did the exercises. Think about it, everyone: Does it make you a Dafa disciple if you do the exercises of Falun Gong and read the books? If you don’t advance diligently and don’t truly act according to the standards I’ve taught you, how could you be my disciple? Whether you’re my disciple depends on whether I acknowledge you as one. In other words, are you up to the standard for a disciple? If you perform the exercises every day just like doing other physical exercises, if you read the books without assimilating the content, if you don’t advance diligently and don’t act according to the requirements from the books, can you be my disciple? Aren’t you still an ordinary person? Let’s say that an ordinary person becomes ill and, like a drowning person hoping to clutch a piece of straw, he realizes that I can eliminate a person’s disease karma. Since with this practice system the understanding is that no medicine is to be taken when dissolving karma, he has done the exercises with the misunderstanding that if he just performs the exercises and doesn’t take medicine he’ll get well and not die. Not only is he an ordinary person, but he also still holds such a strong attachment. How could he not die?

Dafa is solemn, and cultivation practice is a serious matter. How can a person’s life that’s supposed to end be casually extended, or an ordinary human be easily allowed to reach Consummation and become a Buddha?! You must cultivate your mind. It doesn’t count if your mind is not fundamentally transformed. You aren’t considered to have passed the test if you seemingly do well but still have a little bit of attachment inside that you yourself fail to notice. That’s because this is the most serious matter. Fundamental changes need to truly take place. You know that many people practice Falun Gong, and that a considerable number of them have been cured of cancer or other fatal illnesses. I don’t need to tell you about this because all of our students know it.

There were also some critically ill people suffering from cancer or other deadly diseases who came to practice Falun Gong but died just the same. Why? While that person was paying lip service to practicing Falun Gong, his mind didn’t let go of his illness whatsoever. Some people may think this way: “He was quite keen on practicing. He told us about not taking medicine, and he also advised us to give up the attachment to illness. He even helped others learn the Fa.” But he didn’t necessarily give it up himself—you don’t know what was on his mind. This shows how complicated the matter is. He asked others to give up the attachment, knowing that Teacher could hear it. He wanted it to be heard by Teacher. To put it plainly, he was trying to deceive Teacher. His real intention was: “Teacher will certainly take care of me for all these things I’ve done. I’m reading the books, performing the exercises, and telling others to cultivate, so Teacher will definitely eliminate my illness.” You see that on the surface he stopped taking medicine, said those words, and acted in accordance with my requirements for practice. In essence, however, he didn’t truly meet the standard for a cultivator. He was still thinking, “As long as I do this, Master will surely get rid of my illness.” He was still thinking like that. Did he root out his desire for Master to get rid of his illness? Wasn’t that desire still embedded and concealed in his mind? In that case, wasn’t he trying to deceive others as well as me? In fact, he was deceiving himself. In that case, how could he be cured of his illness?

Nonetheless, we oftentimes give chances to people who are seriously ill, and we keep deferring things. The date of the hospital’s death sentence has long passed. A long time has passed, whether it has been half a year, a year, or several years. We’re still giving this person chances and waiting for him to discard that attachment. He simply doesn’t give it up. Although he doesn’t say anything, his mind is often unsettled by the following thoughts: “Since I’m practicing Falun Gong, my illness is probably gone. Since I’m practicing Falun Gong, maybe it will be cured.” He can’t truly regard himself as a cultivating disciple who doesn’t think about illness whatsoever. I’ve already said that I have hardly any requirements for you. Everything is unrestricted—only your mind matters. If I didn’t even look at your mind, could I still save you? Actually, no matter which cultivation way a person practices, his mind has to be transformed. The difference is that our cultivation system aims directly at one’s mind.

Question: The more I study the Fa, the more I realize that the power of the Fa is boundless, that everything is encompassed within the boundlessness, and that there is no end to it. Teacher, would you please tell me why that is?

Teacher: “Everything is encompassed within the boundlessness”—this is a type of test as well. Once you feel that Consummation is nearing, you will no longer have this feeling. Your feeling is very good. No matter how you feel, don’t pay too much attention to it. Sometimes a person can ascend very rapidly when he or she improves. But upon arriving at the part of the body that’s within the Three Realms, it becomes incredibly hard to make one step forward. It’s so difficult that you’re simply unwilling to part with your human mindset. This is a situation I’ve noticed.

Question: Teacher, you’ve often said that time is pressing. Meanwhile, you’ve also said that Dafa would spread far and wide among everyday people for a long time. Is that a contradiction?

Teacher: I’m indeed saying that time is pressing. I’ve said that I am not merely saving people. After you reach Consummation, I still have to do other things that I can’t tell you about. I can’t teach the Fa for very long in the human world. If I say that time is pressing, you should simply speed up your cultivation. Don’t misinterpret my words or confuse them with any talk of catastrophes spoken of by the evil religions nowadays. The time for cultivation is indeed quite pressing. There won’t be a catastrophe, but there is a deadline for the end of cultivation. Once the whole truth is revealed, everything will end, and you will no longer be allowed to cultivate. Yet humankind will continue. Cultivation practice will exist forever, although it will be in a cultivation form of the future.

Question: Living in everyday people’s society, if a person does things earnestly, is responsible to his job and family, and isn’t the least bit negligent, is he considered attached?

Teacher: I can’t say that what you said was wrong, but neither can I rule out some very strong human elements in your words. That’s because when you are trying to do these things well in the society of everyday people, it’s impossible that you carry them out with a Buddha’s way of thinking. You would be unable to get things done that way. So you still have a human being’s way of thinking. This is merely a manifestation of various situations at certain levels.

Question: My American friends complain that the English version of Zhuan Falun is hard to understand. Could you please tell us the prospect of Dafa for Americans?

Teacher: Let me tell you, it’s not that the English version is hard to understand. I’d say that the English versions were translated well—the one that came out in the U.S. is particularly easy to understand. There is so much inner meaning in this Dafa. Those Americans who are somewhat simpleminded consider it hard to comprehend. Some things are indeed hard to understand for young people who aren’t accustomed to using their minds. Which one of you sitting here can say that you can easily understand everything in Zhuan Falun? You all feel that the more you study it, the harder it gets. You know that Monk Tang²⁰  traveled on foot for eleven years to acquire the Buddhist scriptures from the Western Paradise. He went through all kinds of hardships and dangers, and had to do the translation himself after he returned. Today, Dafa has already been brought to you right here, but you still find it difficult. If you don’t think that the translation is good, you too can do translations—do better ones.

