(Li Hongzhi, February 25, 2006)

(Enthusiastic applause) (Disciples say, "Hello, Master! Hello, Master!")

Okay, please be seated. Thank you all. You've been working hard. (Enthusiastic applause)

Another year has gone by in a flash. We have already been through six years of Dafa disciples saving beings, validating the Fa, and working against the persecution, and now we are in the seventh year. As Dafa disciples, you have seen the changes in the status of Fa-rectification, and you have seen how society looks at and understands Dafa disciples and the changes along those lines. The changes in the overall situation are related to the situation of Fa-rectification as a whole, and are directly related to the tremendous impact that Dafa disciples have had in validating the Fa. So, put another way, none of what Dafa disciples have done has been in vain, and you have accomplished tremendous things. All of what you have done is evident, and you have felt this yourselves. In other words, even though it has been six to seven years, at this time you absolutely cannot become lax in terms of doing what Dafa disciples are supposed to do.

Through studying the Fa and cultivating, you are all aware of and completely clear about what you are doing. We are absolutely not some sort of ordinary people's political organization, nor is it some kind of ordinary people's club formed for fun. What we are doing here is cultivation, and this is a process whereby lives are fundamentally transformed into high-level beings. What I am saying is, those in the audience here are all lives who are on their way to divinity. So for you, all of the things that Dafa disciples do in validating the Fa and saving beings are utterly crucial, especially at this key juncture in history.

In fact, everything you have been experiencing was planned in remote, ancient times. But none of the things that take place among mankind, particularly the cultivation of Dafa disciples, appear entirely like divine manifestations, as they would in divine realms. If it were like that, then gods would be doing things directly, and there would be no such thing as Dafa disciples cultivating or Dafa disciples saving sentient beings. From the high levels to the low levels, some selections would be made based on who is good enough and who isn't, and that would be it--none of the things that are happening today would have taken place. So, as I have said, this history of the human race has been--to the extent that the world's people can know about it--several thousand years long. This is a very short period of time in terms of the history of the Earth; the history before this was also directly and indirectly related to the people today; and, in an even more remote time, on the previous Earth, things were rehearsed once for this Fa-rectification. But this time it's for real. All of these things were created for the Fa-rectification and for all that today's Dafa disciples have been doing, even though things appear just as they do with ordinary people. Only when things are in this state can sentient beings be saved, and only in this state of delusion can beings ascend, can a person's heart and mind be judged, and can whether a person is up to par be determined. If it were entirely gods manifesting in human society, then one wouldn't be able to determine who was good enough and who was not, for a person's thoughts cannot take the place of that person's actual deeds. If things were done that way, then as soon as human beings saw a god, it's guaranteed that they would cease to have any bad thoughts, as no attachment could compare with the god, and then that person's true conduct couldn't be seen. With a real, live god before him, that person would really have nothing but righteous thoughts. But what is that being really like? Is he good enough? After having gone through such a long and drawn out period of time, [these beings] must discern all such things in this state of delusion. The same is true with cultivation: only when someone is in delusion can he elevate fast. In other words, although the degree of delusion can be different, only by going through the process of being in delusion can one improve; without delusion there would be no such thing as improvement. I have said before that it is very hard for gods to rise in level; whichever realm a god validates and enlightens to, that is the realm in which he will be. And why is that? It's because everything that is displayed before him is the reality of the universe, and there is no longer any delusion. So for him there is no such thing as cultivation and no issue of whether he tries to come to higher understandings.

What I was just talking about was to tell you that no matter how long of a tumultuous time you have been through, or how much longer is required, you can't be attached to time. The more rampant the evil is, the more it bears out the Dafa disciples' mighty virtue in saving all beings; and the more critical the moment, the more it bears out the Dafa disciples' magnificence. Yes, you are cultivating in [this realm of] illusion, so sometimes you manifest a state wherein you slack off, sometimes you are interfered with, and sometimes you seem very much like ordinary people. Of course, these, too, are manifestations of the states that you go through during the process of cultivation. If it weren't that way, it would not be cultivation, and it wouldn't be human beings cultivating--it would be gods doing so. Of course, there is no such thing as a god cultivating. In other words, no matter what, whether your understanding of things is good or bad, whether you pass a test well or not, and no matter how many of your attachments you have removed--all of it is the carrying out of your cultivation, and these are manifestations during the process. Passing some tests well and some poorly is normal, and just because a student does something wrong because of a momentary lapse, or a student isn't diligent during a certain time or can't make it through during a period of time, or has even made mistakes, you can't say that this student is no longer cultivating or is no longer good enough. In reality, aren't these all manifestations in cultivation? Only when it's looked at in light of cultivation itself can it be seen whether you have done well or not, if you are up to par or not, and if you are attached or not. So, in other words, these things will manifest during the process. But the overall situation of Fa-rectification and everything Dafa disciples have been doing are the main things, and the group as a whole is righteous and is moving forward in a very healthy manner.

You know, the progress of the Fa-rectification manifests [from time to time], and for the most part Dafa disciples have been solidly and steadily proceeding according to the needs of Fa-rectification's different circumstances. Cultivation is of course the process of establishing and completing a being. But the converse of that is, for those who are truly unbefitting, the cultivation process is also one of weeding out. So whenever a particular situation comes about, some human thoughts will emerge for sure, because it is, after all, humans who are cultivating. There have been some relatively obvious changes in the situation. For example, the time before July 1999 was a period for Dafa disciples' personal cultivation, and since July 1999, Dafa disciples have been cultivating as they work against the persecution. Ever since the Nine Commentaries was released, some people have been thinking, "Does this have anything to do with our cultivation?" Some who had studied the Fa well and had fairly strong righteous thoughts knew that this persecution was the result of the old forces using a vile force among human beings, the wicked CCP, and that this kind of persecution could exist only under the wicked regime of the CCP. If the wicked regime of the vile CCP didn't exist, a persecution like this would not have taken place. However vicious the evil specters may be, they have to use bad people to carry out their evil deeds. And the ordinary bad people in this world are incapable of producing such a massive persecution. It's because the wicked, despicable, and absolutely base Party is in control of the evil regime that the evil specters' factors were able to use it and generate this persecution. But some people just can't come to terms with this, and have become foggy-headed. But actually, why would they become foggy-headed? I think the key factor at work is fear. So to put it plainly, it is still due to their attachment, and everything else is an excuse.

At this point, let me talk about Dafa disciples' cultivation form.¹ Actually, I have always said to you that the way today's Dafa disciples cultivate is one of a "Great Way without form." Each of you is a part of ordinary society, each performs his or her own functions in society, each is in his own social strata, each has his own profession, and each has his own circumstances. In other words, your cultivation is fully a part of society and doesn't take any specific form. I remember that at one experience-sharing conference a student passed up a question slip that asked, "Master, is our form one of no form?" Having no form is a form. So I saw that you were able to think of this idea. (Teacher chuckles) Actually, let's think about it, what is "nothingness"? I mentioned before that people thought "emptiness" meant that nothing exists. And some people have said that "nothingness" meant not having anything exist. If nothingness truly meant that nothing was there at all, then what is nothingness itself? And if "emptiness" meant everything was gone, then what would emptiness itself be? If nothing really were existent, then even the concept of a name would not be there. In other words, the cultivation of a Great Way without form is really a formless kind of form.

You know, historically, whether it was Shakyamuni, Laozi, Jesus, or the many other Enlightened Ones or saints who taught their Fa or Dao in pre-history, they invariably took one of two approaches. One was to leave the secular world and cultivate, and the other was to take the form that Christianity and Catholicism use. For this reason, and drawing from past experiences, people have formed narrow understandings of divine beings and formed a sort of culture. That's why as soon as you mention things like a being elevating, rising, cultivating, and so on, the world's people think about the formats that religion has used in the past and present. But these religions' formats are not the only ones in the cosmos, and they can't represent the various Fa that boundless numbers of divine beings each validated, or the formats that each of them used to accomplish that. The number of gods at even each tiny level is so large that it's innumerable, so how could those two formats represent everything? They definitely can't. Then, exactly how many formats for cultivation are there?

You have read in Zhuan Falun that there are eighty-four thousand cultivation disciplines in the Buddhist System and thirty-six hundred cultivation disciplines in the Daoist System. In fact, that was said from the vantage point of a very small level, that is the understanding at a certain level, and it was taught only to the extent that human beings could comprehend. You know, there are Buddhas beyond Buddhas, there are Heavens beyond Heavens, and there are Gods beyond Gods. So how big is the cosmos? It is just boundlessly and endlessly immense. Having reached the point I have reached today in going about Fa-rectification, even though I am already taking care of the final matters, the most, most basic elements that make up the cosmos are gigantic beings that exist in such a way that even to the high-level beings in the cosmos they seem incomparably gigantic and unreachable, much less to humans. In other words, there are so many gigantic beings in the cosmos, and the gods all have their own ways of establishing themselves, and they all have Fa-principles that have formed based on their own understandings of the cosmos. Here I am using human language to describe it. Furthermore, there are also tens of millions of different, gigantic cosmic systems in the cosmos. And those gigantic systems are of course all experiencing the final Fa-rectification of the entire cosmos.

Think about this, if these gigantic systems are Gods, won't they wonder: "How is it you Buddhas are supposed to be better than us? You're teaching the Great Law of the Cosmos by way of Buddha Fa, and rectifying the entire cosmos with the Buddha Fa. But our system is not directly related to yours, so how could you Buddhas rectify our Fa here? How could the gods of your system direct things in our system? Are those Fa-rectification approaches of yours suitable for our system? We have completely different understandings about the ways in which lives are to exist, and many of our understandings are incompatible. What are we to make of how you come across? Given the incompatibility, how could you rectify our Fa?" The cosmos is incredibly complex and awfully immense, and there are huge differences in the ways that lives exist, think, and understand life. Human beings think human beings are pretty good, but some gods think, "Human beings walking down the street with their arms swinging to and fro are so ugly." (Audience laughs) "Look at my great wings and my lion-like body, it's so magnificent." (Audience laughs) And there are even greater disparities between our understandings of lives and those of the gods in the distant, gigantic systems. [They might say,] "What you think of as good and bad is different here, so how can Fa-rectification determine good and bad here, where we are?" The differences among the beings [themselves] are also huge. The Great Law that I am imparting is the fundamental Great Law of the Cosmos that encompasses all. It's just that the manifestation takes the form of Buddha images and Buddhist principles. They don't know about these things, and that is why they think that way.

Then, put differently, doesn't the Fa-rectification affect the beings in all systems? If they are all included, then, well, the gods in those systems of beings don't know who you truly are, so will they let you do whatever you want? Since this is a matter involving the entire cosmos, how could they not get involved? Every system has its own, gigantic lord, so could that lord just sit there and watch? (Teacher chuckles) Actually, even with all of their knowledge combined, they know about only the things in their realms, and it's impossible for them to know about things that are beyond them, things that are higher in level or the final things. That is why they're thinking, "Since this matter involves us, how could we let you do whatever you want with us? I, like others, have countless sentient beings, and I too want to try to be chosen." If [the gods in] all the systems in the gigantic cosmic body think that way, then doesn't that mean that all of the systems have done something toward Fa-rectification? Thus, this tiny little Earth became the cosmos's focal point in Fa-rectification.

