(Minghui.org) Master Li has emphasized many times:
“For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Fa Conference”)
I would like to share my experience in regards to this essential aspect of cultivation.
Looking Within to Deny the Persecution
I was illegally arrested and detained in brainwashing centers and forced labor camps many times due to the persecution of Falun Gong, launched by former communist dictator Jiang Zemin and his regime. I was tortured physically and mentally. I was both scared and passive while suffering.
Later on, I looked within and found that my behavior had not been correct. I was supposed to be on the path of cultivating divinity.
Master Li told us:
“No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil’s demands, orders, or what it instigates.” (“Dafa Disciples’ Righteous Thoughts are Powerful” From Essentials for Further Advancement II)
What should I fear if Master and the Fa are with me? The persecutors will receive retribution from Heaven. Only the evil people should be scared. Enlightening to this principle, my righteous thoughts emerged, and I shed the attachment of fear.
When I was practicing the sitting meditation in a forced labor camp, two prison guards came to stop me. They tried to get my legs out of the lotus position, but failed after trying for a while. Then they carried me with both legs still crossed and threw me outside of the jail cell. I hit the ground with a loud thump that shocked everyone around. People thought that I must be dead or seriously injured.
However, I felt my body lightly landing on the ground, with no pain at all and with my legs still crossed. The two guards got scared and quickly left.
During each illegal arrest, I was able to look within and was released. It was Master Li who guided me toward maturity by giving me hints and helping me to enlighten to Dafa’s principles, step by step. He enabled me to walk my cultivation path steadily.
On Studying the Fa and Sending Righteous Thoughts to Achieve Success When Clarifying the Truth
Master Li told his disciples:
“I think these three things are all I'll talk about. One is your Fa-study, one is sending forth righteous thoughts, and the other is about how clarifying the truth is extremely important. Actually, you've already made it through and done all of these magnificent things, and you've already established this type of mighty virtue. But you should do things even better, and you should continue on until the evil is completely eliminated.” (“Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.”)
I have been following this guidance for years and integrating my truth-clarification activities into daily life. No matter whether on a boat or a bus, visiting friends, relatives, shopping or going to the countryside, I seize any opportunity to talk with people and help them renounce the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations.
Afterwards, I always asked myself, “Have I studied the Fa well? Did I have righteous thoughts and compassion? Have I truly treated saving people as my most important mission?”
I always sent forth righteous thoughts before I went out to help save people in order to clear their dimensional fields of the evil factors blocking them from learning the truth. I also asked Master to arrange for those people with predestined relationships to come and listen to the truth.
As Master said:
“Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master. It is good enough if you have this wish.” (Zhuan Falun)
The results were better than I thought they would be. I only had to speak a few sentences to convince people to quit the CCP, and they happily accepted Falun Gong materials.
My son, who bought an apartment this year, asked me to help with the interior decorating. At first I was worried that if I spent two months with him, my cultivation would be negatively affected. Later I thought about it and realized that nothing happens to a practitioner accidentally; the complicated environment would be good for upgrading my xinxing.
I spent a lot of time studying the Fa and sending righteous thoughts. I told myself that I would use this opportunity to spread Falun Gong information wisely and help people I would meet to quit the CCP and its youth leagues.
I met many people over the course of my son’s apartment development. They all listened to my truth-clarification and agreed to quit the CCP.
One young man was uncomfortable when I began to talk with him. He invited me to step into his apartment and said in a low voice that what I'd told him was in opposition to the Party and the revolution.
With patience, I softly said, “Young man, even my son is older than you, so I can treat you as my family member. That revolution was not good. It was about killing people. Being against the revolution is the same as being against murder.”
I then told him about the organ harvesting atrocities happening to Falun Gong practitioners, which is being perpetrated by the CCP. I explained how the Chinese Communist Party has caused 80 million deaths since the 1930s and that the CCP has caused the morality of China to continually decline.
I added that those who have sworn to devote their lives to the CCP need to renounce their bloody oath to the Party in order to secure a good future. People who believe so and quit are blessed by divine beings.
The young man nodded and agreed to renounce his party membership.
I went to buy pancakes one Saturday morning and gave some informational materials to the couple who owned the store. Another customer came in, but I kept talking. The couple became upset and stopped listening to me. I finally left.
I looked for my faults and realized that I had an attachment to seeking results. Meanwhile, I was not truly concerned about their wellbeing. I sent righteous thoughts to remove any interference.
I returned and apologized to the couple for interfering with their business; I told them why they needed to quit the CCP. They instantly used aliases to quit the Party and told me that they would attentively read the truth-clarification materials that I'd given them.
I kept looking within and still found a lot more of my attachments. I had a lot of sentimentality towards my children, which caused many other attachments, such as competitiveness, anger, self-interest, protectiveness, jealousy.
Casting Off Attachments to Resolve Conflicts with My Son
My son is also a Falun Gong practitioner, but I felt that he harbored some anger towards me. I also felt that he was after my money. The difficulties in our relationship had lasted for years. I tried very hard to find the reason. Master then helped me with a hint.
One night, I dreamed that I was holding a big bag of money and stubbornly thought that the money was mine. Two small bags of money were put on a table. Suddenly, one man came to grab one of the small bags, and I woke up. By the way, I have two sons.
I knew I was a practitioner, and Master protects me. How could a bad person dare to grab my money? CCP law enforcement officials had taken away my money, but after I shared Falun Gong information with them, they gave it back to me. So I never actually lost anything.
I studied the Fa and realized that it was not other people who came to grab my money: on the contrary, I was holding other people’s money. I was the one who grabbed others’ money in my dream. I was shocked by this idea.
I then completely understood that the foundation of my cultivation had not really changed. It was still based on selfishness. No wonder I had experienced so many troubles. I had not reached a practitioner’s standard. Many of my attachments hadn't been removed. Without cultivating to be selfless or to think about others first, how could I jump out of the human world and return to my heavenly realm with Master? I was far below a cultivator’s standard!
Finding my faults through consistently looking within and by communicating openly with my son, our situation changed for the better, and our relationship returned to a good state. Now my son and I encourage each other to cultivate diligently.
Thanks to Master!
Category: Improving Oneself
