(Minghui.org) Master said,
“We have a lot of students who've really been improving fast as they continue to cultivate themselves. And as a whole you've especially done better and better in improving together, and in cooperating with each other. Now it's a matter of how you can do even better and in a more refined way the things that now need to be done.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.”)
Reflecting on Master's lecture, the majority of the time, I have been able to help fellow practitioners and improve together since the period of Fa-rectification cultivation began. Here I would like to report many years of my cultivation journey to Master.
I came into Dafa cultivation in March 1997. Having cultivated for more than a decade, my health improved with each passing day. These are all the blessings given by Dafa. Thank you, Master!
1. Lead fellow practitioners to step forward and save sentient beings
After the persecution started on July 20, 1999, most of the practitioners around me were afraid to step forward and validate the Fa. One practitioner approached me and I asked him, “If you have benefited from Dafa, shouldn't you step forward and speak up for Dafa? If Dafa disciples persevere in speaking up for Dafa, it will not be long before everyone has a proper understanding of Dafa.”
When the persecution started, I encouraged practitioners to clarify the truth. Later on, when our local area established a material production site, I would go out frequently together with fellow practitioners in my family to distribute the materials.
However, because many of the practitioners around me were fearful of being persecuted and were not willing to distribute the materials, I encouraged them to step forward to do the three things. I started to help practitioners one by one. Initially, I would accompany fellow practitioners at night, and let them bring only one copy of material at a time. They would come back and take another copy of material after they had distributed the other copy. Gradually, practitioners started to carry more and more materials, starting from one copy to a few copies and finally a dozen copies. Eventually we distributed a few hundred copies of truth clarifications materials to passers-by on the street even in broad daylight.
Later, the progress of Fa-rectification required us to advise Chinese people to quit the CCP's organizations. In the beginning, I did not know how to do this, but I remembered that practitioners are being strengthened by Master. Thus, I set out to advise people to quit the CCP and it's affiliated organizations, and I also helped fellow practitioners to step forward and do this.
2. Opening a materials production site and using wisdom to help practitioners
A few years ago, practitioners from a large material production site in my area were abducted, thus, I wanted to establish a material production site. However, I hesitated as the identities of many of the practitioners who worked at the materials production site had been divulged by other practitioners under pressure. Moreover, there were no practitioners in my local area who were willing produce the materials.
Masters said,
“Cultivation is hard. It’s hard in that even when a terrible calamity strikes, even when evil madly persecutes, and even when your life is at stake, you still have to be able to steadfastly continue on your path of cultivation without letting anything in human society interfere with the steps you take on your path of cultivation.” (“Path” in Essentials for Further Advancement II )
I made up my mind that no matter how difficult it is, I must coordinate the material production site well. I intended to set up the materials at home, but I did not wish to hide what we were doing from family members. I asked Master to strengthen me on this matter, and no one in my family opposed me when I told them my idea. A practitioner with technical skills sent a computer over and my husband bought a printer and brought it home. When the practitioner with technical skills was showing me what to do, my son also watched and learned. My son said to me, “Because I am young I have a greater ability to learn. I will help you with the things that you could not learn.” Whenever I need to buy supplies or repair the machines, my family takes care of it. If I am too busy, they assist me, thus ensuring a smooth operation of our home material production site.
Three times a week, practitioners come to study the Fa together. Because our production of Minghui Weekly is not interrupted and I also print out experience sharing articles from Minghui for practitioners to read, practitioners in our area are able to follow the progress of Fa-rectification.
Many things happened during the process of producing and delivering materials. Sometimes, practitioners want more materials, sometimes less. There were times when initially they wanted the materials but later decided not to take them. However, I have already printed the materials. At one point, I did not want to produce materials anymore. Nevertheless, Master enlightened me each time and I thought, “Does this interference have any connection with me? We are Dafa disciples that come together to help Master to rectify the Fa, how can we not recognize the partition that the old forces are trying to create between Dafa disciples? No matter how badly a practitioner behaves, it is not her true nature.
Master asks us to search within whenever we encounter tensions or conflicts. If we cannot be calm and peaceful, isn't it a display of competitive mentality? Thus, I quickly cast aside my human thoughts.
3. Establish a Fa-study group and help practitioners past the deadly test
Many practitioners in my area are illiterate and their understanding of the Fa is unclear, thus they improve slowly and often use human thinking to think about the three things. Hence, I thought of establishing a Fa-study group to help practitioners. However, I thought I would not be able to do business at night if I were to establish a Fa-study group. But more importantly, I have a material production site in my home. What should I do?
