(Minghui.org) I came to New York in 2015. Today I would like to report my cultivation experience to Master and share my experiences with fellow practitioners.
Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
Since arriving in New York, I’ve been working on the platform to call police, procuratorate, and judicial departments in China in response to persecution cases.
In the beginning, I always ran into people who didn’t understand Dafa and the persecution and frequently swore at me. In one case, a police officer in Heilongjiang Province answered the phone and started swearing. He not only swore at me but also cursed Master. I was so upset that my whole body shook, and it took me a while to come to my senses. When a fellow practitioner heard my phone call, she told me that I had a very strong competitive mentality.
On our platform, we always share our experiences after finishing our calls. Through this practitioners’ help, studying the Fa, and sharing understandings with one another, I was able to let go of my competitive mentality, jealousy, and other attachments. My compassion came forth, and as a result, I often managed to get through to police officers who at first swore at me. One time, a police officer from a remote area told me, “What you said made perfect sense. I've finally learned the truth!”
I normally tell people that Falun Dafa is a Buddha School cultivation way that is practiced all over the world and has received many commendations from governments.
I also tell them, “Our teacher Li Hongzhi has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize multiple times, and we have parades overseas that have tens of thousands of participants.”
Furthermore, I tell them that only in China and under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is Falun Dafa is persecuted, that the self-immolation on Tiananmen Square was a hoax, and that the CCP harvests organs from living Falun Dafa practitioners for profit.
Lastly, I tell them how good is rewarded and evil is punished, and how high-level CCP officials have been forced to step down after persecuting Falun Dafa. I also warned them not to become a scapegoat for Jiang Zemin, the former CCP leader who directed the persecution.
When we made urgent rescue phone calls, often enough, practitioners in police custody were eventually released.
Over the years, practitioners everywhere have worked with one another to create an environment for practitioners in mainland China to save people. This has made it possible for a large portion of people who work in police, procuratorate, and judicial departments in China to learn the facts and be saved by Dafa. This is truly the mighty virtue of Dafa!
A platform was established to help rescue practitioners being held in China, and I took on a role as a coordinator. Fulfilling my role turned out to be quite a painful cultivation process. However, it helped me improve a great deal.
When our team was first established, I ran into a conflict with another coordinator, Ms. Liu. I felt so unfairly treated. If it were before, I would have left the project.
How could I possibly endure being so terribly wronged? Still, I knew that everything was related to my cultivation and that in order to return to my true home with Master, I should look at my own part in the conflict. I should also not be picky when it comes to my cultivation environment. In other words, I have to cultivate myself regardless of how complex the situation.
Another coordinator, Mr. Chen, asked me to look inward. He also said that even though I had cultivated for so many years, I didn’t quite understand what cultivation meant.
This caught me off guard. I thought to myself, “I have cultivated for twenty years under the brutal environment of persecution in China. I've been clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings just the same while never giving in to the evil.”
“How come I didn’t know how to cultivate? How is that possible?” I wondered.
I kept looking inward, wondering which attachments held me back. After group study, I was walking with Mr. Chen and told him the attachments I had uncovered.
He didn’t agree with me, and said that I didn’t know how to cultivate. He gave me a hint by asking if I had run into a similar issue before.
Soon enough, we arrived at the bus stop. After I got on the bus, I recalled running into a similar issue when I previously held a coordination position. At that time, when I couldn’t pass a xinxing test, I didn't want to address it. Every time a conflict occurred, I looked for where the other party fell short. If I ran into someone who didn't sympathize with me, I considered myself totally wronged and wanted to leave the project. I was full of complaints.
While I thought about this, Master’s words came to mind:
“A wicked person is born of jealousy.Out of selfishness and anger he complains about unfairness towards himself.”(“Realm” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
This described me precisely. I was wrong!
At this time, the word “anarchy” appeared in front of me. I was in shock. If one isn't willing to cooperate with coordinators, can one do Dafa work well? My jealousy and the strong influence of the CCP culture on me were fully exposed.
I became clear. Master was using these conflicts to help me eliminate my jealousy as well as Party culture.
I truly appreciated Master for painstakingly making these arrangements. I tried to fulfill my coordinator role well through studying the Fa, cultivating myself well, and looking inward when problems arose.
While cultivating myself well, I tried making effective truth-clarification phone calls. I also tried working with coordinators well and looking inward whenever I ran into conflicts.
Our team members have been working well with one another and elevating collectively. We all consider our rescue platform a great cultivation environment.
I always kept truth-clarification flyers and brochures in my purse. With the help of another practitioner, I loaded the Shen Yun trailer onto my cell phone so that I could easily introduce the show to people.
A few days ago, I exited a subway station to take the bus home. As soon as I sat down, an elderly man sitting beside me struck up a conversation. In a few words, I brought up the topic of Shen Yun. He gladly accepted the flyer from me and said he would watch it.
