(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings, Revered Master! Greetings, Fellow Practitioners!
On this grand occasion of the experience-sharing conference for practitioners in China, I would like to briefly share some of my experiences in personal cultivation and Fa-rectification period cultivation with my fellow practitioners.
I grew up cultivating Dafa. I obtained the Fa when I was 9, and I have practiced Falun Dafa for 12 years now. Though I obtained the Fa at quite a young age, some notions formed within me from everyday life that caused many difficulties in my cultivation. On this rough journey, I could understand that all the pains I suffered were to eliminate my karma and my human attachments. Sometimes I endured the pain with dogged will, and sometimes I didn't do well because of human attachments. But I always believed from the bottom of my heart that I was a cultivator, a Dafa disciple. The power of Dafa enables me to continue on my path, turning regrets into courage to do well next time and success into a driving force to be more diligent. Therefore, I will continue on the path of Dafa cultivation, truly cultivate Dafa and revel in the immense compassion of Master like all Dafa disciples.
Since the evil started its attack and defamation of Dafa in 1999, people in this world were deceived. As a Dafa disciple, I talked to classmates and teachers around me about Dafa whenever there was an opportunity. Some of them didn't pay attention to me or wouldn't accept the truth. In the beginning, I suffered setbacks, but when I persevered I discovered that there were still many people who would listen, as long as I could find a suitable starting point so that they didn't feel interrupted or pressured.
For instance, one teacher told us in the class that she saw many Dafa disciples giving out flyers when she was on a holiday overseas. From what she told us, I could feel that she didn't have a good understanding of Dafa. That was the last lesson of the day, so after the class, I started chatting with this teacher when most of the students had left. I said, "Teacher, it's really great that you have been overseas and have seen many things that we can't see." Then I started on a topic related to Falun Dafa. We walked together to the dining hall. I told the teacher about the persecution that is happening while having lunch. Though this teacher hadn't fully understood the truth, I could see that she was analyzing, trying to understand, and accepting the truth as she listened.
Actually, I was quite nervous at the beginning and didn't know how to start the conversation. But I knew that I had to speak with her. How could I pretend nothing had happened when I clearly understood that she had misunderstandings about Dafa? She shouldn't lose this chance of learning the truth. After everything was over I realized that it wasn't as difficult as I imagined. We are telling people about the true nature and beauty of Dafa. We are not preaching or forcing people to accept us. We should just do it without having everyday people's thinking. We are doing the most righteous things. What are we worrying about?
I always found it hard to clarify the facts to people that I didn't know, and this had become an obstacle which was hard to break. I usually don't talk much, especially when there are many people or strangers around. After I read the sharing articles on the Minghui website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net), and saw that many people are doing very well in this aspect, I told myself that I must break through that obstacle. Why should I distinguish between strangers and people I know when saving people? I found the root of the problem when I looked within. I found inside myself the fear of being rejected, the strong attachment of saving face, and the attachment of not wanting to be criticized. I made up my mind that I must speak when there is any chance of clarifying the truth.
Once I had waited for a bus for a long time. I noticed a lady next to me who was also waiting for the same bus. I remembered several days earlier that my mother told me that she clarified the truth to people at bus stops, so I started a chat with this lady to try it out myself. I told her that my classmates told me that there were no human rights and democracy in China. She fully agreed. I then told her about the tide of quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in China and abroad which was triggered by the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. I tried to persuade her to quit the CCP. She only smiled. We talked about some other things later. I found out her surname was Dai. Before we parted, I thought to myself that I should still persuade her. I said, "Just quit, using the name Sister Xiao Dai." She thought about it for a second and said, "OK, you do it for me." At that instant, I was so moved my whole body felt warm. This was the first stranger that I successfully persuaded to quit the CCP! When we said good-bye to each other, she called me from afar, saying, "I hope that we can see each other again." I said, "We will, we definitely will!" I saw first the surprise in her eyes, then it turned into expectation. I could feel that people in this world are waiting for us. I also understood that Master will bring predestined people to us as long as we have the hearts for clarifying the truth. It was Master who was encouraging me to save sentient beings! If we are restrained by our postnatal notions, many predestined sentient beings will miss the opportunity of being saved.
Inspired by fellow practitioners' articles about clarifying the truth by phone on the Minghui website, I bought IC cards. I clarified the truth with the IC phone by the roadside whenever I had no classes to attend. In the beginning, I only called everyday people. Later, when I read about the brutal persecution endured by Dafa disciples from the daily reports on the Minghui website, I realized I should help directly stop the persecution, by telling those assailants to stop persecuting Falun Gong. There are many telephone numbers listed there for us to call.
