(Clearwisdom.net)
Greetings, compassionate Master!
Greetings, dear fellow practitioners all over the world
1. Teacher can help dissolve the persecution as long as we have righteous thoughts.
After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) staged a self-immolation event on Tiananmen Square in 2001, a practitioner (Practitioner A) forwarded me a DVD that exposed the truth as well as other relevant information. He said that he got it from another city and the people of the world needed to know the truth about what happened. From then on, we started producing the DVDs, pamphlets, and flyers, exposing the persecution and the CCP's lies, clarifying the truth about Falun Gong, validating the Fa, and saving sentient beings.
One morning an unknown female called me and said, "Don't ask who I am. I am telling you that a practitioner was arrested because he was distributing DVDs. Most probably he will tell the authorities your name. You should be prepared and transfer all your Dafa books and truth materials to a safe place." I took her words very seriously, but I told her, "Please take a message to that practitioner. Tell him not to do that, otherwise, fellow practitioners will be persecuted and Dafa will be blackened. He will also leave a stain on himself. Please tell him to treat everything with righteous thoughts." The lady said, "I will let him know, but maybe he cannot resist forever because of tremendous pressure. You'd better be prepared!" Then she hung up the phone.
My wife had awoken when the phone rang. Because I thought this message was very important, I told her everything that was said. She was very upset and felt that the heavens had collapsed. She said, "We have to take care of our parents and child. What should we do? Were I arrested, how could I bear the suffering?" She lay in bed, depressed. She didn't want to eat or do anything. Finally she said, "Let's spend some money and ask someone for help." Though I acknowledged that I would inevitably be arrested, I was not afraid at all. I said to her, "You cannot be beaten down. You have to take care of the whole family. We will not ask anyone for help, nor will we spend any money on this. I will not say that word. (I was referring to "transformed") It's no use asking anyone for help. I will deal with whatever happens using righteous thoughts."
I immediately transferred the equipment and materials to another place. I told fellow practitioners whom I frequently kept in touch with to temporarily not contact each other. I stopped producing materials, studied the Fa, and sent righteous thoughts at home. Teacher said,
"As a practitioner, if you always think that it is an illness, you are actually asking for it. If you ask for an illness, it will come inside your body. "(from Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
I always felt that I would inevitably be arrested. Was I pursuing the persecution? Why couldn't I improve my xinxing level? What I was doing was what Teacher told us to do. It's the most righteous thing that can save people. If I had no attachments, who would dare to arrest me? Teacher said,
"I don't recognize at all this evil test that the old forces arranged." (A Suggestion from Essentials for Further Advancement II )
Since Teacher doesn't recognize this persecution, why do we recognize being arrested and persecuted? I understood the Fa principles and improved myself. I followed what Teacher told us,
"face the evil people with righteous thoughts at all times."("Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful" from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I sent righteous thoughts as often as possible, not only at the prescribed times with practitioners all over the world, but also at other times. I brought back the equipment and materials and started producing truth clarification materials again.
Later my supervisors asked me surprisingly, "This is the big case assigned by the police department. We held three meetings at the police bureau for your case. The police cars have been to our workplace twice and attempted to take you away. Didn't they find you?" I said it was true that nobody had ever found me. I know that Teacher helped me eradicate the persecution when He saw my righteous thoughts in the face of the tribulation.
2. Getting rid of attachments while producing materials
Letting go of my attachments of being resentful and wary.
Practitioner A gave me the truth clarification DVD and other materials. After he was arrested, he did reveal my name under pressure. Teacher helped me dissolve the tribulation, so the authorities failed to persecute me. Actually I should have looked inside and asked myself, "Why did this happen to me? What attachments do I still have?" Instead, I complained about Practitioner A's weak will. I complained that he shouldn't have said my name and caused me so much tribulation. Controlled by such bad thoughts, I stopped getting in touch with Practitioner A and was reluctant to cooperate with him in validating the Fa. I was indifferent to him when we met. It seemed that he sensed my attitude and that I was wary around him, so he also stopped getting in touch with me. From then on, there was a kind of barrier between us, and it lasted for a very long time.
Teacher said,
"Why does someone like that exist among Dafa disciples, and why would such a thing come about? Isn't that person's presence meant to target certain people, or certain human attachments? For sure. Nothing happens in cultivation without a reason. When incorrect states and bad human conduct surface among us, those things have come to target human attachments." ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference")
After studying the Fa and sharing with fellow practitioners, I realized that I was thinking with human thoughts, which was not consistent with Teacher's requirements. I was not in a state of cultivation that a practitioner should be in. I needed to let go of my attachments of being resentful of, and wary around, Practitioner A and eliminate the barrier between us. Only by doing this could we do well in validating the Fa and saving more people. Why was Practitioner A arrested? Probably because my attachments needed to be exposed. I shouldn't resent him; on the contrary, I should thank him. After I identified my attachments and improved myself, I changed my behavior. I contacted Practitioner A and we started discussing things together. Our relationship became harmonious again. We have cooperated well in producing truth materials over the past several years.