In China, we organized some students to translate this book into English. It took them two years. They were always debating among themselves because they wanted to translate the meaning for English readers without any bit of divergence from the original. They overcame great difficulties. You obtained it ready-made and still find it difficult. If something is really questionable, you can compare it with the version translated in China. There is a Russian student in Boston. I was listening to him when he spoke yesterday. Everyone found that his process of learning Chinese was unusual. There have been many instances like that. If you put your mind to it, I think all of you can be like him.

As for the prospect of Dafa for Americans, let me tell you that for every event, every life, and everything done in this universe, the future can be seen from beginning to end. Only the future of this undertaking of mine can’t be seen by anyone. There simply was no future before I set out to do it. As to what the future will be, if today’s human society continues to go on like this, people will all become extremely vicious, like demons. Of course, when people are bad, violent conflicts as well as natural and man-made calamities increase. People kill and fight among themselves, and karma billows. What’s the prospect, then? It’s really terrifying. In terms of cultivation practice, the prospect for Dafa in the U.S. depends on how well Americans obtain the Fa.

Question: Some Americans think that some parts of Dafa oppose other relevant qigong practices. This often creates some problems.

Teacher: Let me tell you, such a great Fa has been taught. Just in this book, there are many, many tests directed at various people to see how their minds will react. Dafa can’t be obtained casually. For example, the diversity of cults and the number of bogus qigongs are great these days, and they lead people astray. Many people who are capable of practicing cultivation become involved in them like religions, and some of them engage in suicide—it’s a mess. I said that I’m not simply saving people. If I didn’t point out these bad things, if I didn’t tell you that they are wicked, how could you concentrate on your cultivation without any disruption, and how could I address the critical matter of “no second cultivation way”? Dafa can’t be casually obtained. Perhaps someone is attached to those things and so is impeded and doesn’t want to obtain the Fa. If he doesn’t want to obtain the Fa, then let him be, because if he doesn’t discard the attachment and doesn’t practice only one way, he won’t be able to reach Consummation and will do damage to Dafa. It’s his personal emotions that prevent him from obtaining the Fa. Dafa is solemn. Not everyone can obtain the Fa. We can spread the Fa widely and have all those people who are predestined or are still able to obtain the Fa obtain it. But there are indeed a number of people who simply can’t obtain the Fa. They’re no longer allowed to see it, so they are probably impeded. If a person isn’t impeded, he or she is most likely still predestined to obtain the Fa.

Question: The hand signs are different in several pictures of Teacher that have been officially published. Could you please tell us their meanings?

Teacher: Other than this picture hung up here at the conference, no picture with hand signs has been published. Hand signs are very complicated. They’re just like all these words with which I’m teaching you the Fa today. Hand signs in motion are a language. A series of them gestured is a passage of Fa taught. If it were something I could tell you with words, I wouldn’t make hand signs for you today. The reason is that such content can’t be spoken. You think that what I’ve said today is lofty; you must have thought so. You have no idea how much loftier the hand signs are than this—they show the truth. If you can understand them, that’s fine; if not, it’s also all right.

Question: I think it was arranged for us to come to a Western society so that we could disseminate the Fa, and that we will return to the East at the appropriate time. Is that right?

Teacher: If you’re asking me why you immigrated to the West, I can’t tell you. You can go wherever you want to nowadays. If you’re saying that you will return to the East when you’ve reached Consummation, what would you be doing on the earth if you had reached Consummation?

Question: There’s a person who had a transplanted kidney removed after it failed. He had the opportunity to learn Falun Gong and is diligent in cultivating his xinxing in his daily life, hoping to be able to reach Consummation in this lifetime. Does he have a chance?

Teacher: I can tell you that many of you have asked about operations and whether you can still cultivate without certain parts of your body. As a matter of fact, an operation is done in this human dimension and it can’t touch any bit of the bodies in other dimensions. So what’s removed is only something in this superficial dimension. The essential body(ies) can’t be touched. In other words, the body(ies) over there is intact. But you do depend on this body here for practicing cultivation. If you’re truly able to meet the criteria for practicing cultivation, any miracle can be done for you. If you can’t meet that criteria, though, nothing can be given to you. That’s why practicing cultivation is a serious matter.

Question: If someone enlightened to something but didn’t act accordingly, is that person still considered unenlightened on the matter?

Teacher: If someone enlightened to something but didn’t act well, he “does what’s wrong while fully aware.” It’s not that he didn’t enlighten to it. Actually, I was bantering. Let me tell you that many of you know the principles perfectly well, but when facing a test you still haven’t been able to let go of the attachment—isn’t that so? Is that right? (Everyone answers, “Yes!”) What’s the reason? Some people have acted to uphold their dignity; some people haven’t been able to forgo their emotions, right? So they have knowingly made the mistakes. Now you’re a cultivator, so you can’t knowingly do what is wrong all the time. You must pass the test sooner or later.

Question: Can still water contain Zhen-Shan-Ren?

Teacher: The cosmos is constituted by the essential nature Zhen-Shan-Ren. Don’t be concerned with its conceptualization. It’s this way in a certain concept and another way in another concept. Neither interests nor the pursuit of knowledge should be your motive in practicing cultivation. That won’t work. You should concentrate on practicing cultivation.

Question: If someone wants to cultivate to a level surpassing that of Arhat²¹,  does one have to make a wish to offer salvation to all sentient beings? Is it true that if one doesn’t make this wish one can only achieve a lower level?

Teacher: I didn’t guide your thinking toward this. I didn’t say these things. From which religion did you hear this? What wish-making? Let me tell you that this is all human emotion. Since you’ve mentioned it, I’ll talk about why believers of Buddhism say this. Isn’t the talk about making wishes in today’s Buddhism man-made? Aren’t those attachments of intentional action and pursuit? In Buddhism they talk about making a wish to offer salvation to all sentient beings. They think that they’ll be made Buddhas if they make a wish to offer salvation to all sentient beings. Isn’t that a joke? One can only become a Buddha by truly cultivating oneself to reach that level, by bearing many hardships, and by attaining that exalted realm. Believers of Buddhism now want to offer salvation to all sentient beings. How can they offer salvation to all sentient beings without having cultivated to a high level? Actually, a lot of believers of Buddhism are including in that expression many attachments of emotion and an intention to show off. My words can instantly pierce a person’s heart. How can human beings understand at a Buddha’s level the meaning of “offering salvation to all sentient beings”? When people talk about offering salvation to all sentient beings these days, isn’t it actually a display of their mentality of showing off and a complicated attachment that results from wishful thinking? It’s driven by attachments to humans and feelings, together with a mind for showing-off in the future. Could a Buddhist during the Dharma-Ending Period be in a realm so noble and holy? It’s impossible.

