(Clearwisdom.net) In the past few years, we have reached out to all the cities and towns in our area to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. The path of cultivation sometimes appears fairly easy, while at other times it seems quite dangerous. Only with Teacher's protection and great compassion can I be who I am today. With help from my fellow practitioners, and through reading the articles of "Minghui Weekly," I realized my responsibility as a Dafa practitioner during the Fa rectification period. I would like to share with you some of my understandings of the Fa, so we might improve together in our cultivation.
Before practicing Falun Gong, I had such a strong attachment to vying for supremacy. If I felt that someone was going to make trouble for me, I would fight with them. I always tried to be superior to others and so accumulated a lot of karma. In late 1997, I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to learn Falun Dafa. Over the years, I have studied the Fa unfailingly and gradually gave up the attachments to fame, profit, and human sentiment. Whenever I had conflicts with others, I followed the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" to correct my thoughts. Gradually, everything in my life began changing. I no longer had any health concerns and my family relationships improved. I corrected many bad habits. People who knew me commented that I seemed to be a different person and appeared younger and younger.
Giving up the attachment of fear
When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, I was very afraid. At that time my company was at the verge of bankruptcy. I was afraid of losing my retirement pension, so when my company asked me to hand over my Dafa books, I relinquished some of them. I felt so regretful afterwards! At that moment, my enlightenment quality was very low and I lacked righteous thoughts. When fellow practitioners asked me to clarify the truth with them, I did not want to go if the weather was too cold or too hot. I feared hardship, arrest, and persecution. If I saw a police car on the street, my heart started to pound and my legs felt very heavy. Whenever I went out to "clarify the truth" my legs felt so heavy that I couldn't walk straight. Thus, I often found excuses not to go. At that time, I even had doubts about Teacher and the Fa. Whenever I got some uncertain information, I would try to hide my Dafa books and materials. I even would dare not admit openly that I was a Dafa practitioner and always tried to stay safely at home with my family. I decorated my home, arranged furniture, and wore pretty clothes. I even went out to dance and played Mah-Jongg. The attachment to ease and comfort lasted for quite a long time. Although I still studied the Fa and practiced the exercises, I was just not very diligent. It was my fellow practitioners who helped me to realize what danger I was in.
Not cooperating with the evil
My cultivation experiences are an example of how Teacher will protect us when we clarify the truth with pure hearts and righteous thoughts. The following are a few of my experiences.
On the morning of July 20, 1999, we were practicing in a public park and the police approached and questioned us. On the afternoon of that same day I went to the practice site to join the group Fa study. The police again appeared, questioned us, and this time also recorded our personal information. Afterwards, they frequently annoyed us. Once, a different policeman took over the responsibility of the neighborhood I lived in. The neighborhood security head asked me to meet with this new policeman in his office and told me the policeman wanted to ask about my current situation. I firmly replied that I would not go. At that time I did not clearly understand the situation based on the Fa. I simply had the thought, "I'm not your neighborhood administration office's employee, I'm not afraid of you."
Before the Chinese New Year 2002, the neighborhood security office head in charge of the neighborhood police visited my home. I was not at home at the time. He asked my husband where I was and told him to not allow me go to go out casually or to Beijing. My husband told me about this when I returned home. A few days later I met the neighborhood security office head and asked him why he restricted my personal freedom and why I couldn't go to Beijing. I wanted to know which law forbade me from going to Beijing. He told me that he had no choice but to follow the order of the government and requested that I only practice at home and not go out to distribute Dafa materials. I told him that I knew what I should do, and asked him to remember that I would never do anything bad because my Teacher told us how to be a good person by following the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance."
Clarifying the truth in a remote mountain area
In the winter of 2003, a fellow practitioner and I went to a remote mountain area to clarify the truth. To be able to easily walk around, we didn't wear any heavy clothing. We brought banners, posters, and other materials. To be safe, we didn't start posting the materials until it was totally dark. It had just rained and the road was too muddy to walk. However, we had only one thought--saving sentiment beings. We hung banners and put posters on walls along the road. A farmer was walking toward us and we had the thought of him turning around and going back to wherever he had come from. Indeed, he turned back! When we approached some farm houses, a dog started barking louder and louder. We thought that the dog must stop barking. At that moment, two men riding bicycles drove to that house where the dog was and talked to the owner. The owner yelled at the dog and stopped it from barking. So were able to do all that we wanted all the way from the top of the mountain to the bottom without any interruption. When we came back to the main road, it was very late and barely any vehicles passed by. We continued putting posters on the utility poles.
We were tens of kilometers away from home. To walk, it might take us to the next morning to get back home. We had already posted all the materials that we brought with us. My fellow practitioner asked if I thought it was possible for us to get a taxi. "Sure, if we can find one" I answered. After we decided to find a taxi, a car approached us and stopped when we waved to it. It appeared to be a police car and I didn't move while thinking that it was not a taxi. My fellow practitioner said we should take the ride even if it was a police car. When the car stopped and the door opened, we saw a couple inside. They asked us why we were walking on the highway so late. We didn't answer them directly. They let us in because they said we looked very kind. In the car, the lady told us that she believed we had a strong predestined relationship. They stated that before coming upon us they had waited for over an hour to get the car washed, otherwise we would not have met at all. Then we understood it was Teacher who had arranged this for us. When we got back to the city, we tried to pay the couple for the ride, but they firmly refused and the lady said a few more times that we had predestined relationships.
Once I returned home and thought about Teacher's help along the way, I cried. Overall, whenever I went out to clarify the truth without having transportation arranged, I always had opportunity to get a ride. However, if I had any attachments about this, I would not get a ride.
As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I will do what Teacher tells us. Teacher has mentioned in many lectures that practitioners should have group study and practice together. In our area, many older practitioners didn't dare to do so. I went to their homes to share and encourage them, and I helped them to set up a practice site. After they had the environment of group study and group practice, they had better understandings of the Fa and dared to take the truth clarifying materials with them. Before they didn't dare to clarify the truth, but now they are actively engaged in truth clarification.
After I read the article entitled "Recalling Master's Compassion" on the Clearwisdom website, I felt so deeply moved by Teachers mighty compassion. I deeply realized that I'm still so far away from Teacher's requirements. I will be more diligent in fulfilling my prehistoric oath.
