(Clearwisdom.net)
Hello, revered Master!
Hello, fellow Practitioners!
I'm a doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego. I attained the Fa at the end of March this year together with my wife. Now I would like to share with you some of our cultivation experiences during the past three months.
From our childhood on we were taught to be atheists. But the sophisticated material world couldn't fill our spiritual void. We found ourselves asking, "What's the meaning of life? What does the future hold?" We pondered such questions and sought answers. After we came to the US a few years ago, we went to a number of local churches, and gradually came to accept theism and the idea of Creation. But we still couldn't really accept the religion itself, owing to all the questions it raised for us, the doubts we had, and other obstacles.
This past February a young couple moved into our apartment. Both of them are Dafa disciples. They brought to us the great Dafa. When they recommended the book Zhuan Falun to us, we didn't object much. We had been avid readers of the Epoch Times website, and so already knew some facts about the persecution of Falun Gong in Mainland China, and we knew the truth about the fake self-immolation in Tiananmen Square. Although we didn't yet have a clear idea of what Falun Dafa was, we at least knew that Falun Gong was a powerful Qigong practice for improving people's health. So we decided to give it a try.
The book Zhuan Falun didn't make that deep of an impression on us after our quick read through. But we did feel the book was very upright. So we kept on reading it, and found that the book talks about lots of extraordinary things. The book resolved all the questions our religious studies had left us with. Just like that, in no time, all those questions were gone. We realized that we had found what we'd been seeking for all along, and we understood the real meaning of our lives. That excitement could hardly be expressed in words.
However, about one week after we obtained Dafa, my wife out of nowhere told me that she couldn't read the book. She looked really uneasy and restless. Today we know that it was thought karma, but at that time we really didn't know how to deal with it. Our apartment mates, when they saw this, asked us to send righteous thoughts with them. We learned about what sending righteous thoughts is and how to do it, and sent them for the first time. Shortly afterwards my wife said that she felt as if she'd just recovered from a serious illness. She felt physically weak, but mentally much better. We started to go to group Fa-study every Wednesday night, feeling the urgent need for a group cultivation environment. Through Fa-study we found a tool to eliminate thought karma, namely "one good can overcome a hundred evils." Master says:
"Indestructible righteous faith in the cosmos's Truth forms benevolent Dafa disciples' rock-solid, Diamond-Like Bodies, it frightens all evil, and the light of Truth it emanates makes the unrighteous elements in all beings' thoughts disintegrate. However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is." ("Also in a Few Words," Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Nothing could possibly be more righteous than the Cosmos's truth--Truth, Compassion, Tolerance. With our solid faith in Dafa, all kinds of thought karma and other evil things were rapidly eliminated.
Shortly after we obtained the Fa, we encountered strange cultivation states of eliminating sickness karma. We had some worries, since we didn't have much experience with this to draw on. But sure enough, with help and encouragement from veteran practitioners, we made it through the hard times. Meanwhile, we were surprised to see that the ailments which had troubled me for many years, including migraines, stomachaches, and carsickness, disappear one after another. My quality of sleep improved a great deal. I came to feel more energetic, I found myself living life more fully, and I had less problems in general. We've benefited so much both physically and psychologically, and this in turn has given us more confidence in Dafa. We thank Master and Dafa from the bottom of our hearts for all of these wonderful things.
When we started learning Dafa, we were just thinking about regaining our physical health and fitness. We thought we would just practice at home, and we never thought of going out to participate in Fa-rectification activities. However, our benevolent Master had already arranged the right path for us, just as he had arranged for us to obtain Dafa in such a natural way.
We were very eager to read all of Master's speeches and articles, which serve to deepen our understanding of Zhuan Falun. Before long we arrived at the talks given after 1999, and knew that the current stage is cultivation in Fa-rectification, not just personal cultivation. As Dafa disciples in the Fa-rectification period, we should do more than just cultivate ourselves well. We should also try to spread the Fa, to clarify the truth, and save sentient beings. After each group Fa study we would always hear local practitioners talk about Fa-spreading and truth-clarification activities, and so we decided to get involved, which was our first step in Fa-rectification.
When we participated in our first parade at the end of April, we still had a little fear. All the same, we managed to finish our task in that peaceful and virtuous environment. The experience made us more confident and at ease. But when we went to street fairs shortly afterward, some fear still lingered, even though we knew we were there to save sentient beings. We were afraid that we might be seen by our friends, and so were not too actively involved. Also, because we hadn't learned the Fa well enough, there were times when we couldn't answer people's questions that well. After studying the Fa for some time, we came to realize that Master had given us the most comprehensive solutions to all of these problems in his books. Master says:
"I also want to tell you that your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism." ("Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature," Essentials for Further Advancement)
and,
"...what you do then, with a pure heart, will be the best and most sacred." ("Further Understanding," Essentials for Further Advancement)
We searched inside ourselves and discussed how to participate in Fa-rectification activities. We realized that if we were to do Dafa projects well, we must eliminate the bad thoughts of self and ego in our minds. We would need to participate with pure hearts of compassion. And to achieve that, we have to keep studying the Fa, deepening our understanding of Fa, and cultivating ourselves well.
We cherish the time we have for group Fa study and Fa-rectification activities. But as a PhD student, I don't have much control over my time. My advisor has more say over my time, including my weekends and evenings. However, our benevolent Master has made His arrangements. Every Wednesday when the group Fa study is to take place, my advisor will either leave his office early or be out of town on a trip. And on the weekends when we have activities, he seldom asks me to work on campus. As a result, we've pretty much been able to participate in all of the weekly group Fa studies and Fa-rectification activities. We are so grateful for Master's compassion. As long as we have righteous thoughts, Master will help us.
