Cultivating Away Human Attachments During Tribulations

(Minghui.org) I am 71 years old and started practicing Falun Dafa in 1996. I regained my health within six months. Compassionate and revered Master Li Hongzhi gave me a second life and has been pushing me upward in my cultivation.

I have been held in a labor camp, a prison, and a brainwashing center because I was steadfast in my belief. I made several big mistakes during that time because of the stress and my attachment to fear, which led to me being deceived by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) lies. However, I have always managed to get back on the right track because Master never gave up on me. He has been watching over me and guiding me in the right direction. The persecution did not weaken my faith; instead, it helped me see the evil nature of the CCP.

Sand Leaves and Gold Stays

After returning home, I wrote in my diary: “Deep frost brought out gray hair, but also brought about a golden autumn season; it also brought pain and elevation.” One day, these words appeared in my mind: “Sand leaves and gold stays.” I realized that I had to choose between gold and sand. If I really want to become gold, I had to cultivate myself in difficult situations. If I wanted to live a life of comfort, I would have to give up cultivation. I had already made up my mind a long time ago that I would never give up cultivation. “Gold stays” was my only option.

Master said,

“It is precisely when evil intervenes in your life that you can demonstrate your spiritual resolve, your discernment, your ability to stay on track, and your commitment to one practice. The spiritual journey tries men’s souls, and only the most devout make it through.” (The Sixth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

I did the three things that practitioners should do every day and helped my former classmates, co-workers, and anyone I met quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. I told them to recite, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”

The CCP has been carrying out the “Zero-out campaign” since 2017. The police came to my home and asked me if I was still practicing Dafa. I told them how I benefited from the practice and did not agree with any of their nonsensical demands.

Whenever the CCP holds some type of meeting or event, the police come and harass me and scream obscenities at me. However, I wasn’t always able to clarify the truth and send forth righteous thoughts properly. This disturbed me greatly. During this period, my 90-year-old father passed away, my daughter got sick, and all sorts of issues arose in my life.

A Praying Mantis Blocks the Way

My daughter came down with hives, and red spots appeared on her face and around her mouth. While we were talking in the living room, I noticed a little green thing next to her lips. Upon closer look, it was a green Praying Mantis. When I told her about it, she wiped her mouth and flung it on the floor. I picked it up and threw it out the window.

“Where did that Mantis come from?” I wondered. After pondering for a while, I realized that Master was telling me that the Mantis was blocking the way. The police interfering with me, my daughter’s skin condition, and other issues in my life were all interference that the old forces were thrusting upon me to weaken my determination to cultivate. But Master uses such forms of interference to help practitioners mature and gain mighty virtue. I finally understood that, no matter how powerful the evil may seem, good will always prevail.

I increased the time I studied the Fa and looked within and steadied my righteous thoughts. I realized that many attachments revealed themselves during my tribulations, such as sentimentality, especially for my daughter. During these years of persecution, she went through a period of time not knowing if she would ever see her parents again, which tortured her physically and mentally. I also had attachments of fear and hatred. The dark past of my being persecuted still lingered, and I developed hatred for the police. The CCP culture that had been instilled in me made my actions and thoughts quite extreme.

However, as Dafa practitioners, we must act in accordance with the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and cultivate compassion. All of the attachments and Party culture I mentioned had to be eliminated. Police officers are also sentient beings that need to be saved. We need to focus on eliminating the evil that controls them.

After realizing this, I became calm and my daughter’s hives disappeared. My environment completely changed. The police also became kinder to me. One officer said, “We don’t want to bother you. Everyone has their beliefs. If you like to practice, do it at home.” Looking within is the magical Fa implement that Master has given to us practitioners!

The only thing that was interfering with my cultivation was my attachment to self.

A Turning Point

That summer, my daughter and I went to a park. She wanted to take a boat to see the lotuses. The silhouette of the lotus flowers, the clouds, the blue sky, and the water were so beautiful.

We took the boat slowly back to shore. Everyone was happy and taking pictures. Looking at the clean, pure lotus flowers without a speck of mud on them, I felt a sense of gratitude.

I will be diligent in my cultivation, trust Master and Dafa, fulfill the destiny of a practitioner, save as many sentient beings as I can, and return to the heavens with Master.