Kindheartedness

The next manifestation is kindheartedness. This manifestation is a merit of humanity. After we’ve discussed so much, we have finally arrived at a merit of humanity; there truly are not many merits of humanity. Kindheartedness is a type of merit of humanity. Since it is a merit, we must speak about it in detail because most people do not possess the manifestations of the few merits of humanity that can be found in people. So, let’s take a look; where do the merits of kindheartedness lie? (Kindheartedness means that someone is relatively genuine. When they handle things, others feel relatively reassured. They carry a burden to handle well the tasks that are entrusted to them.) (Kindhearted people have relatively good moral conduct, will consider others, and think on behalf of others.) Thinking on behalf of others—this is a noble style! Such people are noble, but is kindheartedness so noble? (No.) Kindheartedness simply means that a person’s thoughts are not so complex; they are relatively simple, not treacherous; they are generous and not harsh toward others, and they do not calculate personal gains and losses when associating with others. Someone insults them, and they feel upset for a while, but then they think, “Forget it,” and let the matter go. Someone owes them money for a long time without repaying, and they think this over: “It would be embarrassing to urge them to pay. Besides, they have it tough, and at that time, I was better off than they were. I lent it, and that’s that. I’ll just consider it as helping the poor.” You see, their thoughts are relatively magnanimous and tolerant. For example, when others misunderstand them, they do not mind and do not defend themselves. When others judge them and call them foolish, they do not care. When doing their duty, they do not feel it is tiring, and do things others are unwilling to do. Someone mocks them, saying, “Everyone else is resting, so why are you still working?” They respond, “What’s the harm in doing a bit more? It doesn’t exhaust me. Can working really wear someone out? If others don’t do it, then let them be. Since I can do it, I’ll just do a bit more.” They do not fuss over such matters and take action to do the work. They do not fuss much over gains and losses, nor do they fuss much over face or status. Even when they suffer losses themselves, they do not mention it. When others encounter difficulties, they take the initiative to help. Their assistance is without their own intention and purpose, and if others want to repay them a favor, they feel that helping a little is no big deal and is something they should do. Even if others do not appreciate their help after they have given it, they do not fuss over such things. When it is time to help others, they will still help. Are there many such people? (Not many.) There are not many such people. Even though they are kindhearted, they have certain boundaries in how they conduct themselves. For example, some people always want to take advantage of such a person, taking them for a fool. After taking advantage, they say some pleasant words to sweet-talk them, and after a while, they take advantage of them again. When the kindhearted person sees that there will be no end to this, they do not fuss over, argue, or reason with them. In their heart, they know that such people are not good and are not suitable for associating with, so they ignore them from then on. However, they do not judge them behind their backs. At most, when someone asks about a person of this sort, they say, “That person just likes to take small advantages.” They do not exaggerate, nor do they judge people with impetuousness; they simply speak to the matter at hand. The humanity of kindhearted people is really quite good. Their merit is that they do not fuss too much over things. Whatever they do, they do not act based on impetuousness, emotions, or feelings; they only do what people should do and fulfill the responsibilities people should fulfill. Within the scope of normal interpersonal relationships, they do what they ought to do; whatever they can do, they try their best to do it, striving to help others, and they do so sincerely and earnestly. Some of them do not even seek any reward, thinking, “I’m just lending a hand. You don’t need to feel like you owe me much, nor do you need to feel like you can never repay me just because you owe me this bit, always acting servile and overly respectful in front of me. That’s unnecessary.” Such individuals have the best humanity among people. They are not treacherous, nor are they harsh toward others. They are warmhearted, and there is a kind side to their humanity. They do whatever they are capable of, do not fuss much over personal gains and losses, and do not care much about rewards. This is a merit of humanity. Look around you and see who possesses such merits. If a person possesses such character, then they can be considered a good person, a decent person, among corrupt humankind. They do not fuss over things, are not treacherous, are not harsh toward others, and help others without seeking profit. They are especially tolerant of others and very magnanimous in their self-conduct. What does it mean to be very magnanimous? It means not fussing endlessly over trivial matters, and not harboring resentment when others take advantage of them. This