(Clearwisdom.net)
Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
The valuable annual "Internet Experience Sharing Conference for Practitioners in China" has finally come. Recollecting my journey over the past year, I have learned some lessons and become wiser and more mature with the guidance of the Fa principles. This article is a collection of my cultivation experiences in the past year, to report to Master and to share with fellow practitioners.
With Firm Righteous Thoughts, a Journey to Divinity Cannot be Stopped
Master says, "When disciples have ample righteous thoughts / Master has the power to turn back the tide" ("The Master-Disciple Bond" from Hong Yin II) This is a truth that every genuine Dafa disciple has experienced. I'd like to talk about a couple of things that happened recently.
I know a bureau director who practiced Falun Gong before the persecution. After the persecution started, he was forced to state the position that he no longer practiced. He got confused after hearing the propaganda and started to have negative thoughts about Dafa. In order to wake him up, I went to see him. Every time I went, he was never at home. I knew it was the evil's interference. I made up my mind that I wouldn't give up without seeing him. I brought some materials such as a Shen Yun DVD and the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and went to see him. As I was walking upstairs, I hit my toe on the stairs and it really hurt. I sent forth a strong thought to eliminate the evil. I am Master's disciple. I don't need any other arrangements and I deny all of them. I'm doing a righteous thing and nothing can prevent me from doing it. I went to his home and he was there. We exchanged thoughts, and I left the DVD and other materials with him.
When I returned home, the toe was swollen and had turned black. I immediately sat down in the lotus position and sent righteous thoughts. "Eliminate all the evil beings and factors hampering sentient beings' salvation and interfering with Fa validation." The pain was gone in half an hour. The swelling was gone the next morning, and it felt like nothing had happened. The director watched the DVD and looked through the materials. He understood the truth and quit the Party. He is thinking about practicing Dafa again. I will try to persuade him to come back to Dafa more quickly.
I usually climb up many flights of stairs every time I distribute materials. The evil beings knew that and wanted to interfere with my helping Master with Fa-rectification. They also wanted to stop me from saving the director. But I was clear-minded. I'm taking a journey to divinity that cannot be stopped.
One time, the sewer pipe in our apartment unit was clogged. After it was unclogged, someone suggested we remove the oil stains in the pipe with some alkali. I bought some alkali and put it in a water basin. I poured hot water in, and it started to boil instantly. The alkaline water spilled everywhere. I hurried to put on a pair of latex gloves and tried to scoop the alkaline water back into the basin. The gloves were burnt instantly and I felt the sting on my hands. I cried, "Help me, Master!" I took off the gloves immediately. My hands were red and had blisters on them already; they hurt terribly. I washed my hands with tap water and said, "Master, my hands shouldn't get hurt. I need them to produce and hand out truth-clarifying materials. Please help me, Master!" After I washed my hands clean, I sat down and sent righteous thoughts. I asked for Master's support and didn't allow any evil beings to interfere with me. The pain went away in an hour. I stood up, ignored it, and went about my business like nothing had happened. I checked my hands at night and the blisters were gone. There was a tiny scab on my wrist, which went away in two days. I went over to Master's picture and thanked Him.
I was going to distribute materials one day. It started to rain just when I went out the door. Dark clouds filled the sky, and it didn't seem like it was going to stop for a while. A fellow practitioner suggested that we wait. I said, "It won't be a problem. A journey to divinity cannot be stopped. The rain will stop soon." I started to talk to the god of rain, "You should know who I am and what I am doing. Please stop the rain for a while. The materials I'm carrying are to save sentient beings and they shouldn't be damaged. Master is watching you. All the righteous gods are watching you. You should position yourself well!" The rain stopped.
The Internet blockage by the CCP was severe at the end of August. One day I tried to visit a Dafa website using special software, when a messaged popped up: "There's a problem with the software and it must be closed." It closed after I clicked "confirm." I tried other anti-blockage software and it had the same problem. I realized that I was being deceived. I sat down in the lotus position and said, "It doesn't work on me. Go away! A journey to divinity cannot be stopped. You will be eliminated if you don't go away." Then I tried the software again and was able to visit the website without a problem. I wouldn't have been able to visit it if I gave up. My strong righteous thoughts dispelled the evil beings. I went to a fellow practitioner's home at night. They asked me, "Can you penetrate the firewall? There were problems with the software. None of us could get through. What can we do?" I said, "Righteous thoughts!" They said, "This time it's different. The problem is in the software." I said, "It's the same every time. It's only a change in appearance. I failed to get access a couple of times, too. Minghui (the Chinese version of Clearwisdom) is a divine website. When was it blocked?" I could tell that they didn't understand what I meant. I said, "With Master and the Fa here, who has the final say? Don't forget that we are Dafa disciples. We don't need or allow any other arrangements." The others enlightened and said, "We can do it. We can't wait until tomorrow. We will do it now. We can't disappoint our Master and make the evil happy." They were able to penetrate the firewall successfully with their righteous thoughts. Later I read an article posted on Minghui in which the author's first thought was, "I'm not going to click 'confirm.' How could I follow your arrangement?" I felt the gap between that author and me. It is a gap in the realm of thought. I should try my best to catch up.
