(Clearwisdom.net) Disciples sharing cultivation experiences and advancing diligently together is within the requirements of the Fa. After I purged a lot of attachments, I decided to write down and report my cultivation experience to Master and fellow practitioners.
I obtained the Fa on October 25, 1998. Within about a month, my various diseases such as high blood pressure, cerebral arteriosclerosis, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and ovarian cysts all disappeared. I was grateful to Dafa and Master, and that motivated me to cultivate relatively diligently.
I read very fast. I took this habit into Fa study as well. For example, it took me only 40 minutes to finish reading Chapter One of Zhuan Falun. When I heard that others took more than one hour or even two hours, I felt pleased with myself. However, I read too fast and didn't take every word to heart. I didn't truly cultivate solidly and didn't read the Fa a lot before the persecution started. During the brutal test after July 20, 1999, I was “transformed” against my will and created a lot of karma.
After I regained freedom, I obtained Master's lectures from after July 20, 1999. I knew that I was completely wrong. I made up my mind to start cultivation all over again.
I. Persevering in Fa Study and Xinxing Cultivation, Walking the Path Arranged by Master
After I went home, when I could hold Zhuan Falun and Master's other books in my hands, I was so elated. Finally, I could study the Fa freely! I read two chapters or even more every day and studied Master's lectures from before July 20, 1999. Because the nearby truth-clarification material site was sabotaged, I couldn't obtain Master's lectures on time, much less Minghui Weekly.
Once in a while, I obtained Master's lectures. I could only have a copy if I made a manual copy myself. This situation lasted until the early half of 2005, when we had our own material production site. I started to obtain Master's lectures, Minghui Weekly and other truth-clarification pamphlets on time. This was a big help to my cultivation.
I found answers to my questions in the Fa. I was able to dissolve a lot of difficulties with the guidance of the Fa and inspiration from fellow practitioners' articles in Minghui Weekly.
At the beginning of July 2006, I was taken to my company with a false reason cited by the leaders. After I arrived, I found out that it was a scheduled “talk” from two people at the 610 office and the Bureau of Public Safety. When I saw them, I was a little bit uneasy. Fear emerged in my heart. I immediately realized that this wasn't right. I thought about the Fa principle of “one righteous mind can subdue one hundred evils" (Zhuan Falun) and calmed down.
They said that they saw my name on the Minghui website. They asked me what it was about. I paused and thought: “Isn't that my name on my solemn declaration?” I didn't think about it much and told them that it was my signature in my solemn declaration. Upon hearing this, they became furious. They started attacking me verbally.
After they finished yelling, I said: “I was so sick. I was dying. I recovered after practicing Falun Gong. Master gave me a second life. But I betrayed him and Dafa. How could I even be considered a human being? I have made such a big mistake. How could I not correct myself? Therefore, I went online and submitted my solemn declaration.” They were speechless. When they left, they said: “We are not done yet!”
After I left there, I shared with a few fellow practitioners and asked them to advise me if any of my behavior was not on the Fa. They didn't say anything, but I wasn't completely at ease. I knew that I had omissions. The sentence they threw at me when they left gave me a lot of pressure. I started thinking about leaving home. I packed my things in a bag and prepared to leave. When I took a shower, three teeth on my comb suddenly broke. I woke up. Master's hint drove away my thought of leaving home.
I was still not sure, and anxiety haunted me all the time. What should I do? Study the Fa! Only Fa study would do! I studied a lot of Fa every day and read over and over again Master said in “Study the Fa Well, and Getting Rid of Attachments is Not Hard:”
“The fact is, those who can't step forward, regardless of the excuse, are concealing fear. Yet for cultivators, fear or lack thereof proves [one's] humanity or divinity, and it is what differentiates cultivators from ordinary people. It is something that a cultivator must face, and the biggest human attachment that a cultivator must remove.”
I memorized it. I calmed down via studying the Fa. However, I didn't send forth righteous thoughts more. Subconsciously, I was “waiting for” the arrival of persecution.