is called being magnanimous, and it is a major merit of humanity. Kindheartedness is also a merit, and magnanimity is likewise a merit. This is unlike those who are petty, prone to suspicion, sensitive, and obstinate—these people fuss over trivial matters endlessly, get angry at the drop of a hat, swell with anger, wear a frighteningly cold expression, ignore anyone who speaks to them, and think of nothing other than how to take revenge on others. None of these are things that normal people should have. Kindhearted people do not have those complicated matters in their thoughts, nor do they have suspicious thoughts about others. Everything in their hearts is what normal people should have; it particularly conforms to the conscience and reason of humanity, as well as to the standard of a sense of justice and kindness in humanity. When you associate with them, you feel very relaxed and you feel that things are very simple—there aren’t so many troublesome matters, and you don’t need to guard against anything. You don’t have to speculate about their thoughts or play guessing games. Even if you accidentally hurt them, you don’t have to worry about any consequences—of course, you also don’t need to bear any consequences. It’s possible that when you’re angry, you become impetuous and yell a few harsh words at them, and at the time, they quarrel and argue with you too, but after the argument, they do not hold a grudge, nor will they scheme against or take revenge on you. You don’t need to worry that if they gain status, they will make things difficult for you or nitpick at you, nor do you need to worry that they will target you for no reason. They do not have such things inside them—they are just this simple. They absolutely wouldn’t keep holding things against you from that point on. Once the matter is over, it’s over. Afterward, when they speak to you, they still treat you normally. Even if they were angry at the time and quarreled with you, they do not hold a grudge against you afterward. They know that you only said a few angry words, and they can understand it: “Who doesn’t say some harsh words when they’re angry? It wasn’t intentional. Besides, everyone has corrupt dispositions, everyone has times when they’re in a bad mood, and everyone has impetuousness. Afterward, as long as everyone calms down, admits their mistakes, and reflects on the fact that they revealed corrupt dispositions and failed to act according to principles, that’s okay.” They will forgive you, unlike evil people, who hound you relentlessly and will not stop until they ruin you. Kindhearted people generally do not have a heart for revenge. If you do something that offends them, they may sometimes hate you, but they would absolutely not violate the morality of humanity and use despicable means to torment you. Even though they have corrupt dispositions and may say or do some things based on those corrupt dispositions—such as mentioning mistakes you’ve made in the past or pruning you—they would not fabricate things out of thin air or use the power they wield to attack or take revenge on you. Even if they want to attack or take revenge on you and they have this kind of corrupt disposition, because their humanity possesses the merit of kindheartedness, when they want to take revenge, they will be restrained, and they will be able to keep things within proper bounds. If a corrupt human with power can still achieve this level, it is already quite commendable. Most people, if they do not possess this merit, are unable to attain even this degree of restraint and cannot refrain from attacking and taking revenge on others.

The manifestation or revelation of kindheartedness is a merit of humanity. This merit of humanity, to a large extent, will restrain or prompt people, enabling them to gain a certain degree of control and restraint when their corrupt disposition is revealed. If such a kindhearted person is someone who has spiritual understanding, who can comprehend the truth and accept the truth, then this merit of their humanity can enable them to adhere more strictly to the truth principles when viewing people and things, and conducting themselves and acting, isn’t that so? (Yes.) A cunning person, on the other hand, is much craftier and is different from a kindhearted person. After doing something bad, not only do they not reflect on themselves, but they even intensify their wrongdoing and carry it through to the end. This turns them into a devil, completely contrary to the principles by which a kindhearted person acts. For example, if someone is a kindhearted person and possesses this merit of humanity, then when arguing with you, they will speak based on facts. They will not exaggerate, fabricate some negative things about you out of thin air, or defame you and insult your integrity because they are angry with you. They absolutely would not do such things. When arguing with you, they may reveal an arrogant or vicious disposition, but the words they say are absolutely restrained by their conscience, reason, and kindhearted humanity. In this way, at a certain level, the degree of harm inflicted on you is reduced. Evil people, however, lack the kindhearted aspect of humanity. How do evil people quarrel? “You are a slut, a prostitute! I insult eight generations of your ancestors and curse eight generations of your