(Clearwisdom.net) I began practicing Falun Gong in April 2007. Back then I was bothered by various kinds of illnesses. Even though I was only in my 30s, I looked much older than my age. Moreover, I seemed to be an under-achiever in society, which, combined with my poor health, left me living in despair. When a woman I knew told me how Falun Gong could benefit people in mind and body, I decided to give it a try in hopes of changing my fate.
When I first read Zhuan Falun, I was deeply attracted by its profound contents. Feeling that everything in the book was nowhere else to be found, I could not put it down. However, at that time, I did not know too much about Falun Gong, and because of the CCP's propaganda, I still had some negative thoughts about the practice. (Now, after looking back, I know it was thought karma.)
After I read the book for close to a month, I still did not see obvious improvement in my health. Therefore, I put it aside for several months. One day last October, I went to visit the woman who had introduced me to Dafa. She happened to be watching Teacher's video lecture "Falun Dafa--Teaching the Fa to Australian Falun Dafa Practitioners," so I joined her. Teacher removed my thought karma in the process, I believe. From then on I started to study the Fa, practice the exercises and clarify the truth every day.
One month after I began to diligently cultivate, Teacher removed my health problem of spitting up blood and rectified my body in many other ways. I often felt the joy of being free of illness, and I regained my hope for life, becoming confident and optimistic again. I have never stopped validating the Fa since then. I actively participate in all kinds of truth-clarification activities, including distributing information materials and clarifying the truth face to face as well as on the Internet. With help from fellow practitioners, I also established an information materials site at my home.
Below are some experiences from my cultivation.
Only by Believing in Teacher and the Fa Can One Maintain Righteous Thoughts and Actions
Teacher said in "Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World's People:"
"For a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, personal liberation is not the goal of cultivation: when you came, saving sentient beings was your great aspiration, and that is the responsibility and mission history has bestowed upon you in Fa-rectification."
It is essential that we study the Fa and practice the exercises every day. Assisting Teacher to rectify the Fa and save sentient beings are our mission and purpose. In such an evil environment in mainland China, if we lack righteous thoughts, we cannot do anything. Even if we manage to do something to validate the Fa, the outcome won't be that sacred. Through Fa study I have come to realize that, as a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, as long as we put our heart in the Fa, cultivate ourselves solidly and believe in Teacher and the Fa, Teacher is protecting us all the time. Regardless of whether we are attending group Fa study or validating the Fa, we won't have any danger. Teacher said in Zhuan Falun,
"My roots are all deeply planted in the universe, and if someone could affect you, he could affect me, and to put it directly, he'd be able to affect the universe."
Whenever I have fear, I send forth righteous thoughts to disintegrate the fear. In addition, I recite the above passage of Teacher's Fa to rectify my incorrect thought of being afraid and to continue doing truth-clarification. Fellow practitioners comment that I have strong righteous thoughts, and I know this is because I always believe that Teacher is by my side at all times. As long as I have the heart to save people, Teacher will never allow me to be persecuted.
Since our local practitioners rely on out-of-town practitioners to provide materials, these materials are very precious. Copies of Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party are especially scarce. Once a fellow practitioner gave me a used copy of Nine Commentaries, telling me that he bought it at a trash collection station. I was pained at heart because I felt I had human notions earlier when I distributed the Nine Commentaries. I usually had put copies of Nine Commentaries on people's doorstep or by the roadside in a hurry, not paying much attention to whether it could be picked up by people with a predestined relationship. Now when I receive copies of Nine Commentaries from fellow practitioners, I no longer rush to give them out. Instead, I put two copies in my bag every day. When I clarify the truth face to face to people, I give them a copy and tell them not to damage it and ask them to give it to somebody else when they are done. This way they can bring good fortune to themselves. I did this several days in a row and achieved very good results. Once when I clarified the truth to several construction workers, a lot of them wanted a copy. Unfortunately I did not have enough copies with me.
Group Fa Study is Not Just a Formality
Group Fa study is a form of cultivation that Teacher left for us. Through Fa study, we can learn from each other. However, in the group study I attended, I could not feel the atmosphere of sharing experiences. Everyone just got together to study one or two lectures of the Fa and then left. Or they would complain to each other, negating the purpose of improving together. In August, several of our local practitioners established a new Fa study group. When we get together every week, everyone would share with the group how he/she clarified the truth the previous week. Through experience sharing, we find where we fall short. This way the already diligent practitioners become even more diligent, and the not so diligent ones begin to gradually catch up. We had two practitioners who did not dare to distribute materials before. But through group sharing, they began to do it, more or less, depending on their own situations. There is another Fa study group in our local area that has never stopped Fa study since the persecution began in 1999. Their group persuaded the most people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its subordinate associations. Several elderly ladies persisted in going out to clarify the truth every morning, rain or shine.
Maintain a Good Environment of "Cultivating Speech"
For a long time, our local practitioners did not do well in cultivating their speech, and they failed to form a strong sense of paying attention to security and safety issues. The sources of truth-clarification materials and their operation are open to all practitioners. Anyone who receives such materials knows where they come from, providing no protection for the practitioners who produce these materials. Therefore we often had situations where several practitioners' names were revealed by a certain practitioner who was arrested and persecuted, thus bringing tremendous loss to practitioners and Dafa. In my opinion, this is the main reason that our local practitioners have been relying on practitioners in other areas to provide materials all these years. It is not that we lack practitioners who can make truth-clarification materials. Those who want to establish a materials site are often deterred by such an environment in which practitioners are not cultivating their speech. Some local practitioners do make materials, but they only produce enough for their own use without publicizing it. Therefore I hope everyone in my local area can truly cultivate their speech. When we get together, we only share our cultivation experiences, and we do not discuss or disclose any details of materials production and distribution process. The change of environment depends on everyone's efforts.
When I look back on the past year's cultivation path, every step was with Teacher's guidance and protection. Words cannot express Teacher's endless compassion. Every step of my progress in cultivation, from being afraid of attending group Fa study, reading Minghui Weekly and distributing materials, to actively clarifying the truth, to making materials myself was impossible without the righteous thoughts Teacher and the Fa gave me. At the same time, I see my own shortcomings in my xinxing and Fa-validation. For instance, I tend to be attached to fellow practitioners' shortcomings. I am impatient and easily irritated. I too easily complain about others and do not want to dig out my own attachments. Even though I have never stopped clarifying the truth, 900f the people I am able to persuade to withdraw from the CCP are strangers, with only a few being my former students. I know that clarifying the truth to people is something I need to work on. I now expose my attachments in hope to encourage myself to break away from my human notions as soon as possible. I will do my best to save as many people as possible.
My level is limited; please point out anything inappropriate.
