(Minghui.org) Greetings, Respectable Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
This is a great opportunity for me to share my experience with fellow practitioners. I am a high school student and will soon start attending a university. I would like to share my understanding gained from clarifying the truth, and cultivating in the process.
I believe that regardless of age, the standard for cultivation is the same. As all Dafa practitioners are using their abilities to clarify the truth, young practitioners should do the same, instead of slacking off in cultivation or lowering the standards because of age.
School is a Good Place to Clarify the Truth
There are many teachers and students in a school, and it is a good place to clarify the truth. Master has arranged them to be near Dafa practitioners to hear the facts. Ten days before the Shen Yun show in Toronto last year we still had many tickets that needed to be sold. I tried to think at the time about ways to let my classmates know about Shen Yun. Perhaps Master read my mind, as I was given an opportunity.
We had to do a presentation before the exam for my world religion course. My topic was religious freedom in China. Prior to the presentation, I gave my friends Shen Yun pamphlets and talked to them about the show. However, I did not have enough for everyone.
During my presentation, my teacher asked the question, “What did the communists destroy in China?” She also asked me to give some examples. I talked about books, relics, literature, arts and traditional dance that were destroyed. At that point, one of my friends held up the Shen Yun pamphlet and signaled to me to talk about it. So I did, even though it was not part of my prepared presentation. I talked about traditional Chinese culture and the show time of Shen Yun.
In the latter part of my presentation, I talked about Falun Dafa, with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance showing on the screen. I was able to introduce Falun Dafa and Shen Yun in the presentation.
A couple of days later, my teacher asked for a copy of my presentation. She said that she wanted to use it as a sample for her students in the future. I got the highest mark for my presentation. In fact, my teacher understood the human rights situation that is happening in China. I thought that Master had given me a great opportunity.
Prior to the presentation, I had tried to collect signatures calling for a stop to the organ harvesting from living people in China. I was initially worried that many Chinese students would not sign, as I had many human notions. I had to overcome my fear and my attachment to fame. To my surprise, I got 50 signatures from my class. I didn’t have to say much other than telling them that organ harvesting from living people was happening in China, and most of the victims were Falun Gong practitioners. It was really my fear that had stopped me from getting their signatures earlier.
Some of my classmates suggested that I make copies for them so they could help me get signatures. I enlightened that when I let go of my attachments, clarifying the truth becomes easier. When I asked my teacher for her signature, she told me that she had seen practitioners protesting in front of the Chinese consulate. When I told her that they had been there for 16 years, since 1999, she was moved and encouraged me to continue my efforts.
I had been waiting for an appropriate opportunity to clarify the truth to my Chinese classmates. Maybe Master felt that I had waited too long, so he arranged for those classmates to walk by me twice in Chinatown when I was handing out flyers. I gave them some flyers and followed up with a video when I had lunch with them in the cafeteria. I sent righteous thoughts the night before.
The information was well-received. They listened attentively, and five out of nine students withdrew from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. I realized that my fear and attachment to fame had prevented me from going out and saving people.
Saving More Chinese People Through an Internet Forum
I have been part of an Internet forum group for the past two years, intermittently. I am savvy with the Internet and learn very fast. Soon after I started, I was able to post articles on forum, and make them rise to the top of the forum board.
Regardless of how much we participate in whichever project, or what role we play, our cultivation is foremost, because we will have difficulties and face tribulations.
Clarifying the truth on the Internet forums is not an easy job, as we are faced with a large number of ordinary people who have been brainwashed by the CCP. They need our help. When I read some of their comments on our posted articles, I really feel sorry for them.
Clarifying the truth on the Internet may not be as effective as our media or the telephone group, which can receive immediate feedback. When I first joined the group, I felt what we could do was very limited, which was a negative thought. I wondered how we could do a good job at saving people with such limited resources. I then realized that as long as we make an effort, people will see it. It’s all arranged by Master.
Master has paved the way for us to clarify the truth. It does not just happen. Many elderly practitioners had a hard time learning how to use the computer, but they all persevered. This is hard for ordinary people to imagine.
I sometimes find my job to be very repetitive and technical. My job is organizing the posts made by fellow practitioners, to make it easier for others to follow up and post pictures. So I have to repeatedly copy and paste the posts to the browsers. I gradually started to experience fatigue, and felt that it was no longer like “Cultivating Like When We First Began Practicing.” It became a routine for me, a job.
I then enlightened that this was not right. I realized that I should clarify the truth with a pure heart, because we are the most righteous, and it is disrespectful to treat truth clarification as a job. Only when we are very clear about our mission and responsibilities, can we be “...always cultivating as if you were just starting” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference”)
Ordinary people are blinded by lies spread by the CCP. If they feel our kindness, they will be moved.
