(Minghui.org) I had a strong scientific mindset. When I began to practice Falun Dafa long ago, I did believe that divine beings like Buddhas existed, yet they seemed like a distant reality. Even after I witnessed many miracles during my cultivation, the existence of higher beings still didn’t seem real.
Today, as I look back on my journey of cultivating during the relentless persecution, while shouldering the great responsibility of assisting Master in Fa-rectification, I realize I have come a long way on this path to divinity.
People live for reputation, self-interest, and emotion. If they cannot let go of these things, they cannot cross the threshold from human to divine. Compared to my fellow practitioners who are simple and pure, I have an additional challenge—I needed to shatter the stubborn shell formed by my many human notions that protected me. I also needed to expose the underlying attachments that I kept tightly wrapped up and didn’t want to acknowledge.
My wife, also a Dafa practitioner, once told me, “Sometimes it seems that it’s easy for you to cultivate. You’re kind and honest. You don’t fight over self-interest. You are forgiving and tolerant, and you don’t hold grudges against others. Yet at other times cultivation seems so difficult for you. It’s like you wrapped yourself in a thick shell, tightly concealing all the attachments you’re unaware of or are unwilling to relinquish. If you don’t tackle them, no one can help you.” Her observation was spot on. However, I didn’t agree with her at the time because I couldn’t see it. Therefore her attempt to help me failed every time.
The breakthrough came when I started to memorize Zhuan Falun. The process of memorizing the Fa was a process of solidly cultivating myself. I encountered a lot of interference when I first started. As soon as I picked up the book, I felt drowsy or muddleheaded. I couldn’t stay focused, and all kinds of human thoughts flooded my mind, making me want to do this or take care of that. I just couldn’t sit still. Yet as soon as I put the book down, everything was fine and I no longer felt anxious.
Fortunately, I had a solid understanding of the Fa principles and knew this was demonic interference that occurs when one cultivates a righteous way. I rejected and eliminated such interference and persisted in memorizing the Fa. When it was too hard to quiet my mind, I took a break and sent forth righteous thoughts before resuming. It took me two years to memorize Zhuan Falun the first time. Afterwards, my speed increased and I was able to memorize the entire book in a year.
During the process of memorizing the Fa, my cultivation state started to improve, which became especially evident after I finished memorizing the book for the second time. The stubborn notions and attachments that were as hard as granite started to loosen. Before this, the mere thought of letting go of these attachments pained me greatly, as if I would die if I did. I dared not even think about it, let alone get rid of them. But it was different now and no longer seemed like a big deal. At the very least, I was able to acknowledge them. The protective layer I’d built started to crack.
As I improved through memorizing the Fa, I was able to step out of the state of being trapped in the endless pursuit of reputation, self-interest, and emotion. I could step back from my situation and observe reputation, self-interest, and emotion at play from an outsider’s point of view. I saw them for what they really were and understood why people become so entangled and are unable to walk away.
Let’s first talk about reputation. From an ordinary person’s perspective, reputation is how one is evaluated and perceived by others. It makes you happy when others think highly of you and unhappy when others don’t like you. It is essentially an expression of emotion. From a cultivation perspective, it’s a substance arising from emotion. When you are happy, you feel physically comfortable and mentally relaxed—a pleasant feeling. But it is an attachment, which is not a good thing. When you’re unhappy, the substance makes you sad and depressed, which is essentially a process of eliminating karma. This is a good thing. It’s just a feeling. Even non-practitioners say, “Don’t be elated by external gains, nor saddened by personal losses.” So, even less so should we Dafa practitioners of the Fa-rectification period be affected by these things. We shoulder the grand mission of helping Master rectify the Fa and save sentient beings. We have so much to do. We don’t have the luxury of dwelling on such feelings.
Let’s talk about self-interest. The attachment to self-interest reflects how one responds to loss and gain. We form the habit of chasing after self-interest and personal gain among ordinary people. When a new cultivator with a relatively shallow understanding of the Fa principles suffers a loss, they may think it is helping them to build up virtue. But I later realized this kind of thinking is also self-centered. When a person loses material benefits, he will gain virtue in exchange—this is a natural process governed by the characteristic of the universe. But if this practitioner takes comfort in gaining virtue after suffering a loss, it is in itself still an attachment to self-interest.
