(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master. Greetings, fellow practitioners.
I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. The last 19 years have been the most unforgettable time of my life. I am so fortunate to be a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period.
I have also suffered hardships that I never experienced before. Under Master's protection, I have overcome all of the tribulations, and I am becoming mature. No words can describe my appreciation to Master. All I can do is to cultivate diligently and walk the remainder of my journey with firm determination.
Learning to Study the Fa and Cultivate Well
My motivation for cultivating in Dafa was to heal my health problems. After practicing for a month, I was full of energy. But I didn't understand what cultivation really was. I was like the kind of person Master mentioned who attended all kinds of qigong workshops. I spent a lot of money on those workshops but didn't know what good they did.
After practicing Falun Dafa for six months, I said to myself, “Falun Gong has healed me, and I've gotten what I want, so I will stop practicing at the end of this year.”
In April 1999, I saw the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) attacks on Dafa on TV. I said to myself, “If the Party says that Falun Gong is not good, then Falun Gong must be great, so I should resume the practice. Whatever the Party says must be the opposite of the truth.” I went back to the exercise site.
Since I didn't really understand the Fa and didn't solidly cultivate, I was arrested in 2000. In the forced labor camp, I signed a document [denouncing Dafa] that I should not have signed. That is a stain on my cultivation. I betrayed Master and Dafa.
After being released from the labor camp, I ran into one tribulation after another: my husband passed away; my son didn't pass the physical exam for college; my 80-year-old father became blind; my mother-in-law had a stroke; and I was fired from my job. I could not handle it all and just cried and cried.
Back then, I didn't know how to cultivate. I read the Fa and followed Master's instructions. Master told us to clarify the truth, so I did. I also handed out informational materials.
In 2004, the book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published. I was very excited: “Great! Finally somebody is standing up and criticizing the communist party.” I showed the book to people I knew.
Deep in my heart, I always had negative feelings towards the Party. In 1988, the head of my workplace recognized my achievements and asked me to submit the application to be a Party member, which was considered a great honor by some people, but I refused. I said to him, “Over the last 18 years, I've realized something: You will run into disaster if you follow the Party.”
After Master published his announcement about quitting the CCP and its youth organizations, I started to talk to people about quitting the Party. Most of them did. For those who refused, I sent forth righteous thoughts every day to eliminate the evil spirits controlling them so that they would have a bright future. Some of them quit after I sent forth righteous thoughts for a month, some did after 6 months, and some did after a year.
A fellow practitioner asked me what she should do about her husband who refused to quit the Party. I told her to send forth righteous thoughts. After a while, she told me that he quit.
By the end of 2005, I'd convinced more than 500 people to quit the Party in six months.
Although I did a lot, I didn't cultivate my xinxing, and I still didn't know how to truly cultivate. When I read the Fa, I only understood the meaning at the surface level. I didn't understand the sharing discussions among fellow practitioners. I told them, “I am not enlightened. You tell me what you've enlightened to, and I will do what you tell me to do.”
In 2009, a fellow practitioner said to me, “Sister, you should read the Fa systematically. Besides reading Zhuan Falun, you should study other articles by Master. Start from Zhuan Falun and read the other articles chronologically.”
So I did, and I gained a better understanding of Dafa. While validating the Fa, I started to cultivate my xinxing. I then realized why Master has asked us to read the Fa and to read the Fa well. It is so that we will have the Fa to guide our cultivation and correct ourselves. I also realized that we need the Fa as guidance to do everything. We start out as everyday people in our cultivation, and our goal is to be a divine being. It is such a great thing, which has not happened in millions of years. How can we reach consummation without the guidance of the Fa?
What a great honor to be a Dafa disciple! I cannot express my gratitude to Master. Ever since then, I have genuinely cultivated.
Getting Rid of the Attachment to Determining Who Is Right and Who Is Wrong
A few days ago, another practitioner pointed out a big attachment of mine: complaining about others.
I am a warmhearted person and like to help others. I have hosted more than 70 fellow practitioners in my house, who could not find a place to stay due to the persecution. But conflicts between us occur. One of them said something negative behind my back. I was very upset. It had been a few years, but I still got angry whenever it was brought up.
That day when the other practitioner pointed out my attachment to me, I was unhappy, thinking, “You were not there. It didn't affect you. Of course you wouldn't complain.” The practitioner said, “Sister, why don't you think about why it happened? This is a cultivation issue. You need to get rid of the attachment by cultivating.”
Although I didn't agree with her at that moment, I could tell that she only wanted what was best for me, so I said, “OK, let me think about it.”
The next morning, we spoke again. I said, “That incident really hurt me. I've always been a nice person and have helped a lot of people. I don't look for any reward. If she'd said those things to my face, I would not be this upset. But behind my back? I was full of anger. I didn't see this attachment, because I only focused on what I did well. I must get rid of it. Please don't worry. I will seriously look inward.”
I spent a week thinking about my problem and thought I'd finally figured out why I always ran into things like this. I found four reasons: First, historical, pre-determined relationships play a role; second, I have my own tribulations; third, there were misunderstandings between me and others; fourth, I didn't do well sometimes. No matter what the problems are, there is only one solution: To look inward unconditionally for my own shortcomings.
Master said in Zhuan Falun:
“In genuine cultivation practice one must cultivate one’s own heart and inner self. One should search inside oneself rather than outside.”
