(Minghui.org) Our Fa-study group of between four and eight practitioners was established close to 10 years ago. Our ages range from 54 to over 70 years old.
At the beginning, we only studied the Fa every Friday night. However, after we realized the importance of group study, we decided to meet in the morning four days a week. After we studied, we went out to clarify the truth to people.
Every Tuesday, we send forth righteous thoughts to help lessen the persecution taking place at nearby petroleum companies and the 610 Office. And every Wednesday afternoon, we send forth righteous thoughts for an hour to eliminate any interfering elements adversely affecting our group.
A Well-Functioning Fa-study Group
At the outset, we decided we wanted to show the utmost respect to Teacher and Dafa, so before we study the Fa, we wash our hands. We also keep our Dafa books in a special place, and when we read, everyone sits up straight in the lotus position.
No one chats about mundane things, drinks water, or uses the restroom during Fa study. We read at an even pace. And if anyone pronounces something incorrectly, the person is corrected and asked to read that part again.
We also established a Dafa material printing site. We download our materials exclusively from the Minghui website. There has been hardly any interference to the site over the past decade.
We produce weekly journals, fliers and other publications. We also generate truth-clarification DVDs, amulets, posters, calendars, and much more.
Senior Practitioner Overcomes Obstacles
Mei (an alias) went to Beijing to babysit her grandchild. The move was not easy, because she lost contact with other practitioners. She also did not have access to Teacher's new articles, Minghui journals, or other materials.
She shared this when she visited us. We suggested that she buy a laptop and learn how to go online. She did, and when she returned to Beijing, she successfully accessed the Minghui website.
She then went out to talk to people about the persecution when she went grocery shopping or took a walk. Every time she went out, she helped dozens of people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations.
Truth-Clarification
We have talked to people about Dafa at shopping centers, supermarkets, farmer's markets, and squares in the Xicheng District.
We generally start conversations by helping people find what they were looking for, complimenting their children, and so on. We then bring up the topic of the persecution and help them to quit the CCP.
One day we clarified the facts to a man in his 50s. He agreed to withdraw from the CCP, then shouted “Falun Dafa is wonderful!” twice, which stunned the nearby salesclerks.
Some people refuse to listen, while others curse us. To change their attitude, we tell them compassionately that what we say is for their own benefit and that we hope that they will understand the truth in the future.
Looking Inward
One day two practitioners got into an argument. They both admitted that they were wrong but did not truly looked inward to find the root of the problem. Instead, they held a grudge against each other.
We discussed the situation for an entire morning. We realized that we should not just look at who is right or wrong or just look at the matter on the surface. We should keep in mind that we are practitioners and that nothing that happens is accidental.
What's the root cause of conflicts? What's behind our every word and action? We have to remember that people who are not directly involved should also look within for attachments. How did each of us react? That was the key! We should use the standard Teacher set for us before making a judgment.
Through looking inward, we found attachments, such as complaining, looking down on others, arrogance, indifference, etc. Since those in our group have held these attachments for a long time, it triggered this conflict between the two practitioners.
Teacher said:
“I hope that as time goes on, you will act more and more like Dafa disciples and cooperate ever better. Be considerate of others when you do things, and look at yourself when you get into disagreements. You probably all know how to talk about this and you know what these words mean, but at critical moments you don't put them into practice. I repeat these words at every Fa conference and instruct you on this. If you could all accomplish what I've described, then there wouldn't be those disputes among you. If you could all accomplish this, everything could be resolved and you would manage to work together well.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference IX)
Digging Out the Root of Attachments
Teacher's Fa taught us to share. It allows us to discover attachments, including being sneaky and vain, feeling wronged, looking outside ourselves for answers, and being overly defensive when hearing criticism.
We realized that if we did not have these attachments, the conflicts would not have happened.
If we only look at the things on the surface without looking inward, our conflicts will continue to resurface.
We need to think about things rationally. Was the conflict caused by our attachments? If we all reached the standard that Teacher set for us, could the old forces possibly interfere?
If we open up our hearts to one another, we can dig out the roots of our attachments and eliminate them.
We should really treasure this time to improve and elevate ourselves as one body.
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Category: Improving Oneself
