(Minghui.org)
Greetings, revered Master!Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I'm from mainland China. In May 1996, when I was only three years old, I was diagnosed with viral encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). I was hospitalized but did not get any better. One day, I fell asleep while listening to Master’s lecture tapes and when I woke up, my condition was gone, and I was fine. My family and I began to cultivate after that.
Master Saw My Wish and Made Arrangements for Me
I was admitted to a university in the U.S. in 2011. Before I went abroad, my family often reminded me that when I got here, I should remember to contact local practitioners, do the three things well, and keep up with the progress of the Fa-rectification—every time I called my family, they always reminded me to read the Fa, do the exercises, and participate in truth-clarification activities to save sentient beings. However, I was not familiar with the new environment at that time, and I also had a strong attachment to fear. I realize now that it was because I did not have enough faith in Master and the Fa.
My roommate was also a first year international student from China. I was afraid that my roommate might see me doing the exercises, thus, I rarely exercised or read the Fa, and barely read Master’s new articles. I only listened to the Fa lectures on my phone. Gradually, I drifted away from the Fa. I finally found the location of a local exercise site online. I went there several times, but never found any practitioners. Although I found the local contact practitioner’s phone number, I never called it. I was afraid that my phone calls might be monitored like they were in China.
In 2012, I transferred to another university in the U.S. Perhaps because I had the wish to join a local practice group, Master arranged for me to attend a university where I did not need to go far, but could easily find a practice site on campus. Despite having such a great opportunity, I hesitated once again. My heart was full of contradictions, and I worried that my family in China would be persecuted if I practiced openly in the U.S.. However, I also knew that, as a Dafa practitioner, it is my mission to save sentient beings…
At the end of 2013, when my family heard that I did not treasure the extended time given by Master, or use it to save sentient beings in this free country, they felt very sad. With my family's encouragement, I finally found the courage to contact local practitioners.
Eliminating the Attachment to Fear
Although I decided to practice openly, I still had the attachment to fear. One day, I found a video clip online. It was a documentary called “The Forever Electronic Wave.” The documentary recounted the story of several practitioners from Changchun who had tapped into the city's cable television network in order to broadcast truth-clarification programs in 2002. Eight of the practitioners involved in the project died as a result of torture.
The last sentence in the video made a strong impression on me: “March 5, 2012 is the 10th anniversary of the television interception in Changchun. For those practitioners who participated in this world-shaking event, we only had one question: Why did you do it? their response can be summarized in four words: It is for you.”
After I watched their stories, I was shocked by their selflessness. In order to let Chinese people know the truth, they sacrificed their own lives! How benevolent is that? They are really great! I suddenly realized that the gap between their levels and mine was immense, and I could not hold back my tears.
However, Master said that
“I don't like it when you blame yourselves, it's completely pointless. I'll just repeat what I said: If you've fallen don't just lie there, get up right away!”(“Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference”)
After realizing that I had strong attachments to fear and comfort I decided that, from now on, I would be more diligent and make up for the time that I had wasted. Therefore, I joined the local study group every Wednesday and Sunday. I also began to exercise, deliver flyers, and participate in truth-clarification activities at our university every Tuesday.
There are many international students from China at our university, most of them are here for undergraduate or graduate school, and most of them are not familiar with the truth of Dafa. I realized that they are here to be saved, and that we need to save them.
I tried to start talking to my classmates and friends. At first, I was very nervous talking to my friends. However, as I began talking to one of my friends about the truth of Dafa, she became very excited. She told me that she knew Falun Dafa is good. When she traveled to Korea, one of the local practitioners there helped her learn the truth. Then my friend also helped me tell the facts to another friend next to her. They asked me a few questions and, after I answered, they were amazed and said, “So that’s what it is.”
Some time later, when I was collecting signatures for a petition to stop the forced organ harvesting in China, I met a university student. It was my first day helping with the petition; I told him that forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners is really happening in China right now. I got very emotional and could not hold back my tears. He was shocked and could not believe that such evil things are still happening in China. He kept saying, “I will sign it.”
