(Clearwisdom.net)
Greetings, revered Teacher! Greetings, fellow practitioners around the world!
Teacher has scooped us up from Hell and cleansed us. By bearing our karma, Teacher has paid off the karma we have created at different levels. In addition, Teacher is helping us attain godhood and has bestowed the sacred mission of saving sentient beings upon us. Teacher has given us opportunities to create our mighty virtue and grace while we fulfill our sacred mission. Although we will never be able to repay Teacher for His salvation, we can try to express our gratitude by following Teacher's requirements to be diligent in our cultivation, doing the Three Things well and cultivating ourselves well while saving sentient beings.
Coordinating with Fellow Practitioners to Distribute Truth-Clarification Materials and Saving Sentient Beings
In 2005, practitioners in our area made a joint decision to assign practitioners to each and every alley in our area to ensure that all the residents in our area would be able to receive truth-clarification materials. Another practitioner and I have a pedicab, so we both volunteered to cover the streets at the edge of town. Those areas do not have street lights and the roads are treacherous, especially following a rain. Deep ruts in the muddy roads make it very difficult to travel. After we have covered our designated districts, we go to nearby villages to distribute materials. We have group Fa study at my home every evening. After Fa study, we go out to distribute materials. Gradually more and more practitioners have joined this effort. Usually a pedicab carries 6 to 7 passengers. Two pedicabs will carry 15 to 16 people, including the drivers. During the time when we distributed the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, we distributed more than 1,000 copies of the Nine Commentaries and more than 2,000 truth-clarification brochures. In one evening, we were able to visit 7 to 8 villages. Sometimes we visited more than 10 villages in one evening.
After we finished distributing materials, we traveled to towns in the neighboring counties. (Because there are very few practitioners in the nearby counties, they had hardly distributed any materials.) When I drove there, I was under a lot of pressure at that time. Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, my wife and I have been the main target of attention for the local police. My wife and I have been repeatedly persecuted. Sometimes my Buddha nature and demon nature battled with each other in the face of the authorities' reckless abuse. In 2002, when we distributed truth-clarification materials in a particular county, a fellow practitioner ended up being arrested. That night we had to return without finishing our task.
I felt that I must not shy away from my responsibilities when I thought of saving sentient beings. Besides, if I should stop organizing the pedicab trips to distribute materials, no other practitioner would ever be able to organize such trips. (I must emphasize that it is Teacher that has bestowed such an important mission upon me and has enabled me to become mature so that I can fulfill my prehistoric pledge.) I had to let go of my hesitation and continue to make such trips. Sometimes, I tried to be brave and force myself to continue. I thought, "The Fa comes before everything. If we stop distributing truth-clarification materials, sentient beings would not be able to know the truth about Falun Gong. What would become of the sentient beings in those areas?" No matter how scared I might be, I must act calm and determined in order to do well the truth-clarification work. I must be a positive influence on the truth-clarification work group. I must never show my fear or it could affect other practitioners on their level of righteous thoughts and faith.
During the process, I have truly felt Teacher right beside me at all times. Teacher has always been watching over me, encouraging me and helping me. I truly felt what the "infinite grace of Buddha" means!
A few days before we made a trip to the villages, we sent forth righteous thoughts towards those villages. In addition, we always had a group Fa study and sent forth righteous thoughts before we took off. Each trip was about 100 miles. We took the opportunity to recite Hong Yin during the trip. Some fellow practitioners have not memorized the entire book of Hong Yin, some memorized it a long time ago but have forgotten it. Those who joined the group trips to the villages soon re-committed Hong Yin to memory.
Before we even entered a village, we focused on sending forth righteous thoughts towards that village. Although there were not many practitioners on these trips to villages, we were protected from danger. In addition, we cooperated with each other very well. Each time we made a trip, it took us all night. We made weekly trips in general. At the time we spent all night because it was not easy for us to make such trips. (The cultivation state in each area is different. Please do not imitate us if you don't have the same cultivation environment.) We have cold winters in our area. Sometimes the temperature dropped to -30 degrees at night. Sometimes there were snowstorms. It was not easy to distribute materials in villages. The next day, we often noticed that our faces, ears, and lips were frostbitten, but we all recovered quickly.
One day we crossed a river to distribute the Nine Commentaries. It had just snowed. The surface of the frozen river was extremely slippery. There was a deep rut in the surface of the ice. A wheel got stuck in the rut, and we could not get it out. The wind chilled us to the bone. We had to get out of the car and push it out of the rut. We tried repeatedly, but we could not free the wheel. Looking ahead, the river seemed endless, and it was pitch black. Then I remembered the level of difficulties Teacher must have gone through when he first started to impart the Fa. In this dimension, it was the stuck wheel that prevented us from moving forward, but there must have been even bigger obstacles in other dimensions!
