(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
It has been more than a year since I joined the global phone call platform. Since I grew up in free and democratic Taiwan, at first it was difficult for me to understand the thinking of the people in China. In order to better communicate with them, I tried to understand the nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
On the platform, I often felt the gap between myself and other practitioners. When I spoke, I saw my attachments to emotions and desires—I had a lot of attachments to let go of. Only by rectifying oneself can one effectively clarify the truth and better save people. I began to focus on memorizing the Fa and improving my xinxing.
I began to practice Falun Dafa in 2004. In order to catch up with the process of Fa-rectification, I read and memorized the Fa a lot. I was diligent and used every moment available including walking and riding the bus. I improved quickly as a result.
In the first two rounds of memorizing Zhuan Falun, Master often showed me the principles of the Fa. While I recited, I could feel the layers of my body assimilating to the Fa like waves. I was able to apply the principles in my daily life.
I reached tranquility when I meditated. Once, when I recited the Fa while walking on the street I felt like I entered another realm.
I was responsible for the management of the enterprise resource planning system at work. I needed to communicate with both the clients and the technical team. I didn’t understand computer programming at all. But I was able to communicate smoothly with an engineer from another country, understand the logic of the program, and then use a simple way to convey it to the user. My performance appraisal that year was rated excellent and my supervisor praised me. I knew my abilities came from the wisdom practicing Falun Dafa gave me.
I shared my experience in cultivation and Fa memorization during a practitioners’ conference. The compliments of fellow practitioners made me feel happy and complacent and I developed a show-off mentality.
The third time I recited the Fa, I encountered many obstacles. Sometimes it was difficult to recite a paragraph due to my attachments—sometimes the interference came in the form of a sudden conflict or interference from thought karma. Sometimes after memorizing a paragraph, there was a xinxing test to see if I could handle the situation like a practitioner and apply the Fa’s principles. Sometimes I passed the test, sometimes I failed.
Later, my job needed me to work overtime and I had other commitments. I could not calm down and my Fa recitation slowed down. Because of all this, I could not persist, but I kept reciting on and off for many years.
I came to the global phone call platform in August 2020. I resumed my Fa recitation starting with Lecture Six where I had left off in my fourth round of recitation. On November 25, 2020, I started memorizing and reciting Zhuan Falun for the fifth time. This round took about seven and a half months to complete.
In order to concentrate on memorizing the Fa, I switched from reading to reciting Zhuan Falun. After I get off work every day, I memorize at least two pages before I would go on the platform to phone people in China. I would review what I memorized after lunch. After I memorized one lecture, I would recite it from beginning to end. If the lecture had more pages, I divided it into several parts.
I closed my eyes as I recited. As I concentrate and recite the Fa, I often see golden light and feel surrounded by a powerful energy. When I send forth righteous thoughts, I deeply realized the power of righteous thoughts from Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period.
During these seven months, I also made some breakthroughs in improving my character and looking within, allowing me to get back to my diligent state of cultivation. I’d like to tell you about my experience of eliminating my competitive mentality.
I have an impatient personality: I’ve always had a hard time calming down. I get agitated easily, and I often say things bluntly. I’ve always felt there was a bad substance in my body. When an emotional reaction came up, that substance is activated and makes me fight with others.
Two practitioners tried to help me by pointing out my issue. One said that my words made him feel uncomfortable; the other said that I spoke aggressively. I knew that I should get rid of my competitive mentality, but I couldn’t find what was causing it—and the fundamental attachment behind it. Sometimes I felt regretful after I got excited and lost my temper. I just could not control it.
In the first few months of making phone calls to China, the recipients listened for a minute and then hung up. Most people were abusive, cursed, or argued with me. I became tense and tried to reason with them. I knew that this was an incorrect state and I had to change it. I held my tongue as they cursed me. Afterward, I examined myself to see why I had this competitive mentality.
Master said,
“Things will work out well if you are always compassionate and good to others, thoughtful towards people, and handle whatever situations you get into with people by first pausing to consider how well your actions will go over with the other party and whether anyone will be hurt by them.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
One of my company’s clients was a Taiwanese enterprise in China. The business was huge but it was managed badly. The staff frequently quit and the work we received was not done properly.
There were always new staffers who hadn’t been trained. They had strong, negative attitudes. Because they repeatedly asked the same questions it affected the workflow. All my colleagues said the company was a problematic customer.
