(Clearwisdom.net) My grandmother is over 70 years old. She began her study of Falun Gong much later than we did. However, she has been quite diligent listening to audio lectures during the day. She is illiterate and does not want to bother other family members. In the evening when we have group Fa study, she joins us. She understands the importance of saving sentient beings and often goes out on her own to help people understand what Falun Gong is about. One day she returned home late and explained to us that she could not recognize her way home that evening and had to ask for directions. I was moved by her desire to help people despite her age and ability, and I thought she demonstrated great compassion.
My parents and I have cultivated together for more than ten years, and each of us has a different paths and so does my grandmother. It is easy for me to notice what other people are lacking, but it is quite difficult to see my own shortcomings. When something happens, practitioners at different levels see and feel things differently. In my case, I feel that I have encountered a lot of temptations. It happens when I go out with friends and relatives to have fun, go to restaurants, or to matchmaking. Many times I was at a loss and could not decide whether I was conducting myself properly. When faced with a test, it always affects my heart or else it is not a test. I finally realized that I should recite Hong Yin to keep these temptations from affecting me.
When clarifying the truth my family members cooperate well with each other. My job is to get truth-clarifying materials, my father is in charge of binding them, my mother is responsible for the coordination, and my grandmother distributes these materials. Teacher wants us to cooperate well and this is what we have been doing.
We started our material production center way back and have accumulated significant experiences over these years. I am familiar with and efficient in the use of a printer. However, when a printer gets old, some parts may fail. One time this happened and I thought it would be better to buy a new one, because this particular printer was not easy to open. When my father wanted to try to repair it, I told him that generally it would be a waste of time and that even if he could open it, he might not be able to find the parts. He did not say anything, but spent the whole day and the next day in his room working on the printer. I still thought that he was wasting his time. In the evening, he told me with a smile on his face that the printer was fixed. At that moment, I felt really ashamed. Instead of supporting my father, I was holding onto a negative frame of mind, which interfered with his repair. My father can really put his mind to things, and his binding skill produced beautiful books. Yet, he wants to continue to improve his work and continue to do better. I truly admire his attitude and I think it is the proper attitude of a Dafa practitioner. I also believe that how a practitioner does in his daily work reflects the level of his cultivation.
My mother is a very capable person. Although she does not use a computer, she can handle daily chores in our family speedily. Hence, my father and I are free to pursue what we want to do. Usually, I prepare truth-clarifying materials in the evening until very late at night and she is always there to support me. I have never heard a word of complaint from her. She is not directly involved with our Dafa activity at home, but I believe that her support is equally valuable. Teacher told us before that every practitioner is a part of the Dafa group and that contributions of different kinds are equally valuable. My mother's main Dafa activity is coordination, and she runs around town quite a bit in all kinds of weather. I remember one situation where she had to help a practitioner to understand a certain part of the Dafa principles. She did not know where this practitioner lived. After spending a lot of time locating his address and getting to his house, she received a very cold reception from his family members. However, she was not discouraged and continued to help him until he finally understood what the principle. In my mother, I see the courage and perseverance of a Dafa disciple.
I think one should allocate enough time to study the Fa every day, because contacts with ordinary people can cause practitioners to follow human ways instead of following Dafa. As Teacher said,
“You should always maintain a heart of compassion and kindness. Then, when you run into a problem, you will be able to do well because it gives you room to buffer the confrontation.” (Zhuan Falun, Lecture Four, “Upgrading Xinxing” )
If we regard the three things as top priority, gradually the affairs of ordinary people will lose their importance.
I'd also like to discuss the subject of marriage for young practitioners and the illness issue for middle-aged or elderly practitioners. There have been many articles about marriage. My view is that the background of each practitioner is different and his or her circumstances are also different. Thus, I do not believe that “one size fits all.” I think we must consider the issue from the standpoint of being able to assist Teacher during the Fa-rectification and not violating ordinary people's ways of doing things. I have read many articles on the Minghui/Clearwisdom website about how a spouse, who was originally against Dafa, finally accepted Dafa after learning what Dafa is really about. It requires the practitioner to look inward to remove his own attachments and to explain the facts about Dafa to his spouse with patience and compassion. Also, some practitioners are unable to balance their family life and cultivation, and thus end up with a broken family. I believe the cause is in one's own mind. In Dafa cultivation, all human notions have to be removed. Generally, young practitioners face emotional problems, while older practitioners have to deal with illnesses. When an illness symptom appears, are you able to let it go? I think if one can let things go and firmly hold onto a righteous thought, it is possible to overcome any tribulation. The main difficulty in cultivation is to just free oneself from attachments. Teacher said,
"When you are overcoming a real hardship or tribulation, you try it. When it is difficult to endure, try to endure it. When it looks impossible and is said to be impossible, give it a try and see if it is possible. If you can actually do it, you will indeed find: 'After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!'”(Zhuan Falun, Lecture Nine, “People with Great Inborn Quality”)
I believe that in the days to come, practitioners will cooperate better with one another. This is what Teacher expects and is also what will happen. Fellow practitioners, let us move on!
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Category: Clarifying the Truth
