(Clearwisdom.net) I have repeatedly asked myself the same question since childhood. "What is the meaning of a person's life? What is the goal of my life?" I had never been able to come up with an answer. It was not until I read Zhuan Falun that I realized that I was meant to practice Falun Gong cultivation to return to my original, true self, and to return from the human realm to my origin. I feel my life did not begin until I started my Falun Gong cultivation practice.
After starting I began practicing Falun Gong, I no longer suffered from allergic rhinitis (also known as Hay Fever or seasonal allergies) and thus experienced how Teacher said a genuine Falun Gong cultivator would feel - light and illness-free. In fact, Falun Gong manifested its magnificent power when I had only started reading Zhuan Falun. Each night when I opened Zhuan Falun, the chapter I read contained a passage that guided or hinted to me on how to pass the xinxing test I encountered that day as a genuine cultivator. The same miracle occurred day after day. Since the day I started reading Zhuan Falun, a heavenly book, I felt I was forever bonded with it.
I began my cultivation practice on September 21, 1999, the day of the major earthquake in Taiwan. The earthquake shook the earth in Taiwan that day, but its impact could not begin to compare with Falun Gong's impact on my heart. Soon after I started my cultivation practice, fellow Falun Gong practitioners gave me a copy of a truth-clarification leaflet entitled "Falun Dafa in Taiwan." While it tells of Falun Gong's ever-increasing popularity in Taiwan, it also contains important facts of the Chinese Communist regime's ruthless persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China. That night I tossed and turned, and felt distressed thinking that such a wonderful cultivation practice is suffering from such terrible injustice and suppression. The following day I asked a fellow Falun Gong practitioner to bring me 5,000 copies of Falun Gong truth-clarification materials so that my husband, my children, and I could distribute them to our companies and in our neighborhood. I wanted to have more people know the truth about Falun Gong and the cruel persecution against practitioners. My family and I have been clarifying the truth about Falun Gong ever since.
Later, when I heard fellow practitioners in Taiwan sharing their cultivation experiences of helping with the truth-clarification work outside of Taiwan, I became inspired to do so as well. So I took the next opportunity that came along and went to Washington, DC in July 2000 for the Falun Gong practitioners' experience sharing conference and the truth-clarification activities surrounding the day of the conference. After I arrived in Washington, DC, I thought I would take the opportunity to do some sightseeing because I don't make it overseas very often. While I was checking the map to plan my tour, a fellow practitioner reminded me, "This is now the Fa-rectification period. How can you think about sightseeing?" Since then, the word "Fa-rectification" has become more significant to me. I did not expect that Teacher would grace the conference when I decided to go to Washington, DC, but I dreamed about Teacher the night before the conference. I woke up with tears flowing down my face because I felt as if Teacher were my own father. On the following day when our compassionate and most admirable Teacher graced the conference, I was deeply moved. I made up my mind to follow the Fa principles and to do what Teacher calls us to do, so as not to let Teacher down.
Since starting to help with truth-clarification work, my life completely changed. Teacher always knows what I'm thinking and arranges tests for me to improve my xinxing.
Teacher repeatedly asked us
"...to practice cultivation while conforming as much as possible to the way of everyday people's society." ("Lecture at the Conference in Singapore" provisional translation)
He also taught us,
"If you're fooling around at work and don't do a good job, when you receive your paycheck, I think you won't feel at peace. That's because a cultivator should be a good person wherever he is--it's not about being a good person for the sake of being a good person. You are a cultivator, and you should be able to handle these things properly." ("Lecture at the Conference in New Zealand" provisional translation)
I did not realize the importance of cultivating while conforming as much as possible to everyday society until I was going to be promoted to a senior management staff position in 2001! I thought, "If I accept the promotion, I will become very busy and will have no time left for truth-clarification work." Then I thought of Teacher's words quoted above, so I accepted the promotion. I believe that the path Teacher arranges for us disciples must be the best path!
