(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I started practicing Falun Dafa 10 years ago, and I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on my recent cultivation experiences. I often feel that everything that happens in our lives is pre-arranged, and I truly believe that Master is always with us.
At the beginning of this year, I left a project I was part of for many years. I wasn’t sure if this was the right decision. Around the same time, a chopping board in my home broke into three pieces, which made me feel lost and sad. When I shared my feelings with another practitioner, he asked if it felt like I lost an old friend. I realized it did! I found it amusing that I developed such strong emotions toward a project, so, I decided to let go of my attachment to it. I also told myself that I would still contribute in any way I could, such as writing articles. However, I soon became busy with another project and I didn’t have time to write.
At the end of last year, I sent an email expressing my hope to contribute to a different project. For the first few months, I didn’t hear back. But after I left the previous project, I soon received a reply and I was invited to join their training sessions. It was an amazing experience. I quickly learned to use new software to create content. Sometimes, everything aligned perfectly—a potential interviewee would be available the same day I called, and the practitioner who helped me could shoot videos that day too. Whenever these moments happened, I felt very grateful for Master’s wonderful arrangements.
Master said in the recent Fa teaching, A Wake-Up Call, that “When you write or speak, you should do so with the intent to help others elevate spiritually, and do so with love for your fellow man.”
Master also said that “Many of you who are involved in various media platforms need to start connecting your work with raising awareness and helping to free people from danger to their souls. If your only aim is to increase your click rate, that’s hardly the spiritual state of a Dafa practitioner. You are wasting large amounts of the limited time that is meant for rescuing people in these final days! You are going to regret that one day!”
Since the I read this Fa teaching by Master, I realized I should use Master’s words as a guide for my content creation. I decided to create content that reminds people of the value of kindness and inspires them to be saved. However, sometimes it seemed that content promoting good values wasn’t as appealing as entertaining or easier-to-produce content. This left me feeling confused and discouraged at times. I had similar feelings in my previous project, where achieving the ideal outcome was often difficult. But lately, I think the intent behind our actions is what truly matters.
This reminds me of the story of Milarepa, who followed his master’s instructions to build houses, only to be told he had to repeatedly dismantle and rebuild them. On the surface, it seemed like a waste of time since none of the houses were completed, but the process itself had deep meaning. Here, I’d like to ask fellow practitioners for a favor: if you have any topic suggestions for content creation, I would greatly appreciate your input. Thank you.
I often feel that my life is filled with various tests. From the moment I wake up, I face challenges like whether I can focus when sending forth righteous thoughts, let go of my attachment to comfort and wake up early, go to work without fearing potential troubles. Can I stay calm and compassionate when I’m treated with disrespect, or avoid being driven by attachment to friendship and selfishness when protecting those close to me?
I dislike one coworker’s personality. When he spoke to me in a very arrogant and rude way and as I was about to get angry, I remembered that this was all caused by my karma. I immediately felt calm and peaceful. I thought, “Yes, these irritations are caused by karma.” I realized I hadn’t fully aligned my actions with the Fa and I lacked tolerance. I often judged others and situations based on human standards or personal preferences. My anger was driven by my selfishness and feelings of hurt, which is not the way a true cultivator or someone focused on saving sentient beings should handle things.
It felt amazing because, in the past, I wouldn’t have immediately thought of it as a result of my karma. Only Master’s Fa has the power to change me as a person, and I feel deeply grateful to Master.
A practitioner close to me was facing challenges at work and often felt upset and demoralized. One day, I received another message from him, which made me feel heavy-hearted. But soon, I remembered what Master said in Zhuan Falun,
“When your friends or family suffer, are you moved? How do you weigh these things?” (Lecture Eight, Zhuan Falun)
I realized I shouldn’t be moved and I calmed down.
I often feel that unusual changes in my environment might not be just coincidences. For example, I really dislike spiders, but when I notice a lot of my attachments surfacing, I often see them. It occurred to me that the Chinese pronunciation of “spider” sounds a lot like “attachment.” Another practitioner pointed out that when I see them it might be a reminder that it’s time to let go of emotion. This made sense to me, as I’m easily disturbed by small matters. Fear and anger are emotions I’ve been working to overcome.
I used to walk through the Botanic Garden on my way to work. For about two months this year, a large spider web formed between some tree branches, and a large spider sat in the middle of it. People hurried past when they noticed it. I felt it might not be a coincidence that it appeared in my environment. I was busy at work and didn’t keep up with sending forth righteous thoughts at noon or 6 p.m. I knew it wasn’t right, but I didn’t change.
