(Clearwisdom.net) I grew up in the countryside and heard many fairy tales and folklore stories during my childhood. I have also seen scenes in other dimensions, so I have never doubted the existence of divine beings and ghosts. In 2001, a friend of mine was taken to a detention center for practicing Falun Gong. Following his release, I saw that his face was radiant, and he looked even younger than before. I was shocked and amazed. Several months later I said to the friend in a serious tone, "Please let me borrow your Zhuan Falun! I want to see what's really in there."
I read Zhuan Falun at my workplace that evening. Reading the first chapter made me realize that Falun Gong teaches people to be the best people according the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. I admired Falun Gong practitioners. I finished reading the book in two months and cherished it. Just as Master said,
"Once they learn our Falun Dafa, they will understand at once many questions in life that they have wished to understand but could not answer. Perhaps along with their minds being elevated, they will become very excited--this is for sure." (Lecture Eight, Zhuan Falun)
I realized this was exactly what I was looking for. I then read many of Master's pre-1999 articles. My entire body felt comfortable while I read them and I began practicing Falun Dafa officially in March 2003. Cultivation made me aware of our goal in this life: to assist Master to rectify the Fa and rescue sentient beings. Master's compassion and fellow practitioners' magnificent feat of validating the great Falun Dafa as published in "Minghui Weekly" often moved me to tears. As I thought about people in this world who used to be heavenly kings and lords but are now lost, I made a promise that I will move people with my compassion and tell them about the amazing wonders of Falun Dafa.
Studying the Fa well is the foundation for doing everything well
I loved quietly reading books since I was a child. I voraciously read Dafa books--like a starving man eating bread. I often read Dafa books with such concentration that I forgot about everything else. I share my office with five other colleagues, a small room about 10 square meters [108 square feet]. My colleagues talked loudly while I read Dafa books on my own during breaks or right after work. I was not in the least bothered and I did not hear a single word they said. I did not even know when they left. When I read Dafa books at home, my family turned up the TV volume, but it didn't affect me at all. I spent all of my time reading Dafa books when I was not doing chores, working or sleeping. I filled my head with the Fa.
As my cultivation progressed, I encountered increasing interference from other dimensions and slowed down. It was taking me several hours to finish reading one chapter in Zhuan Falun. I realized it was time for me to make a breakthrough. In order to eliminate interference, I read Dafa books standing up and when walking in my room, usually for five or six hours each time. When I read about other practitioners memorizing the Fa, I also decided to memorize Zhuan Falun. After doing the exercises and sending righteous thoughts in the morning, I would recite the Fa for more than one hour. I am now reciting Zhuan Falun for the fourth time. Reciting the Fa is a great way to eliminate bad elements inside one's head. Now when I study the Fa I encounter much less interference; my reading speed has also improved. The more I read, the more of the Fa goes straight into my mind. Only by laying a solid foundation of Fa study can we overcome interference with wisdom endowed by Dafa, as Master mentioned many times. We must study the Fa harder and make sure we are really paying attention while studying.
Cultivating ourselves and rescuing more sentient beings
I read Master's "Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Singapore" (August 1998):
"If you can examine yourselves with every thing you come across, then I'd say you are really remarkable, and nothing can block you on your path to Consummation."
I said silently, "Master, that is the kind of person I want to be."
Master also said,
"Forbearance is the key to improving one's xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator." ("What is Forbearance (Ren)?" Essentials For Further Advancement)
"To tell you the truth, the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments." (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
I now know how to practice Falun Dafa. First, I decided to never return a blow or verbal abuse. During work, at home and in any other environment, when I come across something that upsets me, I first remain calm, but also look inward to discover why I was angry. When I run into things that disturb me, I know I'm still far away from Dafa's requirements. Only humans would become upset while divine beings would remain unmoved.
My mother-in-law is a very strong-minded person. Our relationship was somewhat frozen before I practiced Dafa. When I was beginning cultivation, I went to visit her, and she reproached me. I smiled, but my mind was boiling. I realized I was enduring like an ordinary person, which was far from the forbearance of a Dafa practitioner. I had to suppress my anger many, many times. When I truly calmed my mind, my mother-in-law changed her attitude toward me. She was the first person in my husband's family to step forward and publicly say that I changed for the better after practicing Falun Gong. Now, I have a great relationship with her.
