(Minghui.org) Although I started to practice Falun Dafa at the age of seven, I did not really understand what self-cultivation was all about.
When I reached middle school, I learned that Master asked us to study the Fa, send righteous thoughts, and tell the public about the persecution. By the time I reached high school, I had memorized Zhuan Falun and felt comfortable talking to my classmates about Dafa.
I did surprisingly well on the high school entrance exam and was admitted to the best school in the area, which was a boarding school. Unfortunately, that meant I was no longer in a good environment that encouraged Fa study. Although I still recited the Fa occasionally, I became very involved in everyday things and started to develop many human attachments.
After entering college, I started dating and watching television, and I spent a lot of time playing computer games and surfing the Internet. My disinterest in Dafa was all encompassing! Atheism and scientific concepts occupied my mind.
On vacation before my senior year in college, my mother encouraged me to study the Fa intensively.
It was difficult, because I couldn’t concentrate no matter how hard I tried. So we reread each paragraph several times until I could truly understand and absorb what I read.
After about a month, I suddenly felt that a heavy substance had left me and that a wave of energy was now connecting me with Dafa.
I realized that many young practitioners, who used to practice Dafa with their parents, stopped practicing due to the allure of the Internet and smart phones. They immersed themselves in modern culture and thought they were enjoying life.
After studying the Fa diligently, I understood the importance of telling people about the goodness of Dafa. During my senior year in college, many of my classmates did not know much about Dafa. After I explained the facts about the persecution, they understood the importance of withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations.
After graduation, I was offered a job near my home. I joined a Fa study group and became more comfortable talking about Dafa to strangers.
Clarifying the truth face-to-face exposed many of my attachments, such as being afraid of losing face, seeking comfort, having a confrontational attitude, etc. I worked hard on eliminating them.
I somehow could only help a few people quit the Party and realized that, when we expose the persecution, a major battle between good and evil takes place in another dimension.
I came to understand that as long as I believed in Master and Fa, I had the ability to convince people about the preciousness of Falun Dafa. With this thought in my head, people seemed to change and were willing to listen to me.
Master said:
“Whether they're receptive or not, you should always treat them with compassion, and you can't get competitive with ordinary people or look at sentient beings with human thoughts. Just do whatever you should with compassion, regardless of whether they're receptive or not.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Washington DC Fa Conference” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference IV)
I then understood that, as a Dafa disciple, I should always keep a steady heart and merciful attitude.
Last August, my mother was arrested when she was talking to people about Dafa in a small town. She was taken to the township detention center.
In the past, I had not participated in any rescue efforts due to my attachments to fear and seeking comfort. This time, I did not have any excuse.
I went with other practitioners to the detention center. We first sent righteous thoughts outside the center and then demanded my mother's release. The guards yelled at us and forced us out of the building. We sent more righteous thoughts and tried again—without success.
This was a terrible blow to my self-esteem. I had never been yelled at in my life. I felt humiliated but soon realized it was a good opportunity to get rid of my attachments to pride and the fighting mentality. I kept repeating in my mind, “Eliminate them!”
Upon returning home, we shared our thoughts and realized that we had only thought about rescuing my mother and not about helping the guards understand the facts about Dafa.
When we returned to the detention center the next day, we focused on stopping the guards from doing bad things. Many practitioners stayed outside and sent righteous thoughts non-stop. The guards were nicer than the day before, but the detention center director refused to talk to us.
After discussing the issue, we decided to hang banners and posters with Dafa information in the town that night. The next day, some of us sent righteous thoughts, some clarified the truth to the police officers and guards, while others exposed the persecution to the public. Many people agreed to quit the CCP.
We returned to town daily, kept sending righteous thoughts, and talked to people about Dafa until my mother was released 10 days later.