(Minghui.org)
Greetings, esteemed Master and fellow practitioners!
I feel very fortunate for having found Falun Dafa in 2002. Dafa’s great power helped me acquire a steadfast belief in the Fa and Master. During the past 12 years, Master has shouldered a lot of my karma, painstakingly arranged everything so I could get rid of attachments, pay back my karma, raise my cultivation level, and help me catch up with the pace of the Fa-rectification.
I have been an introverted person ever since I was a child. I feel inferior to others and fear to face anything new. Given my belief in the Fa and Master, I overcame these shortcomings and participated in various activities to validate the Fa.
I often feel Master’s compassionate encouragement and guidance. I understand fully that I should not be a disappointment to him. Therefore, I tried my best to attend Fa-validation and truth-clarification activities.
Thanks to Master, I found many shortcomings and got rid of many attachments. At the same time, I also am aware that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner in the Fa-rectification period. This means that I am helping Master rectify the Fa, and that to save sentient beings is my sacred responsibility.
In addition to participating in Dafa events, I also allocate time to make truth-clarification phone calls. Within a week after contacting the program organizer, fellow practitioners set up all necessary tools for me. I could log onto the RTC platform and make phone calls.
In the beginning, I faced a lot of interference. The computer frequently malfunctioned, a problem compounded by my lack of technical knowledge. I felt nervous when there was a problem, because I could not make phone calls. My son told me, “Mom, no need to be so nervous. Slow down a little bit. It is fine.” Finally, I understood that the problems were interference that kept me from telling people about Dafa. These problems were also opportunities that forced me to become familiar with computer operations. I simply needed to send forth righteous thoughts, study the Fa, and do the exercises to eliminate the interference daily.
Then, I faced interference from my husband. He was not happy with my calling China and said, “Don’t make phone calls to China. People there are very vicious. What would you do if they trace the number and reach you? You should stop.”
Therefore, I made calls when he was not home; when I thought I heard his motorcycle, I hung up, even when I was still in the middle of a conversation. I was upset with myself, because I should not be afraid. I realized that it was time to explain the facts about Dafa to my husband and make him understand what I was doing. I found good opportunities and explained the facts to him.
After a while, my husband was no longer against the calls. Interestingly enough, my husband, who is not a practitioner, frequently provided suggestions from the standpoint of everyday-people. He told me how to make the phone message more appealing. It was rather touching for him to have built me a computer desk and wire the internet cable to the bedroom. Now, when we have visitors, I can make calls without any interruption.
When I made phone calls one day, I felt pain in my waist and could not straighten my body. The situation worsened on the second day. The pain expanded to the thighs, and I could not even sit. I sensed that it must be interference to test my determination. I told myself that I could not to be interfered with. No matter how painful it might get, I would persevere. Then, my pains began to disappear. I broke into tears and thanked Master for shouldering so much for me.
My daughter is a student in another city. She seldom comes home. I know that as a practitioner, I need to focus on the Fa. Every time she comes home, I would not stop making calls. However, in my heart, I want to spend time with her. With such an impure thought, the effect of clarifying the truth about Dafa is not good. My husband did not complain about my Fa-study or truth-clarification to my face, but he did tell my daughter. He told her that all I did was sit in front of the computer.
My daughter is a practitioner, and I hoped for her support. However, she sided with my husband and told me that I should not spend all of the time in front of the computer. Instead, I should spend some time with my husband. I disagreed with her, and we came to a gridlock.
In my understanding, this situation told me that I had to eliminate my attachment of parental love. I asked my daughter to discuss the situation with me. I told her the old forces were taking advantage of my love to interfere with truth-clarification. It was also a way to eliminate our attachments. We needed to have righteous thoughts and do what practitioners need to do. My daughter acknowledged my point. I read Master’s Fa every day, but did not enlighten to this Fa truth until now.
Master said,
“If you are free from this sentimentality, nobody can affect you. An everyday person’s mind will be unable to sway you. What takes over in its place is benevolence, which is something more noble.” (Zhuan Falun)
I used to think that other families eat separately. As a practitioner, I should not be attached to eating with my family, but I also should consider my husband's standpoint concerning this matter. He must be tired after a long day of work. I ought to eat with him and give him my mental support. I could always study the Fa at another time. Suddenly, the situation changed.
