(Minghui.org) I wanted to tell you about some of my cultivation experiences these past months both in terms of my personal cultivation and while participating in projects that directly counter this attack by Western media on Falun Dafa and Shen Yun.

Personal Cultivation Is the Foundation to Our Effectiveness

Master said,

“You truly have to be a pure Enlightened Being, from inside out, before you can Consummate. How could you Consummate if you don’t pay back the many things that you’ve dragged along, as well as the many, many debts and grievances that you need to settle? Yet you aren’t aware of those things, nor can you resolve them. You can only be painfully attached to them your whole life; you can’t resolve them. Now that you have encountered Dafa, why still be troubled by those things? Set your mind at ease. You still have at least one breath left, and you still have at least one righteous thought, right? Then just cultivate Dafa.” (Teachings at the Conference in New Zealand)

I feel that this pure thought “just cultivate Dafa” is something that has really carried me through this recent time period.

My wife gave birth to our daughter two months ago. The baby had some small physical issues that caused concern, and the doctors thought she might have some issues. I didn’t think too much about it at the time, but my heart was heavy. I stood before Master’s portrait and thought, “I just want her to study the Fa and understand cultivation. Whatever your arrangement is, I will accept it.”

Then we were told that she has a genetic condition called Down syndrome, which usually leaves people with some level of cognitive difficulty. This was a tough blow for our family, mainly because of all the qing I had for my daughter and the thoughts, wishes, and dreams I had for her as her father. I wept for a few days, but I knew that this was not the state a cultivator should be in, so I turned to Fa study to get me out of this state.

Master answered a question from a practitioner in his lecture Teachings Given on Lantern Festival Day, 2003,

“Student: Recently a married couple who are both Dafa disciples gave birth to a baby who appears to have a lot of hardship and is born deformed. How should we look at this situation?

“Master: Things are very complicated at this time. Since he’s your child, you should provide loving care and do your best to take care of him. But put your mind at ease. As long as you can cultivate to Consummation, everything will end up to be the best (applause)—this is created for cultivators and Dafa disciples. If you can’t Consummate, though, then everything was for nothing.” (Teachings Given on Lantern Festival Day, 2003)

Wasn’t Master telling me that my cultivation was the key to her being all right? And wasn’t the key to countless sentient beings I am responsible for saving also tied up in the success of my cultivation? Didn’t I need to snap out of my state of emotion and get back to solid cultivation and saving sentient beings?

When I looked inward, I found so many attachments I had been holding onto, such as attachments to gain, comfort, living a good life, and various desires.

I realized that, for her arrangement in life, I cannot look at things on the human level—what is good versus what is bad, what is a successful life—with human notions. After all, if Master arranged this for her, there is a reason and means it is the best. Perhaps she is being protected and locked up so she won’t commit harm and can focus on cultivation. I won’t know the reason, and it isn’t important, but it is vital for me to look at things as a cultivator at all times.

She is very healthy and doesn’t show any of the physical issues people with Down syndrome often have. Of course, Dafa is capable of doing anything, so we will see how she grows up and what problems she may or may not have. In the end, no matter what happens, I have firm and unshakable faith in Master and the Fa, and my role is simply to be a good father to her in this life.

After going through this emotional life-or-death test these past months, which was right alongside project work to combat this unprecedented attack by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) in the West on Falun Dafa and Shen Yun, I felt that my ability to be effective in my truth-clarification work was directly tied to my ability to put down my humanness and truly and with dignity walk the path of a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple.

We Need to Be United as One Body

Master said,

“It’s just like when this fist goes out—it’s strong when everyone is clenched together. (Master makes a fist.) But if you’re saying that this one wants to do this, that one wants to do that, and the next one something else (spreading the five fingers apart and pointing to each finger), then that’s weak, and as soon as it goes out, it will be repelled, right? You need to have a plan and organize things, coordinate well, and cooperate with each other.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume IX)

These past months have been a whirlwind for me with the projects I work on. The decades of maturity and preparation we have had doing them is in great part for today’s test. The Western media and legal system are being used directly against Master, Shen Yun, and almost every single major project started by Falun Dafa practitioners in the West. This unprecedented pressure also made me realize that now, more than ever, it’s essential to form one body.

