(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Although I have been cultivating for many years, this is the first time I have written about my cultivation experiences to share with other practitioners. I am grateful for this opportunity to carefully reflect on my cultivation journey. It has been filled with joy, heartache, pain, regret, and, above all, the sense of ease and relief that came after letting go of attachments. Looking back at my cultivation, every step remains vivid in my mind, as if it all happened yesterday.
I began practicing Falun Dafa in early July 1999, and was fortunate to immediately become part of the unprecedented Fa-rectification cultivation initiated by Master. On only my second day of cultivation, Master allowed me to witness the magnificence of another dimension. Its sky was filled with countless golden Falun (Law wheels), shining brilliantly and boundlessly existing in every direction.
Filled with gratitude and joy, I actively participated in various Dafa projects. I have introduced Dafa to the public, clarified the truth to people, and reached out to community organizations and members of Congress. I devoted almost all of my spare time to these efforts. Soon, however, a major test arrived. I was 30 years old, and my career was just taking off. I had helped my company establish a joint venture in China, and was serving as its managing director. I had built up a substantial client base, and my future seemed very promising.
Like many young people, I wanted to build a successful career. However, because I practiced cultivation, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) state security authorities placed tremendous pressure on both my company and my family, making it impossible for me to return to China to fulfill my responsibilities. This became the first major decision of my life. On one side was the promising career that ordinary people long for; on the other was the once-in-eternity opportunity to participate in Fa-rectification cultivation.
After careful consideration, I calmly chose the latter. I still remember that day. When I made my decision, I had no idea whether my company would keep my position, or how I would support myself in the future. I simply let go of everything. At that very moment, I felt a warm current flow from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. My entire body was enveloped in energy, and I experienced a level of comfort and relaxation unlike anything I had felt before. I knew I had made the right choice. Master naturally arranged the path ahead for me.
My cultivation, however, was far from smooth. Because I lacked a solid foundation in personal cultivation, I focused more on doing things than on diligently studying the Fa and cultivating my xinxing. As a result, I took many detours and suffered painful setbacks.
My greatest challenges came in my personal relationships. As the persecution intensified, my former wife and I were separated less than a week after we were married. Altogether, we lived together for less than a month. I remained overseas while she endured tremendous pressure in China because of me, and she often vented her frustration to me. Over time, I found it increasingly difficult to bear. Feelings of resentment, grievance, dissatisfaction, worry, and loneliness all interfered with my cultivation. For a time, I truly did not know how to continue cultivating. The test of sentimentality was extremely difficult to overcome.
Master knew that my cultivation state was not good and gave me many compassionate hints. I recall that during Teachings From a Tour of North America, after Master finished teaching the Fa in Miami, everyone went to their cars to leave. By the time I retrieved my car, several minutes had passed. To my surprise, I found Master standing nearby waiting for me. I hurried over, and Master earnestly told me, “Study the Fa more. Study the Fa more.” Master had waited all that time simply to remind me to study the Fa more. My enlightenment quality was poor. Although I knew that the Fa could break through all attachments, I still struggled for a long time before finally becoming able to climb out of the mire of sentimentality and desire. I now realize, after all these years, that many of those attachments were actually nothing at all, and truly absurd and laughable.
Cultivation is a dynamic process. After I entered my 40s and had children, an even greater challenge arose. My second child was born with severe epilepsy and required constant care. Later, excessive medication led to significant brain damage for him. He lost the ability to chew, speak, or control his bladder and bowels. He became completely dependent on us for every aspect of his daily life.
He was sometimes awake all night, and on one occasion he remained awake for 96 consecutive hours. At other times, he slept for two or three days without waking. I often stayed by his side through one sleepless night after another. Watching such a young child endure this suffering day after day and year after year, growing weaker with each passing day, while I, as his father, could do nothing to relieve his pain, was more agonizing than if I had been the one suffering it myself.
I understand from the Fa that nothing happens by chance. Perhaps it was part of my child’s own tribulations, or perhaps it was closely related to my cultivation. Enduring these hardships became a part of our daily lives, and we faced them almost every day.
