(Clearwisdom.net)
Greetings, compassionate Master!
Greetings, fellow practitioners from all over the world!
I was born in the 1980s and am a new practitioner. I obtained the Fa more than two years ago. I would like to share my personal cultivation and my cultivation during the Fa-rectification over the past two years
My family is very spiritual and we believe in divine beings. My celestial eye has been open since I was a child and my main spirit often visited other dimensions and saw the real existence of Buddhas, Taos, and gods. I saw that, in other dimensions, my main spirit was protected by a transparent shield that protected me from the bad things in other dimensions. When I was four years old, a very big Buddha told me, ”You are from the heavens. You have a mission to complete on earth. After that, you will return to me.” I always wanted to see what the Buddha looked like but I couldn't see him. All of the puzzles were solved after I watched Master's lectures and saw his fashen.
Creating Truth-clarification Material Production Sites
About half a year after I started to practice cultivation, Practitioner A, who introduced me to Falun Dafa, told me that most of the practitioners in this region had not connected to the Minghui website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom) for more than two years. They did not see Master's new articles and so they were not very diligent in doing the three things, and few practitioners participated in doing the three things. Practitioner B wanted to set up a truth-clarification materials production site in his home to make DVDs with Falun Dafa information. Because of the persecution, Practitioner B was in a poor financial situation. Practitioner A was also having a difficult time financially, and they both lacked funds but wanted to spend 700 yuan to buy a used, six-color printer that could also burn DVDs. Tears streamed down my face after I heard this. I took several thousand yuan from my savings for Practitioner A to give to B.
While working on the truth-clarification materials production, practitioner B worked during the daytime and created DVDs at night. There was only one printer, so the amount of Falun Dafa materials was not enough for all the practitioners who needed them. Practitioner A told me about this and asked if I would like to join him to form another production site. At the same time, he wanted to promote home-based production sites among other practitioners. At that time I did not know what the production sites were for, so I agreed. I offered all of my salary to buy the facilities and materials.
After the production site started to operate, I realized that Practitioner A knew nothing about computers. Practitioner B came before or after work to teach us the technical aspects of the work. They encouraged me, saying, ”You are well educated and learn fast. Learn these things quickly, so that we can expand the home-based production sites to other practitioners.”
I also learned to make copies of Zhuan Falun. Before that we had been reading the book from our MP4 player. I told fellow practitioners: “I did not know that we could make books from heaven.” I worked there with another three practitioners and we created more than 300 copies of Zhuan Falun.
Promoting Home-based Truth-clarification Materials Production Sites
Later practitioners A and B were arrested and their homes were ransacked. Local practitioners lost access to truth-clarification materials again and lost contact with the Minghui website. I had the thought at that time to promote more home-based truth-clarification material production sites so that practitioners could get in touch with Minghui again. That thought was purely for the local group.
Practitioner C soon found me and told me that he wanted to create a home-based material production site. I just had the thought and Master made it happen.
Later on Practitioner C told me about his situation. He had learned a little about making truth-clarification materials from other practitioners and had bought a printer. However, before he had learned everything, the practitioner who was teaching him was arrested. He was so scared that he completely stopped. He transferred all of his equipment elsewhere and forgot everything that he had learned. It was just a week since the practitioners I'd worked with had been arrested. I became afraid after hearing from him, so I told Practitioner C, “If you are afraid, let's wait a while.” At night, a paragraph in Zhuan Falun enlightened me. Master said:
“If you are a true practitioner, our Falun will safeguard you. I am rooted in the universe. If anyone can harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe.”
While I had tried to memorize this paragraph, I thought about why I had the fear and how it had emerged. After I calmed down, I saw my selfishness. I only thought about how I had obtained the Fa already and I had already participated in the production of truth-clarification materials. In the past I did not know that I could be persecuted for doing the three things. Now I only wanted to cultivate at home and did not not care about anything happening outside and did not want to get in touch with any practitioners so that I could avoid being persecuted. After finding these wrong thoughts, I continuously sent forth righteous thoughts to disintegrate them.
The next day, I found Practitioner C and told him about my fear and why I was afraid. I hoped that he could also examine himself. Practitioner C also realized this, so we sent forth righteous thoughts together to disintegrate the factors that caused our fear.
