(Clearwisdom.net) At the end of 1998, one my relatives gave me a book called Zhuan Falun. I read the entire book in two days and was completely convinced by the book's profound principles. All of my questions were answered. I realized that my whole life was meant for searching for the truth and that Falun Dafa is the true cultivation way. Needless to say, I unhesitatingly started to cultivate. Continuous Fa study made me realize the purpose of my life: to restore my original nature and return to my real home. Dafa disciples have the special honor to live on Earth at the same time as our Master and to assist Master in rectifying the Fa, validating the Fa, and offering sentient beings salvation. This is our immense good fortune. I must treasure this special opportunity. We should do our best to persevere in cultivating our minds and bodies and thereby be worthy of the salvation bestowed upon us by Master. We should not forget our own prehistoric pledges and thousands of years of waiting.
1. Study the Fa, cultivate the mind, relinquish attachments
In the process of cultivating, I have clearly realized that cultivation involves relinquishing human emotions and all kinds of attachments. Any human habit or emotion is a practitioner's hurdle. Prior to becoming a practitioner, I had a short temper and was sensitive to criticism. Any negative comment about me could trigger an angry outburst. I alienated many people and encountered numerous difficult situations. My family members warned me to watch my temper, but to no avail. Each unpleasant dispute made me rueful, but I could not seem to change. After I began to cultivate in Dafa, I came to understand that Truth-Compassion-Forbearance are a cultivator's highest principles. I realized that my short temper went against these principles. My angry outbursts were actually due to my demonic nature, and a cultivator must relinquish demonic nature and strengthen Buddha nature. My ego regarding reputation, material benefits, and other emotions was strong. After I became a practitioner, I realized that these pursuits pulled me in the wrong direction. My old habits, notions, and attachments were like mountains blocking my cultivation path, and I had to remove these barriers. I must do so by aligning myself with Dafa's principles, enduring hardships, and staying diligent.
I became determined to cultivate myself, no matter how hard, and I devoted a large part of my time to studying the Fa. Whenever I found an attachment, I would relinquish it. If the attachment re-emerged, I would have to eliminate it again and again.
With continuous study I came to a real understanding of Master's words, "One's gong level is as high as one's xinxing level, and this is an absolute truth." (Zhuan Falun) During the process of eliminating my lust and relinquishing my attachments, my xinxing (mind nature) level improved and my moral standard steadily rose. Every single thought and word from my mouth became righteous and clean once I abandoned my notions, and tribulations became nothing. Prior to cultivation I suffered from several diseases: bursitis in my shoulder, pharyngitis, and severe rhinitis. Since cultivation, these diseases have all vanished without a trace. The change in my body and mind was incredible.
My personal change is a testimony to Master's teaching in "Drive Out Interference": "The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts."
Having witnessed my change, my family and friends become convinced that Falun Gong is extraordinary. In time, my wife, oldest daughter, and six friends also became practitioners. Eleven others bought Zhuan Falun. My family's house became a home of cultivators. This environment eventually proved to be a solid foundation for validating the Fa and offering people salvation.
2. Believing in Master and the Fa; keeping strong faith despite huge ordeals
Jiang Zemin's campaign to persecute Falun Gong began on July 20, 1999. The pressure on practitioners was huge, as if the sky were falling. We even felt it difficult to breathe. One day, two relatives showed us articles in newspapers and warned us to stop practicing. What should we do? This was a moment of life and death for us. My wife and I had a serious discussion and realized that we were new practitioners with limited understanding of the Fa. But we had also experienced tremendous improvement in our health and moral standards. We deeply appreciated the profound nature of Dafa. Master came to save people. We were so fortunate to become practitioners in this lifetime. This was indeed a rare opportunity.
No matter how vicious the evil persecution was, our determination remained strong. Our faith in our Master and Dafa was unshaken. We decided to continue our cultivation and practice and also began to give our relatives and friends the true information about Falun Gong. We told them that Falun Gong was being defamed and that we did nothing wrong by following Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. The persecution of Falun Gong disgraced all Chinese people. Those who took part in the persecution lacked the support of the people and would see retribution down the road. We carefully kept a dozen Falun Gong books, videotapes of Master's lectures, exercise teaching tapes, and exercise music.
