(Minghui.org) Greetings, honorable Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I obtained Falun Dafa in Vietnam in 2020. At the end of 2022, my whole family came to Finland, and I was able to join group Fa study with fellow practitioners. It was only then that I began to learn about sending forth righteous thoughts. I gradually discovered many of my own issues and realized that my cultivation state had been one of solitary cultivation.
In the initial period after obtaining the Fa, everything went much smoother for me than before, both in work and family life. At work, I was respected and trusted by everyone, and thanks to that, I also introduced the Fa to many people. On the first day of group Fa study with Finnish practitioners, I realized that I had to leave my current job immediately because it was related to numerology, a form of divination. However, I couldn’t find a way to quit the job until I started running a café. It was so hard to earn money selling each cup of coffee, that I suddenly realized how easily I had been making money in my other job. I immediately looked inward and realized I had the attachment of greed for quick money. Therefore, I decided not to accept any more income from that job.
After that, my café business got worse and my family’s financial situation became difficult. At the same time, I had a dream that my mother passed away. A year before, I had dreamed that my father passed away, and a month later, my father indeed passed away. This time, I just thought I should spend more time with my mother and remind my children to call their grandmother. During this period, due to financial problems, I no longer had money to give to my mother, and never before had I been without money for her. In fact, at this time, no friend had money to lend me. It was then that I was shocked and diligently looked inward; I was certain I was making a very big mistake.
Because, although I was born into a poor family, I had never had to worry about finances; whenever I needed money for something, I always had enough. So for the first time I proactively went to Minghui.org and looked for an article that might address my situation. I used the search term “business losses” and immediately found the article, “Seeing the Problem of Long-Term Losses and Business in the Shop Enlightenment (Part 5).” I immediately realized that the job I was doing was a variant of multi-level marketing (MLM).
Before obtaining the Fa, I had worked for Nuskin, an American cosmetic company with a multi-level marketing business model. After obtaining the Fa, I quit that job. When I started numerology, the business model was buying wholesale self-improvement courses and selling them retail, a format that resembled traditional business, so I didn’t realize it was MLM. I read the sharing article many times, searched for and reread Master’s lectures on multi-level marketing, and continued to look inward more deeply. I found an attachment to sentimentality (qing) toward the friends I had introduced the Fa to through the job.
It was this attachment that kept me deluded, unable to quit this job for two years. This company sold self-improvement courses. I started working there in early 2021. At that time, I wrongly thought that Master had arranged this job for me because, through this environment, I met many people and was always introducing the Fa to new friends. By the end of 2021, I realized that this work environment was adopting some very evil hidden games and training courses, delivered through the games and healing meditations, etc. I didn’t know how to send forth righteous thoughts at the time, so in my heart, I pleaded with Master, “Master, the evil energy is so strong, so many people are being deluded and following it. I beg Master to help me save more people.” After realizing that the environment was bad, I still didn’t leave and instead was driven by sentimentality to continue working there and asked Master to help me save people there, wrongly thinking that since I had the Fa and Master’s protection, I would be fine.
From the first day at this job, I had never asked fellow practitioners to join me. I had always questioned, “Master, why am I doing this job, yet so many people are learning the truth and obtaining the Fa?” I wrongly thought that Master was arranging this opportunity for me to spread the Fa. One day, the practitioner who had introduced the Fa to me contacted me and said she wanted to do this job with me. I was delighted, thinking Master saw my distress and had arranged a fellow practitioner to help me care for and guide the new students in the group.
Another new student joined the team who was also a practitioner and was working on an art exhibition project in Saigon. At the same time, a fellow practitioner I knew in Saigon, who was currently unemployed, also wanted to join. I thought Master had arranged this and felt happy. During this time, we were able to organize a nine-day class, and the new practitioners had an environment to study the Fa, do the exercises, and share together. Simultaneously, we always strove to encourage the new practitioners to join the local whole body.
The common point was that all three practitioners who joined me were looking for a new job, while I was anxious and distressed about not being physically present to care for and support the new practitioners and those studying the Fa. It wasn’t until I read the sharing article on Minghui and realized my attachment to sentimentality that I became clear and recognized how immense my sin was, because two fellow practitioners who got involved were working on Dafa projects. Unintentionally, I affected their project time, causing damage to the project from within without realizing it.