My colleague has a slight mental handicap and is extremely selfish. Her parents have a hard time dealing with her, and everyone at my workplace stays away from her. The colleague that worked with her had a serious fight with her. My supervisor eventually arranged for me to work with her. That was when I realized why it was hard for the other colleagues to deal with her--her selfish words and behavior make it exhausting to work with her. From the perspective of cultivation, however, she is someone who is precious because she can help me improve myself. She is a mirror that reveals many of my attachments, such as my ego, greed, and jealousy.
I whittled away the attachments little by little. Although I know I should be understanding towards her and think of her from a high level, because my xinxing is low I would sometimes resent her, but then I would tell myself, "Am I not trying to become a divine being through cultivation? How can I be divine if I hold onto human things?" My mind would instantly open and broaden. Now she often says, "I don't think I'll ever meet someone like you for the rest of my life. I'm afraid you'll leave me someday." I was touched when I heard that. I am doing a poor job, though, because I still have many attachments. Although she is relatively simple-minded, she does acknowledge Dafa. Also, my friendship with her is a validation of Falun Dafa's power.
My husband is quick-tempered and angers easily. He loves to draw and traced many bad pictures. For example, he traced a picture of former state head Jiang Zemin for more than one month. After I started practicing Dafa, I was sad to see that his true nature is deeply buried, and he cannot tell good from evil, or right from wrong.
When I first began practicing Dafa, the evil manipulated him and created lots of tribulations for me. However, I did away with all of them with the wisdom Dafa has given me. Each time he lost his temper, I would concentrate and look at him directly in the eye and would not let his emotions sway me. I would send righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil elements controlling him. At the same time, I would listen to his underlying reasons for getting angry. If it was me who was not doing well, I would accept his criticism and mend my mistakes, but if he was trying to prevent me from doing the three things, I would absolutely not listen to him.
Once, the evil controlled him. He came to my workplace and made a huge scene. He also verbally assaulted another practitioner working in the same company. He screamed for the "best practitioner" to come and talk to him and told me not to talk about Falun Gong at work anymore. I looked inward and tried to find any gap in me that caused his behavior. I found that I am heavily reliant on other practitioners. I like to ask other practitioners to help me solve problems, so the evil is controlling him to help me get rid of this attachment. After a while he asked me whether I found the best practitioner to talk to him. I replied in a serious and clear voice, "There is no need for that; if there is any problem, just talk to me and I'll fix it." At the same time, I told him not to meddle with my work; he is not allowed to create troubles at my workplace. He was terrified when he heard these words, jumped up from his chair and ran into another room saying, "I obey you. I'll never mess with you anymore."
For the first time, I realized the voice that comes from the depth of my being is so powerful, because my words confirm to Dafa's principles; therefore, Dafa's power manifested and suppressed the evil.
I also learned what validating the Fa means. From then on, whenever he tried to stop me from validating Dafa and I knew I was not doing anything wrong, I would absolutely not yield to him. When he saw Dafa materials in my bag, he would ask, "Where do you want to put these materials?" I said, "It's legal and normal for any Dafa practitioner to distribute materials. If we don't do it, who will?" He grew silent. Now his temperament has changed greatly, and he speaks in a much softer tone. However, his true nature has not awakened yet. I have sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil behind him. He no longer interferes with my Dafa work. I try my best to be kind to him and hope to awaken his knowing side to acknowledge the power of Dafa.
My understanding is whenever someone creates a tribulation for us, we must seize the opportunity to cultivate away attachment(s). People who create troubles for us are like soldiers with swords ready to sever our attachments; therefore, we must cherish our predestined relationship with these people. When we improve in Dafa, they would be awakened and acknowledge Dafa. We would save them and build mighty virtue at the same time. Shouldn't we thank people who create troubles for us?
