Improving During Cultivation: Making Truth-clarifying Calls to Save Sentient Beings

(Minghui.org) Another year of clarifying the truth has passed. I want to share my cultivation experience this past year, such as making telephone calls to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa over the telephone platform. I discovered that I gained from studying the Fa, improved my xinxing, and awakened the conscience of sentient beings. However, I still have many human thoughts, desires, and attachments that I need to let go of.

Recalling the process of my thinking, I am deeply grateful for Master Li Hongzhi (Falun Dafa’s founder) looking after me and enlightening me, so that I can steadily go through another year of doing the three things well on my cultivation path.

Requirement of Studying the Fa Well: Doing Well in Making Phone Calls to Awaken Sentient Beings

Dafa is the fundamental guarantee for a cultivator. Therefore, when we decide to study a lot of the Fa, we fill our minds with it. Then our righteous thoughts are stronger and the faster is the improvement in our cultivation. We’re then better at saving sentient beings, and the portion of our body that assimilates to the Fa also increases. However, our attitude when studying the Fa also determines the results. Therefore, correcting our attitudes in studying the Fa, and studying it with a pure mind is very important.

There was a period of time when I did not gain any new understandings when I studied the Fa. I did not learn any new Fa-principles, so I just studied it every day perfunctory – like doing homework. Sometimes when I was studying the Fa, I thought about other things, became sleepy, and dropped Zhuan Falun on the floor. Besides, I did not know what I was reading. The worst time was when reading Zhuan Falun I added in a sentence that was not the Fa.

In my unclear state, I heard a voice saying, “Transfer out his main soul.” I immediately woke up, feeling afraid, and realizing that the evil wanted to harm me. So, I sent out a thought: “Annihilate all the evil beings and elements that want to persecute me. I am a Dafa practitioner, I have my Master who makes arrangements for me. Therefore, if I did anything wrong, I will correct myself in the Fa.”

I asked myself: “Why did such an abnormal state of studying the Fa appear? Not respecting Master and the Fa when studying it is wrong, and it is very dangerous. The biggest and most fundamental persecution that the evil can do to a cultivator is to not let him study and obtain the Fa. This type of persecution makes the cultivator not to melt in the Fa. There have already been many such lessons among cultivators.

Master said, 

“When some people read Zhuan Falun they are not concentrating, but rather, thinking about other things, and not able to focus their attention on cultivation. It thus amounts to wasting time. And not just wasting time—instead of it being the time when they are to be elevating, they are using their minds to think over issues and things that they shouldn’t concern themselves with, and thus, not only aren’t they elevating, but on the contrary, they are often dropping in level. If you don’t study the Fa well, there are many things you will not be able to do well.” (Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI) 

The person that Master is referring to is me! I often lose my concentration and think about other things when I study the Fa so that my Fa-study is just going through the formality. In this way, how can the levels and layers of Buddhas, Taos, and Gods behind the Fa show me the Fa principles? 

Master said, 

“You cultivate in a state of delusion, and cannot see what the book of Fa is truly like. When you truly do manage to see it, words will be inadequate, simply powerless, to describe it. I have told you before that behind each word lie Buddhas, Daos, and Gods, tier after tier. Nor can you grasp what it meant when Master said that everything has been compressed into the book of Fa, for at this time you cannot, with your human thoughts, fathom that sentence. Everything can be gained there; it all depends on how much you put your heart into it and what your state of mind is. Everything can be gained through the book of Fa. But cultivation is a serious matter, and you can't be the least bit sloppy with it. If you bring with you any of a variety of impure thoughts when you study the Fa, the book, you will see nothing and gain nothing.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX) 

The content of the Fa is too profound and the purpose of studying the Fa well is really important. Master has already clearly told us all that. Master’s lectures made me understand that there are four reasons why I did not have any new understandings when I studied the Fa, and did not improve my cultivation:

Importance of Studying the Fa

I did not have a clear understanding of the important meaning of studying the Fa. I did not understand the true meaning – Fa is the fundamental guarantee to achieve consummation for a cultivator. 