At that time, I realized my mistake and deeply felt Master’s immense compassion for always giving me opportunities to improve, and protecting a disciple with such poor enlightenment quality.
Master said,
“Who can really harm this cultivation group, or harm Dafa? No one can, as experience has shown. As I’ve said, that is how things are, and those who are interfered with are people with attachments—but nothing can damage the Fa. Only people within the group can have an adverse effect.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)
I am writing this sharing because, after passing this test, I realized that any trading involving a system model is a variation of multi-level marketing. Because once you are involved in that system, it will try every means to prevent you from escaping and make you ignorantly generate notions that cause harm and sabotage the Fa.
If one does not sincerely look inward and actually cultivate, persistently study the Fa, and realize the attachments that dragged one into this format, it is very difficult to escape. I had decided to quit this job two years ago, from the first day of group Fa study, but I had to endure continuous suffering for those two years. Only when I recognized my two attachments to profit and sentimentality was I able to pass this test, correct myself, and truly begin actual cultivation.
After passing this test, I realized my current state is that of someone with a lot of the black substance. Before, everything was quite smooth, so I had many wrong thoughts without realizing them. This led to me studying the Fa but not obtaining the Fa, while complacently thinking I had enlightened to many Fa principles.
Thanks to this, I diligently faced a major issues in my personal cultivation: the inability to persistently do the exercises, and studying the Fa without truly obtaining the Fa. After five years of cultivation, I still hadn't done the first thing Master had taught. I even sat crying with my son and husband; I wanted to do the exercises but couldn’t make myself do them regularly. So I asked my husband and son to practice with me, but my husband would yell at me more, telling me to never force him to practice. I was in a state of depression and extreme distress because I couldn't regularly do the exercises for a long time.
Thanks to the group exercise project on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons in the park, I made an effort to participate and gradually improved. Also, one day after the exercises, I met a practitioner. I shared with her that I kept having this urge to text and talk to other practitioners, but I felt blocked and couldn’t say anything. The practitioner told me, “Look inward to see if it’s thought karma.” I immediately answered her, “No, because I haven’t insulted Dafa or Master.” Instantly, I sent forth a righteous thought in my mind. The practitioner told me to sincerely look inward, to listen and look inward. As soon as the righteous thought came out, I immediately told the practitioner, “And Party culture too.”
So that evening, I went to Minghui.org and searched the keyword “thought karma” and immediately found the article, “The Slyness of Thought Karma.” I realized my current situation was exactly like the author in the sharing.
I had been reading Zhuan Falun for five years, but I always thought I didn’t have thought karma because I hadn’t insulted Master or Dafa. Rereading it this time, I clearly saw the slyness of the Party culture.
About a year earlier, my husband and I had been talking one day, and he’d agreed and supported what I was saying. A few minutes later, he suddenly yelled at me, calling my words nonsense and thoughtless; his expression was very harsh. I repeatedly apologized and admitted my mistake even though I didn’t know what I had done wrong. I then said to him, “Why do you talk to me like I don’t have a brain? Where is my brain then?” Only after I realized I had thought karma could I answer my question from that time. It was occupying my brain and constantly driving me to generate notions. I recognized the danger of this thought karma a year ago. And that was the reason I committed offenses against Dafa.
Master said,
“Even with just one Dafa disciple, if your righteous thoughts are strong, the power is enough to split a mountain—just one thought will do it.” (“What a Dafa Disciple Is,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume XI)
I realized that if a disciple’s righteous thoughts are that powerful, then the first notion driven by thought karma affects everything in one’s field of space, affecting the whole body, and I understood why Master said,
“Only people within the group can have an adverse effect.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)
After recognizing and eliminating thought karma, I gradually became calmer and did the exercises more, paid more attention to my every thought and notion, and reduced the state of isolation from other practitioners.
About a month ago, while looking inward, I suddenly thought about why I couldn’t attend the Nordic Fa Conference in Sweden. I also couldn’t attend the last European Fa Conference in France in 2023. Yet, during my first year after arriving, I was able to participate in projects in France, Germany, and Belgium. But whenever there was a Fa Conference, it coincided exactly with my visa renewal time, and I was not allowed to leave Finland. I realized my indifference and failure to diligently look inward, inadvertently following the path of the old forces and forgetting to use righteous thoughts to diligently look inward at myself.