I have often said that this Earth is the focal point of the cosmos's Fa-rectification, but no one can imagine just how mammoth this cosmic body is. You don't have a concept gigantic enough to comprehend it. It's absolutely enormous. Despite that, all of them established on Earth the ways in which they wanted to manifest. Specifically, mankind has gone through tens of millions of years--I'll just talk about recent times and not the distant past--and no matter how many years that may be, after the previous human civilization underwent degeneration and destruction, the people who remained entered this round of human existence, they started out in a condition in which there were no resources for living, and now they have journeyed to where they are today. In the lingo of modern science, they started out in the so-called "Stone Age." But the theory of evolution is groundless, of course. In any event, the history that is relevant to the beings of this cycle spans close to ten thousand years, and about seven thousand years are relevant to recent civilization. That is, the history that has to do with the forming of this cycle of civilization is around seven thousand years. During this process, how the beings have acted and everything that has played out in history are directly related to the Fa-rectification. But what was done during ancient times was simply laying the foundation for people to be able to understand the Fa and the concept of gods, was defining how people should be and how people's thoughts and concepts should be, and [instilling in people] the extensive inner meanings of a culture, which includes how to discern good from bad, beauty from ugliness, kindness from wickedness, and so on. The entirety of this period's ancient history was a process of establishing human beings' thinking, and establishing their behavior. Today, how people behave, their concept of good and bad, what is considered good attire, how people think things over, how they treat their parents, how they deal with their friends and family, how they handle everything in society, and how they understand nature and the world at large--all of these things were established after long, drawn-out years. If not for this, people's minds would be blank or their thinking would be beast-like. If that was the case, how could I teach this Fa today? How would gods reincarnate into this world by way of human bodies? And how would gods regard human beings? So, human beings needed to be given a process whereby they established a sufficient understanding and became fully developed. Having gone through that, they turned out as today's mankind.

But throughout human history, no matter how many thousands of years have been spanned, never has anything come about that resembles today's society. And that is because the past was for laying the foundation, whereas today things are being played out. In the past, mankind's life was fairly simple, whether in the East or the West. China was all along the main place where gods guided and disseminated culture. [China's] being dubbed the "Middle Kingdom"² in recent times is a hint that pointed to this. Other places served as both the audience watching mankind's central stage and the supporting characters. That was the course and purpose of history. Then why is it that in recent times, suddenly all kinds of cultures, theories, and social phenomena have come about? This is the result of the various gigantic cosmic systems' things manifesting themselves in the lowest level, the human world, and their reason for doing this is so that they might be chosen. You know, whether in China or in the West, in ancient society, aside from the few major religions, no other sphere [of society] had an independent cultural system or form. For example, post-Renaissance music and fine art, the various theories in recent history, and how the different professions have manifested in society in recent history--including the positive and negative behavior of mankind--all of them came about overnight in an explosion of activity. The last nearly one hundred years, in particular, very quickly turned the human society that had existed for thousands of years into what it is today. It's a muddy human world, and yet many people are actually feeling quite pleased with themselves, and think that science has brought progress to mankind. Today's education leads people to solely base their thinking on the false theory of evolution and to believe that human beings evolved to this state, that society has achieved a high level of scientific advancement, and that mankind created its own civilization--created modern civilization. That's not the case at all. But the outcome is that many people are, under the influence of that kind of thinking, enjoying the science-wrought so-called civilization. And those who have been educated by modern science and who are atheists appear to have found the perfect setting, they find it so enjoyable! So they are indulging themselves to the fullest, and modern, deviated art forms abound, making this society seem really dazzling.

In fact, gods never wanted human beings to lead their lives like this. Human beings can't see the karmic retribution process in human society or the cause and effect of things, and so they don't consider the consequences of anything they do, as they are blind to the underlying reasons. As a result, they get no sense of satisfaction. Actually, no matter how glitzy society gets, even if the development surpasses that of today, people still won't be satisfied. Did gods have humans come into existence for the purpose of endlessly pursuing things? In the past, when someone had a fine horse, wow, he'd feel like he was a notch above everybody else. And when he rode that fine steed down the street, people would admiringly say, "Wow, what a great horse! Look how fine a horse that fella has." They had the same feeling people do today when someone has a nice car. But today if somebody rode a horse down the street, people would find it strange, for people no longer have that concept. Nowadays, when people see someone driving a nice car they say, "Wow, what a great car, what a prized steed³ (audience laughs, Teacher laughs), that car is gorgeous." Human beings can live in different circumstances yet still have the same feelings in their lives. If people had not been given this modern lifestyle, they wouldn't know what this state is like. Over the past few thousand years, when people lived in the normal state that human beings should be in, the interesting and delightful things in their lives gave them a sense of satisfaction just the same. In the cosmos, this is just the level that human beings are at. Nowadays people have cars, but when they find out about flying saucers, which don't require the energy we use today and can rise in the air instantly and get to where one wants to go in a flash, well, [they will think] that's even more convenient! At that point who would want a car? "What good is a car? That's so obsolete!" (Audience laughs) In fact, if modern people were to really live that way, they wouldn't be satisfied then, either, and would continue to pursue even better things. Of course, whenever human beings are able to create something, that is gods at work, and not the result of those human beings' actions. What gods have given to human beings today was not meant to have them live like this. Their purpose is to exhibit the creations from their systems so that they can have a chance of being chosen. In other words, even though people have been pursuing things in their so-called research, those things are not acquired through human beings' pursuits. Human beings can't see through this delusion, they can't see the truth, and so they are indulging themselves to the fullest extent in modern society.

But these things were not given to people for their enjoyment. Gods never wanted to turn people into what they are today, for their purpose was to demonstrate themselves. Some people think they're leading such a nice life, almost as if they were in heaven; of course, that's nowhere close to what a god has, though. In these circumstances, people care even less about consequences, believe in gods even less, are even more prone to creating karma, and are destroying themselves even faster. And today's industry has severely polluted the ecological environment and caused matter itself to become warped. This is something that human society will never be able to resolve. And, it has severely affected other dimensions in the cosmos. Since the cosmos is a cyclical system, the things extracted by the beings in one dimension are further extracted by those in higher dimensions. When something that the lives of the human dimension extract is impure, then the things that are extracted in higher places all become, level by level, impure. So the deviation of modern human society, including the deviation of its notions, has had an effect on gods and caused even high-level beings to deviate. So why did the Fa-rectification of the cosmos need to happen? The occurrence of this deviation isn't limited to the human dimension, of course. Different things have happened even in gigantic cosmic bodies. Here I am just talking about the manifestations at this place of mankind.

In fact, the seemingly rich culture that has manifest in human society in recent times was actually brought here by gods from different cosmoses and distant gigantic cosmic bodies. Described in human terms, those are ways in which the beings of their systems sustain the systems. What they have brought over is the manifestation at the lowest level, that of human society, of the Fa-principles in their systems that determine the raising or lowering of a life's level. That's what all of those things are. Of course, with the guidance of Dafa, those things, those forms, can enable a life to ascend, just as they can make a not-so-good life drop. I was talking about the concept of a "Great Way without form," which led to this discussion. Have you thought about the fact that, if the many occupations and the many fields seen today were brought here from those distant systems of beings, and Dafa disciples are cultivating in this setting, with Dafa disciples cultivating in different occupations, then isn't it just like rectifying [those systems] with the Fa? Isn't that acknowledging their existence? Isn't that saving them?

Of course, it won't be possible for me to leave to mankind their demonstrations in human society. What we are saving are the lives in those systems. When anything gets to the place where human beings are, the level [here] makes it become very bad and low, so of course Dafa and Dafa disciples can't validate these low forms in and of themselves. Take religions, for example. Those who truly understand things are utilizing the formats taken by those religions to cultivate themselves, while those who don't are upholding the formats of those religions. In other words, what gods want are not the formats that mankind uses, but for you to utilize the formats here and ascend. When you elevate by making use of these formats, you are validating Fa, validating gods, and saving sentient beings, right? (Applause) Dafa disciples' cultivating in the diverse occupations is acknowledging the beings in those systems, and it is saving all those lives. I have said the following to you before: what I am imparting is the Great Law of the cosmos, which encompasses everything. Think about it then, isn't this Fa enormous? I would say that it's so enormous it is formless, it is formless and yet it encompasses everything. (Applause) The Fa-rectification is rectifying all beings in the cosmos and doing everything possible to save all of the original things that were left here by gods.

At the beginning, no life knew what I was doing. The extra-terrestrial lives even thought that I was one of them. (Audience laughs) No one knew. That's why the gods in different realms have acted in such a way that they are ignoring the old forces' interference with my Fa-rectification. So I said before that the beings in the entire cosmos were committing sins when it came to this. I said that they were all indebted to me because I was saving them. This Fa is the foundation of all lives.

As a matter of fact, anything in human society, as long as I choose it, can be used for Dafa disciples' cultivation. Take music, for example, something I talked about before. If people are guided by Dafa as they study and compose music, they can make progress and have inspiration, and the things they will think of and come to see as being needed, will be divine revelations. So in other words, whichever field you might be in, when you are able to improve your skills, that is a reflection of your having continually risen in realm. And people can see that you are a good person and someone who cultivates his or her heart and mind. From the vantage point of human beings, you are becoming a good person. As a result of studying the Fa and cultivating your inner self, you do better and better, and gods give you the wisdom you deserve and give you inspiration so that you can come to realize a lot of things while you study, create better things, improve your technique, and reach beyond. Think about it, in human society, this can be done in any legitimate occupation, can't it? While you do well at work, you are cultivating yourselves--can't you improve that way? In today's society, I could choose any form as the format for your cultivation and enable your cultivation to be a success. (Applause) It's just that I didn't choose those things. I didn't choose those things for you. Instead, I chose the form of a Buddha, and to teach the Fa of the cosmos in a Buddhist format. And by way of the five exercises and the way of cultivation that I created, I taught you to cultivate, thereby saving all beings, including all Buddhas, Daos, Gods, and human beings. Since there are so many formats, I of course couldn't choose all of them. I chose a Buddhist format. But the truth is, what I am teaching is the Great Law of the cosmos. Even though it appears in the form of Buddhist principles and Fa, and I have taught it from the angle of Buddhist principles and Fa, what I am in fact teaching is the ultimate Great Law of the cosmos. The paths I am having you take in your cultivation are all of the paths of the great divine beings of the cosmos's different systems. Each and every thing is being rectified. Everything is encompassed by this Fa, isn't it? That's how the Great Law is.

I mentioned earlier that when the Nine Commentaries first came out, some people couldn't understand it, and said, "Aren't we getting involved in politics by doing this?" But what is politics? Suppose I, Li Hongzhi, were to really direct you to cultivate via politics--would you be able to cultivate to success? (Applause) You absolutely would. As long as, in the process of doing work, the cultivators constantly used Dafa to guide their cultivation and their effort to be good and then even better persons, and assimilated and tempered themselves in Dafa, then they would continually improve, continually elevate, and be able to achieve Consummation. If today I were to guide you to cultivate in the format of a king and his subjects, with you cultivating as subjects, could you cultivate that way? (Applause) You absolutely could, and you definitely could achieve Consummation just the same. It would just be a matter of how to walk on that path, how to be responsible to all beings, and how to enable beings to improve. As long as the guidance of this Great Law was followed, it could be achieved. When it comes to specific forms, I didn't choose those ones. Having come this far today, it wouldn't be possible for us to choose something else all over again. This is how we cultivate; this is the way in which we cultivate.

