(Minghui.org) I learned Falun Dafa when I was in prison in 2000. Later, I was sent to prison again for practicing Dafa. I continued to practice Dafa in prison until I was released near the end of 2014.
In the following years, I have been advancing diligently in my practice while doing the three things well. I even started my own business in spite of the overall lackluster economy. I have deeply felt that, as long as I hold myself to the high standards of a practitioner, Master is always by my side, guiding and looking after me.
Detached from Emotions, Fame and Personal Gain
When I initially started my company for trading coal last August, business was very hard. My son said to me, “You used to be a tough guy and would fight for every gain in life. Now you are a practitioner and have to adhere to the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. There is no way your company can survive in this harsh environment.”
I said to myself, “If I truly believe in Master and Dafa, my business will surely be okay. After all, Dafa practitioners are different and Master is looking after me.”
I held myself to the high standard of a practitioner in working with other companies. After some time, they knew that I was trustworthy, and they were more than willing to do business with me. Although sources of coal were scarce and most competitors were not as lucky, my company never had a problem.
Once at the coal dispensing station, my company's transport team was late and a competitor company picked up the 400 tons of coal that were meant for my company.
Some friends who knew me for years urged me to resolve the issue with force, as I would have done in the past. I said to myself, “It is just for some extra profit and not worth it. Dafa practitioners cannot behave like an ordinary person. There is probably something in my cultivation that I should improve on in this process.”
A business partner invested a few hundred thousand yuan in my company. As business was not going as expected initially, he withdrew all the money and did not want anything to do with the company. Later as business took off, he came back to the partnership quietly for the profit. I did not express any complaint or hard feelings.
I have talked about Dafa to most of my employees, business partners, and some government officials whom I had contact with through business dealings. Most of them have quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its associated organizations.
Treasuring Every Moment to Save Sentient Beings
Lawsuits against the former CCP head, Jiang Zemin, for persecuting Dafa practitioners started pouring in in 2015. I felt a sense of urgency and realized that time was being extended for practitioners and sentient beings by Master's tremendous suffering. Wasting time amounted to wasting our own lives and committing crimes against Dafa. Therefore, I tried to seize every moment to do the three things well.
Master told us,
“I can see that everything is heading into the final stage. It’s just that many people are afraid to acknowledge this reality and its progressive unfolding; that the number of lives to be saved before the final moment arrives has not reached the amount it should; and that there is still a portion of Dafa disciples that hasn’t kept up. That is the key reason why the end of this undertaking still hasn’t been enacted.” (“Be More Diligent,” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference X)
My understanding is that Fa rectification will come to an end once these two things have come to pass.
As my company had just started, I had to attend to all routine business transactions myself and had little spare time. However, I managed to make time for Fa study, doing the exercises, sending righteous thoughts, and talking to people about Dafa. To further save time, I lived at the company to avoid driving over 120 miles daily to and from my home.
Every morning I would get up at 3:40 to do the exercises and send righteous thoughts at 6:00 am. Then I would go with fellow practitioners to hand out Dafa materials. Each time I could persuade a few people, sometimes more than ten, to quit the CCP.
Soon I found that the majority of the local practitioners in the area of my company had not come out to support the truth clarification effort. I knew that I needed to help them step up and join the effort as a whole, in order to save more sentient beings more effectively.
I went to the local group Fa study and communicated my concerns to them. Before long the practitioners' understanding and overall situation changed for the better. More practitioners decided to join the truth clarification activities.
A practitioner couple used to only practice at home. They did not have a consistent routine of Fa study and doing the exercises. They also experienced constant friction and quarrels in their family life, nearly leading to divorce at one point.
Soon after they joined the local group Fa study and group truth clarification activities, their personal conflicts dissolved and their cultivation states improved greatly.
Stopping Acts Against Dafa Teachings
A short while ago, a fellow practitioner took me to a local experience sharing conference. I was shocked to see the large scale of the conference, with over a thousand practitioners attending. I also found out that there existed positions such as area coordinators and general coordinator.
