(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master. Greetings, fellow practitioners.
This year is the first time I have submitted an experience sharing article for a Fa conference. I would like to share with and give this report to my fellow practitioners and to our compassionate and great Master. I would like to share how I have placed importance on Fa study and validating the Fa during my cultivation practice while working full time.
I chose the profession of driving a double-decker bus. The thinking behind it was based on two points. The first was that in the future when Shen Yun spreads more widely, perhaps I could use the skill of driving a bus. The second point was that after thorough research, I discovered that this company’s working hours were split into a selection between three shifts, the morning, midday, and evening shifts. Both the morning shift and evening shift wouldn’t affect my going out to clarify the truth in Chinatown every day. I thus signed up and paid for a double-decker bus training course last year, and smoothly passed all the exams, obtained the driver’s license, and could formally work full time for Transport for London.
The First Phase - Validating the Fa Using the Simplest Route
Because the full time work was split between the morning shift, midday shift, and evening shift, my Fa study and exercise time that I had become accustomed to was thrown into disarray. My new battle was how to achieve doing the three things while working full time. My answer to this was to squeeze in time for Fa study and practicing the exercises. When I had just started this job, the company often gave the earliest shifts to new drivers. So when doing the morning shift, I would get up at 3 a.m. I studied the Fa on my way to the company, then during working hours, when the bus would reach the end point for each route, each time we would have between ten and thirty minutes rest, and I fully made use of this small rest time to either study the Fa or practice one of the exercises.
In the middle of the day we still had about an hour-long lunch break. I would arrange this time to do the second exercise for half an hour, and on most occasions I practiced the second exercise in the small park by the bus company building. I would have about three hours rest time in total during my work day, and I fully made use of this time, making sure I had finished all the standing exercises and had read at least one Fa lecture.
This step was very important for me. On the one hand it enabled me to sufficiently do my work with more energy, and also more importantly, it enabled me to take part in the Chinatown truth clarification project after work while remaining energetic and strong. Because I had to get to work early for the morning shift, and I would finish work early, and had the opportunity to take a bus directly to Chinatown from the company. The time traveling from my company to Chinatown gave me time for Fa study. And after getting to Chinatown I would take part in spreading the Fa and clarifying the truth until around 7 p.m., when I would help pack things up and wrap up for the day. At around 8 p.m. I would return home and do the sitting meditation.
The reason I am sharing these timelines with everyone is mainly to share a key point, which is that if I hadn’t squeezed in Fa study and exercises during this process, and without the strengthening and empowerment that Dafa has given me, I think that there would be no difference between me and my everyday colleagues. They have told me that when they finish work they are already exhausted, and they don’t have any more strength to take part in projects to save sentient beings.
Cultivating Each and Every Thought at Work, Validating Dafa
It seems that the purpose of everyday people’s work is mainly for fame and self interest. People make great efforts to strive for outstanding achievements and so on. Its ultimate purpose is to obtain more fame and self interest, and understanding this also enabled me to enlighten to the root of why everyday society won’t last for very long–because it is based on selfishness.
But under the guidance of Dafa, I understood that Master requires us to think of others before ourselves, to become selfless, enlightened beings of a righteous way. This enabled me to realize a completely different way of thinking and path of life. So during the process of driving the bus, in the beginning I would remind the passengers to firmly hold the handrails, and when stepping on the accelerator pedal I would often consider the passengers and how they felt. Especially when older people, disabled people, or pregnant women boarded the bus, I accelerated gently. On top of that, I would judge the road conditions beforehand, and prepare to stop the bus in advance, avoiding a sudden halt to avoiding making the passengers feel unwell or get injured. When turning a corner, I also have to consider the passengers’ safety. Apart from the passengers, while driving or before going to work or when finishing work, a large number of pedestrians, cyclists, motorbikes, and all sorts of vehicles are on the road, and one has to be in accordance with the requirements of the law and not contend with or scratch other vehicles to the best of one’s ability, and to think of other people’s safety. Under the guidance of Dafa’s Fa principles of thinking of others first, I haven’t brought a single bit of harm to any passenger, and haven’t harmed a single pedestrian or passing vehicle. In my mind I am very aware that my own safety and the safety of others is all given to me by Dafa! Thank you, Master! Thank you, Dafa!
