(Minghui.org) I started to ponder the issue of life and death in my teenage years and searched for the Way in Buddhism, Daoism and Christianity during my twenties. I was seeking true teachings and visited various places. The path was long, yet in the end, I became a worse and worse person and was no longer pure. I struggled with morality, and my postnatal notions prevailed. I couldn’t truly change my heart.
Learning Dafa in the U.S.
I won a trip to the United States with a tourist group for 15 days in 2018. We arrived in San Diego on April 21. The amazing coastal scenery drew me in, and I didn’t follow our group to the designated places. I took a lot of photos as I wandered around.
I saw a group of people in yellow T-shirts practicing some exercises. A few people were giving out fliers. A reporter from the Epoch Times was interviewing passersby. I was curious and accepted a flier. The reporter and a female Falun Gong practitioner came over to me and asked me if I knew anything about Falun Gong. I told them that the TV news had reported about Falun Gong every day when I was in primary school. We were not allowed to practice Falun Gong and was told it was something bad.
They started to tell me the true story of Falun Gong. Another lady gave me a small book, Zhuan Falun, and asked me to read it when I got home. The reporter interviewed me. I answered several questions. One question was how I looked at Falun Gong after reading the information materials, since I had previously harbored misunderstandings about Falun Gong.
At that time several of the people from my tourist group came to drag me away. The tour guide asked them to come with him and said that there were many spies. I put the small yellow book into my camera bag. The people in the bus scolded me for not being careful, because the CCP had many spies outside. They were terrified, but I was not scared at all. I felt it was all a bit amazing.
We went to a sea cucumber shop the next day, and an elderly German woman was giving out fliers. She told me that Falun Gong was very good and had saved her life. She hoped to help more people become aware of Falun Gong. I was moved by her and accepted her flier. The people on the bus gave me angry looks. This was how I thought about the incident at the time. I left the flier in my hotel room and didn’t bring it back to China.
I couldn’t recall when and for what reason I started to read Zhuan Falun. It answered all my questions about life. I had been studying Buddhism, but I didn’t agree with the theory of how to become a Buddha. I thought that I could cultivate to become a Buddha in this lifetime. When I learned that Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) could allow people to cultivate to Buddhahood in this lifetime, I thought it was amazing and unimaginable. I felt that Master was so great that he spread Dafa to save sentient beings. I wanted to cultivate Dafa.
But there was a problem I couldn’t answer. I hadn’t heard anyone mention Falun Gong to me, nor had I heard about anyone practicing Falun Gong around me. I searched on the Internet and couldn’t find anywhere to learn it in China. It was forbidden in China. Where could I find someone to teach me? I felt helpless.
I finally decided to go to the U.S. again. I had obtained the Fa in the U.S., and I had taken a photo of a flier with a phone number. I regretted that I didn’t get a phone number from the practitioner in San Diego when I was dragged away by the the other tourists on my bus.
I arrived in the U.S. on September 9, 2018. My friend in the U.S. picked me up. She contacted a practitioner the day after I arrived in Los Angeles and found an exercise class near the hotel where I was staying. The practitioner in charge told me that the class was finished and I would have to wait for the next one. I explained my situation to her. She asked me to come over and said she would teach me the exercises.
She sent the address to my friend, and my friend drove me there. I learned the first four sets of exercises. My friend had something she had to do, so she picked me up early and drove us to another city.
When I returned to Los Angeles, I contacted the practitioner and she taught me the exercises again. I asked her to help me withdraw from the CCP online. When she taught me the fifth set of exercises, I could sit in the full lotus position without any problems. I didn’t feel any pain. I felt very comfortable. It was amazing.
I sat in the full lotus position for 40 minutes before I felt any pain. I put my legs down. The practitioner told me that I’d better maintain the lotus position until the music stopped. She said that I might not able to cross my legs after I went back to China. She asked me to keep practicing the exercises and said I would eventually be able to sit with my legs crossed for an hour. I didn’t believe her at the time.
When I saw Master’s lecture video, I felt Falun spinning in my body. I believed that I would be able to cross my legs after I got home. She gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun, The Great Way of Spiritual Perfection and a digital player.
