(Minghui.org) Greetings, venerable Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I began to practice Falun Dafa in May 2011. Under Master's protection, I have come this far. In the process of enlightening to Dafa's profound principles, I also managed to validate the Fa in my day-to-day life.
Master said,
“You have no idea why I have adopted such a formless approach. Because our Fa is so grand, to do it justice we have to take a “great way without form” to spread this Fa in the secular world.” (Teachings at the First Conference in North America)
Master also said,
“The form that your cultivation takes has one cultivate in ordinary human society, and people in different social classes or different professions can all cultivate; and as you reside in different societies and make use of the different professions you are in to validate the Fa and save sentient beings in every corner of the world, you are utilizing this present form of society to cultivate.” (“Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. X)
From my understanding all of society is our cultivation site. I'd like to share my experience in validating the Fa in my day-to-day life.
My Landlord's Transformation
When I first came here to look for work and find a place to stay, I felt that everything was carefully arranged by Master.
The first time I went to check out a rental place, I brought Dafa materials to give to the landlord. The landlady was in her 80s. As soon as she saw the words, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance”, she smiled. After a quick chat she was ready to sign the contract with me. But her daughter wanted to think it over, so I didn't get the place right away. I was satisfied with this place in terms of its location, size and the price and I truly hoped I would get it.
Two days later her daughter phoned me and said that they rented the place to another person. I had to keep looking, but very few places fit my needs. I had to pick one although I wasn't very happy. The rental contract was prepared, but I wasn't ready to sign it. The night before the deadline the landlord contacted me and said that if I didn't mail it out the next day, the contract would be canceled. I had to make up my mind.
That night I got a call. The person asked, “Do you practice Falun Dafa?” I was surprised, but said, “Yes, I practice Falun Dafa.” It was the daughter of the first landlady and she asked if I was still interested in renting her place. I felt this was incredible! “Yes!” I replied.
When I signed the contract the next day she explained that the other tenant didn't go to work. Instead he stayed home all day, every day. They were concerned that he couldn't afford to pay the rent. After talking it over with her mother, they decided to phone me. I knew that everything was arranged by Master.
An amazing thing happened shortly after I moved in. When I came home from work and opened the door one day, the entire house was filled with cigarette smoke. I was caught off guard: My goodness! Apparently the landlady was a smoker. I'm very sensitive to odors and wondered if I'd have to move out. I decided to leave everything to Master.
When I came home a few days later, the landlady rushed down the stairs and excitedly said, “I quit smoking after 30+ years! The doctor said I had to quit.” I was so touched. I knew Master helped both of us. I said, “That's incredible!” She said that she repeatedly tried to quit but always failed. This time it was easy.
After I moved in her temperament and character greatly improved. She is demanding and competent and has two daughters. When they came to see her, they often became emotional, and ended up yelling and arguing with her. She felt her life was unfair and complained about many things: She wasn't happy with high taxes, young people's behavior, or when the neighbor's tree touched her roof. She underwent seven operations, and was about to have another one. Whenever she began complaining I sympathized with her, but I always pointed out that getting upset would affect her health. I remember that Master told us that everything has its cause and effect, and we have to pay for whatever we've done. Ordinary people don't know this, so they are pitiful.
I suggested that whenever something upset her, she should say, “Falun Dafa is wonderful! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful!” She happily agreed. She asked me to write it down to help her remember. From then on, she didn't complain as much. Whenever she was about to say something negative, I'd smile and say, “Do you remember that phrase?” She'd smile and we'd say it together.
After a year I seldom heard my landlady and her daughters yelling at each other. Their relationship is much closer. She often asks me for Dafa flyers and she shares them with her church friends. When she visits her relatives and friends she tells them about Falun Dafa and gives them the information. When she wrote letters to her siblings in Vienna, she sent them flyers or Minghui special editions as well as Shen Yun flyers. She enjoyed reading editorials published by the editors of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and shared them with her relatives and friends.