Being in the midst of ignorance and delusion, people can't see how enormous this Fa is. If someone could truly see it, the playing out of his attachments as he cultivates would be equivalent to sinning against gods. Precisely because people cannot see, those don't count as sins. One person might be more diligent, while another might have a poorer understanding. (Teacher chuckles) Relatively speaking, the format of delusion loosens up [the requirements] for cultivation. Some people think, "It'd be so great if I knew it all and could see it all." Well, in that case, your cultivation path would be so narrow that you wouldn't be allowed to make even one bit of mistake. If you became completely enlightened, you wouldn't be considered somebody who is cultivating, and you wouldn't be allowed to cultivate. Before the persecution started on July 20, 1999, some Dafa disciples were in a state where they were at a high level of gradual enlightenment. They haven't been allowed to get involved in resisting the persecution. No one dares to persecute them, and they haven't gotten involved. If they joined forces they could stop this persecution, but they already know everything. What I was just talking about is the form of cultivation. Now that I've discussed it from this angle, I think your minds have broadened, you have quickly come to realize a lot of things, and now you have a better idea of how enormous this Great Law is and how weighty your responsibilities are.

Having said all this, I would like to go back and talk about something else. As Dafa disciples, you have an extraordinary past, and you should have an extraordinary present too. Sometimes, while validating the Fa, doing Dafa work in general, or in your own cultivation, many unsatisfactory things indeed exist. The most noticeable and biggest problem, which has gone unresolved for a long time, is also what the gods have been muttering in my ears, something that troubles them the most. But I have never emphasized it, and I haven't discussed it with strong words. Why is that? It's because Dafa disciples needed a little human courage as they were going about validating the Fa today. That is why I didn't talk about it. I wanted to save that discussion for the final time--I wanted to talk about it later on, when the time was more ripe. What is it, then? When Dafa disciples make mistakes, they do not like to be criticized. No one can criticize them, and when someone does, it sets them off. When they are right, they don't like others bringing up things they could improve on; when they are wrong, they don't want to be criticized. They get upset as soon as others criticize. The problem is becoming pretty bad. (Applause)

Why have I waited until now to talk about it? When you were validating the Fa and exposing the evil earlier on, I didn't want you to be too soft when doing things; in that case as you clarified the truth you would have been apt to do so at less than full strength. It would be a problem if, when others commented [negatively] as you clarified the truth, you just stopped right there, without giving any explanation. Now that you have become mature and rational, and know how to handle things, and now that [discussing this matter] will not affect your truth clarification, I am talking about what I had saved for today. The problem you have with this is sticking out quite prominently now. As cultivators, think about it--I've talked about this in Zhuan Falun and in my earlier teachings on Fa--I have said, "Don't hit back when hit, don't talk back when insulted." When others mistreat you, you should respond with just a smile and let that be the end of it. And when others are embroiled in conflict and you are just an onlooker, you should think about it, "How can I do better? If I were in that position, would I be able to control my xinxing and face the criticism and disapproval like a cultivator?" Cultivation is about looking inside yourself. Whether you are right or wrong, you should examine yourself. Cultivation is about getting rid of human attachments. If you always reject reproaches and criticism, always point your fingers at others, and always refute others' disapproval and criticism, is that cultivating? How is that cultivating? You have grown used to focusing on other people's shortcomings, and never take examining your own self seriously. When others' cultivation one day meets with success, what about you? Isn't Master hoping that you are cultivating well? Why won't you accept criticism, and why do you keep focusing on other people? Why not cultivate inward and examine your own self? Why do you get agitated when you are criticized? How many of you seated here can keep at ease when someone points at you out of the blue and berates you? How many of you can stay unruffled and search for the reason on your part when faced with others' criticism and chiding?

This is not to blame you--it's not that my Dafa disciples haven't done well. (Teacher chuckles) About this, now, it is actually because Master allowed that bit of thing to remain in you. But now that I have discussed it today, from now on you must begin to take this problem very seriously. (Applause) Of late, some students have often sent me notes, letters, or messages telling about how wrong such-and-such persons were (audience laughs), or what problems such-and-such persons have. I know what's going on--very well. Cultivate yourselves. I don't want the environment Dafa disciples have to become one in which people point fingers at each other. I want the environment to be one in which everyone can accept criticism and at the same time look inside themselves. If everyone cultivates himself, everyone looks within, and everyone cultivates himself well, won't the conflicts be few? This is a principle I have taught all along, going back to when I first began teaching the Fa. Isn't that so? Improvement for a cultivator definitely doesn't result from finger pointing, nor does it result from my criticism of you as your Master or from your pointing fingers at or criticizing each other. It comes from you cultivating yourself. Now that Master has spoken about this in today's teaching of Fa here, from this point on you must start to take this matter seriously. (Enthusiastic Applause)

Be mentally prepared (audience laughs), you might run into these things as soon as you return home. But before you run into it, you won't know it is coming. (Audience laughs) When conflicts come about, you won't be treated like gods, nor will things manifest in some divine way. They will all appear ordinary, and all have the same form as the conflicts ordinary people have with one another. And your saving face certainly won't be something taken into consideration. Myself, Li Hongzhi, aside, no one will get any sort of special treatment. What comes about definitely won't go beyond the parameters of the laws at this level. So, everything will manifest in the forms specific to this human plane. On this point, I think that since you are Dafa disciples who have studied the Fa and cultivated for quite some time now, when it comes to the more detailed principles, you know them, and you are aware of them, without my having to discuss them.

The problem has become quite prominent. Did you know, over the last several years high-level beings have been repeatedly muttering in my ears about this? I didn't budge, though. I needed Dafa disciples to have the courage to reveal the truth as they went about validating the Fa, and so I didn't talk about it. I wanted to pick a time, an adequate opportunity, to do so, to discuss this issue. Today is the right time, so I singled it out. In passing, I will tell you that this thing has become quite pronounced for us overall. With some people it has gotten so bad that nobody can say a word about them. It looks like I can't go any longer without addressing it. Some people have become like matches--one stroke and they ignite. They're like land mines--one step and they detonate. [They are acting like,] "You can't criticize me. I can't take any criticism." They no longer listen to any expression of disapproval or disagreement, whether it was meant out of good or ill will, was intentional or unintentional; they reject everything flat out, and even less do they examine themselves. It has gotten quite severe. I'm not blaming you, but from now on you all must pay attention to this. You must get to the point where you are able to take criticism, regardless of who it's from. If there is truth to it you correct yourself, and if not, you are mindful of it. If you can stay unruffled while being criticized or chided, you are improving. (Applause)

We often have students who say, "Some students know they have certain shortcomings and problems, but they still won't let others criticize them." Of course, I'm not suggesting that you all go criticize others. But when others do see a problem, or see that a problem might affect your clarifying the truth or might hamper your working together, they should point it out. My Law Bodies may give you hints through the mouth of another student. You have gone through such a long process of cultivation, and you've put in so much. You have truly worked hard. I see everything you have done. It's truly extraordinary. But that said, this is something that attests on a fundamental level to whether someone is in essence a cultivator; so that which leads you to not take criticism, that thing has to be removed. Even if you have done well in all other areas and are lousy only in this one regard, you are still not a cultivator. In the past, cultivators would work on this issue first, and it was a qualification for being chosen as a disciple. I did the same before the persecution of Dafa disciples began on July 20, 1999. After July 20, 1999, I didn't emphasize it. Today I am raising the issue again, and with this, I am eliminating for you the physical substance that has formed. (Applause) But you need to correct the tendency you have formed--you must. Be sure to pay heed! From this point on, whoever can't take criticism is not being diligent, whoever can't take criticism is not displaying the state of a cultivator, or at least on this issue. (Applause) If someone still can't pass this test, I'll tell you, he is in a very dangerous situation, because for a cultivator this is the most fundamental thing, it's at the top of the list of things to eliminate, and it has to be eliminated. If you don't get rid of it, you won't achieve Consummation. Don't let it become that it's ordinary people doing the work of Dafa disciples. You want to achieve Consummation, not good fortune.

If ordinary people want to do Dafa things, can they do so? They already have. [Some people will tell you,] "I called out 'Dafa is great,' and I handed out flyers." When an ordinary person has done what Dafa disciples do, and yet he doesn't cultivate, will he be able to Consummate the way Dafa disciples do? No, he won't. But he has done such a huge thing, and at this historic juncture no less. So how will this being be viewed? He will really gain good fortune in return, immensely good fortune. I should hope that those of you sitting here, who have cultivated for so long, don't end up with a return of good fortune, right? (Audience laughs) What is in store for you are things even greater, more splendid, and all that are truly extraordinary for a life to have. So Dafa disciples' cultivation is not about securing the reward of good fortune. From now on, alongside your interactions with ordinary people, you need to make deep-going improvements when it comes to how you interact with fellow Dafa disciples. Now that I have said all of this, you need to follow through and make it happen. (Enthusiastic Applause)

I will mention something in passing. In recent times there has been an issue, and it pertains to Dafa disciples in regions other than just the notable case of North America... many Dafa disciples have been involved in selling tickets and preparing for the New Tang Dynasty TV Chinese New Year Gala. The weather was cold, so it was hard work that you did, and you put your hearts into it. I saw that in order to promote ticket sales, Dafa disciples performed in the streets wearing thin clothes in the freezing cold. Perhaps because you were all doing that, you didn't think much of it. But it was different in the eyes of gods. And as your Master, I too was quite moved. You are amazing. Speaking of this, I will talk about why the global Chinese Gala is so important. Do you realize what major things ride on this Chinese New Year Global Gala?

The wicked CCP has always made the performing arts its tool for promoting Party culture and brainwashing and indoctrinating China's people. People from mainland China all know that every year it puts together that "[CCTV] Spring Festival" show, and that all of the programs glorify the vile Party, and are highly political. But New Tang Dynasty TV's Chinese New Year Gala is even bigger--it's called "The Chinese New Year Global Gala." "Global"--that includes mainland China, of course. So, think about it, isn't this a huge thing? "Global" means international. And if it's international, then it has to be up to international caliber, right? Our students are truly remarkable, considering how they've managed to present the galas of the past few years so well and achieved such high quality. No matter how the overall quality was or how the individual performances were, at a minimum, people couldn't make out any noticeable flaws. (Teacher laughs) (Audience laughs, applaud) The feedback has been very positive. That's why the requirements are high for each of the performers, choreographers and directors, composers, orchestras, and so on. So with certain things we need to start from the basics. Also, as you know, I said something before: Whether it be the overall effect of the Gala, a song that is sung, or a music note that's played, all of these things that Dafa disciples do have the effect of validating the Fa in other dimensions. The energy emitted is quite strong, and it dissolves evil. Another thing is, the people of the future will follow what today's Dafa disciples do. Dafa disciples are taking the lead in leaving a certain culture for the future people, and they are cleansing out the vile party's culture, aren't they? That is why the vile CCP has been so sinister and tried to make trouble. The performances have the direct effect of validating the Fa and saving sentient beings. Their impact is thus quite significant, and their effects are quite good. If we could keep doing this non-stop, instead of having just a few shows, like at present, if we could put on more shows, then think about how many sentient beings would be saved! Do you realize, when those who have watched the Gala walk out of the theatre, any and all bad thoughts they had have been dissolved? All of their bad thoughts are gone. (Applause) That's why people found it so powerful.

That's all I will say. Of course, I know you want to hear more. (Teacher chuckles) (Applause) I know that during this period of time you do have many issues in cultivation, and there are different opinions among our students. I will take some time now to answer your questions. You can pass your question slips up. (Applause) So that we can resolve some concrete issues here, I want to ask that students who wish to submit question slips weigh their questions and gauge whether they should be asked. (Teacher chuckles) Otherwise you might pass up a whole pile of slips, and we wouldn't be able to get through them all. Now you can go ahead and pass up your slips.

