(Minghui.org) After reading the call for experience sharing articles for the 9th China Fahui on Minghui.org, I became motivated and encouraged to march forward. I knew clearly that I could not give up such a good opportunity to validate the Fa and cultivate myself. However, I really hadn't done the three things well, so I was not sure where to start my article. After I calmed down and read the notice about contributing articles again, Teacher opened my wisdom and I decided to share my cultivation experience of the past year with fellow practitioners. I wanted to share how I let go of my human attachments and elevated my soul. I was also glad to have this opportunity to submit my cultivation report to our respected Teacher.
Looking Within
Ten years ago, my mother-in-law remodeled her home and made it into two new houses. She said she would live in one house and rent the other. In the future, one house would be passed down to her son, and the other one to her two daughters. My mother-in-law moved into one of the houses after it was remodeled and gave the other one to her daughter without letting us know about this new arrangement. Her daughter had even sold her own home. My husband quarreled with his mother and sister over this, and they stopped talking to each other. I regarded myself as a practitioner, improved myself in Dafa and balanced well the relationship with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.
At first my husband prevented me from visiting his mother because he wanted to break off all relationship with her, I purchased gifts for her and went to visit her without letting my husband know. She poured out all her anger on me, which she had held toward her son. However, I maintained my xinxing, returned good for evil, and treated my mother-in-law kindly. Gradually she calmed down, and my husband and I were able to show filial respect for her as before. The neighbors praised our family as compassionate and benevolent.
One day my husband went to visit his old classmate Huazi in the hospital. When he returned home, he sighed with emotion: “I am so happy to have you as my wife! Thank you, my good wife. Parents like my mother, who honor their daughters, are rarely seen. Most parents, like your father, favor their sons. (My father remodeled his old house into five new houses and gave all to my elder brother.) If I had married someone else, I would have encountered the same as Huazi, who was beaten in the face by his wife. He suffered a cerebral thrombosis because of fighting for properties.” I said happily: “If you want to express your thanks, just thank my Teacher, say ‘Falun Dafa is good!’ If I hadn’t practiced Falun Dafa, we might have fought fiercely, and both families would have been turned upside down from the very beginning.” My husband nodded and said: “You are right! You are right! I am well aware of how bad your temper once was.” We both laughed with joy.
Unexpectedly, all of the houses in my community were demolished last year (by the communist regime), so my husband and I had no house to live in. My mother-in-law told me that we couldn’t live together with her because she was accustomed to living on her own. She said, “You just go and rent a house.” I did everything on my own, from finding a rental house, to moving all of our belongings in. On the third day after we moved into the new place, my mother-in-law got ill and was hospitalized. During the daytime, I delivered meals to her. Upon returning home, I had to clean the new home. I was very tired after doing the heavy housework, so I didn’t study the Fa well, nor did I do the three things well. Moreover, my mind was filled with ordinary things.
I slacked off. As a result, I was taken advantage of by the dark minions and rotten demons. I coughed so seriously that I couldn’t read the Fa as usual, nor could I talk to others. My chest and back were so painful that I could hardly forbear it. My face also looked twisted due to the serious cough. This condition lasted more than one month. Finally I calmed down and looked within. I wrote down my state of cultivation during that period of time. I was scared when I identified so many human attachments: selfishness, show-off mentality, competitiveness, jealousy, greediness, anger and wrath.
Teacher taught us:
“Search your inner self whenever you have problems. Tribulations don’t just happen by chance. They are definitely meant to get rid of certain attachments of yours so that you may improve yourself.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Canada”)
I calmed down to study the Fa, looked inside and shared with fellow practitioners. I came to understand that no matter what tribulations we encounter, they are good things. On one hand, they appear for us to improve our xinxing; on the other hand, it’s because I owed others during past incarnations and must repay the debts. I knelt down in front of Teacher’s picture and burst into tears. I said in my heart: “Teacher, I am really sorry. As your disciple, I am not doing well and bring so much trouble to you. ” That same night, I coughed much less than before. On the following day, I stopped coughing completely.
