(Minghui.org) I am a 40-year-old teacher and a Falun Dafa practitioner. Due to human notions and fear, I didn’t participate in group Fa study for a long time last year. As a result I slacked off in studying the Fa, I did not actively clarify the truth to people, and my xinxing did not improve. I also used ordinary people’s methods to handle tribulations and I couldn’t pass the tests well. I was upset at my poor cultivation state.
My mother, also a practitioner, and other local practitioners invited me to join their group Fa study but I hesitated. Before the end of 2023, fellow practitioners asked me to help prepare a greeting card and submit it to the Minghui.org website.
When I was sending the greeting, I thought that it was a best wishes from all the Dafa disciples in our Fa study group, but if I don’t go to group Fa study, I was not included in this. So I joined the Fa study in December 2023 and practitioners warmly welcomed me.
Other practitioners sat in the full lotus position the entire time they read the Fa. I could sit for one hour in full lotus position, and I often had to move my body and legs when I read the Fa alone.
In a group Fa study environment, we often read the Fa for more than an hour and my thighs hurt. But seeing that all the other practitioners continued in full lotus position, I persisted and I was able to endure.
Improving My Character
I used to think that because I’m young I can read the Fa quickly. If I studied the Fa by myself, I would be able to read more. Some elderly practitioners read slowly and often misread characters—I felt they wasted my time.
Since I joined the group, I recognized my selfishness. They read slowly but with a stable speed and I could understand different meanings from the Fa. Correcting each other when we mispronounce words shows our compassion. We should not look down on fellow practitioners or discriminate against them.
Looking Within
My mother and I don’t bring our smart phones to the group Fa study to avoid being monitored. One night after we returned home, I saw five missed calls on my phone and three of them were from my father who lives in another city. I immediately called him.
He began swearing as soon as the call was connected and said a visitor came to our house but was greeted by a locked door. He was worried about us and was upset that we didn’t pick up the phone. He even threatened to come home and smash the door and our smart phones.
I knew this was interference. I looked inward and noticed that I had developed two attachments: Being carried away and fear because we went to group Fa study and read two lectures. I felt happy, but I still had fear.
But not bringing our smart phones to a Fa study group was for the safety of our cultivation environment, and it was the right thing to do. After my father hung up, my mother and I sent forth righteous thoughts to eradicate the evil behind him. My father did not come home to make trouble for my mother and I. When I saw my father again afterwards, he didn’t mention his angry outburst.
Exchanging Experiences Helps Me Improve
After reading the Fa, practitioners shared how they clarified the truth to strangers on the street and used different ways to break the ice.
They have been threatened, intimidated, and insulted countless times. However, after they shared with each other and evaluated the matter from the perspective of the Fa, they realized that they have to look inward, find their attachments, and change themselves so that they can be more successful at clarifying the truth to people. This also encouraged me to speak to strangers and not be discouraged when encountering setbacks.
Editing and Submitting Articles to the Minghui.org Website
Since 2017, the Minghui website has solicited submissions for World Falun Dafa Day and the China Falun Dafa Conference every year. I’ve edited the articles written by fellow practitioners in our Fa study group and submitted them to the Minghui website. It looked like I was helping fellow practitioners, but in fact they were helping me.
Local practitioners are from rural areas, and most of them only attended elementary school for a few years. However, they write with sincerity. Once I went to a practitioner’s house to pick up a manuscript. I noticed this elderly practitioner was looking up words in a thick dictionary. After writing the manuscript and worried that I couldn’t read the content clearly, she transcribed it carefully. The seven pages of manuscript paper were neatly numbered. Practitioners’ sincerity and perseverance moved me and inspired me to cherish every manuscript written by them, because behind every manuscript is their hard work.
Many of their stories were about how they passed xinxing tests with their faith in Master and the Fa. These tests have also been experienced by me, or I am currently experiencing them. I am moved and encouraged by their stories.
Now, I participate in group Fa study on weekends and holidays. Even though the persecution is still going on, I want to support my fellow practitioners and fulfill my vows.
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Category: Improving Oneself