Master said,
“I know all of the suffering of my disciples. The truth is, I treasure you more than you treasure yourselves!” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s),” The Essentials of Diligent Progress II)
In reading this passage, along with sensing Master’s immense compassion, I more greatly feel a profound sense of responsibility. Because Master is here to rectify the Fa, Dafa practitioners do not exist for themselves, but for the needs of Fa-rectification. This being the case, what is there to cling to regarding fame and fortune? My wealth comes from my virtue and is a resource of Dafa. Because I cultivate among everyday people, I need to conform as much as I can and maintain a normal lifestyle. I manage my time and live my life within reason, and the rest is used to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. In a sense, we’re merely administrators of our wealth. How much of our virtue should be allocated for the transformation of gong and how much should be allocated for the exchange of wealth is decided by Master. We just need to cultivate our hearts, maintain righteous thoughts, maintain balance in all aspects of life, and try not to go to extremes.
Now, let’s talk about emotion. In the process of letting go of reputation and self-interest, we also need to let go of emotions. Compared to reputation and self-interest, emotions are more difficult to relinquish. I used to believe I was not an emotional person, yet when I got to a point in cultivation where I had to let go of emotions in order to make real progress, I found it incredibly hard to relinquish.
Let’s use the example of my love for my wife. My wife is a fellow practitioner, and together we have gone through so much in the past 30 years. We went to Beijing and petitioned the central government in Tiananmen Square together. We resisted the persecution and helped Master rectify the Fa together. Every day, we do the three things together. We’ve suffered hardships and overcome numerous obstacles and tribulations on this journey of cultivation. What we have is no longer just love between a man and a woman but a deep appreciation and admiration for each other. We have helped each other through thick and thin, and have been through life and death tribulations on our cultivation path.
What made it even more difficult was that I didn’t think there was anything wrong with these feelings and my love for my wife. I didn’t think I needed to let go of it. But Master arranges our cultivation paths in a particular sequence, and when it is time to remove this attachment, it will readily be reflected in my state of cultivation.
All of a sudden, my wife and I didn’t get along. We had different opinions on things, which led to disagreement and even arguments. Fortunately, through memorizing the Fa and improving myself, I quickly caught on and started to look inward to examine myself instead of always blaming her. I discovered the root cause of why I argued with my wife. It was because my sense of self was attacked or challenged, which then caused me to resent her. This really surprised me—I had always thought my love for my wife was solid and unbreakable. Little did I know, it was conditional—the precondition being that my sense of self, the “me,” was safe. The moment the “me” was threatened, the “unbreakable love” became adversarial. However, when facing an external threat, the “me” swallowed its pride and would form a united front with my wife to deal with the external threat. This showed me just how fragile and unreliable emotions are.
I further realized that my true nature and the real me were suppressed and blocked by a false self—an outer layer formed by all kinds of human notions, various emotions, and attachments to human desires. The false self that was comprised of human notions was pursuing reputation, self-interest, and emotions, while my true nature and true self remained buried.
If a cultivator cannot find his true self, then his so-called cultivation dominated by the false self is not true cultivation but is merely going through the motions. The goal of true cultivation is to eliminate the false self and return to one’s true, original self. How will the false self react to being eliminated? It will try to deceive you and make you spin your wheels without making any real progress. While you think you’re doing the three things and being diligent, you’re still in pursuit of reputation, self-interest, and emotions. If you cannot extricate yourself from these attachments and rise above them, you will not be able to gain a clear understanding of them. As the saying goes, “One is not able to see the true face of Mount Lu because one’s self is deep in the mountain.”
For years, I was busy doing the three things Master asks, yet I failed to truly cultivate my heart. I couldn’t break through the outer shell of the false self. This time, it was through memorizing the Fa and putting it into practice that I shattered the outer shell and fundamentally strengthened my righteous thoughts, my true nature, and my true self. This was how I was able to rise above emotion and see it for what it really is.
I previously didn’t understand how emotion could be replaced by compassion, but now I do. As emotion is gradually chipped away through cultivation, the false self consisting of various human notions is being weakened, and my true self grows stronger and assimilates to the Fa. Thus, a selfless and greater kindness naturally flows from the heart. Isn’t this compassion? Isn’t cultivation a process of returning to one’s original, true self? Isn’t this a path of cultivating oneself from human to divine?
