(Minghui.org) Greetings revered Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!
I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1994, and my husband and I moved to Canada in 2005. At first we couldn’t find any practice sites. Through an incident that put me through a life and death trial I broke through the barriers the old forces set up for me, and I gained a group cultivation environment.
It happened when my husband went back to China. He suffered from depression due to his grandmother’s death and the immoral practices in China. His mother phoned and said that my husband’s situation was really bad. He only could sleep for one or two hours, and couldn’t eat. He had become weak and thin. He didn't dare come back to Canada and return to me in this state. I had one thought: Only Dafa could save him! I called my husband and insisted that he come home. I told him that we would face this together.
It took a lot of courage for my husband to return to Canada with our daughter. He wept when he told me what happened. He apologized and asked for my forgiveness. At that time, I was really busy at work, and I had to take care of my daughter and my husband. Living with my severely depressed husband, I felt drained both mentally and physically. Some days I felt I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. But I was determined to study the Fa with my husband every day. I believed that Dafa could drive away the negativity in his heart. In the beginning, he had near-death experiences, hallucinated, and could not sleep. After one month, he was able to sleep soundly. I knew that it was Dafa’s power that brought these positive changes. I also felt reborn.
Another amazing thing happened. During my lunch break at work, I clarified the truth to a colleague. Another colleague overheard our conversation, and followed me back to my office. She said, “I'm also a Falun Dafa practitioner.” Tears came to my eyes. I’ve been searching for a fellow practitioner for so long, and I finally found her! I felt so grateful to Master.
From then on, after eating lunch, we studied the Fa together whenever we had time. She also introduced me to the large group Fa-study. She introduced me to the Shen Yun promotions team. We put up posters and handed out flyers together. In 2009, as I rode the bus to the New York Fa conference for the first time, tears kept running down my cheeks. My daughter sat beside me, constantly wiping away my tears.
Shortly after I returned from the Fa conference, I dreamed that I was sitting in a train. Master held my daughter and benevolently patted her head. He also smiled at me. I was so touched that I cried. Even though I was not diligent, Master still remembered me and cared about me. I didn’t have any excuse to slack off anymore. I had to be diligent in my mission of helping Master to rectify the Fa and follow Master home.
Cultivating My Character at Work
Soon after I came to Canada, I was hired by a large company. I started in an entry-level position. In less than a year, I was promoted to be the department’s youngest manager. I had accumulated a lot of skills in my field over the years, and things went smoothly. My boss complimented my work, and even said that the department couldn’t go on without me.
The head office suddenly sent someone new to oversee my work. After my new boss came, he criticized me during meetings and in his communications with other colleagues in my department. He even put up postings to recruit for my replacement. I felt like my entire workplace was covered in dark clouds. Only one wall stood between my office and my boss's. I could hear him talking and I felt disgusted. However, since my heart was moved, my colleagues kept updating me: your boss said this and this about you today… These words were directly pointed at the attachments that I couldn’t let go of. I thought: forget about it, I’ll just quit. Isn’t this what he was forcing me to do? With my skills I could easily find another job.
When it rains, it pours. It was during these difficult times that my husband was diagnosed with depression. I felt as though I was repeatedly struck with a hammer. I suddenly remembered that nothing happens by chance. I had these troubles because I failed to cultivate myself, and I failed to look within when faced with conflicts. I asked Master for guidance. I truly wanted to improve myself. I wanted to face the conflict, and walk through this test.
When I looked inward, I found that my attachments grew when my work went smoothly. I had the attachment to doing things, a show-off mentality, jealousy, and a competitive mentality. The people around me had to constantly say good things about me or agree with my ideas. When others criticized me, I became anxious, and had a short temper. I gave myself the excuse of high pressure at work to rationalize these behaviors, and complained about colleagues who did not understand me.
Master said:
“For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.”
