(Clearwisdom.net) I became a Dafa disciple in 1998. Back then I was the vice president of a company, and my husband served as the general manager of a state-run enterprise. We seemed to have everything in our lives, the recognition, social status and money. When I heard from my coworkers and neighbors how good Falun Gong is, and that it was a form of true cultivation, I yearned for it. Thus I started my cultivation, and soon my family joined in, as well.
At the beginning of my practice, I went with other practitioners to the exercise site to listen to Master's recorded lectures. I saw something rotating in front of my forehead. My curiosity arose. I looked around. Surprisingly, I could see it everywhere. That night I had a dream. I dreamed of Master in a grand, splendid palace made of gold. Although I could easily grab a golden object around me, I didn't take any. I followed Master all the way till we reached a huge boat. I remained onshore. Master asked me if I'd go with him. He asked me three times, and each time I firmly answered, "Yes, I want to go with Master." He waved his hand, gesturing that it wasn't time yet, which meant that I needed to stay in the human world to promote Dafa.
Two years later, in January 2000, I was deeply concerned when I saw the lack of communication among fellow practitioners and how many practitioners didn't step forward. Since we couldn't find the local coordinator, I volunteered to partner with another practitioner to host a cultivation experience sharing meeting at my home. More than twenty people participated. We started at 5:00 a.m. to study the Fa first and then exchanged our cultivation experiences until 4:00 p.m. We encouraged each other to improve our understanding of Dafa. Every attendee agreed that we should not passively endure the persecution. Rather, we should step forward to safeguard Dafa. The meeting was instrumental for us in terms of stepping forward to validate the Fa. The experience also reinforced my belief in Master and Dafa.
The evil feverishly persecuted Dafa practitioners in 2008. Two local practitioners were seized and their Dafa materials production site was destroyed. The incident had a domino effect on other production sites as well. With hopes of restoring the publication of a weekly newspaper for the affected readers, I visited a fellow practitioner, planning to ask her to produce 80 copies. Before I could finish expressing my purpose for the visit, she interrupted me impatiently, "Why did you pick my family? There are so many practitioners. Why me?" I was speechless.
The evil arranged two attempts with lots of manpower to capture me that day. Thanks to Master's benevolent protection, I was able to strengthen my righteous thoughts and successfully escaped this practitioner's home, thinking that the fellow practitioner must have been under the same tremendous stress.
After I got back home, I wondered, "What was the reason for her to respond in such a way?" Instead of holding any hard feelings against her, I looked within. Being immersed in Communist Party culture for decades, plus years of taking the leadership role in my company, I was accustomed to speaking in a commanding tone. This made the recipient of my demand automatically reject what I had said. In addition, I had not often exchanged understandings of the Fa with her; neither did I care that she had to do many household chores at home. The problem was me! I should not merely emphasize areas where she might need improvement. Master said,
"While working, your tone of voice, your kindheartedness, and your reasoning can change a person's heart...." ("Clearheadedness" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
The next day, I went to her house again. I sent righteous thoughts all along. She raised the same question, "There are so many practitioners, why me?" I replied calmly, "It's true that there are quite a few practitioners, yet only a handful run materials production sites. Those two captured ones are experiencing tribulations right now. You also are a cultivator, and your family has the capability to produce materials. If you don't do it, who else could do the work?" My reasoning seemed to have made her realize her human notions. She changed her mind and agreed to cooperate by her working as part of the whole body. I was genuinely happy for her. The experience also allowed me to raise my xinxing and expand my own heart.
Practitioner B, who was illegally sentenced by the evil, was to be released in 2008. We planned to go with practitioner B's wife, practitioner A, to pick up practitioner B. As A wasn't from where we lived, we set up a time and place to meet. One day before the planned date, practitioner A called us and said, "It's better if you don't go tomorrow. 610 Office agents and the head of the village are going, too. They are going to spend the night there."
I knew that A was being considerate of our safety and agreed to consider her suggestion. After putting down the phone, I remained calm and contemplated, "What if our absence allows the evil to continue its persecution of B? If we go, however, would it impose a risk for those of us who are going?"
Evaluating the situation according to Master's Fa principles,
"...why haven't you taken the lead role? Why give top priority to the words of ordinary people who have been indoctrinated with the wicked party's culture? Why have you paid so much attention to the evil's persecution?" ("Fa Teaching at the 2008 New York Conference")
I reinforced my righteous thoughts and consulted with the two practitioners whom I originally planned to go with to meet B. One said, "Now that we know the evil is going, we should go to pick up B openly--even more so now than ever. B has the full right to go home after being released." The other added, "We are cultivating to be gods. If we said we'd go, we must keep our word." The three of us unified our thoughts and decided to stick to the original plan instead of letting surface-level interference affect us.
I went to a public phone to call A. I told her that we were still going to meet her as planned. She didn't oppose the idea and told us that the head of the village couldn't make it. He seemed to be sick and would require hospitalization. I saw this outcome to be the effect of increasing our righteous thoughts, which diminished the evil factors. When I finally saw practitioner B, it was more like a family reunion to me; yet, my heart was heavy with sadness for what B had suffered.
With Master's benevolent protection we accompanied practitioner B home without encountering any problems.
Ten years of coordination work have tested me thoroughly. It has enriched my experiences and strengthened my righteous thoughts, and also decreased my fear and other human notions. It has helped me to mature over time. I must continue to perform my historical mission at this final stage of assisting Master in Fa-rectification.
The above is only my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything incorrect.
Category: Improving Oneself