I previously didn’t know how to let go of desire and attachment to pursuit. I didn’t know how to rise above being selfish and achieve a state of selflessness. To cultivate with the goal of becoming selfless is for the purpose of reaching consummation, which to me was still a selfish pursuit. Now I understand that I will never uproot selfishness if I am dominated by the false self, as it is selfish. Only when I break through the tight grip of the false self and let my true self take control, can true compassion emerge from the bottom of my heart. Only then, can I have a glimpse into the extraordinary and wonderful state of selflessness.
It was only when I came to understand this, that I truly realized just how real and tangible cultivation is.
Cultivation is real and straightforward; it is not just theory, but is a truly experienced journey of solid cultivation. Being able to rise above emotion, see it for what it is, and understand how it works based on the Fa, was indeed a reflection of my realm and of my ability to fundamentally relinquish attachments to reputation, self-interest, and emotion. However, the various notions and attachments related to reputation, self-interest, and emotion are material substances that truly exist. They were formed over time in one’s life among ordinary people, and there are historical reasons involved. How could they be removed so easily? They can only be eliminated through real tribulations.
The process of eliminating karma and removing attachments requires one to suffer hardship and pain. Humans dislike pain and suffering and prefer to be comfortable and experience pleasure. It is very difficult to change this mindset, to face hardship with a calm heart, and to willingly endure suffering. When one suffers, one’s heart is heavy and full of resentment—it is not a pleasant feeling. I previously couldn’t fathom what it’s like to “find joy in hardship” and couldn’t understand what state of mind that would be.
It turned out that I didn’t truly consider myself a cultivator. Upon encountering tribulations, I looked at the situation with human notions acquired among everyday people, and I instinctively resisted pain. If I viewed it like a true cultivator, the whole thing would have been very different because the guiding principles are the opposite. As soon as my mindset changed to that of a cultivator, my attitude immediately changed: “This tribulation is targeting my attachment to self-interest. I should let go of it—it’s a good thing;” or, “This is trying to help me get rid of my fear; I need to face it—it’s a good thing;” or, “This is trying to broaden my capacity and tolerance. I need to endure it—it’s a good thing.”
As I continued to think and act this way, my desire to resist hardship and pain gradually disappeared and was replaced with the righteous mindset of a true cultivator. I willingly and optimistically accepted the challenges and endured the suffering. During this process, I genuinely felt my character improving and experienced the joy and wonder of cultivation. With a new found calmness and confidence, I felt I could get through anything. I experienced a deep sense of joy in truly cultivating myself—isn’t this “finding joy in hardship?”
Tribulations are reflected not just in events that happen in daily life, but also in our interpersonal relationships. I used to feel disappointed that people today have low moral standards and felt it was so hard to deal with them. It was even more difficult to be a good person among them. Yet from a true cultivator’s perspective, these people are here for a reason, and they help me to improve. In order to help us cultivate, they are willing to play the role of a “bad person,” while in fact it may not be their shortcomings at play, but rather a reflection of my own attachments. They are here to help me, so how can I blame them?
Now, I understand what Master said in Zhuan Falun,
“So you should not be like him or become really upset with him, despite his putting you in this awful situation where you cannot even raise your head. Instead of being angry with him, you should thank him in your heart and thank him sincerely.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
If a cultivator has reached this state of mind and assimilated to the principles at this level, what resentment would he have toward others? He would feel that everybody is good and helping him improve. He would treat everybody kindly from the bottom of his heart. Wouldn’t his compassion naturally emerge?
Finding joy when going through hardship and being kind to someone who’s hostile; this is a shift in mindset that is manifested during tribulations. It reflects a shift in our perspective. It is the same when dealing with a specific situation; there has to be a shift in our approach. Upon encountering a difficult situation, instead of trying to find a solution to the problem, I first examine myself to see what attachment was revealed. I then target these attachments to improve my heart because the problem was arranged for this very purpose.
Human thinking involves solving problems by using human means to satisfy human attachments. Cultivation, however, involves identifying and eliminating attachments. When we rectify ourselves, there will no longer be a reason for the problem to exist, so it will naturally resolve.
When people encounter conflicts, they always focus on how it is the other’s fault and blame them. As cultivators, we need to look inward to examine ourselves.
Master said,
“For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume IX)
I didn’t know how to use this magical tool, especially when I first started practicing Falun Dafa. I was always caught up in right and wrong, and the more I looked, the more I felt I was right. Later, I realized that I should examine which of my notions and attachments were revealed by this issue. Only then did I learn to look inward and how to cultivate.
