(Clearwisdom.net)
My father had experienced many political movements of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and had tore up Dafa books because he was so terrified by CCP persecution. From my success in getting a job as a civil servant, which is quite recognized in China, he witnessed the blessings of Dafa and his righteous thoughts about Dafa grew. Now, when I talk with him about Dafa he does not refute me anymore. He even endorses me when I clarify the facts about Falun Gong to other people.
– From the author
Ten years ago a family member of mine introduced me to Falun Gong and I began practicing it with the reluctance to miss the precious opportunity of becoming a Falun Gong practitioner of the Fa rectification era. Now I have become aware that I live in this world only to save sentient beings. In the past decade, with the mighty power of Dafa, Master washed away my human sentiments and personal interests that I possessed before and reshaped me into a Dafa practitioner in the Fa rectification era. The great changes in me from the innermost to the outermost is indescribable using human language. Bearing Master's invaluable blessings, I would like to take the opportunity of the Fa conference to share with fellow practitioners my experiences and understandings in my personal cultivation and in the process of saving sentient beings. Please kindly point out anything improper.
I. Reversing Human Notions into Righteous Thoughts in Job Hunting
In 2005 I graduated with a Master's degree. In the subsequent job hunting I missed many opportunities because of my picky attitude. This brought quite a negative impact onto my family members and my boyfriend, who used to be obedient to me but then deserted me. I later found a job in a small company as secretary. With determination to be a good person according to Dafa's principles, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance”, I kept myself immune to the degenerate morality of normal people and refused to pursue personal gain through infamous personal relations or bribes. When I was selected for an interview for a job as a civil servant some friends of mine proposed to me that they could help me through their private relations with people who made decisions. I refused their proposal and the net result was that I failed the interview. Thus I became hateful of modern people, who thought that I had became crazy because of my practicing Falun Gong. They would scrutinize me from the point of view of my then cultivation level. I knew it was nothing more than an opportunity to let go of my attachment of personal interests. Many practitioners had to give up their well respected jobs when they were persecuted for practicing Falun Gong and they never had regrets. I admired their determination and steadfastness. I thought what I did was right and simply overlooked people's scorns. I later changed my job several times. Some were underpaid but with the belief that all my jobs could have been an arrangement of Master, I never resigned, unless I would cause a change in Master's arrangements like what I had done in my job hunting after I newly graduated. I took the civil service exams every year but I never took them seriously, thinking that I should let things go naturally without being attached to personal pursuit.
As I studied the Fa more I gradually realized my condition could have been a result of the economic persecution that the old forces arranged for me, but I did nothing to change the situation, thinking it could be a manifestation of my personal karma and the loopholes in my Xinxing. I simply tolerated it and did nothing to negate it.
After several years of this one of my family members, who was a practitioner, talked with me and advised me that I should entirely negate the persecution of the old forces. He even told me that he would write to Minghui to ask overseas fellow practitioners to ask Master how to solve my problem. I was quite astounded by his words, for the huge confusion that I had caused him because of my failure to cultivate myself well and, in particular, my sluggishness in my job hunting. It was in no way a big deal for a cultivator, but I was about to ask Master for a solution and leave it for Master to cultivate, instead of treating it with my own righteous thoughts. I should be held accountable for this. From then on I came to understand that I needed a stable and decent job, not for my personal interests but for a stable cultivation environment to validate the Fa and to strengthen fellow practitioners' righteous thoughts.
With such a firm thought I treated the next civil service exam seriously. To save time I registered for an instructional course dedicated to the exam. When I passed the exam and was chosen for an interview, I rehearsed the interview in advance. I thought of Master's words: “Of course, some people said, 'Whatever Master does is sure to be done the very best.' True! If it were not the best, I wouldn't do it. ” (Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference)
Before the interview some friends again promised me that they could help through their personal relations with the people who made decisions but I politely rejected them, causing no misunderstandings with them while conforming to Dafa's principles as a Dafa practitioner. Many fellow practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts for me before the interview. On the day of the interview I saw many other interviewees feeling nervous, but I was quite calm because I knew my way was ready there and the only thing that I needed to do was to play well my role according to the arrangements, while the emotions of normal people in the maze are contingent on the things that might not belong to them. When I saw the interviewees enter the interview room and fewer and fewer people in the waiting room I became somehow nervous, too. I realized the problem right away and began to send forth righteous thoughts to let it go. I said to myself: Why do you sit here now? You are here not for the sake of yourself, but to demonstrate to people the brilliance and the power of Dafa that is manifested in you so that they could develop their righteous thoughts toward Dafa and be saved. I asked Master to help me and I calmed down right away. As a result, I went though the interview smoothly and passed with the highest marks.
