(Minghui.org) Greetings Master! Hello fellow practitioners!
I was uncontrollable when I was a child. I caused a lot of trouble for the family, and often provoked the neighborhood children. The entire family was disappointed in me. A family sent my mother a copy of Zhuan Falun. When she looked at it she saw the section, “Cultivating Speech.” She asked me to read it. I was only in the sixth grade at that time, but I couldn’t read it.
It wasn’t until I was in my third year of college that I became curious about the meaning of life. I always felt that there was an answer waiting for me, so I opened Zhuan Falun again. The first time I read the book I couldn’t stop because many questions I had were answered. I decided to put the past behind me, and be a good person according to the requirements in the book.
When I was in school, I held myself to the standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I was the only one in my family who practiced, and I couldn’t afford buy the entire set of Falun Dafa books. Later, the contact person at an exercise site lent me the entire set. He encouraged me to participate in activities to clarify the truth about the persecution so that I could keep up with the progress of Fa rectification.
Another practitioner said he wanted to go to the dormitory to tell students from China about Shen Yun. I agreed. I relied on him because I thought he should be very good at speaking. We went to the dormitory, but as soon as we entered, he suddenly became quiet. I felt I needed to break the ice. So, I set my fear aside and started introducing Shen Yun. We went to many rooms, and I talked to the students from China. I realized that Master arranged this cultivation opportunity, and we should grasp it. Although the students were worried about receiving this information, if we didn’t do it, they may not have a chance to see the show.
It’s inevitable that when practitioners encounter problems they have different understandings and resolve them differently. A young practitioner said he wanted to go back to China with his family to visit relatives during summer vacation. He asked me if there was a way to avoid being monitored and spied on by the CCP.
I said he couldn’t avoid being monitored, and asked him to pay attention to safety issues and not go to China. However, he said he had to accompany his family. I told him that because he was an important member of the summer camp, if he did, he might not be allowed to participate in any Dafa projects or camp activities for the next few years. In order to ensure his safety, I had to tell him the seriousness of this matter. I just wanted to deal with the problem and inform the other youth coordinators about the situation.
Just as I was about to do this, another coordinator came to me and said, “Have you had any in-depth communication with him? Is there a misunderstanding or does he need our help?” Her tone of voice was very kind. She wanted to help the practitioner, but I didn’t really think about it. So I replied: He insists on going back, so let him go.
She asked me if I informed him of the seriousness. My temper flared, and I said in an unkind tone, “I’ll deal with it, you don’t have to worry about it!” She asked, “What’s wrong?” So, I started arguing with her in the text message. She also got angry. I refused to read her message, but I wanted to reply to her message. I clicked on the message and got mad.
I was driving when I read her message, and I suddenly felt a “hateful” substance enveloping my field, and my thoughts became negative. I calmed down and wondered why my reaction was so demonic. There must be something I needed to look into. While doing the coordination, did I allow others to express their opinions? Or did I have to have the final say? Do I just want obedient practitioners who have to abide by my decision?
When I saw these attachments, I realized that my ego and complacency were very strong. I completely ignored the feelings of others and wished to protect my self-esteem. Wasn’t this what cultivators want to get rid of? But I hesitated to apologize to that practitioner. I couldn’t let go of my pride and didn’t want to apologize to a girl. I saw my machismo and arrogance. Wasn’t it a great opportunity for me to get rid of these attachments? I told the practitioner, “I’m sorry I made you angry.” I also shared the process of my inward search. She said I made her cry, but she wasn’t angry.
During the conversation, I suddenly wondered whether I also hurt the practitioner who asked about going to China.
As a coordinator, I should be concerned about practitioners and think from their standpoint. So I contacted him, and suggested multiple ways he could visit relatives, such as through video conferencing. After he told his family they canceled his ticket and let him stay in Taiwan. When I heard the news, I thanked Master. I told the female practitioner, “Thank you for waking me up and encouraging me to communicate with practitioners, and for enduring my bad temper.”
With the rapid advancement of Fa-rectification, Dafa disciples are fortunate to be able to participate in promoting Gang Jing World and bring the truth to sentient beings in the form of science and technology. At first, I also treated it with enthusiasm and actively participated in learning and communicating. But as time went by, I gradually slacked off.