Gradually her complexion became rosy, and her outlook on life became positive and kind. Through her transformation, I witnessed how Dafa's mighty virtue brings beauty and brightness to sentient beings. It was truly as Master said, “The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and harmonizes everything.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
Validating Dafa and Saving Sentient Beings at Work
I work in a small watch shop which is located in a famous sight-seeing town at the foot of the Alps. My boss is 86-years-old and very kind. I used to work in a Chinese medicine clinic owned by Chinese. On the surface, the reason I had to quit my job was because my boss wasn't happy when he saw me telling clients about Shen Yun. Yet, from a cultivation perspective I realized that my xinxing was not up to par. Because of my fear and worries, I couldn't awaken the owner's conscience–he was deceived by the CCP's (Chinese Communist Party) lies. I failed to validate the Fa in an upright manner. I left with regrets due to the loopholes in my xinxing.
The watch store is located in a busy area near the railway station. Our customers are different nationalities, and come from all over the world. No matter who they are I try my best to tell them about Dafa or Shen Yun. Prior to the outbreak of the CCP virus (coronavirus), tourists from mainland China stopped by. I prepared paper slips with information about how to break through the CCP's Internet blockade, or truth-clarification brochures. During the Chinese New Year, I rolled up truth-clarification paper to form the shapes of candy sticks to give to Chinese people as new year gifts. When my righteous thoughts were strong and my cultivation state was good, I could help them renounce their CCP memberships.
In the beginning, some of my colleagues didn't understand or even tried to interfere with me. I explained that the Chinese people were poisoned and deceived since they had been brainwashed by the CCP since childhood. My explanation helped them understand why many Chinese behaved so differently than westerners; they were rude and talked too loudly in public. I told my colleagues that showing them the way to break through Internet blockade gave them an opportunity to see the true world, especially the truth of the persecution of Falun Dafa. If more Chinese learned the truth, the whole world would benefit.
After they understood, even in my absence, some colleagues gave Chinese people the information for breaking through Internet blockade and suggested they try it.
When I first started working in the store, the boss told me sadly that his business was declining. It was because of the competition, plus the fact that few young people wear watches. After hearing this I thought to myself that no matter where we practitioners are, we bring good fortune to sentient beings.
After I started working there, whenever I was at work, sales went very well. Sometimes they even doubled or tripled. In the beginning, my boss and colleagues were surprised. They became used to it, but they began to pay close attention to me. I knew this was because of Dafa's mighty virtue and Master's empowerment. I felt that when people felt my kindness and sincerity, they'd make the purchase from me. More importantly, I should use the opportunity to pass on the beauty of Dafa and tell them about Shen Yun.
I realized that as long as I had the intention of telling a customer about Dafa or Shen Yun, it was easy to bring up the subject. For instance, some customers said, “I'm really interested in going to China,” or, “I've been to China.” I tell them, “That's great! Let me tell you about the true essence of five thousand years of Chinese civilization!” Then I'd give them cards with information about Dafa or Shen Yun, or I'd write down the websites for them. When I saw people from far away countries leaving with smiles on their faces, I always felt very relieved.
Master said,
“Weren’t all those thousands of years of reincarnating and waiting exactly for this?” (“Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference”)
I understood that Master wanted to save them, and they traveled abroad so they could receive information about Falun Dafa; this way their trips were worthwhile.
My Boss Learns the Exercises
As soon as I told my boss about Dafa, he said it was good. When his old friends came to see him, he had me tell them about Falun Dafa. He was interested in learning the practice, but didn't start reading Dafa books or doing the exercises right away. He only read part of Zhuan Falun but did not finish. Last year when he had a heart operation and felt his health declining, he asked to learn the exercises.
The second time he did the second exercise, he managed to stand for half an hour. From then on, as soon as I finished work, he wanted to do the exercises. When we finished he'd say, “Thank you!” At the beginning, I only said, “My pleasure.” I later said, “Let's both thank Master Li Hongzhi.” He agreed.
During the process of showing him how to do the exercises, he repeatedly made the same mistakes. I almost ran out of patience, but I managed not to show it. I reminded him to put his heart into doing the movements correctly and to continue studying the Fa. He soon became more diligent. I realized he was my mirror. If he did something wrong I knew it happened to show me where I fell short. When I corrected myself, he did well.
I know that everything is in Master's hands, but my recent loophole is that I've paid too much attention to the rapid changes in society. I'm too attached to checking out practitioners' current affairs commentaries, to the point where I fail to get up early in the morning to do the exercises. I wasted the time meant used for doing the three things. I want to expose these attachments to eliminate my attachment to leisure, curiosity, and a show-off mentality.
This is my sharing based on my limited cultivation level, please kindly point out anything inappropriate. Heshi!
