I Was Enlightened to Take Hardship as Joy

(Minghui.org) In cultivation, we must eliminate human notions while rectifying ourselves in every thought and action. Human notions often show easiest in a family environment. A good place for my cultivation improvement is with my husband.

Taking Hardship as Joy

My husband's life really appeared comfortable. He would either lie in bed and play with his mobile phone, or go and hang out with friends. He often left home without telling me he was leaving. And he sometimes did not answer my phone calls. He often forgot my requests to buy some groceries while he was out.

One morning, just after I finished all the housework - window cleaning, floor mopping, and cooking, my husband said that he had some errands and left. I had been working so hard at home and he just went out to have fun. I did not know where he was going or what he was going to do. Although he at least told me he was leaving, I was still unhappy. I then thought about how difficult he was and all his bad habits and my heart started to churn. I felt so resentful and even thought of divorcing him.

A while later I realized that as a Dafa disciple, I should cultivate myself and not blame others. Suddenly, I remembered Master’s words “Taking hardship as joy” in the article of “Realms” from Essentials for Further Advancement. Only then did I realize that I was far from the requirements of the Fa.

“Suffering is a good thing as it is a process of karma elimination,” I told myself. “How can I not be happy? From today on, I will take hardship as joy and reject those bad human notions.” In this way, I did what I was enlightened to by Master’s teachings. Gradually, I relaxed and was happy.

A few days later, my resentment toward my husband arose again. I made three good dishes for lunch. He took them to the dining table and started eating and just ignored me. I was not happy with his table etiquette. But at the same moment, Master’ teaching reminded me to take suffering as joy. I was debating for a while wondering what I should do. I decided to follow Master’s teaching because it was the way I could improve my xinxing. My heart was filled with joy immediately.

Eliminating Attachments to Uplift Xinxing

One evening, I wanted to take a walk with my husband, but he refused. I went alone and when I returned, he went out and was gone for over three hours. This upset me and I began to think bad things about him again.

As I was getting upset, I looked inward and asked myself a series of questions: Why did I feel unhappy, was it because he deliberately refused to walk with me? Did I feel hurt because I was ignored? Did I have a happy marriage? Did I have an attachment to romance like that of ordinary people?

A cultivator should not have this kind of attachment. Without taking the walk, I would have had more time to tell the facts of Falun Dafa to more people. Without my husband at home, I could accomplish a lot of important things. My mood then calmed down.

A notion or perception that has developed over time can catch me off guard; sometimes even one sentence can expose many attachments. One day I was so tired after cleaning the entire kitchen I needed to take a rest. As I walked into the bedroom, I saw my husband playing with his mobile phone. He then mentioned that he would like to take a short nap. I immediately lashed out at him, “I have been cleaning all morning and you did nothing but play with your phone!”

As soon as the words came out, I realized that my xinxing was really too far behind. Those words actually contained attachments of anger, hatred, jealousy, and other bad feelings. I quickly worked hard to let go of them. Since this incident, whenever an unbalanced thought arose in my mind, I would become alert to it immediately, and those bad thoughts would disappear in an instant.

One time, I suddenly had a thought that my husband should correct his behavior and I could send forth righteous thoughts to help him improve. My thoughts were sincere from the bottom of my heart. After this thought, my husband seemed to become a more responsible person. His attitude towards me changed drastically. He always answered my calls. He took the initiative to call me if he had something to do and couldn’t come home for dinner. He sometimes brought home daily necessities. These things never happened before. It is clear that righteous thoughts will be powerful if it is sincerely sent to others.

Refusing to Cooperate with the Persecution

From studying Dafa teachings, I was also enlightened that we Dafa practitioners should not only oppose the persecution but also inspire others to do so.

Master Li, founder of Falun Dafa, said,

“… No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil’s demands, orders, or what it instigates. If everyone can do that, circumstances will change.” (“Dafa Disciples’ Righteous Thoughts Are Powerful”, The Essentials of Diligent Progress II)

Once, several police officers came to harass me at the school where I work, and the principal asked me to meet them in his office. However, I refused the request with the excuse that I was busy preparing teaching materials for the class. The director of the principal’s office came to see me shortly after. He did not know the reason for the officers’ visit and suggested that I had better go with him to avoid trouble.

I wanted to set an example to let people know that they themselves did not have to cooperate with the evil in the persecution of practitioners. I said that people have freedom of belief and it is not wrong to practice Falun Dafa.

“I would not cooperate with any of the unlawful demands and orders,” I told him, “You should also not yield to their unlawful behaviors.” I then said that I had to leave my office to take care of another matter. He said nothing on our way downstairs together and then turned to go to his office.

I sent forth righteous thoughts when I returned to my dormitory. The vice principal came, but I did not answer the door. After a while, several policemen led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) secretary and labor union chairman knocked on my door. I wanted to show people that the evil would not succeed if the practitioners resisted. I ignored them and continued sending righteous thoughts. After a while, the officers left.

As I wished, the school leaders really learned from this incident that they did not have to cooperate with the authorities! I did not know how the school dealt with the officers, but any attempt to harass me by any person did not succeed since then.

Breaking Through Network Blockage

Over the years, I have always been able to break through blockage to get on the Minghui website and Epoch Times. I firmly believed that getting online was arranged by Master for Dafa practitioners and no evil could interfere. Although I failed sometimes, I never gave up and eventually got through due to my strong righteous thoughts. I was able to complete the important things online as scheduled even when the network blockage was at its worst. That was the blessing of Master.

I always consider studying Falun Dafa teachings as my top priority. This not only calms me down and keeps me from falling behind in the Fa-rectification, but also helps me strengthen my energy, especially after sending righteous thoughts. Under the guidance of Dafa and the protection of Master, I have walked smoothly on the cultivation path over the years.