I have realized from the process of working that selfishness makes me depart from selflessness, and makes me depart from the universe’s characteristic of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. During the process of working, because I would often squeeze in time to study the Fa, I would always have this attachment of hoping to reach the final destination on my route sooner, so that I could practice the exercises or study the Fa. Led by this mentality, I would drive faster. After my attachments arose, troubles would follow, and those responsible for keeping the proper distance between the buses on the route would prompt me to wait at the next stop for between three and five minutes before proceeding. I found that when I was led by human attachments, I simply could not achieve the goal, moreover because of my excess acceleration, some passengers might miss the opportunity to get on the bus, and that would increase the burden of the bus drivers behind me.
This made me realize that this was departing from selflessness and thinking of others first, and so I corrected this problem. I would sometimes decrease my acceleration and end up behind other buses that were in front. I discovered that driving like this was very relaxing, because the several buses in front of me had already taken many passengers, and there were hardly any on my bus. I discovered that this was also a selfish mentality of slacking off in my work, and if everyone thought in this way, and everyone’s selfish mentality got stronger, we would depart from the characteristics of the universe. After I realized this attachment, I took the initiative to pass cars on the road, and to take on more responsibility.
On another occasion, I arrived at the company at 4 a.m. Upon checking in and receiving the schedule, I saw that I had a four hour rest break. This was something I had never seen before. I was very excited, and my attachment to elation emerged. In my mind I thought, in a little while I can study a lot of Fa, and in the afternoon, I can go directly to Chinatown to save people. How marvelous today’s arrangements are. I went to the restroom and bought a coffee. Just when I was about to pay for it with my mobile phone, I saw a missed call from the manager on duty and immediately called him back. The manager asked whether or not I could help. The driver in front of me had arrived late, and he asked if I could possibly drive his route instead of him. I told the manager that I could help, but when I opened my colleague’s work timetable, I discovered that not only had my four-hour rest time disappeared, I had to make a round trip of the route eight times. It would be the most tiring kind of work. At this point I had a thought in my mind that I did not want to change places with that driver.
To be honest, I did not pass the test immediately, and the manager also listened to and understood my hesitation. But when I remembered that I was a practitioner, I still forced myself to agree to the job, even though in my mind and heart I was unwilling to do it at all. I was thinking, wasn’t this interference, not allowing me to study the Fa? With this mentality of unwillingness, I went to start this driver's work. At this point, the Fa’s magical tool of looking within helped me once again. I asked myself, “Why was I so unhappy?” A Fa principle resounded in my mind, which made me remember a poem called “Realms” in Essentials for Further Advancement:
“...A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion.With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy....”
I suddenly came to a great understanding that I had not actually yet achieved “taking hardship as joy” and was still displeased because of my fear of experiencing suffering. Yet this was not my true self. Thinking of this, I felt relieved immediately in my mind and heart. I enlightened to the fact that the on-duty manager was helping me improve in my cultivation. On the one hand, he was helping me improve my xinxing, enabling me to realize my inadequate xinxing level. And on the other hand, he was enabling me to suffer more, to eliminate my karma. So how could I not thank him? After I finished work, I went to Chinatown as usual to spread the Fa, and it did not affect me one bit. Thanks to Master for this arrangement, and thanks to the on-duty manager!
Passing the Test, Finishing the Simplest Route
Every year the drivers at the company undergo a secret test. During work, who knows on what day or what time, some people would board the bus and do a group test and assessment. This test was very important, and the company took it very seriously. Moreover, if the grade received from the review assessment was low, one could lose one’s job. I didn’t really think much about how to deal with this secret assessment, and just measured my every thought and action against Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. One day the company manager came looking for me, and asked me to sign something. He said that I did very well in my work. I saw the group assessment results, which was the highest grade. I know that the entire process of improving myself and the good grades came from the guidance of Master and Dafa, and that all the honor came from Master and Dafa!
Upon receiving the highest grade for the assessment, this most simple route came to an end, and its replacement was the longest and most complicated route. In my mind I was even more aware that everything truly was arranged for Fa rectification and Dafa disciples’ cultivation. That simple route corresponded to the end of some tests in my cultivation practice, and upon completing that route, the tribulation was also gone. Therefore, a greater route and greater tribulations were about to begin.
The Second Phase - Validating the Fa Along the Most Difficult Route
I had once asked a driver who had several decades of experience, which route was the most difficult. He said my new route was. He said a lot of the veteran drivers complained about the roads on this route. This route was very challenging for me. It was very long, and in some places the road narrowed, so much so that larger vehicles had to go onto the pavement. The most challenging aspect of it was that it was a completely new route, and the bus company had no experience with it. I discovered that based on my experiences at that point, there was absolutely no way I could reach the final route destination on time. On many occasions, after reaching the final destination, I had already missed my rest time, and had to start returning in the other direction immediately. On several occasions, I had to continue driving for up to five hours straight. Not only was this intensity challenging for my capability of adapting myself, but it also deeply affected my Fa study and exercises.
