(Clearwisdom.net) I began to practice Falun Gong in the beginning of 2002 and it has been nearly 5 years now. I enlightened to the power of studying the Fa. Now I'd like to share some of my experiences.
1) Quiting Smoking
I began to smoke at the age of 15 and smoked for 37 years. When I first read Zhuan Falun and came to the issue of quitting smoking, I knew nothing about cultivation, I only thought to give it a try. As a result, I haven't smoked since and did not have even a bit of suffering. I feel fortunate to have learned Falun Dafa whenever I see people feeling miserable trying to quit smoking and failing every trial. I am grateful to our Teacher!
2) Cleansing
Not long after I learned Falun Dafa, I had a very bad headache, sneezing and a running nose one morning after I got up. These are the typical symptoms of catching a cold. Suddenly I thought of the paragraph I read in Zhuan Falun:
"From today on, some people will feel chilly all over their bodies as though they suffer a heavy cold, and their bones may ache as well. Most of you will feel uncomfortable somewhere. Your legs may ache and your head may feel dizzy."
I knew it was cleansing, therefore, I simply ignored it and went to work as usual. It was a miracle. As soon as I entered the classroom, all the symptoms disappeared and did not affect my teaching job at all. However, whenever I left the classroom, all the symptoms reappeared. Three days later everything was over and even my nasal allergies, which I had suffered for a long time, disappeared.
3) Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts
One day New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) wanted to shoot programs using a swimming pool. It so happened I was managing a swimming pool. NTDTV used the pool during after-school hours for rehearsals and video recording, with the approval and assistance of the school authorities. All the practitioners would sit around the swimming pool to send forth righteous thoughts when it was time. The sight was very moving. One day later, the food section director showed me the water quality report. "The bacteria count showed that the bacteria level is zero." He said, "This is even impossible to achieve in drinking water." He thought it was a mistake in the examination or the testing chemicals were out of date. So, he wanted to test it again. He asked if I put in too much chlorine. I replied, "I haven't put in chlorine for quite some time." On the following day, he and some students did the test in person. They tested the chlorine level and it was zero. They collected water samples from 8 different spots, those with the worst water circulation. The result still showed zero bacteria after 24 hours of culturing. He remained perplexed despite giving it much thought. We know that the power of sending forth righteous thoughts by the practitioners is unparalleled.
4) A Lesson Learned at the Filming Studio
Not long ago, I took part in a performance by practitioners for the very first time. I was given three long paragraphs for my lines. Originally, I was worried about forgetting my lines on stage. I got the script three days in advance, and began to learn the characters in the play and memorize my lines.
New practitioners performing for the first time were afraid they might not be able to memorize the lines. Some practitioners told us, "Don't have any notions. As long as you have righteous thoughts, everything will be all right."
The rehearsal went smoothly. I did well delivering my first long paragraph during the formal filming. My mind went blank for my second attempt. I got totally lost and the actor's prompt failed to work. I took out my copy and tried to remind myself. However, the paragraph of lines looked new to me. I even turned to the second page to see if it was the right script. I thought maybe someone had changed the script - how come I did not know it.
Everyone, the staff, actors and actresses, all looked at me and waited. It was a very cold day. I was dripping sweat and could not read even one sentence properly. This was unimaginable and very strange. It must be interference! I stopped reciting instantly. I tried to let go of all the impure thoughts. I began to send forth righteous thoughts. Suddenly, all the lines came back to me. However, whenever I stopped sending forth righteous thoughts, my mind became blank again. So, I continued to send forth righteous thoughts. Everyone at the site was a practitioner. No one showed any sign of impatience and no one blamed me. There was only encouragement. They prompted me and asked me not to worry. Some practitioners helped me to send forth righteous thoughts. I felt the compassion of my fellow practitioners and the importance of one body. I finally finished my part.
I shared with my fellow practitioners between scene changes. They'd had similar experiences, but not as serious as mine. They encouraged me to persist and not lose heart. They told me it was not just acting and working, but there was cultivation also.
During rehearsal, the director said, "When you act in a play it seems that everyone waits for their turn to finish their lines and then feels free. Then you turn from an actor into an audience member to enjoy the performance." What he said was true. I looked around: all of us, including me, were like that. I just laughed at the time, but I failed to think deeply about this. Recalling the director's words now, I realize it was Teacher who used the director to give me a hint. I failed to do a good job acting my role in the play because I did not put my heart into the play. We should not only play our part well, but also cooperate with the whole body. We should keep ourselves in the play at all times.
Life is just like a play. This lifetime of ours is for the purpose of this gigantic play. The central stage is in China. All the Fa-rectification period practitioners are actors. In this play everyone plays a principle role. Therefore, I should be in the play, no matter if it is my turn to act or not. At the same time, I should keep up with the progress of the play and not forget my lines. In this way I will not delay the progress of the play. As others are playing the principle roles, I am just in the scene. I still need to perform, react, act, wear expressions and be in the play. Even if I am not in the scene, I still need to look inward myself to see if I am making the same mistake repeatedly. I need to be sure that I won't make a similar mistake. It is important that we send forth righteous thoughts frequently to clean up all the interference. We should bring into full play the power of the whole body. The Fa-rectification process will proceed swiftly when the play goes smoothly.
Afterwards, I looked inside with a calm mind to find my attachments and shortcomings that were taken advantage of during the entire process of taking part in the performance:
a. Not studying the Fa earnestly: Recently I failed to study the Fa solidly. Reading the Fa was just a mere formality when I was busy. This lesson showed me Teacher's compassion. It was a "stick warning" that let me profoundly realize the importance of studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts.
b. Fear of reciting the Fa: I had an attachment of being afraid to recite the Fa. I was unwilling to recite the Fa solidly. I refused to eliminate some attachments even when I knew about them, even when the attachment would concretely manifest in my cultivation. Therefore, I would be taken advantage of during the critical moment. Teacher said,
"If after you have understood it you still can’t act accordingly, that means your cultivation is not solid. If you can act on it when the problem happens again, it will count as your passing it. If you still can’t pass it even after you have realized everything, though, then you need to truly make solid efforts to improve. "(Teaching the Fa at the Conference in New Zealand)
c. The attachment of the human heart: I am very sensitive, afraid of losing face; I like to show off and I feel nervous on stage. I cannot let go of my self and I don't want to let go of my human notions.
d. My cultivation is not solid: I first looked at the problems in other people when something happened. I even thought someone changed the scripts, but failed to look inside myself. It was not hard to see that I blamed others first when conflicts occurred. Instead, I should have looked inside myself. This was the state of my cultivation At the critical moment, all my attachments would be exposed before the eyes of the people around me. I thank Teacher for his compassion in letting me see clearly my own shortcomings.
e. Lack of confidence in my belief in Teacher and the Fa: I would think a lot in daily life with human notions, of which I did not want to let go. When I saw other practitioners believing unconditionally with pure hearts and minds in Teacher, I would be moved to tears. I would sigh, because of my lack of confidence. However, I knew this was not something I could achieve just by talking about it. It needed a foundation of solid Fa study so that I could truly melt into the Fa. Only when your mind is filled with the Fa and your every thought and action is from the Fa, can you truly be a practitioner on the path to Godhood.
Please kindly help me understand any shortcomings I may have.