Disciple asks: We have been clarifying the truth and exposing the evil from the angle of human rights by regularly sending emails to mainstream society, governments, and organizations in different countries, and have had great results. We now have a database that contains millions of addresses. Some people think that this precious resource of ours should be used primarily for our main tasks, which are clarifying the truth and exposing the evil, while others think we should maximally utilize this resource by using it to send out other things such as event notices, announcements, Gala promotions, and communications on activities related to the advocacy of human rights in China, etc. This is a specific question, but it's very important, because if it's not handled well it could have a negative effect.

Teacher: You first have to be clear about what you are doing today. You are saving sentient beings, so things that are unrelated to saving sentient beings are not among the things you need to do. Once you have told people the facts about the persecution of Dafa disciples and about Dafa, the other things are less important.

Of course, these specific matters should be looked at case-by-case. Motivating them to join ordinary people's rights advocacy movements is not a responsibility Dafa disciples have. The media you run can focus somewhat on those activities, provide information on them to the public, and expose the vile CCP. There's one thing you must be clear on, though. The purpose of your existence is not for rights advocacy efforts; rather, the rights advocacy efforts have taken place to assist Dafa disciples in validating the Fa. (Applause) You need to keep your priorities straight! If you are promoting Gala tickets, that of course is meant to help them learn about Dafa and Dafa disciples. (Teacher smiles)

Disciple asks: We have an idea. We are thinking about making documentaries on contemporary times in China and on China's recent history that could be popularized, and we would do so to correct the wrong ideas people have about history.

Teacher: Yes, I know about those things. You may go ahead and do them.

Disciple asks: How can we determine which are the right historical materials, and draw the right conclusions from them?

Teacher: When it comes to the historical facts, if there are documentaries [for you to refer to], that would be best, for they won't be false. If you learn about things by collecting documentation from a variety of sources, then I think you will arrive at the most correct conclusions. One thing you have to be mindful of is that the things put out by the vile CCP are all false, so you shouldn't believe them. All these years, that vile Party has been deceiving the Chinese people, deceiving the ordinary citizens.

Disciple asks: We have received a lot of positive feedback as we've gone about clarifying the facts and exposing the evil to grassroots organizations in mainstream Western society. Some people have asked us what specific actions they could take. For this reason, we established a conscience foundation so that people of conscience who are not practitioners but want to support us could get involved. We have a question: If someone wants to donate money to victimized Dafa disciples, how should we get such donations to those disciples and coordinate these things? And how should we handle donations and collection of funds in the future?

Teacher: I spoke to you about this very early on when I taught the Fa. I said that in Dafa cultivation you cannot collect funds or accumulate material things; doing that would only encourage attachments, which is not at all good for your cultivation. Besides, you are cultivating in ordinary society, so you don't need to be provided for by ordinary people. Of course, we do have some Dafa disciples who are monks or nuns, but their situation is unique. I am only talking about things in general here. So under these circumstances, I absolutely forbid any collection of funds--you cannot solicit or collect funds from the students, nor can you solicit funds from the public like other religions do. We don't do any of those things.

But the situation has changed since the start of the persecution on July 20, 1999. Dafa disciples need funds to clarify the truth and save sentient beings, but their personal incomes are limited and the persecution has lasted for a long time. A lot of money is needed to solve this problem and expose the persecution. At the very least, you need funds to print flyers. And the TV network, radio stations, and newspapers all require funds. Many other things, many projects, require funds, too. Given this situation, I said to Dafa disciples who are in charge of certain projects that we could ask for sponsorship only from the governments of various countries, different kinds of foundations, or big corporations. But in fact, the old forces have been vehemently obstructing things in this regard. Over the past few years there has been a great deal of interest in investing in China, and many countries have invested there, so they don't dare to give Falun Gong any financial support for fear that the CCP might give their companies a hard time. So it looks like they are betraying their consciences when economic interests are at stake. That being the case, it's very hard to get funds from them.

Many of our students have found in the process of their truth-clarification that there are indeed some very good people out there who, when they became aware of the evilness of this persecution, have offered to donate some money to the students. What should we do in these cases? I still tell you the same thing: Try your best not to solicit donations from the public, don't do that. If someone sincerely insists on offering the donation, then it's fine to accept it, and you can use it where it is most needed and where funds are lacking. That's about it. I don't advise you to do it, but if someone genuinely insists on offering a donation, then sometimes they might find it odd if you don't accept it. In that case, accept it. Sometimes you can save people only when the things you do are understandable to them. So if you really run into a situation like that, then just accept [the donation].

However, make sure the funds are not handled inappropriately. I know we have had problems with the management of funds for some projects and in some places. I don't want to get into that, though. If there is a problem with you in this regard, it seems to me that you don't want to cultivate anymore. All the gods are watching you. If a cultivator has this problem, it is terribly serious.

Disciple asks: How should we properly handle the relationship between people's rights advocacy efforts meant to end persecution, and encouraging people to carry out the "Three Withdrawals"?⁴

Teacher: [By encouraging] the "Three Withdrawals," you are saving people, saving sentient beings, and saving the people of mainland China. This is not an issue outside of mainland China. As I have said, when the entire wicked Eastern European Communist Bloc crumbled, the people there did what they should--they made it crumble. The people in mainland China have yet to take this action, so for them to wash themselves clean they must dissociate themselves from the evil CCP's wicked organizations.

As I said earlier, rights advocacy movements are ordinary people's affairs, and Falun Gong is absolutely not a political group. You must keep this clear in your minds: Whether it be those from mainland China who have come over to the good side, or those who have stepped forward and spoken out for Falun Gong, it's because gods have arranged for them to assist Dafa disciples, and it is definitely not that Dafa disciples are supposed to be assisting them. It's not a problem for our media to give them more coverage and show concern about them. But you shouldn't confuse your priorities, nor should you confuse what you are and aren't supposed to do. You must be clear on these things! We're not an ordinary people's political group, so you can't devote yourselves completely to those things. But you can use your media to report on them and expose the persecution. Of course, some people have been persecuted directly because they have stepped forward and spoken out for Falun Gong. In that case you can pay more attention to and give more coverage to those stories; in particular, you should keep tabs on their safety. There is no problem with doing any of those things. The key is that you must be clear--listen carefully, now--that it's fine for you to help them do certain things, but you have to be clear that those things have happened for the purpose of assisting you, and that cultivation and saving sentient beings are first and foremost for you. (Applause)

Disciple asks: Can the formulas for the five exercises be translated into other languages?

Teacher: When they were working on the English translation early on, I said that the Fa-rectification formulas were not to be translated. Why can't they be translated, then? The Fa-rectification formulas are linked to the sound in the cosmos, many factors in the cosmos, and messages in the cosmos. Only by articulating and activating them will the huge impact be generated that comes about from the concerted assistance of the cosmos. They won't have that effect if the sound is changed. Gods understand them. They know what you are articulating even when you don't make any sound and only think it. If you want to have a direct impact, it won't work, however, [unless you produce the right sound]. That is why I have told you not to translate them.

Actually, as I've been saying for quite some time, the Chinese culture is one that gods have passed down among human beings. It is a semi-divine culture. That's why a lot of the elements of that culture have profound content. The languages and scripts of other ethnic groups, by contrast, do not exist in the heavens. The Chinese characters, though, are very similar to those in the heavens. The way of writing them is the same as it is in the heavens, but the combinations of strokes are different. The written forms of the other ethnic groups' languages aren't present in the heavens. When people see heavenly gods show certain things to human beings by writing something for them in the languages of certain ethnic groups, it's actually a case of gods transforming things for human beings into words they are able to understand, that's all. Being a semi-divine culture, the Chinese culture isn't entirely divine nor entirely non-divine--it's that way.

Disciple asks: The occupations that Dafa disciples don't perform will not exist [in the future], right? (Audience laughs) Such as being secret agents, for example? (Audience laughs)

Teacher: Right, as I've said before, secret agents won't exist in the future--their future has been rescinded. (Applause) As to whether other occupations will exist, as far as I know it looks like Dafa disciples are actually in all occupations. I know that there are disciples at the presidential level, and there are disciples with very high social status; it's just that they do things differently. The Dafa disciples in mainland China are in all trades and professions; in every occupation there are people cultivating Dafa.

Disciple asks: Since the evil specter of communism first appeared in the Paris Commune, does it still have its root there? Does it still exist in Paris and France in particular? And what influence does it have now?

Teacher: Its root is not there; its root was in China, but it has already been uprooted. The entire evil specter of the vile Party, the entire red, evil dragon, has already been shattered. And the factors it has long established in the minds of the people and in every cultural sphere--all of those things are being cleaned out as well, they are in the process of being cleaned out. As far as [its influence on] other countries, well, it has no direct impact on countries that aren't [ruled by] the vile Party.

Disciple asks: Could you please tell us more about the role of the Minghui website, and particularly the role of its counterparts in multiple other languages?

Teacher: Minghui's main feature is that it reports primarily on the facts of the persecution of Dafa disciples in mainland China. Those reports are first-hand information that exposes the evil, and over 99 percent--or even up to 100 percent--of the reported information is accurate. It is distinct from the other, conventional media. You can translate the facts [it reports] into multiple languages and post them on the Internet. If you have the ability and the resources, you can do that, and you can create Minghui websites in multiple languages so that people all over the world can see the daily content on Minghui.

Disciple asks: Is it possible for the old forces to plant negative beings in the assistant souls (fu yuanshen) of Dafa disciples?

Teacher: Don't think so much about these things. (Audience laughs) It is true that the old forces have taken advantage of every chance they have gotten. They have done awful things even to the Dafa disciples whom I really guided and led in history. All the same, as long as Dafa disciples can follow the requirements for validating the Fa and the requirements of Dafa, there won't be any problems.

Disciple asks: If possible, is it all right for the Dafa disciples around that practitioner to send forth righteous thoughts together in order to completely negate and eliminate those things?

Teacher: This is something that's already included when you send forth righteous thoughts and cleanse yourselves of bad factors. You started doing this a long while ago.

Disciple asks: Would Master please talk about the effect the mechanisms put in place by the old forces' dial have on Dafa disciples' efforts to save sentient beings?

Teacher: There is a dial in every dimension, and the dials are in fact a manifestation of the past cosmos's Fa. They run through from the microcosm to the macrocosm; that is, these dials run through dimensions from those made up of microcosmic particles to those composed of the largest particles, which are at the surface level. And they have an axis. That is a manifestation of the Fa of the past cosmos. It won't be like this in the future. (Teacher smiles) That's why I could tell sentient beings about it. But they made a special dial for the Fa-rectification, and in every dimension they have done certain things surreptitiously. They have even involved the world's people, and planted this kind of dial in humans' bodies. That is why when [the dial] moves, shifts in the state of affairs for human beings on Earth take place. It's exactly because those things are at work. During the Fa-rectification those things are all in the process of being cleaned out, so they no longer play a decisive role.

Disciple asks: How is the maturity, achieved from a tempering process, of Dafa disciples as a whole related to the conclusion of Fa-rectification?

Teacher: The way things look now is that they seem to be basically progressing in parallel.

Disciple asks: If wicked secret agents break into our homes, can we defend ourselves? (Audience laughs)

Teacher: Yes, it's all right for you to defend yourselves. Actually, though, when you have very strong righteous thoughts, you can even immobilize them. (Applause) But if, being a cultivator, your mind is instead impure and lacks righteous thoughts, and you are fearful inside, then you won't be able to make that happen.

