(Clearwisdom.net) This is the 15th year since I started practicing Falun Gong. Looking back at the nine years of cultivation practice since the persecution started in 1999, I have learned a lot of lessons and gained cultivation insights. I have decided to share my humble insights on the most important issues: how to do the three things well and walk well on the path of validating the Fa. Please kindly point out anything you find erroneous in my article.
Persevering in Studying the Fa Well; Maintaining Righteous Thoughts and Actions
Teacher said,
"As a Dafa disciple, in order to do Fa-rectification things well and to consummate everything of yours well, you need to study the Fa a lot. No matter how busy you are, you cannot skip Fa-study. This is what can best ensure your reaching Consummation." ("A Message" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Teacher said,
"In order for Dafa disciples to walk their paths well and do the three things well, they must study the Fa well and take Fa-study seriously." ("To the Australia Fa Conference")
Teacher has pointed out the importance of studying the Fa and specifying the direction of our cultivation practice during the Fa-rectification period. Recalling the past years since the wicked Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the suppression of Falun Gong, I have always relied on my righteous thoughts grown from my persistent Fa-study in order to forge ahead. In the first two years of the persecution, when the persecution was most severe, I was often hampered by fear and many other attachments, which hindered me from stepping up to validate the Fa. Later, I managed to transform my bad mentality by studying the Fa and, hence, reinforcing my righteous thoughts. While validating the Fa, I had an epiphany that a cultivator would become an instrument of demons if he or she should stray from the Fa. I have since had a deeper understanding of the following passage of the Fa. Teacher said,
"The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts." ("Drive Out Interference" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
As new Falun Gong material sites were established and Teacher's articles and articles from minghui.ca became available to me, I continued to enhance my understanding of Fa-study and increased the frequency of my Fa-study.
During the past few years, I have spent two hours on Fa-study daily when there is no contingency. I spend two more hours practicing the five Falun Gong exercises daily. I spend the rest of my time validating the Fa. In terms of my approach to Fa-study, I follow Teacher's instructions and try to study the Fa without any notions. I try my best to study the Fa in tranquility and with concentration. If I find myself distracted by any thoughts, I repel them instantly to prevent distracting thoughts from jeopardizing my Fa-study. Each time Teacher publishes a new article, I study it several times in a row with concentration. If the new article is a short one, I will memorize it immediately.
My righteous thoughts have been enhanced by constantly studying the Fa and sharing with fellow practitioners. I can see things with righteous thoughts whenever any problem surfaces or when I try to clarify the truth, in particular, when I distribute truth-clarifying materials or when practitioners around me are subjected to persecution.
In recent years, I have studied Teacher's lectures and articles systematically and repeatedly. I feel that my xinxing has greatly improved. During Fa study, I often feel shaken by some paragraphs. When I consider this carefully, I realize that it is due to my shortcomings or an existing problem. Then I'll memorize this paragraph. I often recite it silently and let it guide my actions. In this way my righteous thoughts are enhanced and I have mastered the Fa skills to eliminate my attachments and repel the evil persecution and always assimilate into the Fa. When righteous thoughts arise, strong energies cover my entire body. All bad thoughts disappear whenever I recite the poems, "Benevolent Might", "Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions", "What's to Fear?", "The Master-Disciple Bond", "Plum Blossoms", "A Will That Ebbs Not".
Studying the Fa guarantees that I do the three things well and save more sentient beings during this severe persecution. Teacher said,
"In this situation where you can't see completely, as gods do, the real changes in yourself during your cultivation, you have instead been relying--amidst interference and the trials in which you painfully sever your attachments--on righteous thoughts that come from your constant study of Dafa, and you have been forging ahead." ("Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. International Fa Conference")
I understand deeply that it is Teacher and the Fa that give me righteous thoughts; give me wisdom; and give me the power and ability to eliminate the evil persecution. It is the protection from Teacher and Dafa that has made me walk steadily until today.
Value Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts; Assist Teacher to Validate the Fa
I have enlightened from reading the Fa that sending forth righteous thoughts plays an important role in assisting Teacher to validate the Fa. It can eliminate evil interference, reduce and stop brutal persecution, and save sentient beings. As Dafa disciples, we must cherish and value this rare opportunity and the great responsibility that Teacher endowed upon us.
