(Clearwisdom.net) Several years of Fa rectification cultivation has made me realize that all the tests and tribulations happen for a reason and all include elements that require practitioners to upgrade their xinxing. The old forces are nothing compared to Teacher. Therefore, as long as we believe in our Teacher, believe in Dafa, and do well with the three things that Dafa requires of us, the old forces will be eliminated. The understandings that I want to share are as follows:
Clarifying the Truth with a Compassionate Heart and Mind and Breaking Through Financial Restraints that the Old Forces Use to Persecute Us
One of my coworkers told the managers about me at work because I was clarifying the truth at work and distributing Dafa truth-clarifying materials. The managers decided to withhold my salary.
On one hand, I was looking inside myself and found that I had not been quite rational and had not used wisdom during the truth-clarifying process. On the other hand, I established a united group with fellow practitioners to thoroughly clarify the truth to the managers and the co-workers. We told them of Dafa being mistreated, how widely Dafa has been disseminated around the world, and about the evil Communist party's past political movements. We explained the basic principle of goodness being rewarded and evil doing being punished. We told them that any form of persecution would have a direct impact on the managers' future. We did this protest with compassion and without ill feelings. We were using powerful righteous thoughts to prevent ordinary people from committing wrong deeds. Because our thoughts were righteous and we clarified the truth thoroughly, rationally and with strong righteous thoughts, my employers reinstated my salary.
Teacher has told us,
"So when we clarify the truth, we're eliminating some people's evil thoughts towards Dafa. Haven't we rescued them, at least when it comes to this?" ("Teaching the Fa at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America")
The other practitioners and I validated this level of Dafa, and we eliminated the old forces' arrangements.
Denying the Old Forces' Persecution with Righteous Thoughts during Physical Abuse
Once, as I was clarifying the truth, someone reported me to the police. The police beat me and asked me where my truth clarifying materials came from. I answered them righteously and in a straightforward manner, telling them that I am following the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." How can I betray others by telling you? I kept in mind Teacher's principle,
"Nobody can manipulate Dafa disciples who have righteous thoughts and righteous actions." ("Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")
My "xinxing" has reached the level of no fear. My mind remains untroubled, and I continuously clarify the truth while at the same time sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil. A young policeman noticed that I was not cooperating with the police, and he was going to beat me. I told him with compassion, "Your treating me this way does not matter to me, but it will be really bad for yourself." At the same time I was cleaning up the evil factors in his dimension, and he stopped. An older policeman wanted to get the metal chair to interrogate me. I sent forth righteous thoughts, asking Teacher for strength in my righteous thoughts, and to let this older police officer get immediate retribution. Then the older police officer's stomach started hurting. He dared not get the chair, and he asked me if he had received retribution.
After a while the evildoers sent another policeman to brainwash me. This person had beaten many Dafa practitioners. I did the same to eliminate the evil, and also told him the principle of goodness being rewarded and evil doings being punished. He commented, "I have beaten so many practitioners. Why was there no retribution?" I said, "It was Teacher's compassion to give you another chance." He still wanted to beat me. I sent forth strong righteous thoughts. At that moment, he discovered that my head was "smoking." He told the other two policemen, "You see, her head was smoking!" After that they left. I knew this was Teacher's compassion to awaken the ordinary people and protect Dafa practitioners.
Empowered with Teacher's might, I stopped the old forces with strong righteous thoughts.
Eliminating the Fundamental Attachment and Upgrading Xinxing in Dafa
Initially, while at the brainwashing center, I had an emotional attachment to my relatives. I wanted to go out, but as it turned out, my husband and my relatives came several times to ask me to give up cultivation. Teacher gave me compassionate hints. Other practitioners came to remind me and asked me to look inward, to find my attachment and send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evils. After that, my relatives stayed away.