My friend asked me not to take them because she was afraid that I would not pass through Chinese customs. She said her friend had been arrested going through customs before. But I was not afraid and insisted on taking them. I took them home safely. I spent several hours downloading Master’s exercise demonstration videos from the Internet via software that circumvented the Chinese firewall. Everything went smoothly when I didn’t have any fear.
The above was how I obtained the Fa, thanks to the practitioner in San Diego and the reporter. I couldn’t figure out why I had to go to so far to obtain the Fa. Now I understand it was arranged by Master to ensure my safety. In China there might not have been someone who could teach me the exercises in so much detail so that I could practice by myself. I had cultivated by myself and only had two books. I only knew about cultivating myself but didn’t know about doing the three things: cultivating myself, sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth to people.
Miracles Through Solid Cultivation
The practitioner in the U.S. stopped using WeChat after the pandemic started, so I lost contact with practitioners. The firewall circumvention software I was using was blocked, and I was unable to visit any overseas websites. Without any outside encouragement, I practiced on and off.
I started to practice the exercises on Chinese New Year Day in February this year. My father was an atheist and didn’t believe in anything. He and my mom started to learn Falun Gong from me. They have been practicing the exercises since then without missing a single day.
They are in their seventies and could sit in the half lotus position for an hour after they practiced for a month. They practice the first four sets of the exercises in the morning and do the sitting meditation in the evening.
I went on a trip to Inner Mongolia by car in May this year and stayed there for seven days. I read Zhuan Falun in the morning and practiced the exercises in the afternoon every day. I didn’t feel sleepy at any time. I was very into the book. I read the book with a focused mind from the beginning to the end.
When I had been in the U.S., I felt very sleepy after I read two pages of the book. It was like this even after I came home. I had never read the book with such a focused mind.
After I finished reading, I visited the Minghui website via anti-firewall software. Master said that Dafa practitioners must do the three things, so I started to send forth righteous thoughts and have been doing so ever since.
I also started to clarify the truth to people, but I had fear and didn’t understand the Fa deeply, so I only clarified the truth to people I knew and encouraged them to renounce their CCP memberships. Within a month, about a dozen people had agreed to quit the CCP. I didn’t do very well in truth-clarification.
After I came back from Inner Mongolia, I could feel Master’s law body protecting me. I could feel strong energy when I sent forth righteous thoughts. I often invited my friends to restaurants near my home. I clarified the truth to them as we ate. They were willing to withdraw from the CCP and to learn the facts about Falun Dafa. Four people started to learn Falun Dafa from me.
I was gradually able to clarify the truth to people more effectively. Many people were willing to recite the nine true words (“Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good”). My focus was to let people know that Dafa is the most righteous Fa in the universe and is here to save people. Encouraging people to withdraw from the CCP was not my primary goal. But those who were CCP members all agreed to renounce their memberships.
I had fear and didn’t dare to clarify the truth in public. I was selective to whom I clarified the truth and didn’t understand Dafa well. I didn’t make much progress. But I told myself that I had to do the three things.
I was having lunch with a doctor who was a CCP member and clarified the truth to her. A man nearby cursed at me loudly and said that I’d better stop or he would report me to the police. I looked at him but was not afraid. I only said yes to him. The doctor said that it was none of his business. I said that this man was controlled by evil elements behind him and was not himself. I said it loudly so that he could hear. My righteous thoughts were not strong enough. The result was not good.
There is a playground near my apartment. The soldiers’ horn sounds at 6 a.m. every day. They get up to train and practice. They shout CCP slogans, and the noise is loud. This was just the time when I sent forth righteous thoughts. One morning, when I put up my palm, a huge wave of energy rushed towards me layer by layer on my right side. On top of it was a massive, strange monster. At the time I thought it was a spirit manipulated by the dark forces, directing densely gathered small dots that dashed onto my right side in my face and arms. These things were not afraid of death. I felt a bit panicked, but I held on to my righteous thoughts and kept my palm straight.
All of a sudden Master’s Fashen appeared with many Fa-guardian Gods. This huge, strange monster was split into pieces. The dense black masses disappeared instantly. Everything became peaceful.