He came to the U.S. 12 years ago to join his daughter. He often traveled between China and the U.S. and planned to go back home at end of the month. It only took me a few minutes on the bus to talk to him before I got off, but I managed to help him quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. He was very excited and kept saying, “Thank you!” I could clearly see the joy of a being who had been saved.
One time on the subway, it was very crowded. I was standing right beside a pole when I felt someone pulling on my clothes. I turned around and saw a Western lady pointing at an empty seat. She seemed to have a predestined connection with me, so I took out a copy of an English Dafa flyer and passed it on to her. She began to read it carefully and asked me where she could go to learn the exercises!
I understood her but didn’t know how to express myself in English. I pointed at the address of the Tianti bookstore on the flyer and suggested she go there. I also pointed at the English Falun Dafa website and showed it to her. She quickly used her phone to browse the website.
She began watching the documentary of Master teaching Dafa overseas as well as Master correcting practitioners’ movements while they were doing the exercises. She excitedly pointed at the picture of Master Li and said, “Master!” She watched that documentary until she got off the train. Every time she saw Master’s face, she would exclaim, “Master!” I figured she had a great predestined relationship with Master, and I felt very fortunate to introduce Dafa to her!
Another time on the bus, a young Western man gave his seat to me. I took out four Dafa flyers to give him and his three friends. When one of them saw the words “Falun Dafa”, he began to read it aloud and gave a thumbs-up. The others also began to read the flyer and chatted with me in high spirits.
Seeing that I didn’t fully understand what they were talking about, they tried to use a way I could understand to communicate with me. Some of them had been to China and visited the Forbidden City. They acknowledged Falun Dafa as well as traditional Chinese culture. When they were about to leave, we saw each other off, and they took off with the flyers.
There were, however, some people who didn’t support Falun Dafa. One time when I was on the subway, a lady in her 30s sitting right beside me was reading the Epoch Times paper. I saw her look over the health section and glance at the news before putting the paper aside. I said to her, “If you like to read this paper, why don’t you scan its bar code and read it through your phone. It's more convenient that way.”
She told me she’d prefer to read the paper. I said that I liked this paper. Unexpectedly, she said, “I don't agree. This paper is full of lies.”
She then told me that her Dad used to practice Falun Dafa before he passed away. I asked her if he still practiced after the CCP began to persecute Falun Dafa. She said, “No.” Then I said, “If that’s the case, he wouldn’t have our Master taking care of him.” When he reached the end of his life, he would have passed away, I explained.
I then said to her, “I have been practicing Falun Dafa for a long time. I am 67 years old. What do you think of me?”
She took a close look at me and then said surprisingly, “You don’t look like 67 at all!”
Then I told her about the changes I went through after starting cultivation: “Before I started practicing, I used to have heart disease, ulcerative colitis, and skin disease. They all healed after I began to practice Dafa. Now I am the healthiest in my family.” I also told her that I had been persecuted by the CCP and arrested multiple times in China, and that practitioners helped people quit the CCP to ensure their safety.
Our conversation went very well. In the end, she decided to quit the Communist Youth League and the Young Pioneers, two of the CCP’s youth organizations. She also took my information materials, saying that she would show them to her family in order to help them quit the CCP. When we saw each other off, she kept turning her head and saying goodbye to me.
One time, at a subway stop, I gave a flyer to a young mother. She almost grabbed it from me, then spoke to her teenage son about going to see the show right away. I quickly turned on my iPad, which had the Shen Yun trailer. When the train came, we ended up in the same car, so I was able to show them the trailer. The train was packed, so it took them quite a bit of effort to view it. But without a doubt, I knew they’d go to see Shen Yun.
I’ve run into so many cases like this during Shen Yun promotion.
I am a caregiver, and whenever I go to work, I find the appropriate opportunity to clarify the facts about Dafa and introduce Shen Yun. One of my friends said, “I don't even have to read your materials. Just by looking at you, it is obvious that you are kind, so I would say Falun Dafa is wonderful!”
I do my work well to leave a good impression on others. Then, when I bring up the topic of Falun Dafa, they can easily accept it.
Last year, I took seven people to see Shen Yun. Among them were a couple in their 80s, a Tibetan family, a senior couple, their daughter, son-in-law, and a relative. When I couldn’t take care of all of them, I asked another practitioner to help take care of the senior couple. Then, I went with the Tibetan family myself.
They watched the show attentively and gave two standing ovations. After the show, I took public transit with the senior couple. The lady talked about how amazing the performance was, while her husband smiled in agreement. Before that, they didn't acknowledge Falun Dafa or want to quit the CCP. Shen Yun truly saved them!
The next day, I went to the Tibetan family’s home to work. Their son-in-law gave two thumbs up and praised Shen Yun, saying his favorite piece was the Monkey King. Their relative also excitedly praised Shen Yun and said it was well done!
Twenty-one years have passed since I began to practice Dafa. I often think about my cultivation process, which progressed from being like a child who needed to hold Master’s hand all the way to this day.
Without Master’s saving grace, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I will surely treasure this opportunity, solidly cultivate myself to save more people, and return home with Master!