There are so many examples like this. With righteous thoughts, a journey to divinity cannot be stopped!
Trying My Best to Fulfill the Mission and Ascending While Saving Sentient Beings
By studying the Fa well and cultivating myself well, I produced lots of truth-clarifying materials in order to break through the lies. I put different booklets into each zipper bag, with another single sheet of paper to supplement the content of a specific booklet. The content in each zipper bag would cover a variety of topics. I also tried to hang different booklets on the door of each apartment in an apartment unit. I also included some DVDs and the Nine Commentaries. This method increased people's interest and some families would share the materials. This greatly increases the effectiveness of the truth-clarifying materials. In the meantime, I also put stickers with Dafa information in the apartment unit. I always pick a clean, bright, and conspicuous place and post stickers with different content. My mind is pure, with no fear or selfishness. My only hope is to validate the Fa and save more sentient beings. I never do it carelessly. I think that our own minds play an important role in terms of whether or not we can save sentient beings. There might be interference or damage if we do not have strong righteous thoughts.
Once right after I hung a copy of the Nine Commentaries on someone's doorknob, the tenant arrived and asked, "What are you doing?" I said, "Is this your home? It's a gift to you. You're lucky. There are more than a dozen apartments in this unit and you live in this one." He asked, "What is it?" I said, "No hurry. Take it inside and take your time to read it. You'll understand everything." I walked away and said, "Make sure to read it carefully. Give it to your relatives or friends after you finish it. Everyone will benefit for sure."
I normally go out during the day because I can see well in daylight. I can pick the best place for stickers. I also bring a device I made of several layers of cloth tied together on a toothbrush. I use it to clean the spot before I put on the stickers, because they stick better this way. One day I was putting on a big adhesive poster "Falun Dafa is good - Reciting this often brings good fortune" in the hallway of an apartment unit. An old lady came up to me, but I was concentrating so hard that I didn't notice. She asked me what I was doing. I turned my head and saw her. I held her hand and said, "Big Sister, you see, it says 'Falun Dafa is good--Reciting this often brings good fortune.' The more you believe it and the more you recite it, the more effective it will be. Nowadays people from all over the world are reciting it. There are lots of stories of how it brings good to people. Give it a try. It will bring you good fortune if you recite it sincerely. Falun Gong is being persecuted. Falun Gong teaches people to be good and to follow the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident was propaganda." Just then, we heard footsteps upstairs and it sounded like more than one person. The old lady gave me a push and said, "Leave quickly." I smiled to her as I was leaving and reminded her to recite that sentence.
I would have been scared away if that had happened several years ago. It's different now. Master said, "If you are not afraid, the factor that would make you afraid will cease to exist. "("Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)" from Essentials for Further Advancement II) What are we afraid of? We're saving their lives. How come we are afraid of the people we are saving? Are those factors that make us afraid truly us? Master said, "Should you have fear, it will seize upon you / If thoughts are righteous, evil will collapse" and "Gods walk the earth, validating the Fa" ("What's to Fear?" from Hong Yin II) We should do what we need to do in an upright and dignified manner.
I always try to clarify the truth face-to-face. I meet different kinds of people during the process. I maintain my xinxing and will not to be moved. I won't be delighted if one is quick to accept the truth and won't be disappointed if the opposite happens. I think that what we do paves the road for other practitioners to clarify the truth to the person later. I'm not afraid of those who are stubborn and angry either. I tell them that I do it for their benefit and they should think more about it. I hope they eventually quit the CCP, so that they can have a good future.