Since then, there has been no interference when I send forth righteous thoughts. It is peaceful. The area is cleansed completely. This was my personal experience, which was unimaginable.
When I read online about practitioners being persecuted, I send forth righteous thoughts and clear out the environment in those prisons. I spent several days clearing out the female prison in Liaoning Province where our practitioners are persecuted.
I have been studying the Fa since May and do three things well every day. If I don’t do well, I would be committing a sin.
Master said,
“However hard the situation may be, you still must do the three things well. Saving sentient beings—that is a Dafa disciple’s responsibility! A Dafa disciple’s Consummation is absolutely not just individual Consummation. Rather, it must be that in saving sentient beings you will have led countless beings to Consummation. That holds true for every one of you!” (“Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference”)
Master used a strong tone, but I felt his supreme compassion encompass my whole body, so I was full of courage and righteousness when sending forth righteous thoughts. I don’t know how to describe the internal power that emits from Master’s words.
Genuine Cultivation Over the Last Six Months
Master has spread the Fa for more than 20 years, but I obtained the Fa only recently. I nearly cried: why did I obtain the Fa so late?! So many sentient beings haven’t been saved. So, I have been thinking about how I can assist Master in rectifying the Fa and saving sentient beings more effectively. But above everything else, I must study the Fa well. Because I didn’t understand the Fa well, I wasted two years during 2019 and 2020. I thought there was plenty of time. I later learned that Master had extended the time for Dafa disciples to save sentient beings.
Because I didn’t understand the Fa deeply enough, the improvement of my xinxing was not constant. When others cursed at me, I put up with it superficially. I forced myself to forbear it in my heart. I didn’t forbear it naturally, and my heart was moved every time. It was not until June and July that I made a big breakthrough. After that, whatever people said to me couldn’t move my heart. I had changed fundamentally.
When conflicts arose, I would look deep within and think about why I had argued with them. Was it because they said something wrong or I felt wronged? In the end, I found that it was due to the notion that “they are wrong and I am right.” This was my fundamental attachment, an attachment to myself.
Master said,
“From now on, 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)
As long as my self-centered mentality remained, I would have conflicts with others and I would not elevate. Where did my fear come from? It came from that attachment and from the attachment to my own life. The fundamental reason was my ego, and it included my attachments to fame, my life, my property, my face, my dignity, my hands, my feet, my heart and so on. The stubborn postnatal notions had enveloped my selfish nature.
How could I solve this? Listen to Master. Regardless of what people said or who said what, I would not view it superficially. I knew that deep elements were influencing them and affecting the situation. Master has repeatedly emphasized that nothing is accidental, especially things that happen to practitioners. We shouldn’t act passively but rather should look at things from a higher perspective. I shouldn’t feel wronged or get angry, even if I can’t bear it. I will take it lightly. This is true xinxing improvement.
The conflicts Master has arranged for me to pass have not been big. It might be that I didn’t cultivate Forbearance enough. But amazingly, every time I studied the Fa seriously, many small conflicts would appear suddenly. I didn’t practice “forbearance” well. I could not bear a bad environment, bad food, bad speech and bad treatment. But Dafa is remaking me. Cultivating Truthfulness in Dafa would dissolve any untruthful elements in me, rectify any postnatal notions, thought karma and all unrighteous elements.
I also had to practice Forbearance when sitting in meditation. I had started by sitting in the lotus position easily. Later on it became painful. Then my legs got swollen, and then all of a sudden I felt light and carefree. After a while, I started all over again. Sometimes I couldn’t even cross my legs. The important thing was to study the Fa well, because the Fa can harmonize everything and rectify everything.
I started to study the Fa seriously only six months ago. Many parts of my xinxing still need to improve. I hope there will be chances for sharing experirences with other practitioners in China. The experience sharing articles on the Minghui website help me a lot. I also want to let Master know about our newcomers’ confidence in Dafa and understanding of Dafa, and present a report on behalf of new practitioners to Master.
Believing in Master and the Fa is the foundation of our cultivation. We should do what Master has told us to do and do so according to the Fa’s requirements. We should cultivate diligently so that we can elevate to the realm of higher beings.
This is my limited personal understanding of the Fa. Please point out anything inappropriate.
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
