(Minghui.org) From a very young age, I had always longed for spiritual advancement, so I was delighted when a neighbor introduced Falun Dafa to me in 1998. I experienced anointment the first time I did the standing exercises. Looking back at my cultivation journey of the past 20 years, every step of my improvement was looked after by Master. I'm grateful for everything Master has done for me.
Importance of Being Diligent on Cultivation Path
I was busy with my daily work and wasn't very diligent in my Fa study during the first few years I cultivated.
When my daughter was preparing for her college entrance exam, I went on a two-month leave to cook meals for her. I used that time to study Master's lectures. Thus, my understanding of the Fa deepened daily.
I wanted to know what real cultivation was and how to truly cultivate. To help me understand what “assimilating to the Fa” meant, Master allowed me to experience a very beautiful state, in which all of my attachments were gone. The world became empty. I was engulfed by the positive energy of the Fa and my heart was filled with happiness.
I understood at that moment what truly cultivating meant – letting go of myself, assimilating into the Fa, and truly cultivating. And only then, can I save sentient beings and validate the magnificence of Dafa.
Clarifying the Facts in the Countryside
In the early years of the persecution, most practitioners clarified the facts about Dafa by distributing informational materials and talking to people face to face. As I had to work on weekdays, I used my weekends and holidays to distribute materials.
Each practitioner was assigned a specific location. I usually left those areas with easy access by public transportation to elderly practitioners who could come out during weekdays, and I chose remote areas. Many of the villages in the countryside didn't have buses, so I rode my bicycle to get there.
Despite the harsh persecution, the practitioners around me all had pure hearts. We would send righteous thoughts first when we arrived at a village, eliminating the evil interfering with people's listening to the facts, before entering the town.
In the countryside, many elderly people and women sit in groups in front of their houses and chat. I would sit among them and talk with them. Most of these people were very kindhearted, very receptive to the facts about Dafa, and accepted our truth-clarification materials. When we ran out of amulets, the villagers asked us to bring more when we returned another time.
In northern China, it begins to snow in November and the snow doesn't melt until springtime. When the road got very slippery, we frequently slipped and fell, but, with Master's protection, none of us got hurt.
Sometimes I would not return home until early Monday morning and had only time for a quick wash and a change of clothes before leaving for work. But, I did not feel it a hardship.
People in Remote Areas Hear the Truth
Practitioners came up with many advanced technologies that helped us clarify the facts. Among these technologies, I learned to make automated phone calls to people.
Most of the provinces in the west are mountainous. Except for a few big cities, most of the population lives in very scattered locations. It's very difficult for practitioners to distribute materials to every local resident. Yet, the communist regime never loosened their grip on people's minds there.
The government would force well-to-do people to hang the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) flag outside their home. This implied that they lived a good life because of the communist regime's great leadership. Yet, those people had worked hard to enjoy material gain.
I felt sad when I saw the Party flag, and developed a strong wish to bring the truth to these people.
Master said:
“Dafa disciples are Gods who have descended to the human world with the responsibility to assist Master in saving sentient beings, shouldering the responsibility of saving sentient beings in the lower realms.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference,” Team Blue Translation)
Three practitioners agreed to help me with this project. We went to quiet areas four times a week, where we made automated phone calls to people in west China for half a day. After we returned home, we listened to the voice-mails and made a name list of people who expressed their wish to quit the Party.
This type of project is very tedious and time-consuming, but I know that people in those remote areas need to hear the truth. This might be their only chance to quit the Party. Our efforts were successful, as many people understood the facts very well and quit the Party.
In some voice-mails, dozens of people were waiting in line for their turn to record their messages to quit the Party. Some groups even had a host who did a headcount first before letting each person give their name. I was very touched and felt even more so that everything was done by Master.
To save time so I could listen to the voice-mails, I simplified my lifestyle. This also gave me an environment that was without much distraction.
Sometimes I felt really tired and wanted to take a break from listening to the voice-mails and working on the computer. But, then I would remember practitioners' responsibilities, the tremendous work Master has done for us, and that there were so many sentient beings who have yet to understand the truth – and I continued working.
No matter how difficult, I followed up with the voice-mails and let people know that someone was taking care of their wish to withdraw from the Party. I understood that they cherished the opportunity to quit when they received the return phone calls.
We were able to help more than 10,000 people quit the Party through our phone calls each year.
