(Minghui.org) Greetings venerable Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Nearly 24 years ago, beginning on November 15, 2000, Falun Dafa practitioners in the Bay Area began protesting the persecution in front of the Chinese Consulate.
Master said,
“Throughout the entire course of my lectures on the Fa and cultivation, I have been responsible to society and students. The results we have received have been good, and their impact upon the entire society has also been quite good.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
As a practitioner I felt it’s my responsibility to tell people about Falun Dafa and the persecution, which is why I joined this site. From Monday to Friday, practitioners took turns coming to the consulate. Some practitioners who worked in San Francisco went there during their lunch breaks, and I was very moved. I understood a deeper meaning of, “The Mind and Body Join Together, Move or Become Still According to the Energy Mechanisms” taught by Master in the exercise verses.
A practitioner gave me a photograph of the scene of practitioners doing the exercises in front of the Chinese Consulate. The divine light of Dafa was shining down on each one. This solemn and peaceful atmosphere encouraged me to persist in this mission. I also had a hint from Master that helped me carry on until today.
I developed a toothache, and my face became swollen. I figured I was eliminating karma, and I began looking inward for my own issues. I couldn’t find a cause, and my jaw felt locked. When I thought I identified a problem, my jaw tightened even more, until it was locked shut. I didn’t know what to do. If this situation wasn’t resolved, how could I go to the consulate the next day? Upon further reflection, what was the connection between the toothache and my jaw? Was Master hinting at something? Could it be that my time clarifying the truth in front of the Chinese consulate would be long, requiring me to “grit my teeth” and persist until the end? As soon as I had this thought, the pain vanished, the swelling rapidly disappeared, and my jaw “snapped” open! I realized that clarifying the truth to save sentient beings in front of the consulate is my mission!
From then on, I treated this as a commitment in my cultivation. Since the Chinese Consulate operates Monday to Friday, I found a job taking care of the elderly on weekends. A relative asked, “How many hours do you work in a week?”
I replied, “Is two days enough?” He said it was sufficient. I didn’t make much money, but Master granted me rewards that aren’t easily obtained even by those who are wealthy. My daughters don’t have outstanding academic records, but they were both admitted to prestigious American universities, and received full four-year scholarships. I know Master arranged this. I feel that Master provided everything for practitioners; I just need to cultivate myself and continue following Master.
As more projects for clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings were initiated, fewer practitioners had time to come to the consulate. Those of us who remained shared a consensus: We must firmly believe in Dafa, validate Dafa by clarifying the truth to save sentient beings, and walk this path steadfastly until the persecution ends. Over these past twenty years, some elderly practitioners passed away. After the COVID lockdown ended, only one practitioner and I remained. I felt this was the old forces taking advantage of Dafa disciples, slowly dismantling our strength by harming us one by one.
We weren’t afraid because Master repeatedly affirmed this project throughout his teachings; we knew we must persist. The other practitioner often encouraged me by saying, “Master arranged this for us, so we must be firm, and persist.” I also firmly believed that the connection we formed throughout our various lifetimes enabled us to cooperate seamlessly. We often exchanged insights while studying the Fa.
We both enlightened that Master wanted us to increase the length of time we studied the Fa, and I decided to read three lectures every day. The other practitioner said, “You have good comprehension, but don’t apply what you read. Master taught us, ‘Only then, with that, is it actually cultivation.’ (“Solid Cultivation” in Hong Yin). It’s not acceptable to not take Master seriously.” I was aware of this, but I thought my level wasn’t high enough. I took it slowly and seldom read all three lectures every day. I often felt disappointed in myself, and wondered why I wasn’t diligent.
When we began preparing for Shen Yun last year, I experienced sickness karma and lost most of my hearing. The sound of an ambulance sounded like a bird chirping. After I ate, I had no energy. After just two hours at the consulate, I began to tremble. I had to constantly recite, “Please, Master, empower me,” until I returned home. For two or three days afterwards, I had no energy to go out.
The other practitioner said, “Dafa disciples aren’t afraid of death. Why would we fear sickness karma?” I realized that he was also suffering from karma; his feet were severely infected, oozing pus, and he had difficulty walking. Yet he continued to push a cart full of truth-clarification materials to the consulate every day. He had strong righteous thoughts, ignored the pain, and did not fear death. I was suffering but hadn’t let go of my fear; the difference in our understandings was immense. He was using his righteous thoughts and actions to help strengthen me. I realized Master was using this practitioner’s righteous actions to point out my inadequacies.
I came to understand that realizing a Fa principle, but not acting on it is not solid cultivation. I then connected this understanding with my current sickness karma. I hadn’t even fulfilled my initial commitment to persist in clarifying the truth in front of the consulate until the persecution ended! I regretted it deeply.
Two days later, I began to recover. I studied six lectures in one go. I entered a state of tranquility I'd never experienced before. I felt like a small child just learning to walk, with Master protecting and guiding me forward with each step. I saw every sentence of the Fa was filled with Buddha’s grace. My various attachments were pointed out while I read the Fa, and they felt like burdens I carried on my back. I asked myself, “What does it mean to walk the path ahead well?” At that moment, the thought surfaced in my mind: “Cultivate as though you just started.” Good, I will recommence my cultivation, starting with the exercise movements.
When the exercise music began and I heard Master’s voice, I felt Master was imparting the Fa to Dafa disciples, gently guiding us. How precious this is, and there shouldn’t be any delays or deviations during this process. The verses for the exercises served as a mirror, reflecting the attachments hidden behind my incorrect exercise movements.
I invited an assistant to my home and sincerely asked her to provide feedback. She was very kind, and not only helped me improve my understanding through sharing her understanding of Fa principles, and built up my confidence, she also offered suggestions for my daily life. She brought a practitioner who wanted to help, but didn’t know me. Soon, I felt a layer of something dissolving within my body. Afterwards, when I did the exercises, I truly began to feel the cultivation aspect of the practice. I have a new understanding of cultivation as though we just began, which means cultivating back to the pure form of our original existence.
I hope we all immerse ourselves in the Fa and complete our cultivation paths!
Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
(Presented at the 2024 San Francisco Fa Conference)
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