One fellow practitioner's husband was going to have a get-together for his clients recently. This practitioner was not very diligent in cultivation and had never clarified the truth face-to-face. She wanted to clarify the truth at the gathering, but her husband wouldn't agree. She then told him that she would ask someone else to help, and her husband agreed. She came to ask me to do it even though we had only met each other once several years ago. My first thought was, "I will have to speak to a big audience. The practitioner's state is not good. And I don't know her family members." I realized that these were not my thoughts. As Dafa disciples, it is our mission to validate Dafa and to save the sentient beings. It is hard to get an opportunity like this. It is here today. How could I miss it? I said, "Yes. I'll be there on time." I got there an hour before and had a short conversation with her. She said, "Why is my heart pounding?" I said, "Calm down and have righteous thoughts. We should emphasize the process, not the result. We're saving them. We need to eliminate the bad thoughts that were formed by absorbing the propaganda. We shouldn't be moved by them. We just do what we should do. Master is by our side and everything is arranged by Master. You can sit down and send forth righteous thoughts. Please cooperate if I need your cooperation." She said, "This time I know what to expect. Don't worry. I know what to do."
I chose the right moment and started what I had to say with blessings. Then I got to the main topic. I talked about what Falun Gong is, how is it being persecuted, the fabricated Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident, the widespread acceptance of Dafa, the characteristics of the CCP, and how to save oneself by quitting the CCP. I spoke easily for more than an hour, and the audience was peaceful and quiet. They listened carefully and asked questions. The other practitioner supported me quietly. There were more than 20 people there, and they all quit the CCP. Then we took out DVDs and keepsakes for them. They kept thanking me at the end of the gathering and invited me to visit them later. I was moved when I saw how happy they were after being saved. I further realized my responsibilities and told myself to try my best to fulfill my mission.
That practitioner was deeply moved. She said she saw the big gap and would try to catch up. She asked me to help her to buy a computer, a printer, and a DVD burner. She wanted to build a material production site at home. She wanted to walk her path well and to live up to Master's great mercy.
Ascending with Fellow Practitioners with Perseverance
The evil beings wouldn't submit to defeat and still put up their last ditch struggle. Some practitioners passed away recently, and some of them were quite good. They had been on the front lines of helping Master with Fa-rectification. They had loopholes in some respects and didn't realize it in time. The evil beings grasped them tightly and they had to leave their human bodies behind in the end. It was very sad. If fellow practitioners could give them a hand in time and form a strong one body, the evil's plan wouldn't succeed.
There have been many articles regarding this in Minghui Weekly over the last two years. For example, there was an article about several practitioners who are in the state of gradual enlightenment that got together to send forth righteous thoughts. They helped practitioners eliminate the evil persecution in the form of sickness karma imposed by the old forces. Because they could see the whole process, they published two articles recently to ask fellow practitioners to pay attention to sending forth righteous thoughts.
I have many experiences in this regard as well. I have been making efforts to do this. I send forth righteous thoughts eight to ten times a day. Whenever I hear of others having tribulations, I will be there in time. Even though my celestial eye is closed and I can see nothing, I firmly believe in Master and Dafa. If we truly reach the standard of Fa, "Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful" ("Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful" from Essentials for Further Advancement II). I'll share two examples below.
Practitioner A doesn't live in our area. She worked hard in helping surrounding areas to build material production sites during the early days of the persecution. We've been busy since then and have very little time to get together. I had a dream about her one day. She was confused and acted oddly in the dream. I didn't take it seriously in the beginning because her cultivation state has been very good. Later I felt something wasn't right. I couldn't let it go, so I went to see her by bus. When I saw her, she had been dealing with strong sickness karma and was confused. She asked me why I was there. I said Master asked me to come and told her my dream. Then I sat down and sent forth righteous thoughts: "We are all Falun Dafa disciples. Master Li is our master," and the Fa quote, "I don't want other arrangements or acknowledge them." ("Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference") I sent more righteous thoughts: "She will rectify herself within the Fa no matter what attachment she has. The persecution is not allowed. Whoever dares to do it is committing crimes. Her things are my things. Those who want to be benevolently resolved should leave now. Otherwise you will be eliminated."
We had a conversation from the standpoint of Fa for the next two days. She found her problem. Her daughter-in-law had a second child two years ago and it was a boy (the first child was a girl). She was delighted and told fellow practitioners, "The second one was given by Master. I'm a practitioner and I must do well. I will take good care of the mother and the children to validate the Fa." Her daughter-in-law wanted to send the girl to daycare. She told her not to do that, and so she babysits the children herself. The evil beings saw that she was attached: "You want to do well at home? No problem. You will take care of everything." She often had to wash a big pile of clothes. Her daughter-in-law complained that they were not clean enough and was not happy. So she washed the clothes one more time. She was busy with all the household chores and was exhausted every day. She nearly stopped doing the three things. She sent forth righteous thoughts sometimes but fell asleep right away. She was exhausted physically and spiritually, and lots of human thoughts came back. I said, "The evil took advantage of your loophole and you didn't realize it. You've fallen into their trap and almost lost your life. It's dangerous that you think of Master with your human thoughts. It's most disrespectful to Master. How do you know that the child was given by Master? You even went around saying this to everyone. This has a negative impact on Dafa. You know what time it is: It's time to save sentient beings. Every Dafa disciple is trying to reach dozens, even hundreds of people, and yet our manpower is still not enough. Now you are tied up by this second child. You cannot do anything. Don't you think it is interference or an obstacle? On the other hand, you should help him with cultivation from the standpoint of Fa if he comes from high levels. Won't you destroy him otherwise?"
