(Minghui.org) A Falun Dafa practitioner was released from prison in May 2014. I heard that she stopped practicing Falun Dafa. Her son forbid practitioners from visiting her. He said he would report them to the police, so no one visited her after she returned home.
I thought that I had a responsibility to help this practitioner that had fallen behind to return to cultivation. Two of us practitioners tried to visit her, but no one was at home. We got busy and put off another visit.
One day I realized I could no longer delay the visit. She cried when she saw me. She told me that during her and her husband's seven-year illegal imprisonment, her son and daughter-in-law ran into a lot of problems and were saddled with a large debt.
She was under a lot of pressure. When she couldn't bear it, she cursed at others and hit her grandchildren. I could feel her pain. She had not been able to study the Fa or do the exercises, and without the Fa's guidance, life became even more difficult.
“With Master's protection, you will make it,” I said. “This suffering is helping you to let go of the attachments to profit and affection among family members.”
Breaking Through Interference
After we shared experiences, she calmed down. I handed her an article titled “Helping a Practitioner Return to Cultivation” and a copy of the Minghui Weekly.
She said, “Dear, I cannot take them. I'm afraid. I dare not keep these things at home. My son does not allow me to contact practitioners, and he threatened to report anyone who comes to our home to the police.
I responded, “You must take them. You need to read them when you have time and break through the interference from your family. Only with Master's protection and the help of practitioners can you get out of this plight.” She accepted the materials.
Looking at Problems with the Fa Standards
After that I visited her often. We talked, and I brought her an MP3 player to study the Fa and do the exercises. I told her to study the Fa more often, and I helped her to look at the problems from the Fa.
For example, her granddaughter could not go to school without paying a fine because the child was not a registered resident. I told her to negate the old forces' persecution in the form of financial problems and believe that Master has the final say.
She said, “Yes, I will ask Master to protect me. I will listen to Master.” With this pure thought of hers, her granddaughter was indeed admitted to school without having to pay a fine.
Each time I visited, I brought a different lecture of Master's and took the one I brought last time home. This was to prevent her from worrying.
If the situation allowed, I studied or memorized the Fa with her, shared understandings, and we rectified our human thoughts according to the Fa. Her emotional stability gradually improved.
Practitioners' Merits Instead of Shortcomings
During one of my visits, she suddenly had a tantrum and hit her granddaughter. I sent forth righteous thoughts to clear the demon behind her, and I tried to share my understandings with her. But because of her limited Fa-study, she could not calm down. Before I left, I repeatedly told her to study the Fa more often.
On my way home, I looked inside and wondered if her display of demon nature today had mirrored something in me. I realized that I sometimes lost my temper and argued with my daughter because she was playing video games on her cell phone.
After some time, I visited the practitioner again. She had worried and apologized for her behavior.
“It wasn't your true nature,” I said. “Wasn't it a performance of your demon nature? I won't be fooled by the old forces. Master said we should see our fellow practitioners' merits, not their shortcomings.”
Rectifying Wrong Thoughts
Sometimes, I worried when she was not diligent and her mind was filled with everyday thoughts.
I thought, “With my helping you, you still cannot let go of human thoughts, and you fail to study the Fa and practice the exercises more often.”
But quickly, I rectified myself with the Fa and realized that it was not me but my human thoughts that were making the fuss.
“I will not recognize it, I told myself. “I will negate the interference, and follow the requirements of Master's Fa. Dafa's principles will help remove her human thoughts. She will assimilate to the Fa.”
Looking at Problems from the Fa Truths
While helping this practitioner, I took the opportunity to clarify the truth to her son and daughter-in-law.
I said to her daughter-in-law, “You should stop giving your mother-in-law such a hard time and let her read Dafa books if she wants to. She will do a better job taking care of the house and kids, and give you peace of mind while you are out of town.”
“Otherwise, with her current mood, illness could develop, and wouldn't it be a burden for you, especially a financial burden? Besides, she is not committing any crime by practicing Falun Gong. It is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that is committing crimes.”
Her daughter-in-law said, “I know Dafa is good. But the CCP forbids anyone to practice it. Aren't you asking for trouble by practicing it? Both my in-laws have been imprisoned for practicing it. It was a huge financial loss for our family. If they hadn’t been imprisoned, we wouldn't have had such a large debt.”
I responded, “Everyone has his or her own fate. It's nothing that your in-laws did. If they didn't practice Falun Gong, there might have been other mishaps or illnesses. Wouldn't your financial burden also have been very heavy? Wouldn't you have to be by their bedside all the time if they were ill?”
I continued, “You were lucky that they had borne the hardships by themselves while imprisoned. When the persecution ends in the future, you will feel honored for having such great in-laws.”
Now this practitioner can study the Fa. Her husband was released from prison in May 2015. The couple realized that their son's debt was interference and began to take the debt lightly. They have developed a new understanding of cultivation practice.
Helping Myself Improve
When helping practitioners who have fallen behind return to cultivation, I understand that I must study the Fa well, look inside, and cultivate myself well. Helping other practitioners is a process of helping myself improve too, and it takes great patience and compassion to do so.
In my understanding, one needs to enlarge one's capacity, be able to calm down when problems arise, and treat those practitioners who have fallen behind with even greater compassion. One should put oneself in their shoes to understand their pain, try not to trigger their negative thoughts, and inspire their confidence so they can cultivate again.
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Category: Improving Oneself
