(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings Master! Greetings Fellow practitioners!
Fulfilling My Mission and Saving Sentient Beings
"Cultivation is hard. It's hard in that even when a terrible calamity strikes, even when evil madly persecutes, and even when your life is at stake, you still have to be able to steadfastly continue on your path of cultivation without letting anything in human society interfere with the steps you take on your path of cultivation." ("Path" from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I started practicing Falun Gong relatively late and I was not very diligent at first. Therefore, after 1999, it was difficult for me to persevere through the tribulations during the persecution against Falun Gong. After returning from Beijing in 2000, the officials from my work unit, my supervisors, town government, police station, and the Public Security Bureau all came to question me. I felt so much pressure at that time. Most of the pressure, however, was from my family. I eventually made it through.
After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, I was transferred to a small town in a rural mountainous area. There were few practitioners there. I finally got in touch with one local practitioner. He was disabled and couldn't go out to distribute truth-clarification materials. At first, the materials were obtained from another practitioner in the city. This practitioner rode a motorcycle and traveled over 200 miles to various distribution sites. It was often very late by the time he got to my place. One time, he was so tired that he almost fell asleep as soon as he sat down, so I asked him to lay down and rest. He was sound asleep as soon as he laid down. I thought, "My fellow practitioner, you continually give so much effort. I will be responsible for the sentient beings in this area." It was almost dark, so I had to wake him because he still needed to travel over 100 miles.
As soon as I received the materials, I distributed them to people in various villages. I worked during the day and went out at night. I sometimes got up at midnight to distribute them. After finishing in nearby villages, I went to villages further away. I usually parked my bicycle outside of the village. If it was too far to travel, I distributed them in the local market.
I did this for four years, however the more I did, the more anxious I became. I gradually developed the attachment of anxiety about doing things. As a result, the evil forces took advantage of my loophole. I was transferred to an even more isolated area.
I started a new cultivation path after I came to this new environment. It is just as Teacher said,
"Whatever you experience during your cultivation--whether good or bad--is good, for it comes about only because you are cultivating." ("To the Chicago Fa Conference," July 25, 2006)
I viewed it as a good thing and took full advantage of my spare time to do the three things well. I promised, "Sentient beings, I've come! Teacher asked me to save sentient beings in this area."
Before 1999, there were many people practicing Falun Gong. After the persecution started, most of them no longer practiced, much less did things to validate the Fa. I got in touch with local practitioners, and following a discussion, we quickly established a Fa study group and a materials distribution site. I bought a bicycle in order to distribute materials to various villages. We went out to distribute materials one night, but when we were almost finished, a police car suddenly started chasing us. With Teacher's protection, we escaped. I sometimes visited fellow practitioners' homes; the furthest was over 30 miles away. Two family members of practitioners subsequently started practicing Falun Gong. One of them told me, "You are in such good shape and able to bear such hardships. This is why I started practicing Falun Gong."
Environment Changes People, and People Change the Environment
Since the persecution began, I've been transferred to work in various locations. However, wherever I go, I always show people the magnificence of Dafa. In the beginning, they misunderstood Dafa due to the vicious propaganda. Gradually, they changed their attitudes and began supporting Dafa. I will share two examples.
Whenever I arrived in a new environment, I wasn't anxious to do things too quickly. I first rectified my surrounding environment, talked with officials, and helped colleagues see the magnificence of Falun Dafa. One time, a new official came to take a position here. I thought, no matter what, he must be predestined to come here. Surprisingly, he was very nice to me and respected me. In fact, he knew that I practiced Falun Gong, and was very satisfied with my work. One day, a town official asked him, "Why do you keep a person who practices Falun Gong? Get rid of her quickly before she makes trouble for us." He said, "I only keep those who work diligently. If the government allowed people to practice Falun Gong, I'd encourage everyone to practice." Five college graduates came to our school, and this official asked me to teach them the practice. He said to me, "You should not only teach them the exercises, but also how to be good people." I took the opportunity to clarify the truth to them, one by one. All but one withdrew from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Since the environment changed, it became easier for me to clarify the truth. I came across many people through my work, so many benefited, and sometimes my colleagues helped to clarify the truth. Once, one of my colleague's friends came to visit. I happened to see them as his friend was about to leave, and I warmly greeted them. My colleague introduced me to his friend, and I talked to him about quitting the CCP. With help from my colleague, his friend agreed to do so.
Breaking Through Our Notions, Eliminating the Attachment of Relying on Others, and Walking Our Own Paths
The persecution escalated just prior to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, and I was also a target. I left my home and work unit to avoid persecution.
During that period, the primary materials production site was ransacked. Consequently, the burden at the small production site became increasingly heavier. I often worked until very late. I sometimes didn't have time to study the Fa. I realized that I couldn't continue like this, because the amount of work doesn't represent how well one cultivates. In addition, Teacher wants us to have many distributed production sites. I didn't give other practitioners the opportunity to establish their own sites, and consequently developed their attachment of relying on others.
Four months later, I had a discussion with a fellow practitioner to determine whether or not we could establish several more materials sites. She agreed and promised to start one herself. Although she was in her fifties, she started learning how to use a computer, the Internet, and how to download and print media. She learned quickly. We overcame the obstacles despite a lot of interference.
Once the small materials site was established, the practitioner in charge of teaching the technology was very busy commuting between the city and rural areas. We sometimes had to travel over 100 miles to solve a simple problem. Meanwhile, other practitioners responsible for technical issues were arrested. I realized that I could no longer rely on fellow practitioners. Other practitioners also encouraged me, "You need to learn computer skills." However, I wasn't very educated and didn't know any English. How could I perform an installation on the computer? I sent a letter to a fellow practitioner who was in charge of teaching computer skills (I couldn't visit him) and asked for help. He replied, "Please don't rely on us to personally teach you. There is a good book you can download from the Minghui website that teaches you how to establish a materials site from scratch. The book has all the essentials collected from practitioners." I downloaded the book but couldn't understand it. What should I do? I was frustrated.
In cultivation, you must cultivate your heart. No matter what, as long as you put your heart into it, you can do it well. As long as we have this heart, Teacher will give us all we need. At that time, my son returned home from another area, and I asked him for help. It was not easy for me to learn how to install all of the software, and it was especially challenging since I didn't know a single word of English. I needed to draw or take notes of every dialog box that appeared during the installation. My son thought that it was funny and didn't want to teach me. He said, "Mom, I think you should quit. You don't know anything about computers and don't understand what I'm saying. How can I teach you?" I stared at the screen and said, "I don't need to know too much. You only need to tell me where I should click at each step." Seeing that I refused to quit despite all the difficulties, he was very touched and said, "Mom, you and the other practitioners are great!"
I persisted, and my understanding gradually matured. I started helping other practitioners install software, and many miracles occurred during the process. I truly felt the extraordinary power of Dafa. It is truly,
"Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master." (Zhuan Falun)
I can now generally install software without difficulty, and also teach other practitioners, although I still don't know computer theory or details of how everything works. Dafa is magnificent, and Teacher gives me wisdom. I also thank the selfless sacrifice of fellow practitioners.
Conclusion
In retrospect, I have regrets as well as accomplishments. My understanding is that cultivation is truly serious. As a practitioner, one must first firmly believe in Teacher and Dafa. We can then view problems with righteous thoughts, and as a result, won't walk the path arranged by the old forces. In the future, I can only cultivate diligently and do the three things well to pay back the compassion of Teacher!
Due to my limited level, my article may be not very well organized, but it represents my experiences in cultivation.
My thanks and respect to Teacher and to fellow practitioners.
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