Unable to form a group study and exercise environment, my wife and I read the Dafa books over and over. We also did the five sets of exercises regularly. We were consistent. Our minds were pure and straightforward. Because of our solid effort in Fa study, our faith was strong, and our cultivation was relatively smooth. Master did not acknowledge any of the persecution, and neither did we.
3. Studying the Fa is the key to doing the Three Things well
As we did the Three Things, I deeply felt that as long as we kept studying the Fa, harmonizing our environment according to the Fa, and validating the Fa, Dafa's amazing power would reveal itself. Doing the Three Things is cultivation. Beginning to clarify the truth and distribute materials exposed our human notions and attachments. The most obvious were fear, zealotry, and the habit of showing off. We feared for our safety and worried about being reported to the police. But, as soon as we distributed materials to people and had success in persuading people to quit the Communist Party, we would tell our fellow practitioners. After reading more of Master's lectures and articles, we realized that our attachments were a serious matter. Cultivation means changing people's minds; these attachments should be relinquished.
Master said in "Cultivating in a Maze" in Hong Yin: "Cultivate until not one attachment is left." Once we understood this, we quickly eliminated these attachments. We followed Master's teaching wholeheartedly and with maximum effort.
Doing the Three Things is the most righteous, greatest, and most sacred mission in the universe. It are also what we pledged to do in our prehistoric oaths. So, when I run into relatives, friends, colleagues, and strangers, I tell them the facts about Falun Gong and give them a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. I also encourage them to quit the Party and its affiliated organizations. I help those who agreed to quit to issue statements on the Internet. When people do not want to quit, I send righteous thoughts to eliminate the regime's evil spirit, black hands, and rotten demons behind them. Though I might be unsuccessful in persuading that person, another practitioner might succeed in the future.
Each day at the four designated times we send righteous thoughts. Sometimes we do it every hour. Our minds are filled with righteous thoughts. When we climb stairs, ride bicycles, or walk, we also send righteous thoughts at the same time. When we pass the city government building each day, we also send righteous thoughts. We do this near the police department and detention centers, too. We will keep doing this until all evil is eliminated.
Over the past two years I have been responsible for the transportation and distribution of informational materials. Each time before we leave, I send righteous thoughts to cleanse my own space and to eliminate interference at the materials site. This will also destroy all the evil along the way. I ask Master to provide protection. When my wife and I go out together, we do the same. Because of our strong righteous thoughts and our pure motivation to offer people salvation, we are able to do the Three Things easily and safely and improve in our own cultivation at the same time.
Not long ago, several practitioners and I started a factory. After it opened, we asked Master to arrange people who have predestined relationships with Dafa to come so we could offer them salvation. Because of our efforts, all but two employees and their family members quit the Party and its affiliated organizations. We often gave them informational materials and taught them to recite "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance is good" and "Falun Dafa is good." They were all receptive. The factory is now a very good place to work. Falun Dafa has changed their lives.
We experienced two miracles during our cultivation. One evening we went to a relative's home to show the DVD of the Nine Commentaries. Shortly after the DVD player was turned on, it began to smoke. My wife and I realized that the evil was causing this trouble. We sent a strong righteous thought. A few minutes later we turned the machine on again. It worked normally.
Our practitioner daughter had recently moved to another city to work, shared a room with several other roommates, and for a while did not practice. During a visit home, my wife and I spoke with her. We showed her Master's latest lecture and some "Minghui Weekly" articles and watched the "Guangzhou Fa Lecture" together. We told her we are assisting Master to rectify the Fa and that time is precious, so we must all treasure the opportunity. At 6:00 p.m. when we sent righteous thoughts together, right after I recited the Fa-rectification verse, Master's law body appeared in front of me. When I told them, my wife and daughter were amazed.
Master has given us so much. We must be diligent cultivators to deserve this. Master is constantly protecting us. We must do our best.
Looking back on my cultivation path, my feelings are complicated: some happiness, some sorrow. I have done well on some occasions, but not so well on others. Now that we are closer to the end of cultivation, we must redouble our efforts and become even more diligent. We should correct our thought processes along Dafa principles. We should constantly cleanse our bodies and souls. Our goal is to become the new universe's altruistic, enlightened beings. In the meantime, we should take advantage of the wisdom bestowed upon us and clarify the truth. We should offer salvation to as many people as possible. We will then accomplish our sacred mission and return to our original home.