Through these two interactions, I realized that Master was encouraging me to save sentient beings. In fact, we are just walking up to people and talking with them, but it's Master that saves these people. We only need to do as Master asks and do what we are supposed to do.
On May 13, I attended the New York Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference. It was the first time I saw our Master in person. I felt so lucky. In mainland China, there are so many fellow practitioners that have never seen Master, but they are all very diligent. Thus, there is no reason why I should lack diligence anymore. In front of Master, I made a decision: “In this brand new environment, I will do the three things well, save sentient beings, not fail to help Master with his benevolent salvation of others, and not let down the sentient beings that are counting on me. I should remember my vows and follow Master back home.”
On May 14, I joined the parade with all the other practitioners who came to the experience sharing conference. As I was walking in the parade, I felt enormously proud. I wanted the whole world to know that “Falun Dafa is good!” “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” Everyone in the world with a conscience should recognize the evil of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and help us to immediately stop the persecution.
Cultivation Is Serious
When I came to the U.S., my attachments to fear and comfort, and many other attachments, made me stay far away from the Fa; I rarely did the three things. Every time I encountered a test or felt wronged, I did not look within or think about others first. Instead, I always tried to make excuses for myself. When I lost out on any material interest, I became frustrated. I totally forgot that “If something is yours, you will not lose it. If something is not yours, you will not have it even if you fight for it. ” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
I realize that we are cultivating ourselves. When we see other people do something wrong, we need to use them as mirrors and check if we've done the same thing. Furthermore, we need to question why we saw these things. Is it because there is something we need to cultivate?
My biggest attachment is to my grades in school. I used to think that as long as I got good grades, I would be able to find a good job, and live a wonderful life. However, that mindset caused me to totally forget my wishes before I went abroad, and I did not even realize that it was a huge attachment. My family always told me that “Studying well will get one a good job,” is what the CCP taught us.
Master tells us in Zhuan Falun,
“Buddhism believes in the principle of karmic retribution. One’s life is arranged according to one’s karma. No matter how capable you are, if you do not have de, perhaps you will have nothing in this life. You think that another person is good at nothing, but he has a lot of de. He could become a high- ranking official or make a big fortune.” (Lecture Seven)
Master also said,
“Human beings often believe that everything they pursue is good. In fact, from a high-level perspective, these are to satisfy those bits of vested interests among everyday people. It is said in religion that regardless of how much money you have or how high your position ranks, it is good for only a few decades. One cannot bring it along at birth or carry it after death. ” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
Master has mentioned many times in his lectures that cultivation is very serious; however, I did not really understand what this meant. In the recently-published article, “Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day,” Master stresses this problem again:
“You have already made it through the hardest period. I’ll tell you, the Dafa disciples from the early period, those who formed ties of destiny with me during history, or who came here following Master—each and every one of you—if you had wanted to accomplish something in ordinary society, every one of you could have been a billionaire, every one of you could have been famous, and every one of you could have been among society’s elite. But this lifetime you came here to be a Dafa disciple, and you passed up all of those things. If you had wanted to be rich, you could have long since been rich. Don’t let your soul’s long-cherished wish be extinguished over a few petty, worldly temptations.”
Yes, we are so lucky to be Dafa practitioners. In order to become practitioners, we turned down all those things, so why should I have such attachments? I should be determined to do what a Dafa disciple is supposed to do, listen to our Master, and follow the path that Master arranged for me.
As I write this sharing article, I have uncovered many attachments that I thought I had already gotten rid of, but in fact did not. After finding these bad attachments, I'm determined to get rid of them.
I would like to give thanks to Master for allowing me to learn Dafa and become a Fa-rectification-period Dafa disciple. Thanks to fellow practitioners for encouraging me while I hesitated, reminding, and sharing with me; and thanks to my local fellow practitioners for their support and trust that greatly helped me when I first joined the group.
Master has suffered too much for us, we can only be more diligent, to not let Master down for his benevolent salvation.
Please kindly point out anything inappropriate in my sharing. Heshi.
(Shared at the 2014 Mid-USA Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference)
