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Cultivation Is Not As Difficult As It Seems When We Follow What Master Says

Oct. 19, 2021 |   By Zhilian, a Falun Dafa Practitioner from Henan Province, China

(Minghui.org) Ever since that day in 1997 when I started to practice Falun Dafa and understood the significance of Master’s teachings, I vowed to Master in my heart that I would follow him and return to my true home. My understanding after more than 20 years of cultivation is: believe in Master and the Fa, cultivate based on the Fa, measure each thought and action with the Fa’s standards, and do it firmly according to the Fa. No matter how many difficulties and obstacles there are on the path of cultivation, I only take the main road and never a detour.

I recall that soon after I started to practice, everyone in China was talking about investing in stocks. I was one of them, and I made some money doing so. Master said that practitioners should not speculate in stocks. After I learned that Master had said that, I sold all my stocks, regardless of whether they were up or down. My friends in the stock market said I was crazy and advised me to calm down and cool off.

I thought, “Since I choose to practice, I have to listen to Master. If I don’t listen to Master, I am not Master’s disciple and am not a cultivator. Besides, money is exchanged with virtue. What does a practitioner need so much money for? For a practitioner, virtue is evolved into gong!” After I understood this principle, it was easy to let go of these things.

Another experience was abandoning the attachment to property. At that time, my spouse and I were both given apartments by our companies as benefits. The apartments were more than 100 square meters, and the locations were excellent. Later, the government stipulated that each couple could keep only one apartment. Many people tried to find ways to keep their apartments, including filing fake divorces and using personal connections. Those who were able to bypass the rule showed great cunning. They ranged from the company’s top management to regular employees, and even a few practitioners were involved.

My husband also wanted to do this. He had a friend in the police department who could issue a fake divorce certificate. The requirement was that I had to agree to it. An apartment was worth millions of yuan. Could a regular person let it go? It is difficult to give something up once you have it!

I told my husband, “You choose whether you want the apartment or our marriage. I cannot be part of faking a divorce certificate.” I couldn’t control what others do, but I could control my own behavior. My husband could not persuade me, so we returned one of our apartments. At that time, very few people returned apartments, and people around us said we were stupid. To this day, my husband still feels upset when this is mentioned. I am very calm because I chose to cultivate and be truthful.

Jiang Zemin, former leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), started persecuting Falun Dafa in July 1999. Facing the brutal persecution, I was not lost. Master said that cultivation is like a giant wave shifting sands, and true practitioners would be tempered and elevate out of this demonic tribulation. I handled it calmly when I was arrested, imprisoned, taken to a labor camp, and demoted and dismissed from my workplace. A leader at work advised me, “As long as you say you do not practice Falun Dafa, you will not be impacted. You have such a good job in this good company. Would you give it up just because you want to practice Falun Dafa? It’s not worth it! It’s unbelievable!”

I was not moved because I chose to practice Falun Dafa. I knew what I was doing. I did not pursue what ordinary people wanted, yet I had what ordinary people did not. I have Master, and Master arranges everything, I thought. They later expelled me from the CCP. Some of my colleagues said it was unjust, but I was pleased. At that time, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Partyhad not yet been published, and the big wave of quitting the CCP had not yet begun. But I knew the CCP is atheistic. Expulsion from the party was just what I had wanted, so I was happy about it. Of course, many people might not understand this.

Whether it was in good times or bad, everything I faced in my 20 years of cultivation was a choice. As long as I listened to what Master said, I would not take the wrong path. I have always chosen to follow Master in all circumstances and at all times: choosing Dafa, choosing cultivation, and taking the cultivation path to return to my true home.

Throughout the twenty-plus years of persecution, no matter where I was, no matter what the circumstances were, and no matter what the situation was, I never said or did anything that let Master and Dafa down. The CCP’s “transformation” campaign had nothing to do with me.

Today, when I look back at the path I have taken, I am glad that I followed Master's guidance without taking any detours. As long as I had the Fa in my heart, I was able to think and act righteously, so I was able to come this far.

I remembered Master’s teaching:

“Right now, one important thing that needs to be attended to is the matter of how to save more sentient beings, and it is something Dafa disciples are to accomplish during their current process of achieving Consummation. This is Dafa disciples' mission, a duty that cannot be shirked, something that they must do and must complete.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. VIII)

No matter how long my cultivation takes, I will always do the three things well, assist Master in Fa-rectification, complete my mission, and return to my true home with Master.