(Clearwisdom.net) Teacher requires that we become more diligent as we approach the end of Fa-rectification cultivation. During the past year, I have increasingly felt the importance of being together with fellow practitioners so we can break through the persecution of the evil, rectify ourselves in time, look inward and measure up to the requirements of Dafa at different levels.
1. Being of One Body to Break Through the Old Force Arrangements
We have many older practitioners in our area and several of them have experienced tribulations in the form of sickness karma in the past year. This has caused many difficulties in validating Dafa. During the Lunar New Year, one of the practitioners experienced the symptoms of serious sickness karma. Several of us visited her at home and realized she was having great difficulty walking. We sent forth righteous thoughts to clear away all evil influences from her field. We also helped her determine where she might have been taken advantage of so she could rectify herself. We continued to send forth righteous thoughts after we each went home. After a week, she was well again.
Later, a few more practitioners had sickness karma to varying degrees. We stayed together and improved each time to break through the persecution. At the same time, we also experienced the power of being one body, and the merciful guidance and protection of Teacher.
Two practitioners were having conflicts to the extent that they did not want to have anything to do with each other. Although other practitioners reminded them to focus on the Fa, they refused to budge due to attachment to their own reputations. One of them ended up having sickness karma and could not get out of bed. Her non-practitioner daughter had to come back home to look after her. I shared with the other practitioner that if we are not attached to our feelings and try to be tolerant of each other, maybe our fellow practitioners would not be persecuted for so long. If we are one body, the evil will not dare to persecute. We should not be influenced by the superficial appearance of who's right and who's wrong, because the evil will take advantage of this without us knowing it. Now they can see this from the perspective of the Fa and they have improved. They can now study the Fa together.
2. Help Those Who Have Gone Astray to Awaken
I did not feel like talking to those practitioners who had gone astray or listening to their misconceptions. A few months ago, I met one of these practitioners. Through talking to her, I found that the reason she went astray was because she did not study the Fa often enough and she had attachments to fear or extreme notions. I also found many of my shortcomings. When my human mentalities were moved, I could not be calm. The main problem was that our hearts were not pure enough and therefore we did not achieve good results.
This reminded me of what our Teacher said,
"I often say that if all a person wants is the well-being of others and if this is without the slightest personal motivation or personal understanding, what he says will move the listener to tears." ("Clearheadedness" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I made an effort to get in touch with those who have gone astray and shared with them my understanding of the Fa and cultivation. One of them said to me, "What you said made sense, as did what they said (in the brainwashing), and I don't know who is right." I said to her, "Why don't you go home and study the Fa more. Then you will know who is right."
3. Talking to Family Members with Wisdom
I have been practicing for seven years now. My husband has changed a lot since then. A few months ago, I asked him, "What do you think of the Falun Gong practitioners?" He said, "They are all kind people." He never said that before.
When I first started cultivating, my husband got upset if he saw me reading my books. When he was home, I could not listen to Teacher's lectures. When I asked him why, he said that he could not stand it. Then I insisted and he conceded, "Listen to them only when I am not here." I thought it was the old forces arrangements to help me improve.
Due to atheist brainwashing, my husband firmly believed that there was no god. However, he was receptive to principles about the obligations and responsibilities of husband and wife and how children should be parented. It appears that due to the party culture, people no longer know how to behave. I remember reading in Pureinsight Weekly, an article about the true equality between man and woman. As man is the main worker in the field and has to do a lot of hard labor under the baking sun all year around to support the family; the wife should care for the husband and the children. People can only have a happy life if they believe in and listen to gods.
My husband had a friend who fights a lot with his wife. The wife is the breadwinner while the husband stays home. The husband felt very depressed and guilty because his wife seemed more capable than he. He felt that he was not manly enough, so he drank a lot. The more he drank the more fights they had. When my husband told me about this, I commented, "Why don't we have problems like this? It's because I practice Falun Gong and we are blessed with a stable life. I don't complain about you because you are a responsible person and have been working hard for this family. I am happy with whatever amount of money that we have. Many problems in a family arise from money and housework. In terms of housework, I never demanded that you do certain things. My teacher taught us that a man should be like a man in a family and a woman should be like a woman. The woman has given all her life to you and the husband should be responsible for her. As long as the wife is soft and gentle, understanding, and considerate, and cares for the children, the family is at peace." My husband was very receptive to this.
My husband has changed. One time when we were having dinner with other friends, his friend showed disapproval of my belief. My husband supported me. He said, "I have benefited from her practice. She kept telling me that I have to be good. So one day, I drove an old lady home who lost her way. The fee was fifty dollars, but I did not ask for anything. I return all the money left in my taxi to my passengers and I take other people's children home. I feel good about that." Before, he did not make good money driving the taxi. Now he seems to be doing much better.
My husband has come a long way. He had twice asked for a divorce from me. The first time was in 2000. I went to Beijing to appeal for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. When I was taken back to the local detention center, he tried to make me write the repentance statement. I refused. He cried for a long time. I still did not do it. He said desperately, "I will divorce you in the next few days." I let go of my feelings towards him and said to him calmly, "It is up to you." He did not do it in the end.
In 2002, I was having a bad case of scabies, and my husband proposed divorce again. At that time, I was going to let it go. After all, he has many issues anyway and sentimentality is really not dependable. But his parents were against it for the sake of our child. His parents had been good to me, but could not understand my sickness karma. In fact, it was because I did not do well then and I was not in the Fa. No wonder the persecution was so serious. This was why my husband went drinking and gambling, and also why he was stressed. Three months later, I studied the Fa well and sent forth righteous thoughts more frequently. Things gradually improved. Looking back, if we had been divorced then, it would have been a great loss. As cultivators, the people we meet are part of our destiny. When my husband had problems that I saw, I had to look inward. I must have some problems and need to improve. Avoidance of the issue is not helpful, one must improve.
4. Talking to People about Quitting the Communist Party and its Affiliated Organizations
After the Epoch Times published the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party we realized that Fa-rectification had reached a new stage. As I had been poisoned by the party culture for so long, I found it difficult to persuade people to quit the party. I even had difficulty finishing reading the Nine Commentaries the first time. The song "International" kept ringing in my head. Before I started cultivation, I did not believe in gods and liked the combative and invincible spirit in the song. Looking back, it was just absurd.
At first, I felt that if I focused on quitting the CCP, I wouldn't have time for talking about Falun Gong, or vice versa. But after I had read the Nine Commentaries a few times, cleansing myself of the elements of party culture, I was able to do a better job. For example, I had to send forth righteous thoughts to rid myself of the poems by the former head of the regime that we were made to recite since childhood, and songs created in the party culture, etc.
My experience was that when I was talking to people, strangers tended to quit the CCP more easily than those people that I knew. I sent forth righteous thoughts while talking with strangers to clear away the evil communist spirit around them. I realized that I did not pay as much attention to this with people I knew. I still had feelings toward people I knew and I thought I would be safe with them.
Due to my limited ability in writing, I cannot fully express all my experiences in cultivation. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
