(Clearwisdom.net) A friend of mine, who is not a Falun Gong practitioner, said to me, "Your Teacher is in the United States and has not looked over your shoulder, yet you still risk your life and unreservedly listen to your Teacher. This is really great. From your words and deeds I know that those who cultivate Falun Gong are good people. I am positively inclined towards your Teacher. He is really great."
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I began to practice Falun Gong in October 1997 and have diligently practiced the exercises and studied the Fa ever since. However, I only went to the practice site to join the group practice in April 1999 at the insistence of other practitioners. Several months later the persecution of Falun Gong began.
In facing the unprecedented persecution I pondered deeply upon it and finally decided to firmly believe in Falun Dafa. I believe it to be the great Fa that can save sentient beings of the universe. I was so fortunate to come across Falun Dafa; therefore I should not renounce it. I knew instinctively that no matter how difficult it became, I would cultivate to the end. Sadly, at that time, most of the people who did not practice were deceived by the lies. They could not understand why I would continue to practice Falun Dafa, and they made sarcastic comments about me. It was not unusual to hear criticism or accusations. Because of the political pressure, leaders of my work unit, the county and the city talked to me again and again in an attempt to persuade me to give up my cultivation. At that time I was not clear about the concept of clarifying the facts, but I understood the greatness of Falun Dafa. I would talk about the beauty of Falun Dafa, the improvement of my health and my moral standards. I safeguarded the Fa anytime someone badmouthed Falun Dafa. Some of the leaders believed me and expressed their understanding, but others, the leader of my work unit in particular, thought I was too stubborn and too obsessed. She talked to me five times and I told her clearly that there was no need for her to keep trying to persuade me any more because I would not change. She has not tried to persuade me ever since. During that time, many relatives, friends and neighbors visited me. They all attempted to convince me to give up my cultivation. I used these opportunities to clarify the truth to them.
My work unit arranged someone to keep surveillance on me. She reported my words and deeds to my boss regularly. I used every opportunity to talk about the beauty of Falun Dafa and the positive changes within me after I practiced Falun Gong. I also told her that the propaganda about Falun Gong was nothing but lies. Gradually she changed her attitude toward Falun Dafa. She changed from not believing to believing. Gradually she found that it was not enough to just listen to me, so she read the truth-clarification materials many times by herself. She not only stopped her surveillance of me but also helped me to print or hand out truth-clarification materials. In the 2004 Chinese Lunar New Year, she wanted to donate 200 yuan for printing truth-clarification materials to save sentient beings. Even though I did not take the money, I felt very happy for her positive action.
During the process of studying Teacher's new lectures I gained a better understanding on clarifying the truth to everyday people. It is our sacred duty and historical mission, so we must do it earnestly using different methods and should not miss any opportunity.
Normally, I would clarify the facts to friends and relatives either by visiting them or when they visited me. I also went for three days to a friend's home in the countryside. During that time, I clarified the truth to nearly 30 people. Later on I began to clarify the truth to strangers. For example, when service people come to my home to fix doors and windows, or to fill up the natural gas cylinder, I would clarify the facts to them and give them truth-clarification materials. One day when a service provider came to my home to fix the air-conditioner I put the truth-clarification material into his tool bag, as I could not find any opportunity to talk to him. My daughter said humorously, "My mom would not let anyone leave without having clarified the truth to him."
Teacher provides every opportunity for me to clarify the truth, as long as this is my heart's wish. One day when I swept the stairs, I found a 5-yuan note on the floor and I guessed it might belong to the elderly lady upstairs. I went to her and talked about how a practitioner would not keep the money he finds, because they want to be good people. I talked to her about the beauty of Falun Dafa and gave her some truth-clarification materials and a VCD. Later on this elderly lady came to learn Falun Gong.
There were times when my truth clarification did not go smoothly. Yet, none of these impediments made me lose the wish to continue clarifying the truth. I would search within, look for my shortcomings or check to see if I had any loophole that the evil had taken advantage of. After careful thinking it over, I would find my shortcomings and I would improve during the process. In clarifying the truth, I also used the methods of handing out truth-clarification materials to nearby residents and mailing materials to police departments, police stations, procuratorates, courts, judicial departments, the "610 Offices," primary and high schools as well as radio and TV stations.
During the process of cultivation in validating the Fa, whenever I had Xinxing (1) problems or came across major setbacks, Teacher always gave me hints to help me to overcome them and continue to go diligently forward.
