(Clearwisdom.net) I have practiced cultivation for over ten years, experiencing happiness as well as sadness; I've been through both smooth and rough times. I have experienced Dafa's exquisite nature throughout the ups and downs of my cultivation, and I am very grateful to Teacher for benevolently saving me. I also feel sorry for not being diligent enough. I would like to share two events which occurred after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong.
1. Many happy families were torn apart when the CCP started persecuting Dafa and practitioners. I was about to get married when the CCP arrested me and my girlfriend's family based on trumped up charges. They interrogated us for several days. After a lot of help, my girlfriend, her father ( a non-practitioner), and I were released. However, her mother was illegally sentenced. My girlfriend was frail, and frightened by the CCP's persecution. She also missed her mother. She subsequently became mentally unstable and was unable to recognize anyone, including me or her relatives. Whoever saw her felt sorry for her and blamed the CCP for its inhumane persecution.
I clearly understood that every cultivator had his own tribulations to pass. Maintaining righteous thoughts throughout these evil tests and following Teacher home are things that practitioners must do. I juggled time between work and caring for my girlfriend. I also did some Fa-rectification tasks. I felt that the difficulties were too challenging, and I sometimes shed tears as I looked at Teacher's picture, asking, “Please save Xiaobao (my girlfriend's nick name)!” At that time, I didn't know what the critical mission was for Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioners. I had to persist to the very end with strong faith in Teacher and Dafa, and righteous thoughts. I also thought, “No matter what happens, I must cultivate to the end. I must take Xiaobao with me to overcome the evil's tests (I didn't know that dark mineons and rotten spirits from other dimensions were behind it). I must help Xiaobao's mother to be worried less and to overcome these tribulations.”
With the help of other practitioners, I read the Falun Dafa teachings to Xiaobao every day, helped her to memorize Teacher's articles, and led her in doing the exercises, and she gradually became mentally stable. A miracle then happened. One day, a fellow practitioner showed her Teacher's picture and asked, “Xiaobao, who is he?” Xiaobao didn't answer. The practitioner said, “This is Teacher! Please say 'Teacher'!”
Xiaobao replied, “Teacher.” The practitioner said, “That's right! He is our Teacher. Do you remember Lunyu? Let's recite it together, OK?” Xiaobao said, “OK...” They began reciting “Lunyu, 'The Buddha Fa' is most profound...”
After they recited some words, Xiaobao suddenly stopped. Her eyes opened wide, and she said, “You are (name).” The practitioner said, “Yes! You remember me. Please take a look at the others and see if you recognize them.” Xiaobao recognized and remembered the names of the other fellow practitioners present. They all shed joyful tears.
When we shared our understanding, we re-read Teacher's articles and arrived at a better understanding of the seriousness of cultivation. There is no shortcut for cultivation. We need to cultivate every step solidly, not allowing the evil forces to take advantage of us. We need to reject everything the old forces arranged and conduct ourselves openly as practitioners. We should do whatever Teacher says, and maintain righteous faith in Teacher and Dafa, which enables us to avoid detours and catch up with the progress of Fa-rectification.
2. After the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong, I was no longer treated as a key employee at my company. The managers were afraid that I might cause problems for the company, so they gradually reduced my responsibilities, even though I was one of the founding members. My shares also became worthless. Finally, I was laid off, but I left the company with a smile. I never regretted choosing Dafa. Wealth in the human world is what many young people dream about. I also wished for a decent life, but decided, on the very first day that I began practicing, not give up my Dafa practice for short-term material gains.
A few days after I left, bad things started happening to the company. The person replacing me was in a car accident where a person was killed. It not only cost the company money, but also impacted routine operations. Things got worse and worse. The company closed two hotels. Their main business (which I was previously responsible for) dwindled to a tiny office, and all of its traditional businesses evaporated. I didn't want to talk about it to make others think that I was happy about their misfortune. I am a Dafa practitioner, and cultivate compassion. I hope that all sentient beings are happy. However, there are causal relationships behind these events, which are only understood by cultivators. When I joined this company, it was a small vendor with only two counters. After our hard work, the company developed an income of several million yuan, one of the best in our region. This was due to the fact that a practitioner worked diligently for it (I won't go into the significant contributions made by practitioners). It subsequently grew fast and had good fortune. Once the company lost its conscience, or even stood on the CCP's side, divine beings took away its fortune. During those years, employees heard the truth about Falun Gong, but they not only didn't believe it, but also smeared it. People are responsible for their own choices. This event also proved the causal theory.
After I left the company, my life became more difficult since I didn't receive severance pay or a pension. The adjustment from a relatively good position down to unemployment was quite challenging for a young man. I job-searched for a long time, but couldn't find anything. I was depressed and sometimes felt that it was unfair, yet deep in my heart, I knew that these problems were “tests” created by the old forces. Their goal was to pull me down and force me to do the wrong things to make a living. How could I be fooled by this? I strengthened my righteous belief in front of Teacher's picture. However bad the situation is, we must follow Teacher's requirements to do the three things well. No difficulties or hurdles could stop my cultivation practice. I made up my mind to not regret anything. I had very limited time before to do the three things, but now I had plenty of time, so wasn't this time given to me to help Teacher's Fa-rectification?
To help clarify the truth about Falun Dafa to others, I sometimes spent entire nights preparing materials. When I was tired, I did the exercises and then resumed media production. When I was sleepy, I just took a nap on the table. I was busy every day, fully engaged in Dafa. It was so fulfilling and fun. I completely forgot that I was supposed to be looking for a job.
One day, I received a call from the CEO of a large company. He said that they had a position open and wondered if I would give it a try. This was like a gift falling from the sky. I couldn't believe it was true. What happened next was quite simple; the interview, joining the company, and work -- I had a job again, and with a well-known, publicly-traded company. My job was several times better than my previous one, and so was my income. It was a dream come true.
I calmed down and measured this event against Dafa. Nothing that a cultivator runs into is accidental. I needed to carefully look inward regarding this situation and acquire a new understanding based on the Fa.
Teacher said,
“Now, since they are cultivating, they should practice in a dignified and upright manner and let go of all of that. Just keep cultivating, and all problems will be resolved because you are a cultivator. If you do the exercises just for the sake of solving this problem, that won’t work, because then you aren’t completely a practitioner or cultivator. There would be a part in your practice that’s for resolving this problem and you would have a small attachment there, you still would not have totally regarded yourself as a cultivator.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Canada”)
My understanding is that we encounter trivial things in life quite often during our cultivation, such as illness symptoms, work challenges, emotional tribulations, etc. These are tests to determine whether the cultivator has eliminated his fundamental attachments. We must therefore focus on cultivation and study the Fa more, for the Fa can break through all obstacles. Especially during this time when the evil is still persecuting Dafa and practitioners, we need to maintain clear righteous thoughts, do the three things well, and save people. Whatever hardships are encountered, all challenges will be resolved as long as we have only Dafa in our hearts. Once we put our hearts into the Fa-rectification, overcoming obstacles isn't difficult!
The above is just my own understanding. Please point out anything inappropriate.
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