Now I understand that whether one can look inward and find those problems fundamentally depends on how high a bar he sets for himself in cultivation and how high of a realm he truly is cultivating in.
A local practitioner I’ve know for years firmly believes in the Fa. He often says things like, “I’ve made a mistake handling this issue. I’ve let Master down;” or, “How could I even have such an incorrect thought? It’s a crime against Dafa;” or, “It’s my fault. My heart has not reached the standard of the Fa.” It’s obvious to us that this practitioner has ample righteous thoughts and has done the three things diligently. Although he is elderly with limited education and his understanding of Fa principles may not be as systematic as ours, his heart is pure and his belief is firm when it comes to Master and the Fa. His standard for himself is quite high. If he realizes that a thought is not aligned with the Fa, he immediately rejects it and rectifies himself.
Some of the thoughts he considered “not righteous” seemed to me to be normal in the process of cultivation. But to him, they were intolerable because anything not aligned with the Fa should not exist, and is something a cultivator should feel ashamed of. If all cultivators looked inward using such high standards, how could we not find our shortcomings? Perhaps this is the degree of diligence a true cultivator should have.
My wife and I once met with a practitioner who was wanted by the local authorities. This practitioner believed he’d been doing the three things diligently and didn’t understand why he encountered such a big tribulation. When he looked inward, he only found things that were very general, such as attachment to getting things done and competitiveness. My wife urged him to dig deeper and see if there were any hidden attachments behind his actions, and what his motivation was. He was at a loss. He told us he didn’t have any other motives except for doing the three things well and saving more people.
I asked him, “We came to see you and share experiences, hoping we could help each other improve. Do you think we don’t have the right motive?” Without hesitation, he replied, “How could you not have the right motive? You’re trying to help me. It was a big risk for you to even come here.” My wife explained, “Matter of fact, our hearts don’t measure up to the standards of the Fa. We are not quite at the level where we can fully consider things from your perspective, being completely selfless and considerate. Before coming here, we weighed the pros and cons to determine if it was something worth doing and made sure we assessed our level of risk. We’re still far from the selfless state required by Dafa. Although we cannot reach that high of a level right away, we cannot forget the standard of the Fa or lose sight of the gap we need to bridge to get there.”
Hearing this, the practitioner had an “Aha” moment—the higher the standards you set for yourself in cultivation, the more shortcomings we can identify and improve, and the higher the standard we can strive to cultivate towards.
True introspection occurs only when a cultivator looks inward unconditionally at all times. When I argued with my wife, and she told me to look inward, I immediately became resentful and felt it was unfair: “We both are cultivators. Why am I the one who should look inward?” I even occasionally had thoughts as ridiculous as, “You always tell me to look inward. What happens if I cultivate well and you’re left behind. What are you going to do?” I realized later, when my heart was calm, that my understanding of looking inward was still inadequate.
First of all, I had an inner resistance to looking inward, especially in the heat of a conflict. Looking inward automatically meant it was my fault; if I looked inward first, then I was the one in the wrong. This is precisely because I had not changed my notions about looking within. From a cultivation perspective, willingly looking inward when conflicts arise demonstrates that this cultivator is doing what Master asks and that this cultivator has good inborn quality. Furthermore, our paths of cultivation were arranged by Master, so every event we encounter is directed at our own hearts—they are to help us find our attachments. We should cherish such precious opportunities to look inward. Cultivation will always be about cultivating oneself, not others; others’ cultivation paths are also arranged by Master. Asking others to look inward in the midst of a conflict, under the guise of helping them, shows that I haven’t looked inward unconditionally to examine myself.
At times, my wife became rude to me without any apparent reason. I looked inward, but didn’t know what to look for. Eventually, I discovered a pattern—whenever my mind was not righteous, I harbored incorrect or bad thoughts, I got caught up in ordinary pursuits and slacked off, or whenever I got hung up on something without realizing it, my wife treated me poorly. When I had strong righteous thoughts and I was making great progress in cultivation, my wife was her nice self.
This also occurred with others around me. I realized that Master was using the people around me to enlighten me and encourage me when my notions and attachments were overpowering my righteous thoughts. Thus, no matter what I encounter, I have to look inward unconditionally. As long as I use it to cultivate my heart, it will always be transformed into an opportunity for cultivation and improvement.