I have experienced a gradual improvement in understanding the Fa since Teacher required us to send forth righteous thoughts, which he taught at "Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Canada" in May 2001. At first, although I knew it was important to assist Teacher and I knew that I needed to take it seriously, my understanding of the Fa was obviously far from what was required. First, I doubted whether I had the ability and whether it could be effective. Secondly, I did not understand the great significance of the Fa profoundly and did not pay enough attention to it. Thirdly, I could not achieve tranquility, and some thoughts kept distracting me, hindering my concentration. Therefore, I could not feel the mighty power when I sent forth righteous thoughts.
Teacher said at the "Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.",
"So you must take sending forth righteous thoughts seriously. No matter whether you think you have the ability or not, you should do it. What you eliminate from your own mind are ones which have an effect within the expanse of your own body; at the same time, you need to eliminate the external ones, which are directly related to the dimensions you're in. If you don't eliminate them, then they not only persecute you and restrain you, but also persecute other students, other Dafa disciples. As you know, the persecution that Dafa disciples in Mainland China suffer is quite severe, so each student has to truly, clearly realize what his responsibility is, and when he sends forth righteous thoughts he has to be able to truly calm his mind and truly produce the effect of righteous thoughts. So this is something extremely critical, extremely important."
Teacher said,
"Actually, every Dafa disciple has abilities. It's just that the abilities do not manifest in the surface dimension, so they think that they don't have supernormal abilities. But regardless of whether they can manifest in the surface dimension or not, when a person's True Thoughts come forth they are very powerful." ("Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Teacher's Lecture dissolved all my suspicion and lack of confidence. Teacher told us,
"In order to lessen the persecution of Dafa and Dafa disciples, I have asked disciples to send forth righteous thoughts to clear away the damage these beings deliberately do to the Fa-rectification, thereby lessening what Dafa disciples should not endure during the persecution and, at the same time, saving all sentient beings and consummating Dafa disciples' paradises." ("The Effects of Righteous Thoughts" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
The significance of sending forth righteous thoughts is to eliminate the evil beings, rectify the Fa, and save the world's people and sentient beings! Later in order to let us achieve effective results, Teacher told us in the article "Righteous Thoughts" how to send forth righteous thoughts and the associated requirements. Do we have any reason not to pay attention to it, or not to do it well?
Since it was published on minghui.ca that we need to send forth righteous thoughts four times a day, I have insisted on doing it without skipping any of them. Sometimes when I am outside on business at noon or 6:00 p.m., I still send forth righteous thoughts with concentration. At other times, I do this seriously according to the requirements and posture that Teacher asks of us. At midnight, I sometimes couldn't get up and missed the global time. In order to solve this problem, I do not go to sleep before midnight. Instead, I do my sitting meditation after 10:00 p.m. and finish it just before midnight and then I send forth righteous thoughts. After finishing the sitting meditation, my mind is clear and tranquil, and at this time I can send forth righteous thoughts with mighty power. This year, since minghui.ca arranged the exercises at two different times, I have done all five sets of exercises at night and can finish them before midnight. After sending forth righteous thoughts, I go to sleep. However, when I get up before 6:00 a.m., I do not feel tired at all. On the contrary, I feel energetic to start the day's work. Teacher once said that doing the exercises is the best way to become relaxed. It is absolutely another picture if we act with divine thoughts instead of human notions.
In addition to the four globally synchronized times, I also send forth righteous thoughts at various other times to reinforce the power of these thoughts. In this way, I send forth righteous thoughts six or seven times a day. These thoughts have mighty power, clear away the evil elements in other dimensions and behind people and let all environments be righteous whenever I walk on the street; ride in a bus; at other public places; or when I encounter police cars and patrolling workers.
I realize that sending forth righteous thoughts well itself enhances those thoughts and negates the old forces' arrangements and is a manifestation of walking well on the path of validating the Fa. These years I have been monitored by the police. They arrested practitioners several times on a large scale, but they have not done any bad things to me. On the surface, it is because the evil policemen have not gotten any evidence to persecute me. In fact, it is because of Teacher's protection, as well as my sending forth righteous thoughts.
Teacher said,
"The effect you've had eliminating the evil with righteous thoughts is truly significant. A great number of evil beings have been eliminated, and some have been partially eliminated. This has knocked the life out of them, has eradicated the evil in many dimensions not yet reached by the Fa-rectification, and has had the effect of eliminating and frightening the evil persons." ("The Effects of Righteous Thoughts" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
As Teacher's disciples, we must send forth righteous thoughts well, as long as the evil beings exist and not stop nor slack off. We will not stop until the end of the persecution.
