(Minghui.org) I am 26 years old. When I was 13, because my mother practiced Dafa, I entered cultivation under Master's arrangement. After the persecution began in July 1999, I didn't keep up with my Fa study or the exercises. In 2005, I was terrified by my mother's arrest for clarifying the truth to people and stopped cultivating entirely. In the blink of an eye, I was now 26. After I stopped practicing, I dove into the big vat of ordinary human society, forgetting who I was and why I had descended to this earth.
In June 2012, my third aunt started cultivating in Dafa again after studying Master's recent lecture, “20th Anniversary Fa Teaching.” Within one month, I was stunned by how diligent she was in her cultivation. She had a long history of smoking cigarettes, but she managed to quit altogether on that very day she took up cultivation again. If she were an ordinary person, it would have been impossible for her to quit smoking so easily. From that, I could see Master's mighty virtue and the Fa's supernatural power. This suddenly made me think of what Master said in Zhuan Falun:
“When one’s Buddha-nature emerges, it will shake ‘the world of ten directions.’ Whoever sees it will come to give a hand and help this person out unconditionally.”
As long as we truly want to cultivate in Dafa, Master is always there for us.
Although I was stunned by the changes I saw in my aunt, because of various barriers made by the old forces, I didn't come back to Dafa at that time. I was still very attached to ordinary people's interests such as “eating, drinking, playing, and having fun.” Two months after my aunt picked up cultivation again, another incident really got my attention.
Because I was not diligent in my cultivation and didn't maintain my xinxing well, I started a huge argument with my cousin (my third aunt's son). We hurt each other very badly. Viewed from an ordinary perspective, I was the one who was wrong. After the incident, I went to find my aunt to admit that I was at fault. I know that if she weren't a cultivator she would have given us a hard time. When I saw her, she didn't even mention the conflict between me and my cousin. I knew that I had to bear the consequence and that I was the cause of the problem. When I opened my mouth to tell her what had happened, she said to me kindly, “The old forces are trying to create gaps for you and your cousin, because you are 'one body' who can study the Fa together. Don't be fooled by the old forces.” I was so amazed, thinking, “What has changed her so much and so quickly? The answer was obvious. It was Dafa!” Only Dafa can fundamentally change a person.
During my conversations with my aunt, she always used the standard of the Fa to gauge what happened between us. I felt like I was already her fellow practitioner, sharing our understandings of the Fa. Gradually, I was awakening the “true self” inside me. I could feel my true self was very anxious, saying to me, “Don't you see, this is the power of Dafa? The time is ripe. It is time for you to return to your real home. Seize the opportunity, and hurry up!” I felt as though, from the bottom of my heart, I really wanted to cultivate again and return to my real home. I interrupted her and told her what I had just seen and said, “I want to start cultivation.” My aunt smiled.
From that day on, I sincerely wanted to embark on the road of cultivation. After work, I would find my aunt and mother to study the Fa with them. When I finished studying the Fa with them, I felt like I had enlightened to a lot of Fa principles. Master has hinted to me to get rid of my attachments. The Fa gave me all the answers to the questions that used to puzzle me so much. More interestingly, I found that during the process of reading the Fa, the Fa was transformed into images, like a movie being played in front of me. This made it easier for me to understand the Fa. My gratitude toward Master instantly sprang from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, Master, for giving me everything and for not giving up on me! How compassionate Master is!
One day when I was not very diligent in my cultivation, I experienced a symptom as if I had a fever. Because I didn't follow the standard of a true practitioner, I went to the doctor, got a shot, and took some medicine. But my temperature didn't drop a bit. I was in so much pain that I buried my head in the pillow and felt that I was in a trance. I started to feel like I was in another dimension. My body was sucked into the mud and started to sink. The feeling of being closed in by the soil was very real, and I felt like I was being suffocated by the mud. I desperately struggled in an attempt to get out, but no one was there to help me. By then the mud had entered my nose. I was so desperate that I was about to let go of my life. Then, suddenly, I experienced an unprecedented serenity. I moved my body and put my legs into the full lotus position and conjoined my hands, thinking: “Although I am not diligent in my cultivation, I am Master Li Hongzhi's disciple. Even if I am dying, I must die like a dignified practitioner.” I didn't think I was going to make it. However, at that very critical moment, I was suddenly surrounded by a round, glittering protective ball. All the mud around me burst outward. I then made every effort I could to climb up to the shore. I was surrounded by a white glare when I saw someone with his back facing me wearing a white cassock. He slowly turned his head, looked at me with a smile, and gently nodded. I looked carefully and saw that it was Master. Suddenly, I woke up with my body drenched in sweat, but I felt very relaxed. I looked at my watch—an hour and a half had passed. Instantly, my heart was filled with boundless gratitude to Master that words are short of describing.
