(Minghui.org) Master published the two articles “Stay Far Away From Peril” and “Cultivation in Dafa Is Serious” one day apart. Several of us read them as soon as they were published and we were shocked.
Two sentences from “Stay Far Away From Peril,” “Master is not indebted to you!” and, “it is you who is indebted to Master” really struck me hard.
Since then, I have worked with local practitioners to get these articles to several practitioners who were lagging behind in cultivation. Some of them realized the seriousness of the issue and are determined to pick themselves up and do better.
The Changes in Two Sisters
The day after I downloaded Master’s two new articles, I went with another practitioner to visit Mei, a practitioner in the countryside who was struggling with sickness karma. Her older sister Yan, also a practitioner, was there taking care of her. It has been seven years since Yan had her pension suspended after serving a prison term for practicing Dafa. Because she was busy taking care of Mei, she didn’t have the energy to file an appeal.
After we introduced ourselves, the practitioner who went with me said to Mei, “The situation is so urgent now and yet you are still lying there.” We told them about Master’s new articles, and I read them aloud on the electronic reader I had.
Mei was in tears when I finished. “Master was talking about me. My sickness was caused by my own karma. Yet I failed to cultivate myself and had strong human attachments. I was taken advantage of by the old forces. I should take it as a good thing. I should get up now and not lie in bed.” As soon as she finished talking, she got up and went to use the restroom on her own, which she wasn’t able to do before. She no longer treated herself as a patient or relied on Yan for care. Yan went back to the city with us.
Yan is in her 70s. She didn’t have much confidence that she could get her pension reinstated. I encouraged her, reminding her that, whether she got the money back or not, she should use it as an opportunity to save whoever was involved in the case. She agreed and began to work on the application that evening.
The next day, Yan went to the Social Security Bureau and Civil Affairs Bureau. To her surprise, the officials there opened a low-income account for her and told her she would receive monthly financial assistance from then on. Meanwhile, she can still appeal to get her pension back. Yan deeply understood the significance of fulfilling her vow and saving sentient beings.
“What Should I Do?”
Two practitioners in a study group had similar symptoms of diabetes and blurred vision. One of them had realized that it wasn’t an illness but the old forces taking advantage of her attachment. She stopped taking medicine three weeks ago and intensified her Fa study. The other one kept taking her medication. She couldn’t read the Dafa books due to her poor vision and only listened to Master’s audio lectures.
I joined their study one day and read Master’s new articles for them. After I finished, the practitioner who was on medication cried, “What should I do? I’ve done so poorly when there isn’t much time left. Master has explained to us so clearly that our sickness and tribulations were caused by our own karma. It’s my own problem. After cultivating for so many years, I still didn’t understand what cultivation is.”
Helping Former Practitioners Return
A married couple in their 70s have been hosting Fa study groups for the past 24 years. Most of the members were practitioners who took up cultivation before the persecution began. Recently, the wife was dealing with a physical condition. Listening to her sharing, I realized that she had strong resentment for her husband and brother-in-law.
I asked her, “If everything you’ve encountered was arranged by Master to improve your xinxing, would you be willing to face it? When you developed resentment toward your brother-in-law because you didn’t get the credit for taking care of his family, wasn’t that an attachment to fame?"
Although she didn’t accept what I said right then, I sensed a change in her attitude toward her husband when I saw her again.
After Master published the two new articles, I went to see the couple and shared the articles with them. The husband said that it was more serious than a “stick warning.” He acknowledged that as veteran practitioners themselves, they shouldn’t be so lax in going about their cultivation.
When I returned two days later to deliver a hard copy of Master’s articles, the couple told me that they had contacted the husband’s friend and brother, both of whom had practiced Dafa before but stopped due to the persecution. We read Master’s articles with them and both of them decided to practice Dafa again. They also set up a Fa study group themselves as they live close to each other.
Leaving that couple’s home, I went to another practitioner’s to deliver Master’s articles. That practitioner had attended Master’s lectures in person long ago. After reading the articles, she showed me the photo of Master with the class. She was standing on the left side behind Master. I was excited to see the photo.
Then I noticed a young girl standing on the right side of Master. I asked her how that girl was doing now. She said the “girl” is now in her 40s, but she had stopped cultivating a long time ago. A few days ago when her relatives (Dafa practitioners) went to visit her, she didn’t even open the door for them. I urged the practitioner to talk to the “girl” and try to wake her up.
“My Resentment Is Long Gone”
I then visited another married couple in their 80s. Both of them had started to practice Dafa before the persecution began. The wife suffered a physical condition four years ago and is now confined to a wheelchair. During the limited interactions I had with her, I noticed she was very strong-willed and stubborn.
