(Minghui.org) My husband started practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. He miraculously recovered from cirrhosis of the liver soon after. His attitude also improved, and he became kinder.
I was convinced of the power and benefits of Dafa upon witnessing his improvements. However, when my husband asked me to practice, I politely refused.
I often read new articles by Teacher Li with my husband and also helped print Dafa informational materials and made banners for promotional activities. But at the time, I thought that I couldn't commit myself to being a practitioner because I liked playing mahjong with our neighbors every day.
In order to direct me to the path of cultivation, Teacher arranged for my fellow mahjong players to cause trouble with me for no apparent reason. Eventually, I stopped hanging out with them. With my husband's encouragement, I started to practice Falun Dafa in 2003.
I assisted my husband at a materials production site, where we printed information about Falun Dafa and the persecution by the communist government. We then provided them for local practitioners to distribute. Due to the loud noise the printers made, we had to move from one rented place to another to avoid being found by the authorities. I had just started practicing and didn't have any fear.
Teacher said,
“Should you have fear,it will seize upon youIf thoughts are righteous,evil will collapseThe cultivator’s mindis loaded with FaSend righteous thoughts,and rotten demons explodeGods walk the earth,validating the Fa” (“What's to Fear” in Hong Yin II)
“All of you are already aware of the principle of mutual-generation and mutual-inhibition. If you are not afraid, the factor that would make you afraid will cease to exist.” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)” in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Several practitioners who were good at using computers were later arrested. This left the printing and supplying of Dafa books and materials in our area unattended. So some practitioners and I decided to take up the reins and do this ourselves.
We didn't have the technical know-how at first, but after doing research on websites run by Dafa practitioners, we were eventually able to print the materials to meet our local needs.
We stopped using the large materials production site a year later, and started to produce materials in our own homes. A practitioner gave me an inkjet printer, and I produced materials for several elderly practitioners to distribute. Thanks to Teacher's strengthening and protection, the materials production site at my home has been running smoothly for the past few years.
Looking Within and Cultivating the “Self”
Before becoming a practitioner, I had a strong attachment to pursuing fame. In the first several years of practice, I didn't really pay much attention to looking within and cultivating myself. As a result, I often had a hard time when practitioners pointed out my shortcomings. I thought that I worked very diligently and put in a lot of effort, so I was very upset and felt wronged when I heard these comments.
I once had a disagreement with an elderly practitioner. I felt that she was being unfair and told her, “I've tried to think of you. Why can't you think of me?” I told my husband about this when I got home. He asserted, “It's you who was wrong. You need to look within.” I recalled that Teacher told us to look within for shortcomings and to consider others' needs. I then realized that I was wrong in demanding that others think of me.
My feeling of being treated unfairly disappeared after realizing this. I knew that I hadn't been following Dafa’s teachings closely or cultivating myself using the standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Thus, the old forces manipulated my attachments to create barriers between me and the elder practitioner, which prevented us from working well together.
Regardless of how others treat me, I must let go of my attachments and diligently cultivate myself. I should not allow any barriers to form among us practitioners.
Teacher would be disappointed if I allowed this to happen, and the old forces would be pleased. Ever since I identified my wrongdoing in the conflict, the practitioner and I have been working very well together.
Teacher Saved Me
I suddenly felt unbearably uncomfortable on my way to work one December morning in 2010. Everything started turning black before my eyes. I stopped my bicycle and held on to a pole at the side of the road to stop myself from losing balance and falling over. I shouted in my heart, “Master, please save me!”
Immediately, a clean and cool feeling penetrated my body from head to toe, and I quickly returned to normal.
My coat was drenched in sweat when I got to work. My co-workers were stunned when I told them what had happened. I kept vomiting and going to the washroom throughout the day, but managed to complete my work.
My boss gave me a lift home after work, and I returned to the next day as if nothing had happened. My boss and co-workers witnessed the power of Dafa.
I still have a long way to go in my cultivation and will strive to do better in the three things that Teacher asks us to do.
Category: Improving Oneself