Several miraculous things happened in my interview, which made me perceive that Master was at my side helping me all the time. When I registered myself for the exam the human resource section of the department that I was applying for tried to make trouble for me and told me that I better register for another department. After I went to work in the department I came to understand that the post had been arranged for a relative of a high governmental official in advance, for which reason the human resources section was assigned to control the registration of the examinees aiming for the post. But the person failed to pass the writing test. However, their control of the registration resulted in fewer competitors for the post. My mark was only a little higher than the bottom line and I won with a truly narrow margin. My way to success was actually not easy as the vile old forces tried to stand in my way. On my bus trip to my interview the bus driver jammed on the brakes sharply to avoid hitting a taxi suddenly cutting into the way and I was thrown out of my seat. Thanks to Master's protection, I was fine.
My younger brother began practicing Falun Gong from when he was very young. As he grew up he did not study the Fa well and his human attachments also grew stronger, as he was very keen on going to a good university and becoming a prominent man superior to others. I shared with him my understanding about that several times but he did not change his opinion. After success in changing my job he got a new understanding about the relation between being diligent and letting things go naturally and became willing to share with me about cultivation. He became aware of the importance of studying the Fa more and well. All the changes convinced me that I had done it right to take the civil service exam. Here are some of my understandings:
1. Dafa practitioners are heavenly kings and lords that have descended to the mundane world on behalf of their celestial bodies: “Dafa disciples are the sole hope of salvation for the beings in each region and each nation. (“My Thanks to Sentient Beings Who Have Sent Greetings”) ”. Our behavior in human society should contribute to people's righteous understandings about Dafa. To save sentient being we need to be trustworthy to them through our social positions, levels and educational background. If we always behave ourselves as a victimized group of people seeking for help, our truth clarification will not be satisfactory.
Several years ago some fellow practitioners, including myself, believed that letting go of our attachment to fame and gain meant we should accept low and under-paid jobs as long as we had enough spare time to do the three things. It might be all right at a certain level of our cultivation. Master taught us to entirely negate the persecution of the old forces, including the economic persecution. A fellow practitioner had talked about the difference between our truth clarification in a BMW and a bicycle. My success in getting my new job convinced me that a stable job and income that conforms to my educational background is greatly helpful to my truth clarification. This is particularly true for my relatives as their righteous thoughts toward Dafa rose even without my talking too much.
2. We must set our base of doing things right. In my earlier job hunting I was quite demanding and put too much emphasis on work hours to suit me. Master said: “One can cultivate while doing anything or while working in any profession.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference”), but I was picky with my profession out of my human notions and failed to conform to the requirements of Dafa. When I changed my notions and placed my main intention on upholding Dafa and improving our cultivation as a whole body, things began to change. Now I got a better understanding on Master's Fa: “If you put yourself first, it's likely many things will not go well, and problems will arise. If you truly want to be responsible to Dafa and to your own cultivation, you will do things well.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference”)
II. Only Righteous Thoughts Save People
I did poorly in my truth clarification to people face to face. Due to my attachments of fear and saving face I simply could not open my mouth to talk. My condition changed as I studied the Fa more and I came to understand that it is the mission of Dafa practitioners to save sentient beings that they meet. I then broke away from fear and tried to do my part in saving people.
I keep in contact with a classmate from my middle school days. In 2005, one year after the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published, I took the initiative to ask her to do the “three withdrawals”. At that time the persecution was very severe. Out of consideration of my own safety I talked with her as if I was a non-practitioner. I told her many things mentioned in the Nine Commentaries, like “China” actually represents the Great Wall, the Yellow River, the Yangtzi River and her 5,000 years of history, not the CCP. She agreed with me but I did not tell her to do the “three withdrawals” directly. When I asked her if she would quit the CCP if it is destroyed in the future, she said she would. I counted her answer as her agreement to do the “three withdrawals”. In our talk I came to know that she usually received telephone calls of truth clarification from overseas practitioners. However, because she was so deeply influenced by the CCP's poisonous deceit, she resented Falun Gong very much. When she received truth clarification telephone calls she simply picked up the handset and put the phone aside without listening to it until the call ended. I felt sorry that she refused to listen to the facts about Falun Gong, but I hesitated as to whether to let her know that I am a Falun Gong practitioner out of my misgivings.