“If a Dafa disciple's heart is unsteady, it will cause changes in his or her surroundings. When you have fear, for instance, you will find that the sentient beings around you are not quite right. When you change such that your presence is refreshing and uplifting to people, and your mind becomes broad and full of optimism, you will find the things around you to be correspondingly different. When clarifying the truth, when validating the Fa, and when encountering challenges as you do things, adjust yourself and look at things with righteous thoughts. It might just prove to be effective.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX)
When I found my problem, I talked to my boss. I calmly told him my thoughts. I told him that I practice Falun Dafa, and that I followed the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I thanked him for his tolerance and understanding of my work, and said I was willing to cooperate with him.
Things soon went back to normal at work. When I encountered issues, I first looked within to see if it happened because I didn’t meet a cultivator’s standard. I tried to completely let go of selfishness by lowering myself to be humbler, and tried my best to cooperate with others. By looking within, my work environment became harmonious, and my family environment also straightened out. My husband did not take a single pill for his depression. He recovered completely within a short period of time. Also, the head office suddenly decided that my boss was no longer in charge of the department and let him retire early.
One day, the fellow practitioner at work told me that she was planning to leave. I also received an offer from another company for a department manager role. My salary would double if I accepted this offer. Within one month, both of us left the company. I realized that our mission as Dafa disciples there was complete. Many of our colleagues became aware of the truth and quit the CCP. Even though I had some regrets, I needed to move on to my next cultivation experience. Thank you Master for your thoughtful arrangements!
Cultivation Opportunities at My New Job
Everything was new to me when I arrived at my new workplace. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out complicated tasks, and gradually relaxed in my cultivation. Whenever I got busy at work, I didn’t study the Fa, do the exercises, or send forth righteous thoughts. Therefore, a bigger test came quietly.
On the eve of the Fa Conference in 2018, my boss was on a business trip. I received four emails sent in her name, asking me to pay invoices totaling $1.8 million US dollars. Since the emails came from my boss, I did not give it a second thought, and forwarded them to the accountant to pay. Around ten days later, my boss came back. When I reported my work to her, we discovered that the four emails were from scammers. She did not send these emails. However, the payment already went to the scammers’ bank accounts over ten days ago. My boss immediately yelled at me, and the entire department heard it. When the conflict arose, it was a really big test of my character. My head throbbed, but I tried to remain calm. I told her, “Please give me some time to fix this. I will give the bank a call.”
As I drove home, my mind was blank. I couldn’t understand why this happened to me. Suddenly, I heard an ambulance siren, and it sped past me. I realized at once that this was the old forces’ arrangement. How could the old forces control a Dafa disciple? I had to negate these arrangements with righteous thoughts. It doesn’t matter what I did wrong, the old forces don’t have the right to test me. I only listen to what Master says.
Master said,
“You’ve integrated your [Dafa] work with your own elevation; your work is absolutely inseparable from your cultivation. The troubles, differing opinions, and intense conflicts that you encounter in your work are the best chance to improve your xinxing.” (Teaching the Fa at the Assistants’ Fa Conference in Changchun)
After remembering this paragraph, my heart became steady. When I got home, I drafted a detailed document that explained what happened and what actions we could take to recover the money. That evening, I spent more time studying the Fa. I also sent forth strong righteous thoughts to negate all of the evil old forces’ arrangements.
A few weeks later, I got a call from the bank. Miraculously, the bank notified me that out of the four payments, two of the payments to Hong Kong were rejected by the receiving bank and returned to our bank account. The bank also recovered the largest payment made to another country, and it was fully refunded to our bank account. The last and smallest payment made to a country in Europe was frozen in the receiver’s bank account. Since we called the police immediately, the recipient had not withdrawn any money yet. According to the requirements of the local bank, we needed to follow legal procedures, which meant it took a longer time for us to recover the money. However, there was no risk and the money was returned. The bank manager told me: “This is unbelievable. You are so lucky. I’ve worked at the bank for many years, and it’s rare to get scammed money back.” I knew that Master helped me again and resolved this crisis for me.
Because of this incident, my company had a talk with me, and decided to partially cut my bonus. I remembered Master said, “...as a practitioner should follow the course of nature. If something is yours, you will not lose it. If something is not yours, you will not have it even if you fight for it.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
I participated in projects that validated Dafa, and needed the money to support these projects. I would not let the old forces persecute me economically. When it was time to give out the bonus, my boss told me that I worked really hard. The company was thinking about raising my bonus. However, due to the Internet fraud incident, they decided to only pay my normal bonus. In the end, my bonus was not cut at all.