Clarifying the Truth about Dafa
I began talking to people about Falun Gong and the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party face to face one month after I began practicing. With the exception of ten high up officials at work, I talked to everyone at work. Most of them have quit the Party and its affiliated organizations. I also visited acquaintances and former schoolmates to give them Dafa materials and ask them to withdraw from the Party.
I remember Master's words,
"During the process of transforming karma, to keep yourself under control--unlike an everyday person who would mess things up--you should always maintain a heart of benevolence and a mind of kindness." (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I keep smiling and I try not to let any human notions disturb my mind. At first I had to suppress my emotions so hard that I even experienced pain, but as I improved my xinxing, my state has improved as well. No matter how people behave, I stay calm and refuse to let their notions move me and tell them of the wonders of Falun Dafa.
Each time after I talk to people about Dafa, I look inward to see what my mind was like - whether or not people accepted Dafa - and would try to do better the next time. When someone presents me with a question that I cannot answer, I ask other practitioners or read Minghui Weekly, so I can answer it the next time. I am more and more aware of people's mentalities and have gained a particularly good understanding of people whose minds have been poisoned to different extents during the process of asking them to quit the Party. I am able to talk to them in different ways, according to their background; most of them can accept the truth.
I work at a large company; all types of people come and go, including drivers from all over the country, construction workers and peasants. I seize the opportunity to talk to them and give them Dafa materials, and I ask them to share the materials with their family and friends. I also tell them they will receive good fortune since they have learned the facts. I also joined other practitioners as we went to surrounding villages to talk to people, such as factory workers and people who gather at bustling public locations. Sometimes when I walk on the street someone will shout to me, "Falun Dafa is good!" A driver from another city also put his head out of the window and said, "Falun Dafa is good!" I was excited and happy to hear it.
Walking the path Master has arranged for me and negating the old forces
My mind has become much more steady since I began practicing Dafa in 2003. My deepest-felt understanding is to believe in Master and Falun Dafa, walk the path Master has arranged for us and negate the old forces, and that this is the only way we can walk a steady and righteous path.
Soon after I began practicing Dafa I went to my mother's home to distribute Dafa materials. Right after I came back to my own home, my sister called me and chewed me out, saying the police talked to my parents and suspected I had distributed materials there, and the police were coming after me to investigate me, among other things. My mind grew heavy, and I could not calm down for a few days. Through Fa study, however, I realized I did not violate any law, and the police have no right to investigate me. Master told me to distribute materials and explain Falun Gong to people. Why should I fear the evil? When these thoughts emerged I felt my mind open up and my righteous thoughts strengthened.
Later on, when I faced pressure from tribulations, I would steadily overcome them through negating the old forces and strengthening righteous thoughts. After the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published, I handed out copies of the book to people face-to-face. One day, I read a report about a Dafa practitioner who was sent to a labor camp for distributing the Nine Commentaries. I then became afraid of being reported to the police. Master said,
"So Dafa disciples should not be afraid, and they should handle everything in an upright and dignified way. It is the evil beings that are scared." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2005 Manhattan International Fa Conference")
I immediately let go of fear. I thought, "I'll do whatever Master tells me to do. Why should I fear the evil?" With stronger righteous thoughts I became even more diligent in distributing the Nine Commentaries.
The local police talked to my husband frequently before the 2008 Olympics. They told him to "control" me and forbid me to do Dafa related things. They threatened to send me to a labor camp if I do Dafa work. I remained unmoved and thought, "The evil is nothing. I am Master's disciple, and I'll do what Master tells me to do." My supervisor and other officials at my workplace received threats from the regime and were told to watch me closely. They demanded that I submit my ID. I firmly refused and said, "I'll take care of my own ID; I don't need anyone else to take care of it for me. Whoever told you to get my ID, ask him to come and see me." They gave up.
I have a relaxed environment at work and at home, so I have lots of time to study the Fa and do the three things while remaining unmoved by events in the human world. There are still so many people in this world who do not yet know the truth, and I still have so many attachments that keep me from making greater strides to rescue people. I am determined to quickly remove these attachments, purify myself and rescue people with even more powerful righteous thoughts.