(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!
Another year has passed - and this is the Sixth Internet Experience Sharing Conference for Practitioners in China. When looking at the steps we have walked, Master's boundless compassion is everywhere. This kind of Fa-conference is one format left by Master. We practitioners in China should cherish this opportunity even more, so that we can use our own experiences to validate the Fa and express gratitude toward Master.
I am a woman practitioner in my 20s and I live in a rural area in Hubei Province. Though many things may appear simple, we can see the process of a cultivator's ascent--that is, how Dafa changes a person. I would like to take this opportunity to share my experiences and understandings.
1. Letting go of self and forming one body to rescue fellow practitioners
Early this year, several practitioners from another region came here to tell people about Falun Dafa and the persecution. Someone reported them, and police arrested them. Only one practitioner escaped. Two practitioners from that region and one local practitioner were arrested and held at a local detention center. Hearing this, we immediately notified all of the local practitioners to send righteous thoughts in close proximity to rescue them. The practitioner who escaped immediately notified the families of the two detained practitioners and the practitioners in the other region.
However, interference from the old forces created misunderstandings between local practitioners and practitioners from that other region. Several days later, the local practitioner did not yield and escaped from the detention center. Practitioners from the other region mistakenly thought he had given in prior to his release. In this way, a barrier went up between practitioners in that other region and us. Following a discussion with a local coordinator, we decided to use email to contact them.
Several days passed, and I sent several emails. But they only replied to one or two of them, and those answers were not to the point. I felt upset and discussed this with the coordinator again. The coordinator said I was too emotional and lacked compassion. He asked me to look within.
I knew I was being really emotional. I also realized that I had been busy and did not have time to study the Fa or look within. When forcing my own ideas on other people, didn't I want to validate myself instead of the Fa? How can I cooperate well with other people when my foundation is wrong? Regardless of what other practitioners do, I have to do well myself.
During those days we heard rumors from the detention center: several practitioners might be sent to a labor camp, and detained practitioners from the other region might also be transferred. No matter what we heard, we were not disturbed. As long as the practitioners were not released, we kept sending righteous thoughts. Several practitioners took turns sending righteous thoughts near the detention center to eliminate the evil and to support practitioners. The detained practitioners were released a month later and returned home.
When meeting with practitioners from that region later, they said the evil seemed to have blocked the emails sent to the them. To ensure safety, they stopped communicating with us. When they came later to our area to send righteous thoughts, they no longer notified us. Hearing that, I felt guilty about feeling resentful towards them earlier. Fortunately we were made aware of this in time. Our notions are the cause of the barriers between practitioners.
Master said,
"Dafa disciples are one body, and I affirm everything they have been doing during Fa-rectification-they are all doing what Dafa disciples should do. Different approaches are in fact the all-encompassing way in which roles are dynamically distributed in the operations of the Fa, and the Fa-power is a reflection of the one body." ("Master's Comment on a Student's Article" on February 16, 2003)
In the process of rescuing fellow practitioners we have cooperated well and selflessly.
2. As long as one has the heart to do it, Master will make the arrangements
Our informational materials site has been operating stably for two years. If we did not have firm faith in Master, nothing could have been accomplished. I barely knew any printing techniques, but I just had a determination to do it.
Our local materials production site was initially damaged. To establish another one I went to the city and learned how to print materials. We worked together on my return to set up the equipment, and the material site began its operation. Afterwards, instead of obtaining materials from other sites, we were able to print Master's articles, booklets, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and other materials. We deeply felt Master overseeing everything. As long as we had a pure heart, computers and printers would cooperate with us at will.
I did not know anything about printers. I only knew simple procedures to print materials. When we worked with a pure heart, the printer stopped when encountering issues such as running out of ink, or paper having been incorrectly placed. We would discover the problem, fix it and continue printing. Gradually, the printer seemed to understand better and did not make many mistakes. The most troublesome step is disassembling the drum and cleaning it. I did not know anything about this, nor did other practitioners in the local area. Even people at a local computer store do not provide such service. It is costly to take it to the provincial capital and clean it there. I really wanted to do this, and Master saw this.
I met a practitioner who was skilled in cleaning the drum when I went to buy supplies in the provincial capital. I learned how to do it in a short time. However, the inkjet printer still looked new to me. I only knew how to add ink and clean it with detergent when parts became smeared. I had no knowledge about the print head or air bubble removal.