My husband suddenly was awarded many projects. Once a project was completed, other customers awarded a project. He worked for his employer in the daytime and handled his own projects during the evening and holidays. He was so busy that he hardly had time to sit down for meals and chat with me. This allowed me to focus on making phone calls. From this situation, I had gained a deeper understanding of the Fa truths, which was that as long as I put aside human attachments and truly take others' needs into consideration, nothing can interfere.
When I started to make the phone calls, I encountered different types of people. Some would not pick up the phone, and others would insult me. Some refused to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations even after a long conversation, while others changed their minds and quit. No matter what type of people I came across, every call was a test. I understood that compassion is the ultimate tool that practitioners need when clarifying the truth.
People told me that the CCP was great. They held a deep misunderstanding about Dafa. In my heart, I always pitied them. Therefore, I held the thought that I must save them, and they eventually understood the facts and quit the CCP. Some of these people told me, “I hope you are blessed, too. Good luck to all practitioners!”
There was one case I cannot forget. When I explained the truth to a man and urged him to quit the CCP, he tried to change the subject. He told me that he wanted to get married, said that my voice was nice and he would not quit the Party unless I promised to marry him. I told him that to quit the CCP would be for his own well-being. I said that I was married and as long as he quit the CCP, he would find a lady quickly. He still insisted that I marry him.
In my mind, this was a good opportunity to validate the Fa. I said many things, including that Master Li asked practitioners to be good, follow the principles Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and be of high morals. The CCP’s atheism is the reason for the moral degradation in China and occurred because people no longer believe in the existence of gods. People no longer remember the 5,000 years of divine culture. They do not even believe that “Good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil.”
He no longer demanded that I marry him. He said he had to hang up and asked me to call him back at a certain time and date. When I called, there was a lot of noise, and he said he was drinking tea with friends and could not talk. I called him seven times, and he always said he was busy and to call back. When I called the eighth time, I explained to him the importance of withdrawing from the CCP. He said I was a compassionate person and asked me to sing a song for him.
I sang “Falun Dafa Is Good.” While I sang, I recalled the suffering that Master endured for us. Dafa was slandered, so many sentient beings were deceived, and fellow practitioners in China were persecuted. All of these made me emotional. With tears in my eyes, I sang the song for him.
Finally, the man told me he was actually a CCP member and worked at a court in Anhui Province. He gave me his real name and asked me to help him withdraw from the Party. He also hoped that he could publicize the information on the website of his community to persuade others to quit as well. Then, he told me he was married. I know this was Master’s arrangement to test my patience.
Fellow practitioners on the RTC platform coordinate with one another quite well. We encourage each other, form one body, and interact like a big family. This environment encourages me to do the three things well. We persist and make good use of every single minute to make phone calls.
I work during the day, so I have only two hours in the evening to make calls. Quite often, I held the thought that I should not waste a single minute. Thus, I could complete a call and achieve a withdrawal within minutes. I know this is Master’s encouragement for me.
In an experience sharing session on the RTC platform, a practitioner said that he sets a target for himself every day. I was highly motivated by that. I could help up to 6 people to quit the Party every evening. Therefore, I decided that I had to increase this to eight people. The next day, I managed to help 8 people quit the CCP. Isn’t this amazing? This made me realize that every thought of Dafa disciples has power. I must set a target for twelve people for tomorrow.
It is true that “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Zhuan Falun)
As long as a Dafa disciple is determined to save people, Master will bring predestined sentient beings to him/her. Today, I successfully accomplished my target. I did save 12 people. Thank you, Master.
Master always reminds practitioners to cultivate as they did in the beginning. Making phone calls to save people also needs to be as we did in the beginning. All of the challenges are tests of whether we can persevere, and every of them is an opportunity to raise our cultivation level. It is up to us. I hope practitioners can encourage one another and strive forward in their cultivation.
I certainly have many shortcomings. I hope I can do better and make sure that I do not fall short of Master’s expectations.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2015 Taiwan Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)