In addition, offering salvation to all sentient beings can’t be casually talked about or done. How could humans know that before Sakyamuni came down to the world he had to get permission from many Buddhas, Daos, and Gods, and from still many other Buddhas, Daos, and Gods at even higher levels? Who would dare to come down if it weren’t for a special mission? Coming down is just like dropping down. One needs to practice cultivation in order to return, so who would dare to come down? Besides, one is prohibited from casually entering the Three Realms. One might think that one wouldn’t be contaminated by humans. How can someone not be contaminated if he jumps into a manure pit? He’s surely contaminated, right? So it can’t be casually done. Originally, these were very holy expressions in religion; they are words of the Buddha School, spoken by gods and used in practicing cultivation. Now, everyday people have casually taken them and talked about them carelessly. Everyday people use them as if they were utterly worthless, and their holy connotation has already been lost.

Furthermore, an Arhat doesn’t have the intention of offering salvation to all sentient beings. Why? It’s because an Arhat is a self-enlightened being—that’s an Arhat. What’s a self-enlightened being? A self-enlightened being has simply cultivated himself and reached Consummation beyond the Three Realms. He’s considered to have succeeded and been liberated, so he simply doesn’t have the desire or aim of saving others. A Bodhisattva²²  merely assists a Buddha in his effort to save sentient beings. A Bodhisattva is said to save people into her paradise, but she doesn’t have a paradise—she’s in a Buddha’s paradise. Whether or not she can freely save people depends on the willingness of the Buddha to have them. Isn’t that true? The relationship is that if the Buddha wants to save people, she’ll help carry out specific actions.

Question: Is it true that I just need to do my best to let go of my attachments, but that whether or not they’re discarded is all Master’s doing?

Teacher: Wouldn’t it be me who is cultivating then? The process is as such, but it can’t be understood in this way.

Actually, you’ve met the criteria the moment you find that you can identify the problem and truly recognize those attachments that you shouldn’t have. Master will naturally remove the substances from the surface for you. This can’t really be considered Master’s doing since it stems from your own cultivation.

Question: How should we handle the relationship between grand mercy and wuwei?

Teacher: In the realm of an Arhat or Bodhisattva, human emotions are replaced by grand mercy. Human beings live for affection and emotion. That is, humans are immersed in emotion and it’s hard for them to break away. A person can’t practice cultivation and progress without freeing himself from emotion. As to wuwei, it’s required in cultivation practice. This state also exists for someone who has attained a quite high realm in the cosmos: He knows everything but doesn’t want to do anything, even though he is capable of doing everything, as if it were simpler than playing with toys. Let’s say that you’re a college student and are extremely smart. If a few very simple wooden blocks were placed here and you were asked to move them back and forth or play with them, would you want to do it? You wouldn’t. Everything would be clear at a glance. They’re just a few wooden blocks, why play with them? You wouldn’t want to make a move. Wuwei is stressed in the practice of cultivation to prevent you from producing more karma. You are in the realm of grand mercy if you free yourself of emotions and attain the standard of wuwei.

Question: I’m a part-time editor for a comprehensive publication. In order to spread the Fa, we intend to publish Zhuan Falun and other works of yours. Since space is limited, however, we can only arbitrarily select certain chapters and sections.

Teacher: That’s not a good idea. For one thing, since your magazine covers a wide variety of things, placing the Fa there wouldn’t be appropriate. Besides, making selections that way would actually be quoting out of context. It would also be hard to understand, and would likely be copied by those so-called “men of letters” as some human thing. So be sure not to do these things and be sure not to quote out of context.

Question: Teacher, you said that it’s normal for a veteran student not to go to the practice sites to do the exercises. Is it a good idea for Teacher to discourage them from cultivating in that kind of environment?

Teacher: It’s not as simple as you think. Do you know that I even need to consider these situations of yours while I’m saving you? When you ask someone who’s in a different realm and state to go, you don’t know that he feels uneasy. What you say and do is intensely annoying to him. These cases do exist. If someone isn’t in this situation and simply does not want to come out, I’d say he needs to mend his approach. It benefits you if you come out to do the exercises. If you truly don’t have the time because of work, that’s also understandable, and then it’s up to you.

Of course, in China there are instances where they come out to perform the exercises in both the morning and evening. They come out at four o’clock in the morning and six o’clock in the evening after dinner to do the exercises collectively twice a day. They find that doing the exercises like this is very good. Yet people in many areas of other countries aren’t doing the exercises like this, using various excuses. Let me tell you that if you do as I’ve taught in this practice system, it’s guaranteed that there won’t be any harm, only benefit. You claim that you’re too busy and don’t have the time. Actually, you are afraid that you don’t get enough rest. Have you ever thought of the fact that practicing cultivation is the best form of rest? You can obtain the kind of rest that can’t be obtained through sleeping. Nobody would say: “The exercises are making me so tired that I can’t do anything today.” One would only say: “The exercises are making my whole body relaxed and at ease. I don’t feel sleepy after a sleepless night. I feel full of energy. It doesn’t seem to bother me at all after a day’s work.” Isn’t this the case? So if someone who doesn’t come out to do the exercises says that he has no time or uses other excuses, I’d say that it’s completely because he doesn’t have a deep understanding of the Fa and lacks the will to make painstaking efforts. Of course, it’s strictly a different situation when a veteran student is in that state. But it’s not right if someone hasn’t reached that state, yet uses that excuse to not come out. Practicing cultivation is about cultivating oneself. Fooling others is, in fact, fooling oneself.

Question: Airplanes have long existed at higher-level dimensions. People at higher-level dimensions can fly, right? Why do they still need to use airplanes, then?

Teacher: I’ve told you that in different dimensions it’s not that all beings are like the Buddhas and Gods everywhere in the heavens—beings differ quite substantially. There are also places like that of human beings, but few. Yet there are particularly more places like those of alien beings. They need to fly and need to use flying devices. I can’t tell you about all those, leading your thinking toward those places and encouraging curiosity. Beings are extremely complex. There are worlds of all kinds and there’s great diversity in the cosmos. Now we only have white, yellow, and black races of humans on earth; over there, there are also green and blue ones, and even multi-colored ones. There are diverse ones of every sort, unlike anything you’ve imagined. In other words, you should stop thinking about these issues with your human frame of mind.