Benefiting from Going Out to Clarify the Truth
My elevation in personal cultivation is closely linked with going out to clarify the truth. I felt rapid improvements every day since I started going to tourist sites regularly. Before, I only clarified the truth through making phone calls to China, and talking to predestined people face-to-face. Master gave me a hint when I saw an article about clarifying the truth at Niagara Falls on Minghui.org. Looking at my computer screen, I felt a pure, peaceful, and compassionate field. Every scene in the pictures radiated a golden light. Right away, I decided to contact the coordinator to sign-up for the Niagara Falls truth-clarification project.
I also cooperated with elderly practitioners to clarify the truth. Sometimes, I used my vacation time to support this project. I went there two or three times a week. The elderly practitioners always said, “As long as you come, you gain something.” I found this to be true. In the past, the elderly practitioners went through a lot of hardships because they couldn’t speak English and weren’t able to communicate with the local people. The security guards often chased them away and wouldn’t let them come close. When I went there, I started clarifying the truth to the security guards. I told them that Dafa is practiced around the world because people value the beautiful principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I explained how we as practitioners benefited from Dafa, but Dafa is being persecuted in China, and the CCP is harvesting organs from the practitioners for profit. From then on, the security guards always greeted us kindly, and offered elderly practitioners’ food and water. One of the guards even told us multiple times that she will learn Falun Dafa with her son. She gave us her boss’s phone number and asked us to help with clarifying the truth to her boss.
In autumn 2019, the weather was getting cold, so it was our last trip to Niagara Falls. When I got into the car, an elderly practitioner asked me, “We are going to deliver Shen Yun calendars to the local police. Could you please write a letter to thank them for their continuing support of Dafa?” While the practitioner spoke, I noted it down on my cellphone. I left home in a hurry, and now I suddenly realized that my battery level was only ten percent. As soon as we arrived, I took out my cellphone and thought that I needed to quickly transfer the contents onto paper. I went to a café nearby. When I looked in, there happened to be a computer and a printer. I finished typing and printed out the letter very quickly. I only had 1% battery power left when I was done. I quickly went back to the fellow practitioners, and we went to our first stop: the police station.
Since it was the weekend, many tourists parked their cars in front of the police station. Just as we were worrying about finding a spot to park, a car parked in front of the station drove away. As soon as we parked and walked out of the car, two police officers walked towards us, as if they intentionally came to greet us. We walked towards them, and offered them two beautiful Shen Yun calendars and two lotus flowers. They were very happy. They smiled, thanked us, and said that they would hang the calendars in the most prominent place in their office.
Next, we went to city hall. When we got there, we found that the door was locked. We realized that no one worked there on weekends. Two of the practitioners said, we'll come back next time. I didn’t want to give up. How could we leave without finishing what we came to do? I and another practitioner circled the government building. After completing most of the circle, a car with a city hall logo drove in, and parked right beside us. The government worker who walked out of the car was someone we knew and had a lot of interactions with before. He told us happily that many of his colleagues were making plans to watch Shen Yun together. We gave him four calendars, and he agreed to hang them up in prominent spots. Finally, we exchanged our contact info. After I got into the car and sent a truth-clarification text to him, I saw that my phone battery was still 1%.
Ending Remarks
People’s lifestyles have changed due to the CCP virus (coronavirus). We practitioners also need to adjust ourselves to the best state and do the three things well. Some of the tourist attractions now have fewer restrictions. On a small scale, we have started to practice the exercises, and clarify the truth at these places. It is the responsibility and obligation of every Dafa disciple to help Master to rectify the Fa. Now we are nearing the very end.
Master said, “The path a Dafa disciple takes is a glorious history, and this history has to be created by his own enlightening.” (“Path,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Let us work together diligently to fulfill our prehistoric vows, validate the path that we need to take, and go home with Master.
Since my level is limited, please compassionately point out if there's anything not in accordance with the Fa.
Thank you Master, thank you fellow practitioners.
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