Teacher said, "Except for newer students, from July 20 of 1999 on, Master hasn't created any personal cultivation tests for you, and that's because overall your personal cultivation has changed in every respect so that it's in the direction of saving sentient beings and validating Dafa." ("Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")
As I walk down my cultivation path while following Teacher's teaching, I become all the more convinced that everything Teacher says is absolutely true!
The senior management position appeared to be a challenge at first, and I was a little worried about meeting my company's high expectations. Yet Teacher helped me find a wonderful secretary that took care of all the internal affairs. In addition, I ended up spending only a third of the time I used to spend on sales work to meet my quota. For the past four years since I became a senior manager, I have been able to keep my performance above average. As a result, I have been successful in the role of senior manager while leaving more time to study the Fa, clarify the truth, and other things I need to do. The end result was better than I had ever expected. I truly thank Teacher for arranging this broad and righteous path for me. During the past few years, I have made close to 30 overseas trips to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. I have traveled as far as Europe and North America and as near as Hong Kong and Korea. In terms of the distance, I must have traveled around the globe several times. Each time I complete a truth-clarification activity with fellow practitioners, my heart is filled with an enormous sense of sacredness!
Next, I would like to share my cultivation experiences of clarifying the truth.
Clarifying the Truth in Hong Kong:
I have repeatedly traveled to Hong Kong to clarify the truth to tourists from China. I have witnessed bus after bus of Chinese tourists changing their attitude towards Falun Gong right in front of my eyes. When they see our truth-clarification posters displayed at the tourist spots, they dare not look at them at first. Then, they cannot help looking at them. When they start to read the contents of the truth-clarification posters, they look shocked and many of them shed tears of sympathy. I cannot begin to emphasize the importance of clarifying the truth to them. The first time I went to Hong Kong, I began by clarifying the truth to three Chinese tourists waiting for their bus at Huangpu Park. A dozen Chinese tourists then gathered around me. In the end, several dozen Chinese people gathered around me listening to the important facts about Falun Gong. They all thanked me for telling them the truth about Falun Gong.
Clarifying the Truth on the Internet
Before I started practicing Falun Gong, I resented computers and felt I would never be able to learn to use one. I had to rely on my secretary even when it came to such simple tasks as sending an email or typing a letter. Three years ago, I decided that I must learn how to use a computer and the Internet. At this time fellow Taiwanese practitioners shared the importance of clarifying the truth on the Internet after they returned from a truth-clarification trip to the United States. I then heard fellow practitioners sharing the importance of clarifying the truth on the Internet in three different cultivation experience sharing gatherings. I decided it was not a coincidence, but an important hint to me. I then decided to clarify the truth on the Internet. Thus, I started to learn how to use a computer and the Internet. It was a fellow practitioner's child who taught me how to do this. To my surprise, I learned how to chat in Internet chat rooms in just five minutes. That night after I returned home, I went on the Internet right away and chatted with Chinese people about Falun Gong for three hours. In just a few days, I became an expert and could chat with a dozen people at a time in Internet chat rooms. In the past, I thought it must be very difficult to send emails or attach files to emails, but I surprised myself and learned to use email on my own. Falun Gong truly inspired and broadened my wisdom.
I have spent countless mornings and nights clarifying the truth in Internet chat rooms. One day a young boy asked me to call him on the phone ten minutes after chatting with me in an Internet chat room about Falun Gong. When he picked up the phone, he had to catch his breath before explaining to me, "I just ran all the way home from an Internet café. I ran as fast as I could because I did not want to miss your call." I was deeply moved to see how anxious he was to know the truth about Falun Gong. Again, I experienced the truth of Teacher's words. Countless people in the world are waiting to hear the truth about Falun Gong.