But I always argued about who was right and who was wrong. I regarded these problems from a non-practitioner's viewpoint and didn't look inward. That was why I often had that kind of trouble.
Master said:
“Some people are always stressing that they’re right, but even if you are right, even if you’re not wrong, so what? Have you improved on the basis of the Fa? The very act of using human thinking to stress who’s right and who’s wrong is in itself wrong. That’s because you are then using the logic of ordinary people to evaluate yourself, and using that logic to make demands on others.” (“Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference X)
Yes, I used to stress who was right and who was wrong using human thinking. The consequence of doing that is anger. I realized that Master was using that practitioner to point out my problem. At the end of the Fa-rectification, we need to get rid of all of our problems. Master is worried about us. Master, I see my problem, and I will definitely eliminate it.
My sister was afraid to talk to me. A few days ago, she visited me. I said to her from the bottom of my heart, “I was wrong. I will never talk to you with that attitude anymore.” She smiled, and I was happy.
I see that a person can really improve if she can let go and not obsess about other people's faults. Putting down the heart of stressing who is right and who is wrong—that is genuine cultivation. I really sensed the happiness of letting go of the attachment. Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
Becoming a Selfless Being
When I was jailed in the detention center in 2000, an inmate asked me what Falun Gong really was. I said, “I am not a good example of a cultivator, but I can try. Falun Gong teaches Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” I explained what these three words meant and told her, “A cultivator needs to live by these principles and finally become a great enlightened being who is selfless and always puts others before themselves.”
She raised her hands and shouted, “Falun Gong is good! Falun Gong is good!”
“Attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature” from Essentials for Further Advancement), these words have been rooted in my heart since I started to cultivate. I want to become such a person.
In 2013, many fellow practitioners in my area were arrested. One of them had difficulties at home. Her mother had cancer and there was nobody to care for her, so one of the fellow practitioners went to help.
This practitioner later asked me if we could ask the police to release that practitioner since her mother needed her. I agreed that we should work together and try to secure her release. We went to the police station, the National Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, and other government offices. Other practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts to help us. We visited those offices every day. When things didn't go well, we would look inward for our own problems. When we fixed our own problems, we went to see the officials the next day.
One day, I finally had a chance to talk to the head of the local National Security Bureau. I clarified the truth to him. He said, “I will take this into account, and she will be released soon. You don't have to pay anything. These are difficult calls.” I thanked him sincerely.
I knew that this was Master helping and encouraging us.
During this time, a practitioner said to me, “Auntie, quit trying. Many practitioners who tried to rescue fellow practitioners were arrested.” I said to her, “Don't worry. We have Master and the Fa. Nothing will happen to me. I believe that rescuing fellow practitioners is my responsibility.”
Master said in Zhuan Falun:
“When a human being or a life is created, his unique life elements and essential quality are already composed at the extremely microscopic level.”
Master gave me power, so he must have high expectations for me. I don't know what kind of vow I made to Master in history, and I don't know if I have fulfilled my vow or not. In everyday society, I am a capable person, so I believe that I need to do the things that other people cannot or are not willing to do, such as rescuing fellow practitioners from incarceration. Thus, talking to lawyers and rescuing practitioners have become my major job these past years.
In 2014, a practitioner from out of town was arrested in my area. She hired a lawyer from Beijing. After meeting with this practitioner in the detention center, the lawyer said to me, “Your fellow practitioner asked me to tell you that you need to be careful. The National Security Bureau knows about you.”
Later that afternoon, another practitioner and I went to talk to the judge. Before I left home, I said to Master in front of his portrait, “Master, you have told me that the evil forces would not dare to persecute us if we clarify the truth and save sentient beings. The key thing is that my heart should not be moved. Now I am going to clarify the truth to the judge. Please protect me. They will not dare to persecute me.”
That day, we told the judge what Falun Gong really was. Nothing happened to us.
Another time when a practitioner was arrested, he asked me to ask his family to find a lawyer. I could not get hold of his family for two days.
The practitioner's son opened the door, and I gave him the message from his father. He pushed me out and said, “It's not my business. Don't bother me.” I asked, “What about your mother?” He said, “My mother was arrested, too. So was I, and I was just released. Don't come here again. If you do, I will report you to the police.” I had to leave.
I had no choice but to do everything myself. I talked to a lawyer from Beijing I'd met before, and he agreed to help. Finally, I found a lawyer for the arrested practitioner.
A few days later, that Beijing lawyer ran into me. He was wondering if I was still working for the release of fellow practitioners. I said, “Yes, I have no fear.” He said, “Your heart is so compassionate. Everything you've done is for others. Nobody would dare to lay a finger on you.”
Whenever a local practitioner was arrested, I would go to the police station and the practitioner's family immediately to gather information. A practitioner once asked me, “How do you manage to go everywhere and not mind the danger? How come nothing has happened to you?” I told her, “The evil forces would not dare to persecute a life that is selfless and altruistic.”
Master wants us to get rid of selfishness through cultivation and to attain the righteous enlightenment of selflessness and altruism.
On my journey of cultivation, I feel more and more happiness. What Master has given me cannot be described in words. All I can do to repay him is to strive forward diligently and cultivate myself solidly.
Thank you, Master.
