(Clearwisdom.net)
Study the Fa Well, Eliminate Fear, and Clarify the Truth Better
For Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, clarifying the truth and rescuing people is the responsibility of each disciple.
I first held fear when clarifying the truth. Naturally, I couldn’t do it well because of this fear. We Dafa practitioners should firmly remember Teacher’s words, act according to Dafa’s requirements and correct this negative mindset when fear arises to eliminate it. We cultivate among ordinary people, and some still carry ordinary people’s notions, including fear. Some practitioners say, "I cultivate well and I don’t have any fear." However, Teacher separates the part that is well cultivated, while the remaining parts still harbor fear, so we have to continue cultivating ourselves until we achieve Consummation.
Teacher told us to have strong righteous thoughts when we encounter dangerous situations and experience persecution. When we have powerful righteous thoughts and do well, fear will disappear. When we don’t have enough righteous thoughts and do poorly, we won't be able to rid ourselves of fear. During the entire process of truth clarification we need to constantly remove fear. This is a repetitious process in surface dimensions, as a different kind of fear emerges at different levels.
For Dafa practitioners, fear manifests in various forms under different circumstances. When I first started clarifying the truth, I turned off the computer immediately after I finished using it because I was afraid I would be discovered, arrested, lose my job and many other things. I regarded myself as a cultivator and listened to Teacher’s words. I studied the Fa and strengthened my righteous thoughts, and I continued to clarify the truth. That type of fear has long since disappeared. I am not saying I am completely free of fear, as sometimes when I see police cars in the street I think, "Will they find out about the truth clarification materials? Will the rotten demons take advantage of our gaps and persecute us?"
Every time before I leave home to distribute truth clarification materials I send righteous thoughts as I do when walking in the streets. I constantly send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate fear. After one trip, I still have fear the next time I hand out flyers. I again send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the fear. I do it almost every time I clarify the truth, and I strengthen my righteous thoughts and eliminate fear by studying the Fa. After I persisted for a while, my fear was reduced.
I face all kinds of ordinary people in their complex environment when clarifying the truth. Sometimes I think, "It would be great if everyone I talk to could be rescued." But that is impossible, because not everything a Dafa practitioner does can be smooth. Dafa practitioners simply have to clarify the truth in this most complex environment among the most complex people, to rescue those who can be rescued in order to validate Dafa, and build Dafa practitioners’ mighty virtue while at the same time improving ourselves. How can we improve without conflicts ordinary people create?
I realized the cornerstone for diligently striving forward during long-term truth clarification is studying the Fa well and having powerful righteous thoughts, thus ensuring a good result in truth clarification. We also need determination to do it continuously. Since we work among ordinary people it is easy for us to slack off and be taken advantage of by the evil. The rotten demons are constantly staring at us and will do bad things to us whenever the opportunity presents itself. If we don’t have enough willpower, if we are not diligent enough or if we slack off a little, the evil will interfere and persecute us.
For a while I thought I did a good job clarifying the truth. I sent truth clarification materials on the Internet and distributed materials in my neighborhood. I clarified the truth face-to-face to family, to relatives and colleagues. My superiors once talked to me, because I had logged on to the Minghui/Clearwisdom website during working hours, but I seized the opportunity to clarify the truth to them.
Later I made truth clarification VCDs and other materials. I distributed some of them, but the part of me that had not cultivated well was still quite apparent. Fear surfaced, and I also had other attachments. I became addicted to video games. As a result I didn’t finish handing out the VCDs and other truth clarification materials, even after several months. I was not very determined and was afraid of hardships and pain. I slacked off and was not diligent. The evil took advantage of my attachments. I learned a huge lesson.
Every Dafa practitioner must step forward to clarify the truth. In order to help us better understand the concept of stepping forward to clarify the truth, Teacher said,
"Validate the Fa with rationality, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and save people with mercy." ("Rationality" from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I didn’t understand the true meaning of stepping forward to clarify the truth and stopped practicing Dafa during the persecution. After I returned to Dafa, the environment had changed, -- my former workplace merged with another one. No one at work knows I practice Falun Gong. Some colleagues who knew me didn’t know I had resumed practicing. I thought, "I must let everyone at my workplace know that I practice Dafa."
