(Clearwisdom.net) I began practicing Falun Dafa at the end of 1996. Before I became a practitioner, I had hypertension, heart diseases, and neck problems. Within one week of learning Falun Dafa, I threw away all my medicine. As I practiced more, my health improved rapidly. In addition, like Master said in his lectures, my whole world view changed. I did not care as much about fame and fortune. In 1999, just as I was basking in the Buddha light of Dafa, studying the Fa every day, doing the exercises, and promoting the practice, the persecution against Falun Gong started. Suddenly, lies and an air of terror enveloped Mainland China. Out of our practice group, which used to consist of several dozen people, only about a dozen remained. Under Master's compassionate care, these practitioners made it through these last stormy nine years.
1. Establishing an Informational Materials Center
Our practice site was destroyed after the persecution began. We lost our sources for articles and publications, and practitioners could not contact each other easily. When we occasionally ran into each other, we would first ask if anyone had Master's most recent articles. I was moved by practitioners' desire to study, so I volunteered to collect, copy, and disseminate information. Whoever received new articles by Master would give them to me to disseminate to everyone. That was our first material center. (At that time, some of the articles were not really written by Master. However, I did not realize it and made some mistakes. I am sorry for these mistakes.)
In May 2000, Master published the poem "The Knowing Heart," showing us the direction of the future. We became more determined to run a good material production center. Around the same time, some of Master's longer lectures were also published. They were too long to be hand copied, so a practitioner said he could use the photocopier at work to make a few copies for people to share. That was extremely helpful. We all knew that in the harsh political environment, if he was found out, he could face being fired or even imprisoned. The practitioner had strong righteous faith in Master and Dafa, and he was able to do things well. Once, he was photocopying Master's lectures when he was working overtime. The copier was almost out of ink. With help from Master, the copier did not run out of ink until the last page was printed. With Master's compassionate care and the cooperation among our practitioners, all the practitioners who maintained contact with us were able to read Master's new articles and lectures in a timely manner.
As Fa rectification progressed, some practitioners established centers in their homes and began providing us with materials. By then, a few dozen people were getting them from me. Every time a new article was printed, I picked up the copies from the center and sorted them before they were picked up by the practitioners. Once I had just finished sorting them and putting them away when a local policeman and someone from the residents' committee came. Had they come 10 minutes earlier, they would have seen Dafa materials spread all over my bed. There were many other instances like this where Master has taken care of me.
Although we had adequate materials, I saw that the practitioners at the material centers worked very hard. Sometimes they worked even while they ate. I felt guilty. Master said:
"So in clarifying the truth, don't wait, don't rely on others," "As long as something is good for Dafa, you should take the initiative to do it, take the initiative to work on it." ("To All Students at the Nordic Fa Conference," Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I decided to break through my internal obstacles and buy a copier myself. "Cultivation is up to you, gong is up to the master."(Zhuan Falun, The First Talk) When my heart was in the right place, Master had already made arrangements for me. One day I ran into a practitioner I hadn't seen for a long time at another practitioner's home. She just bought a photocopier a month before. She explained to me the size and model of the machine and gave me the vendor's business card. Within a couple of days, we purchased a photocopier. A group of us worked together to finish the tasks, including copying, cutting, assembly, and delivery. To assist practitioners' efforts to clarify the facts and save sentient beings, we also made copies of "Minghui Weekly," Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, and other brochures. If another material center was sabotaged, we would make up for the needs of that material center until it was restored. Master said, "The next person's things are your things, and your things are his things." ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference") As Dafa disciples here to assist Master in the Fa rectification, we must unconditionally harmonize and fulfill what Master wants.
Because the copier was small and ran overloaded for a long time, it stopped working. Just before that, while clarifying the facts to the public, I ran into a practitioner who had just moved to our area. He knew how to use computers and suggested that I buy a computer so that I could download and print things myself. I understood that this was an arrangement by Master. So I bought a computer and a printer. Although I knew a little bit about computers, I didn't understand the Internet at all. I told my husband. He said, "I don't know if you can learn it at your age. It takes a lot to learn how to use the Internet. Why don't you try it out for a month." Surprisingly, I quickly learned the navigation software developed by Dafa practitioners. Within a month, I was able to download and print the Minghui Weekly. My family was impressed by the power of Dafa. This would have been impossible otherwise. I knew that Dafa had opened up my wisdom. I was able to do it due to Master's care, help from other practitioners, and harmony within our group.