When practitioners ask about the platform technology, I didn’t want to pay much attention to it. I thought that they were giving up on learning it themselves. They didn’t even want to understand the importance of Gang Jing World—but how could I impose such a negative thought on them? It was my responsibility to communicate and show them.
I thought I could indirectly introduce Gang Jing World during an event. I needed to ask the host practitioners if I could set up a booth, but when the reply was no, I relaxed, thinking that I asked, but they refused. Because of my frivolous attitude towards saving sentient beings, I saw a young man commit suicide outside my house the next morning. A life ended in front of me! I was so frightened by this image that I immediately looked inward. It definitely had something to do with me.
Seeing that young man lose his life, I thought that there was something wrong with my space field - I didn’t pay attention to saving people. When I encountered a little obstacle, I didn’t even want to save people, which is not the state I should be in. This lesson was deeply imprinted in my mind. I also warned myself that cultivation is not a trivial matter, and saving people is not child’s play. Dafa disciples’ mission is to save people and help Master to correct the Fa.
When my xinxing improved, so did the situation. We smoothly started the promotion to people in all walks of life, from small markets, to large exhibitions and business districts. All living beings seemed to be waiting for us to save them. As soon as we talked about Gan Jing World, they accepted it. They agree very much with it’s mission. We always feel that a force is leading us forward. Even in cultivation, there is also a force pulling, like a great Falun turning. Gang Jing World is like a new universe, welcoming life to it. This world is a clean and a beautiful heavenly world, so I really cherish this project which opened up opportunities for me to communicate with practitioners.
Many projects need to be undertaken by young people, and as a coordinator of young practitioners, I have a great responsibility. In addition to contacting young practitioners from all over the world, I must also do a good job of doing the three things. As more and more young practitioners enter cultivation, I also need to encourage everyone to participate in promoting Gang Jing World. Seeing that everyone got along well, I felt that I was able to draw a large number of young practitioners to join in. My ego surged. I often invited a few practitioners to go out for dinner and sightseeing, but we didn’t talk about cultivation. Our hearts were distorted by improper thoughts, which led to everyone’s fun-loving heart surfacing, but I didn’t realize the seriousness of what I was doing.
Once, when I was doing methylene chloride analysis in the laboratory, I accidentally splashed the solution into my eyes. The stinging and burning sensation made me panic. Methylene chloride is a toxic liquid, and it is necessary to quickly do a chemical safety treatment and notify the company.
I silently began reciting “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” to keep my righteous thoughts. After a while, I could open my eyes, and it didn’t seem to hurt. I didn’t tell the company about it, but I also didn’t look inward.
The next day, because the operating instrument was broken, the company arranged another one for me. When I ran the sample, I found that the signal displayed by this machine was very unusual. I took a picture of the data and uploaded it to the group text message. The director called and said this instrument was not operating normally, and it was necessary to go through the previous process again to run the sample again, otherwise the data error would be too large.
When I heard this, it dawned on me that I didn’t seem to follow the operation steps. I didn’t wear goggles, masks or operate the equipment in accordance with the regulations that day. Deep down I had the unrighteous thought of being protected by Dafa so I was not afraid of accidents. I was a little scared. I didn’t realize two accidents were Master’s hints.
I realized that if I want to lead young practitioners well, I should not treat them with ordinary people’s principles. Master said, “I would like to tell you that, since you are a coordinator, you should gather the local practitioners and bring them together on Master’s behalf so that they can improve in cultivation, and you should help Master by leading them well. That is your responsibility as a coordinator in your area.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)
The Fa clearly states coordinators’ responsibilities. I found my own affection for fellow practitioner, and seeking relaxation and happiness. All these attachments affect the other practitioners. Isn’t this an obstacle for practitioners to validate the Fa? Since then, in addition to discussing projects, we also discuss our cultivation experiences, transforming the entire environment into a cultivation field. This helped improve our cultivation. I think this is the environment practitioners should have.
Looking back on the past ten years, I stumbled on the path of cultivation, and at one point stepped away from cultivation, but Master didn’t give up on me. He helped me recall my experiences through which I realized the preciousness of cultivation. Time is getting more and more pressing. Only by cultivating oneself and doing three things well can we better assist Master in rectifying the Fa.
Thank you, great Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners.
(Presented at the 2024 Taiwan Falun Dafa Practice Experience Exchange Conference)