In the past, when I faced their unreasonable demands or arrogant attitudes, I would quarrel and argue. As a practitioner, I knew I had to have forbearance and consider others. So after I realized they were going to be problematic I merely tolerated them.
I found that I had some notions about them, such as they are not good, they have a strong CCP culture mentality, and have no basic knowledge of the profession. When I thought about it, this attitude was looking down on others. Sometimes after I hung up the phone, I complained about them to my coworkers. I later realized that these human notions have existed in my field for a long time, and they were all negative matter.
Master said,
“Jealous types look down upon others and don’t allow others to surpass them.” (Chapter Three, Falun Gong)
Looking down on others is a manifestation of jealousy. This is measuring people with one’s own warped ideas, not a practitioner’s standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. If one feels that another person doesn’t meet his standards, he will despise or be disgusted when he feels others aren’t as good as he is.
Master said,
“Notions are formed inside the brain’s thoughts, and the thought karma generated by notions is a cluster of karma that takes shape atop a person’s head.” “And notions control a person for not just one lifetime, but continually onward. Only when a change takes place will they be eliminated.” (“Buddha Nature”, Zhuan Falun Volume II)
I enlightened that my notions and thought karma of jealousy and complaining were the source of my competitive mentality. So I proactively began eliminating them. Regardless of a customer’s attitude, I first listened to him, asked why he felt there was a problem, and, then, after considering his position, helped solve the problem.
I gradually stopped having the urge to argue, my mentality became stable, and my tone of voice became calm and peaceful. I could feel the dark matter that was behind my competitive mentality leave my dimensional fields.
As I adjusted myself, the customers’ attitudes also changed. They stopped being so troublesome and tough. We even chatted and laughed. They began cooperating with us and understood the difficulties of our suppliers. It turned out that this situation was a mirror that reflected my cultivation issues: the negative environment was created due to my attachment. Everything changed when I identified and eliminated it.
The day a shipment was scheduled for delivery a customer asked that her order be changed. I was reluctant and declined the request since canceling an order meant that I needed to contact related departments such as the financial department. I felt a little unhappy.
Her supervisor phoned me. I explained that an order could not be arbitrarily changed—so I refused. At that time, my supervisor was in an important meeting. He kept receiving calls from the other party and was repeatedly interrupted. He hurriedly asked me to assist the client, so I had to compromise.
Afterward, I looked inward and found that I was not forgiving when I thought I was being reasonable. I did not consider that people make mistakes.
If even the supervisor called to intercede the client must be in trouble. And the so-called principle I followed in my work, on the surface, was to make everything smooth and orderly. When I dug deeper, I noted my principle was selfish and I followed it to protect myself. When anything conflicted with my principle, my competitive mentality was provoked. My attitude and stance were that I was superior—I insisted that others cooperate with me.
When I gradually realized that my thoughts did not conform to the Fa, the environment also changed. When I was able to restrain my bad thoughts, the negative matter behind them was eliminated.
Master said,
“With a change in character will come a significant change in your body; physical changes in your body are guaranteed to accompany positive changes in your mind.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
One day, I suddenly found that the substance of impatience and struggle had weakened. I realized my thoughts had become compassionate and peaceful. A peaceful mindset allowed me to deal with many things without rushing or being impatient. Without my mentality of being impatient and self-protective, when problems arose I could place myself in the other person’s shoes. My attitude—positive or negative—affected everything around me.
With the improvement of my xinxing, I had a breakthrough in calling China. I often chat with the police, prosecutors, and judges. I called a person who worked in the Comprehensive Management Office in Beijing this June. He rejected everything I said about the CCP. I realized that I could control my xinxing and not be moved. Instead of arguing I quietly listened to him.
He said that as the CCP pays his salary, he has to do the job of maintaining stability. I calmly said, “Yes, I understand that you are following orders, but the communist party will use you as a scapegoat.” I told him examples of how during past political movements the CCP imprisoned officials or killed policemen. They used them as scapegoats.
The man calmed down and listened to my truth clarification. I felt his thoughts were changing as he started to think. I explained that Falun Dafa is welcomed and practiced around the world—which is completely different from what the CCP claims in its propaganda. Those involved in the persecution violate the law and the constitution. They will be brought to justice. This was the first time that someone I phoned who argued with me, calmed down and listened to my truth-clarification!
In assimilating to the Fa, I often felt Master’s compassion and grand grace. I appreciate everything Master has done for me.
(Presented at the 2021 Taiwan Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)