I went back to China November 1, 1999 and had contact with many Falun Dafa practitioners in the suburbs of Beijing and around the Tian-An-Men Square. These practitioners came to Bejing to defend Falun Dafa. They gave up their egos, and defended with their own lives the solemnity and holiness of Falun Dafa in the human world. I was deeply moved and gradually took up the way of defending Falun Dafa. During this period, I got rid of many attachments and had further understanding of the principles and laws of Falun Dafa. Atthe end of November, 1999, I went to Guangzou City to attend the 1999 Falun Dafa Conference in China and was arrested there. Later, I was deported from China. Nine cultivation experience-sharing articles from the Guanzou Falun Dafa Conference were read at the Falun Dafa Conference in Seattle on November 28, 1999. Inspired by the cultivation state of the practitioners in China, who attained the state of selflessness and altruism and really dissolved themselves into the Fa, many U.S. practitioners raised their levels and made progress in the Fa. Many practitioners realized that at this very moment when Falun Dafa is going through tribulations in the human world, it is time to test whether a practitioner can step out from a human being, giving up human thinking and all the attachments, defending and spreading Falun dafa.
While sharing cultivation experiences with other practitioners, many practitioners were puzzled by the question whether an overseas practitioner should also do the same as those practitioners in China, namely, to go to Beijing to defend Falun Dafa. I think that every practitioner's cultivation course is different from others. All we can do is to take the Fa as our Master. There are no examples to follow in cultivation practice. I planned to resign from my job right after the Falun Dafa Conference in Seattle and join the practitioners in China to defend Falun Dafa. Yet after calming myself down and learning the Fa recently, I realized that there are many westerners who have not heard of Falun Dafa. In the article "A Brief Statement of Mine", our Master said, "We are calling for all governments, international organizations, and people of goodwill worldwide to extend their support and assistance to us in order to resolve the present crisis that is taking place in China." At the time of Law Rectifying in the human world, every one should have his chance to place the future position of his own. This is Falun Dafa's great mercy to all sentient beings, and the last opportunity for the human being. I felt serene and calm after giving up the deeply hidden selfish thoughts that I would make a rapid progress in cultivation if I were in the environment in China and that otherwise I might be too slow in cultivation and might lose the opportunity to reach the cultivation consummation.
Yes, no matter where we are, in Beijing, in the U.S. or elsewhere, every true cultivator of us is to face the test whether one can detach from human being, from oneself, and further, from the attachment of "my cultivation and my cultivation consummation".
In recent days after returning back to the U.S., I heard stories that in order to spread Falun Dafa, many practitioners utilized all their time after work, and even sacrificed the time for their own sleeping and exercise practice; I also heard stories that we may not be able to continue our daily exercise practice in front of the Chinese Embassy due to the lack of enough practitioners. The recent Falun Dafa Conference in Hong Kong is very important in the sense of defending Falun Dafa. Some practitioners can not attend the conference since they have scheduled work to do for spreading Falun Dafa. Some practitioners don't want to attend the conference and yet they hide the attachments they don't want to detach using the excuses of their own jobs, their families, or even the excuse that this is a local Falun Dafa conference. As a matter a fact, the formalities are not important themselves. The key point is that we should not lose our chances one after another. In the midst of crucial tests, for a practitioner in China, whether one can give up his ego is just like whether one can give up his life and death. Isn't the same also true for us?! Our Master said:"at the crucial moment when I ask you to break away from humans, you do not follow me. Each opportunity will not occur again. Cultivation practice is a serious matter." We really should be strict with ourselves.
A practitioner in Denver, CO, U.S.A.
December 8, 1999
(Translated on April 1, 2000)
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Category: Journeys of Cultivation