The first renewal in 2023 took me six months, so I couldn’t attend the European Fa Conference in 2023. This year, my husband submitted my renewal application in July, so I couldn’t attend the Sweden conference in September. I was careless and just thought it was the natural course of events and that maybe I needed to be in Turku.
I looked inward and found the attachment of indifference toward my application—whatever happens, happens. I corrected myself, with the righteous thought that if it wasn’t the path arranged by Master, I absolutely would not follow it. Nothing should obstruct me from doing the three things, so the long delay in my application preventing me from attending the Fa conference was absolutely not Master’s arrangement. I am a Dafa disciple; nothing can obstruct the things I want to do to fulfill my vows.
I realized my worry about the visa, which was thought karma constantly directing me to worry about family and friends in Vietnam. I sent forth a righteous thought to eliminate that worry and thought karma.
The next day, my visa was approved for four years. Even my boss was surprised because he was worried that my work history was weak due to inconsistent employment. Meanwhile, my husband, who had steady work, only had his approved for two years. That same day, my apartment complex finally had a parking space for us. We had been living there for six months, and the parking registration office had not yielded a spot, forcing us to waste time looking for parking.
I received so much praise at my previous jobs, while my current warehouse job constantly brings me distress. I frequently make mistakes and am not valued by my boss. I realize that the old jobs were arranged by the old forces, buying the café was driven by thought karma, and the current job is arranged by Master to help me continuously elevate my xinxing and recognize my fundamental attachments.
I have been influenced by Party culture since childhood; I never finish what I start, I lack perseverance, always leave things halfway, and only like to do big things, not focusing on practical and necessary things in the present.
My job often requires using a tape cutter to seal boxes. Because I seal a large number of boxes every day, I have a lot of trouble with that tool. I see everyone else using it easily, but it takes me more time. I had done this boxing work for 15 years in Vietnam for a previous job, but I still made this mistake.
Three weeks ago, I worked with a manager who didn’t usually scold people about sealing boxes, but she kept correcting me about the boxes I sealed. She then came to guide me, but the result was still unsatisfactory. For one week, she monitored me, scrutinizing every single box of mine, while other people sealed sloppily and worse than me, but she said nothing to them, only constantly reminding me and demanding high standards from me in every detail.
My xinxing was continuously elevated. I was genuinely grateful and focused on correcting myself. Seeing my attitude, she observed and guided me in a way I could absorb. After I was able to seal straight, consistently good, and neat boxes to her satisfaction, I realized my attachment was the preference for doing big things, working quickly, and not paying attention to details, failing to diligently learn the procedure and quietly take one step at a time. This is what had made me unable to communicate in English, feel that Finnish was hard to learn, and had caused me a lot of distress in managing household chores and cooking. I corrected myself and began practicing with small things, for example, checking every item in the freezer and writing it down on the outside to avoid wasting food or buying things without knowing what I already had at home.
If one cannot succeed with small things, how can one succeed with anything? Therefore, while quietly doing the exercises, thought karma constantly drove me to worry about cooking for my husband and son. Now, when the thought karma appears, I quickly recognize and eliminate it. To achieve self-discipline in cultivation and persistently do the three things Master has taught, I must not forget the small details.
The transformation in my cultivation is thanks to persistently participating in group Fa study, group exercises, joining projects with the whole body, and frequently reading Minghui.org. Currently, the only thing I need to think about and do is to work on Dafa projects well. By constantly reciting this paragraph of the Fa, I can overcome interference and diligently actually cultivate.
I thank venerable Master for always giving opportunities to a disciple with so much karma like me. I want to express my gratitude to the President of the Finnish Falun Dafa Association. Thanks to her frequent emails checking in on me, I have been gradually able to participate more with the whole body. And thank you to the fellow practitioners in the main body. I have received care and reminders and learned a great deal from fellow practitioners. It truly is a pure land. Time is running out, I need to quickly transform my personal cultivation, achieve consistent discipline in cultivation, participate more regularly with the whole body, and put my heart into learning Finnish.
(Presented at the 2025 Finland Fa Conference)