(Minghui.org) I have practiced Falun Dafa for 12 years.
A practitioner in my Fa study group had been coughing for a long time, annoying another practitioner, who refused to join the group. About one month later, this practitioner passed away from illness karma. Coincidentally, the practitioner who used to cough no longer coughs.
After this happened, we felt bad for the practitioner's death. Meanwhile, we realized that, upon seeing issues with others, we need to look inward. The reason issues occurred with another practitioner is probably caused by our own human notions. The more we are attached to that, the more other practitioners would behave that way.
One practitioner in my Fa-study group speaks very loudly, and it sounds like thunder. Even people throughout the building could hear him. Since we hold our Fa-study at night, I often reminded him to lower his voice. I suggested that this would avoid disturbing others and ensure our safety.
Although this practitioner nodded in agreement every time and said he would pay attention to it, his voice was still loud. After some time I held a negative opinion of him, thinking, "How could he be so selfish and ignore his surroundings?" Because of my negative feelings, my attitude when I spoke to him changed.
Master said,
“Even in this class, there are people who think quite highly of themselves right now and speak with a different attitude. It is taboo even in Buddhism for one to find out what one is all about.” (Zhuan Falun)
I realized my attitude was wrong and it was time for me to look within. In fact, it was me who wanted to change others and when that failed, my jealousy and looking down upon others surfaced. How could I force my standard onto others and expect them to change them instead of cultivating myself? I think that his loud voice was probably targeting my jealousy. I was able to calm down and I reminded myself to pay attention to cultivating. Interestingly, when I met that practitioner later, I was no longer bothered by his loud voice, and it seemed he was better at controlling how loudly he spoke. From this I learned that, when I do well myself, other practitioners also change. Once again, I truly experienced how wonderful Falun Dafa cultivation is.
There are many instances when surroundings changed after I looked within. I learned that it does not matter who is right or wrong, I need to focus on my human notions to correct myself. This is a process of letting go of myself and be more considerate of others. That is, I need to understand others, focus on the strength of others, and cherish others more. I think this is a manifestation of compassion.
My mother is also a practitioner and we used to have many conflicts between us. After continued Fa-study and looking within, we were able to help and complement each other.
One day after coming back from distributing materials, she told me that a person threw the materials on the ground. Although she picked them up, she was very upset because this was the first time she saw someone throwing away materials. She said she would clarify the truth about Dafa to that person if they met again.
Although she had handed out the materials, I had produced them, so I needed to look inward.
There were printing errors, which was an indication that I had slacked off in cultivation and did not concentrate when preparing them. Nonetheless, I did not want to waste them. So I decided to use good materials for mailing, because the first impression is very important, and gave those with printing errors to my mother. I thought that she usually clarified the truth before handing out materials, so I thought this would probably be all right.
This was a selfish thought, which I decided to eliminate. Plus, every piece of paper could be a living being in another dimension and we should cherish it. In fact, producing truth-clarification materials looks simple, but it is beyond everyday society's techniques. It is a process of our validating the Fa and requires our righteous thoughts.
Sometimes Mother and I go out together to clarify the truth. Seeing that I am young, someone asked me, “I thought only the elderly practiced Falun Dafa." I explained that practitioners were from all walks of life, including college students, PhD's, professors, as well as children. After I said this, people became more receptive. Mother and I realized that young people should also come out to validate the Fa and clarify the truth.
Shortly after that, I came across another problem. I was born in the 80s, but because I practice Falun Dafa, I look like I'm in my 20s or even younger. There are some experience-sharing articles that practitioners use such examples for truth-clarification. But I did not do so because of privacy issues.
When I talked to an older coworker about Dafa, she asked how old I was. Thinking she was my colleague, I told her my age. She was surprised and then asked if I had been married. Upon hearing I did not have a boyfriend, she could not understand it and asked why. I regretted telling her my age and just mumbled something.
Learning from that lesson, I became more reluctant to tell others my name and sometimes simply smiled. Later I realized it was related to fear, but I did not have a better solution.
Recently, I came to understand that the fear and overprotecting myself without trust is an outgrowth of the indoctrination by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The other day I talked to a taxi driver and he asked my age. I immediately dismissed the question and later told him I was born in the 80s. He said I looked much younger and I explained that cultivation practice would have these benefits.
A practitioner once told me that when she told others about Falun Dafa, people trusted her because they could feel her seriousness and sacredness. Thinking about her words, I realized that I lacked this in my heart. In fact, truth-clarification is not only about our words and actions, but also our heart.