The title dialogue indicates a partner of somewhat equal parts. This is rare in Li's doctrine, as he proclaimed and believed by disciples that Li was the father of all gods. In all other places, Li only instructed his disciples, being the greatest being, had no counterpart. However, Li considered that he could be at best equal with time, though beyond universe. That is a dimension not revealed in any other Scripture. In his Switzerland lectures, Li claimed that the fastest speed achievable was that without time.
Master: What problems do you find my disciples to still have?
Li's question seems to indicate his ignorant of the problems, however, this is not true as he wrote about the same problems in previous pages - somewhat earlier than this piece. However, as a beginning of a dialogue, Li seems to interest the god of time to provide an analysis of his own problem. Therefore, we may infer that Li considers Time as an (somewhat equally) omnipotent god, as well as omniscient - for He is asked to do a job that look into the hearts of people - only time would tell. Judging from the responses from the disciples in Switzerland, the Time's answer generated great interest. Li's later actions (and scripture) also revealed that as Time went, some disciples would be eliminated.
Divine Being: Your disciples can be divided into two groups.
There is a clear cut in Time's analysis when his is looking at a cross section. Obviously, Time has no gray area and transition did not exist in history. It is odd that Time is looking from this perspective.
Master: What are the two groups?
Li continues to interest Time, or it is an irony as he shows a harsher prediction than Time in the following lines.
Divine Being One group is able to painstakingly make progress in the Fa by following your requirements. This group is quite good. The other group is attached to human matters, unwilling to give them up, and unable to steadfastly make progress.
Here a question arises, especially in the connotation of the Chinese text. The first sentence seems to indicate a separation between Time and the Master (who is timeless) by noting your requirement. It implies the unique way of Li's teaching and it contrasts with the comment by Time in the second next sentences.
Master: Yes, I've seen it.
The Chinese text sounds like a present tense expression (now I see it), instead of past perfect tense in this version, which indicates that Li really did not know until this time, giving the credential to Time for pointing it out. However, the overall scripture collection disputes this viewpoint.
Divine Being: You gave them a process for understanding the Fa, so some people come with various intentions. After studying the Fa, most of them are able to change their initial purpose for learning the Fa.
This seems to be confusion by Time caused by a misplaced punctuation by the original author that escaped the translator. It should read You gave them time to understand Fa. Though people came into Dafa with various intentions, most of them were able to modify their early-stage (initial) purposes to learn the Fa through the learning of Fa. Here, Time is the first one to note the effect of time, the process, and the result. Time lets people to experience Dafa and improve toward the Right goal through learning. Time is pointing out the positive effect of time.
Master: Some of them have not changed yet.
The Master takes note of the negative, a group that Time pointed out first.
Divine Being: Yet it has been too long a time.
It is unclear whether Time is blaming the master for incompetence or indecisiveness. Or Time is unhappy with the over-patience Li has had toward the disciples. It is significant that here Time himself is made to be the impatient one, contradicting the traditional concept of the aged, unchanging wise god. Another point is, Time himself does not bring up the unchanged disciples in the preceding dialogue. Therefore, we may conclude that Li's Time was a rapidly changing god, while Li reversed the role with Time.
Master: Yes!
Divine Being: In my opinion, there is no need to wait for those who cannot become Gods. In fact, they can only be humans.
The English translation misled. The Chinese should read I judge he who cannot achieve godhead should not be prolonged, actually, he can only be a human. The new emphasis on prolonging (not waiting) refers to a more proactive plan of the higher gods and it corresponds to the impatience of time, and a worse prediction from Li, next. The he here refers to an abstract collective, not a singular.
Master (talking to himself): In the human world, they are indeed lost too thoroughly. They might have to end up like this. I'm afraid they won't even be qualified to be humans in the end!
A more closely translated version should read In the human world, they are lost (attached to, trapped) too deeply…. While Time expresses impatience, Li expresses greater severity and anxiety. Time in this context seems to be a god from another dimension, only concerned with the successful disciples and hurrying the process. Time does not see the future of the disciples. Li's talking to himself is a challenge to Time's inability to see the future, a mistake Time would make again in the next sentence.
Divine Being: Actually it's not bad to become humans in the new world. Compared with those innumerable high-level beings in the universe who have been eliminated by history, they are already incomparably fortunate.
Picking up the new thread, Time mentions the New World and humans in the New World. This opens up a possibility Li did not reveal before. In the past, Li insisted that only gods could live in the Falun World. If Time refers to such a world as New, he misunderstands Li, for Li claimed that he had created that world long ago. Therefore, theologically, we may exclude this New World as the Falun World. However, there are no previous mention or follow-up to this New World containing humans in Li's Scripture. Again, Time seems to be more concerned with space here and reveals a secret Li did not mention before. We conjecture that Li is expanding his theory for the new comers as the purgatory to the ultimate Falun World.
