(Minghui.org) Greetings revered Master, greetings fellow practitioners.
I'm 79 years old, and it has been 19 years since I started practicing Falun Dafa. At such an old age, an everyday person may become completely immobile. But for me, I still have very good vision and hearing, and can even do heavy labor work when needed.
For example, I recently climbed up a ladder to the second floor, to help my family repair the roof. Another time, four other older practitioners and I completed a parade float, which took about a week from design and purchase, to assembly. During this time, I sometimes spent about ten hours per day working on it. Even after returning home, I was still thinking about how to improve the archway design. I was so exhausted, that as soon as I finished, I slept on the floor.
By the time I woke up, it was already two o'clock in the morning. So I began planning how to continue the project the following day. It was soon time to send forth righteous thoughts, so I did that, followed by the five sets of exercises. No matter how tired or painful I was, I always did the fifth exercise for one and a half hours, sitting in the full lotus position.
Through Fa-study, I learned that true practitioners can eliminate their human attachments and attain the righteous enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. Only when one has sentient beings in his heart, can he endure through thick and thin, be unafraid of life and death, and forge an adamantine will. Cultivation is serious, and has certain criteria. If you want to do it, you should make a concerted effort to do your best.
Every time I encounter hardship, I consider it a chance to improve myself, give up attachments, and improve my xinxing. Righteous thoughts are very important and we cannot avoid issues by taking detours. Only when our minds are upright can we successfully break through hardships. After all, our wisdom and supernormal abilities are given to us by Master.
I would like to share my three experiences of letting go of human notions and attachments.
My Son and His Job
When I came to the U.S. in year 2000, I left all my savings to my son, who was unemployed at home in China. I was thinking that, in case his apartment was destroyed during a government demolition, he needed money to pay for a new one. But over ten years passed and the demolition never happened.
Our local coordinator once needed to borrow money from practitioners for Shen Yun performance promotion. When studying the Fa, I realized that my money was part of Dafa’s resources, not for my family to buy new apartments. Thinking that the money should be spent on saving people, I thought about asking for it back. Upon hearing of my idea, my family members in China were hesitant to give the emergency funds back to me. In the end, I convinced them and used the money on Shen Yun promotion after receiving it.
A miracle then happened. My son not only found a stable job, but was also promoted. He was able to afford home improvement and even gave me some allowance. Furthermore, he got married and the couple is living happily.
From this I learned that once a practitioner lets go of human notions, their situation may change, just like what happened to my son. I am very grateful that Master is so compassionate.
Experiencing a Car Accident
I had a car accident on January 30 last year. A car hit me, knocking me down and pushing me forward by three yards. Knowing I was all right, I stood up and walked away. I then wrote an experience-sharing article titled, “Enlightening while Cultivating” which was published on the Minghui website.
After passing this test of life and death, I found my physical body improving dramatically. My age spots became lighter and smaller, and gradually faded away. When the swelling diminished on my left leg, I noticed a half-inch swelling on my knee—where there was no flesh earlier. I realized Master had put a flesh-pad on my leg the moment I was hit, to prevent my leg from being broken.
This physical improvement was also seen during my meditation. Because my legs were stiff, I could not make my soles face upward while doing the fifth exercise. They now face upward when I sit in the full lotus position.
When I was enduring the hardship, I lost about ten pounds. My pants were loose, and my belt seemed longer. But three months later, my body weight returned to normal again. Another change is that I can now go to sleep after working without a quilt. Had I done this in the past, my legs would be cramped upon waking up, making me unable to stand up or walk for a long time. I feel like I'm young again.
When doing the meditation, I endured great pain again and again. I noticed that when it hurt, a warm current would go down from my head all the way to my feet. It seems that my bones, flesh, internal organs, and brain were all adjusting. From this, I came to understand that happiness comes after enduring the most difficult part.
In my understanding, a truly-determined practitioner's adamantine will was forged through tolerance. Also, righteous thoughts come from righteous belief. Only when actually achieving it this way—rather than just thinking this way, can we truly improve.
Fulfilling Our Responsibilities
The cultivation environment has changed a lot in Chicago in recent years. Some practitioners moved to other cities, and new ones came from other areas. Because the leaders of some projects have left and new arrivals needed time to catch up, we veteran practitioners had to work harder to fill in the gaps.
Take building a parade float as an example. A young practitioner used to lead and I only needed to help with some physical labor. Now I am in charge of the entire project and noticed the importance of working together as one body. Sometimes the coordinator may not have considered all aspects, but as soon as we find gaps, we should take initiatives and complement each other.
Another example is used cars. We have several of them in the local area for transporting practitioners, distributing newspapers, and helping with parades. In the past, we only paid attention to them upon use, and ignored their problems. The local coordinator was also too busy for them. Although I cannot drive, I nonetheless volunteered to coordinate car maintenance. This way the cars will be in a good shape when they are needed. I felt that this was important.
I realized that upon finishing cultivation, each of us would become particles of Dafa. During our life time in this human world, Master helps us to cultivate and become Kings and Lords of our universes. This requires us to enlarge our minds and increase our compassion. As a whole, we should be able to fill all gaps, and with the Fa, harmonize everything.
Dafa disciples are selfless, and are always considerate for others. I still sometimes have bad thoughts coming into my mind that need to be rejected. I know I haven't reached the Fa’s requirements in cultivation. I need to make more progress through diligent, genuine cultivation.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Shared at the 2014 Mid-USA Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference)