She said, "I understand now. The evil took advantage of my happiness. I got it wrong. I took qing as a priority over Dafa. I forgot my responsibility and had been taking the path arranged by the evil. What a close call that was! It would be unforgivable if I damaged Dafa. Thank you, Master, for sending someone to help me. I'm sorry I caused you to worry about me. I know I was wrong. I will cultivate well and will not fail again."
She recovered in just two days. She had a solid foundation in cultivation and this helped her to recover quickly. I met her several days ago and she is doing very well. Her husband and daughter-in-law started practicing cultivation. She has a material production site at home and formed a Fa-study group to help new practitioners and those who don't dare to come out. She has made good progress.
I felt immense gratitude to Master. Master doesn't want to leave any disciple behind. In order to take us home, Master has given much thought and attention and used many different ways to give us hints and guide us. Is there anything that we cannot let go of?
Practitioner B had been sick in bed for more than two months when I learned about her situation. She was extremely thin and couldn't take care of herself at the time. Her family members took her to several major hospitals and had the best doctors look at her. Nobody knew what her problem was and had no solution for her. This practitioner is very good, too. Her home served as our communication center during the first several years of the persecution. Lots of things were dealt with at her home. Back then she had one hand-operated copy machine and got blisters from producing the materials. Later Practitioner A bought a computer and printer and the efficiency improved. She had been persecuted several times and the police often harassed her. The police confiscated Dafa books and the materials from her home. The police also ordered her family members to watch her. Her children rented her apartment out, so she had to take turns staying at the homes of her children. Her children didn't allow her to contact other practitioners and forced her to leave the practice group. When I went to see her with Practitioner C, she couldn't even talk. We spent about four hours talking with her with one hour of sending righteous thoughts. Her mind started to clear up. I told Practitioner C, "You should get two diligent practitioners to come help her. You could study the Fa and send forth righteous thoughts together. This way we could stop the interference with her as soon as possible." Practitioner C said, "Where are there practitioners who have time? Everybody is busy with clarifying the truth." I said, "This is also important. We are trying our best to save ordinary people. But what about our fellow practitioner? We should save her first. Then we can save others with her. Isn't that more effective? We cannot leave her lying here. Her mission hasn't been fulfilled. This is something nobody else can do for her." Practitioner B said, "Yes. There are lots of people waiting for me to save them. I must get up." I said to Practitioner C, "If you cannot find anybody who has time, you and I will come back. Make some arrangements to take care of the responsibilities you have and let's be here tomorrow."
Looking back, I actually wasn't kind at the time and was giving other practitioners orders. I didn't think of others. Here I apologize to my fellow practitioner. In the meantime, I wanted to expose my selfishness and eliminate it.
Practitioner C's xinxing level is high, however, and she didn't say anything. She went to Practitioner B's home on time the next day. We brought all the Dafa books and the most recent Minghui Weekly to her. The three of us started to do Fa-study together. We studied the Fa, sent forth righteous thoughts, and shared experiences every afternoon. During the process, we were never moved by any of her unsteady emotions. We only had one thought, that nobody else could take advantage while Master is watching her.
It was raining a lot during those days. But we persisted in what we were doing and did not let it stop us. As I was walking in the rain, I recited Master's Fa, "I heed not their thick fog or the gale winds they whip about / Mountain rains en route wash off dust from the expedition."("Expedition" from Hong Yin II) Practitioner B was moved by our actions and became more confident. She rectified her human thoughts and attachments quickly. Her health improved dramatically. She was able to go out and clarify the truth after ten days. She started to do grocery shopping and cook meals. Everything went back to normal.
I always recall the clip from the movie "The Everlasting Poem" of practitioners telling each other to keep our promise, support each other, and fulfill our missions. We came here together and we should go back together. Nobody should be left behind.
I will learn from these cultivation lessons and be more diligent. I should live up to Master's great mercy and the honorable title of "Dafa disciple."
Thank you, Master, for saving me! Your disciple misses you. I won't waste your painstaking efforts!
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