Letting go of my attachment of resenting criticism.
I have produced materials for a long time. During the process, I gradually developed a strong attachment to not liking to be criticized. When a practitioner said that the cartoon picture on the DVD cover was not appropriate, I thought he was making a fuss. When a practitioner asked if I could make the books Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party look nicer and cut them better, I refused and said, "The Nine Commentaries only needs to be distributed during the Fa-rectification period, and it is in a great demand, so it's good enough." All these were manifestations of my ego. I always thought that my choices were best and my way of doing things was right. Why couldn't I think from the standpoint of fellow practitioners and the world's people? When fellow practitioners pointed out the problems, weren't they thinking of doing better in validating the Fa and saving more people? Meanwhile, weren't those things aimed at my attachments and for my improvement? I thanked fellow practitioners who pointed out the problems and adopted their advice. I stopped purchasing the DVDs with a cartoon on the cover. I was more attentive as I produced the Nine Commentaries—from cutting to binding. I consulted with fellow practitioners when choosing the styles of pamphlets and DVDs, and listened to their advice and suggestions as much as possible. I let go of my attachment of not liking to be criticized.
Letting go of my attachment of being reluctant to donate money.
When I first started our material production site, I purchased computers, copy machines, and other materials. As the demand for materials increased, the costs also increased, especially for the materials for the copy machine, which cost several thousand yuan. In order to maintain normal operations of the production site, fellow practitioners constantly donated money. Gradually, I started to accept the situation since I thought: Every practitioner should be responsible for validating the Fa and saving sentient beings. It's natural for them to donate money. Covered by such a thought, I spent less money on the production site. For a long time most of the funds came from fellow practitioners.
Was it because my financial status was not good or I could not afford to donate money? No, I had a job and a stable salary. My living standard would not be affected if I donated 1,000 to 2,000 yuan each month. So the problem was my own thoughts. Did I really regard validating the Fa and saving people as my incumbent responsibilities? Did I regard donating money to the production site as part of my life? No, I didn't.
After I studied Teacher's Fa, I realized that I am financially secure today because Dafa created this situation for me. Naturally I should use it for Dafa. Dafa arranged for me to set up this material production site and also arranged for me to have a reliable salary so that I could have funds for its operation. After I realized this, I spent part of my savings on the production site. In the past few years, I have accepted few donations from fellow practitioners. Though I spent some family savings, I felt steady and sure because the money was spent on something so worthwhile.
Letting go of my attachment of fear.
My attachment of fear was manifested in many respects. It became more obvious after I set up the production site. My fear always surfaced during the process of production, storage, and transit of the materials we produced. Inevitably I had to store some materials at home. I always stored materials that showed evidence of the persecution, so I didn't want to keep them at home. But while I transferred them somewhere else, I was afraid of being seen. How could I do things well with such a state of mind? Was I pursuing the persecution? If I wanted to let go of my fear, I had to strengthen my righteous thoughts. To strengthen my righteous thoughts, I had to study the Fa in a tranquil state. Teacher warned us,
"The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things. "("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
Why were some practitioners arrested and persecuted? It wasn't because they produced the materials, clarified the truth, or saved sentient beings, but because they couldn't let go of their fear and other attachments, which the old then forces then took advantage of.
Running a production site is the most righteous and sacred thing in assisting Teacher and saving sentient beings. The materials are used for saving people, so they all carry compassionate energy. The production site has a righteous field, so the evil is afraid of seeing it and doesn't dare to persecute practitioners who run it. Teacher said,
"If you are a true practitioner, our Falun will safeguard you. I am rooted in the universe. If anyone can harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe." (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
As I studied the Fa and gradually solidified my righteous thoughts, my fear started to diminish, especially after I started memorizing the Fa. The Fa principles can inhibit and eliminate the fear. When fear surfaced in my mind, it disappeared immediately. I did not let myself be intimidated anymore and could face everything calmly. I could do the three things in an upright and dignified way.
When fear didn't work on me anymore, the elements of fear didn't exist. Everything progressed smoothly, no matter when I purchased the materials or distributed them to fellow practitioners. I stopped thinking in a negative way such as "Did anyone see me? Did anyone follow me?" I believed that if someone saw me, the materials with energy and a compassionate field could eliminate his bad thoughts. Of course, we had to be careful and ensure the safety of the production site.
Compared with fellow practitioners, I am still not doing well in clarifying the truth to strangers face to face. I know that I should break through the obstacles and try to bridge the gap as soon as possible. I will follow Teacher's requirements, do the three things well, save more sentient beings by all means, and accomplish my prehistoric vows as a Dafa practitioner.
Please point it out compassionately if you see anything inappropriate in what I have said.
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