(Minghui.org)
Greetings esteemed Master and fellow practitioners,
It has been 18 years since I began to cultivate in Dafa. After I emigrated from China to Toronto, Canada, I was at a loss. My lifestyle changed drastically, from being a well-established manager in China to being an unknown in Toronto. However, Teacher's Fa had taken root in my heart, and it made me confident that I would integrate well into Toronto's practitioner community.
Master said:
“Dafa disciples as a whole have passed the stage of personal cultivation. At present, because the enormous current of Fa-rectification is charging forward, the stage of Dafa disciples’ validating the Fa is approaching completion and history is about to enter a new phase. From now on, the Dafa disciples in China as much as anyone, both new students and veterans alike, should let go of their long-standing human attachments and start to seize the day and comprehensively save the world’s people. Once the current time period is over, the first large-scale process of weeding out sentient beings will begin.” (“Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World’s People”)
I went to tourist sites during the day and made phone calls to China in the evening. After some time, I joined the Divine Land Marching Band and did the three things well.
I was immersed in cultivation and understood that, without this path arranged by Master, without the cultivation environment that I am in, it would be impossible to purify myself within a relatively short time. Although I cannot express my gratitude to Master, I can show it by doing the three things well.
I had not expected how deeply and widely Party culture had infiltrated even Falun Dafa practitioners' psyches in China and how it could impede Dafa projects outside of China.
Given my position, I had dealt with Communist Party officials at various levels, all the way up to the Vice Premier. Even before I gained the Fa, I knew that the hope for China was not with them, because of their mentality and behavior.
After I began to practice Falun Dafa and studied the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, I gained a comprehensive and profound understanding of the true nature of the CCP. However, it had eluded me when it comes to how the Party culture affects practitioners in China and how it affects the Fa-rectification outside of China.
Master repeatedly taught us about this in recent lectures. Thus, I finally decided to seriously look at my own words and behavior. As I witnessed the behaviors of other practitioners near me, I realized how widely Party culture has made its mark.
We are Falun Dafa practitioners, and many of the veteran practitioners started cultivation prior to July 20, 1999. We have been tempered by the Fa for 20 years, but elements of Party culture continue to hold us in their grasp. This made me realize the urgency of eliminating Party culture in order for us to effectively assist Master in the Fa-rectification.
The Nine Commentaries have expounded on the origin and the nature of the CCP, as well as the harm it has caused to humankind. The CCP has systematically destroyed traditional Chinese culture through indoctrination and “thought reform.”
It established a system of Party culture that can be also seen in speech and behavior patterns. People who have grown up in a system where Party culture dominates are different from people from a normal society. The behavior of people from a communist-governed country is not acceptable in a normal society.
The book Disintegrate Party Culture says, “Every word, behavior, and thought of the Chinese people is influenced by Party culture. People have fallen victim to it and yet are not aware of it. Thus, it is extremely hard for people to eliminate and rectify it.”
I have noticed that practitioners from China, including myself, share some commonalities, including a strong attachment to showing off and being argumentative, jealous, self-centered, inconsiderate, and oblivious to proper etiquette. These traits are demonstrated in our daily lives and when working on Dafa projects. These traits are not exhibited by practitioners from Taiwan. One can see the differences when the two groups of people interact.
When I was clarifying the truth in Chinatown in 2013, a man who looked like a north-easterner from China approached me. He said, “You're so obstinate. You look like Liu Hulan,” and then walked away. I did not pay attention to what he said, because I did not care. Then, he said the same thing to me a few months later, which made me think. Why did he say that to me twice? Liu Hulan was a Party role model and a household name of someone who was very combative.
If I had not gained the Fa and did not know about the Party culture, I would have been happy to hear that. However, I had cultivated in Dafa for 20 years and thought about it further.
Why would people see me like that? It could only mean that the Party culture had been implanted deep into my soul and was showing on the surface. Master said, “the appearance stems from the mind.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference X)
I was shocked. How could I reach Consummation if I do not discard Party culture? I was determined to eliminate it.
However, being combative is a trait that permeates the CCP’s actions. It is also the governing rule. It has been instilled into people’s minds. Chinese people who grew up in China are truly combative, and it is very difficult to eliminate.
To help me get rid of my combativeness in 2013, I found myself in situations where people at the tourist sites yelled and pointed their fingers at me. I used to chase the tourists to debate them, to overwhelm them with my eloquence. I thought that I was being diligent and holding righteous thoughts.
