(Minghui.org) I would like to share my cultivation experience from Morocco, where I moved with my husband, who is also a Falun Dafa practitioner, in late 2017.
At the beginning, I did not have a good understanding of why I came to Morocco. The new environment was not easy for me. I realized that I was constantly confronting my notions and that I needed to change my mindset in many respects.
Now, after a year has passed, a lot of things are much clearer to me. I overcame a lot of challenges, and I now see that moving to Morocco was the best thing that could have happened to me. Thanks to Master Li's benevolent arrangements, I had a chance to recognize a lot of my attachments and consequently eliminate them.
“In other words, what you give up are bad things, and only this way will you be able to return to your original, true self.” (Zhuan Falun 2003, The Fourth Talk, “Loss and Gain”)
In the new environment of Morocco, many of my hidden thoughts that were not in line with the nature of the universe—Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance—showed themselves to me, such as judging others, ideas about how other people (practitioners and non-practitioners) should behave, comparing, and attachment to comfort. My surroundings and how other people behaved around me pointed these attachments out to me. I had a feeling that people in Morocco judged me because I was a stranger. I felt a bit like I was in enemy territory, and I did not know what to expect from unpleasant looks. Also, I felt that the services in the country were not at the level I expected and I was constantly complaining in my mind.
I now know that this was not at all the reality of what manifested around me and that it was a false projection created by my own thoughts.
“Everything in your dimensional field is controlled by the thoughts in your brain.” (Zhuan Falun 2003, The Sixth Talk, “Breeding Demons in Your Own Mind”)
I later noticed that people in Morocco didn't approach my husband in the same way as they did me. They always smiled at him and behaved in a very friendly way in his presence. After some time, I started to ask myself why they behaved differently with me? What was I doing wrong?
By looking inward, I realized that I, myself, was actually the cause of this. I condemned others in my thoughts, I was closed minded, and I did not treat others kindly and with respect. I was shocked at my discovery, and became determined to change. As I began to change and adapt to the nature of the universe, my surroundings also changed. People in the streets started to greet me, smiled at me, and were very open and friendly. This led to many opportunities to clarify the truth, and I had a chance to validate the Fa in a way that Master teaches.
I was accepted as part of several communities in Morocco, and people with a predestined relationship, who were waiting for Dafa, started to enter my life. In the marketplace where my husband and I regularly shop for fruits and vegetables, we are now part of a beautiful community. One lady who sells vegetables tells me every time with a big smile that I am very kind. All of them behave nicely to each other, instead of seeing each other as a rivals. They support and help each other.
I started taking a French course early last year. In Casablanca, almost 90% of the people speak French. So if I wanted to clarify the truth to them, it was necessary for me to learn a new language. I think that my heart for saving sentient beings contributed to the fact that Master helped me, and after two months I was able to clarify the truth in French.
When our regular French teacher took a short holiday, a different lecturer filled in for him. I used this as an opportunity to clarify the truth to other lecturers, and the reactions were very positive. Only once did I encounter some difficulties. One day, we had a teacher, who in my eyes, behaved in a mean way and had a very unpleasant and arrogant voice. Very negative thoughts about her arose within me, which cut me off from the nature of the universe and from the possibility of clarifying the truth to her.
After returning home, I felt very unhappy because I did not use that unique opportunity, for which she had probably been waiting for ages. This was all because of my attachments. In fact, her behavior accurately mirrored how I behaved with other people when I was not happy with something. Instead of rectifying myself on the spot, I was wrapped up in negative thoughts about the lecturer. I felt a great sorrow in my heart and felt ashamed. I begged Master to help this lady meet Dafa again in the future. I did not want her to lose the chance because of me.
I went to the class the following week, resolving to do everything I could to look inside, validate the Fa, and clarify the truth, no matter who the lecturer was. As I entered the classroom, I saw the same lecturer. There was no one but the two of us there. I cannot describe in words how moved I was by Master’s great compassion.
The lecturer told me that she was teaching our class that day because she'd found some extra time in her schedule. I said that I was very excited about it. She asked me what I was working on in my spare time. I told her that I was doing several activities to support human rights in China, and I clarified the truth to her and gave her a Dafa flyer and an origami lotus flower. (I always kept some lotus flowers in my bag in case someone new joined our class.) Later, during the lecture, she said in front of all my classmates that the activities that I was involved with were a great thing. I had tears in my eyes and I thanked Master from the bottom of my heart.
