(Minghui.org) Greetings, esteemed Master. Greetings, fellow practitioners.
I am 41 years old and began practicing Falun Dafa in June 2015. I remember when I read Zhuan Falun for the first time, I felt it was sacred, powerful, and very divine. I could not put it down and finished reading the whole book within a couple of days. I felt a strong energy inside my body, and also thought that I had a strong predestined relationship to receive this precious Fa.
I was previously a sensitive person, who often became easily annoyed even for the smallest issue at work or home. I carried a sense of ego at work when I understood several advanced technical concepts far easier and sooner than other people. Even though I helped others understand the technical and business issues, I always had a superiority complex and was judgmental. I used to think these were normal characteristics of a person working in the software industry, which were indeed required to climb up the career ladder. Therefore, I enjoyed experiencing them.
The Fa Changed Me
After I started practicing Falun Dafa, it took me several weeks to understand what cultivation was really about. I read the Fa a few times every week and went through several xinxing tests. I started practicing sitting in full lotus position while meditating and slowly was able to extend my meditation time from 15 minutes to 30 minutes and longer. Every time I felt extreme discomfort and pain, I remembered that it was a good thing and that I am eliminating karma.
While my practice was proceeding at a good pace, I got the opportunity to attend the 2016 New York Fa conference. This was my first time seeing Master in-person, and in an unexplained manner, once Master stepped on to the podium, tears started rolling down my eyes uncontrollably. I simply couldn’t understand what was going on until I read Master’s Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Europe.
Master says,
“I’d like to tell you that in different periods of history and in different countries, a great many of you here in the audience had a significant predestined relationship with me. This is one aspect of it. There’s another aspect. ‘In this messed up world you are still disseminating this wonderful thing.’ Those words are spoken by the gods who don’t understand what I’m doing. So it’s even more difficult for me to save you. The part of you that manifests in this dimension doesn’t realize it, while the side of you that is in other dimensions sees all and understands what I’ve given you. Your inability to express your gratitude to me in words, deeds, or even with any possible idea, causes this side of you to shed tears unexplainably.” (Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Europe)
My life slowly started changing after attending this conference. I sensed that Master was making arrangements for me, and I was put into a very difficult schedule. First, I joined the US/India Group Fa study every day at 8:30 p.m. After that I joined the English Group Fa study online every day at 10:30 p.m. and then diligently started sending forth righteous thoughts four times per day. I also started coming to the Friday group Fa study in Philadelphia regularly and became part of the Shen Yun project.
With all these changes in my life, I sometimes felt nervous that Master’s expectation of me was very high, and wondered whether I would be able to meet that. Nevertheless, I simply continued to follow the path that Master arranged for me. I became more and more focused and felt that I was developing an inner calmness in my mind. This helped me to overcome several tribulations and cultivate steadfastly.
In the past few months something strange started happening in my life. Both at work and at home I often came across situations where I observed several xinxing conflicts among fellow practitioners and everyday people. Rather than being involved directly, my role was always an observer. When the initial ones happened, I was simply ignoring them, but later the incidents became more intense and I knew that these were not coincidental. I understood that even though I was merely observing a xinxing conflict I needed to look within to find any deep hidden attachments. When I started looking within and tried relating to all these incidents, I couldn’t find any attachments or shortcomings.
I have two daughters – a 7-year-old and 2-year-old. One morning, I was running late for work and was very tense. Since my wife leaves early for work, I usually have to get the kids ready and pack the lunches and snacks, etc. I had a very important meeting that day and was running very late. Whenever I get tensed, I get angry, and that day I started raising my voice toward my elder daughter to get ready faster. After I got dressed, I was rushing downstairs to get the little one ready and then leave. To my surprise, I did not find both of them. When I looked outside, the elder one was standing there waiting for me. She had already packed a lunch, gave the little one milk, put all the things in the car, and also strapped the little one into the car seat. She said, “We can leave now. Since it was getting late, I thought I would help you.”
Suddenly I felt a strong energy flowing from top of my head all the way to my feet, and I was suddenly in tears. I enlightened to the fact that I had been lacking compassion all along. I felt very ashamed of myself, because in spite of raising my voice against her, she, as a non-practitioner, exhibited compassion to such an extent. Shouldn’t I as a practitioner exceed that? Am I not expected to meet supernormal principles rather than everyday people’s principles?
From that day on, I started consciously treating everyone with utmost compassion, and always started looking from the other person’s point of view amidst a conflict. As practitioners, we are always held at a high standard. A standard that is inconceivable for an everyday person. We should never use ordinary human notions to analyze situations, and should always approach all situations with a heart of compassion.
I would like to thank our esteemed Master for showing me the true way! I would also like to thank fellow practitioners who help me in my cultivation.
(Presented at the 2016 Greater Philadelphia Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)
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