Master said, 

“It is the responsibility of Dafa disciples to help me in saving all lives. To carry out your mission well, you must first do well in your own spiritual development. Only with the Fa’s guidance will you know how to do better, and only with the Fa’s guidance will you manage to avoid going wrong. At the same time, the Fa is molding you into an extraordinary being.” (“To the Fa Conference in Germany”) 

The Fa has everything that Master gave us to help us succeed in our cultivation.

Pureness of Attitude

My attitude in studying the Fa is not pure, I did not study the Fa whole-heartedly, and I did not concentrate well. I did not uphold the pure attitude of not seeking for anything when I studied the Fa.

Failing to Respect Master and the Fa

I did not respect and believe in Master and the Fa. Sometimes, I continued the bad habit that I had developed over my years of studying in China, due to the indoctrination by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For example, I painstakingly chose words, phrasing, or diction, and remembered the main points, and so on. Sometimes when I was studying the Fa, I fell asleep, leaned against something, etc.

Helping Others Cultivate

I did not integrate the Fa that I studied into my cultivation. I did not reflect on my own behavior based on the Fa. So, I was not clear on the Fa principles that should guide me in my cultivation. Instead, I used the Fa principles to measure others and help others cultivate.

Looking at My Fa Study State

Looking back at my Fa-study state, I understood that if I want to obtain the Fa when studying, I must correct my attitude, and start by changing my mind. Whichever level of standard and requirement my attitude can attain, that level of Buddhas, Taos and Gods would then reveal to me the Fa-principles of that level. Only then can I understand the higher-level Fa and improve in my cultivation state. Now, that I have understood this principle, I must start to correct myself mentally and physically. Therefore, I am making use of all opportunities to memorize the Fa and let go of the human thought that the elderly have poor memories. I just persevere to memorize the Fa on the platform with fellow practitioners every day, and Master has also been empowering me. I believe that I will be able to memorize the Fa.

Changing the Thought: Getting Older Means Growing Old

All sentient beings are being restrained by the old universe’s law of “birth, age, sickness and death.” They will ultimately age, get sick and die. Nobody can escape that. However, many of our elderly Dafa practitioners also showed aging symptoms such as hair turning gray, teeth loosening or falling out, and failing eyesight. Some practitioners did not understand why, so they felt helpless.

Actually, apart from the foreign elements caused by the old forces, are our aging symptoms resulted from our attachments and notions? Ordinary people’s thoughts of growing in age naturally means growing old – and does affect us. We did not understand that our practice is truly the cultivation of mind and body, which is supernatural. If we can look at the problem on the basis of the Fa instead of using ordinary people’s thoughts, the human principles will not restrain us. We will not show symptoms, but will appear younger than ordinary people of our age.

Master raised such an example in Zhuan Falun that a female practitioner who is nearly 70 years old but her face does not have any wrinkles, glowing with a fair and rosy complexion. She looks only around 40. Master also cited himself as an example that although he was already 43 years old, he looked like a young man. Master enlightened us with the Fa that Falun Dafa can change the fundamental body of a cultivator. True cultivators will transform towards becoming young.

I have studied quite a lot of Fa but when I meet with problems in real life, why can’t I look at them based on the Fa? That is due to ordinary people’s thoughts, habits and ways of thinking that I had developed over time – I am immersed in ordinary people’s world. My cultivation and the Fa that I studied are detached so my xinxing did not improve, and thus the changes in my physical form is little. I learned that only when I fundamentally change my ordinary people’s thoughts, habits and way of thinking will I be able to look at problems from a perspective that supersedes ordinary people. Only then will Dafa’s supernormal effects show on my physical body. For example, some of the elderly practitioners who are 70, 80, and even 90 years old are still persisting in making phone calls on the platform to clarify the truth. Their wisdom and energy do not lag behind that of younger practitioners. Even ordinary people are in awe. 

