Is Dafa Work "Volunteer Labor?"

In the article "My Seven-year Cultivation Experience in the Truth-clarification Material Center," which was published by the Clearwisdom website recently, a practitioner wrote, "The most obvious manifestation is that I will work forever for my family and career. But when it comes to Dafa work, I feel that it's extra effort. The differentiation between Dafa work and my personal business is so clearcut. I would never think of putting off my household chores or personal business--I must do them conscientiously and earnestly, whereas Dafa work can be postponed any time, or can be done perfunctorily. It is as if I have affixed special labels that distinguish which is Dafa work and which is my work."

I find that Western practitioners do better in this area. I wonder why this is manifested so notably among both Mainland and overseas Chinese Dafa practitioners. It reminds me of the different kinds of "volunteer labor" the evil Party culture has promoted in China, such as "National volunteer tree-planting," "National hygiene," and other "volunteer labors" advocated by different work units and government organizations. In fact, this kind of so-called "volunteer labor" is completely different from "volunteer work" in the West. The concept of "volunteer work" in the West is self-driven, or is an ideal that one seeks to fulfill. No one watches you, and you do it without seeking any returns. But the Party's kind of "volunteer labor" is not self-driven, and it doesn't come from one's passion. It is a "vain effort" assigned by one's work unit and no wages are paid. One gets sick and tired of it as time goes on, and regards "volunteer labor" as something "one doesn't have to do or something that can be shift shuffled off onto others or be postponed or be done perfunctorily."

The work that practitioners do to validate Dafa is indeed voluntary. No one forces us to do anything. There's no salary, and no one will expel us if we don't do it well. When practitioners who are poisoned by the Party culture take on Dafa work, they often unconsciously view it through this mindset of the Party's idea of "volunteer labor." They don't realize that they themselves are indispensable to the work, and that they must try their best to complete it. Their mindset is one of selfishness. Like that fellow practitioner said, "I think that the fundamental reason stems from the lack of understanding of what the Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples are about, and that their selfishness is too great."

In fact, Dafa disciples' validating the Fa in human society is precisely the opposite in other dimensions. In this human dimension, while we think that ordinary work or individual matters are real and important and that Dafa work is just on the sidelines, the truth is that they exist just to cooperate with us in validating the Fa and maintaining the state of ordinary society in order to save more sentient beings. Dafa work is the most important. It is our real profession. We must do it well because it is our grand, historic mission. If we don't do a good job, how can we be worthy of shouldering this great responsibility that numerous beings have placed on us! How can we be worthy of our thousands of years of reincarnation and hardship if we are just waiting for the arrival of this fleeting moment!

There is another thing. Many practitioners view their local truth-clarification material centers and the Clearwisdom website as "volunteer work" contracted to certain practitioners, "work places," or "higher authorities." Instead of studying the Fa, looking inward, and coming up with different ways to solve the problems, they push all their problems onto others. When something goes wrong, they push the responsibility onto other practitioners and then think that they are responsible for fixing all technical problems, cultivation problems, coordination problems, or even personal problems that they encounter. This is a very serious attachment of dependence.

This kind of over-dependence on "higher authorities" and the mentality of shuffling one's work off onto the "work place" are, in fact, a distorted manifestation of the Party culture. Under the tight control and rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), people have to report on everything, including food, clothing, housing, transport, daily necessities, weddings and funerals, education, grain accounts, etc. to their work units or higher authorities. Because all the resources necessary to live are controlled by the CCP, people who live in this environment are conditioned to this deviated mentality. In fact, this kind of "contract" does not exist in Western society, where people solve their own problems. Their employers are only responsible for providing jobs and paying salaries to their employees. Their employers don't arrange such personal aspects of your life as housing and schools. That's why people from China have difficulties adapting to the Western lifestyle. They think that the Western way is absurd and that no one understands them. In fact, in Western eyes, the Chinese lifestyle that has been distorted by the Party Culture is truly ridiculous. As Dafa disciples, this distorted notion must be eliminated. I hope that all Chinese practitioners get a chance to read "Disintegrating the Party Culture" and make efforts to clear out this distorted notion.

This is my personal understanding. Please compassionately point out anything inappropriate.