(Minghui.org) I was deeply moved after reading Master's new article “20th Anniversary Fa Teaching.” I know that Master is watching and guiding each and every disciple. Master does not want any one of us to fall behind.
Worried about My Brother
I began worrying about my younger brother, who lived in a remote rural village and had been cultivating in isolation. He did not have access to Master's recent teachings or Minghui Weekly. I talked with him on the phone occasionally and realized that he had a very serious issue in his cultivation.
He had doubts about Master's teaching and even complained about Master. He thought, “Master said, 'Of course, there won't be another ten years.' (“Touring North America to Teach the Fa”) but now it is over ten years and the Fa-rectification is still ongoing.” He could not resolve these doubts due to his severe attachment to the ending time.
I invited him to come visit me many times in order to help him answer his questions and catch up with fellow practitioners. When it was winter, he used family matters as an excuse. When it was spring, he said he was too busy. When it was summer, he said it was too hot to travel. I had thought about visiting him but seemed to always be stuck in all kinds of matters.
After countless requests, my brother finally agreed to come on one condition: I had to meet him at the train station and give him Master's recent teachings. He would then return home right away. It sounded so ridiculous, since he lived over 7,000 kilometers away and the travel expense was not cheap considering his financial situation. So I told him not to bother, and we let it drop.
Recognizing My Attachment to Family
Nothing in a Dafa disciple's life is accidental. Why did this happen to me then? I started to search within for answers. I realized I was too attached to my brother and had considerable qing for my family members.
In particular, I had a strong attachment to my mother. I did not have a chance to do well by her before she passed away, so I often felt regret. After I started cultivation, one day I read,
“......and that if you succeed in cultivating Buddhahood your parents will have acquired great virtue. But very few of them get out of the Three Realms—it’s just that they’ve acquired virtue and done good things. Having a son like you, or having a daughter like you, they’re regarded as having acquired virtue because of the existence of that factor. But you can’t let the parents also become Buddhas just because of this—they have to cultivate. They’ll just be heavenly beings at different levels who enjoy blessings.” ("Explaining the Fa for Falun Dafa Assistants in Changchun," Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa)
I thought, “If both my brother and I cultivate well, it would be very rewarding and beneficial for our mother.” It was an attachment that was hidden deep in my heart. It was not visible to anyone but me and only when I searched within at a very deep level did I realize it. I knew cultivation was a very serious matter and any attachment was a barrier along the path of my cultivation, not to mention such a huge attachment. I said to myself, “I must get rid of it with my strong willpower and not worry about my brother's cultivation anymore. Master is looking after each and every practitioner. We just need to follow Master's arrangement.”
Soon afterward, my brother unexpectedly came for a visit. He told me it was Master that told him to come. For no specific reason, he himself just really wanted to come. He also told me about his amazing experience buying the train ticket. When he went to the station to buy his ticket, they were sold out for the next several days, even for standing room only tickets. He was at a loss and worried about what to do, when the clerk suddenly shouted in surprise, “How come there is another ticket for tomorrow?” He was happy to discover that the ticket was ideal – a window seat. Therefore, he was sure that Master had arranged for him to come.
Once he arrived, he was anxious to buy a return ticket for the next day to go back. I felt there was something behind his behavior that was the true barrier. I looked inside myself and realized I was too impatient and wanted to force him to catch up at once by any means. The more impatient I was, the more resistant he became. I then started to send righteous thoughts to cleanse myself. At the same time, my daughter came to share understandings and experiences with him. So I sent righteous thoughts next to him to eliminate all the dark minions and evil spirits in other dimensions that interfered in his cultivation.
But he still held on to his notions and asked, “Master said it would not be another ten years. Now it's been more than ten years and it should end. Yet it's not ended.” I asked him if he had cultivated himself well, and he admitted that he had not. I said, “You have not cultivated well and you want it to end right now? If it did, other practitioners who have cultivated well would return to their original positions. What about you?” He said, “Just take me to whatever level I have achieved. I have no complaints whatsoever. Didn't Master say that there would be other people practicing Dafa in the future? I can cultivate with those people in the future.”