In mid-July, the police suddenly dispatched more than 10 policemen and 2 police cars. They surrounded my home. They knocked at our door and asked me to go with them. I didn't open the outer door. I simply opened the inner door and reasoned with them from within. The policemen took turns speaking to me. Some were mild, and some threatened me. No matter what they said, I insisted, “I didn't do anything wrong. I will not go with you!” A family member of mine who is also a fellow practitioner sent forth righteous thoughts for me at home. The situation lasted for about an hour. I thought I should inform all of my neighbors about this.
I cried out: “You have already killed my husband. Now you want to kill me too. Do you have a conscience?” I cried and yelled. Many neighbors came to see what was going on. Two neighbors who had learned the truth spoke to the policemen: “You have gone too far. You men should go after corrupt officials and bad people. You shouldn't do this to a housewife. You should leave!” Shortly afterwards, the police left.
Later on, I resumed my normal Fa study and exercises. One day in late July, I bumped into a fellow practitioner when doing some grocery shopping. He told me that the police were looking for me in the grocery market. I rushed home after hearing this. At the entrance of our complex, a stranger asked me: “Are you so-and-so?” I didn't respond but went straight home. I called my son's name and asked him to open the door for me. My son came out to open the door, but found a man was between me and the door. He told me: “Go to the police station with me. I will then complete my task.” I said: “You have come to my home and told me this. You have already completed your task. However, I'm not going to go with you. You can go back and tell your boss that I didn't want to go.” He was surprised. Then suddenly he took a few steps back. My son opened the outer door, dragged me inside, and quickly locked the outer door. Everything happened in a second. I knew that Master was by my side and was protecting his disciple. I felt warm. My righteous thoughts were strengthened, and I was calm.
Several people said outside of my home: “See? How come you let her go in? Now we cannot do anything.” My son told me: “Mom, please go inside.” I went inside and started sending forth righteous thoughts. Soon different policemen knocked at the door. My son talked with them from behind the outer door. He talked to many of them. The sentence I heard most frequently was: “I have only one mother. I will not let you take her away!” I kept sending forth righteous thoughts. After a while, my son came in and told me: “Mom, they have all left.” I stopped sending forth righteous thoughts.
My son wanted to smoke, but his hands trembled so much that he only managed to light the cigarette after quite a few tries. I looked at him and thought: “He is not a cultivator. How can he not be afraid of this? He wouldn't have made it through this ordeal if not for Master's protection.”
After the police left, I sat on the bed and reflected on all of this. I didn't know what my future would be. My son looked at me without saying anything. Suddenly the phone rang. I answered the call. A friend told me over the phone that friends were going to have a reunion out of town. He asked me if I would like to go. He said they had a ride. I could simply take their ride. I immediately understood: Master sent me the message that everything is OK now. At the same time, Master has arranged for me an opportunity to clarify the truth and save sentient beings.
I told him: “I will take a ride with you.” After I hung up, I told my son about the conversation over the phone. I told him my plan and asked my son to call a taxi to pick me up from home to join my friend. My son was worried. He wanted to go with me and see me join my friends. I told him that I had Master's protection and it should be fine. My son didn't say anything more. After I arrived out of town, I called my son and asked him not to worry. I reunited with old friends and met 9 people very close to me. I clarified the truth to them and helped them quit the Chinese Communist Party.
I encountered three “dangerous situations” within a month. It was shocking to me. In the following days, I studied the Fa carefully and looked for omissions.
First, I didn't treat my solemn declaration seriously. When I submitted my solemn declaration, I gave my declaration to practitioner A. I asked practitioner A to forward it to other practitioners to be published online. Practitioner A said: “We don't need to forward the declaration you wrote. I can simply tell him your name.” I thought it wasn't right, so I said: “Maybe it's better to send him my declaration.” Practitioner A insisted: “Only your name would do.” I didn't insist on my own opinion then.
A solemn declaration is a compassionate opportunity Master offers disciples who have taken a detour in cultivation. It is such a serious and solemn matter, but I treated it so casually.
Second, I followed fellow practitioners, not the Fa. Practitioner A is a veteran practitioner who obtained the Fa in 1995. I had always respected and even idolized her. I often followed her opinion. Even when we had different opinions, I didn't evaluate the issue with the Fa, but evaluated it with human attachments and emotions.
Third, I didn't completely negate the old evil forces' arrangements. So I dragged through tests. I couldn't imagine the consequence if not for Master's protection.