Forming the One Body
As I made progress in my cultivation, Master hinted that I needed to further broaden my heart and form one body with fellow practitioners. I kept seeing a scene in which I was standing on the pinnacle of a mountain. The area was so tiny that it only had room for my feet, and it was the only peak there. I was the sole person there.
Master hinted that I should consider things from a bigger perspective, bearing the body of Dafa practitioners in mind, not just focusing on myself.
Because there had been several veteran practitioners in my city when I took up Dafa, I didn't have to worry about spreading the Fa or taking the lead to coordinate anything. I had focused most of my attention on my own cultivation and didn't care much about how others were doing. Fearful of being rejected or not approved of, I almost never raised my opinion or concerns.
When I look back now, these thoughts all originated from the attachment to myself. I had isolated myself from the bigger group. And in the end, I was like that orphan mountain, lonely and isolated.
Master taught us:
“whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
After I realized my problem, I decided to let go of my self-protection, open my heart and care for other practitioners. When I had the wish to improve, Master helped me.
Master Exposed Attachments for Our Improvement
Three practitioners suffered severe physical tribulations in 2008. One practitioner had a serious infection in her breast. Her doing the three things was affected by her condition. Despite the foul odor from the infection, we moved our Fa study group to her home. We studied the Fa and sent righteous thoughts with her.
Unfortunately, that practitioner didn't make it through the test and passed away. But, I understood the principle that all Dafa practitioners are one body. We came to this world with the same purpose – to assist Master in Fa-rectification and save sentient beings. Only by working together seamlessly can we resist the attacks from the old forces.
One local male practitioner suddenly fell ill and was taken to a hospital in a nearby city. Not many practitioners knew about it. When I heard about it, I felt that the old forces were trying to isolate him from us, making it easier for them to persecute him.
I contacted a few practitioners and drove to the hospital the next day. The practitioner's wife, also a practitioner, was very happy to see us. She told us that they were confused and didn't know what to do after being hit by the sudden tribulation. We shared our understandings with them. The practitioner soon left the hospital. He recovered very fast with intensive Fa study and resumed his truth-clarification activities.
When I noticed problems that would affect our cultivation and safety as one body, I shared my thoughts with coordinators and did what I could to help others. There were also times when we disagreed with each other. But that was exactly when I needed to look within and cultivate myself.
Reacting to Disagreements
Two years ago, the police began to collect information about local practitioners. During a gathering of local coordinator practitioners, I shared my thoughts that we should send righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil, and not give them the opportunity to persecute us or cause more damage to our clarifying the truth.
However, some practitioners thought that we sent righteous thoughts out of fear, and some felt that I worried too much. So, we didn't reach an agreement.
In fact, a similar situation happened in the past, when I brought up the question of whether we should stop bringing cellphones to Fa study. When some practitioners opposed it and said it wasn't necessary and that I was being over cautious, I just kept quiet.
One practitioner reminded me that it was correct for me to consider practitioners' safety, but maybe I had attachments mixed in that prevented others from agreeing with me.
I looked within and realized that although I knew that this was very important and urgent, I only demanded that they use some safety measures, without helping them understand why. In other words, I only wanted others to agree with me, without helping them understand the issue.
This incident helped me identify another layer of self within me. And I realized that no matter how critical or urgent things may look, Master will still use such opportunities to expose our attachments and help us improve.
Harmonizing the Local Cultivation Environment
Beginning last July, the police began to harass local practitioners on a large scale. They attempted to take photos and videos of practitioners and asked for their phone numbers. When practitioners refused to let them into their homes, they pretended to be utility personnel and deceived the practitioners into opening their doors.
To expose the persecution, we designed posters about the police's harassment and posted them around town.
The police retaliated by checking the street surveillance cameras to find out who put up the posters. I proposed that we send righteous thoughts together to eliminate the evil behind the persecution, but just like last time, the coordinator practitioners didn't agree with me.
I knew this was left for me to cultivate. When we didn't reach agreement and yet I knew this was something very urgent and had to be done, I decided to go ahead and do things as I saw fit, rather than complaining about our disagreement.
I sat down and began to send righteous thoughts by myself. I was surrounded by a very strong energy field. I felt that I was very capable, and the evil was nothing. I knew I did the right thing and Master was helping me. When we do anything in line with the Fa, Master will give us the power to eliminate the evil and save sentient beings.
I shared my experience during our small group Fa study. Fellow practitioners also joined me in sending righteous thoughts. As a result, the persecution was dissolved.
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