Treating My Brother as a Fellow Practitioner
I realized his notions were the result of his isolation from fellow practitioners and not being able to access Master's new articles and Minghui Weekly . I told him, “Master is here now to teach the Fa in person, and you still cannot reach consummation. How can you expect to do better in the future? On anther note, Master wants to continue with the next step, yet some practitioners still have not come forward and have not met the requirements of a Dafa disciple. So Master has prolonged the process in order to give us a little more time. Some practitioners with open celestial eyes have seen that the prolonged time was obtained at the sacrifice of Master's blood. Master has suffered so much for us. Do you know what I think? I am very grateful for the time and cherish the remaining time. Because I did not do well in the past, now I can make the best use of the remaining time to do better and catch up. Speaking of the end of it, I really fear the end of it. If it ended right now, it would be so dreadful for those practitioners who did not cultivate well.”
My daughter said, “In 2009, a fellow practitioner read Master's teaching and realized Master had given us more time. He was so touched that his voice was quivering when he called me and said to me, 'We've still got time! We still have time!' I think Master has saved so many practitioners with the prolonged time, and that includes me.”
After some back and forth, my brother became better but he still had not completely resolved his misconceptions. He said, “Since this is my last time to visit you in my life, I can stay for a few more days and won't need to go home tomorrow.” I was pleased to see his positive change. I knew only Master's teachings could break through his barriers and misconceptions. So I brought all the recent teachings to him and said, “You should take time to read these new articles.”
My brother thus started reading the articles and spent very little time sleeping and eating and talking about everyday life. Once he put down the chopsticks, he would start reading Master's articles. Through reading the Fa, he could understand the reason for the Fa-rectification being prolonged and Master's benevolence and suffering for Dafa disciples. A layer of the shell that was preventing him from diligently advancing was broken. He was awakened and thought of the Three Things disciples were supposed to do. He asked, “Are you still sending righteous thoughts?” I said, “Of course we are. In addition to the four hourly time slots every day, we send more whenever we have more time.” He said regretfully that he had not sent righteous thoughts for half a year because there had been interference whenever he wanted to send righteous thoughts. After it happened many times, he thought maybe that was a hint that he should stop doing it. However, he did not realize who gave him the hint. I told him, “Master taught us to go to group Fa study and share cultivation experiences and cooperate with each other in Fa validation projects. You wouldn't have taken it as the hint to stop if you had the environment of a group Fa study. After you go back, you should join a local group.”
The next evening, I suddenly found my brother sitting there gazing into space, looking pale. He was not reading the articles and would not answer me when I talked to him. I knew he was regretting the fact he did not do well before. I feared he was going to act irrationally and go to extremes. I said, “Fa rectification and your cultivation have not ended yet. You still have time to do well. We should look forward. You cannot go to extremes, which is another form of damaging the Fa.” He still did not show any sign of rationality.
I immediately thought of Master's teaching and started reading it out loud to him,
“Validate the Fa with rationality, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and save people with mercy...” ("Rationality," from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
“Clarify the truth thoroughly, eliminate the evil with righteous thoughts, save all beings, and safeguard the Fa with determination...” ("Dafa is Indestructible," from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
After reading the Fa, I told him he must act rationally. Then I read it again. And then I told him again to act rationally. Then I continued to read it loudly. After some time, he looked up and said, “I cannot go to extremes.” I asked, “So what were you thinking just now?” He said, “Nothing. I was drawing a blank.” Then he murmured to himself, “I came too late. It would be much better if I had come earlier. I came so late.” I saw his face filled with regret and sorrow, and he looked helpless and miserable. Master told us,
“When the day of Consummation really comes, let me tell you, Dafa disciples really will Ascend in Broad Daylight, and the whole world will be able to see it. (Applause) Those who won't be able to Consummate, when that day comes all you can do is just sit there and sob! For the ones who haven't cultivated well, I'd say it'll be too late to cry.” ("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")
I tried to comfort him, “It is okay you are late. Believe in Master. Look at what Master said.” Then I started reading from "20th Anniversary Fa Teaching,"
“Of course, cultivation has not ended yet and you can keep doing the things that Dafa disciples should do, and make sure that you do well with whatever lies ahead. So in that sense, there are still many opportunities ahead and time to do things.”
My brother listened carefully and smiled when I finished. He said, “Master arranged for me to come, and awakened me. Master has saved me once again. I am so grateful to Master. What I did and thought before really let Master down. I will never ever think that way again. When I go home, I will first study all Master's books and do things well in the future. I will catch up as soon as I can and never let Master down again.”
Seeing my brother become so completely enlightened and returning to cultivation, the greatest thing, I somehow could not help crying. As I write this sharing article, I cannot hold back my tears. Thank you, my great Master! Thank you for your boundless benevolence!
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