(Clearwisdom.net) In "Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital," Master said,
"Then as a cultivator, [you may be thinking,] "What counts as cultivating?" Well, doing the things that Dafa disciples are supposed to do, such as things that validate the Fa and that save sentient beings, among others, is one's duty-bound responsibility and a part of establishing mighty virtue. But being able to improve yourself is the most crucial. That is because if you don't improve yourself, you won't be able to do any of those things well. So when you are strict with yourself, discover your shortcomings, and constantly get rid of them, then you are cultivating."
I understood that it is not enough to just have the will to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. We should do everything according to the Fa, set high standards for ourselves, discover our shortcomings, and correct them quickly. We should constantly improve our level of cultivation so that we can more effectively save those with a predestined relationship.
Shortly after I began practicing Falun Dafa, the Chinese Communist Party started the persecution. I was illegally detained for two weeks for protecting other practitioners and my position as division chief was taken away.
Since I had just stepped into Dafa at that time, I was barely able to withstand the pressure and my family members could not understand me. They all put their resentment onto me. My wife shouted at me, my child blamed me and they all thought of me as the family enemy. My relatives looked down on me, saying I was not considerate of my family and was doing a stupid thing. I felt a little lost, and wondered if I was wrong.
When I opened Zhuan Falun, Master's teaching shone like gold,
"We have said that no matter how much human moral values have changed, this characteristic of the universe, Zhen-Shan-Ren, will forever remain unchanged. If someone says that you are good, you may not really be good. If someone says that you are bad, you may not really be bad. This is because the criteria that evaluate good and bad are distorted. Only one who complies with this characteristic of the universe is a good person. It is the sole criterion which determines a good or bad person, and it is recognized by the universe." ("Lecture Four" in Zhuan Falun, 2000 translation edition)
I knew I was cultivating the greatest law in the universe, seeking the path of returning to one's true self, which would be the most righteous thing on earth. I did not do anything wrong by protecting practitioners; in fact, what I did was quite right. My family's misunderstanding and relatives' opinions were all caused by the CCP; they were scared and did not discern the CCP's evil nature due to the CCP's propaganda. They misjudged me.
I repeatedly told them what Falun Dafa is, what practitioners are doing and why the CCP persecutes us without justification. However, no matter what I said, they would not understand. They only saw that I had lost my position as division chief, our family had lost face, and it would be difficult to get special help in the future. They all blamed me and my wife's brother even shouted at me over the phone. I did not feel offended. Later on, during meetings with my friends, he asked them to pass on a message to me twice, saying "Please tell my brother-in-law that I am scolding him." I did not feel bothered and replied with a smile. Regarding complaints from my family and relatives, I felt they did not see clearly the evil nature of the CCP and the destructive outcome the CCP would ultimately face for persecuting Dafa. On the other hand, I felt I also needed to improve in certain regards. For example, my attitude was not flexible, I did not fully consider the suffering and pressure my family members experienced, I was always busy at work and I did not take care of my family well; thus they had some negative feelings about Dafa. I felt I was responsible for this unpleasant environment and should be more diligent in my cultivation.
Afterwards, I spent a lot of time on improving myself. I did more housework and spoke less. When I spoke, I kept my voice calm. I paid more attention to my family members and relatives, especially to my wife's family. However, due to longterm pollution by the CCP, they only paid attention to their immediate gains or losses. They would get mad if I mentioned Falun Gong and we were deadlocked.
There was a period of time when I thought they could not be saved and I should therefore let them do whatever they wanted to do. One day, a practitioner learned about my family situation. He pointed out that my surroundings, including my family environment, were all a reflection of myself, that I should look within in order to change this environment, and that I should be able to change it for the better.
I looked within to see where my actions were not based on the Fa. My main problem was that I became agitated when talking about Dafa. I would argue with them without any compromise. As a result, they would not accept me, and also felt I was unreasonable and had poor communication skills. One day, my wife told me that Dafa is probably good, but that I was not and my conduct was not as good as that of a non-practitioner.
I was shocked after hearing my wife's words. I thought Master was using my wife's mouth to guide me. I should correct my mistake. Afterwards, during conversations, I controlled my tone and the way I presented myself. If what they said was right, I would give positive approval. Regarding some minor issues, I would not argue with them. When our conversations touched fundamental issues of Dafa, I tried to explain patiently, I told them why respecting Dafa can bring them good fortune and disrespecting Dafa could bring them tribulations. Gradually, our conflicts were resolved, the tension disappeared and our family environment became harmonious.
I know Dafa is the law of the universe; it is so powerful that there is nothing it cannot resolve. I should start with small things, treat people well from my heart, harmonize Dafa, and establish my mighty virtue.
My mother-in-law used to live in another place. Later she moved to my home. I treated her like my own mother and paid special attention to her daily living. When she got sick, I took her to the hospital. I also paid attention to my brother-in-law. When he moved to my city, he did not have a place to stay. I let him stay in my previous house and let him use my furniture. When that house was torn down because the government wanted to put up a new residential building, former residents could get an 8 0iscount to buy a new house. I gave this benefit to him and he now has his own residence. He was grateful to me.
My family learned about the kindness and good character of cultivators and saw the greatness of Dafa. In my recent attempts to persuade others to quit the CCP, my brother-in-law did not have any hesitation and promised to quit. He also said, "now I trust you," and I believe in his words.