A New Practitioner’s Cultivation Journey of Maturing in Dafa

(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in May 2020, just after I turned 31. This was in April 2020, when the lockdown for COVID was largely lifted in China, and people were gradually going back to work.

I run a barbershop outside of my hometown. A month prior, a customer named Ming came in to get a haircut. He told me that many people in Wuhan had died from the virus and that the government was hiding the truth and deceiving people. He said he learned this by accessing overseas websites through a VPN. I had never used such a tool before, but after he helped install it, I was able to access Sound of Hope Radio.

The pandemic was still very severe, and my barbershop was not busy. I felt anxious due to the uncertainty. In my spare time, I visited the Sound of Hope website to follow current events. I noticed they were also many reports about Falun Dafa. Because I had been influenced and misled by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) ideology since childhood, I initially felt very resistant when I saw these reports. But as I visited the website more often, I came to understand that Master Li and Falun Dafa were being slandered by the CCP and that practitioners were being persecuted. I found it incredible, as this was the complete opposite of the propaganda I’d been exposed to in school.

At that time, I was unsure who to believe. But when I learned that Falun Dafa teaches people to be good and follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I felt there was nothing wrong with these values.

I contacted Ming and asked him about the meaning of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He explained the truth about Falun Dafa to me, and I wondered if the practice could improve one’s health and if it really taught people to be good. I felt that I needed to read the Falun Dafa books to find out for myself.

So I asked Ming where I could buy the books. But as soon as I asked, I became afraid, as I had read reports about practitioners being persecuted. Looking back now, I realize this was interference from the old forces. If Ming had hesitated even a little, I would have refused to read them. Fortunately, he had strong righteous thoughts and agreed to bring me electronic versions of the books the next day.

When Ming dropped off the files, which included Zhuan Falun, I learned that he practiced Falun Dafa.

Cultivating My Xinxing

Influenced by the CCP’s ideology all my life, I had developed many bad attachments, such as selfishness, pursuing personal gain, being competitive, jealousy, lust, resentment, and an inability to tolerate losses. I couldn’t get along with my family or the people around me, especially my wife. I often scolded and sometimes physically abused her. Our marriage nearly ended in divorce.

After I began to practice Falun Dafa, I knew I needed to change how I treated my wife. But it was not easy to change those long-standing notions. At first, when I had conflicts with her, I tried to restrain myself on the surface but still failed to do well. Following that, I had negative thoughts urging me to stop practicing.

I deeply regretted my behavior, apologized to my wife, and asked Master for forgiveness. Master then helped me eliminate the thought karma.

After that, I studied the Fa more diligently, and I gradually discovered it’s not that difficult to endure. I also realized that conflicts are a good thing, that my wife is helping me to eliminate attachments. I also knew I should change how I treat edother people. As I came to understand the Fa better, I started to consider her feelings. Although we still argue sometimes, it’s not like before, and our relationship is much better.

I also used to take advantage of customers, but then I realized this was wrong, and I stopped doing that. I know I need to improve my xinxing in many areas. Although I cannot always adhere to Dafa’s standards, I’m determined to eliminate those attachments. This is the requirement for all practitioners.

Clarifying the Truth About Dafa

Soon after I began practicing, I learned that Dafa had been wronged, and wanted to tell the people I knew. At the time, I simply knew that Dafa was good and didn’t know how to clarify the truth to them. But when I attempted to reach out to my family members, my ordinary sentiments got in the way. I became very anxious and didn’t know how to proceed. Because it was during the pandemic, there happened to be a truth-clarification video about a prophecy told by an Indian child prodigy. The prophecy essentially said that quitting the CCP and its affiliates would keep one safe from the virus. So, as I cut people’s hair, I talked about the pandemic and showed customers the video. Most of them then agreed to quit the CCP and its affiliates. However, I regretted that I didn’t dare to directly talk to them about Dafa.

After reading the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, I learned to chat with customers about current events, then discuss the history of the CCP as described in the booklet, such as the struggle against landlords, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

After hearing about its history, most people would condemn the CCP. I would conclude by telling them the truth about Falun Dafa from a third-party perspective, explain that the “Tiananmen self-immolation” incident was a hoax, and then encourage them to quit the CCP and its affiliates. Most people agreed to quit. Although this approach took more than 10 minutes, it was suitable for my customers. This was Master’s arrangement and the product of the wisdom that Dafa bestowed upon me.

