(Minghui.org) As Falun Dafa practitioners, one of the ways we elevate our xinxing and improve in cultivation is through helping each other during tests and tribulations. In the process of helping fellow practitioners, we can find our own attachments and eliminate them.
Focus on the Issue, Not the Practitioner
One fellow practitioner was involved in pyramid schemes. Some practitioners thought it was wrong to do this, but others said it should be fine. I said that, as practitioners, it was wrong for us to join pyramid schemes.
The practitioner who was involved in pyramid schemes was so angry with us for discussing her in her absence that she decided to quit practicing. I searched inside myself first to see if I had done something wrong. I knew that our intention was good, but we should have focused on the issue, not the practitioner, and we should have talked to her in person.
I realized that I was often impatient and liked to compete. I tended to speak my mind but seldom considered what effect my words would have. I sometimes even felt that I was better than others. My attachments had given the evil forces a loophole to interfere with us.
I sincerely apologized to that practitioner, but pointed out to her that it wasn't right for her to participate in pyramid schemes. She said, “The government does not prohibit it, and I need to support my family.”
I told her, “It’s true that the government allows it, but it doesn’t mean that it’s appropriate for practitioners. You can find something that’s appropriate to earn money. Please don’t stop practicing because of this. I was wrong to talk about you behind your back, but remember that you do not cultivate in Dafa for me: it is for yourself and the people you came to save. We should all search within and improve.”
Fellow practitioners shared with her Master’s lecture:
“Dafa disciples cannot do bad things. Pyramid schemes are not used in Western society anymore. That's outright cheating people. It rips people off tier after tier, and the latecomers get exploited the most.
“[You're asking about] Dafa disciples getting involved in pyramid schemes? Is it right to be obsessed with making money off others? No, it's not. If you do that, you are not doing legitimate business. There should be a loss for every gain, with commodities changing hands, but what are you doing? Racking your brain to rip people off. You can't do that! I told you that long ago. You can't get into pyramid schemes, and whoever does is wrong. Among the Dafa disciples in China, whoever gets into pyramid schemes is disrupting the form of cultivation that Dafa disciples do. They will have to bear all the consequences for that later on.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York”)
The notorious 610 Office actually instigated the pyramid scheme groups to particularly try to pull more Falun Gong practitioners into their dealings to be brainwashed. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is directly behind the schemes to persecute and interfere with Dafa disciples.
Although she never completely gave up on pyramid schemes, she no longer tries to get practitioners involved and has not stopped practicing Falun Dafa.
This incident also helped fellow practitioners in our area to get a better understanding of the nature of pyramid schemes, and no other practitioners have joined them.
Letting Go of My Needs
A fellow practitioner was very diligent at the beginning. He was also a volunteer coordinator, organizing people to promote the Fa, study together, and teach the exercises to newcomers. He went to Beijing to validate Dafa when the persecution began and produced materials to help people better understand the truth. He also endured imprisonment and financial difficulties. However, not long ago, he seemed to have stopped cultivating and turned into an ordinary person--he often went to karaoke bars and tea houses. He began avoiding us when we tried to talk to him.
Worried, a fellow practitioner urged me to go talk to him. I was not sure if he would talk to me since I was not very close to him, so I gave his number to another fellow practitioner. However, he refused to talk to that practitioner, just as he refused to talk to other practitioners who tried to contact him.
Therefore, another practitioner gave me his number again and said that I should talk to him. I knew that I had to call him. Master said, “The next person's things are your things, and your things are his things.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference”)
I asked Master to help me. Fortunately, the practitioner answered my phone call, and we picked a time to meet.
While talking with him, my eyes filled with tears. I said, “You have gone through so many tribulations, and Master has also endured so much for you, why do you give up cultivating in Dafa so easily?”
He finally opened up and told me that he had made a big mistake. He believed that he had failed Master’s expectations and was no longer good enough to be a Dafa disciple anymore. He tried to overcome and do better, but failed more seriously every time he tried.
