(Minghui.org) I attended the Washington DC Fahui this year and just by observing the Chinese practitioners, I could observe a lot of my shortcomings.
Master said:
“We have said that good or evil comes from a person’s spontaneous thought, and the thought at that moment can bring about different consequences.” (Zhuan Falun)
In the first meeting I attended with Chinese practitioners, a thought was triggered in my mind: I was not surefooted in Dafa, due to the attachment of fear. I was vacillating, not trusting myself as a Dafa disciple, wavering between being an ordinary person and a practitioner, lacking confidence in myself, and using it as an excuse to not be diligent in doing the three things.
On the day of the lecture when I saw Master walk onto the stage, I felt that I missed Him so much, and I cried. The last time I saw Master in person was last year, at the New York experience-sharing conference. A lot of my understandings about the lecture were on a human level, and I was falling asleep during the question and answer session. But when this question came up, I was very alert and aware:
“Disciple: I’m a European practitioner. I found that I’m being controlled by an attachment every day and constantly look at my cellphone and computer and have wasted a lot of time. I tried to free myself from such a state but without success. I’d like to ask benevolent Master to tell me how to enhance willpower and get rid of it.
Master: Buy a cellphone that can’t access the internet. (All disciples laugh loudly, applaud) (Master smiles) If you want to overcome it, there surely is a way. Do you know that many young disciples at the Mountain, to avoid interference, have only one phone and don’t go online?”
My other shortcoming immediately became clear. From that point on, I was very alert during Master’s lecture.
Being able to see Master in person is an honor that I did not value, due to attachments that I had not let go of, not trusting and valuing myself, and due to my attachment to the Internet. I was wavering not just in cultivation, but also on the Internet! It sounds like a joke, but it was very real.
Finally, on the day of the candlelight vigil, my husband and I saw another Brazilian practitioner, an elderly lady, right in the front, even though there was an enormous number of practitioners. She often feared being alone because she does not speak English, but she was very brave this time. She got a taxi and came to the candlelight vigil by herself, without any help. When we saw her, she was very happy and at ease. I will talk more about this practitioner later in this article.
On the day we were to return to Brazil, my husband and I first went to practice the exercises. As I was just beginning the first exercise, I felt unbearable menstrual cramps, the worst I had in my life. I decided to finish the first exercise.
We then headed to a bakery. On the way there, I felt like I was about to faint. I had to sit, rest a bit, regain strength, and continue on. When we arrived at the bakery, I saw myself in the mirror, and I looked like a ghost, very pale. I thought I was bearing a lot of karma, which was manifesting in my entire body.
Finally, when we sat down, my husband looked very serious, like he was worried, but he was also encouraging me. I turned on the Guangzhou Dafa lectures recording that I had on my cellphone, and I said to my husband, “I trust in Master, everything will be OK!” From then on, the pain was more bearable, and it almost stopped. We decided to get a taxi, because I was lacking the strength to continue walking and taking the subway. At the airport, I felt like nothing had happened. The pain had disappeared completely, and I had strength again.
It was one of the worst pains I ever had in my life. I was very aware that the first thought that I had was that I trusted in Master and everything would be OK!
Back in Brazil, we started to be more diligent, practicing the exercises every day and studying the Fa with the group. When Master’s lecture was translated to Portuguese, I read it with my husband.
Practitioners in Brazil Follow the Minghui Notice Only after a Painful Lesson
On the day of the Minghui notice about uninstalling Skype, WeChat, etc. was published, the female practitioner I mentioned above, who was at the candlelight vigil, fainted at her home with stroke symptoms. She lived with her daughter, who took her to the hospital, because she was not conscious. When all the practitioners learned of this, we sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate any evil factors that could interfere with her.
At the time, we were studying the Fa on Skype and planned to talk later about how to move to another, more secure program. But instead of following the Minghui notice, the majority of practitioners decided to keep Skype installed on one computer and use another computer for projects. For me, this was an example of practitioners not following the Minghui notice due to human attachments. Some of the practitioners in groups were still asking why we should follow Minghui notices anyway. This was not a small issue! I sent this to the group:
Master said:
“It is not that Minghui does not make mistakes, however, on important matters, practitioners watch the position of Minghui. The purpose of posting my photo and the article ‘The Knowing Heart’ on Minghui was to build a trustworthy website for practitioners.” (“On Important Matters, Practitioners Must Pay Attention to the Attitude of Minghui.org”)
I then decided to remove myself from the WhatsApp groups, because I felt I was considered a relevant practitioner, and with so many practitioners not following the security requirements, I thought it was a gap that could be exploited.
The day before, the practitioner at the hospital was able to move again, but she was weak. A Chinese female practitioner visited her for five minutes and reminded her to trust Master, be sure she was a Dafa practitioner, and that Master would save her.
Her daughter, a non-practitioner, was frightened and the doctors advised her mother to have surgery to remove the blood clot from her head. When the Chinese practitioner visited her, she had strength in her arms, and she could move and speak normally. The Chinese practitioner asked her, since she seemed ok, if she would have the operation. She said that she was feeling no discomfort and she decided, even though with some fear, “I do not want to have this surgery.”
But the next day her daughter sent a text message to the Chinese practitioner, saying that her mother had opted for the surgery. Two weeks the practitioner was considered brain dead. She died on July 19.
In Teaching the Fa in Washington D.C. in 2018, Master said:
“So don’t slack off! Once you slack off, the old forces will find the gap they can exploit, and they can even take your life. There are simply too many such examples and painful lessons! Of course, it’s not always like that. Some people cultivated very well, but in order to help others cultivate, the old forces took their lives. There is no shortage of such cases, too.” (“Teaching the Fa in Washington D.C. in 2018”)
During the 14 days the practitioner was between life and death, all the practitioners were sending forth righteous thoughts. We could see the shortcomings of everyone, and a lot of human thoughts and attachments were emerging.
In the meantime, many of the practitioners were not paying attention to the July 20 activities. Besides the messages about the practitioner’s state of health, we were organizing activities in front of the Consulate and in Chinatown. For the activities on July 20, 16 practitioners were present, and we finished with a candlelight vigil in Chinatown.
The day the practitioner was cremated, I sent the Minghui notice again, because there were just too many practitioners who had not paid attention to it, nor considered the security of others. The practitioners finally decided to follow the notice. Some were still reluctant, but I was taking everything lightly now because I felt secure about the path Master has chosen for us.
Why should we take such a long time to follow what Master wants? Why wait for another “painful lesson?” I hope that we can reflect on this.
Please kindly point out anything that is not in accordance with the Fa.
Category: Improving Oneself