In the past year I have realized that as long as we walk on the righteous path of cultivation, Teacher will arrange the best of everything for us. My new home is very spacious and bright, which is a good place for me to do the three things.
Transcending Sentimentality and Human Notions
Not long ago, I was quite affected by my son's job situation. My emotions were up and down, just like the rise and fall of the tides. I was reluctant to find a job for my son by seeking favors and using a “back door” approach. However, today, it’s not easy for youth to find a satisfying job. My son had his own thoughts about it and made great efforts to look for a job. My husband was mad at me and cursed me when he saw my son sitting around at home. The three of us often quarreled.
I was moved by human attachments and often put much pressure on my son. I cultivated only superficially. Although I didn’t behave the same as ordinary people and kept silent, in my heart I fought with human notions, even cursing in my mind. I was very surprised when my son said that I often cursed him.
Soon, I was taken advantage of by the old forces again. They persecuted my physical body. It was difficult to even utter a word. My throat was hoarse and very painful, and it seemed as if my chest was on fire. Soon, I was unable to do the three things well, and I couldn’t clarify the truth to people face to face. I was very worried.
During that period, I was stuck in cultivation. I constantly studied the Fa, but I didn’t practice genuine cultivation, so my xinxing did not improve. Though I knew the Fa principle of looking within, I couldn’t face it with righteous thoughts while encountering trouble. I was trapped in sentimentality and human notions. I insisted that I was always 100% right. The more I was attached to it, the more I believed my thinking to be correct. I stuck to the logic of ordinary people and didn’t change my human notions fundamentally.
Teacher said:
“The very act of using human thinking to stress who’s right and who’s wrong is in itself wrong. That’s because you are then using the logic of ordinary people to evaluate yourself, and using that logic to make demands on others.” (“Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan”)
Later, I read one practitioner’s sharing article “Enlighten to the Principles of the Fa, Leap Out of the Principles of Emotion” (www.pureinsight.org/node/6335). While reading that article, I suddenly enlightened and identified my problems. Actually, the unhappiness was a good opportunity for me to improve my xinxing; however, I was trapped in it and went deeper.
Teacher taught us:
“Especially notable are the notions that one forms, or habits of thought that one forms, which make it very hard for a person to recognize when human thinking is unconsciously at work. And if one can’t recognize it, how is one to get rid of it?”(“20th Anniversary Fa Teaching”)
Teacher’s Fa awakened me. I should get rid of all human notions that I formed postnatally and eradicate human selfishness completely. If I want to accomplish that, my thoughts should assimilate to the Fa and I should cultivate every thought and every action. I calmed down and started to memorize the Fa. Gradually my xinxing improved.
As the practitioner who wrote that article suggested, I found a proper time and communicated with my son compassionately and peacefully. I told him that I would not force him to find a job immediately and would let nature take its course. My compassion came out naturally. While considering others from the bottom of my heart, I changed a lot both physically and spiritually. I returned to the correct state of a practitioner.
Being Truly Filial to Parents and Parents-in-Law
I also want to share regarding elevating ourselves when we are blocked by filial notions. I am filial to both my parents and parents-in-law. I always keep in mind the notions of, “Among the hundred virtues, filial piety comes first” and “Being filial is being loyal.”
Since I began to practice Falun Dafa, my father experienced periods of observing, opposing, supporting and finally believing in Falun Dafa. He had been brainwashed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) all his life, so he was an atheist. When the CCP started persecuting Falun Dafa, he acted as a home policeman. For years my mother and I constantly explained the facts about Falun Dafa to him. At the beginning, because I had sentimentality and competitiveness, my father and I debated whenever we spoke to each other. After the debate, either he was unhappy or I showed no respect. Later, I regarded my father as a sentient being that should be saved and took care of him wholeheartedly. My filial heart moved him. He often praised me as his filial daughter in front of others.
Whenever I got a chance, I accompanied my dad to watch Shen Yun Performing Arts and gave him the truth-clarifying materials to read. I also taught him how to log onto dongtaiwang.com by using software to break through the communist regime's firewall. In addition, I installed a disk through which he could watch NTD Television. He then watched NTD and logged onto dongtaiwang.com every day. After a period of consideration and observation, he finally quit the CCP. Moreover, he now believes that Falun Dafa is good.