When other practitioners and I decided to deny the old forces' arrangements and to escape the brainwashing center, we initially counted on ordinary people to release us. After a while we strengthened our righteous thoughts, our belief in Teacher and our belief in Dafa. We did things with righteous thoughts and righteous actions to fundamentally deny the old forces' existence.
"I absolutely will not acknowledge any of those things you arranged in the past, old forces. I don't even acknowledge you." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
We clarified the truth, sent forth righteous thoughts, set strict requirements for ourselves and looked inward when things came up. We continuously eliminated the attachments to recognition, self-interest and qing.
At that time my workplace was facing reorganization, and the evildoing people in the brainwashing center often threatened and tried to intimidate me with lay-offs, or sending me to a trial or to forced labor camps. My husband pursued all manner of possibilities to rescue me but was not successful. He saw that I was very determined in cultivation and eventually presented me with a divorce document, wanting me to sign it. Facing so many hardships from all different directions, Teacher hinted again for me to wake up. I can't
"...hold on to humanness with one hand and won't let go, and hold on to Buddhahood with the other hand and won't let go." ("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")
"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." ("Driving Out Interference")
To deny the old forces' arrangements, to validate Dafa, the other practitioners and I started a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Our cultivation environment improved, and later we could read Teacher's new articles and Zhuan Falun.
Led by Dafa we continuously upgraded our xinxing, assimilated into Dafa, and, eventually with outside practitioners' righteous thoughts and Teacher's merciful help, I eliminated the old forces' arrangements and went back to work with dignity.
Complying with Dafa Principles' Requirements in Everything I Do
I returned to a family that was on the brink of separation. My husband had an out-of-marriage affair. I had also signed the divorce document before coming out of the brainwashing center. At the time of signing the divorce document, I thought I had been in detention for nine months and my family members had suffered a lot because of me. Based on Dafa principles, I knew that,
"...when a person comes to this world, it is karmic arrangements that determine his course of life and what will be gained and lost in it." ("Towards Consummation")
"As a practitioner should follow the course of nature. If something is yours, you will not lose it. If something is not yours, you will not have it even if you fight for it." (Zhuan Falun)
Now how was I going to face my marriage? How could I walk on the righteous way?
I knew that,
"If you deviate just a little bit you won't measure up to the standard of a Dafa disciple." ("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")
I sent out a pure righteous thought: I didn't count my losses and gains. I wanted everything that could benefit Fa rectification, and I wanted everything that could save sentient beings. Seeing that my husband never came home at night, I got rid of the selfishness and dealt with it with righteous thoughts. Later, because of my purified thoughts, along with my relatives and friends' advice, my husband cut off his affair in a short time and returned home.
Sharing My Understanding of Withdrawing from the CCP and Its Organizations
My husband's whole family has withdrawn from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. My mother-in-law came back to the cultivation path. Because my friends and relatives were holding righteous thoughts toward Dafa, they were rewarded with good fortune. After one relative withdrew from the CCP, he had a motorcycle accident. He was all right, and no one was injured and his motorcycle was not damaged. Two young people who were taking the college entrance tests this year both got unexpectedly good results. After some relatives and friends withdrew from the CCP, their health improved and they were happier as well.
In closing I need to mention something in particular - with fellow practitioners' suggestions I modified this article several times. Each time I modified the article, I looked inward and found some attachments, which helped me to raise my cultivation level. This process also made it possible for me to actually eliminate my long-held CCP mentality and its mind-poisoning culture, under which I had operated for so long. It was exactly like Teacher said,
"Then during your process of creating artworks and returning to the upright path, aren't you cleansing yourselves?" "Yes, you are fundamentally changing yourselves, and changing yourselves in terms of your concepts. Aren't you cultivating yourself?" ("Teaching the Fa at the Discussion on Creating Fine Art")
The process of writing this article made me realize that no matter what Dafa practitioners do, it is a part of cultivation. Everything we do involves the cooperation and assimilation among us into a whole body.
February 15, 2006