(Minghui.org) The three characters “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” touched me when I saw them at the age of 10, so I started to practice Falun Dafa. 

Alhough I was young, I was tired of the hypocrisy, dishonesty, scheming, and hierarchies that I saw in the world and longed for eternal beauty. When I heard “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” I realized this was the answer to my questions, and my heart suddenly opened up.

But, years later, that thought actually prevented me from letting go of lust and desire, seeking comfort, and jealousy.

I had a strong attachment of fear and could not let go of it. I was afraid that the police and the officers from the community center were going to knock at my door. I was afraid that my family didn’t understand me. I was afraid of this and that.

I was afraid that I wouldn’t truly partake in the Fa-rectification process. I didn’t know much about the Fa principles then, but I was determined in my belief in Dafa. I admired those practitioners who clarified the truth to people every day.

Whenever I read articles in the Minghui Weekly about practitioners going to the villages to distribute Dafa materials and asking people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations, I said to my mother, “It would be wonderful if I could validate the Fa like they are.”

Because of my wish, Master arranged for my mother and me to meet the local practitioners who went to the villages to clarify the truth. We joined them. I was ashamed of myself when I heard them share their experiences of validating the Fa through all those years. I had wasted so much time living an ordinary life. I had to hurry up to do the three things well and keep up with the Fa-rectification.

I had been studying the teachings a great deal and had a good understanding of the principles and started to do the three things to validate the Fa. I worked part-time, dropped my two children off at kindergarten and school and picked them up after school. My husband was busy with work and unable to help me. I thought: “I only walk the path that Master arranged for me. I must do the three things well and nothing can prevent me from validating the Fa.” I was busy every day and didn’t have any free time. But I was happy and felt fulfilled.

I did the three things every day. Sometimes my heart to seek comfort came up. I wanted to go on a holiday with my children, but I dismissed the idea immediately. I’d stepped forward to validate the Fa quite late, so I had to catch up. How could I possibly take a break?

Although I didn’t slack off, I was not as diligent as I used to be and did many things because I had to, instead of because I was willing to. I looked deeply within myself. Why was I diligent and determined in cultivation in a harsh environment while I was not as diligent in a comfortable environment? The root cause was the attachment I’d had when I’d just started the practice.

What was the root cause then? The reason I’d started to practice was that “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” was something I had been looking for and which would let me live a serene, comfortable, and great life. So, when things became difficult, and I felt uncomfortable, I instinctively pushed aside the hardship and followed the Fa principles so that I could free myself from the hardships. When things were comfortable and I had a good life, I lost the urge to be diligent. I took advantage of Dafa to have a good life. This was a dirty and dreadful human heart. How could I possibly achieve the realm of Godhood with such a dirty heart?

Realizing my fundamental attachment, I stayed alert to eliminate any unrighteous thoughts related to this attachment and tried to find my true self. I told myself that I had descended to this world to fulfill my vow and to validate the Fa, not to live a beautiful life in ordinary society.

Once I found my fundamental attachment and understood the purpose of cultivation, the bad thoughts in my mind lost their fertile soil, and my attachments of seeking comfort, lust and desire, and jealousy were no longer firmly planted. My cultivation became easier.

Some practitioners got lost after the coronavirus erupted. Several veteran practitioners who did very well in truth-clarification chose to stay at home and didn’t continue to go out to clarify the truth to people. What prevents us from stepping forward? Coronavirus? No. Families? No. If our hearts are determined, nothing can prevent us from doing what we should do. What prevents us from being diligent then? It must be our human heart.

Master said:

“Cultivation practice is extremely arduous and very serious. If you are being careless for a moment, you may stumble and become ruined at once. Therefore, one’s mind must be right.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)

Is it because we enlarge our attachment to seeking comfort when things are easy and we are not aware of it? Or is it caused by other unrighteous attachments? I had a deeper understanding of two pieces in the Shen Yun performance this year.

I believed that it was a hint from Master about how we should do during the coronavirus epidemic. We must let go of our attachments to fame, interest, and sentimentality and have unwavering righteous belief in Dafa. We should never ever let the attachment of seeking comfort distract us. What prevents us from being diligent? Shouldn’t we dig it out?

Please don’t get lost in the illusions caused by our human hearts. Dig them out and get rid of them. Let’s do the three things well.

I would like to end by quoting Master:

“And speaking of the final phase, you yourselves have seen that changes are happening here in this world that parallel larger, cosmic changes. For example, the evil’s persecution of Dafa disciples is reaching a dead end, and the evil can hardly sustain itself anymore; it is just that the engines of the persecution are still running. But as I just indicated, having made it through to the final phase, we should do even better at what we are supposed to do, for things are all the more critical toward the end. You made it through the earlier days when circumstances were so difficult and things were so evil, so there is no reason not to do still better now, in the final phase. When the persecution first began, the world’s media were passing on purposely misleading stories from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) state-run media, and it was hard for people to figure out what was really going on. But even in those trying circumstances, Dafa disciples around the world managed to change people’s views by explaining the truth to them, and overcame those challenges. So now, when we are at the end, you should cherish all of what you’ve accomplished and not—definitely not—let up in your own cultivation.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference,” Team Yellow Translation)