As I looked inward during this time, as various projects were undergoing attack, I still had judgments about some of them that I had to correct. I thought about how some individuals brought this upon themselves or caused these problems with their behavior, but I felt that these thoughts were not right.

While we have no criticism of Master or Shen Yun in our minds, for me, it wasn’t as clear how to catch negative thoughts related to other projects. I also want to be clear that we, as a mature group, should learn from our mistakes individually and collectively, not allow personal or group loopholes, and do things properly in Western society when it comes to running companies, so I’m not excusing anything on that front.

However, when these projects are being attacked, any negative substances in my mind can have a negative effect in other dimensions and create loopholes to be exploited by the evil. I feel that, by formally sending righteous thoughts and correcting myself, I’m able to really feel I am becoming one body with other practitioners during this time, even with projects that I have no direct involvement in.

Master said in Zhuan Falun:

“I am rooted in the universe. If anyone could harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)

I would encourage all practitioners who have worked on different project over these many years and may hold grudges or opinions based on their experiences—now is the time to let go of them and come together to save more sentient beings.

While these external attacks may seem strong, they are actually quite weak. I believe that true damage can only be done by practitioners’ lack of righteous thoughts and our inability to form a cohesive whole.

We must unite and work together to make our efforts have even more of an impact.

Take Advantage of This Unprecedented Time and Opportunity to Save Sentient Beings

While this persecution in Western mainstream society is unrighteous, and we should disintegrate the evil forces behind it from another perspective, doesn’t it also put Dafa and Shen Yun on the main stage in the United States and globally? So now that it’s taken center stage, shouldn’t we, as practitioners, take the stage as well to validate Dafa during this rare and precious opportunity where the public’s attention is focused? We should make full use of it to expose the evil to save more sentient beings.

Doesn’t this opportunity also provide us with an unprecedented opportunity to look inward, get rid of our final attachments, and become ever more diligent as we walk our final steps well? I am very grateful to Master for extending this time so I can quickly and more diligently get rid of my attachments and truly do better to fulfill my role as a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple.

We have been through decades of maturity, all for this moment and to make our way steadily through this test.

It is almost like we have already gotten through the deep ocean, but as we get closer to shore, the current seems stronger at times, so let’s use this time to swim faster and save more sentient beings.

As I looked inward during this time, I found that, despite the fact that I had spoken publicly for Falun Dafa for many years, I was much more comfortable talking about the persecution than the practice. Through the years, I felt a small part of me a bit more reluctant to talk about the practice and its benefits, as if speaking about spiritual things would turn people away. This unrighteous element grew unknowingly in me, and although it was small, during this time when I looked inward, I realized that any bit of that unrighteous element does not meet the standard of the Fa, and I had to smash through it so I could be more effective in saving people.

There was an aspect of fear behind it related to saving face and comfort, and it was entirely wrong. Once I was able to cultivate through that, I felt that it was now the time to double down on my faith and really do whatever I could to speak out publicly against this persecution that has made its way to the West.

I made a video about these falsehoods and the benefits of practicing to clarify the truth through one of our projects. I felt that even if that video reached one person, it would be worth it.

While making the video, I felt that for me during this time, I needed to really follow Master’s Fa,

Master said,

“Just by staying unaffected you will be able to handle all situations.” (Teachings at the Midwestern U.S. Conference)

For me, that means that I don’t have any element of fighting with the media or the CCP in my heart, as they are not worthy. I only have compassion for sentient beings and try to connect with them to truly save them.

I also realized that we cannot view our efforts in terms of the direct result it brings on the human level. While that video has had a good effect in terms of views, it has also been helpful to other practitioners who, I think, were going through the same thing I was. After making that video, one practitioner told me it was like a breath of fresh air.

That made me really feel that this is the exact time for us to do whatever we can, however we can, to save more people. Yes, we have worked for decades building projects that reach millions, but in our hearts, if we can do whatever we can, that effect in other dimensions has a huge impact.

I feel now is the time to really encourage each other. Now is the most precious time for us to come together as one body and have a maximum impact on disintegrating evil and saving sentient beings. From a personal level, we must let go of our final attachments and leave no loopholes for the evil to exploit.

Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.

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Category: Cultivation Insights