(Minghui.org) Greetings to Revered Master! Greetings to fellow practitioners!
I have been practitioner since 1996. If you asked me whether it has a been bitter struggle over the past 18 years, my answer is no. In this cruel world, doing the three things well is the sweetest thing. In the process, Master makes every little thing I do more significant, glorious, and meaningful. We are preparing our future in the process.
Recently I feel the sentient beings are anxiously waiting to be saved. One time I saw a hose left in a garden. I figured the workers would be back to collect it soon. I laid some Falun Dafa informational materials next to the hose and soon afterward two workers came along and read them. Once I set some brochures on an inconspicuous rock. A man just happened to rest on the rock and found the them. He picked them up and read them carefully, then put them back carefully.
Becoming a Practitioner
In the winter of 1995, I read in the newspaper that the book Zhuan Falun was the number one bestseller. The title caught my eye and I wished that I could read it. One day I walked into a bookstore, which I had never thought to go in before. I saw many copies of Zhuan Falun on the bookshelves. I read it there and bought it. Since then, I haven't been able to live without it.
It says in Zhuan Falun,
“Someday or after my lecture today, some people may enter into this state: They cannot eat meat, and meat smells sickening. If they eat it, they will want to throw up.” (Lecture Seven)
I had liked meat since I was little, so I stayed in this state for three months.
After I read Zhuan Falun, I was worried because I didn't know where to learn the exercises. Then I noticed a Falun emblem on my coworker's shirt. On April 21, 1996, my house became a group exercise site.
I remember the first time Master purified my body. I was listening to his lecture while I was biking to work. On the tape, when Master asked the audience to think about their illnesses and stomp, I quickly got off the bike and thought about my irregular heartbeat. I stomped as Master instructed. From then on, my chronic problem disappeared.
I improved my xinxing through encountering many tests. Sometimes a stranger would spit at me and I took it lightly. A ticket inspector once accused me of not paying enough, and I didn't argue. My coworker gave me a hard time and I barely explained myself. I felt very much at ease.
Standing up for Dafa
In July 1999, I appealed for the right to practice Falun Dafa and the police detained me. They turned on the television channel that repeatedly slandered Falun Dafa to make me watch it, but the picture was blurred. The rest of the channels were fine. The police were baffled, but we practitioners knew what was going on. When the police threatened and cursed, I recited "Nonexistence" from Hong Yin:
"Live with no pursuit,
Die not caring about staying;
Clear out all wild thoughts,
Cultivating to Buddha is not hard."
I behaved righteously at work according to the teachings of Falun Dafa, so my coworkers respected me and had a positive attitude toward Dafa. After I was released and went back to work, the manager encouraged me and told me practitioners all over the world supported us. A coworker worried that I'd be persecuted and offered to hide my Falun Dafa books for me. Some had doubts regarding the propaganda they heard and came to me for clarification.
Sometimes the division head talked to me about belief. I knew it was my chance to clarify the facts of the persecution. I spoke up so others could hear me. They were all very quiet when I clarified the truth. Some of my coworkers believed the regime's propaganda and defamed Falun Dafa. Those who knew the truth would correct them. In the darkest time of the persecution, my coworkers made the right decision, and I was glad that they chose a good future.
Making and Distributing Informational Materials
After Master encouraged practitioners to start their own small material production sites, my husband and I bought equipment and made all kinds of materials and amulets. In the beginning, I was often scared when I distributed the materials. Luckily, we are practitioners and have Master's protection. As long as we continue to steadfastly walk on the path Master arranged for us, any attachment will eventually be eliminated because we walk on the path towards consummation. My fear gradually disappeared and my righteous thoughts got stronger. We used our strong righteous thoughts so that sentient beings would find the materials and to prevent the old forces from interfering.
At first we went out while it was still dark and left the materials in highly visible places. We hoped those who woke up early would find them. Later we realized that the street cleaners and street patrols might take the materials if we left them out in the open. Also, people might not want to pick up anything where others could see. We decided to place the materials more wisely so that we could better save people and maximize our resources. As we let go of our attachments more and more, we were able to distribute the materials during the day openly and nobly. We thought about the future of the sentient beings.
I realized that if I couldn't clearly have in mind whom I was saving and how great that responsibility was, I easily became passive after a while. I had to study and send righteous thoughts to eliminate this passive attitude. Master said in "Diligence and Righteous Enlightenment" from Hong Yin II:
"Don't let up in studying the Fa;
amidst it transformation happens
Let nothing sway conviction;
of it comes right fruit and the blooming lotus"
Indeed, Master has already given us the right tools. One night I dreamed that the materials I left out on a mountain were rocks of gold.
At times we saw what other practitioners had done to clarify the truth: “Falun Dafa is good” written on rocks or trees, banners hanging in trees, Shen Yun DVDs delivered to our door, yuan bills with Falun Gong messages written on them, etc. We didn't know a lot of practitioners in this evil environment, but we knew that we were not alone.
It was always difficult to get started clarifying the truth. When we were about to step out the door, there would be so many things or people trying to keep us at home. At times we couldn't find the right place and time to leave our materials after walking a long way. When that happened, the most important thing was to hold on and not give up the thought of saving people. As long as you want to save people, Master will help you. The situation might look hard, but it is only on the surface. By the end of every day, we would see we could have brought more materials.
Persevering
July 2013 was unusually hard for my family. The environment, our family, our jobs, and our relationships became very difficult. Like Master said in “Tempering the Will” from Hong Yin, “Abundant troubles rain down together.”
It was very painful but our righteous thoughts were unswayed. I always kept Master's words in mind:
“When it's difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it's impossible to do, you can do it.”
“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!'” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
I will look within to find my attachments and negate the old forces fundamentally. I will do the three things well and walk the path Master arranged for me.
As long as we believe in Master and the Fa, there is always a narrow yet golden path beneath us no matter how hard it seems. That is the path Master arranged for us a long time ago, and it is the only path in this secular world that will lead us to return home and reach consummation.
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