2. Cultivating Myself Through Working at the Material Center
Before the persecution, I was in charge of Dafa books and materials at our practice site. After July 20, 1999, I decided to take the responsibility to ensure that people had books and materials. In retrospect, I have also made some mistakes. Master's care has protected me and helped me succeed.
When I first began working on the project, I had an attachment to fear. On politically "sensitive" days, the local police often called or came over to harass me. I sometimes moved the materials to a different location temporarily and retrieved them later to avoid being found. Every time I told myself that I had nothing to fear with Master and the Fa being present. Gradually, as I continued to encourage myself, my fears disappeared and my mind become more righteous. I was able to do things in a dignified manner.
When I first had the idea of buying a copier and making materials by myself, I thought I should put the machine in a less prominent practitioner's home. This was an attachment to my own safety. Master asked us to cultivate selflessness, putting others first. I decided to listen to Master and make the materials right in my own home. As my xinxing improved, everything went smoothly. I assembled the machine according to the instruction manual and began photocopying things myself. That afternoon, when my husband was taking a nap in the main room, he heard a sound and suddenly woke up. He shouted to me, "There is someone at the door." Actually, no one was there. He was just too nervous. I told him, without fear, that he should go back to sleep. I didn't feel afraid at all. At that moment, I realized that it had been arranged long ago that as a child who grew up in the country, I was able to go to college, study the Fa, and make materials. All my knowledge was to be used to assist Master during the Fa rectification. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I sincerely thank Master for having arranged for me such good opportunities to cultivate and improve.
When I started making materials myself, I was able to truly feel how hard it was. I also realized what great pressure my earlier dependence created on other practitioners. The first problem I encountered was limited time. In the evenings I needed to take care of my grandson. During the day, I had to cook meals for the whole family and also make materials. This meant that I had little time to study the Fa and do the exercises. My attachment to doing things became really strong. This loophole was taken advantage of by the evil. First my grandson fell sick. Later, I also had symptoms of sickness karma. I could not sleep at night, and during the day, I still had to make materials and cook meals. It was really difficult. Sometimes I felt bitter and wished other practitioners would help me out. Then I remembered the first poem in "Hong Yin," "Tempering the Will." It says:
"To consummate yourself, reaping Buddhahood,
Let joy be found in hardship.
Physical pains count little as suffering,
Indeed, cultivating mind is hardest.
Each and every barrier must be broken through,
And everywhere does evil lurk.
Abundant troubles rain down together,
All to see: Can you pull through?
The world's miseries endured,
One departs the earth a Buddha."
I said to myself, "Do you find joy in hardship? Such a little hardship, it's just nothing. The Fa can break through all attachments." I passed this test, and everything was done on schedule.
When I first began downloading materials from the Internet, I only printed Minghui Weekly. Later, I saw that other material centers also had "The Fa Net Is Being Drawn," "Awakening," and other booklets. Why didn't I see them? I looked inward to search for an answer. I found that, because I only got online once a week on Fridays, and only stayed online long enough to download the materials, I missed some good articles. Other practitioners, meanwhile, surfed the web every day and downloaded good articles as soon as they saw them. This again reflected my attachment to fear. I was afraid of the Internet police. I immediately eliminated this attachment. In "Further Remarks on 'Politics'," Master wrote:
"If when the world's media are kept silent by incentives and disincentives from the CCP, Dafa disciples' forming their own media to counter the persecution and save the world's people is labeled 'political,' then let's go ahead and confidently make use of 'politics' to expose the persecution and save sentient beings!"
I think currently in China, in an environment of persecution, every material center is a small media outlet. We should confidently make use of them to expose the persecution and save sentient beings. Now, with help from other practitioners, I have mastered many new skills and can basically work on my own. No matter what situation I encounter, I will follow Master's words, fulfill the mission of saving sentient beings, and return home with Master.
The above are just some of my understandings from operating a material center over the last few years. I would like to report them to Master and share with my fellow practitioners. Please point out anything inappropriate.