(Minghui.org) I have practiced Falun Dafa for 26 years and I have suffered a lot from the Chinese Communist Party's persecution. I was incarcerated in a forced labor camp and prison for ten years. In the past two years, I have slowly learned how to cultivate myself and understand the importance of changing my notions. I have made some breakthroughs in my cultivation recently. I’d like to share my experience of how I changed my notions.
Knowing the Fa Principles and Cultivating Solidly
Master said,
“But in reality, what human society takes to be truths are, from the perspective of the cosmos, inversions of truth; when humans go through hardship and suffer it is so that they may pay off karma and thereby have happiness in the future. A cultivator thus needs to cultivate by correct and upright truths. Going through hardship and suffering is an outstanding opportunity to remove karma, be cleansed of sin, purify the body, elevate your plane of thought, and rise in level—it’s an extraordinarily good thing. This is a correct and upright Fa-truth. But as cultivation is lived out, when the suffering bears down on you and conflicts come up that hit upon the deepest part of you—and especially when it rattles the rigid notions you have—the test is really hard to pass. It can even be to the point that you know full well it’s a test but still can’t let go of your attachments. What’s more, Dafa disciples are cultivating in this “real” world that brims with temptation, so it becomes even more difficult—and even more important—to change those notions.” (“The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress III)
“Whatever you experience during your cultivation—whether good or bad—is good, for it comes about only because you are cultivating. A cultivator cannot achieve Consummation when laden with human thoughts, laden with karmic debts, or laden with attachments. Gold’s luster increases as it is refined over time.” (“To the Chicago Fa Conference,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress III)
When I understood the Fa principles, I was able to improve my xinxing and rationally understand the seriousness of cultivation. When conflicts happen, I should treat them as good things, seize every opportunity to improve and elevate myself and assimilate to the Fa. I should clearly understand that when hardships and conflicts hit me at my core, it’s time to check whether I have cultivated myself solidly and understand conflicts were arranged by Master for me to improve. When I thought in this way, human notions were easy to break through and they were replaced by righteous thoughts.
In the past, I went through the tests passively by repeating “Let joy be found in hardship.” (“Tempering the Will,” Hong Yin). But now I cultivate myself knowingly based on righteous principles. I’ve come to feel how lucky I am that Master was saving me and Dafa was perfecting me. Master has taught us the principle of loss and gain, which helped me face hardships with a smile and pass them easily.
1. I was no longer afraid of my arms getting tired during the second set of exercises or the pain of the fifth set of exercises. I cherished the cultivation opportunity Master has provided us with. Practicing the exercises is sacred. I feel blessed. But when I am doing the exercises, I am not focused and sometimes feel sleepy. I will break through it.
2. I tried my best to rescue detained practitioners. I was not afraid of hardship or trouble. I was not concerned with the loss of my personal interests. When a practitioner named Ning was arrested, I biked to her home after I finished sending forth righteous thoughts at 6 a.m despite my home being monitored by the police. I quickly went upstairs to her home and learned about the details of her arrest, though her home was monitored as well. That day had strong winds and rain as it was during the typhoon season. There were branches all over the ground and I was drenched. On another occasion, I went to her home three times a day despite the scorching sun until I met her husband. I felt it was my responsibility to help free her and what Master required me to do. It happened naturally.
3. I didn’t do chores at home such as sweeping the floor and cleaning the house since I was a kid because I used to be sick and weak. My younger sister did a lot more than me. I had to get rid of this attachment and take responsibility for helping with the chores. When I tried to do them, they felt so difficult; I struggled for quite some time. But when I changed my notions, doing them became a stepping stone for me to improve my xinxing. It was also a good opportunity for me to harmonize things with my family. I happily helped with the chores which didn’t feel hard, despite sweating profusely and getting tired.
Looking Within and Removing Cultivation Misunderstandings
I have been practicing Falun Dafa for 26 years. I have stumbled in cultivation but managed to make it to this day. Thanks, Master, for not abandoning me and always encouraging me and guiding me at crucial moments. My cultivation process was filled with Master’s compassion and sacrifice.
I was a careless person and didn’t do things in a serious manner. I was busy all the time. I did the three things superficially, but not truly well. When the alarm rang in the morning to send forth righteous thoughts, I was not able to get up. My mind was wandering when doing the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts. Sometimes I fell asleep when doing the meditation. When I was studying the Fa, I often fell asleep and dropped the Dafa book. I didn’t dare to distribute truth-clarification materials or clarify the truth to people in person. The biggest problem with me was that I didn’t know how to cultivate myself.
