(Minghui.org) I’m originally from China, and moved to the United States 10 years ago with my family.

During our first year in the U.S. Falun Dafa practitioners helped us adapt to the new environment. One practitioner drove us to the local meetings and the exercise practice site, and helped us apply for refugee status. He introduced us to the American way of life, thus allowing us to adapt to the local culture and environment.

But, I began to experience conflicts with some practitioners. Because I was not fluent in English and did not understand American culture, some practitioners did not want to work with me. They even said that I was disrupting the local cultivation environment. I did not measure myself against the standards for a practitioner. Out of a desire to protect myself, I avoided working with those practitioners who had a negative opinion about me. Over time, I only worked with my family members or participated in projects I could complete independently.

I also experienced challenges in my daily life. I felt non-practitioners seemed to look down on me because I could not speak English. We had to live a simple life due to our finances. I didn’t look at these hardships from the perspective of a cultivator. Instead, I was determined to get an American diploma and find a good job. I wanted to use my success in ordinary society to prove that I was capable in adapting to a foreign environment.

During this period, I had a lot of conflicts with my family members. I did not communicate with them, and I refused to listen to their opinion.

After years of hard work, I finally was awarded an American diploma and found a good job. I felt that I was finally a member of the middle class and part of mainstream American society. I was proud of myself.

Last year, I encountered significant sickness karma. As I faced a life-and-death test, I realized fame and money were meaningless. The only thing I couldn’t let go of was cultivation. I felt very bad about the precious time I had wasted.

One day when I was sending forth righteous thoughts I saw a scene through my third eye: A giant black ball was hanging in the dark universe. Underneath the huge ball were many small white spherical beings. These white spherical beings were separated but trying to combine into one. They were fighting against the enormous pressure from the giant ball above them and trying to form a net. These white spherical beings represented Dafa practitioners. I felt their righteous thoughts and faith. I also felt their pain and struggle.

The image lasted for two seconds, but I suddenly understood why many practitioners had various human notions and attachments. Regardless of their cultivation level, practitioners are trying to form a whole to fight against the old forces’ persecution, help Master to rectify the Fa, and save sentient beings.

I stopped being resentful against those who mistreated me. I knew all the difficulties I encountered were opportunities for me to improve. Since we all have the same goal, we should be able to cooperate. I decided to change, and cooperate with fellow practitioners unconditionally to save sentient beings.

I realized that when our family escaped the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and came to the U.S. with great difficulty, my xinxing level was too low. When I encountered conflicts, I did not know how to look inward. I thought not arguing on the surface was good enough. I looked outward and used human methods to solve issues.

By reading the teachings and given Master’s compassionate enlightenment, I no longer cared about who was right or wrong. I could understand others from their points of view. I respected other peoples’ efforts and understood their difficulties. Even if someone did something wrong, I could still think from the perspective of the Fa. I knew that I encountered certain things because I had an attachment.

When I was able to discipline myself according to the Fa, I felt at peace. When I changed my mindset, I relaxed and was no longer defensive. I became more tolerant. When I disagreed with others, I learned to listen to others’ opinion and look inward. I communicated openly with my family members, and we were able to help each other from the perspective of the Fa.

My family and the other practitioners said I became positive and was like a different person. When promoting Shen Yun, I always followed the Fa principles whether I worked with practitioners or interacted with non-practitioners. I helped when I could. I was enthusiastic but not aggressive.

My improvement made a difference. In the past, when I saw conflicts between practitioners, I did not look inward to find out why I saw these issues. Because I compared others’ shortcomings with my strengths, I could not even understand why some practitioners had this and that attachment. Whenever I expected conflicts to occur, I usually left to avoid any potential arguments.

I decided to go with the flow as Master taught us and not avoid conflicts. When a conflict arose I reminded myself that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. If I was moved, I looked inward and identified my attachments. I spent more time reading the Fa teachings. I measured myself against the Fa principles, disciplined myself, and eliminated the attachment.

Master said,

“The conflicts and tensions that Dafa disciples encounter are solely for the sake of cultivation and the sake of validating the Fa. Even though human attachments, the attachment of showing off, the attachments of the individual, and the elements of human beings that want to validate themselves are involved, [Dafa disciples] know about these and once they are discovered, they will fix them.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume VII)

“I do hope that the problems between Dafa disciples [dwindle]—the fewer the better. But when things of that nature are as few as possible, it is because an environment and a state have been created by your being able to search inside and be alert when these tensions arise.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume VII)

In the past, I did not understand what Master taught us in the above teachings. I thought that fellow practitioners should be able to cultivate themselves after reading the Fa. However, I didn’t understand the Fa and how Master arranged for everyone to practice.

Once I understood this, I maintained an optimistic and peaceful state of mind. When something unpleasant happened, I told myself that it was an opportunity to improve. I read the teachings every day so that I could stay in a diligent state with a clear mind.

Master said,

“Study the Fa and gain the Fa,Focus on how you study and cultivate,Let each and every thingbe measured against the Fa.Only then, with that,is it actually cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)

I knew I came to the human world to cultivate, and various human emotions no longer swayed me. I decided that I would use every moment to cultivate and improve.