Sometimes, when there were many customers in the shop, I was afraid to speak up and had to wait until the next time a particular person came ub. And when I encountered people who disagreed with me, I felt scared and even had negative thoughts.

I returned to my hometown for the Chinese New Year holiday and went to visit my maternal grandfather who was then in his 80s and in very poor health. I told him the hospital couldn’t cure him, but sincerely reciting, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” would bring him blessings. My grandfather followed along with me to recite the phrases.

I then explained the truth about the persecution to him. My grandfather was born in the 1930s and had never joined any of the CCP organizations. He also did not have a good impression of the CCP and said all the government news was fake. My grandfather was indeed blessed; he hardly needed to go to the hospital and ended up passing away peacefully.

I dreamed of my grandfather twice after he passed away. The first time was shortly after his death. In that dream, I went home to pay my respects, and as I walked past the mourning hall and went to the room where he stayed before he passed away, I saw him standing there, looking young and energetic. I said, “Do you still remember, ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good?’” He said he remembered. I knew my grandfather understood the truth and went to a good place.

The second time I dreamed of my grandfather, he said I had played a recording of Master’s Fa lecture given in Guangzhou for him, but that he only listened to half of it and wanted to hear the rest. I took out my phone and plugged the earphones in for him. However, his ears suddenly became blocked. No matter how I tried to help him put in the earphones, I couldn’t get them on properly. He shouted that he couldn’t hear. The dream then ended. I came to realize that once a person loses their human body, there’s no longer an opportunity to listen to the Fa. I also understood Master was reminding me that this opportunity is rare, and I must cherish the time to diligently study the Fa.

Listening to Practitioners’ Sharing on the Minghui Website

I’d been cultivating by myself, as there were not many practitioners around me.Although I knew I should study the Fa more, it was hard for me to discover my own shortcomings without a cultivation environment. I sometimes read practitioners’ experience-sharing articles on Minghui.org, but not often enough, and it was difficult to truly cultivate myself. I envied fellow practitioners who could attend Fa conferences. One day last year, however, I suddenly had the wish to connect with more practitioners with whom I could share cultivation experiences.

Master saw my wish and arranged for two practitioners to visit Ming the next day. He then introduced me to them. We shared our cultivation experiences that afternoon. It was the first time I had shared with a group of practitioners. I felt I had gained a lot. The practitioners also helped me find my shortcomings. When they learned that I was using my mobile phone to access Minghui.org, they offered to bring me a computer.

I refused their offer, because I hadn’t used a computer in a long time and felt it wasn’t safe to use it in the shop. Two weeks later, one of the practitioners (Chen) came alone and brought me an MP3 player loaded with many experience-sharing articles and materials about disintegrating CCP culture. I was very happy to receive it because I couldn’t download those articles to my phone and had always wanted an MP3 player so I could listen to Minghui broadcasts. Chen was selfless, traveling from far away just to bring me an MP3 player.

The other practitioner (Jialing) later brought a computer for Ming. He had already installed the necessary software on the computer, so it was very secure and Ming could download articles directly from Minghui.org. We could also write and publish our own articles with this computer. Some time later, Jialing came again and brought me a hard copy of Zhuan Falun and a computer. I wanted to pay her for the book, but she wouldn’t let me and only charged me for the computer. She taught me how to download articles and also registered me for an email address. It was lifeline at a critical moment! I’m very grateful for the selfless dedication of fellow practitioners! Thank you, Master, for your arrangement! I now listen to Minghui broadcasts and can download articles myself.

Conclusion:

I know I haven’t met Master’s requirements when it comes to doing the three things. But I will hold myself to strict standards and strive to be a qualified Dafa disciple during the Fa-rectification period.

The above are my cultivation experiences over the past few years. I wrote them to report to Master and share with fellow practitioners. Please point out anything not aligned with the Fa. Thank you, Master, for your compassionate salvation!