To truly look inward, we also need to correctly understand the relationship between looking inward and acknowledging the old forces’ arrangements. Like many practitioners around me, I used to have the misconception that if I looked inward when going through a tribulation, I would be acknowledging the old forces’ persecution. It’s actually quite the opposite—only when we truly look inward and find the root cause of the problem can we fundamentally negate the old forces, because the old forces’ excuse for persecuting us is that we have loopholes in our cultivation. What’s key is to have the correct understanding—we look inward to cultivate and to improve ourselves as Master asks, not because we’re afraid of being persecuted by the old forces. This can’t be just lip service, it requires a genuine and crystal-clear understanding and firm commitment in our cultivation to consistently meet the standards.
Master has arranged a unique cultivation path for each of us and has given us powers appropriate to our level, yet our notions are holding us back from truly assimilating to the Fa, moving forward, and doing more. Whenever we improve ourselves, have a breakthrough, and take a step forward with divine thinking, we find ourselves instantly operating on a whole new level and realm.
Let us use sickness karma as an example. I was pretty healthy before I obtained the Fa and didn’t have any illness. Since practicing Dafa, I haven’t had a major tribulation in the form of sickness karma. It was only when the seasons changed, and especially in winter, that I occasionally had symptoms of a flu or cold. Based on the Fa principles, I knew I wasn’t sick, but was eliminating karma. It didn’t interfere with my doing the three things, so I didn’t take it seriously or take any medication. The symptoms usually were gone within a week, with the cough sometimes lingering a little longer.
One winter I continued to cough for over a month, and there was no sign of it stopping. My wife said to me, “This doesn’t seem right. How is this a correct state for a cultivator? You need to look for the root of the problem. Simply not taking medication doesn’t mean you’ve met the standard of the Fa.” Her words reminded me, “It is true. Even if I didn’t think this cough is a health concern, it is still not the correct state. Where does the problem lie?”
From a cultivation perspective, when we experience illness symptoms, it can be one of two things—we’re either eliminating karma or being persecuted by the old forces. Regardless of which it is, it indicates that I have not met the standard of the Fa to overcome this issue, and I have a deficiency that keeps me from meeting the standard. Upon examining my thoughts in this situation, I found I was viewing it from a cultivation perspective and believed my cough was caused by karma.
However, I also found that I still had science-based notions deeply ingrained in me regarding “sickness” that I’d formed among everyday people, such as the idea of “catching a cold” when the seasons change. Perhaps that was why the old forces interfered with this form of sickness karma. The same symptoms viewed with human notions is seen as illness; viewed from the perspective of personal cultivation it is seen as elimination of karma; viewed from the perspective of Fa-rectification is interference and persecution. It may seem that these are just different points of view; however, they are a reflection of one’s realm of thinking—one’s spiritual realm. It is the difference between divine thinking and a human mindset. I must assimilate to this higher level of the Fa in my actual cultivation.
Strengthening righteous thoughts begins with rectifying one’s own thinking. Thus, when I cough, I remind myself it is caused by karma and has nothing to do with external factors, like weather. Moreover, during Fa-rectification Master arranged for us to eliminate karma while doing the three things, which is not like eliminating karma in personal cultivation. So I should not passively endure it, regardless of the weather. My actions also need to be righteous. I started consciously suppressing my cough and no longer let myself cough without restraint. It was difficult at first—I was only able to hold it in for a short while, and then I coughed even harder. But I didn’t give up. I strengthened the belief that it had nothing to do with the weather and continued to suppress my cough. Gradually, it became less intense and the frequency reduced, until it completely disappeared.
Having had this experience, I became more confident in getting over sickness karma, and my righteous thoughts grew stronger. I believed that as long as I walk my path of cultivation correctly, promptly find and correct any shortcomings in my xinxing, I shouldn’t experience these incorrect states. Then I would be truly denying the old forces and walking the path arranged by Master.
My son brought his family to visit and invited us and his wife’s family to go on a short vacation. The night before the trip ended, when we got back to the hotel after dinner, I suddenly had chills, a headache, and sore throat. I knew something was off and started looking inward. I realized I had been slacking off over the past few days, letting many of my human notions and attachments increase. I immediately rectified my thinking and held on to one thought, “I cannot let sickness karma interfere and give negative impressions to family members who don’t cultivate Falun Dafa.”
I sent righteous thoughts before I went to bed and I slept through the night. The next morning, most of the symptoms had disappeared, though I felt slightly fatigued. On our way back home that afternoon, my wife drove for a little while so I could take a nap. I woke up energized and fully recovered. I drove the rest of the way home.