I remembered Master's Fa:
“With human beings... when a being can obtain the Fa today in history, it's no ordinary thing--he's so fortunate! But as soon as he loses the Fa, do you know what he faces? It's really horrific, because when he fails to fulfill the major responsibilities and the huge missions that were bestowed upon him, then, accordingly, that's like the inverse of a being's Consummation, and he will truly have to enter the gate of no-life. You folks can't just go and abandon a person without trying hard enough. No matter what kind of mistakes someone has made, or what kind of a person he is, I still want to give him a chance. Of course, in human society there are, after all, a number of people who aren't good enough anymore, so just let them be. Today I'm mainly saying that our Dafa disciples need to do better, and we should cherish those who have obtained the Fa.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference”)
I realized that practitioners' improvement is very important. I put aside my own business and established a Fa-study group to help practitioners. We send forth righteous thoughts, study the Fa, read experience sharing by other practitioners together and encourage one another to look inward. Everyone is able to improve quickly.
Practitioner B in our Fa-study group has cultivated for a long time. Unlike other practitioners who feel hot after doing the exercises or sending forth righteous thoughts, she felt cold. Practitioner A decided to help practitioner B. One afternoon practitioner A suggested that everyone surround practitioner B to send forth righteous thoughts. After sending forth righteous for a period of time, practitioner A saw many rotten demons in practitioner B's body had been destroyed. When she examined a deeper level, she saw an old man in practitioner B's dimensional field. Practitioner A wanted to eliminate that old man and thus she continued to send forth righteous thoughts. The other practitioners in the Fa-study group felt that it is not appropriate to keep sending forth righteous thoughts, but to let practitioner B use Master's Fa to have a benevolent solution with the old man. Practitioner A thought otherwise and said, “We should quickly help practitioner B as her body is ill.” Thus, she continued to send forth righteous thoughts at practitioner B.
That night, when practitioner A was at home, she saw the old forces desperately trying to tie her Main Spirit to a big iron vehicle and take her spirit away, but she refused to leave. She shouted continuously for Master to save her but Master did not respond. She thought, “Why didn't Master take care of me? Where did I go wrong? I need to look inward.” At that time, her physical body started to regain consciousness and she was able to move. She kept examining herself and thinking, where did I go wrong?
At dawn the next day, she called me to tell me about her situation. Another practitioner and I decided to help her. As practitioner A lives in a distant rural area, we cycled for a long time before reaching her house. She described her experience the night before and we sent forth righteous thoughts with her for a long time. While we studied the Fa together, practitioner A enlightened, “It was because I helped to treat others' illnesses. Only Master is able to lead us to a high level. What qualification do I have to do this? Aren't I going off course?” After realizing this, practitioner A immediately knelt in front of Master's image and admitted her mistake. We saw her complexion become better at once. Practitioner A got better with each passing day after we went to her house continuously for a few days.
4. Eliminate attachment of fear and helping practitioners to oppose the old forces' arrangements
There was a period of time where I tried hard to help practitioner C to step off the path of the old forces' arrangements. When I was helping practitioner C to send forth righteous thoughts, I saw that in another dimensional field, he sat with his legs tilted and a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he threw bad substances into my dimensional field. After I finished sending forth righteous thoughts, I suddenly developed a thought of fear that these bad substances would bring trouble to me. At that time, my thoughts were very negative, and that night my body felt uncomfortable. I started to look inward and found that I had selfish thoughts. I feared that the bad substances would interfere with me. I realized that I must treat everything selflessly. Why couldn't I cultivate away this attachment to fear?
At this moment, I remembered Master's lecture in “Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)”, hence I begin to look inward. Afterward, I have a sharing with practitioner C together from the Fa on my experience and told him Master said,
“Selfishness is a fundamental attribute of the cosmos of the past. Because of that attribute, formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction and birth-aging-sickness-death are inevitable. In the future the Fa will be all-harmonizing, perfect, and selfless. The change in that fundamental attribute of the cosmos leads to fundamental changes in the cosmos's progression and beings' characteristics. The fundamental attribute of the cosmos has determined the fundamental state that the cosmos is in.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference”)
Practitioner C understood that no matter what he does, he cannot think only of himself because thinking only of himself is following the old forces' arrangements. He said, “I learned that I should not only consider how I can improve and raise my level by studying the Fa, instead, studying the Fa well is to more effectively save sentient beings and help Master to rectify the Fa. Studying the Fa is not only for myself. I should not think that I cannot be persecuted and only eliminate the interference from the old forces when sending forth righteous thoughts. I should be sending forth righteous thoughts for sentient beings and other Dafa disciples. Saving sentient beings is not just for myself, but to think of saving sentient beings. Every single thought and action should be for others.”
Now I understand why many of the experience sharings on Minghui describe that when some Dafa disciples were abducted, they warned the police officers that they should not do bad things and they must understand the truth and be saved. These Dafa disciples were able to quickly come out of difficult situation because when they are first met with a tribulation, their first thought was to think about the safety of the officers and not themselves.
On the other hand, when some Dafa disciples were abducted, they thought “I've been abducted, what should I do? I still have materials at home!” As all these thoughts were selfish ones and to protect themselves. The old forces seized upon this and were able to manipulate these practitioners. Many practitioners who thought this way had difficulty breaking away from this tribulation unless they have righteous thoughts and righteous actions afterward.