ancestors!” They will say all kinds of harsh and malicious things. This is what evil people are like—their character is vile. Some people with vile character do not base their insults on facts. Why do they not base them on facts? Because they lack conscience and do not meet the standards of conscience. When they insult others, they are not restricted by their conscience. They hurl abuse recklessly, saying whatever insults come to mind. Whatever words can vent their hatred, deeply wound your heart, and drive you mad with anger—those are the words they will say. Their insults can practically infuriate you to death. Such people have no kindness in their hearts and are full of malice. What evil people reveal are primarily arrogance and viciousness, these two kinds of dispositions. In essence, the words they hurl carry curses, are filled with Satan’s malice, and have sufficient destructive power; they can even hurl the most malicious words of cursing. If you have humanity or if your humanity is kindhearted, then you cannot say such insults; moreover, you cannot fabricate things out of thin air. This is because you have a sense of conscience and you have rationality, and the aspect of being good-natured and kindhearted within your conscience greatly restrains and controls you, making it impossible for you to say such insults. When someone insults you, you feel angry and want to insult eight generations of their ancestors and curse them, saying that they should go to hell, but you think it over: “What gives me the right to curse them? I am not God, and I do not have the final say.” You also want to insult them back with vulgar words, but you think it over: “If I use vulgar words, even I will feel disgusted—what will the people around me think of me? Wouldn’t that mean I have no integrity or dignity? Wouldn’t I be acting like a shrew? I won’t be that kind of person.” You cannot bring yourself to insult them. So to a large extent, your speech is restrained, and what you are able to bring yourself to say is very limited. At most, you might say, “You are Satan, your corrupt disposition is severe, you cannot attain salvation, and God does not like you.” You might at most say a few of such things, but then you think it over: “Whether God dislikes someone is not for me to decide,” and so you lack confidence when you say that. When someone insults you and curses you, telling you to go to the eighteenth level of hell, you think to yourself: “Cursing someone, telling them to go to the eighteenth level of hell—those words are far too harsh! I couldn’t say something like that. I must be softer with my words!” Why are you able to have these thoughts? Because what exists within your humanity is different from that of evil people. If you are kindhearted and good-natured, and you have conscience and reason, the words you say will be very rational. You might, within the bounds of your conscience, say some angry words or let some foul words slip, but after saying them, you feel very upset yourself and haven’t really hurt the other person—your words lack destructive power. Evil people become more delighted the more they insult others, whereas you become more upset the more you insult others—you think to yourself: “Forget it, stooping to the same level as such a despicable character and evil person is worthless and meaningless. I won’t quarrel with them anymore.” Arguing with an evil person is as utterly ineffective as trying to speak about the truth with Satan. There is no need to argue or fuss over things with them. Just stay away from such people in the future. Would you think about harming them? Would you think about taking revenge on them and find an opportunity to teach them a lesson? You don’t have that kind of cruel heart. You just keep telling yourself, “Forget it. A few insults from them haven’t caused me any loss; I won’t fuss over it with them.” Some people even comfort themselves by saying, “Anyway, God hasn’t cursed me. Their curses don’t have any effect.” In fact, because you have conscience and reason, and you are kindhearted and good-natured within your humanity, you simply cannot say those insults. You find them dirty and demeaning. If those words were to come out of your mouth, you would feel they go against your conscience. Especially when it comes to fabrications or baseless matters, you even more so cannot say them. Being unable to say them is, for you, a safeguard. Their words have significant destructive power and have caused you harm—this is their evil deed. How did this evil deed come about? It is because their humanity contains vile qualities. When they have conflicts or disputes with you, their corrupt disposition inflates without limit, and they can curse you wantonly. They have this kind of vile character, so naturally they reveal a corrupt disposition. If you, on the other hand, are a kindhearted and good-natured person with conscience, reason, and humanity, in this kind of situation, not only would you not vent your corrupt disposition, but your humanity would, to a large extent, restrain the revelation of your corrupt disposition. This is extremely beneficial for you. On the surface, it seems you have suffered a loss, are at a disadvantage, and cannot beat them in a quarrel, becoming a laughingstock for others. In fact, your humanity has protected you, preventing you from