Making the Most of Every Day Like It’s My Last

(Minghui.org) Before I began practicing Falun Dafa I felt my life was a complete failure. Although I graduated from college, I struggled to support myself. By the time I was in my 40s, I suffered from diabetes. My mother died from this disease. I wanted to save myself so I burned incense and chanted Buddhist scriptures every day. My condition did not improve.

The Most Fortunate Day of My Life

During Chinese New Year in 2013, one of my customers told me about Falun Dafa. She said that many people's health issues were resolved by this cultivation practice. I said I'd like to try so she brought me the exercise instruction video and taught me the five sets of exercises.

Whenever I listened to Master’s Fa Lecture CD I fell asleep. Master opened my third eye, however, and let me see many Falun in my home. When I shared my experience with an elderly lady who practiced Buddhism, she asked me to lend her Master’s Fa Lecture CD and asked for a copy of Zhuan Falun.

The lady started to to hand copy the book. I hadn't practiced for long so I still had a strong attachment to being competitive. I couldn’t fall behind and decided I'd also hand copy the book but as soon as I picked it up, I felt sleepy. It took me an entire year to copy Zhuan Falun.

Master arranged for several practitioners to visit the clothing store I ran and they encouraged me to cultivate diligently. Finally, after two years, I removed all religious books, Buddha statues, and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) related things from my home and my store.

I made friends with another practitioner who studies the Fa with me, and this was very beneficial for my cultivation.

Clarifying the Truth in My Store

As soon as I started practicing I could feel Master’s merciful compassion. I benefited so much that I wanted to share the practice with others. I have an extroverted personality, which gave me the confidence to tell my customers about Falun Dafa. I wanted to help people quit the CCP and its youth organizations. So, when they came to my store I persuaded many people to quit the Party.

Before I began practicing Falun Dafa, I always wanted to spend more time in my shop so I could earn more money. No matter how many hours I was there I still made very little. After I began practicing, I thought, “If I always stay in the shop, how can I have time to read the teachings and do the exercises?”

I began to plan my time. I’d go to the store at 10 a.m. then take a break and go home to study the Fa. I returned in the afternoon. One year later my sales had improved. I knew that Master was encouraging me to practice diligently.

Master said:

“The opportunity for a person to hear the Buddha Fa comes once in several thousand years, and some people might not even have that predestined opportunity. This is because during the six-fold path of transmigration, a person can reincarnate into various animals, plants, or substances. It takes several hundred or a thousand years to reincarnate into a human being once. During that several hundred or thousand years of transmigration, you also must happen to be a human being in the right period, then you have to reincarnate to a place where you can encounter this Fa, and you must happen to arrive in the world at the right time to have the opportunity to hear It and be able to attend the class. Of course, it takes many, many predestined occurrences like these to make it happen, and only then can you obtain this Fa. It isn’t easy at all.” (“Teaching the Fa in New York City,” Lectures in the United States)

Every Day Is the Last Day

Before I began practicing I wanted to be rich, but no amount of money can buy the things we get from practicing Falun Dafa. What attachments can't I let go of? Compared to ordinary people, I knew that I was extremely lucky. But when I compared my cultivation to veteran practitioners, I felt that I'd have to run to catch up.

I still haven’t enlightened to much Fa—what if the Fa-rectification ends tomorrow!? Our time is limited! We must do the three things well. If we don’t do our best and try hard, we'll have let Master down. I knew I had to do the basics: practice the five sets of exercises, and study the Fa every day.

Master told us:

“That’s why I often say that I advise you not to miss the chance to obtain the Fa this time because of momentary wrong thoughts in this life, or you’ll regret it forever and won’t be able to make up for it. In fact, I’ve found that this thread of predestined relationship has been, for the most part, pulling people along, taut. No one has been left out and all of them are obtaining the Fa. The only difference lies in the degree of diligence and progress.” (“Teaching the Fa in New York City,” Lectures in the United States )

“But whatever the case, we see things clearly. I was just speaking about how things stand at present. At this point there are few elements left that can test Dafa disciples, and little coal remains. Not much more true gold can be made. Then wouldn’t you say the fire is about to die out? That is what’s about to happen. (Enthusiastic applause) So what will follow immediately after? It will be the consummation of Dafa disciples’ spiritual journeys, right? (Applause) Even if some Dafa disciples will continue on with me in the period of the Fa’s rectification of the human world, we nonetheless need to draw a demarcation. The era of Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples is something monumental.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference,” Team Yellow Translation)

Our time is really limited. By regarding each day of my cultivation as the last day, I'm motivated to strive forward. I hope all practitioners, new and veteran, will not waste time and will do the three things well.