After that, I had a better understanding of the importance of Fa study, sending forth righteous thoughts and the seriousness of cultivation. I started memorizing the Fa. When I memorized Zhuan Falun the first time, I thought memorizing the Fa was so good! Only after I read and memorized the Fa word by word, sentence by sentence, could I remember it. During the process, oftentimes without pursuit, the principles of the Fa manifested for me. When I understood another level of Fa principles, the joy was beyond description. During the past several years, I have been reading one chapter every day and making time for memorizing the Fa. Now I'm memorizing Chapter Eight for the fourth time.
Master taught us in “Drive Out Interference” in Essentials for Further Advancement II:
“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.”
II. Clarifying the Truth and Saving Sentient Beings
Before the publishing of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, I told many neighbors, relatives and colleagues about my diseases and how practicing Falun Gong helped me recover and saved the company, family and country a lot of health expenses. These facts laid a good foundation for them to quit the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations.
After the Nine Commentaries was available, I started clarifying the truth face-to-face and persuading them to quit the CCP. I have had the following experiences during my efforts in the past several years:
1. When we talk with others, we should be amiable and natural. We should be considerate all the time.
2. We shouldn't talk too inconceivably. However, we must cover basic truth-clarification facts.
3. We should collect truth-clarification information daily.
We should carefully read Minghui Weekly and other pamphlets, remember some stories about quitting the CCP and how people are blessed after they sincerely said “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” When we meet people, we can then tell a few stories. The effect is usually good.
4. Send Righteous Thoughts More
Every day before leaving home, I send forth righteous thoughts carefully. Once I'm on the road for truth-clarification, as long as I am not clarifying the truth, I send righteous thoughts. Sending righteous thoughts should be done from the beginning to the end of truth-clarification.
Once I clarified the truth to a taxi driver. I saw that he was very tired. When I spoke to him, he said “Hm,” then nothing. I started sending forth righteous thoughts and cleansed the evil factors interfering with him listening to truth. I asked his knowing side to pay attention to the truth and asked for Master's help. He responded to me with two sentences, and then he was silent again. As I sent forth righteous thoughts, he became more and more engaged in our conversation. In the end, he quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
5. Perseverance
People are very different. Some understand the truth instantly. Some take much longer. Some cannot thank me enough for telling them the facts. Some won't believe me no matter how I clarify the truth. Some even start attacking me with all kinds of different questions. Whenever this happened, I wasn't affected by the superficial phenomenon. I held the thought “I'm here to save you,” tried not to trigger his negative elements, and clarified the truth with facts and reasoning. Sometimes it took me 40 to 50 minutes or even longer to save the person.
Once I waited for a bus on the platform and clarified the truth to a person. As we were talking, he suddenly said: “The bus is coming. I need to get on the bus.” He walked towards the bus, and I followed him to the bus. Afterwards, he found that I was on the same bus, and he smiled at me. I continued our conversation, and he quit the CCP. I got off the bus and continued my journey.
Another time at a trade show, I chatted with a woman. Before I could talk about the main topic, she suddenly turned left and walked away. I turned left and followed her. She said to me: “Why are you following me?” I said calmly and sincerely: “I'm not stalking you. I have very important things to tell you.” She didn't say anything more, and I told her the facts. She said: “It was so! I didn't know.” A life was thus saved.
6. The Process of Truth-clarification Is Also a Process of Xinxing Cultivation
When I first clarified the truth to strangers, I was quite afraid, especially when it came to police, military staff, government officials, security guards and teachers. Once I chatted with a man during my grocery shopping. He told me he was off that day and that he worked at the police station. I hesitated: should I clarify the truth or not? I saw my attachment of fear.
After careful consideration, I decided to use the opportunity to remove my attachment of fear. I adjusted my state and continued the conversation. I talked about how his work was not easy, that there were much fewer policemen in Hong Kong and Taiwan and that practitioners could practice Falun Gong freely in Hong Kong and Taiwan and about the staged “self-immolation” on Tiananmen Square. He didn't reject the truth but asked many questions. I answered all of them. When I was about to invite him to quit the CCP, two people called to him. He immediately left me and went to chat with his friends. I was quite anxious for him. What could I do? I asked Master for help.