I taught Practitioner C how to access the Internet, to print, to burn DVDs, to install software, etc. Practitioner C was older and did not have much education, nor did he have a good memory. He had never used a computer before, but to help save sentient beings, he started to learn right from the beginning. Sometimes he had to learn something over and over. Sometimes even a small problem would require me to make a trip over to solve it. Once Practitioner C asked me to come to his place after I got off work. After I got there I realized that the printer needed to be re-calibrated. I had taught him how to do it many times before and also downloaded the software for him. I also had him write down the procedure in a notebook, and he practiced it several times. Then I became impatient. I thought, “I've already taught you almost ten times and you cannot do it even from reading the notes!? How could you be so stupid!?” Also, since I worked on many projects, I barely had enough time to study the Fa. I complained that this practitioner was not being considerate. At that time, I was reading “Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference.” Master said :
“Dafa disciples should handle everything positively. Don't look at the negative side of other people. You should always look at their positive side. Actually, did you know that back when I was teaching you Dafa, during the classes a lot of human thoughts were sent out from the audience down there? The thoughts sent out by some people were really bad, but I didn't look at any of that. I just look at your positive side, and thus I can save you. If I were to always look at your negative side, how could I save you? The more I looked at it the angrier I'd get, and then how could I save you? (Applause) So in any situation, don't be affected by human-type behavior, don't be affected by human thoughts, and don't be affected by the feelings and emotions in this world, either. Look more at the positives in others and less at the negatives.”
After reading Master's lecture, I felt guilty. I looked inside carefully, found my selfishness, and realized that my thoughts were wrong. I realized that Practitioner C also wanted to learn quickly to help validate the Fa and save sentient beings. My notions blocked him, and it was actually my fault. Learning from this incident, I got rid of my impatience and learned to think about others whenever I encountered problems.
While working with Practitioner C, I found that he did not have much fear when he distributed fliers. He always did it alone. He also clarified the truth face-to-face to help people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations.
Later, during the process of promoting home-based truth-clarification materials production sites, I always taught practitioners how to access the Internet first. At that time, many local practitioners didn't even dare to go on the Internet. I first let them know that it was easy to get onto Internet, then I taught those practitioners who could type to help those who could not access the Internet to submit lists of people who wanted to quit the CCP. At the same time I shared with practitioners and encouraged them to set up home-based truth-clarification materials production sites. With everyone's improvement, they gradually set up home-based sites. I also encouraged those practitioners who had already learned the techniques to teach others. Each practitioner helped one or two others, and I became much less burdened. Now many practitioners can work independently. Strengthened by Master, we set up more than ten home-based material production sites. We made more than 150 copies of Zhuan Falun and provided pracitioners with the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party DVDs, as well as Shen Yun DVDs and Falun Dafa amulets(1). With the support of appropriate materials, practitioners became much more powerful in their truth-clarification and helping people to quit the CCP. Some diligent practitioners could help more than 100 people to quit the CCP each week.
Exposing the Evil and Saving People
Later, a coordinator found me and told me that practitioners in one region were very short of truth-clarification materials and asked me help them set up a production site. In no time it was established. After it was in operation for a while, the coordinator discussed going to the countryside to distribute materials and write truth-clarification messages. He asked me to participate, and I was teamed up with a new practitioner. He rode a motorcycle and took me with him. On the way he checked for all the good spots. On the way back, we distributed materials. I remember the first time, my heart beat fast and I was very afraid. Over and over I recalled:
“A Great Enlightened One fears no hardship
Having forged an adamantine will” (“Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions,” Hong Yin II)
Another time on a street in the countryside, there were rows and rows of houses. I started to post fliers beginning with the homes furthest from the street. After I reached a pole close to road, I saw someone leaving while making a phone call. I was scared and thought that he was reporting me to the police, but he walked by me without looking at me at all.
I shared this with fellow practitioners after I got home. They told me that, when encountering this kind of situation, besides sending forth righteous thoughts, we should face these people calmly. If possible, we should also clarify the truth to them. Practitioners told me that when some practitioners were distributing fliers outside, other practitioners would send forth righteous thoughts at home to support them.
There was another similar situation. A lady came outside to dump trash and walked by me. She even greeted me and said, “You are posting ads when it is so late.” I replied to her casually.
Once, the new practitioner and I posted truth-clarification messages on a bridge. I held the motorcycle while he stood on it to post the message. At the same time I sent forth righteous thoughts. Some people on bicycles passed us. We were not affected at all and continued our work. We shared with each other on the way back and realized that we both thought about Master's words:
“... just by having your heart unaffected you will be able to handle all situations.”
