Cultivating Diligently to Regain the State We Experienced When We First Started

(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa more than a decade ago. From elevating my xinxing to focusing on saving sentient beings, I’ve experienced a lot of challenges. I feel grateful for Master’s compassion, and I wish to continue cultivating diligently alongside my fellow practitioners.

I would like to share several cultivation stories, some of my own, and some from the perspective of my young daughter.

My daughter is nine years old. The following are her cultivation stories. I’m the ghostwriter and will use the first person “I” to narrate the stories:

A Young Practitioner’s Cultivation Story

I heard from my mother that when I was in her womb, she played Master’s recorded lectures for me. While cultivating, I have experienced miraculous happenings of which I would like to share some:

Things Owed Must Be Paid For

Once, after our classroom seating assignments were changed, my new deskmate always borrowed paper from me for his homework assignments. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but I began to get impatient when he borrowed paper every day. I told my mother about it, and she said, “Have you borrowed drawing paper from your classmates before?”

I replied, “Yes, I did. But I never borrowed any from him.”

My mother replied, “Maybe you’re returning a debt in this way. It’s fine after you replace it, and classmates should help each other. But, you should also cherish paper. Some paper was still usable before you threw it away. It’s a pity. You should be more mindful of not wasting things.”

I thought about it and said, “Then, I will sort out the old paper and make it into a small book to record my homework.” Afterward, I was very happy to let it go.

The seats were changed the next day, and I was assigned a new deskmate. From then on, no classmate asked to borrow paper from me again.

School Uniform Controversy

Not long after the winter break, a classmate lost her winter uniform. Our homeroom teacher offered to help her find it. The classmate described what the button on her hat looked like. It happened that I took off my winter uniform hat that day. The teacher asked me what the button on my hat looked like. I answered truthfully, and the teacher asked me to wear the hat the next day. I felt a little uncomfortable.

I went home and told my mother about this. She asked, “Then, did you wear the wrong uniform?”

I replied, “This uniform is mine. After I took it off at noon, I sat down on it. The classmate who lost the uniform was far away from me. It couldn’t be her uniform.” I explained the issue to my mother several times, as I felt that I was wronged.

My mother asked, “If a classmate just wants your uniform, would you give it to her?”

Tears streamed down my face, but I knew this was a test. According to what Master taught me, I knew the answer. Even if I was wronged, I knew what to do as a practitioner, so I didn’t discuss the issue anymore.

My mother smiled, “Come on, it’s my fault. I should have sewed your name on your uniform.”

The next day, I put on the hat and went to school. My classmate’s uniform was found. It had been picked up and worn by a classmate from another class. After I returned home, my mother sewed my name on my uniform.

I especially liked watching the movie “Once We Were Divine.” I liked one of the young cast members. My wish is to cultivate with fellow practitioners diligently, and return to heaven together.

Bringing Up My Daughter

The above was what my daughter wanted me to share. Now, I will share some of my experiences.

When my daughter was one year old, I took her out with me to clarify the facts and also to be with other practitioners. After she grew up a bit, I took her out more often.

When my daughter was about two years old, I set up a home-based truth-clarification materials production site. I started from making basic informational materials, to desk calendars, to Dafa books, and to printing messages on paper currency. Master has led me and my daughter to cultivate together. Whenever we ran into difficulties, he always gave us hints. Through studying the Fa and looking inward, we solved all the problems we faced.

Truth-Clarification Currency Project

Last year, a practitioner found that manually writing messages about Dafa on paper currency was not very easy. Sometimes, the messages ended up not evenly covering the bills. In addition, the content may have been too simple. But the new money that is now being issued doesn't retain dye-based inks very well, which easily fade. From there, I began to search for information about better printing inks on the practitioner’s online forum.

It happened to be that a practitioner who suffered from a sickness karma tribulation left his printer idle and he wanted to leave it with me temporarily. When I saw it, I knew that I could change to pigment ink and print a new version of the truth-clarification messages on currency.

I shared my thoughts with fellow practitioners. But there were some practitioners who felt that I would harm the printer if I changed the ink. I was devastated and wanted to give up. However, when I recalled that printing truth-clarification messages on currency was acknowledged by Master, I changed my mind. With my husband’s help, and with what I learned in the forum, I successfully printed nice-looking messages on bills which didn’t fade. I then sent this approach to the forum.