Question: Falun Gong is loosely administered. How is it different from a tangible organizational structure?

Teacher: It’s loosely administered and there’s no form of organizational structure. If you want to come you can come; if you don’t want to come you can go. We don’t have a membership roster. From the surface, no one knows who you are. Isn’t this correct? Everyone is learning at his or her own will. For example, people asked around about where Master had gone, and then they came to listen to the Fa-lecture, right? It’s not that I issued mobilization orders so that everyone would come to the U.S. to listen to the Fa-lecture. There was nothing of the sort. Whether or not a person practices cultivation is entirely voluntary. Once an administrative form like that of everyday people is adopted, any human intent can crop up, and attachments will prevent one from practicing cultivation, thus causing trouble for the Fa.

Question: What does "no omission” mean as in "No Omission in Buddha-Nature”?

Teacher: “No omission” used to be a term in Buddhism; that is, it was cultivation language in Buddhism. Consider this, humans have all kinds of feelings, desires, and various attachments, all caused by their emotions. They are numerous, such as jealousy, the intention to show off, hatred, etc. Every one of these attachments has to be eliminated. It’s still considered an omission if any one of them isn’t removed. One cannot reach Consummation if there’s an omission. A person needs to cultivate until there is no omission and no attachments left. He or she will be able to reach Consummation only when there’s truly no longer anything omitted.

Question: Has the nature Zhen-Shan-Ren changed each time when a new universe has been re-created by Enlightened Beings at extremely high levels?

Teacher: You shouldn’t ask these types of questions anymore. You shouldn’t even think about them. The essential nature Zhen-Shan-Ren remains eternally unchanged. The Fa is unchanged so that changes in the beings and substances within it can be measured.

Question: Other than helping cultivators to attain a tranquil mind, does the music of Falun Gong have any other special...?

Teacher: Its major role is to help people reach tranquility as soon as possible. That’s because when people listen to the music they don’t think about ordinary human matters like rivalries with other people, messy situations, how their businesses are doing, or how much money they’re making. This approach is adopted. The music is used to substitute one thought for thousands of thoughts. Contents of Dafa are also added into the music. So the more you listen to it, the more pleasant it is to you and the more comfortable you become.

Question: Can we listen to Teacher’s Fa-lectures when we perform the tranquil exercises?

Teacher: How could you attain tranquility while listening to my Fa-lectures? Your brain cells are very active when listening to the Fa, aren’t they? So you wouldn’t be able to reach tranquility. Listening to Fa-lectures should simply be listening to Fa-lectures.

Question: Teacher, you mentioned yesterday that with every additional practitioner you bear one more share of hardship. I was sad to hear it, because I’ve led many people to the road of cultivation practice.

Teacher: I knew you’d think about this matter. Let me tell you: Don’t think like this, as I have my ways. You don’t need to be concerned with these things—just concentrate on your cultivation. If you guide many people to learn the Fa, it can be said that your contribution and virtue are boundless, and you are in effect helping your master spread the Fa. Your mind is rather active to think of this matter. What I meant was that with each additional practitioner, I need to be concerned with one more person. My concerns are not as you imagine them. I have innumerable Law Bodies (fashen²³) who are doing these things.

Question: I find myself flying in the sky during my sitting meditations and dreams, but I’ve never seen figures from the Buddha School dressed in yellow. I wonder if I truly saw something.

Teacher: Actually, you did see something. The reason there were no figures of the Buddha School is that the place you went to was different. I think that if you see these things, just let it be. Don’t pay too much attention to it, and put your mind to practicing cultivation. Be sure to do so.

Question: The gods above no longer regard modern persons as human. But Teacher, yesterday you said that nobody today is meant to be a human being.

Teacher: People nowadays are indeed degenerate. Gods don’t look after them anymore. No religion is being looked after by gods, since gods see that humankind is too depraved and they no longer regard human beings as human. Yet where you came from and whether to save you are two separate matters. But there are things that I don’t want to be known by any beings. Besides, I didn’t say that my way of doing things is the same as theirs. There is an even broader meaning to what I’m doing. Human society will continue to evolve. Those who can succeed in cultivation practice and reach Consummation will go to heavenly paradises at different levels. Those who can’t reach Consummation but are able to meet the criteria for the original humankind will become humans in the next period of civilization.

Question: Teacher, you wrote in the scripture “Verification” that we should “verify that Dafa is correct and a genuine science...” How do we verify it?

Teacher: You are educated people. When faced with people who don’t understand or who aren’t so good, you can verify it by sharing your experiences, knowledge, or the concrete results from your work, and so forth.

Question: I’m Polish, and I want to spread the Fa in Poland. When will we be able to see materials in Polish and how can I help?

Teacher: There are some Chinese people in Poland. Some of them are studying and doing the exercises, but no Polish translations have been done. We’ll see if the opportunity comes along since only our disciples can do the translation. It’s hard for others to translate Dafa books. Just like you, I long to see Zhuan Falun in Polish soon. Of course, it would be good if you could translate it.

Question: It’s not easy to introduce the Dafa of Zhuan Falun to others appropriately. At times, some relatively profound things are unwittingly spoken, making them unbelievable to people—contrary to what’s intended.

Teacher: That’s right. Everyone needs to take note of this point. Don’t present it from the perspective of your understanding to people who haven’t yet learned the Fa—it will intimidate them. What you say unwittingly is already quite deep, because it reflects your level. In addition, there are even more profound things that you don’t talk about but that are implied in your words. Those things can’t be perceived by that person’s mind on the surface, but they are perceived by his mind deeper within. He can’t bear it. So when presenting Zhuan Falun to others, we have to talk about its principles at the lowest and most superficial level, such as how to be a good person and how to raise one’s level. Discuss simple principles like these. It’s as if you ask someone to go to school, but talk to him about concepts at the university level while he hasn’t even gone to elementary school yet. He would say, “I don’t want to learn it—I don’t understand it.” Doesn’t this make sense?

Question: If someone is missing a leg and a hand, he can’t sit cross-legged or perform the movements. How can he cultivate?