I went online at the Minghui website at work. I purposely left the door open when my colleagues came into my office so they could see that I was viewing Dafa websites. Someone reported me to my superiors, who called me to their office, where I clarified the truth to them. I wrote an article about clarifying the truth and submitted it to the Minghui website, but the editors removed the part about me accessing Minghui website while at work. I realized there must be something wrong with what I had done.
Later I learned that the head officials at my work unit were afraid of me bringing them trouble. They held an administrative meeting and suggested replacing me. They couldn’t, because I was doing technical work and no one else could take over my work. They started training another person, but the head official was replaced and that was the end of it. I felt very lucky about Teacher protecting me, but when I thought about my own actions I realized that I was asking for trouble. What I did while the evil was still running rampant is the same as running into the street holding truth clarification materials shouting, "I’m a Dafa practitioner! Come here and read truth clarification materials!" My human notions are so obvious! It’s an omission!
Teacher told us not to do anything with human notions. Dafa practitioners don’t do things to show other people. Instead, we do the three things well so people around us feel the existence of Dafa practitioners is the hope for them to be rescued. Perhaps the safety of Dafa practitioners impacts not merely them but also many other people's safety who need to be rescued.
Memorizing the Fa Well is an Important Step in Studying the Fa Well
All Dafa practitioners must study the Fa well. The importance of Fa study goes without saying. I think memorizing the Fa is a very important step in studying the Fa well, and a "shortcut" to studying the Fa well. I had previously merely read Zhuan Falun but had not memorized the book. Teacher told us of Dafa practitioners in Changchun memorizing the Fa. Changchun Dafa practitioners do very well with Fa study. Almost everyone in a study group can memorize the Fa, and some can even recite the book from front to back. Back then I didn’t understand the advantages of reciting the Fa and I didn’t memorize the Fa.
As I continuously improved through Dafa practice, I read some experience-sharing articles on the Minghui website written by other practitioners about memorizing the Fa. I gained a new understanding on memorizing the Fa and decided to start memorizing the Fa. I made the decision several times but I didn’t begin immediately. The excuses I came up with were, "I have to work during the day and take care of my child after I go home. I have to go to shop in the evening, which takes up most of the evening. Besides eating and sleeping, I don’t have much time left in a day."
Teacher said in Zhuan Falun,
"Cultivation doesn’t have any conditions attached—if you want to cultivate, then you just cultivate." ("The First Talk" in Zhuan Falun)
The Fa has been stated very clearly, but I did not completely understand the Fa, which shows I had not studied well. The more excuses I find, the more it reveals my poor understanding and my omissions. I can study the Fa well and improve myself through memorizing the Fa. After I reached a clear understanding I finally took action by memorizing the book. I have committed the book Zhuan Falun to memory after nearly one year. I feel great benefit from the experience of reciting the book, "I read and recite the book sentence by sentence, and I can understand the Fa more accurately compared with reading the book." Practitioners who memorized the book feel, "Oh, so this is what this sentence means. I really didn’t know it when I simply read it!"
Memorizing the book is a process [for me] of deeply understanding the Fa, and it’s also a process of tempering the will. It requires a steel will and is difficult to persist with if one slacks off or relaxes. I had not done well in this regard and went on and off with Fa study. I had to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate interference from the rotten demons, so it took one year for me to memorize Zhuan Falun. All kinds of interference appeared when I memorized the Fa. Sometimes when I sat down the environment became noisy, suddenly something would arise or my family would create troubles for me, or my child would make noise. We have to watch out for evil interference and stay determined.
Because I had relaxed and I had some attachments, my memorizing the Fa was interrupted for more than four months because of evil interference. I was disturbed even in the last stage of memorizing the book—my head felt uncomfortable, and I could not sit down calmly and memorize the book. The discomfort would repeat itself every two or three days. I later realized that this is interference and eliminated it with righteous thoughts, after which it never happened again. As mentioned above, I eventually memorized the entire book. Of course the biggest benefit of memorizing Zhuan Falun is that I will forever carry Dafa in my mind.