I thought: “Master, if he is predestined, please arrange for me to meet him again.” When I finished my grocery shopping and was going to go home, I saw him standing alone on the roadside. I was excited. I smiled and greeted him. After some conversation he agreed to quit the CCP.
After I went home, I reflected on the entire process and looked inward. I noticed that my attachment of fear invited interference. Master said in “Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston:”
“The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things.”
Today I had twists and turns while saving the person. Wasn't it caused by my attachment of fear? The core issue of fear is selfishness. I had to remove it! I felt relieved after coming to this realization.
For a while, people from the street office, police station and the 610 office would come to my home and harass me. I shared with fellow practitioners. A practitioner said: “Don't open the door. Don't let them in. Don't cooperate with anything they ask.” I thought it made sense, but thought something was missing.
One day I studied the Fa and read “Clarifying the truth is the master key.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference”) I thought: “Master gave us the master key. Why don't I use it?” They came to harass me, and this was a bad thing. If I could clarify the truth to them and if they could be saved, wouldn't it be a good thing?
Suddenly “Saving beings, Notions change” (“New Life” in Hong Yin) emerged in my mind. For a long time, I didn't know the meaning of “notions change.” Now I had a sudden enlightenment. I said in my heart repeatedly: “Thank you, Master. Thank you, Master!” From then on, whenever people from the street office, police station or the 610 office came, I invited them to come into my home, have tea, and listen to the truth. After some time, several people, including policemen, made the choice to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
Once I clarified the truth to a 50-year-old village woman, and she listened to me very carefully. She understood and said twice, “Falun Dafa is good. Truth-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I asked her whether she had joined the CCP Young Pioneers and Youth League. She said she wasn't literate and didn't join these organizations.
After I left her, I thought: “There is no need to give you a name to quit the CCP affiliated organizations.” I felt at a loss. Then I thought: “How I come I was at a loss after clarifying the truth?” I looked inward. I found out that it was because I thought she wouldn't add to my list of names of quitting the CCP and its affiliated organizations. I thought I worked hard for “nothing.” What kind of attachment was this? Wasn't it pursuit of reputation? I immediately became alert and felt ashamed. When I encountered such situations again in the future, I was calm. It was enough for sentient beings to understand the truth. It didn't matter whether her name was on my list of “achievements.”
Once I joined a reunion and helped more than 30 people quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Later I shared with fellow practitioners about this. When I was speaking with much excitement, a fellow practitioner said in a low voice: “Don't allow your zealotry to get stirred up.” I paused and stopped talking. The fellow practitioner's words reminded me and helped me be clearheaded. Afterwards, I reflected on myself. I found that I had zealotry and a strong show-off mentality. However, it was so “natural” to me that I didn't sense them.
I reviewed Master's lecture about the show-off mentality and zealotry in Zhuan Falun:
“This mentality of showing off can manifest in any situation; it can also surface when doing a good deed.”
“In other matters and in the course of cultivation practice, one should be sure to not develop the attachment of zealotry—this mentality can be very easily taken advantage of by demons.”
I felt that every word was meant for me. I sent righteous thoughts to disintegrate these attachments. And, I paid attention to removing zealotry and the show-off mentality.
Once a fellow practitioner wanted to clarify the truth with me, and I happily agreed. The first day, she sent forth righteous thoughts and I clarified the truth. Our cooperation was very good. Some people quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. At the end of our day, I suggested that we continue the effort the next day. She declined with a lot of excuses. I was a little sad, but I didn't say anything.
Four months passed. Then she wanted to clarify the truth with me again. This time, I didn't immediately agree. I thought: “Last time you didn't take such a good opportunity. I have been very busy these days. Sometimes I don't even have a big chunk of time for truth-clarification myself. How can I go out and clarify the truth with you?” I wasn't willing.
I knew this wasn't right. I thought of Master's words: “Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference” in 2002:
“In these situations your conduct should always show Dafa disciples' tolerance, kindness, and niceness. The next person's things are your things, and your things are his things.”
I wasn't willing, so wasn't that opinion from the post-natal me? It was selfish, so I couldn't unconditionally cooperate with others and harmonize the one body. I then decided to arrange my time well to make time to clarify the truth with the fellow practitioner. Maximizing the role of the group and saving more people is what we should do!
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners.