Master: I still want to wait for some time, see what they are like when the more microscopic matter that undermines mankind has been cleaned up, and then make a decision. After all, they have come to obtain the Fa.
The Chinese should read...for some more time,.... The they in the last sentence refers to disciples. Li here reveals a further plan of cleaning, that Time seems to be unaware of. This is the benevolent aspect Li was trying to express, but it is exactly this that Time as impatient about with no knowledge of Li's future plan. Li reveals a blind spot of Time.
Divine Being: At present, in terms of this group of people, some have come to study the Fa because they cannot find their goals in life; they are attached to these notions which they are unwilling to change.
Here, Time is complaining the human attachment (life) of this group of disciples. But Time does not distinguish the temporal order that Li reveals in the next sentence. It is unclear from the Chinese what notions Time refers to. From the context, we may suggest it means the human notions, or common sense.
Master: There are more such people among new practitioners.
Li notes the temporal effect.
Divine Being: Some of them have come looking for the aspect of the Fa that they consider good, but they are unable to give up the aspect that prevents them from having a complete understanding of the Fa.
This is the most complex sentence. Time is playing a difficult logic in the second half of the sentence. To simplify, there are disciples that came to learn the Fa and pick up what they preconceive as good. However, they stop there, reluctant to give up their attachments as demanded by the Fa. In stating this, Time admits the incompleteness of Li's teaching. Despite some have modified their original intent in the process of learning - meaning they are led into Fa by something else, probably a claim in disguise (such as health effect, etc.), others still persist to impose a different interpretation of the Fa after some years. (The time concept is implied, not explicit.) That is the weakness Time refers to from time to time.
Master: There are also such people among veteran disciples. And a most outstanding manifestation is that they always compare themselves with humans and with their own past, but fail to examine themselves with the requirements of the Fa at different levels.
Li makes explicit what Time implies. This is the problem with experienced disciples who were attracted to Fa for a very different purpose than the new disciples. Referring to Li's stern warnings toward the veterans, it becomes clear that Li is especially unhappy with this group who still refused to be completely transvaluated. However, Li himself changes what Time was discussing - the partial acceptance of Fa. Li shifts to their behaviors in comparing with other peoples (the Chinese text does not make such a distinction of human and non-human in this context, it is more likely Li is referring to the local leaders making comparison of themselves with other new disciples to establish their moral authority) and their improvements thus far. This group has stopped prematurely, according to Li.
Divine Being: These problems have already become very serious. It would be good if they could manage to search within themselves for the things that they have been able to find in others.
This is a clear mis-translation in the second sentence. It should read …Should it be good if they would judge themselves as they judge others such and such. Time is responding to Li's last statement that the veterans are comparing themselves being superior to others. Time is wishing an introspective evaluation for the other group who has stopped progressing. The original translation led readers to believe that there were some valuable things in others that they may find if they look harder into themselves.
Master: It's time for them to become clear-headed so that their environment can turn into one for genuine cultivation practice, and thus they will be able to become real Gods.
Li ends this conversation with the problem unsolved. The original problem starts with the division of disciples, the causes are the different intentions of the disciples when they started practicing Falungong. The hope is that they would modify these intentions after learning the Dafa. However, the result has been somewhat disappointing. Li may have blamed the environment (human nature) for this problem, but other than threatening not to prolong any further, he could not change the environment at that time. This passage only serves to remind disciples that time is running out - don't blame me, but blame the Time. In retrospect, Li intends to expose those shaky disciples as the numbers accumulate and it becomes a pressing task after he left China.
The differences in this dialogue are the involvements of a deity Time. He seems to contradict, again, the traditional image of time. He is impatient, knows only cross-sectionally and could not predict. He seems to be ignorant of the past, too. In fact, Li is the one playing the real Time, knowing the past and deciding on the future while lacking the knowledge of his disciples at that time, or he pretends to be.
The English version translated by the US disciples (2000) renders a milder interpretation, not as forceful as the Chinese text Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master. The master gives you the gong that develops your cultivation energy, and this gong will function (ZFL E, 30). The earlier translation (1998) by Beijing disciples reads as Cultivation is your own business, while the evolution of cultivation energy is done by your master. Your master has provided you with a kind of energy which can increase cultivation energy. This energy will function when it can transform the substance, De (virtues), into cultivation energy outside your body (ZFL BJE, http://falundafa.org/book/eng/zfl_16.htm).
(New Threads, Revised May 31, 2000)