Disciple asks: How does the Divine Land Marching Band save sentient beings? Would you give us some explicit guidance on that? (Audience laughs)

Teacher: Since you're interested I will tell you about it. (Applause) You know, when the band took part in the parades in New York's Chinatown and Flushing areas, on both occasions I saw this scene: When the band was playing, the energy they emitted was tremendous. Be it the energy emitted, the sounds you made, or the music and notes themselves, they all had the effect of validating the Fa and sending out energy.

That day during the Chinatown parade, countless gods in every dimension of the heavens--gods filling the sky--were beating military drums. And many, many heavenly soldiers and generals were charging forward. And the energy emitted as Dafa disciples played the wind instruments was very powerful. You've seen in the movies how the blast waves produced by the explosion of an atomic bomb are huge, right? Well, [the energy emitted] was even more powerful than that. (Applause) That's because the components of the energy emitted by the Dafa disciples were bigger than atoms, and the particles at every level of it were all very powerful. In other words, at the time, whenever the sound came forth a large area was covered in bright light. It takes some time for the blast of an atomic bomb to end, and then the blast waves generate a huge dust storm, right? And the area becomes clean only after the dust storm dies down. [In our case,] the area became clean instantly. And then far away from the bright lights there was a huge amount of smoke and dust from the blast, and as the music continued to be played the bright lights rapidly intensified. Quickly the area became clean again, and smoke and dust continually rose up in the distance. Wherever the bright lights reached, it became clean.

That's why when the band proceeded down the streets in the parade, the many people who were watching--and I was watching those ordinary people's minds--they were basically numb. (Audience laughs) And the Chinese people were just watching, expressionless. Their minds were blank. "What's going on," [they wondered]. Their bad thoughts were all cleaned out, and afterward they started to think again (applause) and said, "Wow, Falun Gong is so amazing!" (Audience laughs) Some people said, "Wow, how did Falun Gong suddenly put together such a big band in the U.S.?" (Audience laughs) It's considered a big band even for the U.S. [The people felt that,] out of the blue so many people appeared, playing all these wind instruments! And particularly notable was that the band was made up of mostly Chinese faces. There were a small number of Western Dafa disciples, so most of the faces were Chinese. So the Chinese people in Chinatown were all thinking about it after they saw it, and they actually felt that [the band] had made Chinese people look good. (Audience laughs) That is, the antagonistic things in their minds were gone. The thoughts that played a negative role were gone. [The band] was truly having this impact. This is about the Chinese [spectators]. It was quite an unusual sight for Westerners as well--they had never seen anything like that before. [They felt,] out of the blue a big band showed up, with so many Chinese faces! A lot of people were applauding and shouting, "Encore!" So the effect has been great.

Of course, the band has Dafa disciples of other ethnic groups as well, and they, too, are remarkable, for Dafa disciples are one body. When the students who are part of the band were playing, they themselves were actually moved. They felt it was truly sacred.

Disciple asks: Can next year's Gala tour internationally?

Teacher: Next year's things will have to depend on the situation. If our financial resources aren't so large, it won't be achievable. You know, it's very expensive for a hundred or several dozen people to travel.

Disciple asks: Having been influenced by the CCP, some officials in Western society have acted poorly. When we clarify the facts to them, can we tell them that they act more like a CCP official than an official from a democratic country?

Teacher: Sure, that's fine. It's hard to say who the vile CCP's evil specter might control. It could be a Western official or a Chinese one. When a person's thinking is in line with it, it will control him or her.

Disciple asks: Should we believe that the Fa will give us wisdom? Is taking ordinary classes worth it? Recently I have run into some problems with my writing project. I'm wondering whether I need to improve my writing skills or if there are other reasons.

Teacher: If what you are creating is on the right path, there will be less difficulties; if it's not on the right path, it will be more difficult. Or, when there's a problem with your understanding of something, there will be more difficulties; and when your understanding is free of problems, it will be less difficult. That's for sure. Dafa disciples have brought about many miracles. You can go and learn certain things. That is not a problem, of course. But if you plan to spend a lot of time--say, months or years--to learn something and then come back to validate the Fa, then I would say things would be over by then. (Audience laughs) And you would have learned it in vain. That's why I think that when it comes to certain matters you should think things over and gauge things yourself. As a Dafa disciple, you should think about these things as would a cultivator.

Disciple asks: Are the Nine Commentaries important for Vietnamese people? Do Vietnamese need to withdraw from the Communist Party?

Teacher: Be it Vietnam, Cuba, or North Korea--when China's communist regime falls, they will fall too. Their existence was arranged to inflate the CCP's morale a bit. If the CCP were really left all by itself, those [CCP] people wouldn't be able to so much as lift their heads before the world. The fact is, this is the old forces' arrangement. What disciples of Dafa care about is cultivating themselves; it's because the vile CCP started to persecute Falun Gong that Dafa disciples have been, in response to the vile CCP's persecution, exposing it and dismantling its persecution. The root is in China. When the CCP's factors disintegrate, all those others will disintegrate. There is no need to do anything about them specifically. Although those are all societies under the vile Party's rule, no persecution of Dafa disciples has taken place there. So you don't need to make a priority of them. In the future, when the CCP collapses, all of them will collapse and be done with. So right now we won't touch them.

Disciple asks: Many Dafa disciples have created a lot of excellent artistic things like music, poems, and songs. Can we introduce them to the general public after some artistic touch-up and polishing?

Teacher: That's a good idea, of course. If all people started singing our songs or music, wouldn't that be great? If a lot of people around the world, including the people in mainland China, all wore T-shirts with "Falun Dafa is Great" on them, I'd say the vile CCP would really be at a loss for what to do. (Audience laughs) Some people have suggested writing "Falun Dafa is Great" or "Withdraw from the Party" on Renminbi.⁵ (Audience laughs) I think that's a terrific idea. (Applause) You can't throw away money, and you can't destroy it. (Audience laughs)

Disciple asks: All Dafa disciples from the Haidian district of Beijing send their greetings to Master. Master, we miss you very much! (Teacher: Thank you!) (Applause) Please be assured, Master, that we will definitely do the three things well and live up to our esteemed Master's expectations! (Teacher: I believe you.) (Applause)

Teacher: If that had been said a few years back, I would have felt that the students were trying to cheer me up. (Teacher smiles) Now I feel that it is true, and I believe it.

Disciple asks: How can we save homosexuals more effectively?

Teacher: They are sentient beings, so save them just like the other ordinary sentient beings. Save them if you can, and treat them just like anyone else. The more you regard them as a special group, the less you will be able to save them. Just save them as you would any other persons. Save them if you can. If you can't, then you can't.

Disciple asks: In an exercise instruction video recorded before, there is footage of Master teaching the Fa at the [Chinese People's] Public Security University with the flag of the evil Party hanging in the back of the auditorium. Should we remove it somehow? Or should we keep it as a historic record?

Teacher: It's all right to remove it. [It was there] because at the time [I] really didn't want to regard the CCP as the most wicked thing and destroy it, as all beings are given a chance. It is because the vile CCP has persecuted Falun Gong that it became, in relation to all beings in the cosmos, a wicked demon. And that is why it needs to be destroyed and cleaned out--that is their own choice.

Disciple asks: Should disciples in other regions offer support to the San Francisco Chinatown as they have done with New York City?

Teacher: I think that if a disciple has the ability and the right conditions, then he or she can go lend a hand. I discussed this with the practitioners in charge in San Francisco.

Disciple asks: Someone obtained the Fa and withdrew from the Party, but out of fear he was disrespectful of Dafa and has now passed away. Do people like this still have a future?

Teacher: That depends on the specifics of the situation. For a Dafa disciple, withdrawing from the Party isn't the most important thing; rather, saving sentient beings and having sentient beings withdraw from Party is. As far as whether someone like this still has a future, well, the fact that he obtained the Fa but didn't validate the Fa is regarded as the most important.

Disciple asks: Everyone who saw the Gala this year said it was good. Can we ask the disciples in mainland China to circulate it widely, and to touch the hearts and souls of a large number of sentient beings this way?

Teacher: Yes, you can do that.

Disciple asks: Master, you have said that eighty percent of the things that were decided in a pre-historical time have been sabotaged by the old forces. Will this affect how supremely wonderful, in-harmony, and forever-indestructible the future cosmos will be--as originally intended?

Teacher: What they have destroyed were only things that had been planned. They can't see what the new cosmos is like, even if they want to. Besides, after a Dafa disciple Consummates his cultivation and becomes a God or Buddha, when he wants to create a world of his own, he can do it with just one thought, for his Fa is already established. So, none of [what you brought up] is a problem, and those are all trivial things. As for how much they have destroyed and how much has been lost, it all depends on whether something is wanted. Whatever is wanted can be formed, even to the extent such that it is completely restored without a tad bit of difference.

Disciple asks: About half a year ago some disciples started a project. But because the person(s) in charge would not get rid of his jealousy, interference came about and made it terribly hard for the other disciples involved to blaze our own path. Over the course of things, the approaches and tactics used have been pretty awful, and they're tainted with the Party culture. Also, most of [the team members] have always relied on the person(s) in charge and the Dafa Association, so that fact led to their having worse misunderstandings of the rest of us. I didn't explain a lot of things at the time, because as I understood then, it was not only for me to cultivate, but also for my fellow practitioners to cultivate. But I failed to realize that the evil was racing with us against time. All of this resulted in the predicament we now have, and I don't know what to do.

Teacher: You should look more into whether your own thinking is right. In a conflict, the more unfavorable the other person's behavior is toward you, the easier it is for you to think that he's wrong--"He's definitely wrong." Cultivation is a very involved thing, and getting rid of human attachments is the hardest. Try harder to look inside yourself, and just look for your own attachments. Everyone should examine himself and try to work well with one another. That's the most important thing.

It's all right to raise some reasonable suggestions on certain, specific issues. But you should also consider whether the point you would like to raise fits the larger situation. The person in charge has his challenges, too. When you're not in his shoes, you don't view things from his perspective. Many of our practitioners come straight from the academic world, and they have never done any managerial work; they lack that experience. So leading a project is a test for them. Moreover, I've read the letters some students have written to me. Although the letters spoke of other people's problems, between the lines what came across were the shortcomings in the writer's own cultivation. Some of them still had very strong attachments, some were even quite extreme, and some spoke to me with a human mindset, venting their indignation. Coordinators must listen to valid suggestions, and those who are not in charge must do a good job of cooperating on things. You are cultivating, not doing some job for the sake of doing that job.

Of course, you should still voice your opinions or call attention to any problems you see when that's the right thing to do. But you should act like a Dafa disciple in everything you do. Those of you coordinating a project should, like others, examine yourselves when you hear [criticism or different opinions], and you should cultivate yourselves well just as others do. Only then will the things you do be sacred.

Disciple asks: Dafa disciples from Ziyang city and Chengdu city of Sichuan province, Yili of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Harbin city, Nanjng city, Nanning city of Guangxi province, Yichang city and Huanggang city of Hubei province, Jiayuguan city of Gansu province, Liujia of Liaoning province, Kaian of Jilin province, Hangzhou city, Shanxi province, Shaoguan city, Fuzhou city, Ji'an city, Alabama, Houston, and Seattle in the United States, the Feitian School of Dance, Toronto of Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, and Chiba of Japan send their greetings to our great, compassionate Master!

