(Minghui.org) I came into contact with Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) when I was young. My mother, who is a Falun Gong practitioner, said that when she taught me to recite Lunyu, I learned the words quickly and found it easy to memorize a few paragraphs at a time. I could also easily sit in the full lotus position, with both legs crossed.
When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong in July 1999 our cultivation environment in China quickly deteriorated. Although my mother and grandmother did not stop practicing, they did not truly cultivate according to the requirements of the Fa.
I knew that Dafa is good, but I stopped reading the Dafa books and eventually forgot all about cultivation.
Returning to Dafa
When I started to attend university, I acted capriciously and was often frustrated. If I thought I was misunderstood, I would talk badly about the other person.
My mother started reading the Dafa books again after she retired, which happened to be during my summer holidays in 2014. She began to cultivate diligently, and kept asking me to watch the Shen Yun DVDs, but I used various excuses not to.
She dragged me to the computer one night to watch Shen Yun with her. It was only then did I realize how beautiful Shen Yun is. It was completely different from what I had imagined. One of the singers sang “Who Am I?” from Hong Yin III:
“Between the boundless heaven and earth, who am I?I don’t remember how many lifetimes I’ve been throughAmidst hardships, helpless confusionMy heart, awaiting, so wearyWeather-beaten, I shed tears at nightUntil the moment I saw the TruthUntil I sought and obtained the DafaWhich pierced the ears like thunderI came to understand who I amAnd realized I should hasten my steps on the divine path”
The lyrics reminded me of all the troubles that I had been through.
From that day on, I truly embarked on the journey of cultivation and started practicing Falun Gong.
Cultivating Diligently
My heartbeat used to speed up uncontrollably, to the point that I couldn't sleep. My menstruation cycle was also irregular, occurring only about once every few months. I went to the doctor, but the only explanation I got was that it was related to puberty and hormonal changes.
However, after I started practicing Falun Gong my irregular heartbeat became normal again after just a few days. My menstruation cycle became regular as well. I became more open-minded and considerate of others. I was also not jealous like before. Most importantly, I found my purpose in life.
I studied the Fa diligently, and read it whenever I had time. Yet during the second semester of my sophomore year, temptations of everyday life kept interfering with me, and my cultivation stagnated.
I treated studying the Fa as a chore that I had to complete. I even stopped studying entirely after my final exams, and started watching soap operas and movies with friends.
I experienced sickness karma during the holidays. I was vomiting, and had diarrhea and a fever. I realized that I was being exploited by the old forces due to my attachments.
My mother joined me in sending forth righteous thoughts to reject the arrangements made by the old forces. I also looked within and decided to relinquish my attachments to playing on my phone, shopping online, lust, the mentality of showing off, and others.
Dafa practitioners must study the Fa well in order to make progress in cultivation.
Master said,
“It is necessary for a Dafa disciple to ensure his cultivation on a daily basis, and it is the mission of a Dafa disciple to clarify the facts and save people. You cannot go without either of these as you journey toward consummation. How well you do is a reflection of whether you are diligent in your cultivation. The current state of affairs in society may change, but never will the requirements for cultivation, as they are the standards of the cosmos and the standards of Dafa.” (“A Reminder”)
Learning to Cooperate
When I first started going out to distribute informational materials about Falun Gong during the summer break in 2016, it was always my mother who gave out the materials. I was upset that she didn't give me any to distribute, and was worried that I wasn't doing the three things well because of this.
All kinds of attachments surfaced. My heart was not centered on saving people, and was focused only on fulfilling my personal selfish desires. I realized that these negative thoughts would interfere with our attempts to save people.
When my mother and I went out to post some materials one time, I stretched out my hands to take some from her, but she ignored me and posted them herself. I was very upset that she didn't hand me any.
There are no coincidences in cultivation. I knew that I was not diligent, and tried to eliminate my attachments.
Master said:
“That's why they look at the results, and if the result of a God's idea can achieve the goal, if it can truly achieve it, then all of them will go along with it. That's how Gods think. Also, if there's something lacking in it they'll unconditionally and quietly supplement it to make things more complete and perfect.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference II)
Why do I feel that I have to give out materials? Why can’t I help send forth righteous thoughts while others are saving people? Why can’t I cooperate with other practitioners?
After I started thinking about these issues, my mother started to hand me a few materials to give out.
We cooperated well with each other. When my mother took me out to post materials around some private roads at night, she would drive the motorcycle while I placed the materials on the handles of parked cars. We posted all of the materials along the roads.
I realized that I had relinquished my selfish desires and learned to cooperate with other practitioners.
Saving People
I initially inserted photocopied materials about Falun Gong or Minghui Weekly into envelopes with the words, “A letter to the predestined” written on them, before handing them out in the girl’s dormitory or in the classroom. It was very easy for my classmates to recognize my handwriting.
One night, I heard the sound of police sirens at school, and the car stopped right outside my dormitory. I sat up immediately and started sending forth righteous thoughts.
I rejected all of the old forces' arrangements, and relinquished my attachment to fear. I said to myself, “I am doing the most righteous thing in the universe, and no one can stop me.” I asked Master for help. I kept sending righteous thoughts for about twenty minutes. After a long time, the police left.
The person who looks after the dormitory kept staring at me when I went out. I didn't think much about it, but after talking about this with my mother, I realized that I paid too little attention to my safety. I presumed that I would be fine with righteous thoughts, but I actually lacked the wisdom to save people. It was Master who saw my heart to save people and protected me. Without the support of Master, I would not be able to do it.
I told my classmates about Falun Gong, and always hoped that they would want to quit the CCP's youth organizations immediately after listening to me. It was obvious that the results would not be good with this type of mentality, but after I got rid of this attachment people would want to quit.
Master would arrange for people to find me in my dormitory. My classmate Yan came one time when I was using software to circumvent the Internet blockade to read some articles. She asked me what I was doing, and I simply replied “reading”, without any intention of telling her about Falun Gong. However, she was very curious as to what I was reading, so I showed her and told her I was reading Minghui.org.
I asked her, “Have you quit any of the CCP's organizations yet?”
“Someone in my village told me to do so too,” she replied. “But I didn't know why.”
I opened up the website and told her about Falun Gong and why she needed to quit the CCP.
Another classmate Mei, whom I knew from our army training session together, detests the CCP and never wanted to join any of its organizations, but she was pressured into doing so.
She had symptoms of the flu, so I told her to recite “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
The next time I saw her, she exclaimed, “Wow! It’s miraculous! I recited those words in my mind three times and I’m all well!”
I told her about Falun Gong and the CCP, and she used her real name to quit.
Eliminating My Attachment to Beauty
I went out to distribute materials with my mother one time. It was one of the coldest nights of the 2016 winter. My face was frozen from the harsh winds, and I noticed that it had become extremely red, which I thought made me look ugly.
For a moment, I regretted going out, and forgot all about my responsibilities of saving people. I was very worried that my skin would be damaged, so I kept looking in the mirror over the next few days. Although I knew that it was my attachment to beauty, I couldn't let it go.
When my mother and I went to Taiwan for a trip, my mom was constantly thinking of ways to save the people in the same tour group as us, while I kept searching for fun places to go and take lovely pictures. To prevent myself from getting sunburned, I applied thick layers of sun lotion every day. Towards the end of the trip, I even sent righteous thoughts with my facial mask on!
Some pimples started appearing on my face on our way back home. I knew that it was my attachment to beauty that had caused this.
My classmates saw my pimples when I started back at university, and offered me some acne-removal cream. I politely declined the offer. I didn't pay any attention to the state of my face, and studied the Fa every day. The pimples soon vanished.
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