Superficially, I looked very diligent. I helped whoever asked. When other practitioners were harassed by the police, I sent forth righteous thoughts for them. When coming across xinxing tests, I was able to share with practitioners from the Fa’s perspective. When practitioners experienced karmic cleansing, I arranged for other practitioners to take turns studying the Fa at their homes. When practitioners were arrested, I worked with other practitioners to rescue them. I tried my best to help physically as well as financially.
When other practitioners had attachments, I saw them clearly. I felt sorry for them and thought they missed opportunities for cultivation and improving themselves. I didn’t realize that I was the same as those practitioners. I worried about them because I thought they were not in a good cultivation state. I didn’t realize that I was actually in a worse cultivation state than them. I had been helping with other practitioners’ cultivation, but I rarely cultivated myself. I only cultivated myself superficially, which was contradictory to Master’s instructions.
Looking back, I realized that it must be very hard for Master to save me. Master must have spent a lot of time and effort on me. I felt so sorry for letting Master down.
Master continually found ways for me to raise my level. For example, I could write well, so Master arranged for me to meet diligent practitioners to help them with their experience sharing articles. Superficially, I was helping edit their cultivation articles, but through the process, Master let me see my shortcomings so that I could cultivate myself and improve. The practitioners in their eighties and nineties who I helped did the three things solidly and fulfilled their mission. They were so admirable and had done so well.
A practitioner in our Fa study group named Gao is in her eighties and is illiterate. She has been doing the three things and cultivating herself diligently, but she couldn’t let go of her resentment toward her husband, son, and daughter-in-law (who is also a practitioner). I saw her situation and helped her a lot, but I didn’t look within myself. Practitioner Gao had great resentment and didn’t think she had a problem. One day when I was meditating, a thought came into my mind: Why was practitioner Gao so obsessed with this resentment? Have I complained about practitioners? Isn’t that resentment? I should cultivate myself while helping the practitioner. Why didn’t I pay attention to my own cultivation? I’ve missed so many opportunities Master arranged for me to cultivate and improve myself.
I now understand that everything that happens around me is an opportunity Master has arranged for me to improve myself. I know that Master will point out my shortcomings and attachments that are not in line with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance through other practitioners’ behaviors and tests.
Change Human Notions and Understandings
1. For a long time my left knee was in pain. When I was doing the sitting meditation, my legs would become loose and then slip while in the lotus position. I looked within to see if I had a xinxing problem. I was lax with my cultivation, so I required myself to pay more attention to getting rid of my attachments. But my leg was still in pain and slipped down; the problem was still there. I had to pull my legs up from time to time while doing the meditation so I was not able to focus. I then wrapped my legs with a rope for over a year, but my legs became worse. I used an everyday person’s method and the result was not good. My cultivation state and sitting meditation position worsened.
I realized that I shouldn’t wait for Master to clear the karma for me; it was time that I truly improve myself from the Fa’s perspective. I must send forth righteous thoughts to dissolve the unrighteous factors in myself. So I threw away the rope. I told my legs that the mechanism Master planted in me was the lotus position that my legs shouldn’t slip down, and that every cell in my legs must listen to my command and instructions. At the same time, I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all evil beings and factors that interrupted me from doing the three things. Since then, my legs no longer slip down when I do meditation. I experienced the amazing power of understanding the Fa principles, cultivating myself solidly, and sending forth righteous thoughts.
2. Since I didn’t cooperate with the prison guards' demands, I was punished by being forced to stand for a long period of time in jail. My lower calf became dark due to capillary bleeding. I didn’t take it seriously until one day I realized that I should rectify it after I had this for eight years. Falun Dafa is a cultivation way of mind and body. My skin should be fair and rosy. I told my leg that it should be rectified that it should validate the extraordinary power of Dafa and that it should become fair and rosy. At the same time, I practiced the exercises diligently to transform my body. The skin on my legs and feet has become normal bit by bit. The bleeding has become less and less obvious.
From these two incidents, I realized that I should send forth righteous thoughts to dispel the interference and eliminate the persecution. I shouldn’t tolerate it or allow it to exist. I must take responsibility to clear my own dimension. Dafa practitioners must validate the Fa and let Falun Dafa demonstrate that it is extraordinary.
Thank you, Master, for your compassionate salvation!
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.
Category: Improving Oneself