A part of my work is to manage computers. Supplies that are required to maintain the computers usually go through me. A colleague said to me, "Our superior is a bad person. Let’s trick her and tell her that the computers are broken and we need supplies, and we can pocket the money she gives us." I answered, "Ok" but I never carried it out. I knew that it was not good to lie and pocket the money, but I didn’t regard myself as a Dafa practitioner or deeply look inward as to why I replied as I had. I actually took some supplies home from work. I knew it was wrong, but I told myself they would go bad after a while if not used. Teacher said in Zhuan Falun that some practitioners returned the towels they took from their factory after they learned Dafa. I never before realized the seriousness of this issue. When I recited this passage I realized it was an attachment to personal gain. The reason for my almost doing something I knew was wrong was because I wanted to listen to my ego, which is exactly the opposite of Dafa’s requirements—which is to serve the interest of others. After I realized this I began to judge my actions with the Fa.
When my home computer speakers were broken, my work place bought a batch of new computers that came with a pair of posh new speakers. I was the only person who knew about it. I considered taking them home, but I immediately realized I must do well according to Dafa, and I eliminated the thought.
Afterwards, however, I still thought several times about taking them home. Why did I still have this strange thought, even when I thought I did well according to Dafa’s requirements? I realized my attachment to personal gain was not completely eliminated. Although I realized it through Fa principles and I was able to let it go, the attachment is still there, so odd thoughts would still come up, and I was only barely able to do the right thing. Only by eliminating the attachment to selfishness and improving my xinxing can I become pure in my heart/mind. After I realized this principle, when my home computer again broke, I automatically thought about using my own money to buy parts to fix it. Had I eliminated my preoccupation with personal gain at this point?
Everyone at work has some money collected from people below them. It is not much, and usually we spend it in anyway we wish. We can return it back to the people below us, but it’s up to us whether or not we want to do so. I had previously given some of the money to the people below me and pocketed the rest. This time, though, I thought about how I could spend this money. This selfish thought was exposed, and it interfered with me for an entire evening. I couldn’t do anything that evening because I could not let go. In the end when I decided to return the money I felt so much lighter. In fact, we can do well when we regard ourselves as Dafa practitioners.
Some of the technical things I do at work are my specialty that no one else can do. My colleagues and superiors praised me and said, "You are doing a great job!" "You are so capable!" I also thought I was capable and outstanding and also cared about what other people said about me. Sometimes when I made mistakes at work, people looked for the person responsible. I would then not let anyone say anything negative about me. Since I have the highest technical skills at work, the problem could not possibly not lie with me. I would fight with whomever accused me of making a mistake. Afterwards I would really regret it—why had I not endured it? Why would a Dafa practitioner bicker and fight with an ordinary person? Teacher had given a lecture regarding people with bad tempers. I studied it several times. Why can I still not show forbearance? I think it is because I didn’t study the Fa well.
Teacher said,
"If you took a look in the extreme microcosm at the material formed by what your mind is attached to, [you’d see that] they are mountains, huge mountains, made of hard, granite-like rock." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference")
What attachment forms such substances? For me, it is an addiction to renown and personal gain, including the pursuit of a good reputation. [When I get upset because] I’m a capable person and someone is accusing me of making a mistake or of being incapable, does this not constitute an attachment to reputation? This attachment to reputation and personal pride is still there, and when someone talks about it I feel I have lost face. My temper flares up and I am not be able to stay tolerant. Is it possible for me not to fight with the other person in this situation? When I pay attention to what people say about me, I’m trying to find out whether they are saying good or bad things. I can’t take it [if it is something negative] and want to fight with the other person. I only want to hear good things and can’t take critical words.
Whenever someone looks down on me or says bad things about me I get angry and I want to fight with him. I have such a huge attachment to reputation and personal gain! I found this substance to be as huge as a mountain, so I have to remove it. I pleaded for Teacher’s help and negated such odd thoughts with righteous thoughts. My superior at one time assigned several people including me to do some other work. We did the early-stage preparatory work. As we were about to have a reporting meeting, to welcome a superior who had come to inspect our work, this superior replaced me with another person, without telling me anything about it beforehand. I was a little upset but I didn’t say anything. I remembered Teacher’s words and acted according to Dafa’s requirements. My mind became calm. I encouraged myself with Teacher’s words,
"He who acts for his name
a life of anger and hate is his
....
Not seeking a name
life is carefree and content..."
("An Upright Person" from Hong Yin)
If we truly regard ourselves as Dafa practitioners and do well according to Dafa’s requirements, all human notions can be removed.