Because I could not keep up with Fa study and exercises, my body reached the limit of what it could take. I also realized that without the strengthening of Dafa, I couldn’t continue for very long. Of course, another reason for this was that as a cultivator, I didn’t want to exceed the speed limit. A lot of drivers exceeded the speed limit, then they could rest a bit, whereas I had no rest time. I suddenly remembered how I was very tired during the Shen Yun door-to-door leaflet distribution. At that time, I drove the practitioners to starting points, and we often first recited the Fa, then sent righteous thoughts together. At this time, I realized I could respond to the intensity of my work, and guarantee Fa study time, by reciting the Fa from memory rather than squeezing in time for Fa study as I had before.
I discovered that from the start to the finish of my route, I had to pass through about thirty traffic lights. Some of these lights required a relatively long waiting time. Also, during rush hour, there was congestion and so on, and these were all good times for reciting the Fa from memory. While guaranteeing safety while driving, I started to squeeze in time to recite the Fa from memory.
On the first day of doing this, I recited the Fa along the route, and upon returning on the same route I squeezed in time for sending righteous thoughts. When returning the other way I recited the Fa from memory, and going back the other way I usually sent righteous thoughts. In the middle of the day, with an hour's worth of rest time to eat lunch, I usually studied the Fa. And upon finishing work, I discovered that my feet felt light, as if floating. I lowered my head to look at my feet and thought, why do they feel so light? The previous two days, they had felt so heavy. What happened today? At this point I enlightened to the fact that it was the power of memorizing and reciting the Fa that led to this.
Master said:
“As you know, every cell in your body is you, and your brain is connected to the brain in every cell.” (Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference)
This made me realize that when I memorized the Fa, it was as if all the cells in my body were memorizing the Fa too. Therefore, throughout my workday, Dafa was continually purifying my body and mind, and lessening the karma in my body. This was why my body felt so light. Also, this experience led to an even deeper understanding of “...matter and mind are one and the same.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun). Which is to say that while we are working, when we maintain righteous thoughts, the corresponding body we have is also supernormal. So we can respond to all sorts of tribulations and challenges.
On the other hand, when our thoughts are led by human thoughts or attachments, then the corresponding body is the same as that of an everyday person, and it will become very tired and face more difficulties. This is exactly why I was extremely tired when I had not squeezed in time for memorizing and reciting the Fa.
However, many colleagues who were everyday people, because their minds were filled with the pursuit of money and gain, after working for a day with such attachments, they were constantly accruing karma, and would always be tired. However, I had the good fortune to work with the strengthening bestowed by Master and Dafa. Moreover, I still had energy and strength to go to Chinatown to clarify the truth and validate the Fa. This supernormal strength came completely from Dafa. This experience of squeezing in time to recite and memorize the Fa validated the importance of studying the Fa and the supernormal states bestowed by Dafa.
Conclusion
This work has been very helpful for my cultivation, and I also thank Master for his arrangements, enabling me to understand more deeply the inner meaning of Master’s words about conforming to everyday people’s society when practicing cultivation. On the surface, it not only helped me undertake the responsibility of looking after my small family, but at the same time, it enabled me to have the economic capacity to present a gift of respect to my elders. Because Master requires us to be good people wherever we are, it’s very important for me to allow my elder family members to know and say that Falun Dafa is good!
From the perspective of cultivation practice, the challenges brought along from this full-time job didn’t seem to reduce my time to study the Fa every day. Instead, by squeezing in time to study the Fa, I have had more time for Fa study, more time to send righteous thoughts, and more chances to look inward. My busy work schedule hasn’t hindered my diligence. Instead, it’s propelled me to be more diligent. The challenges on my cultivation path haven’t become true obstacles. Instead, with the blessings of Master and Dafa, they've become my stepping stones for improvement.
This process made me fully realize that no matter how busy, one should never slack off in Fa study and actual cultivation. No matter how busy we are, we should always give priority to doing the three things. Why? Because I discovered that only when I place importance on Fa study and actual cultivation can I acquire a steady stream of strength. Dafa’s strength has enabled me to acquire something great, whereas my difficulties and challenges have become very small. If I can’t keep up with Fa study and cultivation, I become very insignificant, and my challenges and difficulties seem to be enormous. What would happen if I could not achieve this? I would feel as if I was just drifting with the current, and exhausting everything of mine with various attachments.
Please kindly point out anything that was not right or was unsuitable in my sharing paper!
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Heshi
(Selected article presented at the 2025 UK Fa Conference)
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