Since then, as soon as I notice an illness symptom surfacing, I immediately reject it and hold on to one thought: “This must stop now. No karmic obstacles are allowed to interfere.” This puts a stop to it right away, and I have not experienced any sickness karma. I also make sure to look within for any shortcomings in my cultivation and quickly correct them.
It became evident that divine thinking is not just words or superficial actions, but is a state of being that can only be reached through solid cultivation. The more diligently we cultivate, the more we improve, the higher our realms, the more powerful our abilities become, and the more effective we can be in assisting Master. Therefore, we must constantly raise the bar and demand higher and higher standards of ourselves.
In the process of validating the Fa and saving sentient beings, there is a knot in my heart that I haven’t been able to untie. It’s how to avoid being subjected to persecution.
Looking inward at this attachment, I found several problems at different levels. First, I have fear. This fear stemmed from an inability to completely let go of reputation, self-interest, or emotion. And I don’t want to suffer hardship. These attachments were discussed earlier and pertain to my personal cultivation.
The second thing is that I have not placed my complete faith in Master and the Fa. I was uncertain about how well I’m cultivating and about my ability to negate the old forces—I’m not entirely confident that Dafa could protect me on my cultivation path moving forward and till the very end. While this may sound like a lack of confidence in my own cultivation, it essentially stems from a lack of faith in the Fa. My faith in Master and the Fa is not at the level it should be.
Thirdly, the starting point is wrong; that is, my mindset was not correct. As a Dafa disciple during the Fa-rectification period, if I am always thinking about my own safety and how Dafa can guarantee that I won’t be persecuted—isn’t this backwards? As a Dafa disciple walking the path to divinity, when Dafa is being persecuted, shouldn’t I concern myself with how to protect Dafa, defend Dafa’s integrity, and protect the universe and sentient beings? If one can truly reach this realm of being, then who could possibly touch him?
Dafa cultivation is sometimes is very challenging, because its principles are often the opposite of human principles. When one stubbornly holds onto ordinary people’s principles and habitually uses human thinking, he will never be able to walk a path that leads to divinity. However, for those who truly want to cultivate, Dafa cultivation is very simple, as Master has endured the majority of our karma. As long as we maintain a righteous heart, study the Fa thoroughly, adhere to the standards and requirements of the Fa in everything that we do, and with Master watching over us, we can continue forward on this path.
In ordinary society, I used to be someone with strong scientific beliefs and personal opinions, and my enlightenment quality was not very good. However, in cultivation, I am able to study the Fa with a calm and clear mind. I have memorized and recited Zhuan Falun five times and have systematically studied all of Master’s newer Fa lectures 20 times. I know what Master wants and have a good idea of how to continue on my cultivation path. Although I’m not diligent at times and am slow in making progress, I’m basically able to walk my path correctly.
During my cultivation, I didn’t pursue supernormal abilities or anything miraculous out of curiosity. Nor did I think about taking a shortcut to reach a higher level. I just followed Master’s requirements, moving forward step by step. I gained understanding of the Fa through studying and memorizing the Fa, improved my xinxing in solid cultivation, and I assimilated to the Fa. I maintained righteous thoughts and righteous actions in saving sentient beings. I overcame frustrations, conflicts, and tribulations. Each step I took was toward the goal of leaving behind an ordinary person’s mindset and replacing it with divine thinking. This cultivation path from human to divine is not about manifesting many supernormal abilities or witnessing many miracles, but about making solid progress and genuinely elevating my realm.
The farther I travel on this path from human to divine, the stronger my righteous thoughts become, and my belief in Dafa is becoming as solid as a rock. The path forward also becomes increasingly clear. I better understand what Master said,
“Little distance is left on the journey to divinity” (“Dafa Disciples,” Hong Yin II)
Every opportunity to participate in Dafa projects and everything we do during Fa-rectification cultivation are opportunities given by Master for us to improve. Each step I took to improve myself in cultivation was made possible by Master’s tremendous sacrifice and suffering. Words cannot express my deepest gratitude to Master.
Master has given me so much, and I have gained many insights in the process of solidly cultivating myself. I’m writing this article to share some of my experiences with fellow practitioners, hoping we can improve together. If there’s anything that is not aligned with the Fa, please kindly point it out.
(Selected submission for the 2026 China Fa Conference on Minghui.org)