She has a wealthy family. She went to university and got a Master's degree without much effort. In the eyes of other people she had a truly admirable life, but she was not satisfied at all and was even a little depressed. She kept complaining to me about the troubles she met in her work and her physical pains. Seeing her eyes seeking help from me, I found my compassion inadequate. Each time we met I felt later regret for not having told her about the brilliance of Dafa as a Dafa practitioner. I was given hints that I should go ahead to fulfill my vows that I had made before the dawn of history and to accomplish my mission to help Master in Fa rectification and save sentient beings. One day I finally made up my mind to tell her that I am a Falun Gong practitioner. I first apologized to her: “You regard me as your good friend and trust me so much, but I have kept a truly remarkable thing that I know secret to you because of my selfishness.” I then told her the complete story about Falun Gong, including the self immolation event at Tiananmen Square, the dissemination of Falun Gong around the world, the significant healing efficacy of Falun Gong and its power to bring up society's moral standards. When I did this I let go of my personal considerations and placed her as first place. The result was that she came to understand the facts about Falun Gong and our friendship became better than ever. Later we watched together the video CDs of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and read many truth clarification booklets. She became a life that was genuinely saved. As a knowledgeable person, her understanding about Falun Gong was rational. One year later, she began to practice Falun Gong.
I have clarified the facts about Falun Gong to my classmate many times. Each time I brought her some information about Falun Gong that she never knew before and the whole process lasted for quite a long time. This made me think of the famous Chinese poem “The rain in the early spring nourishes the plants quietly”. It provided me a good lesson to learn: for knowledgeable people who resent Falun Gong we need to clarify the truth to them with more patience. To open the locks in their minds we need clarify the truth to them most thoroughly. In order to do so well, we need to be steadfast.. Upon writing this part I truly perceived how difficult it is for Master to save sentient beings. Thank you, Master, for your painstaking arrangements and bringing us to our true homes from the maze of this mundane world.
Another colleague of mine, whose mother had been ill for many years, usually complained to me about her sufferings. I took the opportunity to tell her that she ask her mother to say, “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” and that her mother might receive unexpected healing results by doing that. She said to me excitedly: “I have received many Falun Gong truth clarification materials in the corridor of my home building. Every time I would read them carefully. I want to learn Falun Gong. Do you know how to practice it?” Never before had I come across any person who showed such eagerness to learn Falun Gong. I later did the “three withdrawals” for her and we watched the Falun Gong exercise demonstration video and I gave her a copy of Zhuan Falun. She received quite some interference when obtaining Dafa, such as an overload of household chores, which occupied her time for doing the exercises and studying of the Fa. But, anyway, her life was already connected to Dafa. After I passed the exam for civil service I became quite busy and could hardly spare time for her. She always said: “Why did you not tell me about and teach me Falun Gong earlier?”
This matter made me realize that I am shouldering a serious responsibility for sentient beings and that I should always treat the sacred mission with righteous thoughts. Otherwise I could not imagine how I could face all those lives that I failed to save merely because of my misgivings on the day when the Fa begins to rectify this mundane world. It would be my biggest regret.
Both of my friends decided to practice Falun Gong after they learned the facts about Falun Gong. I knew this was an inspiration from Master aiming to let me see people's eagerness to be saved, so I put aside my personal misgivings to step out for truth clarification face to face. The righteous thoughts of Dafa practitioners can dissolve the evil and save sentient beings in the maze of illusion.
While writing this sharing article Master's new Jingwen “What is a Dafa Disciple” was published. “Dafa disciple” is the most glorious title of all beings in the cosmos. Master further made it clear that we are cultivators who are shouldering the responsibility of assisting Master in Fa rectification and saving sentient beings. Although Master has praised Dafa practitioners in China as “doing better and better”, I know I still have a lot to cultivate, like letting go of the attachments to comfort and to arguing with others. At the last stage of our saving sentient beings we need to cultivate ourselves well so that we can accomplish the mission that Master bestowed upon us, just like “True thoughts dissolve all, The whole sky is clear.” (“Stirred by Reflection”)
Fellow practitioners, let us cooperate more closely, let go of our human minds and cherish the path that we have traveled. Let us do well on the final leg with the best status of Dafa practitioners.
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