It's been two months since I started to practice cultivation again. Because I work in the service industry, I have many chances to deal with all kinds of people from all industries and different walks of life. Thus, I have many opportunities to raise my xinxing. Providing service to people is a great time to upgrade myself. I know that, when dealing with customers, I must use the standard of the Fa to gauge my actions and thoughts. After I started to cultivate again, I discovered that the way I used to deal with my customers reflected a lot of deeply-rooted attachments that I must relinquish. For example, I used to lie to my customers. (In fact, whether or not I lied to them doesn't affect my work.) However, if I use the standard of the Fa to measure my behavior, “lying” doesn't meet the standard of “Truthfulness.” Another thing was that sometimes I lied to my customers in order to entice them into spending more money. This exposed my attachment to material gains. One day, I had a customer who was very happy with the food that we served him. Two hours later, he came back drunk and started yelling at me, saying that he had lost two cartons of cigarettes in the restaurant. I was very calm, realizing that the chance to upgrade myself had come. I patiently explained to him that I didn't see any cigarettes where he had been sitting, but he got even more angry. Because the customer was drunk, my father came out to reason with him, but he thought my father was yelling at him and threatened to fight with him. Then he got even more furious and started insulting my father. I wasn't moved by him at all. I asked other customers in the restaurant to step outside and continued to tell him patiently that we didn't find his cigarettes in the restaurant. All of a sudden the customer returned to his senses and started to apologize for his actions. I knew I had passed the test and came to understand that, as long as a practitioner's energy field is strong, all abnormalities will be rectified.
We must use “Compassion” to conduct ourselves and “Forbearance” when we are confronted with different situations. I thank Master for making me aware. At present, when my mind is slightly deviated from the Fa, the skin under my right eye starts to shake. As soon as I rectify myself according to the principles of the Fa, it stops shaking. Thank you, Master, for looking after me. I promise I will strive diligently and rigorously in my cultivation and return home with you!
Not long ago, I went to find my aunt and mother to share my cultivation experiences with them. My mother told me that I need to study the Fa and practice the exercises more often so that I can save more sentient beings. She told me a story: “There was a practitioner whose celestial eye was open and saw the 'King of the Phoenixes' cultivating in the human world with us. He unfortunately ended his life by following the path arranged by the old forces. Subsequently, his colossal firmament and dazzling feathers withered.” After I heard the story, my forehead started to swell very badly. Then I saw someone that resembled me appear (this wasn't the first time that it had happened). I suddenly came to realize that he was my Assistant Spirit. He was very anxious, with tears all over his face. I felt a burst of sadness and wanted to cry. I couldn't describe how sad I was. He was looking at me, crying. Then, his hand reached into my body and took out a small ball that had a lot of stuff around it. He pointed to the ball and said to me, “If you don't cultivate well, then you won't see me and I will probably cease to exist. If you are not diligent in your cultivation and don't conduct yourself according to the standard of Dafa, then you are nourishing this ball, which is full of human attachments, and eventually the ball will occupy your entire body. Then you will end up like the 'King of the Phoenixes.' You and I will cease to be. Your universe will no longer exist.” The tears were rolling down his face after he finished. It took me a long time to calm myself down from the excruciating pain. Occasionally, my Assistant Spirit would push me: “It's time. Hurry up, study the Fa!” When I made a mistake, he would scold me. I thank him so much for helping me strive forward in my cultivation. I will strive forward diligently in my cultivation, meet the standard of the Fa, and return home with my Assistant Spirit.
After I finished writing this sharing, I had a dream that night. I dreamed about a person that looked exactly like me who died. After I got up, I felt very light. I enlightened that the fake “me,” the one that is full of karma and human attachments, had died.
Through writing this sharing, I also realize that writing is indeed a process of upgrading myself. I hope that more younger practitioners who are like me will write their experience sharing articles and expose whatever attachments they have, because the process of exposing them is when they are disintegrated. Let's truly cultivate ourselves well and return to our beautiful home with Master.
9th China Fahui on Minghui.org