Throughout this long process, I could feel my heart gradually becoming stronger. I am basically able to take good care of my child wholeheartedly while remaining unaffected by my emotions, and at the same time fulfill my responsibilities in Dafa projects and my everyday work.
Every day I tell my child, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!“ I also tell him that he is Master’s disciple, and that his knowing side understands this. I know clearly that as my capacity to endure continues to grow, as my heart becomes broader, and as I am able to face everything more calmly and with clearer understanding gained from the Fa, I will have passed the test of life and death.
I would also like to talk about the Shen Yun project. Shen Yun has been performing in South Florida for 18 years, and I have been fortunate to have been involved from the very beginning. At first, I had no idea how to do the marketing, but over the years our efforts have become increasingly more professional. In the beginning, only three or four practitioners participated. Later, we received tremendous support from practitioners throughout Florida, and even from other states. I learned a great deal through this process.
In the early years, everyone’s mindset was very pure. Although there were only a few of us, we could feel Master’s strengthening everywhere. We worked from early morning until late at night without feeling tired because we were truly immersed in the Fa. In the end, the results were also very encouraging.
As more practitioners became involved, however, things gradually changed. I found that much of my time was spent coordinating and handling interpersonal issues. Our efficiency waned, and my own mindset became no longer as pure as before.
I realized that my role needed to change, and that cultivation required more of me. A coordinator does not have to do everything himself. More importantly, a coordinator should create a positive cultivation environment so that more practitioners can make use of their strengths, participate in the project, improve themselves, elevate their xinxing, and advance in cultivation. When different opinions arise, I try to carefully consider them and choose the best approach rather than insist on my own ideas.
At first, I was mainly responsible for marketing. In recent years, however, more and more specific responsibilities have been entrusted to practitioners with professional expertise, and I have benefited greatly from this change. It has also given me more time to better balance my cultivation, family, and work.
As Shen Yun presents more performances each year and the scale of the project continues to grow, the workload naturally increases. We should strive to maintain a good balance and avoid placing too much responsibility on just a few practitioners, as that can affect both their daily lives and their cultivation. Furthermore, we should continue to explore new approaches and reach new audiences, rather than simply repeating the same methods year after year. Only by doing so can we better save sentient beings.
Finally, I would like to share a few thoughts about the current lawsuit involving the Epoch Times. I have participated in the Epoch Times project for more than 20 years and have distributed its newspapers for nearly 20 years. I thus have deep affection for this project.
Recent events have weighed heavily on my mind. Why is it that our practitioners have devoted so much, with some even sacrificing everything they had, yet we still ended up facing legal action? Where did the problem lie? Over the past few days, I have repeatedly studied Master’s recent Fa teachings, and come to realize that cultivation is an extremely serious matter. Even a slight deviation from the Fa can be exploited by the old forces and used as an excuse to persecute us and poison sentient beings.
The United States government is fundamentally different from the CCP. The CCP aligns itself with evil and represents the most malevolent force in the human world. It is one of the targets to be eliminated during Fa-rectification. The United States, by contrast, has provided us with a relatively stable environment where we can live, work, cultivate, and freely do what Dafa disciples are meant to do during the Fa-rectification period. We should have a clear understanding of this.
Our projects require resources, and they need financial support. However, we must obtain those resources in ways that comply with established standards, and at the very least, with the law. Otherwise, the old forces will seize upon any shortcomings, magnify them, distort people’s understanding of Dafa and Dafa projects, and cause them to develop negative perceptions, thereby affecting their opportunity to be saved.
Everything we have comes from Master. By cultivating ourselves and improving ourselves, and receiving Master’s strengthening, our work will naturally become smoother, and things will come about without pursuit. Any attempt to achieve our goals through so-called shortcuts is extremely dangerous.
Master has reminded us:
““Cultivate with the heart you once had, and success is certain.”” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day,” in Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XII)
I have written down my cultivation journey and the understandings I have gained in the hope that we can encourage one another. I hope we can all cultivate ourselves well, fulfill our mission of saving sentient beings, and return home with Master.
Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
(Presented at the 2026 Florida Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference in the United States)