Teacher: I’ve said that Dafa cultivation is a serious matter. I’m teaching the Fa for people to practice cultivation. That is, he can practice cultivation. It’s his heart that matters. Without a hand and a leg, you have your heart to cultivate with. Even if you do it with one leg and one hand, I think miracles will happen. The decisive factor is one’s heart.

Question: When meditating in ding,  if I’m no longer conscious of this body but feel the existence of light and sound, how should I further my cultivation?

Teacher: I didn’t tell you about what happens or the kind of state one enters during tranquility—I haven’t talked about those things. We stress cultivation of one’s heart and mind, which is fundamental. An attachment to any kind of state will make you unable to reach a very high realm, and it will limit you greatly. Wuwei is the great way. The things that you see or hear are all normal occurrences. Don’t be concerned with them and don’t get attached to them.

Question: When the Primordial Spirit leaves the body, should I have no mind-intent and let it fly? Can I have the intention of flying higher and in a more beautiful posture? Or, can I alter the posture, such as changing from lying to sitting, or to facing down...?

Teacher: If you can fly, then fly. It doesn’t matter how you fly, whether it’s lying down or sitting. But don’t regard it as having fun. Some people have asked me to demonstrate things for them. You would look upon what I demonstrated for you with a human mindset and only be amused. You wouldn’t be able to see what is truly the mighty significance of Buddha Fa’s divine power, so it can’t be used like this. Even if you can do it, you shouldn’t regard it as having fun.

Question: My Primordial Spirit used to be able to fly high and far when it left my body. Why is it that recently it suddenly can’t fly high?

Teacher: Perhaps it’s because you’ve developed an attachment. In cultivation practice, you aren’t allowed to be like that all the time. It’s not good if it happens so often that it’s affecting your practice of cultivation. Raising your level in your practice of cultivation is first and foremost.

Question: I admire your Falun Dafa from the bottom of my heart, but it’s said that we need to consecrate fruits in front of your picture everyday.

Teacher: Actually, when a god saves people in the human world, he, too, eats food, but not the kind of food consumed by humans. What does he eat? You know I’ve said that for every object there exist other bodies. He eats those other bodies of your food. You are disciples and I’m your master, so of course I won’t be a stickler for etiquette. When your food is served and you eat, I’ve already taken it away on that other side. I haven’t asked you to adhere to any matters of formality. Yet if you have the desire to do that and really want to do so, I won’t object, because that’s your wish. As to cases where some of you kowtow to me, I think I’ll be glad to see you if you don’t kowtow to me but are cultivating well. If you kowtow to me everyday but fail to cultivate well, I’ll be sad to see you. Doesn’t this make sense? It’s merely a formality, though it also shows one’s heart.

Question: When I’m perplexed about a certain problem, I ponder deeply over it, and at that time an answer comes forth from my imagination, sometimes even with pictures appearing in my mind. Is this a good or bad thing?

Teacher: This usually happens to you when you’re an everyday person. It’s a state that often occurs when one thinks about ordinary human problems. If you still do so in your practice of cultivation and study of the Fa, I’d say that you’re too attached in [studying] the Fa, to say the least. When you think about problems at work or in your life, that’s work, but you also have to separate that from your cultivation practice. When practicing cultivation you should let go of it and not think about anything. It’s all right to throw yourself into your work when you’re working. The appearance of pictures and answers is a manifestation of a supernormal ability.

Question: If one’s mind is always empty without any thoughts, how is it different from Zen Buddhism?

Teacher: There’s a substantial difference. No matter how empty your mind is, it’s not permissible for you to let your consciousness depart. This is the kind of emptiness we talk about, whereas in Zen Buddhism “emptiness” means that nothing is left and one is aware of nothing. They aren’t cultivating themselves; they aren’t practicing cultivation, but only being motionless. So they’re cultivating someone else, namely, their Assistant Primordial Spirit (fu yuanshen²⁴).

Question: Master, I don’t quite understand what you said yesterday about "no one on the earth today should be a human being.”

Teacher: Let me start from this most superficial shell of human beings. Nowadays, humankind (of course, you aren’t included since you’re practicing cultivation) is capable of every sort of vice; however, all of them came for profound reasons. That’s the relationship. Meanwhile, I’ve found that the true humankind, people who used to be here, are in another dimension, namely, the netherworld. As they died in wars, they gradually went down there instead of reincarnating back up. They’ve been totally replaced by these beings who came for profound reasons. Yet whoever comes has to be made deluded as humans are, and, without exception, they become depraved along with people’s society. So that’s the relationship. Only those who had the heavenly courage to come down can hear the Fa that’s so mighty and profound. Nevertheless, not everyone came to obtain the Fa: There are also some that came to damage the Fa. That’s why I said that none of them came in order to be human beings. Still, not everyone came to practice cultivation. There are also some who came specifically to damage the Fa—they will be banished to hell. There are still others, such as those who are no longer good and can’t obtain the Fa anymore. In addition, there are also ones who don’t deserve to obtain the Fa anymore.

Question: I’m from Denmark and was lucky to obtain the Fa in California. Should I go back to Denmark to spread the Fa? I’m afraid that I might be unable to shoulder the responsibility.

Teacher: You don’t need to worry about these things. When trying to help a person obtain the Fa, many of you typically say, “this book is really good.” You tell it to a friend. The friend says: “Really? Let me check it out.” Inadvertently, he or she is able to engage it in this way. It’s all rather simple, but not accidental. Of course, there’s one thing. That is, you can’t say, “I think this is so great, yet how come you don’t want to learn it?” That person might say, “I just don’t want to learn it. I don’t have the time,” or, “I don’t think it’s good.” It’s wrong to impose it on others. Why is it wrong? You are forcing and pressuring that person to obtain the Fa. There should be no coercion. If someone’s heart isn’t moved, the Fa must not be given to him—that person’s heart has to be moved on its own. In other words, he needs to be worthy of the Fa to be shown the Fa. Isn’t this the truth?

Question: How should we understand: “Just moments prior to reaching Consummation, eight-tenths of his gong will be taken down together with his xinxing yardstick”?