Clarifying the Truth at the International Airport in Taiwan
For about two years, fellow practitioners from Taoyuan (a city known for its high-tech industry development parks in central Taiwan) and I have been clarifying the truth to tourists from China at Chiang Kai-Shek (CKS) International Airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Each time Chinese tourists see our shiny truth-clarification banners after they get off the planes, I become all the more convinced of the importance of clarifying the truth at the airport. One time, a large group of performers from China were fighting to get a truth-clarification VCD. Another time, a female tour guide from China even helped me distribute truth-clarification VCD's. When a Chinese tourist in her group hesitated to take the VCD, she explained to them that it was all right to take one because we are now in Taiwan. Things did not always go smoothly, however. For example, for a period of time, we encountered some interference because the size of our banners did not quite match the regulations of the airport. Once an airport policeman approached me, and I thought he was going to ask us to remove the banners. It turned out that he came to invite me to chat with an airport policewoman. The airport policewoman displayed a fierce attitude at first, but she approved of our cause after I clarified the truth about Falun Gong to her. I feel Teacher will always help us as long as we do the truth-clarification work with a pure heart.
Being a Volunteer Guide at an Art Exhibit in Taiwan
In the beginning of June 2004, over 100 authentic, sought-after traditional Chinese paintings and works of calligraphy were exhbited all over Taiwan. One exhibit was held in Taoyuan to reach the high-tech professionals and entrepreneurs that we normally have difficulty meeting when we clarify the truth on the streets. Because we reached a cohesive understanding on the importance of utilizing this opportunity for our truth-clarification work, we coordinated and helped each other very well. The end result was powerful. We distributed about 20,000 flyers in Taoyuan. In addition, I was able to use my personal network that I had been building for over ten years for the benefit of this art exhibit.
Teacher said,
"For a practitioner, one's mind-intent dictates supernormal abilities to do things." (Zhuan Falun)
I truly felt that my mind-intent dictated my supernormal abilities to help with the art exhibit. When I thought of doing something, people immediately approached me and asked to help with it.
I invited my business clients to visit the art exhibit. All of them are either the head of a company or a school principal. They were very glad to attend the art exhibit and asked to help distribute flyers, post posters, and send out invitations via email. They helped distribute more than 10,000 hardcopies and softcopies of the flyers. Entrepreneurs, college professors, top intellectuals, the travel industry union, and even people in show business attended the art exhibit and, thus, had an opportunity to learn the truth about Falun Gong. Because of our tireless and cohesive efforts, we were able to invite over 100 local businesses, all the colleges in Taoyuan County, college professors, students, and the media. The art exhibit was a huge hit.
None of the volunteer guides at the art exhibit had an art background, but all the guests were very impressed with our perception and interpretation of these works of art. The truth is that we knew nothing about these works, but each of us had studied carefully the materials that the practitioners compiled. Moreover, when we introduced the paintings to the guests, we included background information that enabled us to explain the facts about the persecution Falun Gong. Once, after completing a guided tour for a group of art teachers, they asked if I was an art professor at a college. It astounded them when I told them I was a Falun Gong practitioner who worked as a volunteer guide for this exhibit. Another guest asked a fellow practitioner whether he was a cultural delegate from the National Palace Museum in Taiwan because of his professional knowledge. This proves that nothing can challenge us when we do things for the Fa. We can each play a role well for the sake of validating the Fa.
In looking back over the past five years, I feel immensely honored to have been able to help Teacher in the Fa-rectification. With all things said and done, I still feel I have done nothing. It is Teacher that has done everything, but he gives us the best rewards. How can I ever repay Teacher!
Clarifying the Truth in Manhattan
I made a trip to Manhattan in September 2004. It was a short trip of less than ten days, but I felt that the people in Manhattan had improved their perception of and attitude towards Falun Gong significantly.
Finally, I would like to thank Teacher for taking us home. It is my greatest honor to take the journey to the human realm. Teacher, thank you! I failed to pass a lot of xinxing tests with flying colors, but I will strive forward to do better in my cultivation practice.