One day two practitioners familiar with printers took a look and were surprised at what they saw: there were many air bubbles accumulated, and the ink supply was exhausted; how could it print like this? In fact, we had printed many DVD covers, Minghui Weekly and booklets. I did not know a printer should not be used like that. The practitioners said under such circumstance the print head could be burned and no color could come out. They removed the air bubbles and readjusted the printer. All this happened in good order: Master let the printer work normally since I could not do the repair work. Meanwhile, fellow practitioners were arranged to come and show me the procedure. As long as we have the heart to do it, Master oversees everything.
3. On the issue of marriage, looking at the big picture and making a rational decision
Young Dafa practitioners can easily run into this troublesome issue. I am one of them. We interact with coworkers, neighbors, friends, and family members. Many of them wonder why we have not gotten married. To some of them, it seems all the Falun Gong practitioners they know are single and they cannot understand this. Many of my coworkers know I am a practitioner and they know Falun Gong is good. But whenever they introduced someone to me to get engaged and I often refused their offer, they do not understand it. Sometimes I too am confused about this.
Later because of learning some skills I met male practitioner A who is in a similar situation, and we began to interact with each other further. Later A talked with me about getting married, and I became hesitant. As practitioners, both of us can talk freely about cultivation experiences or technical issues, but we both went silent on the issue of marriage. This is because we did not want to pursue this path, but the decision to not get married could cause some inconvenience in the everyday society.
During those days I dreamed twice about Udumbara flowers. The first time I was surprised but did not think much about it. The second time I woke up. Udumbara blossoms once every three thousand years and is doing so now because of Master's Fa-rectification. With such a rare and unprecedented opportunity of the Fa-rectification period cultivation, isn't it reminding me to cherish the time?
Practitioner A is responsible for truth-clarification materials in one region, which is a serious task and cannot be interfered with by human notions. Wasn't I interfering with him? If I did marry him, his work environment would be changed, and my material production site would also need adjustment. Isn't this disturbing the preexisting arrangement that has been working well?
One day I talked about this with a fellow practitioner. She asked me why I did not want to get married. I was lost and did not know how to answer except to say that I did not want to do it. She said that one should make this decision based on the impact on Fa-rectification.
I was shocked and felt the big gap between her and me. This practitioner makes judgments based on the needs of Fa-rectification, while I relate everything to my own interest. Dafa practitioners should do everything based on the Fa.
Master said,
"But actually, Dafa disciples should first be considerate of others no matter what the occasion, and put themselves in the other person's shoes, and look at the whole picture. Then you will know what to do. Think about where the other person might be coming from, see if you can look at the whole picture, and then you will know what to do." ("Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting")
Especially during this period of time we should work even harder to fulfill our responsibility to save sentient beings. The absence of interfering elements provides us a better environment for Fa-rectification as well as for saving sentient beings.
In addition, I also had more understandings regarding the issue of marriage. Getting married or not may be related to predestined relationships, and we should not be trapped by this question itself. Things will be fine as long as we walk our path well in everything.
Master said,
"Of course, there are also some young Dafa disciples who have gotten married to non-practitioners, with the person in some cases really getting led astray by emotion, becoming more ordinary than even an ordinary person. In some cases the interference brought upon the person has been sizable. The person then feels that he's willing but not able [to do the things he should do]: he fears that the couple's relationship will be affected, yet he also fears that he's not doing very well with Dafa things, and knows that all of this is affecting his cultivation. It eventually renders the person mentally and physically exhausted, as well as confused about what to do. Actually, if you can manage to collect yourself and think it over, you will see that all of it is resolvable. Since this Fa has been transmitted as such in the human world, and since a cultivation method like this that pits you in ordinary society was settled upon, then for sure anything that you meet with in ordinary human society can be resolved. It just depends on how, in this case, you regard your family members. Are you able to handle things with righteous thoughts? Are you able to help them gain clarity by speaking with the righteous conviction of a cultivator? If you can handle things well, things will go well. If you can't handle them well, it will be the opposite. " ("Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan" 2006)
Since Master has talked about this, my understanding is that getting married itself is not necessarily right or wrong. It is like the issue of eating meat. Dafa is spreading in the human society. As long as we walk well our own path, everything in the human society has its best scenario and it can be rectified in the Fa. From this, I also had better understanding of Master's words,
"We have said that Dafa is boundless, and it is completely up to your heart to practice cultivation. The master takes you through the entrance, and it is up to you, yourself to practice cultivation." (Zhuan Falun)
I poorly understood many Fa-principles prior to writing this essay. In the process of writing I understood better and better, and became more and more clearheaded. Master has removed many undesirable elements from me and broadened my wisdom.
We can never repay what Master has given us. We can only be more and more diligent and fulfill the responsibility to offer sentient beings salvation, so that we do not let down sentient beings and Master.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Heshi!
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