The old forces took advantage of his loopholes to financially persecute him. His business failed, and he was in debt. Fearing that his behavior would have a negative impact, he gave up cultivating in Dafa and stayed far away from fellow practitioners.
I encouraged him to come back and invited him to come to my house to study the Fa with our group.
I found Master’s lectures that targeted issues similar to his, and he read all of them.
I talked to him on the phone afterwards, but he still sounded depressed and in despair. I told him to study the Fa more and to send forth righteous thoughts. Master said,
“The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.” (“Drive Out Interference” in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I gave him 15,000 yuan so he could pay back his debts, although I was not doing well financially myself.
I was retired with a son in college. Money was tight and I struggled with whether I should give him the money. If he indeed came back to Dafa, it would all be worth it. If he did not return, I would have wasted money we could have used on projects to save people. After I examined my motives and thoughts, I realized that I had used human thinking to understand the situation, and thus I worried about financial loss.
Only after letting go of my needs and putting myself in his shoes was I able to see his situation from his perspective, and to cultivate myself well and elevate. Meanwhile, his situation also improved.
The second time I went to his home, I found that all his problems had been solved. His creditor even told him that he did not need to return the money right away and asked him to give the money back to me.
That fellow practitioner finally got rid of the burden on his mind, and came back to practicing. We all make mistakes, but as long as we pick ourselves up after falling, we can continue cultivating.
A Fellow Practitioner Helped Me to See My Problems
A fellow practitioner’s brother-in-law was arrested in 2008, two months after she began to cultivate in Dafa. In order to rescue him, she came to our area, but she was arrested the next year and given a three-year sentence.
After she was released, her sister and brother-in-law hoped that she would return and keep practicing, but she refused to answer their calls. When she later moved to Xinjiang with her boyfriend, it became even more difficult for us to talk to her. Her sister asked me to help. Somehow, I knew that she would come back.
She was very happy to hear from me. It turned out that she had never truly left Dafa but was simply very miserable, and confused. I often talked to her on the phone, and answered her questions. I also encouraged her and asked Master to give her strength to return to our area.
She came back a month later. I had Dafa books, which she read, and she also sent-forth righteous thoughts and constantly shared with us. I helped her search inside from the perspective of the Fa, digging deep to find out the real reason why she was had been imprisoned. She wrote her solemn proclamation to void the statement she wrote in prison.
Then, a few days later, she told us that she was planning to leave soon and refused to get up to practice the exercises in the morning. Very confused, I asked her what had happened.
Angrily she told me, “I had always believed that you were very diligent, but I just found out that I was wrong. You didn’t even get up to practice the exercises at 3:00 in the morning. When you sent forth righteous thoughts at midnight, your hands fell down. When you studied the Fa, you were not focused, and your posture was not correct, either. You are not very respectful of Master. I had mistakenly thought that after living with you for a while, I would have improved quickly. I didn’t know that you’re such a slacker, and I’m very sad.”
My Attachment to Comfort
Her words pounded on me like a hammer and helped me see my shortcomings. I only focused on doing the three things well, and seldom paid attention to improving myself. My hair kept turning grey, and my teeth continued to fall out, and there were more and more wrinkles on my face. I felt tired and slept as much as a non-practitioner did. I was still attached to comfort, and many other human things.
I believed that if I did not get enough sleep, I wouldn't have enough energy the next day, because I regarded myself as an ordinary person.
I realized that I should no longer allow conventional thoughts and attachments to control me. I must keep requiring of myself to measure my every single thought with the Fa. I must completely end my notions about life, aging, illness, and death. I must do my part to assist Master, validate the Fa, and reach consummation.
After I changed my outlook, the fellow practitioner also changed. After searching within, she realized that she should not rely on or follow others. We both found our own attachments, and our xinxing elevated. It was not that I helped the fellow practitioner; actually, it was she who helped me find my own attachments and helped me improve.
Thank you, Master, for everything! I will be more diligent in doing the three things and cultivate myself well.
Category: Improving Oneself