With more Fa study and sharing with other practitioners, I realized that my behavior was based on Party culture. So, when I sent righteous thoughts, I made sure that I eliminated anything the Party had instilled in me. I also read two lectures daily instead of one.
Then, I felt that my combative attitude was replaced by kinder thoughts. As a result, I no longer come across people who yell at me, and I am able to persuade more people to quit the CCP.
Of course, I did not let go of my Party culture traits just like that. I made a phone call to a prison guard in 2015. After he listened to me for ten minutes or so, he began to disparage Master and Dafa. I got agitated, raised my voice, and said a few words that I thought carried a lot of weight. Then he said, “Your heart is beating faster, your voice is higher, and your heart was moved. You still need to cultivate more.” Then he hung up.
This came as a shock to me. For the first time, I felt that he knew how to respond in this confrontation between good and evil. He seemed to know the trigger point in my mind.
I thought that I had to call him back to tell him that it was a crime for him to disparage Dafa and Master. But no matter how many times I called, he did not pick up the phone. Then I calmed down and reflected on this issue and realized that this was a hint from Master to help me improve my xinxing and eliminate this attachment completely.
Because the CCP maintains its rule by deception and violence, lying and embellishment are characteristics of its Party culture. No Chinese is immune to that.
One day at a tourist site, the coordinator said, “You're not all that honest.” I felt insulted. Ever since I started cultivation, I thought that I had done very well when it came to “Truthfulness,” the first of the three Dafa principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. How could this be possible?
Although I asked her to give me an example that shows why she thought that I was not truthful, she had no concrete example. She responded that she just had this feeling. I experienced a range of emotions, such as resentment, disbelief, and anger.
Master said:
“But normally when a problem arises, if it does not irritate a person psychologically, it does not count or is useless and cannot make him or her improve.” (Zhuan Falun)
“When a conflict occurs among one another, it is very difficult to control one’s mind. I say that it would be easy if everything could be taken care of in the sitting meditation; however, it will not always be this way.” (Zhuan Falun)”
All of a sudden, I understood. I realized that my dishonesty factor had been really well hidden. Now, I am grateful to her.
I was not always completely truthful. For example, I did not say why my U.S. visa was not granted, only that it was almost ready. I was going to apply again and hoped that I would get it. In addition, I resented the fact that other practitioners invaded my privacy with their questions. I usually just avoided giving an answer.
Master said:
“Any type of habit that you form is in fact a material product. In other dimensions that material is there, and only thus does that state manifest here in this dimension.” (“Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference X)
“The evil specter behind the wicked Party has used people in this world to harm others. If those who live under the wicked Party’s rule can manage to see it for what it is, there is hope for them. Those who refuse to forsake it will disintegrate together with it in the mass elimination. Dafa disciples need to stay clearheaded while they do their best at the three things.” (“Stay Clearheaded”)
This incident reminded me that telling lies is something instilled in us by the evil specter of the CCP. From then on, I paid much more attention to cultivating my words and actions. I should not tell even white lies, because I am a Falun Dafa practitioner.
The CCP is an evil specter. People indoctrinated by the CCP are extremely selfish and self-focused. They don’t consider others, nor do they consider the consequences of their actions or pay attention to details. All these traits are shown in the behavior of practitioners when they do Dafa projects.
On my way home on a train, there were over 20 English language Dafa flyers strewn about the train compartment. I thought that they must have been distributed by practitioners who did not speak English. It also showed that people were not accepting these flyers. The practitioner did not consider whether they will be accepted. In addition to not being able to save people, it damaged the image of Falun Dafa. I reminded myself to learn from this. I must think about how other people feel.
Master said:
“Over the last several decades, the gradual and at times imperceptible indoctrination and influence of the evil CCP’s Party culture has made the Chinese people’s disposition warped, including that of some Dafa disciples, making them think about things in extreme ways—to the point that their thinking is completely different from that of people abroad or of people in ancient, traditional China. Mainland China has well over a billion people, and through gradual indoctrination their minds have become deviant without their knowing it.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference”)
I enlightened that the Party culture has brought disaster to the Chinese people and attachments to practitioners, barriers to our cultivation, and obstructions to Dafa projects.
During the final stage of Fa-rectification, let us check if we are still imbued with the Party culture and cherish other people’s comments. Let us cultivate well and do the three things well.
Thank you, esteemed Master and fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2016 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)