(“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s),” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I heard from other practitioners that the message we posted stayed up for a long time and the result was very good.
Once, a local practitioner was arrested and was going to be put on trial. We prepared truth-clarification materials to expose the persecution and the people who were responsible. Several coordinators planned to cover the whole city and nearby suburban area with truth-clarification materials over three nights. I worked with other practitioners and we did it within three nights. During that time, I had no fear at all. I only thought about the practitioner who had been arrested and wanted people to know the truth as quickly as possible. Later I heard from other practitioners and non-practitioners that the results were very positive. It really stunned the local authorities.
Improving Xinxing in Coordination Work
Through this process, I got into contact with many fellow practitioners and eventually became a coordinator. However, due to the imperfection of personal and group cultivation states, it was rumored among local practitioners that I was a spy sent by the CCP.
At first I was very angry about the rumor and criticized practitioners in my mind, thinking, "You don't have the right to evaluate my work and cultivation, only Master does. Whatever I have done wrong, I will correct it according to the Fa; it's not appropriate for you to spread rumors about me. You are wasting the time for the three things talking about others. You are the ones Master has criticized for being fond of spreading hearsay. I am not at your level and won't do the same thing.”
Then I calmed down and looked within and realized that the root cause of this situation was my attachments that I had not yet eliminated: I looked down upon fellow practitioners because I had the heart of jealousy. “It is because jealousy is displayed very strongly in China. It is so strong that it has become natural and one does not even feel it.” (Zhuan Falun) My jealousy caused me to focus on practitioners' mistakes and I complained about them to others. Without a righteous mind regarding the cultivation of speech, I was therefore attacked by the persecuting forces. Master also says,
“You're cultivators after all, so if you want to do this well, the most important thing to do is to study the Fa. No matter how busy you are, you have to study the Fa. This is especially true for those students who stepped forward late, or who've stumbled, or who haven't kept up -- you should study the Fa a lot, listen to criticism more, and hurry to catch up. Everyone needs to recognize the importance of sending righteous thoughts. That's because you are Dafa disciples, and you aren't everyday people doing things for Dafa, but Dafa disciples who are validating the Fa.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference”)
I had been busy doing Dafa work and was neglecting studying the Fa and practicing the exercises. My human notions were very strong in my involvement in Dafa projects. I liked to hear compliments from fellow practitioners and began to develop the heart of showing-off and of zealotry. The focus of my Dafa work switched from validating the Fa to validating myself, as I had forgotten that all that I had today was given by the Fa and Master and that the three things must be done from the basis of the Fa. In addition to my heart of fear and other practitioners' cultivation omissions, we were attacked by the old forces and it created gaps between us. I sent forth righteous thoughts to overcome the gaps and communicated with practitioners around me regarding this issue, but it was not fully resolved because I did not uproot the human attachments in my heart.
Not long after, I heard that some practitioners spread those rumors in other groups of practitioners. Master says in Zhuan Falun:
“But normally when a problem arises, if it does not irritate a person psychologically, it does not count or is useless and cannot make him or her improve.”
And that was exactly the case. I was so mad that I wanted to confront the practitioners who had been spreading rumors about me. Being so irritated, I could not concentrate on reading the Fa that night. Then a paragraph in Zhuan Falun caught my attention:
“In most cases, one transforms karma through xinxing conflicts among one another, and this is where it manifests itself. While one is in a conflict, the clashes between each other even surpass the physical pains. I would say that the physical pains are the easiest thing to endure, as they can be overcome by biting the teeth tightly. When a conflict takes place between one another, the mind is the hardest thing to control.”
Upon reading it again and again, my heart started to calm down. I had been mad because I felt misunderstood; but why? It was because I had not let go of the pursuit of fame and self interest. I had thought that I had obtained the Fa later than others and therefore had fewer opportunities than fellow practitioners to establish my divine virtue. I had wanted to do Dafa work to validate and seek benefits for myself. Master says,
“You are clinging to the attachment of pursuit. Do you come here just for this? My fashen in another dimension knows everything on your mind. Because the concepts of the two time-spaces differ, in another dimension the formation of your thoughts is seen as an extremely slow process. It will know everything even before you think of it. Therefore, you should abandon all of your incorrect thoughts. The Buddha School believes in predestined relationship. Everyone comes here because of a predestined relationship. If you obtain it, perhaps you are supposed to have it. You should therefore treasure it and not be attached to any pursuit” (Zhuan Falun).
