(Clearwisdom.net) I started practicing Falun Gong in 2004. At that time I was reading the books to my mother, who couldn't read.
1. Respect Master and Dafa
At the very beginning, I did not know that I should wash my hands and have good posture before studying Dafa books, or that I shouldn't eat anything while studying the Fa. After I realized this, when I sometimes accidentally folded a page of a Dafa book or I saw that my fellow practitioners didn't take care of their Dafa books very well, my heart really ached. When I exchanged cultivation experiences with my fellow practitioners, I heard that some of them washed their hands and faces before they started practicing the exercises. That really moved me, and I thought that this was also an important aspect of respecting Dafa. After that, I also insisted on washing my face and hands before starting to do the exercises, and I have continued to do so.
2. Believe in Master and Dafa
From before the time I obtained Dafa, I have been a simple and innocent person, and I have never doubted the Fa that Master teaches us. A short time after I obtained Dafa, my fellow practitioners told me that they would go to Beijing and appeal peacefully. I said that I would like to go with them. However, my mother said that I didn't have enough gong potency as I'd only obtained Dafa for a very short period of time. I said, "I have Master protecting me, and Master has almighty power." Later on, benevolent Master protected my daughter and me and we returned home peacefully from Beijing.
Today, when I review all the tribulations and hardships I have been through, I feel that they are much more insignificant to me now than they were at that time. However, when they happened to me, my heart was so bitter, and sometimes I complained a lot, "Ooh, Master! Why have they set such high standards for me, and I am only a new practitioner?" Actually, all those thoughts came from my personal attachments.
Falun Dafa is good! What is my intention practicing Falun Dafa? Falun Dafa can protect me from all bad things. However, I cannot get rid of my attachments; I want my health back and wish to be young and nice looking. Falun Dafa can help me achieve my goal, but the prerequisite is that I should give up all attachments. Once another practitioner asked me, "If Master was holding a big wine jar and asked you to jump inside it, would you do as you were told?" I said, "Yes, definitely. Since what Master says must be true." I have so many attachments and bad thoughts; however, Master cherishes my sincere and steadfast heart toward Dafa. Master is most precious, thus helps me through all my tribulations.
3. Clarify the truth of Falun Dafa
Since I began saving sentient beings by persuading them to quit the Communist Party and its affiliated organizations, sometimes I have had the attachment of fear and was afraid of hardships when I was clarifying the truth. I met with a senior CCP member. He didn't quit the Party until I had consistently encouraged him for almost half a year. There was something negative in the air that kept telling me, "Don't go there and approach him. Aren't you annoyed?" I negated all these thoughts and sent forth righteous thoughts to save him. Maybe because my heart was full of benevolent compassion the last time I tried to persuade him, tears came to my eyes. As a result, suddenly he agreed to quit the CCP.
Another time I went to visit a former classmate who didn't want to quit the CCP. She said, "All this is hearsay. Blah, blah...I don't believe in any of it. If a person doesn't have any money on him, how can he carry on?" Upon hearing this, I looked inward to see if I had any selfish notions that I hadn't realized, and then I pondered why she would say something like this. What I thought at the time was that I wasn't doing this for myself but really for her benefit and future. Then, three people from her family all decided to quit the CCP. There were also some moments when I couldn't handle things well. Once I met with a teacher who had a Bachelor's Degree. He had read Zhuan Falun, a lot of truth-clarification materials, and even the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. However, no matter what I said to him, he insisted that he would not quit the CCP. At that time, I also focused on looking inward to see if I had any attachments that affected him and made him misunderstand the truth. I had read cultivation experiences sharing articles from the Clearwisdom website, and in those articles, many practitioners said that we should cut off the sources of evil when we are clarifying the truth to students. I have a similar opinion on the issue. Every year, many elementary school pupils and middle school students join the CCP in groups. Even if a child quits the CCP in elementary school, he has to re-enter the CCP in middle school. Therefore, it's important for the school principals and teachers to know the truth. Since I couldn't clarify the truth to them face to face, I decided to write letters. I was told by a child that their Chinese teacher told them that the Kuomintang wasn't as bad as the CCP described. Actually, the Kuomintang treated people much better than the CCP. If teachers know much more of the truth of Falun Gong and the news about quitting the CCP, their students will be less poisoned.
Just as I was planning to write letters to teachers, I dreamed that my body was tied up by a giant wire, and an elementary schoolteacher was watching me over there; he intended to have me removed from there, but he couldn't find anyone to do it. I had another, similar dream, in which someone just gave me a pen as a gift. I thought that the meaning of that dream was that I should not only clarify the truth to teachers, but also to all other educational departments and that nothing should should stop me.
4. The persecution of Falun Dafa cannot shake us
Something happened today that caused pressure on my fellow practitioners due to my mistake. I will certainly correct it. However, I think that veteran practitioners should always set down their experiences as instructions, always mentioning how an accident happened. I am not saying that we should not be cautious with our safety. Dafa is perfectly harmonized, and we will definitely cultivate ourselves in Dafa and thus become enlightened beings. When we meet with any conflicts or affairs, we shouldn't impose any negative factors on our dear fellow practitioners. Instead, we should send forth our righteous thoughts and thereby add more positive energy to them. We shouldn't regard ourselves as being persecuted all the time, since by doing so, our righteous thoughts as enlightened beings will be hindered by our ordinary people's attachments and human notions. The CCP police force targets criminals. However, we are the best people. Our only pursuit is cultivating ourselves by following the teachings of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance." Since we are cultivators, we have certainly human notions and ordinary people's attachments. Only Master has the right to take care of us, not anyone else.
Master said:
"The beings at different levels each have their own perspectives on this persecution. Some see it as a path that must be traveled that is full of tests, while others consider it the result of old elements from across the entire cosmos being stirred up. Still others regard it as laying out a path for Dafa disciples. And beings at lower levels think that, as the righteous emerges, the evil is bound to do harm. Regardless of the perspectives of beings at different levels, I am intent on doing my things well, and Dafa disciples must walk their paths." (Fa Teaching at the U.S. Capital)
When I read the Fa above, I have an understanding at my current level that the persecution of the old forces cannot touch us or shake us and thus has nothing to do with our Dafa disciples. We come here with our almighty oaths to validate Dafa instead of being persecuted by the old forces. We should totally overcome those beings at low levels, and we should walk our own paths that were arranged by Master.
May 04, 2008
