(Minghui.org) Journey to the West is a well-known Chinese story that has been handed down from ancient times. It is the story of a Chinese Buddhist monk, Tang Monk, who traveled from China to India to get the true Buddhist scripture.

As the story goes, Tang Monk was always being captured by demons. Although his disciple, Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, had the ability to see what the demons were up to and warned him, Tang Monk never listened, and the demons always ended capturing him.

Even though he knew that there would be pitfalls, including monsters and demons, on his journey, Tang Monk took everything lightly, because he also knew that Sun Wukong had a pair of fire eyes with golden pupils that could see through anything. Nevertheless, he always ignored his suggestions. Tang Monk failed to learn his lesson or pay attention to security on his journey to the west.

Practitioners' Folly

I have re-told this story to highlight how foolish it is not to listen to good advice.

Many Dafa practitioners have been severely persecuted in China. When they are released, some of them immediately forget about safety--they carry cell phones, contact fellow practitioners casually, and talk about Dafa projects to anyone willing to listen. Isn't this the same mistake that Monk Tang made?

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spies on other nations and on any group it considers an "enemy." To prevent CCP spies from stealing information and sabotaging Dafa projects outside of China, overseas practitioners are very mindful of security to ensure the success of their projects. Shouldn't the same apply to those working on Dafa projects in China?

When it comes to safety, the most common arguments some practitioners use are: “We'll be OK - Master is protecting us” or “We are safe as long as our righteous thoughts are strong.” Undoubtedly Dafa practitioners' righteous thoughts play a significant role, but practitioners themselves must connect to and conform to ordinary society. When you refuse to adopt safety measures, you have, in fact, sent forth a thought that you do not care about safety. Then what's the point of “We are safe as long as our righteous thoughts are strong?”

Doing or Not Doing

For example, when you are reminded not to take your cell phone with you, you face a choice. Do you leave your cell phone at home and thus eliminate the possibility of eavesdropping? Or do you ignore the reminder, saying you have strong righteous thoughts?

Why would you carry your cell phone? Because of things in the human world, such as the convenience of doing business? It comes down to loss and attachments in the human world. The bottom line is, you're choosing between “safety amidst cultivating in Dafa and saving people” and “loss and attachments in the human world.”

When you choose to carry your cell phone, you are telling all beings in the cosmos who are watching every thought of yours that you would rather give up safety to protect your benefits and attachments. Would Master protect you for these worldly things of yours? Is your choice really the result of having strong righteous thoughts?

Safety Is an Important Part of Negating the Persecution

We often say we must negate the persecution. In my opinion, paying attention to safety is an important part of negating the persecution. When fellow practitioners remind you to take safety measures and you refuse to, saying that you have Master's protection, it is, in fact, in line with the example given in Zhuan Falun about the person who was walking on the street with the Dafa book in his hand, yelling, “I have Teacher Li’s protection, so I’m not afraid of being hit by a car.” (Lecture Three in Zhuan Falun) Remembering that Master will protect you is a righteous thought, but it shouldn't be the sole righteous thought used in such circumstances.

We should rationally take all kinds of safety measures, do our best to plan ahead and do all well, make the right choice, and make the effort to do what it takes to get done whatever needs to be done. When things go wrong due to our lack of safety concerns, we face real danger. We should always think of Master's protection and treat the persecution and tribulation with righteous thoughts, and only by doing this will Master protect us.

However, some fellow practitioners tend to use Master's protection as an excuse to spare themselves the worry and effort of taking safety precautions. As soon as they are in danger, they tend to forget everything about righteous thoughts, forget about Master, and are filled with fear.

Once released from imprisonment, they tend to forget all about the lessons they should have learned and continue to pay little attention to safety. They turn into Tang Monk, who always failed to learn his lesson and thus was always captured by demons.

Given where the Fa-rectification is today, we cannot always behave like this; we must treat this issue rationally and seriously.

Please point out anything improper.