Teacher: I’ve explained this principle. The purpose of taking down your gong is to enable you to reach Consummation. What does reaching Consummation mean? That’s when you’ve reached the criteria through cultivation, and your gong along with all of your blessings and virtue are consummated. A Buddha can have any thing or any ability he desires. Where does this capacity come from? It comes from the painstaking effort that you put in. That is, it’s composed of and consummated by your mighty virtue—gong, which co-exists with xinxing. Without it, you can’t go to heaven. You know that there’s a circle around a Buddha’s body. The Buddhas painted in portraits in ancient temples all seem to sit in a moon. The fact is, it’s nothing but the Buddha’s own paradise. This paradise needs to be substantiated, or you would have nothing but gong. How could you be called a Buddha, then? If you wanted to save people and do good things, you would be missing that paradise which you need to have. You need to have your own paradise before you can have whatever you want.

Question: Without Dafa experience sharing conferences like this one today, I don’t think I could possibly raise my xinxing. Is this normal?

Teacher: Experience sharing conferences can in fact be really beneficial for our students’ advancement and progress, and at the same time they can introduce the Fa to others. It’s a very good format, and I think it should be done like this. It can indeed enable those who are sluggish in their cultivation to find where they fall short, and so be compelled to catch up. It would be wrong to say that a person couldn’t obtain the Fa without this conference. The Fa is here for everyone to learn. Fa-conferences can serve the purpose of introducing the Fa to others and accelerating your advancement. There are some people who do obtain the Fa through the conferences.

Question: Teacher, you said that during the current period, gods in different levels of dimensions are also learning this Fa. Are the scriptures studied by high beings at those levels the same as the scriptures we see?

Teacher: They are absolutely different—there are different Fa for different levels. Black ink on white paper is for humans to read. The words and meaning of the same Fa are different at different levels.

Question: Demons reincarnate and bring deplorable turmoil to the human world. Why do higher beings allow demons to reincarnate from hell?

Teacher: Not all demons exist in hell—there are different demons at different levels. Some exist due to the principle of mutual-generation and mutual-inhibition; some come as a result of people’s enormous karma; still others are old and degenerate forces that come to make trouble for the Fa.

Question: Last year I was baptized, but now I realize that Falun Dafa is the true Great Way. I’m determined to cultivate in Falun Dafa. Is there a conflict?

Teacher: There’s no conflict. Baptism is a human act and it is superficial—it’s not an act of gods. I said that what gods acknowledge is a person’s heart, not some kind of human formality.

Question: You said that the universe goes through formation, preservation, and degeneration. Why is there degeneration?

Teacher: You all know why food turns putrid, people get old, iron rusts, and even rocks are subject to weathering—that’s the idea. It’s just that it takes a longer time. The timing difference and the very lengthy duration are inconceivable to humans, as if it lasts forever and never degenerates.

Question: For the last couple of months, I haven’t been able to break away from the disturbance of demons that speak to me in foul languages. I’m disturbed by bad messages in my dreams and in my daily life.

Teacher: Read the book more and any problem can be resolved. I just told you to read the book more, but actually, you might not necessarily understand the inner meaning of what I just said. This book is almighty, omnipotent. While you make your Main Consciousness more determined, the karma in your thoughts is taken away. In most cases, this situation occurs because of relatively severe thought-karma, but you should really pay attention to solidifying your Main Consciousness!

Question: I have no problem with reading the books and doing the exercises on my own. But when I go to the practice site, I feel as though we’re doing political studies [when we read the book together].

Teacher: Perhaps you loathe political studies, and so this is caused by your strong sense of aversion? The formality is unimportant—what’s important is the essence. Isn’t that a strong attachment, an attachment of aversion?

Question: Is the brief introduction to Falun Dafa that’s been printed in publications regarded as quoting out of context?

Teacher: A brief introduction isn’t extracted from my Fa. It’s a “brief introduction,” so it’s not quoting out of context. It introduces the general outline of my Fa. They did this, but they were discreet every time. They only did it after repeated deliberations.

Question: How should we understand loneliness as being the most dangerous adversary in cultivation practice?

Teacher: You have no idea that loneliness can ruin everything for a person. In the past, what did monks depend on in their practice of cultivation? Why were they able to succeed in cultivation? Their greatest hardship was loneliness. What hardship did they have to endure? It was the hard-to-endure loneliness. Why could a person who went up to a mountain to practice the Dao succeed in attaining the Dao? Worldly people were enjoying glory, splendor, wealth, and rank. Even poor people, who weren’t enjoying glory, splendor, wealth, and rank, also had kith and kin, and enjoyed earthly pleasures. The monks cultivated hard in the mountains by themselves. Without any contact with other people, that loneliness, which is hard to endure, can wear away a person’s many attachments and various desires. Of course, we’re not taking this path. We aim directly at one’s heart—it’s the fastest way. I don’t think there is time for you to [have your attachments] worn down over several decades.

Question: Mental patients aren’t allowed in the seminars. But are patients with delusions of grandeur, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and so forth, regarded as mental patients?

Teacher: Actually, let me tell you that “mental disorder” as understood by humans is different from my interpretation. What I refer to as mental disorder is that a person’s Main Primordial Spirit (zhu yuanshen²⁶) doesn’t control his body, and any foreign messages, other beings, or his karma can command him to do this or that. The karma in his brain makes him curse and do bad things, so people say that he’s mentally ill. I’ve found that mental patients have no injuries or pathogens at all. How can it be called an illness? It’s only an abnormal human condition. Yet this Dafa of ours is for saving people and is for cultivation of the Main Primordial Spirit; if his Main Primordial Spirit isn’t taking control, to whom is Dafa given? So we don’t let him attend the seminars. If it’s karma or possessing spirits that direct him, can his karma or possessing spirits be saved? This is the reason. Besides, people would say, “Look, he became insane because of practicing Falun Gong.” That would damage us greatly.

Question: Dating can give rise to many attachments in us. Should I stop the relationship with my boyfriend or should I let things take their own course, get married, and have children?

Teacher: As a matter of fact, I’ve said that human society still needs to reproduce. If the number of our Dafa disciples were several billion instead of 100 million, wouldn’t this become a very serious problem? Isn’t this the issue? I’ve asked you to conform to everyday people to the greatest extent possible in your conduct. Actually, you can do it; you’re just setting too high a standard for yourself. Of course, I’m not opposed to overly-high standards. I think that you should be in keeping with everyday people as much as possible. Doing it that way by self-imposition can cause society to misunderstand us, bringing about certain damage to the Fa. While you haven’t reached that level, you will suffer the agony of enduring the attachment. If you’ve truly reached that level, I’m not against it; if you haven’t, do the best you can to let things happen naturally.

