Cultivation Journey of a 37-Year-Old American

(Minghui.org) I was born in a European country and came to the U.S. when I was six years old. When I was young I saw Falun Dafa practitioners on TV and thought, “These are the smart people. How do I do what they’re doing?” I would think about the meaning of life and wanted to find out the truth. I read many books and lived for this purpose. When I went to college that was my goal. In college, I became sick and someone suggested I try meditation. The principles talked about in the meditation class were deeper than anything else I was learning. In one class the professor talked about Falun Gong. I thought, “This is the best practice.” I went to the library and checked out Zhuan Falun. When I read in Lunyu that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance (真、善、忍) is the principle of the cosmos, I knew that the book was truth.

I read Zhuan Falun, and at a certain point, I understood what it was about. When I returned to my home state I wanted to cultivate. I thought about the most expedient way to awaken people to the truth about Falun Dafa. I decided to do sales to raise money for the media. However, I realized that I wasn’t interested in the sales process. I came to understand that you have to put your heart into what you’re doing. I was a writer and wanted to write about cultivation, but that’s not something I could do to make a living so I joined the army. In the army I realized that the United States is based on good principles and they taught me to be a good person. I loved it, but I didn’t want to spend many years being a soldier. I wanted more time to clarify the truth, and so I decided to leave. I eventually found a media job where I could really put my heart into the work, and kept creating content.

Studying the Fa

I wanted to read the Fa in Chinese, so I used an add-on tool for Mozilla that translates the characters. This helped me to read the Fa in Chinese. I memorized it and sometimes focused on the characters in my mind. Being sincere in Fa study, I found that it has become a part of me. Master Li’s (Dafa’s founder) words are always in my mind. I also started doing translating work which also deepened my understanding.

Tribulations

In the process of my cultivation, I found that being grounded and unmoved allows Master’s plan to work. Being a veteran, I understood that in the most extreme situations a person can remain calm and clearheaded, and I was able to do this in any situation.

To give an example, sometimes there is fatigue. Being a writer, I have become very clear on what’s going on in my thoughts. When there is discomfort, I focus on what I’m doing and what I need to do. I’m aware of the discomfort but it’s as if it’s happening to someone else, so it doesn’t affect me. The same goes for interpersonal conflicts and other hardships. Knowing what I believe to be true and always being aware of my thinking gives me unshakable confidence and determination. It’s just a natural state that one is always present, with no intention.

For instance, due to mistakes there was once a misunderstanding between myself and other practitioners. I am always aware of what’s in my mind, and I think this comes from being sincere about cultivation. There have been some superficial complaints, but knowing that I’m a cultivator, I don’t harbor ill will and I always try to be open and kind to everyone. I treat the thoughts as superficial and as someone else, and they disappear. Always being aware that I’m a Dafa disciple, I know that everything is from Master, and any problems are my own opportunities to cultivate.

“Of course, the process of cultivation is a very slow and gradual one, and one must sacrifice quite a lot. It is not very easy for one to temper oneself physically and mentally. Can one remain calm in a xinxing conflict with others? Will one be unaffected when personal, vested interests are at stake? It is very difficult to do this, so it is not that as long as one wants to achieve this goal, one can achieve it. Only when one’s xinxing and de have been upgraded can one achieve this goal.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)

I could give countless specifics, but it’s the same as for all practitioners: Fa study, raising xinxing, and sending righteous thoughts. One thing I’ll say is that in the beginning I had the intention to cultivate, but with time I became a particle of Dafa. Now the intention to do things comes of itself. I rarely have to think about things other than specifics, and even that is clear for the most part.