(Clearwisdom.net) I began practicing cultivation in March 1996. I have experienced Master's great compassion for saving sentient beings and feel that Falun Dafa is something miraculous, extraordinary, and splendid. I would like to share my experiences in running a family materials production site.
After studying the Fa and looking back over my path operating a materials production site, I realized even more that the purpose of operating the site well is to offer sentient beings salvation. The guarantee for doing so is to study the Fa well and to cultivate ourselves well. In fact, this holds true for having strong righteous thoughts and doing any Dafa project well.
The communist regime has destroyed many exercise and Fa-study sites, but many practitioners have firmly protected Dafa. Some local practitioners have experienced various forms of persecution, such as surveillance, arrest or home ransacking.
Several fellow practitioners bought simple supplies to make truth clarification materials. Retired practitioners, in particular, took the initiative to print and copy materials. Whoever got Master's new lectures or materials from the Minghui website would send the information to them. They then produced the materials and gave them to others to distribute.
With the Fa-rectification moving forward, more and more materials sites have been set up, so we also set up a mechanism to coordinate things. I became one of the coordinators. There is great value to setting up materials sites, as the materials they produce have inspired many former practitioners to re-enter cultivation and catch up with the Fa-rectification process after reading Master's teachings and Minghui articles. In the meantime, many non-practitioners have seen through the CCP's lies via these materials. The evildoers thus take the materials sites as a thorn in their side and have tried their best to undermine our efforts.
Some materials sites were destroyed, and many practitioners, especially those in charge of coordination and technology, were arrested. They had suggested long before their arrest that we set up smaller sites to lighten the burden of practitioners at other sites and to improve security. When I heard the suggestion, I thought this has nothing to do with me. I knew nothing about computers, printers or CD writers. I can just help pay for the site and help distribute materials. Then my son happened to return from abroad and bought a computer. After he found a job, his company provided him with a laptop. I realized that I must learn how to access the Internet and print the materials. With Master's arrangement and help from fellow practitioners, I set up a materials site at my home.
A new site requires purchasing equipment and supplies, knowing the technology, figuring out how to access the Internet, and breaking through the Internet blockade to download and print materials. This was extremely difficult for me as a newcomer. I felt like I was under a lot of pressure.
Some practitioners came to teach me how to operate the computer and printer. When they taught me too many things at once, I couldn't remember all of them. But if they taught me less, I would not be able to do anything after they left. I did not even remember how the mouse worked, much less getting on-line and printing materials. I felt that I was unable to do the job, but I kept on studying the Fa, especially during the period when I was learning the job of producing materials. I insisted on reciting the Fa and joined a group Fa-study each week. I was surprised that practitioners older than me and from the countryside could operate materials sites, and that made me feel more confident.
I searched inside and found attachments such as being afraid of difficulties, depending on others, and hoping to live an easy and comfortable life. These really prevented me from mastering and putting the technology to use. I sent righteous thoughts to clear away the interfering factors and human notions as I learned. When I cleared away these human attachments and strengthened my righteous thoughts, I quickly learned how to access the Internet, and how to download and print materials.
Through Fa-study and cultivation, I realized that learning the technology itself was not the purpose of what I was doing. It was for producing good materials to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. Now I have all the necessary equipment and can operate it smoothly. They have become my Fa implements for rescuing sentient beings.
Whenever I met with challenges or stumbled, it could be traced back to issues with my Fa-study or righteous thoughts. My righteous thoughts were strong if I studied the Fa and searched inside. In that case, I could produce the materials in a purified state. Then all the equipment would operate very well and the resulting material came out great. Otherwise, the result would be the opposite.
The process for producing materials is also one of cultivation. Several times when I produced materials with a mindset of completing the job as soon as possible or worrying about whether the equipment would work well, the resulting material reflected that. Sometimes when I was afraid of interruptions, I would hear sounds of people arguing, CCP songs being broadcast loudly, or family members calling me. If I was feeling fearful, then I simply couldn't access the Internet, download or print the materials.
One time, I needed to dispose of some waste paper. I usually tore it into pieces and flushed it down the toilet. The first few times it worked fine, but then I worried if it would clog up the pipes. As soon as I had this thought, sure enough it clogged up. Truly, whatever I feared became reality. When my wife returned, she was very angry, and even a plumber could not solve the problem. We ended up having to buy a new toilet. Later on I studied the Fa and searched inside. I realized that it was wrong for me to be afraid, and my way of carelessly disposing of the paper was wrong. I have since figured out much better ways to dispose of the paper.
As I got better with my skills, fellow practitioners praised me. Gradually I started to show off and felt pleased with myself. I did not like it when others suggested improvements. Then the evil took advantage of my attachments, and caused issues with my equipment and material production. In one case, I bought a new CD writer and wasted 50-60 discs before realizing that I was not following the directions right.
This lesson made me realize that producing Dafa materials is an important way of rescuing sentient beings, and it could only be done well when one studies the Fa well and gets rid of attachments. Dafa disciples in such a pure state are then able to do well, otherwise, doing Dafa work amounts to nothing more than what an ordinary person does. Doing the work well comes from the power of the Fa, and there is no room for complacency and an inflated ego. We must put Dafa as the priority.
