(Minghui.org) I am in my 70s and began to practice Falun Dafa in 1996. Just as millions of other Dafa practitioners did, I validated and safeguarded Dafa when the persecution began. I was also illegally imprisoned and went on hunger strikes to protest the persecution.
Now, I help other practitioners gain access to the Minghui website, and provide technical support.
A number of local practitioners did not have computers. Thus, they could not get on the Minghui website and relied on printed copies of the Minghui Weekly, or kept up by talking to fellow practitioners.
When we read Master’s teachings, some practitioners read at whatever pace they were comfortable with, and chatted or ate afterwards. As time passed, some practitioners no longer wanted the Minghui Weekly, as they were concerned about safety. After we finished reading the Fa, they left and rarely exchanged experiences. I worried that this would negatively affect our cultivation improvement as one body, and our ability to save people.
I felt the situation would improve if every practitioner could get on the Minghui website. I started encouraging practitioners to purchase computers, but met with resistance. Some elderly practitioners were not interested in buying a computer. Some thought it was too difficult to learn. Others could not afford it. When I understood this situation, I decided to accept the responsibility and help them.
I first coordinated with a practitioner to find a place where we could meet. We formed a new Fa study group and studied the Fa every Sunday afternoon. We read the teachings together at the same pace and afterwards discussed our cultivation experiences. The good environment encouraged other practitioners, and some bought printers and laptops. Some began to actively distribute truth-clarification materials and clarified the truth to people face-to-face. With this improvement and less resistance, I started to encourage individual practitioners to purchase a computer.
One practitioner told me she was in financial difficulty, as she’d just bought a house. I told her I would buy a computer for her, and she could pay me back at her convenience. “You came to Dafa cultivation because of an incurable disease,” I said. “If you feel unwell, wouldn’t you want to read how other practitioners handled the same situation? If you buy a computer you can log onto the Minghui website, read fellow practitioners’ sharing articles, and read Master’s new teachings as soon as they are published, instead of going to other practitioners' homes. How about I buy an inexpensive laptop for you?” She agreed and I bought her a second-hand laptop. She was very happy to be able to access the Minghui website, and fellow practitioners also felt happy for her.
Another practitioner who lived in a remote town was reluctant to buy a computer at first. After I suggested it several times she finally agreed. After she bought the computer, I offered to teach her how to operate it and log onto Minghui. She hesitated, maybe not trusting me or thinking that I was too old and uneducated. I didn’t force her but encouraged her to find someone to help. She asked around, but couldn’t find anyone else. Eventually she agreed to work with me. After I taught her how to log onto the Minghui website, she was really excited and repeatedly thanked me. I was happy for her and told her she should really thank Master.
Another practitioner was persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and was in a difficult situation. I gave her an old laptop, and told her she could use it without paying me back if she did not have the money.
Another practitioner, also uneducated, cultivated very diligently. She became anxious after seeing how the others benefited from reading the Minghui website, and asked me to help her. She saved the money her children gave her for living expenses to buy the computer, and told me that she would rather eat less in order to have a computer. I was moved by her pure heart.
Her home did not have an Internet connection. Her nine-year-old grandson went to the barbershop across the street one day and saw a Wi-Fi password posted there. He memorized it and was able to log onto the Minghui website. It was the Chinese New Year and they watched Shen Yun together. She had longed to see the Shen Yun performances and was very happy to finally get to see the show. After that, she had an Internet connection installed in her home.
We understood that all of this was arranged by Master, and everyone was very grateful to Master. Afterwards, the rest of the local practitioners bought computers and learned how to log onto Minghui.
Many practitioners faced system installation and maintenance issues after purchasing computers. The only practitioner who knew the technology was afraid of being caught and persecuted, and was not willing to help. He’d shown me how to do some things before, but I did not remember them, as at that time, I counted on him to help us. In order to not let the practitioners down and be worthy of Master’s salvation, I was determined to take on the responsibility—even though I was under a lot of stress and lacked the proper skills.
I searched the Tiandixing website (a technical help website for practitioners), downloaded the tutorials and practiced by myself. It was very difficult and time-consuming for me to learn due to my lack of education and my advanced age. With Master’s help, I finally broke through the human notion of “old age” and mastered system installation, printing, how to produce amulets and Dafa books, and how to make truth-clarification materials.
I also needed to take care of computer hardware issues for practitioners, such as screen problems, keyboard malfunctions and motherboard upgrades, as most of them had bought second-hand computers. I let go of my fear and took the computers to the shops for repair. I helped purchase printers and accessories, and I also sent the truth-clarification materials I made to those practitioners who needed them.
I handled everything without any help. Sometimes, I felt so lonely that I wanted to cry. I sent forth righteous thoughts and asked Master to help me whenever I had difficulties. I finally broke through all the tribulations by maintaining a pure heart, and my wish to help fellow practitioners.
I did not want others to depend on me and encouraged the young practitioners to learn the technology skills. When some of them became familiar with the technical information, they shared some of my responsibilities.