Teacher: Thank you all! (Applause) Dafa disciples in mainland China and those elsewhere are basically progressing at the same pace now. There was a certain gap in the past--in particular, a few years ago the gap was quite big. Recently I've seen that the mainland China Dafa disciples have become more and more mature and composed. In this regard, then, Dafa disciples outside of mainland China--that is, the Dafa disciples in other regions of the world and of other ethnicities--let's make sure you don't get left behind by the mainland China Dafa disciples. (Applause) You have to work hard!

Disciple asks: Master, democracy activists inside and outside of China are supporting the hunger strikes initiated in mainland China that are calling for rights. Should the Dafa disciples in mainland China take part in those so as to support Dafa disciples' freedom of belief?

Teacher: As I said earlier, cultivation and saving of sentient beings are first and foremost for Dafa disciples--these are things that they have to do. As far as the things you mentioned coming about, they are in fact meant to assist Dafa disciples. Of course, when a lawyer who has petitioned on behalf of Dafa disciples is being persecuted by the vile Party, we should lend support. It is all right to assist them with certain things, but you should make sure you don't go overboard. You are not a political group. You are cultivators.

Disciple asks: Some Western Dafa disciples have fully devoted themselves to working on The Epoch Times in Western languages, to the point where they don't even have time to participate in the other activities organized by Dafa disciples or Fa conferences. Some Chinese fellow practitioners think the Western disciples are bogged down by being attached to doing things. Master, when we have a relatively large number of important Dafa events going on, can we be less particular about the newspaper's quality and get it done quickly (audience laughs), so that we may take part in other activities?

Teacher: Everyone laughed. If you don't ensure its quality, can it still play a good role in saving sentient beings? (Audience laughs) You can't do that. Then what should be done? Right now we do have challenges. The challenges might be temporary, though. We lack human and financial resources, so we're bound to have only a very small number of Dafa disciples busy working on it. Master is well aware of this. Actually, early on, the Chinese language Epoch Times was like this too. But it's not going to last. Certain things might be temporarily delayed for a period of time. Or, you can come up with a way to resolve [the challenges] by helping each other. When it comes to these specific things, I think you should resolve them by discussing them among yourselves.

Disciple asks: All Dafa disciples from Langfang, Hebei province send their greetings to Master! The disciples miss Master greatly!

Teacher: Thank you! I thank the Dafa disciples in the Langfang area! (Applause)

Disciple asks: In mainland China, some disciples have repeatedly been unlawfully jailed and persecuted with torture, but they remain steadfast and diligent; whereas some other disciples still haven't managed to step forward since they have either felt powerless about the persecution or sought ease. Master, are the disciples who have been repeatedly persecuted sacrificing and bearing for the disciples who can't step forward?

Teacher: No, that's not the case. Personal cultivation is the individual's own affair. Do what you can to see what the situation is with those who haven't stepped forward, and try to help them out.

Disciple asks: Perseverance and willpower are inherent and predestined. My willpower is weak. When I clench my teeth and make up my mind to try hard, I can do well for a few days, but not long. I'm very frustrated by this, and I don't know what my problem is. I tried hard to study the Fa and memorize the Fa, but saw no improvement. Is it because the thinking of improving my willpower through studying the Fa is a form of pursuit, or is it because I haven't studied the Fa enough? If the fundamental reason is that I don't treasure myself, is there still any hope for me?

Teacher: If it's a Dafa disciple who cultivates himself very well and who manages to rationally understand what Dafa is, he will surely work at it with considerable effort and not let up when it comes to this. On the other hand, those who are not diligent are likewise studying the Fa, and they know that the Fa is very good, but their thinking is not grounded in the Fa and they don't have ample righteous thoughts. So, naturally their understanding is not high; that is, they can't truly understand the preciousness of the Fa. That's why they're not all that motivated.

Disciple asks: Is eating raw fish killing?

Teacher: Eating fish that other persons have killed, including eating raw fish, does not count as killing. But in the past people all knew this saying, "You will pay for whatever you eat." For ordinary people it is definitely like that. Whatever a person does, he will have to pay for it. Thus a killer will be killed in his next life or will go to hell. This isn't an issue for Dafa disciples, though. Today in particular, when Dafa is being spread among ordinary people, things like this have to be taken care of. In other words, Dafa disciples' cultivating toward Consummation is first and foremost, whereas the wrong they have done others and the grievances they caused in the past are compensated for by turning those things into factors that help them improve in the course of cultivating toward Consummation, and/or they are settled with blessings [to the creditors].

Put another way, the debts and grievances that are owed need to be returned with blessings and/or [the affected beings] have to be saved during the course of one's cultivation toward Consummation--for sure. Master did this when he arranged a cultivation path for every Dafa disciple; I have arranged [the paying off of] the grievances and the like. In the future, when you cultivate to Consummation and become a god, some of them will be sentient beings in your paradise. A sentient being in a god's paradise is of course a divine being too. He--a being from a low realm--will have gone to heaven in one step. When a being is going through cycles of reincarnation in the human realm, he is reincarnating in the midst of hardship no matter how great his life is, and no matter how blessed he is, his realm is not elevating. Instantly becoming a being in a high-level realm--well, everyone would want that! Didn't I tell you a cultivation story before? I said that there was a Buddhist monk who was preaching from the scriptures in a temple, and he saw two birds perched on the windowsill, unwilling to leave. So he said to them, "If you two want to listen to the Buddhist scriptures, reincarnate as human beings and then come and listen." The two birds then suddenly took flight, hit a tree trunk outside the temple, and died. (Teacher smiles) Twenty years later, two young men came and wanted to become monks. (Teacher smiles) I am only making a point here. When a being knows he can go to a heavenly kingdom, nothing can compare to that, and he would rather die for it. When you are to get blessings that huge in exchange for your grievances, of course you'll be thrilled.

For you, as Dafa disciples, everything you owed in the past will be repaid and settled through the bestowal of blessings upon sentient beings. Now some people may think, "All right, then, I won't worry about what I do anymore. I'll even dare kill people." No, you can't be like that! You are cultivating compassion, and doing good works for sentient beings is part of the cultivating you do as Dafa disciples. If you really were to kill people, commit arson, and do bad things, then you would not be a cultivator, and even less could you possibly reach Consummation; bestowing blessings upon sentient beings wouldn't apply in the least. Also, the tribulations in your cultivation are meant to pay for the debts of mental pain that you owe, so the increased hardship might render you unable to cultivate, and then you wouldn't be able to cultivate further. I was only referring to the things you owed before you took up cultivation, and to that which results from your needing to maintain a normal life as you go about cultivating.

So as for eating raw flesh foods, that's the worst. I remember that Yahweh told the people he created, "You should eat cooked food." For human beings, meat has to be cooked before it can be eaten. Why is that? Cultivators in the past saw this, too: When a human being or an animal dies, the cells of his or its body have not died. And before those cells die, the spirit of each cell bears his or its image. Hasn't today's science discovered that, too? After a small white mouse is sectioned, the image [of its tissue cells] displayed on the screen via optical fiber bears the small white mouse's image. That means the raw meat you eat is a large batch of live animals.

Cooked meat, on the other hand, does not have those spirits in it. But if it's raw, what is it like when you down them into your stomach? It's as if you have put living animals into your stomach. Since they are very tiny, you don't sense anything different for the time being, but over time it will lead to serious illness, it will cause reactions. Since the human body is special and its structure is like that of a universe, it's called a small universe. When the things you eat can't reincarnate out of there, they will stay in your stomach, and over time the resultant resentment and karma will make it a breeding ground for illness. A great deal of karma will be amassed. You will then have stomach problems, with the serious cases amounting to diseases of the stomach, gastric ulcers, stomach cancer ... anything is possible. In mainland China I saw people drink fresh snake blood. But each particle of each cell of that blood was a snake, so could swallowing all those snakes into your stomach possibly do you any good? (Audience laughs) A material thing can be absorbed and transformed via the human body's capacities, but its spirit will remain in your stomach, won't it? That's why you should make sure you don't eat any kind of raw meat. Nowadays some people are into eating raw fish. That's awful, too. That's definitely not some cultural cuisine. It's terrible. So you can't eat raw [flesh foods]--be sure not to. As cultivators all the more so can you absolutely not eat any kind of raw meat.

By contrast, as I've said, when things are well cooked they are dead, right? The spirits are gone and what is at the surface is only a material substance. Cultivators can cultivate and live here only when they can sustain their lives. Human beings have a way they are supposed to live, and insofar as they follow their normal ways of living very little karma is generated; and even more so is that true of cultivators. For cultivators, it's not a problem to get rid of this kind of [normal-living-induced] karma, and it's not necessary for them to repay it in their next life. If you achieve Consummation and godhood in this life, your Master will help you resolve it, and you will work it off during your cultivation as well. Thus, this accounts for some of the trouble and distress you experience in the difficult process of cultivating yourself. So don't push these things away. As I was saying just a bit ago, [some practitioners] can't take it when something negative is said about them, and they can't take any criticism. You should know that your karma is at play when those things come about.

Disciple asks: Is it necessary for the Taiwan cities of Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung each to hold a New Year's Gala? Won't it affect clarifying the truth to mainland China?

Teacher: You can't let it interfere with clarifying the truth to mainland China. Here's how I look at it. It seems that Dafa disciples are all following the example of what is being done in North America, especially in New York City, because you all know that Master is in New York City. So you are thinking, "Let's do whatever they do there." That's not how it should be, though, because the situations are different, and each area should do things based on its own situation.

Nobody is persecuting Falun Gong in Taiwan, and the overwhelming majority of the people in Taiwan know about Falun Gong. So [if you are thinking about] how to clarify the truth to Taiwanese people and how to do away with the vile CCP's factors in Taiwanese people's minds, well, doing that doesn't fit the situation there, as Taiwan doesn't have that problem. Of course, nowadays some young people are not very clear about China's history, and whenever the vile CCP launches a "united front" they are fooled. In that case you should make the vile Party's wickedness known to the Taiwanese people. In short, you should discuss this among yourselves based on your own situation.

But Taiwanese students' helping to clarify the truth to mainland China and Hong Kong and to Chinese communities in other areas is very important. Teacher absolutely affirms the things you are doing. You have put forth a great deal of effort to clarify the truth to mainland China in particular, and the effect has been excellent! I've said this to the Taiwanese students many times--they have done this really well. (Applause)

Disciple asks: Why is it that some Dafa disciples' families are unable to resolve their conflicts even when several people in the family are cultivators? Some of them have even fought terribly among one another (audience laughs), and as a result, the non-practitioner family members no longer support Dafa.

Teacher: Don't forget that it is human beings cultivating, not gods. Ordinary people make mistakes, and so do cultivators, only cultivators make fewer mistakes and fix the problems in themselves afterwards. When the kind of thing [you mentioned] happens, it is definitely because those students have not done well. You shouldn't get into a big fight even if it is to do something Dafa disciples are supposed to do. (Audience laughs)

While we are on this subject, I would like to mention something. Some of you have done poorly in clarifying the truth to your families, and that is because you haven't done it right. One reason is that you don't know what their stuck point is, you are unclear on the cause. Another thing is that when you clarify the truth to your family, you always regard them as family, rather than as sentient beings who are to be saved. You are a cultivator, and you are above ordinary people. You know that in this lifetime you are family, but did you know that in your previous life you might not have been? You know that in this lifetime this person is your wife, but who knows whose wife she will be in the next lifetime. In this lifetime that person is your child, but whose child was he in his previous life?