I was precisely like what Master points out in "Towards Consummation" in Essentials for Further Advancement II: “Studying the Fa with attachments is not true cultivation.” I realized that my behaviors were disrespectful to Dafa and Master. As my heart was not pure, I was not fully in line with the Fa when doing the three things.
I was also able to reflect on the problems from the group's perspective. Because we all had been doing the three things from our own perspective and insisted on our individual understandings, we had not been collaborating with and complementing each other, which, in turn, led to significant gaps among local practitioners and group weakness, allowing for persecution. Two practitioners were arrested as a result.
When I heard about the rumors the third time, I was able to handle it rationally.
“When you always maintain a heart of benevolence and compassion, you will have time or room to buffer the confrontation and think, should a problem arise suddenly. If you always think about competing with others and fighting back and forth, I would say that you will start a fight with others whenever there is a problem—this is guaranteed. Thus, when you encounter a conflict, I would say that it is to transform your black substance into the white substance, de.” (Zhuan Falun).
I still looked within for my attachments such as the heart of competition, desire for fame and benefits, interest in lust, and notions of discrimination. Through dealing with the rumor about me, I learned how to truly look inward, search for my flaws, and cultivate sincerely.
I also supported other practitioners, including those who had spread the rumors, by sending forth righteous thoughts. For the two arrested practitioners, I sent forth the thought that they would not remember the names of fellow practitioners while being interrogated by the police. Indeed, those two practitioners were released later because the police could not get any information about local practitioners out of them. In a sharing afterwards, the two practitioners told others that they felt their brains were blank and could not recall anything related to local practitioners during the police interrogation. Through this event, I realized that every thought and action of a practitioner is very important. Once our thoughts are not in line with the Fa, many problems and mistakes will emerge. Not only can we not assist Master in rectifying the Fa, but we will fall behind in personal cultivation. The ideal state of Dafa practitioners doing the three things as one body will then vanish. Furthermore, I saw that there was a dark solid wall in another dimension between the practitioners who were involved in the rumors. The wall was so sturdy that it took me three days to eliminate it with righteous thoughts.
Now when I hear rumors about other practitioners, my heart will not be moved at all. I will maintain righteous thoughts such as "Dafa practitioners should be one body." I will not judge fellow practitioners, I will treasure my predestined relationships with them, and I will not let the old forces establish walls between us. I will not be moved but will try instead to eliminate all factors harming practitioners' cultivation. I will not talk about or spread information irrelevant to cultivation and will not provide an environment for rumors and must do well in the cultivation of speech. I might have chosen a different strategy had I not learned the lesson from my rumor incident and might have passed on what I had heard to others, emphasized my opinions and criticisms, and behaved emotionally.
It is unavoidable that Dafa practitioners encounter conflicts or other problems in doing Dafa work together. However, if we place the three things as the first priority instead of personal loss and gain, we will cope with conflicts and problems from the Fa's perspective.
When I was drafting this article in my head, I saw that Master was taking away bad substances from my energy field in other dimensions. I keep searching within for my human notions and attachments, then corrected or eliminated them. I'm making sure not to write this article from the perspective of validating myself but of validating the Fa.
Receiving My Graduation Certificate
The night after I had finished writing this article, I had a dream in which I was in the last year of high school. The new head teacher of my class told us, “All my students have been admitted to Tsinghua University or Peking University. I hope you strive for these universities as well.” Later in this dream, my classmates and I took the national exams for university admission, then went back to the high school to receive our graduation certificates and admission letters from the universities. The head teacher called my name and said, “Congratulations on being admitted to Tsinghua University!” Then he handed me the certificate and admission letter. I accepted them proudly, and my classmates applauded for me. However, there were students who were not accepted to any university, and some did not even finish the exams.
I feel that this was Master's encouragement to me. Master does not want to lose a single Dafa student, so let us cultivate diligently and catch up in the Fa-Rectification process.
I am grateful for Master's merciful salvation as he has been cleansing my heart and mind with the Fa. I also want to thank fellow practitioners for their selfless help. I have realized many of my shortcomings and the disparity between diligent practitioners and myself. I will continue to cooperate with fellow practitioners on my cultivation path, learn from them, keep rectifying myself, and save sentient beings.
Note: (1) Amulets – In China, practitioners sometimes clarify the truth by giving people something small to wear or cherish, bearing a few words reminding them of the goodness of Dafa.