One day, I learned that my district would hold a photo exhibition slandering Falun Dafa. My fellow practitioners and I took action to stop them from poisoning the people. We sent forth righteous thoughts, handed out truth-clarification materials, clarified the truth with the organizers and exposed the persecution. At that time, I enlightened that we should send the truth-clarification materials to the leaders of a dozen or so work units to clarify the facts and expose the persecution. I believed strongly that once they realized the truth they would stop these bad deeds. I immediately prepared 30 truth-clarification packages and was ready to mail them. Just at that time a relative of mine came to tell me that because I clarified the truth publicly and promoted the beauty of Falun Dafa, someone had reported me to the "610 Office," and I was listed as a key Falun Gong member. Therefore I could be arrested at any time if I continued to clarify the truth. That was a real test for me. Should I mail the letters I had prepared? If I took blind action and was spotted by the police, would I be severely persecuted? What should I do? I could not make a decision. Suddenly my granddaughter asked me to help her in reciting a passage. She asked me to listen, compare to the book, and check for errors. When I opened the book, the title "A Step Forward" caught my attention. I was a bit shocked. Wasn't that the clearest sign from Teacher, hinting that I had to overcome the difficulties and step forward diligently? How could I be misled by false manifestations? Nobody could stop us from clarifying the truth and nobody could sabotage what we were doing. So I sent out all the letters I had prepared. Our concerted efforts frightened the evil and the photo exhibition that slandered Falun Dafa was cancelled.
During my truth clarification work during the past few years, I not only helped a great number of people learn the truth. I also helped 9 people to learn Falun Dafa and embark on the path of cultivation. Among them was a woman in her eighties and a 6-year-old girl. This 6-year-old is of very high enlightenment. After she heard that the construction of truth-clarification materials needed money, without blinking an eye she took all her savings, about 100 yuan, from her piggy bank and gave it to us for making truth-clarification materials. Later on she again gave us the 300 yuan she had received as Lunar New Year gifts or birthday gifts. Another elderly practitioner had had various illnesses before practicing Falun Dafa. She could not walk on her own upstairs or downstairs and needed to be carried on other people's backs. After she learned Falun Dafa, her health improved with each passing day. Now she can take the stairs up or down without anyone's help. She is illiterate, but with the help of Teacher's Law-body, she can now read through Zhuan Falun (2). This is a magnificent manifestation of Dafa.
During the past years, I also helped 4 practitioners who lagged behind or had left the practice return on the path of cultivation. Teacher said, "Strive forward together, A bright future lies ahead." (In Harmony with the Fa -- Hongyin, draft translation) I enlightened that no matter how well an individual has cultivated, his power is still limited and only when the practitioners as a whole improved together can they form a powerful force. I also enlightened that Dafa practitioners, no matter where they are from, are of one body and should help each other. When I was told that five Falun Gong practitioners (one of them is my relative) in Zibo City, Shandong Province could not get Teacher's new articles since their contact person had been arrested, I took Teacher's new articles to them. I studied the Fa and shared with them. We all benefited a great deal.
The home environment is a good place for our cultivation. My husband at one point had no income, so he relied on my salary. He opposed my practice of Falun Dafa and several times threatened to send me to the police bureau. I began to feel suffocated by this. Teacher hinted many times that I still failed the test at home. This allowed the tribulation to last for several years.
Teacher said in Zhuan Falun,
"During cultivation practice there may be two scenarios in dealing with specific conflicts or when someone mistreats you. One can be that you had probably treated this person badly in the previous life. You may feel uncomfortable and wonder, 'How can he treat me this way?' Then, why did you treat him that way in the past? You may claim that you do not know what you did in the past, and this life has nothing to do with the one in the past. That is not permitted. "
After I understood this from the point of the Fa, my Xinxing also improved. I found my own shortcomings and my husband's strong points. In the past I did not treat him well and often criticized him. I began to show concern for my husband and changed my tone when I spoke to him. At the same time I also used opportunities to clarify the truth to him.
When he found the change in my attitude and saw my physical and mental changes after practicing Falun Dafa, he changed his attitude toward Dafa. He did not oppose my practicing Falun Gong any more. Later on he even helped me rebind Dafa books, buy Teacher's Fa lecture video-tapes and exercise instruction tape, and fixed the cassette recorder. Some times when I failed to wake up at midnight, he would wake me up so that I could send forth righteous thoughts. He later bought an alarm clock and put it beside the bed. He sometimes would often buy fruit and put in front of Teacher's portrait. Because the environment at home changed for the better, fellow practitioners would often come to my home to share experiences. When I first began to study Falun Gong, my son-in-law opposed my decision. Now he has changed his attitude. My daughter also helped me print truth-clarification materials. Our home, as well as the surrounding environment, have changed for the better.
I am determined to earnestly study the Fa and actively do well the three things of studying the Fa, sending righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth, as required by Teacher. I want to become a Fa-rectification period Falun Dafa disciple worthy of this name.
(Sharing article selected from The First Written Experience Sharing Conference of the Practitioners on Mainland China)
Notes:
(1) Xinxing: the nature of the mind or the heart, moral character
(2)