(Clearwisdom.net) Although I've encountered many tribulations along my cultivation path, nothing can prevent me from striving forward and truly practicing cultivation with Teacher's guidance.
Improving Character through Understanding the Dafa Principles
1. Identifying the Real Cause of Persecution
After being arrested, fined, persecuted in a labor camp, forced out of a good job, and having my home ransacked, I had to look inward and question the cause for these tribulations. I determined that I'd used mostly human notions instead of the Fa to protect myself. I gradually arrived at this understanding after continued and detailed Fa study.
Teacher said,
"There are two circumstances in which they can't touch a Dafa disciple. One is that he is rock-solid. They don't dare touch him, ...” (Touring North America to Teach the Fa, 2002)
I did not have firm faith in the Dafa principles in order to apply them at critical times. Even though I went through the motions of carrying out the three things, whenever a problem occurred, I didn't deal with it based on the Fa.
For the reasons stated above, I compromised with evildoers on several occasions, and was homeless for many years because I didn't want to be arrested and forced to give up my practice. Now, I understand that the old forces sent me to the forced labor camp because I was holding on to too many human notions.
After recognizing my real problem, I went to Beijing in 2001 and put up a banner to support Dafa. I returned safely and without incident, because I'd followed the Dafa teachings.
2. Developing Tolerance
Teacher mentioned the importance of cooperation and working together in many conference articles. To do so, one must let go of personal considerations.
Teacher said,
“When you are working together and you feel wronged or get angry, it’s hard at that moment to reflect on your role in the matter or look within and realize what your state is or what attachment triggered that event. The majority of the time it’s that [you are upset about] your suggestion not being adopted or that you looked down on someone. The manifestation of these two attachments tends to be the most intense.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference”)
I think that the real cause is the concern about one's reputation. There may also be a demand for respect and a lack of tolerance. If we're willing to forgive an evil police officer, why can't we tolerate fellow practitioners? If we can't, then we'll be like what Teacher said,
“But if your mind is always thinking about disagreeing with other people, fighting over this, over that, then I’d say once you run into a problem you’ll start fighting. I guarantee it.” (Zhuan Falun)
I believe that tolerance is a state of mind. When I worked with my wife (also a practitioner) on something before, she always had an opinion about what to do. It seemed that my plan was always less secure, and this led to arguments at times. I realized that her actions were a reflection of myself. When I looked inward, I found that I'd followed the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. I wanted to be in control instead of being open-minded about things! Furthermore, I used Dafa principles to cover up my attachment. For example, I always asked others to follow my directions when I was coordinating, as if my way was the only way to do things. I thought constantly about Teacher's words:
“But true improvements come from letting go, not from gaining.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.”)
I began to understand the meaning of tolerance. There was a time when we wanted to support fellow practitioners by mailing out information about Dafa. I asked our coordinator to use handwriting instead of printing, because printing a letter could be viewed as a regular advertisement. He didn't agree or disagree. A few days later, nothing was done. Then, I realized that I'd made the same mistake again, insisting on my way of doing things. Once I understood my problem, I heard that they had started sending out the mail.
When a person is tolerant, he doesn't complain about others not following his direction. He won't argue about who is right or wrong. This is the way to build cooperation.
Saving Sentient Beings in the Workplace
I lost my job due to the persecution. After reading a fellow practitioner's article on the Minghui/Clearwisdom website, I got an idea about how to find a job. When I began contacting my former colleagues, I was worried about whether or not they knew if I was still a practitioner. Would that be a problem? I was afraid that I wouldn't get my job back and concerned about my personal safety. These were selfish thoughts. Indeed, when I first wrote to them, I didn't dare say a word about Dafa. I then refocused myself on explaining the facts about Falun Dafa to them; it turned out that they were quite receptive. In fact, they knew that I was being mistreated and that my work termination was unfair.
When I let go of my fear and treated the person who persecuted me as someone to be saved, I felt quite confident, instead of fearful. After meeting with them several times, I no longer had anything to hide. Instead, I told them about how wonderful Dafa was. However, I was still one step away from being totally open. When I met county officials and was asked if I was still practicing, I only replied that practicing Dafa was not against the law.
After studying Dafa principles further, I understood that the ongoing persecution was not about the general population. In fact, it is the persecutor who is being persecuted. For this reason, I pitied those who persecuted me.
Teacher said,
“Remember: Wherever a problem occurs, that’s where you need to clarify the facts. As for whether the result is good, don’t look at the other party, it comes from your minds. If you want it to be good then it will be good. And if you don’t intend to make it good, or if your mind is unsteady, then it won’t be easy to rectify things. In other words, you need to have strong righteous thoughts. If you’re thinking, 'I’m truly saving you. I’m truly telling you the facts', then the result will be good.” (“Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference”)
I obtained righteous thoughts through Fa study. I told officers in the 610 Office that there was freedom of belief in our constitution, the self-immolation episode was fabricated, and Dafa had spread throughout the world. After my view about things changed, my entire environment also improved. I got my job back, and this served as a more convenient starting point to explain the facts about Falun Gong to people.
Becoming Part of the Whole in Order to Develop Better Cooperation
Before July 20, 1999, I served as a coordinator. When it came to working with fellow practitioners, I tended to direct their activities, which usually generated a negative response. For example, I was confident about how to do a Dafa project and asked capable practitioners to cooperate with me. Some didn't want to, while others felt that there were difficulties. As a result, we didn't do anything. When I looked inward, I noticed that I wanted to dictate to others, thought that I had better ideas than others, and wanted to show off.
We were about to participate in a sharing meeting, when my wife reminded me to try not to be the first one to speak, and also be the one to summarize the final meeting results. I made an effort to not show off. When it was my turn to speak, I thought that I should take a responsible position with respect to the Fa, to fellow practitioners, and to saving sentient beings. I must not hold onto a leadership role, because that was not my responsibility. As a result, we had a good sharing session. Whenever I got away from the subject under discussion, someone would remind me, and we moved on smoothly to the next subject. I really felt that Teacher allowed me to share well, because I'd made an effort to align myself with the Fa.
I understood that the tendency to show off came from the attachment to fame. With such a dirty attachment, how can I save sentient beings, let alone assist Teacher in Fa-rectification? After I saw my attachments, I did what Teacher said,
“If there is something that you do not know in your work, you should humbly discuss it with others.” (“How to Provide Assistance” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
There is a clear improvement in cooperation without these attachments.
It is important to understand the relationship between doing a job and cultivating oneself when working with other practitioners. When you hold onto human notions, the old forces may bring you trouble and you'll do the job as a non-practitioner would. For example, when I saw that people were unwilling to volunteer for jobs, I thought it was because they didn't understand the importance of the group effort. A fellow practitioner explained that no one wanted to carry a bigger workload than anyone else. I realized that a well-coordinated effort meant allowing each member to do what he or she was capable of doing, in order to benefit the whole. Of course, any concern about doing more than others is a human notion which causes difficulty in coordination. Therefore, the only way to coordinate well is to guide everyone to view things from the standpoint of Dafa. Only an improvement in character will lead to better results.
The purpose of living so many lifetimes is to develop the capacity to assist Teacher in Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings. No tribulation can stop me. I will continue to improve and be more consistent in saving sentient beings.