At first, I was only confident about calling the residents' committee. I remember the first person who received my call was someone who didn't know the truth of Dafa. He verbally abused me with many bad words. At night, when I was lying in bed, I was afraid to recall those dirty words, as it would make me cry as soon as I remembered them. I asked myself if I should continue. A voice came from the deepest place of my heart - Surely, I can't give up my courage to save sentient beings just because one person didn't accept what I said! I remembered the story of an old grandpa from Taiwan who was over 70 years old. When he was clarifying the truth to a policeman, the policeman hung up on him seven times. In the end, he made that policeman know that Falun Dafa is good. After I made up my mind, I no longer felt bad, and gradually I went to sleep.
I continued making phone calls during the day whenever I had time. I have come across people who didn't want to listen, who listened perfunctorily, and also some who were predestined. Once I spoke with a security officer on the other end of the line. I asked him about the abduction of Dafa disciples in their residential district and told him that Falun Dafa is good. He listened to me and asked some questions about Dafa and how to cultivate. Finally he said that he also wanted to learn Falun Gong and asked me if he had to pay membership fee. I was very surprised to hear that. I said that there is are no fees in Dafa cultivation, "You are predestined, you will have some Dafa disciples helping you to obtain the Fa in the future. You don't have a book yet, but as long as you try to be a good person according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, you are already on the right path." At that instant, there was no sound from the other side, I could feel the astonishment in his heart. We thanked each other and hung up the phone. My heart was filled with warmth. One phone call found a predestined sentient being.
Gradually, I started to have less fear. I decided to ring 610 Office personnel, public security bureaus and labor camps. During that period, I deeply felt the severe persecution of Dafa disciples! Many evildoers didn't want to listen to the facts at all, neither did they believe that good would be rewarded with good and evil with evil. They actually considered hitting and force-feeding people as something to "brag about." My heart felt heavy. Once I called a policeman who had been reported on in an article on the Minghui website. He described a scene to me. He said the Dafa disciple he hit was his mate at the university. In the prison, the mother of that Dafa disciple begged her son on her knees to give in so that he could go home with her. This policeman said that he couldn't understand why that Dafa disciple didn't make that promise when his mother was crying on the ground in a state of great sadness. Because that Dafa disciple wouldn't make that promise, he slapped him on the face. He said that he cried also. He couldn't understand Dafa disciples.
I was in an indescribable state of shock, I felt as if that scene was vividly right in front of me. I said, "You are actually a kind person. You just don't understand Dafa disciples. Doesn't that Dafa disciple want to pay respect to his mother? Wasn't his heart broken upon seeing his mother kneeling on the ground? But do you know what he would have had to sacrifice to appease his mother --- that would be to give up his belief! Dafa disciples are trying to be good persons. How could they give that up? Those who easily give up their beliefs are not really good people. It was not that practitioner's fault. The problem is with you people." He said, "Why is this our problem?" I said, "You should release that practitioner to go home so that he can reunite with his mother. That is how you stop heart-breaking scenes like this from happening." He became silent. We thanked each other in the end.
After I hung up the phone, all sorts of feelings welled up in my mind. There are still so many people who don't know the truth of Dafa, and there are still many kind-hearted people who persecute Dafa while not realizing the truth themselves. Isn't our responsibility to tell them the truth and tell them to have a good attitude towards Dafa? The awakening of one person will affect other people and bring a positive influence. During the conversations, some police asked me to recite Lunyu for them, and some left their mobile numbers, hoping that I would contact them again. Their knowing sides and their kind sides encouraged me and moved me. I feel grateful that Dafa has given me wisdom and courage, and also grateful for Master's merciful protection. Otherwise I would not be able to validate the Fa. All these are given by Master!
Today is the final day of the submission period. I planned to write this article a long time ago, but it was delayed since I thought there was still quite a bit of time left. I had a dream one night that people were taking tests in a classroom. All of them were writing seriously from the beginning and soon handed in their exam papers. I was the only one who had just started writing. Many people encouraged me to write quickly . After I woke up, I was embarrassed and felt a sense of urgency. The process of writing this article reminded me of many good experiences in validating the Fa. I found many of my shortcomings and elimnated many human attachments. I also experienced the good fortune and joy of being a Dafa disciple. It reminded me not to slack off on the path of cultivation. I must be diligent for the sake of sentient beings, myself and the great Fa.