(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings to our revered and compassionate Master! Greetings to my fellow practitioners!
It is that time when we again hold our Internet experience sharing conference. Looking back at my cultivation journey, I have come to firmly believe that as long as we do the three things well and follow the path arranged by Master, we will for sure achieve what Master intends.
1. Improving My Xinxing While Clarifying the Facts to Save Sentient Beings
Even though I obtained the Fa relatively early, back in 1997, I failed to study the Fa diligently and as a result had no clear idea of what cultivation was really about. After the persecution began in 1999, my shallow understanding of the Fa resulted in my numerous arrests and eventually led to my deviation from the Fa. While in detention, I wrote some statements to renounce my belief and almost destroyed myself as a cultivator.
After I was released from prison at the end of 2005, Master arranged various fellow practitioners to come awaken me. Through sharing understandings with them and reading Minghui (Chinese language version of Clearwisdom.net) articles every day, I finally realized my mistake and resumed my cultivation. I read Master’s teachings one by one and began to have some understanding of the meaning and essence of Fa-validation. I realized whatever I did in the past in the name of Fa-validation was only done for my own selfish purpose. I had a strong competitive and showoff mentality, and I didn’t want to be left behind in the Fa-rectification process. However, genuine Fa-rectification cultivation requires altruism on the part of all disciples. Constant Fa study enabled me to see clearly the historic mission bestowed upon me, and I made up my mind to save more sentient beings.
The first time I talked to a total stranger about Falun Gong was made possible with Master’s protection and strengthening. One day I went to a clinic to do some business and saw a person coming in who just couldn’t stop hiccupping. He told the doctor that he had gone to numerous hospitals yet no one could help him. He looked desperate for help, and I knew right away that Master sent him, a person with a predestined relationship with Dafa, to me. So I decided to wait for him right outside the clinic and asked Master in my mind to please strengthen me so I could tell him the facts of the persecution. In less than one minute, the man stepped out and walked towards me. I stopped him saying, “I’d like to tell you a cure to your problem.” He was very happy and anxious to find out what it was. When I told him to sincerely recite “Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” he doubted the effectiveness of this method. I continued, “I ask for nothing from you and all I want is to help you. As long as you say it sincerely, you’ll for sure get well.” I shared a few of my own experiences of recovering from diseases. He was moved and kept thanking me.
After the above-mentioned incident it became natural for me to talk to anyone I met about Falun Gong. Once I was chatting with another passenger about how reciting “Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” could bring good fortune when I noticed a young woman also on the train. She was intently watching a movie and I reminded myself not to overlook her, a person with a predestined relationship with Dafa. Soon she turned off her computer and said to me, “Taking a long-distance train would be much harder if there weren't any sleeper cars.” I said, “I experienced overcrowding on trains before. In 1989 when the student democracy movement was going on, the student council in my school organized a trip to Beijing and I went along. Later we learned that the Communist Party planned to open fire on students so we walked together to the train station where we saw countless people.” She became very interested in the topic and I told her many things: from the bloody crackdown on students to the totalitarian rule of the CCP to the persecution of Falun Gong. When I brought up the subject of quitting the CCP's organizations, she agreed to do the withdrawals without any hesitation. I felt so happy for her and was immensely grateful to Master. I knew every step I made would have been impossible without Master’s protection.
There were times when I felt lazy and didn’t want to talk to anyone. Then I realized that if I didn’t open my mouth to tell sentient beings about the facts of Falun Gong, those lives lost in the maze might be eliminated. After all, Master taught us in “Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference,”
“And neither are the sentient beings here in this world who are to be saved as simple as they may seem; an average being is not worthy of being saved by the Dafa of the cosmos or a Dafa disciple. The majority of the people in the world today are lives that descended here from the heavens, becoming human, and behind them, linked to them, are massive groups of lives.”
Another time when I took a train, I ran into a woman and a man, both middle-aged. At first I didn’t feel like talking to them at all, but soon realized that being selective in truth-clarification was not being compassionate or responsible. I tried to start a conversation with them. To my surprise, the man exploded and said some really bad things the moment I brought up the subject. I immediately began to send forth righteous thoughts and his voice softened after a while. He admitted that the CCP was indeed a corrupt regime and said he hadn’t paid his CCP membership fee for many years. Seeing his change, I continued to talk to him about Dafa and he no longer disputed what I said. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts and we both remained silent for a while.
One stop before my destination a kind thought emerged at the bottom of my heart and I was determined to save him. I smiled at him, “I just want good things for you. How about I help you quit the CCP?” He immediately nodded his head as if he had been waiting for me to bring this up. I said to the lady, “How about I help you quit as well?” She also agreed right away.
I've kept improving my xinxing during the past few years. During my efforts to talk to people face to face, I've encountered all kinds of people. Some were deeply deceived by the CCP's lies and only had harsh words for me, while others were cold and indifferent. There were also people who were extremely stubborn and only believed in modern science. Sometimes I became happy when many more people were receptive to my efforts and expressed their thanks to me. Gradually I was no longer moved by the person's attitude towards me. After all, we are fulfilling our historic vows; it's because they are deceived that they need Dafa disciples to save them. As such, how can I be moved by their attitudes?