Master said,
“Whether it's the bitter cold of winter, the intense heat of summer, or when everything is covered by ice and snow, or in the pouring rain, and no matter what people's attitudes are or how difficult it is, you haven't let up.” (Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
In terms of physical condition, we are much better off than the practitioners who are clarifying the truth outside the consulates and in Chinatown, although we have the same standard to measure up to. We have all come very far.
As an example, one day I posted about 100 photos on a high traffic forum. These photos were about how Falun Dafa has spread around the world. It was a forum with tight surveillance, which made it almost impossible to post articles. But I did not have many notions, and with a pure heart, I posted them.
I got over a thousand responses. Many of the people were ignorant, some called me names, others threatened to report me. They were mostly poisoned by the CCP. One can imagine how many people were poisoned with the CCP media and how much work is needed to undo the harm. Due to brainwashing, they have many preconceived notions. Their main consciousness is not clear all the time, and with low morality, it is so hard for them to understand the truth about Dafa.
Although we don’t receive immediate feedback from the Internet users, I can feel that it is now getting easier to post articles to clarify the truth.
I also need to let go of my attachment to results. A story published on the Minghui website struck me. A cultivator was very focused on consummation, and then a fairy revealed to him that he would not consummate if he was so attached to it. We often worry about whether everyday people will read our materials and understand us. As long as we do things according to the Fa, Master will arrange people to see them.
For some time, I have been looking for forums that have huge traffic, and worried for practitioners who posted articles on not so popular forums. I gradually let go of this attachment. Wherever there are people, it is worth our efforts. So I no longer care about the popularity of the forums, and make saving the people my priority.
Just as practitioners living in small cities will have people to save, we can reach people who have predestined relationships with us wherever we are. As long as we continue to do so, things will change. One day in the future, on the Internet, one will see “Falun Dafa is Good” everywhere, just like we see the currency notes with truth messages whenever we go shopping.
I find that the performance of my Internet connection is linked to my thoughts. My Internet connection is unstable at times. For example, when we are studying the Fa on the Internet and when it was my turn to read, the connection sometimes faulters. I find that when I am not calm, the connection is intermittent, and when my mind is stable, the connection is fine.
Master said,
“But in the case of a high-level being, just one thought will affect all of the sentient beings within the scope of his universe. And with a being of an even higher level, one thought will have reverberations throughout a universe of tremendous scope.” (“Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan”)
If our thoughts are not positive, it may have a huge impact. I can’t imagine how much bad material will be produced. Children at the Minghui School were asked to count how many thoughts they have in a day. They surprised themselves by the number of thoughts they had each day, and how many of them are up to the standards of Dafa. I was touched by this myself. It’s like sandalwood, which gives off scent without any perfume added. That’s its nature. What it gives off is scented. If I am immersed in the Fa, my thoughts will be altruistic and selfless. And I won’t have to determine which of my thoughts was inconsistent with the Fa.
Living in ordinary society, if we don’t study the Fa, we can be contaminated easily. I was like that for a period of time. I felt that I was being repetitive, doing the same task over and over again, and no one would notice if I skipped a day or two. It was through studying the Fa that I understood why I should clarify the truth, and the responsibilities we have as Dafa practitioners. Once I realized that, I didn't need reminders from my parents, and I took the initiative to do it myself.
Improve in Personal Cultivation
I recently found that some of my human ways of thinking affect my cultivation to a great extent. I have discussed this with other practitioners. While my human notions may seem normal, they are hiding something warped.
I recently found that I could not study the Fa with a calm mind, and when I looked inward I found that my “planning” affected my cultivation. When I was in China in the past, I learned to plan well ahead and do everything according to my plan. I thought it was a great habit. As a result, when I was studying the Fa or doing the exercises, I couldn’t help planning all the time, as I was afraid that I would forget something.
This is like what Master said “Practicing Evil Cultivation.” Master said,
“...many people practice qigong with wrong thoughts on their minds. Though they are practicing a standing exercise there with their hands and legs shaking from fatigue, their minds are not at rest. One is thinking: 'Prices are going up. I have to go shopping after finishing the exercise. If I don’t hurry up, things will be more expensive.'” (Zhuan Falun)
Was I doing the same thing? Cultivation is a very serious matter. Isn’t this being disrespectful to Master and the Fa? Looking inward deeper, I found that it was because I was attached to too many things, and the more I thought about them, the more complicated things became. I thought I had problems balancing my study and my truth clarification work, so I tried to make plans all the time instead of focusing on the task at hand.
The above is my sharing. As my level and my understanding of the Fa is limited, kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Thank you Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners.
(Presented at the 2015 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)
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.
