(Clearwisdom.net]
Setting up the Practice Site
About four and half years ago, I felt that since I had benefited a lot both physically and mentally from Falun Dafa I should go back to my community and set up a practice site. I put up signs with information about the practice times and locations at the front gate of the school where I worked (the Qiaoyi Elementary School in Zhanghua County). When I was thinking about making some fliers, an old woman came to see me. She said there were five people waiting for the setup of the practice site and that they have wanted to learn Falun Gong for a long time.
The following day, I began teaching people to do the exercises. One year later, I met the requirements to become a school principal. Upon learning that I was leaving to take the principal post, that old woman became worried. She wondered how they would manage at the practice site without me. They did not know how to use the music player. I told her not to worry about that and that everything has its own arrangement. Sure enough, I was able to stay and work in the same township and it did not affect my schedule. Every morning at 4:35 a.m., we did the five sets of exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts. At 7 a.m., I went home, changed my clothes and drove to work.
For the past few years, many people came to learn the exercises, although many of them did not continue to join group practice. Some teachers practiced at home after they learned how to do the exercises. Among the practitioners who regularly come to the practice site are my two teenage sons. They live at their school and can only come to the practice site during holidays. My mother-in-law is in her 80s, but because she practices Dafa, she looks like she's in her 60s. Another practitioner is a retired principal, Mr. Chen. The rest of the people are grandmas and grandpas, or even great-grandparents. Although I have already left Qiaoyi National Elementary School, that practice site is the place where we meet every day, no matter whether it is a rainy day or a windy day, and no matter whether it is a freezing cold winter day, or a baking hot summer day- or even New Year's Day. We faithfully go to the site all year long, without taking a break.
While it is still dark before the sun rises, we close our eyes and sit in meditation. The police on duty have grown accustomed to seeing us there every morning. Some security people come to help whenever there is a problem with our machine. The newspaper delivery man's car passes by and gradually the sky becomes brighter. The elementary students who come early to school sit by our side waiting for the school to open. Thus, day after day, I am truly moved by this group of senior practitioners, by their simple, kind, and persistent practice. We are always on time because we know we should not waste each other's time. Our practice site is very quiet and everyone makes sure not to disturb anyone.
Proactively Carrying out Tasks and Taking Responsibilities
Since the setup of this practice site, I seldom went out at night. Each day I slept for less than five hours and felt that was enough. Even though I sometimes slept for only two hours, I never slept in. I knew that I could not hold up everyone's practice time. I felt thankful for having these senior fellow practitioners. They made me feel that I had responsibilities and no matter how tired I might be, I would never slack off.
Setting up a practice site is a big responsibility. Leading these seniors, who are aged with gray hair, do not have very good eyesight, could not read, and try to do the three things well, is a major task for me. I did not know how to handle it at first. In the past few years, they have been trying hard to do some Dafa jobs, listen to the Dafa lectures in Taiwanese, and exchange their practice experiences at the practice site.
After the publication of the book Zhuan Falun with the phonetic notations, we set up our book reading session at a practitioner's home. Among the eight practitioners who joined the book reading, some of them had an elementary education half a century ago. Some of them were graduates from literacy classes. My mother-in-law had just begun to learn basic characters such as "big, person, middle", etc. We read the book slowly, word by word (in standard Mandarin Chinese). After finishing each paragraph, I would translate it into Taiwanese. After the book reading, I would also tell them about Teacher's new articles about the process of Fa rectification. Since we have a limited time for group study, I encourage them to spend more spare time at home on Fa study and listening to the lectures frequently as they supplement each other.
A fellow practitioner who spent over ten thousand yuan each month on medical expenses before practicing Falun Gong, now does not need to take any medicine. After studying the Fa, she said, "I participated in large scale Dafa activities before and really admired how well other fellow practitioners did in their Fa study. I was slow in reading pinyin and was afraid that I could not catch up with the others. Therefore, I would practice reading the book whenever I had time at home. I would ask my granddaughter if I did not know how to read something. I felt ashamed of myself and shed tears. I think I have become more mature after going through so many experiences and I should mend what was lacking before."
Being Diligent in Fa-study and Making Progress
We study the Fa twice a week. From reading four pages a night, we made progress to reading seven pages a night. At this pace, it will take us nearly one year to finish reading the nine lectures. They were afraid that we would not continue with the reading after finishing the first round. I said, "Sure, we will continue. Moreover, we will read the book faster and faster and we will have a better understanding." During this Fa rectification period, each one of us has responsibilities for many projects. We are busy every day. We have to spare each Tuesday evening for our group Fa study. If I read the book at home, I could finish two lectures. If I switched to another group Fa study, I might be able to hear other fellow practitioner's good experience-sharing stories. However, I knew that I should cultivate every aspect in my life. Fa study does not simply rely on the numbers. Instead, it is one's heart that is important. I truly feel thankful that Teacher gave me the chance to let go of my many attachments. I also feel thankful that Teacher let me see many Fa manifestations from the slow reading.
Touching stories of the senior fellow practitioners
A fellow practitioner said, "I never dreamed that in my stage of life I could learn how to read and that I could obtain Dafa at such an old age. I feel that we have a predestined relationship with Teacher."
Another fellow practitioner, whose son is disabled, works very hard all year long on a farm with her husband. They try to save money to take care of their family. She always recites Hongyin while in the fields. She asked Teacher in her heart, "Please help my husband take a break in his work. I need to do the exercises. I really enjoy reading the book. Teacher, please help me understand the book." Her daughter-in-law said, "After my mother-in-law studied the practice, she seemed to become a new person. She became younger and healthier. Although she is over 70, she still works in the fields, which for me is hard to handle. Her temper has changed and she became nicer and does not nag any more."
Once, with just a couple minutes before the time to send forth righteous thoughts, I asked if everyone wanted to take a break. A fellow practitioner whose surname is Ding said, "Lets continue with our reading. Continue, continue." Although my mother-in-law cannot read along with us, she still comes to the group Fa study every time. When seeing this group of senior practitioners who value Dafa so much, even though they have difficulties recognizing the words, how can we not be diligent in our practice?
August 20, 2006
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