Although my father is more than 80 years old, he has very good eyesight and hearing. During the past three years, he has seen udumbara flowers blossoming on leaves, flower branches and flowers. He was very proud and said, “ I am now a fan of udumbara flowers!”
My mother-in-law once practiced Falun Dafa. In 1999, when the CCP started persecuting Falun Dafa, she lost her cultivation environment. She lived alone and contacted only ordinary people. Gradually she gave up practicing Falun Dafa. Recently she fell down and fractured her wrist. I took care of her and read Minghui Weekly to her. After listening to those articles, my mother-in-law said, “Let me resume cultivation and start from scratch.”
My mother-in-law now reads Dafa books every day. She knew only a few Chinese characters before practicing Falun Dafa. Now she can read the Zhuan Falun on her own. She has seen that every character in the book is golden and shining. Thanks to cultivation in Dafa, my mother-in-law is now healthy and has stopped taking medicine that she had to take before for various illnesses. I am so happy to see her read Dafa books wholeheartedly again. Teacher dissolved all of my hatred and complaints about my mother-in-law’s prejudice in dealing with her property.
From the changes that I witnessed in my parents, I deeply realized one point: We should not only support our parents financially and materially in real life, but more importantly, we should let them obtain the Fa and understand the truth. That’s truly being filial.
Few Whispered Words Save Sentient Beings
There is a market in my community, and people sell small items there. The first booth is for selling socks. One time I purchased socks there. The seller, a young lady, was very gentle and patient. When she learned that I disliked the black color, she took out several packages and let me choose whichever I liked. While I was selecting the socks, I wanted to explain the facts about Dafa to her. Since there were many people there, for a minute I thought that fellow practitioners might have already helped her quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. However, on second thought, I said to myself: “No, I do not want to miss the opportunity to save her. It’s great if I can tell her the truth one more time. I cannot have regrets about this.”
I smiled and said: “Little sister, you look so nice. Let me tell you a good thing. Have you ever heard of staying safe and being blessed by doing the “three withdrawals” [from the CCP and two affiliated youth leagues]? Unexpectedly, her mood suddenly changed and she stopped me angrily, “Stop it. I know everything!” I was not moved by her attitude, kept smiling and continued, “Have you quit?” She said angrily, “No!” and turned to other customers. I didn’t know what to do. Then Teacher opened my wisdom, and a bright idea occurred to me. I hugged the girl while covering her ears with my hands and whispered to her: “Little sister, if you are a Youth League member, I will help you quit it by using a nickname, 'Plum Blossom.' Keep in mind that Falun Dafa is good, and you will be blessed. Do you agree?” All of a sudden she smiled at me again and said: “All right! All right! Thank you! Thank you!”
Within a minute, the young lady changed her attitude 180 degrees, from being angry to smiling happily. Maybe she had been afraid of encountering undercover police, or maybe the evil police had already threatened the working staff in the market. Though she had heard of the truth, she dared not listen to me at first. One minute later, however, after I whispered in her ears, she felt assured and quit the CCP. Now she was saved, so she was happy from the bottom of her heart. I was happy, too, because I hadn't missed the chance to save this person; I hadn't left any room for regrets. I really felt grateful to Teacher for giving me wisdom. Since then, I have had more wisdom and confidence in telling people the truth.
I always keep in mind Teacher’s Fa:
“There are all types of people out there, and there are plenty of people who have been scared witless by the wicked Party. The wicked Party has done evil for so many years. The key thing is for Dafa disciples to use righteous thoughts to purge the evil specters that control people, and then clarify the truth to them again. Go forth with wisdom. You are saving people, after all.” (“Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005”)
While I was clarifying the truth, no matter how people reacted, I was not moved by their attitude. I regarded sentient beings as my relatives and called them family. I used my wisdom to let people know the truth so that they could be saved and secure peace.
The above is my personal sharing. If you find anything inappropriate, please point it out with compassion.
Heshi.