Letting Go of Human Notions; Spreading the Truth Widely; Saving Sentient Beings
1. Break Through Human Attachments; Walk Well on the Path of Validating the Fa
When the persecution started, one policeman from the local police station monitored me. He came to my home very often and harassed and intimidated me. This went on for three years. Sometimes people from the State Security Bureau also harassed me. In this situation, all my human attachments appeared and interfered with me. I worried that my wife and child would get involved, and about losing my job. So I did not dare to step up to validate the Fa; I only studied the Fa and did the exercises at home, and occasionally shared insights with fellow practitioners in my home. Later when I read Teacher's lectures and Minghui articles, I realized how far I lagged behind Teacher's requirements. I decided to no longer confine myself to reading the Fa and doing the exercises at home. I should join the Fa-rectification surge of clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings as soon as possible. However, at that time, I did not know how to use a computer and did not have a printer, either, so I wrote letters. In May of 2001, I sent out my first hand-written truth-clarifying letter to Beijing and deep down in my heart felt sacred and honored, because I could participate in the Fa-rectification.
At the beginning of 2001, I started to read Teacher's lectures and articles and Minghui articles at other practitioners' places. In order to no longer have to wait for fellow practitioners to supply me with all these materials, I wanted to learn how to surf on-line and download these articles by myself, and very soon I got in contact with a practitioner who knew these techniques. Then I learned from him.
After I mastered the basic computer operating and typing skills, I bought various pieces of equipment. With the guidance of a fellow practitioner, I visited websites, edited and printed these articles by myself and prepared myself for telling more people the facts and validating the Fa.
I put the printed materials into envelopes and mailed them all over the country. Although I did not send many letters at first, the test of my xinxing was enormous. It took me half a day, sometimes an entire day on the weekends, to send out these letters. Besides, I had to take a crowded bus to a big city far away from my home, which was unfamiliar to me. Furthermore, I learned that monitors had been installed at post offices and on the main streets, and this information interfered with me. I was worried and upset when I tried to mail these letters the first and second time. It seemed that others were staring at me. Once, I only took about a dozen letters and walked along the street over twenty li (10 km; 6.2 miles), before I put all of them into mailboxes. After that, I put more and more letters into mailboxes, and I became much calmer, plus various human attachments and notions gradually disappeared. Actually, it was my human attachments and human notions that interfered with me. The old forces use our loopholes in order to take advantage of our human notions and to interfere with us.
In October of 2005, I retired early, which meant that I had enough time to validate the Fa. I decided to do the three things well and wholeheartedly. I offered to undertake several Fa-validation projects. During the daytime I studied the Fa, did editing and printed informational materials about Falun Gong. At night, I sent these materials to fellow practitioners' homes, shared insights, and distributed these materials to households. I enlightened from the Fa that we may adopt any everyday people's forms to validate the Fa and save sentient beings, but we use them in a good and righteous way in accordance with Teacher's requirements.
2. Clarifying the Truth Face-to-face Can Save People Immediately
Clarifying the truth face-to-face is very effective and can save sentient beings immediately. In the beginning, I did it among my friends and relatives, because I have a very big family. Almost a hundred of them had joined the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations. An older brother of mine, a practitioner, and I took advantage of all possible opportunities to go back to our hometown and we told our family members the facts and convinced them to quit the CCP. So far most of them, except for a few very stubborn ones, have quit the CCP.
A friend of mine, who used to work with me, was a CCP member. When I told him the facts about Falun Gong, he said earnestly, "I know you are all nice people. Please let me know if I can be of any help." Later he really took a risk and helped me. In 2005, I told him that Heaven would eliminate the CCP and to quit the CCP to guarantee a safe life for himself. He consented to it immediately.
When I told an old colleague of mine the facts about quitting the CCP, she agreed to renounce it without the least hesitation. Before leaving she said, "Thank you!" I knew she said that because she had understood the truth. I felt really happy for her.
3. Spread the Truth Widely; Save More Sentient Beings
In these years, many practitioners were arrested and persecuted because they had distributed truth-clarifying materials. Therefore, some practitioners who were afraid did not dare to do it anymore. Only a few practitioners persevered in spreading the truth. It was a great test for me because I also had a similar fear mentality and human attachments. I was aware of the fact that practitioners took a great risk when distributing truth-clarifying materials. Teacher looks at Dafa disciples as divine beings and asked us to:
"Have righteous thoughts and righteous actions, dissolve all hindrances, and spread the facts widely. Divine beings are among men." ("To the European Fa Conference in Stockholm")
So I was determined to let go of my human attachments and took more time to distribute the materials and to save sentient beings.