Balance this relationship well. You really won’t be able to date anymore if all of your emotions are indeed removed. Before you reach that state, however, I think you should still act in accordance with the ways of humankind. You definitely won’t drop down because of getting married—that won’t happen.

Question: If someone was an animal in his past life, can he reach Beyond-Triple-World-Law (Chu-Shi-Jian-Fa) through cultivation in this life?

Teacher: Let me give an example: A person may have come from a very high level, but during the course of his reincarnations he might not have been a human in all of his lives. He may have been this or that. Anyway, he reincarnated into a human at this stage. You [may] have reincarnated into an animal prior to this stage, but it can’t be said that you are an animal. You have simply been in the course of the six-fold path of reincarnation.  What’s most important is what your true being is.

Question: Sometimes I can enlighten to things when reading the books and studying the Fa. But sometimes I can’t enlighten even after reading the book two or three times.

Teacher: You definitely won’t enlighten to something if you intentionally seek to enlighten to it. You should take this book and just read it. It’s called “attaining naturally without pursuit.” I was just saying yesterday that when you encounter a problem, don’t try to find the pertinent sections to read—you won’t find them. A person usually attains something naturally, without pursuing it. Just pick up the book and open it at random, and it’s guaranteed that you’ll find what you should acquire today. After I’ve said this, however, some people will interpret it as: “Good. From now on, when I read the book I’ll just open it at random.” This would then become yet another attachment, and you wouldn’t be able to find what’s sought after again. Once more, there’s the problem of pursuit—it’s just in a different form.

Question: We firmly believe in you and Falun Dafa. We heard that recently there have been some troubles in Mainland China. How should we deal with it?

Teacher: There have been constant troubles since the day I started to teach the Fa. Why? If a righteous Fa were spread without any disturbances by evil or could be understood by everyone, in my opinion, its level would be the same as that of humans, right? In that case it wouldn’t be able to save people. There is interference just because there are people who can’t understand it, or the evil wants to disrupt it upon realizing that it’s the righteous Fa. Although this Fa has been disseminated, it is extremely important how it’s spread, how it saves people, how Dafa itself and I act when disruptions are encountered, and whether the course taken is straight. This has a direct relationship with whether the Fa is righteous and is able to save people. Doesn’t this make sense? So there have been constant trials and hardships. Every step we’ve taken has been righteous. Even if someone intended to attack us by seizing on one error and ignoring all the good facts, that person wouldn’t be able to find anything wrong since the course we’ve taken has been extremely righteous. This is the way we’ve come this far. This is how we’ve established our own mighty virtue through trials and hardships, and only in this way can we leave something for later generations to talk about. We can also leave for later generations the experiences and lessons accumulated through undergoing and overcoming various tribulations. Only this way can the Fa possess mighty virtue, right?

Question: Master, you have said that because we practice cultivation among everyday people, we have to be in keeping with the way of everyday people as much as possible. In the U.S., sometimes it’s inconvenient to spread the Fa to the public without a registered organization.

Teacher: A Dafa association has been registered in the U.S., but we can’t regard this organization as an ordinary human undertaking. It merely creates for our Fa an environment for practicing the cultivation system legally and a safeguard for you to engage in cultivation legally. These are its only purposes. You definitely shouldn’t regard this entity itself as some sort of enterprise. I’ve said that a great way has no form, and you aren’t permitted to concentrate your attention on some project. Even the effort to put together this big conference today is to be integrated into one’s practice of cultivation. The students aren’t charging any fee because it’s a voluntary organization; however, it’s not a religion.

Question: I live by myself and have few contacts with other people. My family is in China. I study the Fa in my spare time at home. Is this environment…?

Teacher: Whatever way you practice cultivation is fine. As long as you regard yourself as a cultivator at every moment and are studying and doing the exercises, you won’t be left out. It’s better that you come out to exercise.

Question: Do we need to repel interference from all sorts of messages throughout the entire cultivation process?

Teacher: When you perform the exercises, if you can really hear some voices, if there are messages in your mind, or if some thoughts are interfering with you, you have to get rid of them. If they’re strong, you can treat them as a third party or as thoughts of others that have nothing to do with you. Why should I point this out to you this way? It’s because everything of yours is at your command. Your arms, legs, fingers, and mouth can move whatever way you want them to move. Why is that? It’s because they are yours. When you want to reach ding, the thoughts don’t become tranquil; the more you want them to be tranquil, the more restless they get. Are those thoughts you? Would you acknowledge them as you? They’re karma and notions that you’ve acquired throughout your life. That’s why you should regard them as a third party: “You keep on thinking, and I’ll watch you do that.” This time, you jump out of them. If you can truly distinguish them, this equates to your having made a clean break from them and your having found yourself. This is also practicing cultivation and doing so can remove them quickly. If you can truly discern them, they will be scared since it’s time for them to be eliminated.

Question: Master, Zhuan Falun is being left for future generations and your picture is in it. Yet you’ve also said that people in the future won’t know your appearance.

Teacher: Zhuan Falun isn’t being left for future generations. People in the future won’t know about the existence of Zhuan Falun. So although the Fa I’ve taught is profound and many heavenly secrets have been revealed, if people that have heard the Fa indeed reach Consummation in the future, wouldn’t I have only taught it to gods? Humans would still not know. That’s why I teach you like this. I hope that all of you will be able to reach Consummation.

As for the books, they can be taken care of very easily. At a certain time, we could make them become plain paper without a single word on them.

Question: How should we handle certain versions of Zhuan Falun that are missing rows and sentences?

Teacher: There are many such instances in the pirated editions of Zhuan Falun. Make sure you are careful with this. If you find missing words or rows, add them with your pen. In the future, don’t buy any more books with missing words or rows. In other words, you can buy books with the original typesetting; don’t ever buy books with a new typesetting.

Question: There are some students who used to do various qigong practices. Now, when spreading the Fa, they first talk about what they used to practice in order to attract students.

Teacher: Some of you do have this sort of ordinary human intent, but you can’t say that such a person is no good. In these two days of speeches, I also found that some people kept mentioning the things in their pasts. In general, what everyone has said has been quite good; it’s just that there were still people who exhibited their ordinary human intentions. When spreading Dafa you should no longer mention at all what you learned previously, because you have already made a clean break with it. It doesn’t belong to you, and it’s not a part of what you want to attain. Wouldn’t that be the same as your promoting dual or multiple cultivation ways?

