Recent Insights From Looking Within

(Minghui.org) Reading fellow practitioners’ sharing articles on Minghui.org every day greatly helps me to look inward and improves my cultivation. Whenever I fall short, our compassionate Master always guides me to articles related to the issue, inspiring my righteous thoughts and helping me view problems from the perspective of the Fa (teachings). I deeply believe that as long as I can access Minghui.org, I can keep up with Fa-rectification.

Memorizing the Fa and Looking Within to Resolve Longstanding Conflicts

My husband and I have been married for seven years, but I used to have conflicts with my mother-in-law (also a practitioner) because of our differing views. Although we are both Falun Dafa practitioners we did not follow Master’s teachings to look within. Instead, we grew further apart because we were influenced by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture and we wished to validate ourselves. Only after experiencing a major setback did I realize the seriousness of this problem and I began to genuinely improve my xinxing.

Whenever I had free time, I listened to Disintegrating the Culture of the Chinese Communist Party and related articles. I memorized Hong Yin VI. After reciting it three times, I memorized Hong Yin V. Following this, I felt Master had removed many bad substances from me, including my modern notions. The first time I read those poems, I noticed Master frequently mentioned “modern notions.” I was initially confused and asked the other practitioners, “What are modern notions?” But their responses did not answer my question.

While I memorized the Fa, Master helped me recognize the many modern notions I held. The most common one was causing my ongoing conflicts with my mother-in-law. I was controlled by negative influences, so I did not respect my elders. This exemplifies the CCP’s anti-tradition culture. After I recognized what I was doing, I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the degenerated notions and substances. During the process of removing them, they constantly projected thoughts into my mind about how bad my mother-in-law was. When this happened, I focused on eliminating those thoughts. After a while, no matter what my mother-in-law said or did, I was no longer moved. I eventually realized that she was truly a wonderful person. Although her words weren’t always pleasant, I could sense that she was genuinely thinking about us. Once I elevated my understanding based on the Fa, my mother-in-law became more agreeable.

However, a thick layer of ice does not form overnight. The degenerated substances between her and me had built up over many years, so they sometimes resurfaced. Most of the time, I can maintain my xinxing. But recently, we argued again over some trivial matter. Her words sounded harsh to me, and she often seemed to go against me, which impacted me greatly. I sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the jealousy, competitiveness, resentment, and self-validation that I had formed later in life, but I still felt I hadn’t identified the root cause of the problem.

I read an article on Minghui.org in which a practitioner talked about how she often clashed with her mother during xinxing tests. Sending righteous thoughts helped a little, but wasn’t completely effective. She said that Master revealed in a dream that these were old forces’ arrangements. After she sent righteous thoughts to eliminate them, her mindset shifted, and she developed compassion for her mother. I also sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the old forces’ arrangements. I noticed some improvement, but it still felt like there was a substance in my heart blocking me. I thought, I need to calm down and study the Fa. Through studying the Fa, I finally found the root problem. Once I identified it, I was able to recognize and restrain it whenever it surfaced. Gradually, the substance weakened. At the same time, Master carefully arranged to help me remove these bad substances and elevate.

After I finally removed the bad substances, I felt an incredible sense of ease and joy both physically and mentally. I no longer focused on my mother-in-law’s shortcomings; instead, I only saw her good qualities. Because she practices Falun Dafa, she is in good health and is energetic. She takes care of all the heavy housework, from morning till night, and never seems to get tired.

One day, I heard my mother-in-law say that running around outside every day with my child made her tired. This was the first time in many years I heard her say this. I finally realized how much she had been doing for our big family all these years. Most importantly, during this final stage of Fa-rectification, in order for my husband and me to have more time to study the Fa and do the exercises (my husband only began practicing last year), my mother-in-law spent most of her time helping us take care of our child. She said, “I’ve cultivated for more than 20 years, and I’ve studied the Fa and practiced the exercises much more than you. You two should study the Fa together more.” Only lives cultivated by following Falun Dafa’s teachings can reach this level of selflessness and dedication.

Eliminating My Cell Phone Addiction

I was addicted to my cell phone and couldn’t restrain myself—I wasted hours watching everyday people’s videos and shopping on Taobao. I read practitioners’ sharing articles about how they eliminated their cell phone addiction. When I realized how many practitioners had been persecuted by the old forces because they couldn’t stop browsing news or videos—some had sickness karma and even passed away—I realized it was truly dangerous to indulge myself like this. I decided I must put my phone down. For quite a while, I was able to stop looking at it. But a few days ago, I wanted to buy some skincare products. A practitioner recommended a product she used, but it was expensive. When I got home, my attachment to personal gain surfaced, “Let me check Taobao to see if there is a lower price.” I ended up browsing for over an hour because I also looked at clothing. I was once again focused on my appearance. Afterwards, these bad substances lingered in my field, giving rise to lust. I kept looking at myself in the mirror, and I realized I paid too much attention to how I looked.

Looking at the phone can lead me to develop wrong thoughts. Yesterday morning while memorizing the Fa, I suddenly thought about a relative who opposed Dafa and influenced her family’s attitude toward it. “Why didn’t she come over for dinner that day? Did she become sick as retribution?” The moment this thought arose, I knew it was wrong. We are here to help Master save people—how could I wish for a being to suffer retribution? In my heart I said, “Master, I was wrong. This bad thought is not me. I don’t want it.” That entire morning, I felt something was off, but I didn’t know what the problem was.

After sending righteous thoughts at noon, practitioner Feng came to visit me. A few minutes later I suddenly felt very dizzy. I grabbed the table, then collapsed to the floor, losing consciousness. After I slowly regained full awareness, I realized Feng had been shaking me and telling me to call out to Master.

She said, “You scared me. That was terrifying.” I asked, “What happened?” She said, “You don’t remember? You collapsed on the floor, your eyes rolled upward, your tongue stuck out, and you were almost foaming at the mouth.”

She joined me as I sat on the floor and talked about what happened. Before she left she reminded me to send righteous thoughts more often. We planned to go to the countryside that evening to help another practitioner to write an experience sharing article. She said, “Don’t push yourself. You should focus on validating Dafa.”

After sending righteous thoughts and looking inward, I was certain the addiction to my cell phone was the main reason the old forces took advantage of me this time. Attachments, such as lust, pursuit of gain, resentment, and showing off surfaced. I made up my mind to eliminate my addiction to my phone, and I uninstalled Taobao. I previously deleted other apps, but I kept Taobao, using excuses like, “I’ll only use it to buy necessities online.” In reality, the old forces were interfering with my righteous thoughts, and I wasn’t even aware of it. After sending righteous thoughts, I still felt a little dizzy and wondered, “Am I still able to visit the practitioner tonight?” I immediately thought, “This is interfering with my validating the Fa. I’m in control of my body. I must go.” As soon as I had that thought, the dizziness disappeared.

I hope my experiences can serve as a reminder to other practitioners that we must clearly recognize this “cell phone demon.” Don’t think, “I’ve looked at my phone and nothing happened to me.” Master gave me many opportunities and waited for me to improve. Yet I repeatedly failed to upgrade myself and I treated Master’s compassion lightly. I promise Master that I will truly eliminate this attachment. Fellow practitioners, please be vigilant.

These are some of my recent cultivation experiences. Please kindly point out anything not aligned with the Fa.