I shared with her that for a non-practitioner, being strong-willed might be seen as a plus, but for cultivators, the principle is just the opposite. I said I also found a similar problem in myself and we should encourage each other to get rid of this attachment.
She told me that she was confused about her condition. She felt she had done a lot for Dafa, including hosting Fa studies at her home for many practitioners. She couldn’t understand why she didn’t get anything in return but even suffered from sickness karma. I realized that that was exactly her problem. She hoped to gain something by practicing Dafa and became resentful when she did not get what she was seeking. I pointed out the issue to her and said it was dangerous for her to think that way. She accepted what I said and changed her notion.
When we studied Master’s two new articles together, she told me, “My resentment is long gone.” She understood that her physical condition was the result of her own karma and not cultivating herself well. Now she is planning to persuade her sister who had stopped cultivation to come back to Dafa.
“I Let Go of the Attachment to My Mother’s Death”
I met a street vendor earlier this year while I was out and about clarifying the truth. She was very accepting of the materials I gave her and told me that she had quit the Chinese Communist Party many years ago. It turned out that she had practiced Dafa before, and both her husband and mother were also practitioners.
Ten years ago, her mother was hit by a car on her way home from delivering Dafa materials to practitioners in the countryside. Her injuries were so severe that she died right there. The vendor couldn’t understand the reason for her mother’s death, as she was cultivating so diligently and spent so much time and energy doing things for Dafa. Unable to get over it, she stopped cultivating. I felt so sorry for her.
After Master published the article “How Humankind Came To Be,” I found her and tried to persuade her to come back to Dafa. She didn’t agree.
I found her again after the publication of the two new articles. She told me that another practitioner had found her not long before and shared with her that there must be a reason for her mother’s death. She then had a dream about her mother living in a huge, magnificent temple. She realized that Master was giving her a hint that her mother went to a good place and she finally let go of the attachment that had bothered her for ten years.
Now she has started studying the Fa with her husband again.
Don’t Be Taken Down by Mistakes
Another former practitioner lived close to that street vendor. She was the volunteer coordinator for a practice site of over 100 practitioners. Not long after the persecution started, she was arrested and forced to renounce Dafa and helped the detention center guards to “transform” other practitioners.
After she was released, she was ashamed of herself, which prevented her from resuming cultivation. From my interactions with her, I think she had a good understanding of the Fa, but she also had intense fear that was holding her back.
I encouraged her not to be attached to what she did in the past. There is a Chinese saying: “After one becomes aware of one’s shame, one should turn that into motivation to do better.” If one is satisfied with their past achievements and doesn’t move forward, then they are, in fact, regressing. But if one stumbles over one’s past mistake and doesn’t get up, then it’s an even bigger mistake. Master has boundless compassion for us and he has given us the time and opportunity to come back. I told her that it’s the last time that Master will teach the Fa to former practitioners, and she should seize it. I said that being attached to saving face and past wrongdoings won’t help her eliminate her karma or guarantee her future.
“It has really reached the end and I know Master is truly worried about us,” she sighed. I asked her to join the local Fa study and help share Master’s new lectures to others who had stopped cultivating.
Seize the Time to Fulfill Our Vows
A husband and wife have been struggling with physical limitations for nearly two years and they almost wanted to give up cultivating. When I heard about this, a coordinator and I studied the Fa with them for over a month. Their changes were visible every day.
At first, the wife was paralyzed on her left side and she had to sit in a chair to read with us. Then she could sit on the floor with her legs loosely crossed. Now she can do the single lotus position and is eager to look for practitioners to study the Fa with during the day. Her husband improved from sitting in the single lotus position to the full lotus for two hours. Both of them were grateful to Master for the opportunity to catch up with cultivation.
The wife’s mother is also a practitioner. Even though she is in her 80s, her hair is still black and she has good vision and hearing. She goes out every day to talk to people about Dafa. She joined us to study the Fa one night. She shared with us that practitioners she knew all realized how urgent it was to improve their xinxing and save people after reading Master’s new articles.
Back in my own Fa study group, we asked each other the following questions: “If Master gives me a heavenly kingdom, would I have the ability to manage it? For all of the Fa Master has taught us, how much have I understood? Do I do the exercises every day? How many of my attachments are still deeply hidden? Have I developed the habit of being considerate of others and looking within when conflicts arise? How many people have I saved and how well am I doing in fulfilling my vow? If the Fa-rectification ends now, what will my level be?”
From the expressions of my fellow practitioners, I know that none of us have reached the requirement for Dafa cultivation. Dafa cultivation is truly serious and we all need to catch up and do better.
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Category: Improving Oneself