I purchased an air conditioner with money out of my own pocket and installed it at the new Fa-study site. However, some practitioners talked about it behind my back. I felt this was a trivial matter and ignored it.
Master said,
“But normally when a problem arises, if it does not irritate you psychologically, it does not count or is useless and cannot make you improve. So he can’t get over it and it bothers him.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
One day a practitioner suddenly put a stack of money in front of me during Fa-study and said, “We’re reimbursing the money for the air conditioner. If you took the money from the [truth-clarification] materials production site to buy the air conditioner, please return it.” I was very calm and replied, “I used my own money. I did not take it from the material site.” She said, “If you did not take it, then use this money for materials.” I took the money, not thinking much or asking who suspected me of taking Dafa’s resources.
However I thought about it after returning home and I felt wronged. If I accepted the money then didn’t I just acknowledge that I took the money from the materials production site to buy an air conditioner? I returned the money to the practitioners during the next Fa study. They refused to take it back. I said, “I gave you the air conditioner but you gave me this money. It’s unreasonable. How about I return the air conditioner?” They realized I was serious and did not pursue it further.
I looked within afterwards and wondered what attachments I had that caused so much trouble over such a little thing. I realized that I had the pursuit of self interest, showing off and a competitive mentality—even though it appeared on the surface that I took personal interests lightly. I decided to eliminate these attachments.
Another time, a practitioner suffered from illness karma. I visited her often to exchange understandings with her.
I noticed that her husband had a bookcase full of CCP books. I told him, “This room is full of negative things. Your wife’s health is being affected by this. You should get rid of these books as soon as possible, which will help your wife recover. The CCP will be eliminated and you should not hold onto it.” He finally agreed to let us get rid of the books. After the practitioner and I removed all the CCP books she felt better.
That night I dreamed that a bloody, dead fox was lying in front of the practitioner’s home. I knew that compassionate Master had helped her remove the evil spirits in other dimensions.
Once, when we read the Fa together, she tearfully thanked me for breaking through the interference to install computers for practitioners. I told her it was what I should do and Master is the one who really did all the work. I said that I often asked Master to strengthen me and help me to accomplish what I needed to do.
Although I tried my best to help other practitioners, sometimes I realized I did not cultivate myself well and had human notions, such as resentment and jealousy. For instance, I saw that some practitioners only clarified the truth when they went shopping. They spent most of their time at home reading the teachings or doing other things. I felt unbalanced that some practitioners would not cooperate with me. Because of so many responsibilities, I had less time to study the Fa. I realized that this was actually a reflection of my jealousy.
When I delivered truth-clarification materials to fellow practitioners, I generally accommodated their schedules as much as I could. Once, I arrived at a practitioner’s building entrance at the agreed-upon time but did not see her. The door happened to be open so I went up to the fifth floor to find her. However her door was locked and she did not respond.
I became very angry and quickly left and hurried downstairs. She chased after me. I complained in my heart, “You only think of your own safety and did not open the door. I’m carrying a big bag of truth-clarification materials. Do you ever think of my safety?” Another time, I brought a bag of materials to meet her at the agreed time, but again could not find her. I looked for her three times before I finally delivered the materials. I felt lonely and helpless when things like this happened.
Fortunately, I remembered that I’m a practitioner. I understood that Master used this opportunity to enlighten me and help me realize my responsibilities. We signed the oath with our lives when we came down to this world, and we should not complain about any pain, hardship or fatigue. We should eliminate jealousy and resentment. We should fulfill our mission with joy instead. I rectified my thoughts and no longer complained, was jealous, or felt imbalanced.
Once, Master enlightened me in my dream. I dreamed I walked along a muddy road over a small slope. Then I saw a stainless steel staircase. When I went up the stairs to a certain point, the slope became very steep, and there was no stairs or road. However, I still managed to go up and saw a Buddha in front of me, with two fires burning in front of him.
Suddenly the fire disappeared and the Buddha was beautifully illuminated in golden yellow. I immediately thought of Master’s Fa, “… Amidst tribulation, the gold body is refined ...” (“The Path to Divinity Is Difficult”, Hong Yin II) I understood Master enlightened me that everything we do during the Fa-rectification is not for others, but for ourselves to consummate and elevate our status. In order to achieve consummation, we must pass the test of tribulations.
Master told us, “You have made it through scores of difficulties on your journey, and shouldn’t be tripping and falling at the end.” (“Wake Up”)
I cannot stop on my journey of cultivation, neither can I fall. I must continue looking within and stop obsessing about other practitioners. In fact, every practitioner is walking his or her own path, which is truly amazing. The various attachments practitioners made me aware of in the past have actually helped me. I feel grateful to my fellow practitioners for giving me opportunities to truly improve myself.
After I finished writing this article, my mind became clearer, and I felt that my level was elevated. I also exposed and cleared out some negative substances. At the same time, all the pain in my body caused by a recent fall disappeared. I remind myself to walk more steadily on the final path of my cultivation, meet the requirements of the Fa, and truly fulfill my prehistoric oath.