Nothing a Practitioner Does to Save Sentient Beings Is an Ordinary Thing
From the beginning of my cultivation, I've struggled with my introverted nature and attachment to comfort, which is a frequent obstacle to clarifying the truth. I did not like to meet new people, go out to dinner with my husband's colleagues, or take part in social groups. I excused myself by saying that all of these ordinary activities were a waste of time, and that I should instead stay at home and cultivate. But actually I was just not able to eliminate my ego and my attachment to comfort and take the opportunity to clarify the truth.
One day when my husband asked me to join him for dinner with his colleagues, I thought about it deeply and finally realized that it was time to look at things from a practitioner’s point of view and see it as an opportunity to clarify the truth. So I agreed to go. During the evening we talked about various topics. Suddenly, one of his colleagues, who already knew that we were Falun Dafa practitioners, turned to me and asked me to tell them more about Falun Dafa cultivation. My husband and I clarified the truth to everyone present and answered very deep questions about cultivation practice. Two colleagues wrote down the name of the main book of the practice—Zhuan Falun—and said that they wanted to start reading it that night. I have since stopped refusing to participate in “ordinary events” and have tried to make the best use of them to validate the Fa.
In the summer, I participated in a celebration of the successful completion of a project with my husband´s colleagues and superiors. When the waiter asked me what cocktail I wanted, one of his colleagues said immediately that I did not drink alcohol because I practiced Falun Dafa. This again created the opportunity to clarify the truth to people who had not yet met me.
One day we decided to go to the beach with a group of friends. We ended up doing the Falun Dafa exercises together.
These experiences reminded me that nothing a practitioner does to save sentient beings is an ordinary thing.
“In other words, what gods want are not the formats that mankind uses, but for you to utilize the formats here and ascend. When you elevate by making use of these formats, you are validating Fa, validating gods, and saving sentient beings, right?” (“Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles,” 2006)
Making Good Use of the Remaining Time
My husband's boss announced around October 2018 that they were planning to promote him. We later learned that this would involve a lot of travel around Africa. But they wanted him to return to Rome first and travel from there. It meant that we would move back to Rome at the end of the year, and that my mission in Morocco was coming to an end.
I began to revaluate everything that I had been able to accomplish since we'd come to Morocco. Deep inside, I felt that I had not used my time one hundred percent effectively, and that I had failed in fulfilling my prehistoric vows. There were so many things I wanted to do but hadn't. My heart was heavy and I couldn't sleep. Every day I asked Master to extend our time in Morocco, promising to make the most of it.
Some time later, my husband got the promotion, but his superiors decided that he could travel from Morocco, and so we could remain in Morocco at least until the end of next year. It was like a big warning from Master that everything comes to an end, and therefore, I should not wait. I should make full use of every minute I have, here and now, to fulfill my prehistoric vows.
Studying the Fa from Within the Fa and Gradually Deepening My Understanding
The process of adapting myself to the Fa and comparing myself with the characteristics of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance while studying the Fa has greatly contributed to deepening my understanding, making it easier for me to detect my attachments and remove them.
“Now us folks sitting here, we’ve come here to learn the Great Law, so you need to have the mindset of a true practitioner while you sit here, and you need to let go of your attachments.” (Zhuan Falun 2003, The First Talk, “Truly Guiding People Up to High Levels”)
Without daily Fa study and looking inside, I would not have been able to have a positive impact on my surroundings, and many sentient beings would have lost their predestined opportunity to be saved.
I very much appreciate the difficulties that I have encountered because they've allowed me to move to higher levels of understanding of the Fa. I understand that it is crucial to always start with myself, and measure myself with higher and higher standards. This way I will be able to transform the environment that includes sentient beings from my system.
Cultivating Myself While Working for the Italian Minghui Website
Working for the Italian Minghui website also helped me a lot during this period. I was in daily contact for other practitioners' experience-sharing articles, which inspired me to do better and gain a better understanding of cultivation itself. This work required constantly working on myself as a cultivator and elevating my standards. The better my cultivation state, the better I do my work. I take every cultivation experience that I come across as an opportunity to look within myself, find any gaps in my xinxing, and eventually advance in my cultivation.
With every translation, I noticed improvement in my cultivation. It was like having the constant support of other practitioners who shared their experiences with us, and I found it helpful while dealing with my own cultivation issues. From this, I understood how important it was to be working on this project. I cherish the opportunity to be a part of the Italian translation team. Thanks to these experience-sharing articles, I now better understand my mission as a practitioner and a lot of questions that I had were answered after comparing myself with the standards of other practitioners. It is therefore important for me to continue in this mission and to put all my heart into improving my work on translations. Other practitioners' experience-sharing articles have motivated me to write my own cultivation story as well, because it may benefit others and contribute to our cultivation environment.
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Category: Improving Oneself