It reminded me of an article “Whether There Should Be Such a Role as General Coordinator in China” published in the Minghui Weekly magazine.
It read, “The situation for practitioners in mainland China is totally different. Due to the persecution by CCP and the arrangements of the old forces, the cultivation environment for practitioners in mainland China is very vicious and complicated. Moreover, practitioners in mainland China all conduct themselves based on their personal understanding, which is limited and not suitable to be the foundation and standards to be followed by practitioners on a large scale. Therefore, at the current stage, having the role of 'general coordinator' in mainland China must be rationally and carefully examined based on the Fa. As a practitioner in mainland China, as long as you are doing things to validate Dafa, you should go ahead and do it well according to the Fa. Everyone needs to walk their own paths. That path is arranged by Master, must be walked by practitioners themselves, and cannot be handed down by others, because one coordinator's understanding cannot cover such a large number of practitioners' cultivation and fulfilling their missions.”
In fact, Master has taught us regarding this issue,
“I also want to highlight a coordination issue that pertains to Dafa disciples outside of mainland China. This is something that I didn’t spell out before, as I wanted you to be tempered and find your own course to follow; since all Dafa disciples are kings from higher worlds, each must, through exploring and verifying, enlighten to what each is supposed to from the Fa. So, as for how things now stand, the amount of time given has been long enough. You’ve already passed through ten years’ time, so as to this [issue of yours], I’d say we call it over and done with. So, I want to tell you that from this day forth, the main coordinator for each project—the one principal coordinator—is that project’s representative. This holds true for the main coordinator of each region’s Dafa Association as well. He or she is its representative. Whatever it may be that the coordinator does, requires of you, or decides—carry it out unconditionally. (Enthusiastic applause) Starting today.” (“Be More Diligent”)
Master specifically said “that pertains to Dafa disciples outside of mainland China.” I understood that given the current environment in China, it was unwise and unsafe to organize a conference with over a thousand practitioners attending. The CCP regime is still carrying out the persecution and the mechanism of persecution is still in place and in action. On the other hand, Dafa material production centers are everywhere and practitioners are validating the Fa and saving sentient beings in various ways and methods. There is simply no need for a specially appointed coordinator or a general coordinator.
Soon after the conference, the general coordinator approached me and said, “I want to change my car.”
I directly asked him, “Do you mean for me to buy a car for you?”
He mumbled “yes.”
I gathered that he wanted to change his car so that he could do his coordinating work better.
Then I said to him, “Practitioners are all making their contributions to Dafa. Yet you are asking me to buy a car for you, as if you would not be able to validate the Fa without a new vehicle. Please think it over and see if you are acting according to the Fa.”
“Forget it if you don’t want to do it. Practitioner A was offering me forty thousand yuan.”
I told him, “This is not a matter that one can simply forget. The key is that your thought is not in line with the Fa. If you continue to do coordination work like this, it will bring a negative impact to the whole region. If practitioners give money voluntarily, that is for Dafa's resources and not for your own benefit.”
When it came to making Dafa materials, lending a helping hand to practitioners in need, or hiring lawyer to defend persecuted practitioners in court, I would be more than willing to contribute money.
In fact, I gave a certain amount of money to the local material production center every month. The situation with this general coordinator was a reminder that the position of a general coordinator was created by practitioners' human notions and attachments. It was relevant to each and every one of us in the region. We all needed to look inside for anything deviating from Dafa, and we must stop it immediately.
We must walk our paths well at the last stage of Fa-rectification by measuring and judging everything according to the Fa. We cannot fall short of the eternal opportunity in front of us and the previous time extended by Master's tremendous suffering, as illustrated in “His hair turned grey and His body was harmed.” (“To the Original State,” from Hong Yin III)
I'd like to quote one of Master's teachings as encouragement for both myself and fellow practitioners,
“If every one of you can understand the Fa from the depths of your mind, that will truly be the manifestation of the Fa whose power knows no boundary—the reappearance of the mighty Buddha Fa in the human world!” (“Cautionary Advice,” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Fellow practitioners, please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Category: Improving Oneself
