(Minghui.org) I am a Falun Dafa practitioner in my 20s whose parents were practitioners. Therefore, I was exposed to Falun Dafa when I was very young. However, my parents stopped cultivating due to the persecution. I later began to cultivate in 2010.
Surfing Websites and Social Media Interferes with Cultivation
After I became a practitioner, I still surfed ordinary people's websites for fun. This affected me negatively when I tried to send forth righteous thoughts, as I would see many demons and ghosts. It took quite some time to eliminate them. I felt drowsy, my thought karma increased, and I had more human notions.
Master said:
“Things are a mess now in today’s society, and the Internet is now a mishmash of all sorts of bad things—it’s really like the Devil, and those things are like a whirlpool, with whatever enters it getting mixed in and jumbled together with everything else. It is a menace to society as well as to people’s minds, morality, and traditions, altering how people live. It’s one big motley mix, with good and bad jumbled together.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference”)
Master's words told me that ordinary people's articles talk about pursuing fame and interests. They may also contain spirit possession. These things are like drugs. If I were asked to take drugs in this dimension, I wouldn't do it. So why didn't I worry about what I would get from viewing these articles?
I stopped surfing WeChat and instead studied the Fa, listened to Minghui experience sharing stories, and read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. Thus, my cultivation state improved greatly. My thought karma lessened, and I could calm down when sending forth righteous thoughts and doing the exercises. My mind no longer wandered when I was studying the Fa, and I was able to enlighten to Fa principles when reading Zhuan Falun.
I had come to understand that the foundation of cultivation toward higher levels includes keeping one’s dimensional field clean.
Determined to Tell People the Facts About Dafa
After work, I go to a tourist site to do the exercises or talk to people about Dafa. On weekends, I go to Chinatown to distribute fliers and talk to people about Dafa. I think it is necessary for young practitioners like me to talk to people face-to-face.
Master said:
“Also, with those people that you run into by chance, who you run into in daily life, and the people you run into at work, you should all clarify the truth to them. Even when in your daily life you pass by people so quickly that you don't have a chance to talk to them, you should still leave them with your compassion and kindness. Don't lose those who should be saved, especially those with predestined connections.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference IV)
I used to be introverted, but I now attend many different activities. I carry Dafa informational materials with me and give them to Chinese people or tourists.
Face-to-Face Interaction
I have clarified the truth in depth to many students from China and to people from different backgrounds. Many withdrew from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and changed their attitude toward Falun Dafa.
An exchange student from my hometown had recently read information about Dafa on the Internet. He asked many questions, but it took quite some convincing before he withdrew from the CCP.
I helped an elderly Chinese visitor who needed some assistance at a bus stop. She then told me that she used to practice Dafa. After she went back to China she contacted me and said that she had returned to Dafa and began talking to people about the practice.
I met an elderly man in a cafe and decided to talk to him. I learned that he was a well-respected professor at a university. I told him about Falun Dafa and he decided to find out more about it by accessing Dafa websites on the Internet.
A new friend agreed to withdraw from the CCP after she decided on a pseudonym but changed her mind. I sent her long messages until she blocked me on her mobile. After looking within I found that I was too pushy. I sent righteous thoughts, and to my surprise, she unblocked me. She invited me to an event during which she quit the CCP.
This occurrence showed that once my xinxing improves, the old forces no longer have any hold over my interactions.
Eliminate Human Notions
Once, when many people refused to accept Dafa flyers in Chinatown, I looked outward and not inward: Was it because the headline was not very compelling?
It took a while for me to realize that I should think positively and not judge the materials with my human notions. I kept sending forth strong righteous thoughts to eliminate anything that prevented people from accepting my materials.
“Please accept the materials,” I said in my mind. Some people came back to accept them. Some people waved their hands when they saw me, signaling they didn’t want them, but the minute they passed me they accepted the fliers.
I found that righteous thoughts were very powerful. Most of the people took my flyers that day. Fellow practitioners said that the energy field was very good. I knew it was the effect of constantly sending righteous thoughts.
Difficult Situations Expose Shortcomings
When clarifying the truth to people face-to-face, we have to look within when people treat us harshly. These people are sometimes reminding us of our shortcomings.
When people praised my eloquence but did not want to quit the Party, I understood that I was validating myself and using human reasoning. I was not compassionate and no one was moved by my words.
When people asked whether I was paid to distribute flyers, I said that I just wanted people to hear the facts. I also looked within and wondered if I had the attachment of doing things and seeking rewards
When people told me that I was misled because I was young, I would ask myself if I was not firm in believing Master and the Fa.
When people doubted what I said, I would check myself to see if I did not cultivate well. When people liked to talk about ordinary people's things, I would examine myself if I still had attachments regarding those things.
Improving My Cultivation State
After Master's lecture “Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference” was published, I asked myself if I could fulfill my vows and reach spiritual enlightenment at my current cultivation state. I wondered if I was a practitioner who needed to run to catch up.
I found many attachments over the past year, including to comfort, competitiveness, fame, and self. I was still attached to worldly materials. I thought I was diligent because I had done more than other practitioners. I would then occasionally relax and fail to be strict with myself.
Thus, I studied the Fa more and kept reminding myself of the meaning of cultivation and my mission. I put looking within and true cultivation as my top priorities. After several months, my cultivation state improved a lot, and my mind became pure.
Master Gives Us Everything
As a child, I was competitive and wanted to be at the top of the class. I loved to be praised and showed off a lot. I was jealous of others who were more capable. I brought those attachments into cultivation.
Other practitioners said that I was very diligent in cultivation. Yes, I was always on the front lines in clarifying the truth. My purpose was to be a success and not a failure. When people refused to withdraw from the CCP, I felt discouraged and distressed.
Sometimes I complained and became impatient if my work or anything else occupied too much of my time. I truly wanted to clarify the truth. My mindset actually deviated from the Fa’s standards.
I wanted practitioners to praise me for being diligent in my cultivation. I showed off that I had good enlightenment quality. I was diligent when other practitioners were around and slacked off when I was by myself.
I often reminded myself that everything was given to me by Master and that seeking fame and personal gain is deviating from the Fa principles. Showing off is disrespectful to Master.
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Category: Improving Oneself