In addition to the weekly group Fa study, as a couple we also study the Fa every day on our own. My wife has a freer schedule and more time for Fa-study. My schedule is a bit tighter. But I always spend some time on Fa study before I go to bed. Master says that:
"The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts." ("Drive Out Interference," Essentials for Further Advancement II)
And:
"You will encounter many tribulations during the course of practicing cultivation. As long as you study the Fa earnestly, you can overcome any difficulty. As long as you study the Fa earnestly, answers found within the Fa can solve any hard-to-untie knots in your heart, or any hang-ups. This Fa encompasses how to be a human being as well as how to be a heavenly being. I'm also telling you how to be a Buddha, Dao, God, and even a god in still higher realms. How could the Fa fail to eliminate your hang-ups? How could the Fa not open your mind? How could the Fa not resolve your problems? It can do all of this." (Falun Buddha Fa - Lecture at the First Conference in North America)
Through more intensive Fa study, we have gained a deeper understanding of the Fa principles and found many attachments in ourselves. We began to intentionally repel and eliminate them. Gradually we saw our own changes. We realized we were no longer attached to the things we used to be. We are more considerate to other people and able to look at things from their standpoint.
In May we had more activities, and we began to gain some experience. Whatever the venue, be it a parade for spreading Fa or a street fair where we could clarify the truth, at all times we would try to eliminate our own narrow thoughts and participate with pure and compassionate hearts. We were set on showing people the goodness and greatness of Dafa. Although ordinary people are still lost in delusion, they did, nevertheless, come here for the Fa. So we keep that state of mind as we take part in more and more activities for spreading Fa and clarifying the truth. When we hand out fliers about the truth to passersby with a sincere smile, almost all of them accept them. Some of them will stop to ask about Dafa and about the persecution in China. When we meet with people coming from Mainland China, we really hope that they will accept our materials, so as to dissolve the hostility they have toward Dafa, which is something stemming from lies and propaganda. It is now the final stage of Fa-rectification, and sentient beings are awakening. Sometimes people ask for extra fliers and other items as gifts for their spouses or parents or friends. Sometimes they tell us that this is exactly what they've sought, and that they'll definitely go to our next Falun Gong workshop. Sometimes they loudly proclaim, "We support you!"
Participating in group activities is an excellent cultivation experience, one where a lot of bad wishes and attachments get revealed. Once at a street fair I met with some religious people who kept eagerly proselytizing, and who said some bad things about Dafa. I wanted to stop them. After I said a few things, I realized suddenly that it was a strong attachment on my part to being competitive. I immediately corrected myself, and was able to calm down. There was another episode when we were in a parade in Los Angeles. We had a waist drum troupe in that parade. A fellow practitioner told my wife that her arm swing was off. She wasn't happy about it. Afterwards we thought it over and found our problem. Thinking, "Participation is what matters most" is a low standard even for non-practitioners. So we, as Dafa disciples, have to be strict with ourselves in everything we do, even the little things, and hold ourselves to high standards. We have to do our best, and only that way can we leave as reference a straight path for the people of the future.
Since June our apartment has played host to the weekly meeting of the San Diego Phone Team. Each group calling effort is a good chance for us to improve ourselves. At the beginning my wife and I were nervous and didn't dare to touch the phone. My wife said she trembled from head to toe at the first session, not knowing why, when she sent righteous thoughts for our fellow practitioners. We really saw the gap between us and the veteran practitioners there, who kept so calm and at ease. Now we study the Fa together [in these weekly sessions] and do some preparation ahead of time, and things are improving. We now prepare a script to read over the phone. At the very least we are giving the people of China a chance to learn the truth about the staged self-immolation and to learn about the lawsuit against Jiang. There's still a lot left for us to do on this front.
In early July we held in our apartment a 9-day seminar for watching Master's talks on video, and some ten people attended. Most of them had attained the Fa a year or two before, or even more recently, and in attendance were our personal friends, a Mr. Ma and a Ms. Liu, along with their 5-month-old daughter. Ms. Liu had attained the Fa about a month before, after my wife introduced Dafa to her. Only a few days into doing the exercises and reading the books she began to experience the wonders of Dafa. A nagging problem of having insufficient breast milk was resolved; she felt much more energetic; and the serious eczema that had been afflicting her daughter for months went away for the most part. Mr. Ma was moved by those miraculous changes in his wife and daughter, and so he began to read Zhuan Falun, and came to attend our 9-day class. We later learned from them that their roommate began to read Zhuan Falun after seeing their changes.
Over the past three months we have come to realize that it's extremely important for new students like us to melt into the body of fellow practitioners. Master says:
"The cultivation practice form that I have left for Dafa disciples ensures that disciples can truly improve themselves. For example, I ask you to do the exercises as a group in parks in order to form an environment. This environment is the best way to change the surface of a person. The lofty conduct that Dafa disciples have established in this environment--including every word and every deed--can make people recognize their own weaknesses and identify their shortcomings; it can move their hearts, refine their conduct, and enable them to make progress more rapidly. Therefore, new students or self-taught disciples have to go to the practice sites to do the exercises." ("Environment," Essentials for Further Advancement)
The cultivation environment of our Dafa disciples is the only Pure Land in this world. It can help to ward off all the attachments and desires of ordinary people, and purify our thoughts. Actively participating in Fa-rectification activities and saving sentient beings are our responsibilities. My wife and I haven't cultivated well enough, and still find ourselves often side-tracked by all kinds of ordinary human attachments. Many things that should have been done, as a result, didn't get done; and many things that should have been done well, didn't get done well enough. We will do better with the three things Master told us to do, (1) and walk better the paths of Fa-rectification that lie ahead of us.
My thanks to Master! My thanks to fellow practitioners!
Notes:
1. Study the Fa, clarify the truth about Dafa to the people of the world, and send forth righteous thoughts.