Then I finally realized something: Falun Gong practitioners in the Fa-rectification period have the most important title in the universe. It is truly the greatest thing to be a Falun Gong practitioner. We are reaching above the sky. I truly felt I was standing against the sky and was capable of everything because of the mighty power Teacher has bestowed upon us. I truly felt it was admirable and magnificent for us to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. We are saving sentient beings selflessly and altruistically. I felt the beauty, sacredness, and solemnity when one is selfless and altruistic. It was a feeling beyond words. I am truly thankful that Teacher has given me the opportunity to save sentient beings. This opportunity will never come along again. At the time, I was no longer afraid of anything. I felt that eliminating the evil was just as easy as dusting.
When I turned around, I realized that the wheel had been freed. I burst into tears and felt my body filled with energy. I said, "Thank you, Teacher." We once again felt Teacher watching over, protecting, and helping us. That trip made a huge impact. A few practitioners in that area had been nonchalant about their cultivation and had never stepped forward to help. Because we distributed the Nine Commentaries door to door, those practitioners had received the materials as well. They were very encouraged by our efforts. When they finally exchanged their cultivation insights with us, they said, "Even practitioners from other areas have traveled far to distribute the Nine Commentaries! They must have overcome a lot of difficulties. It is high time for us to step forward and distribute materials, too."
There have been many miracles during the process. Some practitioners had sickness karma and experienced pain in their legs or neck, but all their symptoms disappeared after they returned from the trips. We always studied the Fa and exchanged our experiences the night after each trip. When a trip was successful, it was because we were not attached to zealotry or the ambition to prove ourselves. If we do well, it is because of Teacher's help. As Falun Gong practitioners in the Fa-rectification period, we are supposed to do well unconditionally. When we do not do well, we must search inward for attachments. Perhaps it is because when we do not cooperate well, we keep the mission of saving sentient beings from being done well. Practitioners in my area are becoming increasingly mature. We feel everything is natural and we are impervious.
Every time I recall how we cooperated with each other to validate the Fa, I feel so happy to be one of the Falun Gong practitioners in the Fa-rectification period. I thank Teacher for bestowing the sacred mission of saving sentient beings upon us. It has given us opportunities to eliminate fear, zealotry, and many human feelings while saving sentient beings. We have learned to become more clearheaded, rational, and mature. We have learned to harmonize as one body and to forgive. We have felt the sacredness of truly melting ourselves into the Fa.
The Attachment to Getting Work Done; A Truth-Clarification Material Site Is Damaged
As the Fa-rectification progresses, several other practitioners and I established a few truth-clarification material sites in 2005. When we first started producing materials, we ran the sites with righteous thoughts. We felt we were doing something sacred. As we kept increasing the printing volume, we had a hard time concentrating when we studied the Fa, even though we studied the Fa every evening as a group. Gradually I became more attached to the work itself. As I became increasingly "famous" among practitioners, more and more practitioners asked me for the Nine Commentaries. In addition, I traveled to villages once a week to distribute materials. I became pleased with myself. I was attached to Dafa work and gave myself airs. I felt no one else could do what I did. I wanted to prove myself. The evil from other dimensions started to exploit my loopholes. I took over purchasing supplies, technical support, printing materials, and distributing materials. I was a production and distribution line all by myself. In addition, I coordinated the local Dafa work. In hindsight, I was doing Dafa work like an ordinary person. Occasionally, I felt something was wrong, because I thought about nothing but work.
I knew I should have created more sites so that more practitioners could contribute. At the time it was very difficult to find the right candidates and the right location for a new site. I found two practitioners to help run a site, but did not realize that their cultivation state was not good. I would have seen the problem had I been more considerate of fellow practitioners and not so overly focused on the work. One of them was arrested and revealed the location of the materials site and took the police to my home. The police ransacked my home. I remembered the pledge I made with Teacher: no matter what happens, I must follow Teacher and I shall follow Teacher to the end of the Fa-rectification. I escaped despite the police hunt. However, I was forced to go into hiding from then on. My husband was arrested. He refused to say anything when he was arrested. He was subjected to severe torture and sentenced to five years in prison. During the two years in prison, he became mentally disordered. Two fellow practitioners were also arrested, and each was sentenced to seven years in prison.
The arrests caused a lot of loss to the truth-clarification effort in our area. It was a costly lesson. I must advise fellow practitioners to always prioritize your cultivation no matter how busy you are! Naturally, we must do Dafa work and we must do it well. But we must position ourselves correctly. Nothing is more important than cultivating ourselves! When we are righteous, Teacher can do anything for us. But when we fail to do well, Teacher will face criticism. We will be creating tribulations for Teacher! Looking back these many years since the persecution started in 1999, countless admirable fellow practitioners are the cream of the crop in society and have forsaken their happiness in life to validate the Fa. They made many contributions but many failed to cultivate themselves well. Some were exploited by the police. They ended up being arrested, tortured, and beaten to death. Many have been sentenced to many years in prison. These are costly lessons! We must not take Teacher's compassion for granted any longer!
Heshi,
Thank you, Teacher. Thank you, fellow practitioners!