(Clearwisdom.net) My Chinese passport was close to expiring and there were some Dafa activities in the city nearby where there was a Chinese Embassy. I thought that while attending the activities I would take the opportunity to request a passport extension. But, before I could actually do so, I went through some internal struggle.
I have heard about Chinese embassies turning down passport extensions or even withholding the passports of many fellow practitioners over the past years. Would this happen to me too? I knew that my name was on the Chinese embassy’s blacklist. I reasoned that I might not be among those who were turned down, as some other practitioners have had no problems extending their passports. I thought for some time about this, as some embassy officials had threatened me concerning my passport extension. Several fellow practitioners recently have had trouble in having their passports extended.
My passport was not going to expire for another six months. I thought maybe I should just wait until the passport expired. No, I thought that this would be an attachment to time. Was I hoping that the Fa rectification would arrive in the human world before I had to make the decision? I thought that I should not avoid the issue and face it bravely. Anyway, if they should refuse the extension, I would have a good opportunity to clarify the truth to the embassy personnel and even expose the Communist Chinese Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong to the international media.
This too didn’t seem right! We don’t need to be persecuted to clarify the truth. There is so much to do! There are so many Dafa projects to be taken care off. If we are persecuted, wouldn’t we exhaust our energy and impact our work, and wouldn’t it cause different types of problems for me. I decided that I must send forth righteous thoughts towards the embassy and eliminate any problems facing my passport extension. But I was still not too confident.
Generally, when I look at situations and issues encountered by other practitioners,
I can easily see their attachments. Before, I would talk loudly and point out that they needed to have righteous thoughts. Yet, isn’t it ridiculous that I was faced with the issue of lacking righteous thoughts? Yes, talk is cheap! Where did I go wrong?
Everybody knows that a cultivator should look at problems based on the Fa. But how? Suddenly, I remembered Teacher’s short article, "Dafa Disciples’ Righteous Thoughts are Powerful."
"And the overall situation that has appeared, in which Dafa is persecuted in the human world, is caused by the large-scale, severe occurrence of these students being persecuted because they have attachments." ("Dafa Disciples’ Righteous Thoughts are Powerful")
I realized that every time the evil was successful it would worsen the persecution. If the extension of my passport were to be turned down, I would be persecuted, and another score would have to be settled by Teacher. Daily, we claim that we deny the persecution, and thus validate Dafa. In denying the persecution, how can I allow the evil to persecute me? Even just the smallest kind of persecution is not allowed! To deny the persecution is not to find a way to remedy the situation after it happens, but to not let it happen at all.
To validate Dafa as a Dafa practitioner, shouldn’t I demonstrate the almighty power of Dafa? If persecuted concerning this issue, what could I validate? Despite living in a vicious environment, fellow practitioners in China can deny the persecution. In this relaxing circumstance overseas, why can’t I? My fundamental thoughts now suddenly switched from my personal viewpoint to a consideration of the Fa. My situation now totally changed. My previous confusion and worry disappeared. I knew that my passport extension process should be perfectly smooth, as I am a Dafa practitioner, able to handle all situations without any problem.
Therefore, I mailed my passport to the embassy with an extension request. When it came time to pick it up, I went to the embassy, and handed the receipt to the embassy clerk at the reception window. She kept searching in the bundle of passports for a long while. Then, she raised her head and asked, "Is their any problem with your passport?" Smiling, I replied "No." She searched a little more. Then she got up and went to an office. It took quite some time before she returned. She said that there was something concerning my passport which they had to consider, and asked me to wait. I sat down at the chair outside the pick-up window and sent forth righteous thoughts. I laughed within myself at the attempt by the evil to test me. It was useless. Ten minutes later, the clerk gave me my passport and said "It’s done."
This experience was so impressive. I know now that when I elevated to a higher Fa principle, the situation was completely reversed. Previously, I was insecure and lacked confidence, while going back and forth in my mind. I kept myself restrained by the evil. After understanding the Fa principle, I became relaxed and confident. Therefore, the evil could not find a loophole and strike me. Still, I was careful, rational, and sent righteous thoughts constantly. I felt that the evil had disintegrated at the moment I realized the Fa principle.
In the process of validating the Fa, too often I have succumbed to human concepts. Thus, often I could not accomplish what I set out to do. Because of this experience, I now understand how important it is to study the Fa well.
Dafa can give us everything, but we have to be diligent and study the Fa well. Only then can we really validate the Fa.