When I began to distribute these materials, all my human attachments popped up, among which was the fear mentality, which was most obvious. I was afraid that I would come across my acquaintances; I was afraid that I would be caught; I was afraid that I would be reported to the police. I was nervous and upset while distributing these materials, especially when I heard footsteps in the doorways. Later, I enhanced my righteous thoughts and gradually dissolved my negative thinking by constantly studying the Fa. Teacher said,
"The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston ")
Therefore, a practitioner is safe only when he or she has a peaceful mind and righteous thoughts. After all, Teacher is always by our side.
During the last two to three years, regardless of whether in the winter or summer, I have insisted on distributing truth-clarifying materials. I have almost covered each floor of every residential building in more than half of the local areas in my city. I also went to the surrounding residential areas and sent the truth to tens of thousands of households. Sometimes, I can distribute materials from the first floor to the sixth floor in more than a dozen buildings at one time without feeling tired at all. This is difficult to accomplish for an ordinary person, even if he is young and healthy; however, I am nearly 60 years old and can accomplish it. This is the Fa's mighty power that is empowering me.
In order to be responsible for sentient beings and achieve the goal of saving people, I read and edit the the content of articles and sentences carefully and change the wrong words. Sometimes just one word is erroneous, which can cause the meaning to be different and the impact to be different. I learned some lessons in this regard. Since the articles aim at saving people, we must guarantee good quality.
Packaging should be neat and beautiful. The covers of the booklets must also be attractive, so that people will like them better. In order to have people value these materials and not damage them, I have clearly printed on each booklet, "You are predestined to see it. To understand the truth will bring you good fortune!" "Please value this truth-clarifying material. Happiness is with you" or "Destruction of the truth-clarifying materials will ruin you, whoever disseminates these materials will receive rewards." As soon as they see these materials, they'll pay attention to them.
In order to eliminate interference, I always send forth righteous thoughts before I distribute the materials, clear away all the interfering elements in other dimensions and ask Teacher to enhance my righteous thoughts. While spreading the materials, I do it constantly with righteous thoughts. So almost every time, everything works smoothly. Sometimes interference and danger do occur, but if my mind is peaceful and my thoughts are righteous, everything will turn out well.
On one occasion I went to a residential area to distribute truth-clarifying materials, and someone noticed and targeted me. I was not afraid and continued to go down this building and intended to leave at the corner of the building. However, I did not expect that it was a dead end. I could only go back the same way I came. It meant that I was bound to meet this person face-to-face. At this point I was relatively calm, thinking, "What am I afraid of when Teacher and Dafa are with me? Have strong righteous thoughts! After all, I am doing a great thing in saving sentient beings. Don't be afraid of him." I put the materials into my bicycle baskets and turned onto the same route back. As I walked, I recited the formula to eliminate the evil factors behind this person. When he saw me walking toward him very calmly, he stood at the side of the street looking at me, motionless. We looked at each other for a short time. Then I passed in front of him steadily and left safely.
Another time at the third floor of a residential building, the door suddenly opened when I was hanging a plastic bag with truth-clarifying materials on the door handle. This sudden opening shocked me but I quickly regained my peace and calm. I asked her if Li lived there and she said "no." I said, "Sorry to disturb you." Then she closed the door. Looking at the bag with the Nine Commentaries inside, I sent forth one thought, "I hope the people in this household will read it and be saved." Then I turned around and went downstairs. On my way I distributed all the remaining materials. This incident convinced me even more of the great effects of righteous thoughts.
There have been numerous incidents like this on my Fa-validating path. When I consider and understand it carefully, I realize that these are all manifestations of the mighty virtue and miracle of Dafa revealed through a Dafa disciple in this human world.
I have enlightened during Fa study that all kinds of interference are xinxing tests arranged by the remaining elements of the old forces. We need to keep righteous thoughts, negate all these elements and not let them take advantage of our loopholes. The Fa is sacred, and so are the actions of Dafa disciples, who validate the Fa. Hence we should do a good job. When we act well on the basis of validating the Fa and saving sentient beings, our personal cultivation practice and improvement will be reflected in it.