5. Helping one another to look inward
Once, when practitioner D who seldom attended Fa-study came, I saw that the field he carried was very bad. I felt bad and went into another room to take a break for a while. The other practitioners became anxious and asked me to come out and study the Fa together. This happened several times until Fa-study was over. I told practitioner D, “The reason you came here today is not to study the Fa. You came here with pursuit.” As I said this, there was no shan (compassion) in my tone and I was feeling slightly angry.
Because of my bad thought, my gap was exploited by the old forces. When night came, I began to feel extremely uncomfortable. I started to listen to the Fa but I was unable to sit still, so I lay down on my bed to listen, but I could not even understand what was I listening to. Suddenly, practitioner Yu came to me and said, “You must look inward quickly. After sending forth righteous thoughts for a long time, I saw many old force entities endlessly coming over to your side. You have to send forth righteous thoughts quickly.”
I realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly sat up to send forth righteous thoughts and look inward. I start to examine my thoughts from another point of view and found my attachment of fear. I also realized that I did not have a benevolent heart, I was impatient, I had the mentality of showing off, hanging onto grievances and an attachment to protecting myself. I sent forth righteous thoughts to dissolve all these attachments.
I studied “Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature” in Essentials for Further Advancement repeatedly. Master said,
“I also want to tell you that your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others—or even future generations—along with Dafa’s eternal stability.”
I recalled that practitioner D was able to eliminate being abducted by the evil many times and was once able to break out of the detention center. He exposed the evil persecution publicly and was very effectively encouraging the practitioners in our area. However, out of admiration nobody was willing to point out practitioner D's shortcomings. I wanted to help him.
I asked other practitioners who have studied the Fa well to find practitioner D and I had a sharing with him as well. Under the practitioners' joint efforts, practitioner D underwent a tremendous change. He is very grateful to Master and for the help of fellow practitioners. One day, he said, “Fortunately I was able to wake up and follow Master's arrangement. Otherwise I would not know that often talking about my feats in prison is the main reason that I was followed and abducted. Also, I did not realize that I caused fellow practitioners to admire and worship me. If this continued, it would be very dangerous! Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!”
6. Take the initiative to look inward and eradicate human concepts and notions
A few days ago, practitioner Yu shared with me, “When you were sending forth righteous thoughts, your sweat pores even displayed thoughts of revenge, and there was no compassion (shan) at all.” I was very shocked and realized that I must have been interfered with by the old forces.
Master said,
“Calmly reflect on the attachments you have
Remove your human thoughts
and evil will naturally die out”
(“Don't Be Sad” in Hong Yin Volume II)
“If you do not change the human logic that you, as an ordinary human, have formed deep in your bones over thousands of years, you will be unable to break away from this superficial human shell and reach Consummation.” (“Cautionary Advice” in Essentials for Further Advancement)
“Did you know that Dafa disciples have metamorphosed from the old cosmos and have emerged beyond the old Fa principles, but the old cosmos, the old Fa principles, the old beings... all of that is trying to hold you back!” (“Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles” in 2006)
When I looked inward I identified many grievances. I used to stay with my grandmother when I was very young, and the house caught fire late one night. I was sleeping soundly and I had no idea how I was awakened, but I ran out. I believed that gods were protecting me. I could feel the fire burning me but when my family found me, they did not hug me and comfort me. I was not able to feel their concern for me at all. They were busy taking care of their own things.
As I grew older, I began to hate them a lot and vowed secretly that I would not come to see them even if they were dying. Later, when my eldest brother and eldest sister were ill, and I really did not want to visit them. I only went after being persuaded by my other brothers and sisters. At that time I had just started to cultivate, and did not want to fuss over past matters. But, I knew I only let go of the matter on the surface.
After looking inward thoroughly, I dissolved this grievance.
During this process of looking inward, my tears flowed endlessly and I repeated over and over again, “I am Master's disciple, I do not want and do not acknowledge any arrangements by the old forces.”
Through this thorough looking inwards, I realized the reason the old forces had come to take my life during the spring this year. It was because of the grievances and heart of revenge that I had not let go.
At the same time, I understood that when a practitioner signed an agreement [with the old forces] to play a negative role in Fa-rectification and follows the old cosmos' law during today's Fa-rectification cultivation, it is not possible to cultivate and return. It is because of Master's compassion that practitioners are being given this precious opportunity. If a practitioner's main consciousness is unwilling to play a negative role and truly looks inward, Master will take away those bad things arranged by the old forces.
When the practitioners around me saw that in the short period of only three days, I underwent a tremendous change, and they also started to look inward. They also experienced tremendous changes. I believe that with Master's strengthening, they will improve fundamentally and quickly.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind practitioners that no matter what agreement you may have signed with the old forces in the past or perhaps done something wrong in history, Master is helping us and arranging benevolent solutions for all gratitudes and grievances and is eliminating all the old forces' arrangements if we follow the requirements of Dafa and truly cultivate.
Above is my personal understanding. If there is anything inappropriate, please kindly point it out.