(Clearwisdom.net) I would like to report to Master and fellow practitioners our progress in cultivation last year.
I started practicing Falun Gong in 1996. Over the last twelve years I have never stopped doing the three things, although there were cases where I wish I could do more. One outstanding issue for me is that I have a bad temper. Every so often I'd forget that I was a practitioner, leading to many regrets. In Zhuan Falun Master stated, "...as a practitioner one should not fight back when being punched or insulted." I should pay special attention to this issue.
How can one become a real practitioner? The only way is to listen to Master and do what Master says. After studying "Fa-Teaching Given to Australian Practitioners" we understood that group study could improve our xinxing very quickly. Hence, we set up our group with a little over ten people. We all felt that we were improving our xinxing faster and did better in carrying out the "three things" than before.
The most obvious improvement after group study was that there was a noticeable diminishing of "fear." During the Olympics, officials of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came to ask for our identity cards. None of us gave them to them. Instead we took the opportunity to clarify the facts about Falun Gong.
One day a CCP official in our village came to my house to ask for my identity card. I used the opportunity to advise him to make the three withdrawals. He happily accepted saying, "Yes. I know Falun Gong has spread worldwide."
During the Olympics our group study met every day. After the Olympics no official came to ask for our identity cards. There is no CCP official interfering with our work to this very day.
During the Olympics officials in our village set up a check point near my house. My eldest son said, "Let us wait and see before going out to distribute flyers, because we are so close to the check point." I replied, "I know how to take care of myself. When no one is around, to whom do we give out flyers and clarify the facts? Don't worry." A few days later, he noticed that nothing happened. He told me happily, "Let us do what we should." He understood the importance of listening to Master. He had an awakening.
My husband and I were having breakfast one day, when he mentioned that it would be unwise to continue doing the "three things" during the Olympics. He had been a supporter of Falun Gong. I knew he said so out of fear. I was calm and replied with a smile, "As you know all my illnesses are gone. If I stop my practice, there is no telling what may happen. Now, Falun Gong is being slandered and practitioners are being persecuted. Is it right for me to hide? The CCP has committed the greatest sin. When you try to stop me, are you not siding with the CCP? When heaven destroys the CCP, what would happen to you?" He understood what I said and happily agreed.
What has happened is the result of our deepened understanding resulting from group study. We start our group Fa study at noon and it lasts until three o'clock. We send forth righteous thoughts on the hour three times. Whenever there was a difficulty, we look at it from the standpoint of the Fa not of human views. When a problem arises, we look within ourselves. This is how we have moved forward and followed Master.
My level of understanding is limited. If I stated anything improper, please point it out to me.