Continuously Correcting My Attitude When Clarifying the Truth

The process of making phone calls to clarify the truth really can temper one’s xinxing. We can meet all sorts of people when we are making truth-clarifying phone calls. There are people who thank us when they understand the truth. Then, there are people who were deceived by the CCP’s lies, so they do not want to listen to us or cannot hear the truth. There are people who cannot understand us or treat us badly, and there are even people who insult and abuse us. 

There are also times when we called the entire list of numbers dozens of times but no one picks up. Sometimes, many human notions and attachments will be revealed. Take for example: wanting to fight with others, feeling happy, bearing grudges or hatred, feeling dejected, and so on. All these notions and attachments will be displayed. If we do not get rid of these notions and attachments, it will affect the effect of our truth clarification. The Fa can change everything.

In order to improve my confidence and correct my attitude, I strengthened my Fa-study and had a clearer understanding of the objectives of clarifying the truth. The objective of clarifying the truth is to save sentient beings. Most of the people in this world are kings of heavenly worlds at different levels of the universe who have come all the way here to obtain the Fa and be saved. Their incorrect behavior today is all because of the lies made by the CCP. 

When we clarify the truth and save them, we are actually assisting Master to save beings and we do what Master wants. After making clear the objectives of clarifying the truth, getting my base point of truth-clarifying right, and correcting my attitude, I use sincerity, kindness, the right tone and logical reasoning to clarify the truth. Only thus can we really save that person. When being insulted or abused, we should be more understanding and laugh it off. We only think about how to save sentient beings, and not be moved by anything else.

It has been more than a year since I started to make phone calls on the rescue platform, and my cultivation state has also changed. I no longer get anxious or fight with others, and I also changed my unkind heart and method of wanting to teach people a lesson. Now, I can clarify the truth patiently and calmly, and I can also talk positively about the spread of Dafa, and the goodness of Dafa, because Dafa can change people’s hearts.

Once, an officer from a police station in Chengdu started to shout once he picked up the phone, “You all have nothing to do but just keep calling. Are you done?” I laughed and said, “Sir, please don’t be angry. If you understood the truth and attained safety and peace, I will not call again.” He calmed down, listened to the truth for a while and hung up.

Then at another time, after hearing the truth clarifications for a while, a police officer said, “If you want to chat about Falun Dafa, you should give me your phone number, identity card number, and address so that I can look for you, and we can talk face-to-face.” He sounded a bit unkind and his motives were clear. If it was in the past, I would have exposed him. However, now, I understand that he is an ordinary being who is waiting to be saved. He is just being deceived by the CCP’s lies and he did not know the truth. I should let him understand the truth so that he can be saved. I need to be clear about this. Therefore, I was not moved by him. 

I said very calmly, “Do not do bad things. You can look through all the laws and regulations in China and you will see that there is not one item that mentions Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa did not commit any crimes but persecuting Falun Dafa is definitely a crime. Kindness and evil will have their just returns. This is a universal law, and the Gods are keeping tabs on what everyone does. The CCP is going to be eliminated soon. When that happens, Falun Dafa will definitely be redressed. When the great judgment is meted out and debts are being accounted for, what are you going to do? At that time, who can save you? Do not persecute Falun Dafa, do not lose this chance to save yourself. Your own peace and safety is the most important, right?” I talked to him calmly without any thoughts of winning him over, thus, he also could not show any unkindness. After hearing all that, he said nothing more and hung up the phone.

In the past, when I met up with such an attitude my heart could not remain calm. Once the call went through, I started to chide the other party and blame them. 

However, the cultivation exchanges from fellow practitioners touched me deeply. I reflected on myself. My attitude was so unkind and unwise. How could it be considered clarifying the truth? How could I save sentient beings like that? Therefore I gradually changed this unkind heart and unwise method, and talked more positively about the spread of Falun Dafa all over the world and the goodness of Falun Dafa, because Dafa can change people’s hearts. 