committing evil, doing things that God does not find pleasing, or saying words that God does not find pleasing. In this way, hasn’t it, to some extent, protected you? (Yes.) This merit of humanity has, to a large extent, protected you, preventing you from further doing things that God does not find pleasing or detests, or saying words that God detests and condemns, when revealing a corrupt disposition. Although this does not count as a good deed, at the very least, you have not committed evil. What you did in this situation will not be condemned, and you will not be punished for it. In contrast, evil people will not only be condemned but also punished for the things they do under the dominance of their vile character. They will have to bear the consequences and bear responsibility. Therefore, people who possess various merits in their humanity may appear to lose face, status, and dignity in some matters, and especially lose the opportunity to take the initiative to argue their reason, but this is not suffering a loss. Some people say, “If it’s not suffering a loss, does that mean it’s taking advantage?” It cannot be measured in terms of suffering losses or taking advantage. So how should it be measured? It should be measured like this: Suffering a loss in some situation doesn’t matter; the key is that you can gain benefit from it. In this situation, it is the merits of your humanity that have safeguarded your behavior, preventing you from committing evil and ensuring that you are not condemned by God. Isn’t this gaining benefit? Now you cannot possibly suffer punishment as a result of committing evil. Isn’t this a good thing for you? (Yes.) Even though it is not a good deed you actively performed, nor an action of actively adhering to the truth principles, within the framework of having merits in your humanity, you have done something that does not violate the truth principles. In this way, you are protected. Although it will not be remembered, at the very least, it is not condemned. And so you do not need to bear any responsibility or suffer punishment. Isn’t this a good thing? (Yes.) In the process of following God, regardless of whether what you do conforms to the truth and regardless of how God views it, at the very least, you have a clear conscience. Even if God does not remember it, you should at least avoid being condemned by God or making God hate you. This is the most basic principle you should follow. Aren’t merits of humanity very important to people? (Yes.) So don’t feel constantly unwilling just because you think that having some merits of humanity makes you unpopular among people, you will always miss out on taking advantage or gaining benefits, and all the advantages will be taken by others while you will always be the one suffering a loss. What’s so bad about suffering a loss? At the very least, what you are enjoying is what God originally gave to you, and you have not taken what belongs to others. If you take advantage, that is not right—it means you have taken from others’ share. If you take what does not belong to you, you will be condemned by God. People should not do things that are condemned by God. Some people say, “I don’t know what kind of actions I should do that will be remembered by God.” But do you know which actions are condemned by God? If you do, then at the very least, you should adhere to this boundary: Don’t do things that are condemned by God. Do you understand? (Yes.) Now that we’ve discussed these matters more, you should understand.

The merit of kindheartedness in humanity is absent in most people. However, if someone truly possesses this merit, then they are truly a good person among corrupt humankind—such people are very rare. If you truly possess this merit, God will bless you, God will show grace to you at every turn. In human terms, it means that God will care for you at every turn. How does He care for you? God’s care for you is that even though you always think of others and give up your own interests, and others take advantage of you, they cannot receive God’s blessings. They can only live by taking advantage of others and will have to repay this in the next life. However, you live by God’s blessings. Although others may take advantage of you, in actuality, you lose nothing. Tell Me, is this good? (Yes.) You see, kindhearted people outwardly seem to always suffer losses. People see them as simple and guileless, so when speaking and acting they always take advantage of them, treating them like fools, bullying them, extracting both money and benefits from them, and seizing many of their possessions. But do you see kindhearted people lacking anything? They lack nothing. They are abundantly provided for in everything. When doing things, they have intelligence and wisdom and do not worry. Whatever duty God’s house assigns to them, they do not fuss over gains and losses, nor do they fight or compete. They simply do whatever they are asked to do. Regardless of the task, they rarely make mistakes. Even if occasional minor problems or small errors occur, they are not intentional. They put their hearts into what they do, they pass the minimum baseline in terms of their conscience and reason, and they can accept God’s scrutiny. Therefore, such people can receive God’s blessings. Since you know kindheartedness is a merit of humanity, should you