Question: Teacher, could you please tell us more about the stipulation that no money should be kept at the assistance centers? In this commercial society of the U.S., it’s hard to get things done without involving money.

Teacher: Let me tell you that no one can change this: The assistance centers absolutely cannot keep any money. Suppose that during the current period a little money were left after selling books and that we wanted to use that money to do some things right away. No money is involved in principle, but in actuality it is involved. If this goes on for a long time, it will become endless and you will be practically keeping money and property. Actually, let me tell you that when we do things to spread the Fa, I think that some financially capable students might take care of those trivial expenses. For instance, a big conference hall like this one today was paid for by one of our students. In order to enable people to obtain the Fa, he did a good thing. Perhaps what he obtains is even more. Nonetheless, I think I’m just talking about the idea. The path we take must be righteous—we must take this path in an upright manner.

Question: Is it true that the higher the level, the closer it is to the original matter? This would explain why flowers cast by heavenly girls can pass through the body of a Bodhisattva but can’t pass through the body of an Arhat.

Teacher: It’s not like that. What you’re referring to is the difference in substances; what I refer to is the difference in realms and in Attainment Status. Of course, differences in Attainment Status can cause differences in the particles of your body—this is certain. But differences in particles are not a prerequisite. The level of xinxing and Attainment Status are the prerequisite.
 

Today’s questions are basically all answered. New students should read the book more. If you want to learn it and cultivate, go read the book. A Fa-conference is hard to come by. Had I told you about elementary-level things, this conference would be practically fruitless for those of you sitting here since you wouldn’t have heard what you should have heard. The purpose of the conference is to enable everyone to advance more quickly and reach Consummation sooner. Meanwhile, it can also carry the Fa forward and enable more people to obtain the Fa. So I think you should improve a great deal after this conference. At the same time, we should also let more people who haven’t yet gained the Fa obtain it. I’m telling you that there are still many savable people in the white and other races who haven’t yet obtained the Fa. Of course, I don’t force you to do these things; however much you can do is fine. The Fa saves predestined people. You can only advise people to be kind, but you can’t compel them to cultivate—this is how it is. I hope that everyone advances more quickly and is able to reach Consummation soon.

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1. Dafa (dah-fah)—"the Great Way," "the Great Law," or "the Great Principles."
2. Fa (fah)—"Law," "Way," or "Principles."
3. xinxing (shin-shing)—mind or heart nature; moral character.
4. Three Realms—According to Buddhism, the heavens, earth, and underworld comprise the Three Realms.
5. Tao (dao)—1. also known as "Dao," Taoist term for "the Way of nature and the universe"; 2. enlightened being who has attained this Tao.
6. qigong (chee-gong)—a form of traditional Chinese practice which cultivates qi, or "vital energy."
7. futi (foo-tee)—1. a spirit or animal that possesses a human body; 2. possession by a spirit or animal.
8. yuanying (yu-en-ying)—Taoist term for "the Immortal Infant."
9. dantian (dahn-tyen)—"field of dan"; the lower abdominal area.
10. nirvana—departing the human world without this physical body, the method of completing cultivation in Buddha Sakyamuni's School.
11. Zhen-Shan-Ren (jhun-shahn-ren)—Zhen (truth, truthfulness); Shan (compassion, benevolence, kindness); Ren (forbearance, tolerance, endurance, self-control).
12. gong (gong)—cultivation energy.
13. Kasayas—Buddhist monastic robes, usually of red, yellow, or orange color.
14. fu yishi (foo yee-shr)—"Assistant Consciousness(es)"; fu yuanshen.
15. zhu yishi (jew ee-shr)—"Main Consciousness"; zhu yuanshen.
16. guanding (gwahn-ding)—pouring energy into the top of one's head; an initiation ritual.
17. tianmu (tyen-moo)—"Celestial Eye," also known as the "Third Eye."
18. yuanshen (yu-en-shuhn)—"Primordial Spirit"; yuanshen is further subdivided into zhu yuanshen and fu yuanshen, though they are distinct.
19. Wuwei (woo-way)—"non-action," "inaction"; or a state free of intention.
20. Tang monk—monk Xuan Zhuang from Tang Dynasty.
21. Arhat—enlightened being with Fruit Status in the Buddha School and one who is beyond the "Three Realms."
22. Bodhisattva—enlightened being with Fruit Status in the Buddha School and one who is higher than an Arhat but lower than a Tathagata.
23. fashen (fah-shuhn)—"Law Body"; a body made of gong and Fa.
24. fu yuanshen (foo yu-en-shuhn)—Assistant Sprit(s).
25. zhu yuanshen (jew yu-en-shuhn)—"Main Spirit"; zhu yishi.

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 Glossary

Arhat  Enlightened Being with Attainment Status in the Buddha School and one who is beyond the “Three Realms.”

Assistant Consciousness  also known as the “Assistant Primordial Spirit.”

Assistant Primordial  also known as the “Assistant Consciousness.”

Bodhisattva  Enlightened Being with Attainment Status in the Buddha School and one who is higher than an Arhat but lower than a Tathagata.

Dafa (dah-fah) “the Great Way,” “the Great Law,” or “the Great Principles.”

dantian (dahn-tyen)  “field of dan”; the lower abdominal area.

Dao (dow)  1. Also known as “Tao,” a Daoist term for “the Way of nature and the universe”; 2. An Enlightened being who has attained this Dao.

Fa (fah) “Law,” “Way,” “Principles.”

gong (gong)  “cultivation energy.”

guanding (gwahn-ding)  “pouring energy into the top of a person’s head”; an initiation ritual.

Main Consciousness also known as the “Main Primordial Spirit.”

Main Primordial Spirit also known as the “Main Consciousness.”

Nirvana  Departing the human world without this physical body; the method of reaching Consummation in Buddha Sakyamuni’s School.

qigong (chee-gong)  A general name for practices that cultivate qi, “vital energy.” In recent decades, these exercises have been very popular in China.

Third Eye Sometimes translated as “the Celestial Eye,” this term (tianmu) is used flexibly and can refer to the Third Eye system or a particular component of that system.

wuwei (woo-way) “non-action,” or “non-intention.”

xinxing (shin-shing)  “mind nature,” or “heart nature”; “moral character.”

Zhen-Shan-Ren (juhn-shahn-ren)  Zhen means “truth, truthfulness”; Shan, “compassion, benevolence, kindness”; Ren, “forbearance, tolerance, endurance, self-control.”