Cultivate to Become a Better Person

Once, a judge from the intermediate court picked up the phone. The court where he worked had just meted out a heavy sentence on Falun Dafa practitioners. I said, “Judge, please do not illegally sentence Falun Dafa practitioners anymore. You may not have really understood what Falun Dafa is all about.” Then, I told him about the grand scene of Dafa spreading in China before the persecution of Falun Dafa started on July 20, 1999. 

Before the persecution, there were 100 million people practicing Falun Dafa, ranging from high-ranking officials to normal folks. These people cultivated based on the tenets of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance to become a better person. Everyone benefits from the practice, be it being miraculously cured of their illnesses, improvement in their moral behavior, or attaining a healthy body. Dafa changes people from the core. The comments and reports from society and the media were all positive. He kept listening quietly. Realizing that he still wanted to listen, I further told him how Dafa spread from China to overseas. 

Currently, there are more than 100 countries with nearly a million people around the world practicing Falun Dafa. There are many highly educated youths and foreigners from all races overseas who are cultivating in Falun Dafa. Just India’s Bangalore itself already has more than 80 schools where the teachers and students are practicing Falun Dafa. India’s Delhi police academy has more than 3,000 police officers who are practicing Falun Dafa. Taiwan has more than 700 thousand practitioners and that Zhuan Falun has been translated into more than 40 languages, and is published around the world. On May 13 every year, which is World Falun Dafa Day, the whole world thanks Master Li Hongzhi for teaching the universal values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to people, improving the moral integrity of humankind.

The judge listened quietly, and then said, “Falun Dafa is so good, I also want to join your organization.” I told him, “We do not have any organization. If you want to learn, just come and learn. If you do not want to learn anymore, you can just leave.” I told him that we just cultivate ourselves based on the principles that are taught in Zhuan Falun. We just wholeheartedly want to do good for others, not harm others and look within when we meet conflicts and change if the mistake lies in us, instead of finding fault in others. Then, the judge said, “This book is so good, I also want to buy a copy.” Therefore, I gave him the website to let him download Zhuan Falun for free. He quit the CCP and its youth organizations.

Through this encounter, I experienced the fact that the effects of clarifying the truth to save sentient beings depend largely on our mentality. Once we change our mentality and follow the requirements of the Fa, the effects will be good. This is because “You put in the effort and your teacher will handle the rest.” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun) 

Master saw that our xinxing had reached the standard, so he helped us save people who are predestined.

Changing People’s Hearts

There was another time, I made a call to a police department in Tianjin. Three female officers listened to the phone call at the same time. Initially, they did not want to listen and were making fun of me. But gradually, they listened and were very attentive, and finally understood the truth and thanked me.

Initially, I told them how they could avoid the pandemic but they did not believe me and were full of laughter making fun of me. I said, “I am sad for you all as you do not know how dangerous of a situation you are in. I am really worried for you and I cried. Maybe they felt that and no longer laughed. Instead, they started to listen. So I told them that practicing Falun Dafa is not a crime and persecuting Falun Dafa is totally a criminal act. I told them not to persecute Falun Dafa as that is a serious international crime. Whoever committed the crime will have to face judicial consequences and that is very dangerous as it can cost them their lives. The kind and the evil will be rewarded accordingly. This is a universal law. Hearing all this they hung up the phone. When I called again, I said, “Actually Falun Dafa is a high-level Dafa that is of Buddhist tradition and teaches people to cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. 

"Before July 20, 1999, there were a million people who attained a healthy body and improved attitude in China because of practicing Falun Dafa. The security in society improved too. So this practice benefits and brings no harm to people and the country. At that time, society and media reports about this practice were all very positive. Almost everyone knew that Falun Dafa is good. However, how could the former leader Jiang Zemin, who promoted ‘Fake, evil and violence’ tolerate ‘Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance’? Therefore, he wanted to exterminate Falun Dafa. 

