(Minghui.org) When I was seven years old, I came across the book Falun Gong. I opened the book, pointed at the photo in the book, and excitedly told everyone: “This is my Master! This is my Master!” I began to cultivate in Falun Dafa.
Sadly, our open and precious cultivation environment was lost with the onset of the persecution in 1999, and I found myself slipping back into being an ordinary person. Still, I kept asking questions, such as what is the purpose of one's life.
In July 2013 I searched for the Minghui website, relying solely on my hazy memory. To my surprise, without any help or using any special software, I found the Minghui website pretty quickly. I also downloaded the software to circumvent internet censorship.
It was an unbelievable moment when the Minghui website first popped up on my screen. I felt like a lost child who has found his way home, with tears of joy. When I told my mother about this, she went silent momentarily and then said in a voice choked with emotion: “Master Li (the founder) has always been with us!”
A few days after I discovered the Minghui website, my father had a stroke and was in critical condition. My cousin, a doctor, said: “Be prepared, even with the best outcome he will end up in a vegetative state.”
Even though I had only just resumed my cultivation, I did not panic in the least because I knew I was no longer an ordinary person – I was already a cultivator. My mother told my father that only Dafa could save him and that he should sincerely recite in his mind: “Falun Dafa is good! Truth-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” Father was released from the hospital after a 23-day stay. We knew that it was because of the power of Dafa.
I gained my accounting qualifications in a fairly short time. Dafa had given me the wisdom, as I wasn't particularly good with numbers, and worse still looking at a lot of numbers gave me a headache. Shortly after, I landed a job at a hospital.
One year later, I moved to my current job at a professional training organization. I was not very sure of myself because my workload here seemed heavier and the pressure greater than in my previous job.
My mother encouraged me to look within and not to perceive things merely by how they appear on the surface. After calming down, I discovered I had a strong attachment to my reputation. It appeared as though I was concerned that my under-performance may affect the team and bring trouble to the team members, but in fact, it was only an excuse. I used it to cover up my fear of not being good enough for the job and having to face the criticisms of my colleagues. I had wanted to protect my reputation and make a name for myself.
On reflection, I thought I did look within but it was done very superficially, or in other words, I was aware of the problem but deep down the attachment was hardly touched upon. I would say that was due to my lack of understanding of the Fa. I told myself not to worry about what other people think of me because Master has said: “Concern for reputation is a huge obstacle that prevents you from reaching Consummation.” (Teaching the Fa at the Assistants’ Fa Conference in Changchun)
After making an attempt to put aside my concern for reputation, I found my worries were unfounded and what's more, I could easily resolve matters that were beyond my professional knowledge. My colleague once told me:“ You are much more capable than Hao. The manager used to ask Hao to revise the month-end financial report she submitted every month. He hasn't done that with you.” Hao was my predecessor who had nearly twenty years of financial accounting experience in contrast to my less than two years. I realized that it was Dafa that had given me the wisdom.
A year into my job, another miracle occurred which again affirmed the almighty power of Dafa. We have many foreigners working in our organization so a separate department had been set up for overseas employees affairs. About a month before a group of over 20 foreign colleagues was to arrive, an important person announced his resignation.
Human resources initiated an internal recruitment process. I was interested in the position, but was not confident about my chances, as I feared my English might not be up to par. Some of my colleagues encouraged me to apply and the head of that department also asked me to do so. I felt like this had been arranged by Master – this position would put me in contact with people from many different countries to whom I could clarify the truth.
One evening it so happened that myself and the foreign principal were the only ones left in the office. As he was about to leave, I got my courage up and let him know about my interest in the position. He granted me an interview, and afterwards, I thought that I had failed the interview.
My mother said that was to test whether I believed in Dafa and it would definitely work out if Master Li had arranged it. I also told myself to trust Master and Dafa. Many among the candidates held English language qualifications and naturally their English proficiency was way above mine, not to mention their work experience.
As I walked home that evening, I had the feeling that the position would be offered to me. The obstacles had already been cleared for me and I just had to have faith and the courage to walk the prearranged path.
When thinking about the situation, I found getting rid of my desire to prove myself was not easy, much to my annoyance. I also discovered another hidden attachment – my aversion to change. I liked things I was comfortable with and familiar with to stay the same, as changes had to be forced upon me. To me that was passive cultivation because I was not actively looking within myself to identify attachments and rid myself of them.
The next day, I was informed that the principal had selected me for the job and had given me a one-month on-the-job trial. I was to leave the organization if my performance was found unsatisfactory.
Over twenty foreign colleagues arrived from overseas ten days later. We managed to communicate with one another in English but I found their varied accents and talking speed very different from what I had learned in school. On the first day of their arrival, I could only understand very little of their English.
I talked to my mother about it. She told me not to underestimate myself and a little obstacle like that was really nothing for a Dafa cultivator. She said I could do it if I just let go of my own attachments. I found out later on that communicating with my foreign colleagues was easy if I had righteous thoughts and had in mind “Falun Dafa is good, Truth-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” Communication with them became almost impossible if I panicked or was too worried about not being understood.
Once I took a colleague from New Zealand to the hospital to get a prescription. Her spoken English was fast and heavily accented. It was going to be a challenge for me because even my highly qualified Chinese colleagues were afraid to talk to her. When talking to the doctor, I was able to interpret her needs and everything worked out fine.
To prepare myself to clarify the truth to my foreign colleagues, I downloaded some materials from the English Minghui website and tried to memorize them. One time, I casually mentioned the word Buddha in a conversation with a colleague from the UK. His eyes lit up and he told me he had practiced meditation in a Buddhist temple in London. He seemed to be really interested in spiritual cultivation. I gave him some information including the English version of Zhuan Falun and asked him to look into Falun Dafa to discover how it can improve one's physical as well as spiritual wellness. He was delighted.
Before leaving China to go back home as his work contract ended, I asked him to stop by a Falun Dafa booth if he saw one and sign a petition to support our call to end the persecution. He was more than happy to oblige. A month later, he told me he had found a Falun Dafa booth and his friends had signed the petition.
It looked as though I was asking him for help, but it was Dafa that helped me to awaken him. At that moment, I felt the world was not that big after all.
For me, many impossibilities have become reality because of my cultivation. My friends envy me, but I know deep down everything I have has been given to me by Dafa.
I felt the urgency of time more and more in the last two years. Yet, I still have many attachments to let go. For one, I still prefer to talk to people that I know because of my fear, which really is a manifestation of my lack of righteous thoughts and is a state of mind I need to overcome. I know from studying the Fa that I am here to fulfill my distant past vow to be a diligent practitioner. Therefore, I simply cannot let this precious opportunity slip by, as I understand that reliance on our human thinking will only leave us with regrets. Nevertheless, I have become more determined, and I am intent on staying the course no matter what happens.
I remember the time I clarified the truth to an 80-year-old woman. She was so surprised when she found out that I was a cultivator, “You are cultivating at this young an age?” I know that was an expression from her knowing side. Indeed, I am honored to be a part of Dafa living under the infinite grace of the Buddha Fa. To me, every minute and every second in cultivation is precious!