As cultivators, you should all be very clear on this, and you can't be mired in the kind of concept ordinary people have of being related to someone. Regard him as a sentient being and save him as you would any other sentient being. Then when you talk with him, the result will be different--guaranteed. Don't first think of him as family. When you instead talk to him as though he is someone to be saved, it will be different. In reality, the knowing side of his being is aware that, "You and I are family in this life, but in my next life I will be in someone else's family." The core of his being knows this. When you truly have righteous thoughts as you save him, his true thoughts will be able to tell, and he won't be mired in ordinary people's feelings anymore.

Disciple asks: The overseas disciples who are on the wicked Party's blacklist have not been able to go back to China for several years now. Is it time for them to go back to China to see their families and validate the Fa?

Teacher: (Teacher chuckles) Don't go back yet. You are on its blacklist, so it will persecute you. And even if it doesn't persecute you, it will use all kinds of tactics to try to win you over. So do your best not to invite problems like that. Since you are validating the Fa here, this is where you are to cultivate. In fact, the factors that make you want to go back may be testing your human attachments, because only cultivation is your path. In mainland China we have the mainland China students to work on things there. Rest assured, they will do well for sure. I have confidence in that. (Applause)

Disciple asks: I know the importance of sending righteous thoughts, but sometimes I do it as if it were just a routine chore, and sometimes it's easy for my mind to start to wander. This has happened with other practitioners as well. How can we truly improve at sending righteous thoughts?

Teacher: Let me put it this way: Dafa disciples need to do three things well on their way to Consummation, right? And sending forth righteous thoughts is one of those things. If it's that important, why can't you do it well?! Why do you think of it as such a simple thing and not take it seriously? You do know how important it is. Besides, if you don't do one of the three things well, then what?

I have seen many students doing this when they start to send righteous thoughts. (Teacher imitates a student falling asleep while sending righteous thoughts) (Teacher chuckles) (Audience laughs) What those evil specter factors of the vile Party want is precisely to make you drowsy, and the drowsier you get, the more they reinforce that drowsiness. They just won't let you send righteous thoughts, because by doing so you are purging them. When you send forth righteous thoughts to destroy them, they interfere.

While cultivating, Dafa disciples' bodies in other dimensions are incredibly gigantic. The dimensions in the Three Realms have been divided among Dafa disciples into so many parts... Let me put it this way, and let me describe it on a larger scale: however many parts the future cosmos will have, that is how much Dafa disciples have to encompass. How could you not get rid of the bad and wicked elements, then, within the scope that you encompass, in the place that you are responsible for? You have to eliminate them. Some Dafa disciples don't take sending righteous thoughts seriously, and not only are they themselves interfered with: Those wicked factors are interfering with other Dafa disciples as well. Can't you do well at what you are supposed to do? Not only must you do your own part well, but you should help others, too.

Disciple asks: Some Dafa disciples in mainland China have been monitored by the Public Security Bureau for a long time. They are not mindful of safety or security and don't listen when other students caution them. Master, what should we do?

Teacher: It's true that some students are really careless when it comes to safety and security. It seems as though after they are released by the evil and have been severely persecuted, they forget about it a couple of days later. Your safety and security affects other Dafa disciples' safety and security, so you must be mindful of this and take this matter seriously. Don't let the old forces' factors take advantage of your gaps. Many students outside of China have seen Dafa disciples in China not pay enough attention to safety and security, but they can't say anything to them directly and can only worry anxiously. When you are not careful, you will be persecuted and bring harm to others.

Disciple asks: I'm a veteran student and I obtained the Fa in 1996, but today is the first time that I have seen you in person and I feel so blessed. There are so many veteran students in China who have never seen Master in person. They wish they were as lucky as the overseas students and hope that overseas students will treasure [the opportunity to see] Master. Is it true that those disciples who have had the chance to leave China should do their best to remain abroad?

Teacher: This is something that you should use your own judgment on. If you can do better abroad and want to join the overseas Dafa disciples in validating the Fa, I'm not opposed to that. If you will continue to be subject to persecution and be sought by the police when you go back, then you must stay abroad. If that's not the case and your situation [in China] is relatively freer, and there are a lot of sentient beings in China for you to save that you haven't saved, or you have a lot of regrets that you want another chance to address, then I think you should go and do all of that well. Master is just giving you a suggestion; it's up to you what to do specifically.

Disciple asks: Dafa disciples from the city of Zhengzhou in Henan province, Dafa disciples from England, and all Dafa disciples from the Anshan area of Liaoning province send their greetings to Master.

Teacher: Thank you all. (Applause)

Disciple asks: I have been practicing for a year now, but I don't understand why I have frequently had nightmares recently. Is it because I haven't done well? (Teacher: "[This is from] a Western student.")

Teacher: I have talked about the state of a new student in many of my Fa teachings. When some new students suddenly go from being an ordinary person to a cultivator, they immediately face the problem of [creditors] demanding that they pay their debts. Veteran students all know about this. Sometimes they had nightmares and ran into bizarre things. Those things are in fact all reflections of the fact that you are going beyond being an ordinary person and that your gratitude and grievances from the past need to be settled. Normally, ordinary people go through reincarnation and experience karmic retribution where they pay for what they accrued in their previous lives. [So the creditors think,] "I'm in no hurry to collect your debts, as you will have to pay me in your next life." But when you take up cultivation and are on your way to leaving the Three Realms, they think, "You haven't paid me what you owe, and if you leave I won't be able to find you later on, so you have to repay your debt to me." That is why it will seek you out ahead of time and you will encounter strange and bizarre things. But Master will protect you from all of that, so what happens will seem threatening but you will not be in any danger. No matter what, as a Dafa disciple, you should have strong righteous thoughts and handle these things as a cultivator would.

Disciple asks: When some students returned from the mountain they gave out to a Fa-study group inscriptions they had read from the stelae there and written down, and they asked the students to read them repeatedly instead of reading Zhuan Falun at the group Fa study. Master, is it all right to do that?

Teacher: Of course not. I have talked about such things many times. I have said that the Fa that I teach at the mountain to a small group of people cannot just be passed on, as that would interfere with the overall situation of Dafa disciples' validating of the Fa. But since we always have people passing that on, I decided to stop teaching there altogether. So you haven't heard anything recently, right?

There have always been people who pass along gossipy information. Of course, I think they have done those things in a sneaky way, though, so I won't talk about it more here. Don't do that anymore. Dafa disciples need to have strong righteous thoughts and act like cultivators. Those people [who pass on things like that] have so many human attachments, and they constantly want to do or say something new just to be different, they constantly want to show off, and they constantly want to let people know how much special treatment they get from Master in person. There is no such thing as that, though. Each person has to cultivate himself. No matter how much Fa I teach you, if you don't cultivate yourself well, you still won't succeed in cultivation.

Disciple asks: When we were preparing for forum discussions on the Nine Commentaries, we came into contact with quite a few people who had escaped from Communist countries, including some from mainland China's Communist buddies. But these people have now established themselves outside of their native countries and are preoccupied with investment opportunities in their native countries, so they are unwilling to speak out and expose the vile Party's evilness. Master, what should we do about this?

Teacher: Don't make other countries a priority at this point. But, when it comes to clarifying the truth, all beings are equal and the same; we clarify the truth to all people. That is because the vile Party's factors are worldwide and not limited to Communist countries. And no matter who someone is, the attitude he has is his own business.

Disciple asks: Music and art come from enormous cosmic bodies, so what about sports? (Audience laughs)

Teacher: "Sports" is a general term that includes many things that are lumped together. And a lot of the things it includes are of different systems. So it's not absolute, as a lot of the things come from different systems. Why have things from different systems come? It is related to the Fa-rectification. No one knew what surface format the being who was going to reincarnate here on Earth would use to teach the Fa. Back then I didn't make a specific choice. Right before I was about to begin disseminating the Fa, and when all of these things were newly displayed before me, I chose to teach the cosmos's Law via Buddha Fa and a Buddha's image.

Disciple asks: A security agency outside of China gave us some names of CCP secret agents. Should we make those public to the students?

Teacher: Hold off for a while. Since they have come into contact with Dafa, I would like to give them a bit more of a chance. (Applause) I don't want to expose them until they are absolutely beyond salvation. I am very confident, as this Fa is so immense. So I just don't believe that I can't save you. (Applause) There have been so many students who did things in the past that they shouldn't have done, and so many students for whom doing those [spy] things used to be their job, and yet they have started to cultivate in Dafa. Isn't that the mighty power of Dafa? (Applause)

Disciple asks: Most of the time when I send forth righteous thoughts I can't enter a state of tranquility. Is it because I have been interfered with or because my cultivation level is low? I feel like many times the effect of my sending righteous thoughts is minimal.

Teacher: Let me put it this way. For a new student, if you don't feel much when you send righteous thoughts, the main reason is that your cultivation process has been short, and as a result you are not yet sensitive to the transformation of your entire body. Actually, many people who have cultivated for a long time aren't necessarily sensitive to that. Why is it that some people fall asleep as soon as they start sending righteous thoughts? It's because they can't feel their effect.

One thing I said earlier was that you are able to cultivate to such a high level precisely because you cultivate amidst illusion, such massive illusion. In this situation where the requirements for you are so high, when you manage to make it all the way through with strong righteous thoughts, that is remarkable, and you will achieve Consummation for sure. It's true that when many students send forth righteous thoughts they usually don't sense things very acutely or obviously. That's because the side that truly has an impact and this part that is not yet completely cultivated are separated. But this side that is not yet completely cultivated is the main body, and what's critical is whether the righteous thoughts of this most important part are strong! In cultivation, when your righteous thoughts are strong, you are improving and constantly undergoing transformation. When your righteous thoughts are strong, the righteous thoughts that you send forth are substantial, and the side of you that has been completely cultivated exercises its enormous abilities. Since the cultivated side is partitioned off, and your human side is being restrained, [your human side is] not very sensitive still. If the separation weren't there, then no matter how insensitive you were, when such a powerful force came forth, I think the side of you that's over here would quake incredibly, and the human body--this portion that has yet to be completely cultivated--couldn't withstand such a powerful force.

A lot of students don't place high importance on sending forth righteous thoughts, and a very big reason for this is that they are not sensitive [to what it is doing]. Whether you are sensitive or not, when Master tells you to do something you should do it, and it will for sure have its effect. It's definitely not just a formality! Master would absolutely not ask you to do something useless. (Applause) Were it just a formality, it would be meaningless for you, for me, for Fa-rectification and your validating the Fa, and for all beings. And moreover, [I have told you] to treat sending forth righteous thoughts as something highly important. You must take it seriously. Whether you can sense things or not, you need to do it with strong righteous thoughts. As time goes on I think all of you will come to sense things.

When you send righteous thoughts, you aren't required to enter a state of tranquility wherein you are not thinking about anything. You do think when you send forth righteous thoughts, and your thoughts are [supposed to be] very strong. Right now you should mainly think about disintegrating the vile CCP's evil specter and those dark minions and rotten ghosts, about destroying them, and purging them. That is different from going into a state of complete tranquility.

Disciple asks: I'm a ten-year-old girl, and I would like to know when a dance class for children will be held. (Audience laughs)

Teacher: (Teacher chuckles) It's not that Master will hold it. (Audience laughs) Sometimes Master helps to coordinate things a little and things are then done faster, but they are all done by Dafa disciples. Right now our teaching resources are limited. When conditions allow we will hold such classes.

Disciple asks: Greetings, esteemed Master. I would like to ask about the many mainland Chinese fellow practitioners who have been unlawfully detained by the evil. Quite a few of them probably still haven't heard about the "Three Withdrawals." If, when the day for settling accounts with the CCP comes and some of the unlawfully detained disciples have not yet published their "Three Withdrawals" announcements, will this negatively affect them?