One day, I decided to clear away the negative elements in other dimensions so I focused deeply when I sent righteous thoughts. A few days later, I suddenly felt an indescribable happiness and that my field was clear. On my way to work that day, I was surprised to see the spider was gone.
At the beginning of the year, I dreamed I was on a ship. In the dream, I knew the journey wouldn’t be smooth, but I resolved to stay on the ship no matter how rough it got. As I thought this, the scene changed, and I saw waves as tall as several stories. Everyone on the ship was thrown into the air by the massive waves. When I woke up, I wondered if the dream was suggesting that bigger tests might be ahead.
Some recent lawsuits have targeted Shen Yun, media projects, and even Master. I believe these are tests for every being in the three realms, every person in this world, and every practitioner—not just those involved in Shen Yun or media projects. It’s also an opportunity to expose and eliminate the negative elements practitioners may have. How we react to what we see and hear during this time is crucial.
I sense that those behind the lawsuits are driven by jealousy and resentment. This reminds me of similar issues I’ve observed in projects or between projects. From my understanding, if we feel something isn’t done well in a project, we should quietly help improve it with kindness, and compassionately resolve issues. We should reflect on whether we’ve harbored complaints against projects, as these thoughts can cause divisions and drain time and energy unnecessarily. The communist specter thrives on jealousy, and stirs up conflicts to achieve their goals of division and destruction.
Since learning about the lawsuit against Shen Yun, I’ve focused on eliminating these evil beings in other dimensions while sending forth righteous thoughts. I firmly believe we have the power to do this. While I read Zhuan Falun, I realized that sending forth righteous thoughts is a divine power given by Master. It enables us to eliminate all evils, from the macroscopic to the microscopic, because this is a divine gift from Master.
I also believe other tests may appear in different forms, manifesting in all areas of our daily lives. The requirements might become increasingly difficult. I feel that each day brings various tests, possibly because I still have many attachments to let go of. Daily events test whether my thoughts align with Dafa’s principles of, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Recently, I was given a responsibility that seemed to lead to my being blamed. Despite this, I reminded myself to act according to the Fa principles, and use this as an opportunity to improve my cultivation and eliminate negative thoughts, especially my feelings of unfairness. I wished to avoid leaving any gaps that could be exploited by the old forces. While studying Zhuan Falun, I was reminded that gains and losses in other dimensions differ from human perceptions.
People may face hardships in the coming years. I hope to cherish every day we have to cultivate ourselves, every opportunity to cooperate with fellow practitioners to save sentient beings, every group Fa study, and every experience-sharing conference.
Master said, “Cultivate with the heart you once had, and success is certain.” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XII)
For some time I thought that “cultivate with the heart you once had” was referring to the state of clarifying truth I had when I first began practicing. I recently had a different understanding—that it might be referring to the joy and enthusiasm I felt when I just obtained the Fa. I felt happy—even when I slept—it seemed that suddenly all my worries were gone and no longer mattered. I compare every thought I had according to my understanding of the Fa. For several days, Master let me experience the feeling of emptiness at my level at the time—I felt so peaceful and calm and I had no thoughts. But with the passing of time, I was not as diligent as before especially in my everyday life. I no longer focused on cultivating myself.
I still remember two dreams I had before I obtained the Fa ten years ago.
In one dream, I saw one King of Law and the son of the King of Law. But a voice said this was merely a fireworks show in India. My understanding then was that one can no longer be saved by what was taught in the Buddhist school in the past.
In the second dream, I was surrounded by many heavenly maidens who ascended toward the sky. I felt that I was supposed to ascend with them, but my body was too heavy. Recalling the dream, I think that might be referring to me having too many attachments, which made my body heavy.
I’m sharing this to remind myself of the meaning of life, and to tell everyone in this world that cultivation is real, and the meaning of cultivation in Falun Dafa is far deeper.
In their sharing articles on the Minghui website, some practitioners say they want to become a particle of Dafa. I once thought this was a metaphor—but now I feel it’s real, and I also want to become a particle created by Dafa. Now amid the battle between good and evil, it’s every practitioner’s duty to safeguard Dafa. I will treat cultivation with even greater seriousness, walk on the path arranged by Master, and try to do the three things well, and not add to Master’s burden due to my slacking off.
Fellow practitioners, please point out anything not in line with the Fa.
Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
(Presented at the 2024 Singapore Fa Conference)