strive toward this in your self-conduct? (Yes.) Don’t fuss over minor issues, and don’t be like someone so prickly that no one dares to approach or provoke them—don’t be that kind of person. If others take a little advantage of you, don’t always feel like they are bullying you. What’s so bad about being a bit simpler and more guileless? Some people are overly shrewd and always want to prove they’re not foolish, saying, “Don’t take me for a fool. I’ve got brains! I can see who doesn’t like me or treats me poorly. I can tell who looks down on me and whose words are full of sarcasm or hidden jabs.” Being able to see and hear such things is useless. This is just petty cleverness and shrewdness. Having this bit of shrewdness does not mean you have wisdom or that you are truly smart. On the contrary, people will look down on you, because even animals possess this kind of shrewdness and these petty thoughts. Why do I say this? Those who have close contact with animals all know this: Even small animals can understand when you say pleasant or unpleasant things about them. For example, if a dog hears you say unpleasant words, it will immediately become unhappy, while it can also tell if you say some obviously pleasant words. If people always use things that even small animals possess to measure themselves, doesn’t that degrade their own attribute of being human? By lowering the standard for measuring created humankind, you are devaluing yourself. Don’t always say things like, “Don’t think I’m foolish and treat me like a three-year-old. If you give me cornbread, I definitely won’t eat it; bring me dumplings instead. Who doesn’t know that dumplings are delicious?” Don’t use such foolish words to try to prove that you’re not foolish. If you are truly not foolish, then strive to meet the standards of humanity. What should be present in people’s conscience and reason, what the manifestations of the merits of humanity are, what the manifestations of the shortcomings of humanity and poor character are—fellowship on and understand these aspects. Fellowship a bit about what people should possess in their humanity and what created humankind should possess, then strive toward them and work hard to possess these things. Won’t this elevate your personal value? Will you ever get anywhere by constantly comparing your intelligence with that of a three-year-old? Can you ever grow up that way? A three-year-old child says, “I can drink milk from a plastic feeding bottle,” and you say, “I can drink from a glass bottle, and I’m not afraid of burning my hands.” The three-year-old says, “I can tell left from right when wearing shoes,” and you say, “I can tell the front from the back when putting on a sweater. Can you do that?” Will you ever get anywhere like this? If your intelligence, character, and the various abilities that your humanity should possess remain stuck at the stage of a three-year-old child or a minor, then it will be very difficult for you to become a mature person or have others treat you as an adult. How can you get others to treat you as an adult? You need to do the things that adults should do and the things that created humans should do. You must possess the humanity that created humans ought to have. What should this humanity, at the very least, possess? Conscience, reason, and various aspects of good character. In this way, you will gradually improve and make progress in regard to the defects and problems of your humanity. Then, it will become much easier to enter into the truth, and there will be fewer obstacles.

The merit of kindheartedness in humanity is quite rare and is not possessed by most people. So how can one achieve this merit? When you do not understand any truths, it is very difficult to possess this merit of humanity and to be such a person. However, once you comprehend some truths, you will have a path to becoming such a person, and you will have hope of achieving this. As for whether you can achieve it and ultimately obtain results, it depends on whether you can gain the truth and have life entry. How should one practice to achieve this merit? No matter what someone does or says to you, do not treat it based on impetuousness or emotions. Do not analyze what their intentions toward you are, how much harm they have caused you personally, or how much damage they have done to your reputation. Do not treat any of these matters based on your mind, human will, or philosophies for worldly dealings. So how should you treat them? Treat all things based on God’s words and the truth principles. Strive to ensure that in every environment and when facing every person, whether speaking with them, associating with them, or handling a specific matter, you seek the truth principles and act according to them. This approach will, to a great extent, have an optimizing effect on your humanity. That is, it will provide a certain measure of support to the conscience and reason of your humanity, helping you develop a sense of justice and enabling you to view people and things from the correct position and perspective. This is what is called optimization. Optimization is making your originally bad humanity good, making it normal. So how did your originally bad humanity come about? It resulted from the influence and dominance of corrupt dispositions. Now, if you conduct yourself and act based on