Teacher: As for Dafa disciples, when you are already a Dafa disciple, other things become less important. But in cultivation there are always those with strong ordinary human attachments, those with insufficient righteous thoughts, and new students. So if you are one of those practitioners, it really won't do if you don't state your stance. None of that is important, though, for diligent veteran students who have been cultivating for many years. That's how it works. The most important thing is to save all beings and to have ordinary people quit the vile CCP so that they don't go down with it.

Disciple asks: Master, I swore before your picture that I would stop failing the test of sexual desire, but later on I failed it again. I deeply regret it and I am afraid of losing everything.

Teacher: For a cultivator, a Dafa disciple, that is something truly dishonorable. In Buddhism they require people to adhere to precepts, and when someone breaks the precept on chastity it is really a very grave matter! Did you know that Dafa disciples have metamorphosed from the old cosmos and have emerged beyond the old Fa principles, but the old cosmos, the old Fa principles, the old beings... all of that is trying to hold you back!

I have talked before about the old forces' interference. Have you thought about the following? [Sexual desire] is one of the factors [they use] to hold you back! What do the old forces and the old cosmos see as the gravest thing? Lust, [in the form of] sexual activity outside of marriage. That's what they see as the most serious of things. In the past, once someone violated the precept on that, he would be thrown out of the temple, and his cultivation would be utterly finished. So how do gods look at this now? Do you know what they have said in the prophecies that they left behind? They prophesied that all of the Dafa disciples who would be left in the end would be those who had maintained their purity along these lines. In other words, these things are extremely serious to them. So the old forces and all of the gods in that cosmos will not defend anyone who violates the prohibition on this, anyone who doesn't do well in this regard; in fact they will push you downwards. They know [and think to themselves], "Li Hongzhi, you won't abandon your disciples, so we will make you abandon them." That's why they have the students who have made mistakes make more mistakes, over and over, and in the end do wicked things and go to the opposite side. "We will fill his head with crooked understandings and make him damage Dafa. Then we will see if you still keep him." And you know, that is what they have done. Do you think all those who have "enlightened" along an evil path really wanted to go toward evilness? There are reasons behind all of that.

So, you have to be careful with this, especially younger Dafa disciples. If you are not married, you must not engage in sexual activity, and even less should those who are married make the mistake of having extramarital relations. Dafa disciples can of course get married while cultivating in ordinary society. That's not a problem. But you must not make mistakes! You must not let the old forces' factors and the wicked beings take advantage of your gaps and persecute you to a point where eventually you can no longer cultivate. Then you will have lost your chance.

What Master says is absolutely true. Whether or not you are diligent, and no matter how you entered this Dafa, all of the arrangements made on the earth over thousands of years were done for what is happening today. You must really seize this opportunity and not let it pass you by. In fact, whatever the stance the multitude of beings on Earth have on Dafa, the bad things they are doing are all done in ignorance. If they truly knew that this is what they have been waiting for, they wouldn't do bad things that are detrimental to Dafa even if you beat them to death.

Of course, it might not be too easy for newer students to understand what I have said. Cultivate step by step, and in the future you will know. Because Dafa disciples have already cultivated for so long and have developed clear understandings on many things, it might not be too easy for newer students to understand [these things]. What human society glorifies is not necessarily all good, and what human beings glorify is not necessarily acceptable to gods.

Disciple asks: A lot of Dafa disciples in North America are trying to move to New York City and New Jersey, and some of those who work in other places also want to find a job in the Eastern U.S. so that they can be as close to Master as possible. (Audience laughs) This is understandable, but other areas need students there to validate Dafa, especially when the CCP's evil specter is still quite rampant in some areas.

Teacher: That is a problem. Some students have moved because they have certain special skills that happen to be needed, and that's fine. But other students shouldn't move rashly and without thinking it through or without a sound reason for doing so. Don't introduce difficulties into your day-to-day living or other aspects of your life. After you've caused those difficulties, every day you will be thinking, "How am I going to feed myself today? How can I ensure a roof over my head tomorrow?" In that case, you wouldn't be able to validate the Fa, right? That is, don't create uncalled for difficulties for yourself, disrupt your cultivation setting, or ruin the conditions that allow you to validate the Fa. It looks like in the future I too should live out West here for a while. (Master laughs) (Audience laughs, applauds) After this period of busyness is over maybe I will live somewhere else. (Audience laughs, applauds)

Disciple asks: Some of the older Dafa disciples around us have cultivated for many years, have an excellent state of mind and good health, and they look a lot younger than non-practitioners their age. However, they still show some signs of aging.

Teacher: This part on the surface that hasn't been completely changed in the process of cultivation has not gone beyond the constraints of time in this dimension. When this side of you has been cultivated to a point where it is no longer restrained by the time here and has become disassociated with this dimension's time, the time here will have no effect on you. This has happened to some students, but not everyone is like this. Each person's cultivation path is different, and the states arranged for them are different. For most practitioners, the side that has been well-cultivated can't be directed by the divine side, since they are separated.

Another reason is that the factors of the old forces that interfere are still exerting an effect. I have said something before: "The gods in the cosmos don't regard human beings as anything significant." People say that gods are compassionate. Yes, they are compassionate, and compassion is what they cultivate. But their having compassion does not mean they have compassion toward human beings; they have nothing to do with human beings. When a god comes into contact with human beings, humans may sense powerful compassion from him, but that's just the kind of god he is, and he is not being compassionate specifically towards you; rather, being compassionate is just his state. In fact, a lot of the gods of the old cosmos think, "You Dafa disciples are cultivating to such a high level, and you will determine the future of the cosmos. So I won't let you ascend if you fall short even just a little bit." Even though we can't call these beings "ruthless," when it comes to this they absolutely won't give a wrongdoer a way out, nor be lenient with you just because you have done some good things.

Back when I first started teaching the Fa, it was owing to these things that I reached an impasse with them, and things were delayed by a year. Later on I knew that if I kept holding off on teaching and spreading the Fa, a lot of students wouldn't have time to even obtain the Fa, and there wouldn't be enough time to save many beings. So, with many things I have been contending with them. Back at that time, I wanted the transformation of the surface body to be in sync with the part that has been well-cultivated; I wanted to have the body be disassociated with the human state during cultivation; and I wanted to have the cultivating disciples use their own righteous thoughts to maintain a state that is just like that of human beings. Over these issues I was at an impasse with them for a year. That's why I didn't start to teach the Fa in public at that time. We stayed in a stalemate for a year. Even now I can't acknowledge what they have insisted upon, and I absolutely will not acknowledge it in the future. In the future all beings that have been part of the interferences and disruptions will be disintegrated in the process of paying for what they have done. What I want has to be accomplished, even if we have to reverse history and start from scratch again. Both this content and process are necessary for Fa-rectification. I am not referring to things that will happen when the Fa rectifies the human world.

Disciple asks: Dafa disciples from Beijing and Zhangjiakou send their greetings to Master. Revered Master has said in past Fa teachings that it would be pretty good if we could save fifty percent of the people in China (not an exact quote). Does that number have anything to do with the two kinds of matter and their restraining effect in this human dimension, as discussed in the scripture "Buddha-Nature and Demon-Nature"?

Teacher: Buddha-nature and Demon-nature doesn't refer to this. It refers to the two kinds of matter--positive and negative--that exist in the elements that make up the universe. The lower the level, the greater the differences between the two kinds of matter; the positive matter becomes better, and the negative matter becomes more evil. When man was created, the two elements of good and evil already inhered in matter, so the created human beings themselves had both good and evil elements. When someone is irrationally shouting and screaming or venting, that's his demon-nature acting out--that is, his demon-nature side is at work. When a person is very benevolent, kind and genial, affable, and gentle, that is his good side coming into play.

When you cultivate an upright Fa and [are achieving] righteous Enlightenment, you are to restrain and eliminate your demon-nature. In the past, cultivation in Buddhism was about restraint--restraining demon-nature and enabling Buddha-nature to come into full play. In the end, when one's power of restraint had grown very strong, the person's demon-nature could no longer have any effect, as if it had been locked up. This Fa-rectification is to effect fundamental changes throughout the entire cosmos. That is why during Dafa disciples' cultivation things are being adjusted for them anew, starting from the microcosmic level, and whatever isn't needed is removed directly. It changes the state of a being at a fundamental level. It's different from how things were when people cultivated before.

Disciple asks: Political activity is a way of things in Western society [that bespeaks of] people having human rights and sovereignty, whereas "getting involved in politics" is a term that reflects the political culture after the CCP's distortion. Is this understanding correct?

Teacher: The CCP incites people to "care about politics" when it benefits from them doing so. A notable example is the Cultural Revolution, as you all know: Whenever someone was said to be "politically backwards," it meant that the person had "backward thinking" and "didn't care about politics." But when the vile Party feels threatened, participating in politics suddenly turns "illegal." They say whatever suits them, and what they say is always supposed to be right.

Also, in Western countries the concept of politics is: any public activity that is not religious or that doesn't affect only the individual is considered a part of politics. That's why when it comes to Western society's take on whether Falun Gong is religious, their conclusion is: "Since the public activities you have aren't political activities, you are a religion... And you have spiritual beliefs." So they consider it a religion.

Let me mention something while we're on this topic. In the future, if someone asks whether we are a religion, don't offer an explanation, don't try to explain that anymore to the average person. Whatever the person thinks we are is up to him. You're clear on this, right? In China, with that kind of society, there is a clear notion of what counts as "a religion": A religion has a temple, worship, religious rituals that one needs to be part of, taking of vows, baptism, and so on--all of which quite clearly mark someone, or the activities he does, as religious. Without these it doesn't count as a religion. This is completely different from the concept they have in the West. So in Western society, if the average person comments on whether you are a religion, you needn't reply, and you don't need to take it that seriously. If a government, social organization, administrative department, congressional representative, etc. says that you're a religion, you no longer need to tell them that we're not. If legal issues are involved, you can handle things as a religion and go by the related legal provisions. So under these circumstances you can say it is a religion, especially when it involves legal matters. Are you all clear on this? It owes to conceptual differences in the East and West. This doesn't violate the Fa that I taught before. Early on I talked about this in Essentials for Further Advancement. I said: we are not a religion, but ordinary people will regard us as one. You really need to be clear on this.

Disciple asks: Master, we do the exercises and clarify the truth at tourist sites, and yet the banners we hang there are about the "CCP's despotic rule" and the "Nine Commentaries." Master, would you please tell us what effect this has in saving sentient beings?

Teacher: When the Nine Commentaries first came out, the ordinary people out there, including in mainland China, were tightly controlled by various evil factors and the vile CCP's evil specter. At that time, if [disseminating] the Nine Commentaries and clarifying the truth were done together, that would have made it very hard to save the people that were to be saved. But having gone through a year, and being at this point today, the situation is different: The vile CCP's evil specter has been destroyed to the point where it can no longer control the common ordinary person, people are now able to think about things independently, and people are no longer controlled by the vile Party's evil specter. In this situation, there's no problem with your doing it as you described.

Besides, the goal of our distributing the Nine Commentaries and advising people to withdraw from the Party is clear. You can explain it to people this way: The vile CCP has persecuted Dafa disciples for so many years, and during this time the vile CCP has been given chances; everyone is well aware of the fact that the vile CCP is persecuting Falun Gong. We have given it chances all these years, and yet it still hasn't stopped its persecution and it is still constantly persecuting Dafa dis