Little by little, my capacity enlarged and my competitive mentality disappeared. I no longer felt hatred or affection, but only tolerance and compassion.
2. Saving the People around Me
To me, it was never that hard to talk to strangers about the facts of the persecution. However, I had great trouble bringing up the subject to my family and colleagues. My repeated abduction and forced labor imprisonment from 2000 to the end of 2005 caused tremendous mental anguish to my parents and also took a toll on their health. They were ecstatic at my release and did everything to take good care of me. However, their love for me turned out to be an obstacle of sentimentality that I couldn’t overcome. To avoid hurting their feelings, I didn’t dare to tell them I was still studying the Fa. They still had lots of misunderstandings about Dafa due to the CCP's lies. Even my mother, who once was also a practitioner, gave up cultivation under pressure. With more and more Fa-study, sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the facts to strangers, I gradually removed many of my human notions. At home, I tried my best to help with the housework and tended to their needs. In the past I only paid attention to my cultivation yet cared nothing about my surroundings. Now that my parents noticed my change, they naturally accepted the fact that I was still cultivating. When I studied the Fa openly at home, they acted as if they didn’t see it. Since I let go of my fear of being caught reading Dafa books, they no longer had any concerns. It was truly as Master said in “Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.,” “As I've said, everything that happens today in the ordinary society is the result of Dafa disciples' thoughts.”
Master also taught us in Zhuan Falun,
“Of course, in practicing cultivation in ordinary human society, we should respect parents and educate our children. Under all circumstances, we must be good and kind to others, not to mention to our family members.” (Lecture Six)
As such, I should be even more compassionate to the people around me. I began to work on every family member, with my mother helping me out during the process. When she first brought up the issue of withdrawing from the Communist Party organizations, my eldest sister went into a rage and began to yell at her. I encouraged my mother to not give up, and a few days later she was able to easily persuade my sister to quit the CCP and its subordinate organizations on the phone. In the meantime, my sister’s husband and daughter also agreed to do the withdrawals.
Last year a lump the size of an egg developed on my neck and it was still there even after one month. I kept looking inward and found that I tended to touch my neck habitually, which suggested that I didn’t really let go of my attachment of trying to get rid of the lump. During that period of time I happened to be busy making many copies of Dafa books. I read the news on Minghui that the 610 Office planned to hold a meeting in Wuhan City, Hubei Province to plot more attacks on Dafa disciples. So I targeted Wuhan in my sending forth righteous thoughts at the top of every hour. In between my efforts, I worked on Dafa books. Before I knew it, the lump on my neck was gone. A few days later udumbara flowers bloomed on my clothes line. When I told my family about my experiences and showed them the flowers, my eldest sister was extremely touched and she asked, “So the appearance of the blossoming udumbara flowers means that Buddha has come to save you?” I replied, “No. It’s encouraging me to show you and save you all.” She happily expressed her interest in learning the Falun Dafa exercises. Now, about twelve of my family members have come to understand the greatness of Dafa and have quit the Party.
Talking to my colleagues was another big obstacle. I lost my original job due to being illegally detained and my brother-in-law helped me find a position in his company. My new colleagues didn’t know that I was a Dafa disciple, and I kept it a secret for more than a year for fear of bringing any trouble to my brother-in-law. I was concerned that my family would worry again should I lose my new job.
However, Master carefully arranged everything and sent people with predestined relationships to me. One day a female colleague complained to me about her miserable life. Her husband was disabled and couldn’t take care of himself. She often yelled at her daughter out of stress, only to feel regretful afterwards. After listening to her, I said without even thinking, “You’ll feel better after you read this book I'll give you.” The second day she called me saying, “Can I come to your home? I spanked my daughter after I couldn’t control myself.” I invited her to visit me. After she arrived, I took out Zhuan Falun and told her, “This is a real treasure. You must read it in one sitting. Then you can read it more times. The more you read it, the more you won’t want to put it down.”
She was a bit surprised and asked, “Is this Falun Gong?” I said, “No matter what the CCP says, don't you want to find the true path to happiness?” She nodded her head and left with the book. Just like that she entered the door of cultivation and became very diligent. We helped each other and she was also able to help another person begin cultivating.
I was off to a good start, clarifying the facts to my new colleagues. With the wisdom bestowed by Master, I talked to different kinds of people in various ways. Those who learned the facts of the persecution all tried their best to protect me. Out of the two dozen people in my team, only six hadn’t agreed to quit the Party yet. Among those who agreed to quit the CCP and its subordinate organizations, six of them also began to read Dafa books. This year one colleague developed a thyroid tumor and I asked her to recite “Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” before her surgery. She believed what I told her and quit the Party. Her surgery went very smoothly. Once diagnosed as a malignant tumor, the mass turned out to be benign. She was also able to recover quickly. This was a miracle that occurred after she sincerely recited “Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
I am immensely indebted to Master for everything He does for us and all sentient beings!
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