God’s words and the truth principles, then when you act, your humanity will be influenced by God’s words and the truth to a great extent. This influence is what is called optimization. Of course, this optimization doesn’t mean that your humanity will change and your character will become noble through a single event. Instead, it comes from practicing and experiencing taking God’s words and the truth as your criteria, style, and direction for acting over a long period of time, during which you will increasingly understand the truth and handle matters with increasing adherence to principles. In this way, your humanity will gradually change and develop in a positive direction. You will increasingly develop a sense of conscience, become increasingly kind, and increasingly have a sense of justice. Your reason will become increasingly normal, and you will no longer act based on impetuousness or be impulsive. Thus, to a large extent, the restraint that your humanity has over your corrupt disposition will grow increasingly strong. On the foundation of such a condition of humanity, the restraint over your revelations of corrupt dispositions will increasingly strengthen and become increasingly powerful. Thus, your revelations of corrupt dispositions will increasingly diminish, and the degree will become increasingly shallow. The actions you take or the viewpoints you reveal will increasingly conform to positive things and the truth principles. This kind of phenomenon, this kind of revelation, indicates that a person’s life is undergoing transformation. Specifically, if you view people and things, and conduct yourself and act, according to God’s words, with the truth as your criterion, then your humanity will become increasingly normal, and your revelations of corrupt dispositions will increasingly diminish. Gradually, you will cast off your corrupt disposition. This is a positive cycle. However, if you view people and things, and conduct yourself and act, according to Satan’s logic, then to a large extent, this will defile and corrode your humanity. Your corrupt disposition will increasingly inflate and become increasingly severe. This is a vicious cycle. Viewing people and things, and conducting yourself and acting, according to God’s words is a positive cycle. Viewing people and things, and conducting yourself and acting, according to Satan’s logic can only lead you to endlessly circle within the life and setting of a vicious cycle, never able to break free. If you want to enter into a positive cycle, the simplest and most straightforward approach is to begin reflecting on and understanding yourself starting from the defects of your humanity and your revelations of corruption, resolving your corrupt dispositions using God’s words and the truth principles as a basis, thus achieving the result of being able to practice the truth and submit to God. In this way, your life will enter into a positive cycle, your humanity will become increasingly normal, and your corrupt dispositions will gradually be transformed and cast off. This is the process of life entry and also the necessary process for people to cast off their corrupt dispositions and attain salvation. Of course, this is also a path to entry. The defects and flaws of humanity, as well as the problems of vile character and lacking integrity, that we have discussed—if you identify these problems in yourself, you should seek the truth to resolve them. Then, replace them by practicing God’s words and the truth. In this way, you will enter into a positive cycle. Ultimately, what you gain is not only a transformation of humanity but also the casting off of your corrupt dispositions. The foundation of your corrupt dispositions that you rely on for survival will be transformed. Practicing in this way gives you hope of attaining salvation. However, if you do not seek the truth or practice the truth in this way, and you think in your heart, “You say I am petty, that I have defects and flaws in my humanity like being obstinate, unashamedly thick-skinned and prone to suspicion. Well, that’s just how I am, and that’s how I’ll live. I won’t change. Say whatever you like! Anyway, I just don’t want to suffer losses. As long as I can take advantage, I’m fine!”—if these are your thoughts and viewpoints, then, unfortunately, you will fall into the terrible spiral of a vicious cycle, forever unable to get out. What will the final consequence be? It will be one you probably don’t want to see: Your corrupt dispositions will forever be your life. They will bind you tightly for your entire life, becoming deeply rooted in your thoughts and the depths of your soul, and it will be impossible for you to cast them off. What does it mean for it to be impossible to cast them off? It means you have no hope of attaining salvation, and you have no share in the destination God has prepared for humankind. This is the consequence. If you do not want to see this consequence, then start entering and practicing along the path I have described, and achieve a positive cycle; and ultimately you will certainly reap results. Do you understand? (Yes.)

Although we didn’t cover many different topics in today’s fellowship, we discussed a lot of content. Let’s conclude today’s fellowship here. We’ll continue fellowshipping other topics and content later. Goodbye!

December 2, 2023