"Due to Jiang’s autocracy and political powers, he teamed up with the CCP, making use of one another, to mobilize the whole country’s system to start this cruel and inhumane persecution. For 22 years, the CCP persecuted Falun Dafa by fabricating lies to defame it and resorts to violence against practitioners. They made the police, public procuratorate and law department participate in the persecution of Falun Dafa. Countless Falun Dafa practitioners were arrested and sentenced. Hundreds of torture methods were used against practitioners until many of them died or became paralyzed, and the most evil of all is they remove organs from living Falun Dafa practitioners to gain economic benefits. 

"However, all the media under the CCP mentioned nothing about all this, as the CCP did not want their people to know the truth. You see how cruel and evil the CCP is? Actually, Falun Dafa practitioners are all good people who cultivate Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. They are here to save people before the great elimination of humankind comes. They clarify the truth to people so as to save them but people not only do not listen to the truth and differentiate the good from the bad, they even believe in the lies made by the CCP and persecute practitioners. Won’t that put these people in real danger? 

"When humans do not take action Heaven will. This pandemic is caused because of the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa. It is here to annihilate the CCP, those steadfast CCP members, and those who assisted them in persecuting Falun Dafa. In a list of deaths due to the Wuhan Covid virus last year, 66% to 88% of them are CCP members who have yet to quit the CCP and its youth affiliations. The police, public procuratorate, and law department put in so much effort to persecute Falun Dafa. People from the judicial system who suffered retribution add up to more than 20 thousand. All their names are listed on the Minghui website for all to see. This is just the tip of the iceberg.” Then, she hung up the phone.

I called again and told her, “The CCP is so evil, its nature will never change. It has already planned its scapegoats so it can escape. Take a look at the People’s Police Law of the People’s Republic of China and the laws and regulations that were published in 2013 and 2016, those who execute illegal instructions and create unjust, false and wrongful cases will all be liable for their actions for life. Killing the donkey after unloading the mill is the common practice of the CCP. In the year when the Cultural Revolution ended, the killing of the Beijing police officers to appease the people’s wrath is a good example of this practice. 

"Now the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is going back to check on all the illegal crimes that were committed in the past, and over 72 thousand police officers have already been purged and punished. Furthermore, they are also openly rectifying the system by encouraging insiders and victims to report such acts. If you think about it, by being deceived and manipulated by the CCP now, aren’t you ultimately harming yourself?

"When the CCP is eliminated, Falun Dafa will definitely be redressed. The great judgment will come and when that day comes and you stand on the prisoner’s dock, there will be no more chance to save yourself. But now, there is still a chance for you to repent and save yourself, account for your criminal acts of persecuting Falun Dafa and redeem yourself and gain credit by reporting others’ criminal acts of persecution. There are already over 380 million wise people from China who have quit any of the CCP organizations, so as not to become the funeral objects of the CCP when it falls. You all are clever people, the earlier you quit the earlier you attain safety and peace. I will give you this number for quitting the CCP.” They sincerely thanked me! 

I felt that clarifying the truth with sincerity and compassion really can touch people’s hearts and awaken their conscience. Only when the sentient beings feel that you are truly doing it for their own goodwill do they listen to the truth.

During the process of making the truth-clarifying calls, I felt that the reason why I was able to gradually change myself was due to my daily group Fa-study, memorizing the Fa, and sending forth righteous thoughts on the platform with fellow practitioners. 

Master said, 

“When you go to clarify the truth, only when your mind has stored up ample Fa will you be able to save people. That is when your words will have the power to move them.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX) 

Whenever I can fully absorb the Fa that I am studying without losing a bit of my concentration, I will be able to feel that my entire body is being filled with energy, making me feel warm. At such times, I will be able to immediately settle down when I send forth righteous thoughts and the energy field is very strong too. When I make truth-clarifying calls, there will be less interference and more people are willing to listen. I experienced the preciousness when I really put my heart into studying and immersing myself in the Fa. I also experienced that studying the Fa well is the guarantee to making good truth-clarifying phone calls, and clarifying the truth well.