During this process, I have disassembled and reassembled the printer countless times, which laid a foundation for other practitioners to learn how to repair printers. Before then, I always took any repair work over to male practitioners. Since my husband is a practitioner, I always wanted to rely on him. But when it comes to cultivation, we have to eliminate every attachment and can only follow the path that Master has arranged for us.

People always ask me, “Do you still have any bills with Dafa messages? We ran out of them.”

I always reply, “Yes I do. I’ll bring some to you as soon as possible.”

After sentient beings have learned the truth, their businesses go well. Every effort that we make to clarify the truth has paid off.

Cultivating Myself

Practitioners in my Fa-study have cultivated fairly well. They’ve also been rescuing other practitioners who faced persecution. I’m grateful to Master for having arranged for me to be in such a wonderful group. I’ve personally gone through one trial after another on my cultivation journey, and I always kept in mind what Master said about doing the three things well. Helped by other practitioners, I found what attachments I hadn’t let go, so as to quickly improve on the basis of the Fa’s principles.

There was one trial that I failed to pass recently. It was related to a safety issue. I had a disagreement with a fellow practitioner. Given the need for contacting a practitioner who was facing a trial, this practitioner installed the app for breaking through the Internet blockade. She also used her cellphone to browse the Minghui website. Sometimes when she read sharing articles in our group, she’d keep her cellphone right beside her.

I have followed what Master said about being mindful of security, as well as what’s been shared on the Minghui forum about not bringing one’s cellphone to Fa-study groups and material production sites. When I confronted her, however, she asked me to look inward.

Only by studying and reciting the Fa intensively did I realize the fact that I lacked compassion. My reaction was based on selfishness, which was the root of my fear. I was afraid that I’d be impacted by her for not aligning with the Fa’s requirements. I realized I had an attachment to insisting that I was right and on forcing others to change.

When she said, “The children have to use WeChat in school, so don’t we have to use it too?”

I was initially shocked by her comment. But here lies the problem. Because my children also went to school, I used WeChat as well. Even though I didn’t use it often, this was a manifestation that I lacked faith in Master and Dafa. I felt that I had to use WeChat regardless. She was a mirror for me; it was I who had the issue. But I looked outward, as opposed to cultivating myself.

There are many such problems in Chinese primary schools, such as compulsory membership in the Chinese Communist Party’s youth organization, the Young Pioneers, compulsory payment of medical insurance, compulsory use of WeChat, etc. After a long time, we’ve accepted these requirements, thinking that we had to maximally conform to ordinary society. I suddenly realized that I had to break through this notion and not behave the same as regular people.

So I decided to correct my actions. From that day on, I stopped using WeChat. My daughter then started using her little notebook to record her homework assignments and progress. Instead of contacting me through WeChat, other parents and teachers would notify me if there was anything I needed to know.

I feel like I haven’t done as well as other practitioners. Before that, my starting point was to protect myself and my family. I used the excuse of not wanting to be exposed to cover up my fears and selfishness. But my cultivation path is arranged by Master. He will protect the safety of his true disciples.

I also came to understand that I worried too much about my daughter’s feelings, as I tried to protect her in a human way, as opposed to being aligned with Dafa’s principles.

One day, she came home and told me, “Mother, we had two tests today. By reciting ‘Falun Dafa is wonderful! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful!’ I scored 100 on both tests. My teacher also moved me from the back to the best seat in the front.” I smiled, as I knew this was encouragement from Master.

Today’s parents are worried about their children. Kids don’t like to study, they play games, and get into fights. They’ve learned a lot of harmful things from the Internet and from using cellphones. As a Dafa practitioner, however, my daughter is pure and very kind. She prompted me to write this experience by saying, “The people in this world nowadays are all Master’s family members. We should seize the time to save them.” I knew that Master was also enlightening me on the urgency of cultivating myself well and saving more sentient beings.

I truly appreciate fellow practitioners for helping me to see my own issues and encouraging me to look inward to cultivate myself. It has also helped me gain a deeper understanding of what it means to have faith in Master and Dafa.