(Clearwisdom.net) Each time I write my opinions of experiences to share with fellow practitioners, I always feel it is very precious, and an opportunity to validate Dafa. At the same time it is also a process of looking inside myself to clear impurities from my thoughts. Below I will share my recent cultivation experiences with everyone. What I will share are my personal understandings. Please point out and correct any of my mistakes. Thanks everyone.
Paying Attention as Part of the Whole to What Fellow Practitioners are Doing with Righteous Thoughts
All practitioners are clarifying the truth through various methods to validate Dafa. For some time I always felt guilty, not being able to take on some projects. Later I came to understand that I should do those things well that I am able to do. It is also very important that I consider with righteous thoughts the projects in which I was not able to take part. Teacher said,
"Whether you’re doing things as a group or doing things individually, what you’re doing is the same kind of thing, and that’s what we mean by one entity. You’re all clarifying the truth, sending righteous thoughts, and studying the Fa, so the specifics of the things you’re doing are different but the division of roles is orderly, together there’s a form, and separated there are particles." ("Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")
When busy with specific work, if practitioners can positively encourage each other and remind each other not to slack in Fa study and doing the excises, then all practitioners as a whole can raise their levels together and help each other to progress.
Studying the Fa with a Pure Mind
We all know that studying the Fa is very important. I recently met a Mainland China practitioner who read the Fa with an ordinary people’s mentality and with an attitude of quoting out of context. He unceasingly criticized and complained to me about other practitioners. I was really worried about this practitioner. I had expressed my thoughts to him for a long time but I could not change him. He was also reading Teacher’s Fa lectures, but with a strong attachment of fear, thinking that he would be persecuted if he went out to validate Dafa, and that he would then lose his cultivation environment. He was thus only willing to remain at the stage of personal cultivation. He was not willing to send forth righteous thoughts and was not willing to go out to clarify the truth, using the excuse that he wanted to cultivate himself well first. I initially wondered why he did not listen to Master's teachings, as Master taught us very clearly. Later I realized that one cannot learn the Fa well with an ordinary people’s mentality. I also had some realization that righteous belief in Teacher and Dafa is extremely important; such righteous belief comes from studying the Fa well. Although we are not in Mainland China, it is still the same, in that only by studying the Fa well can we then face the tests well. We can then develop our righteous beliefs and treasure our cultivation!
Eliminating the Attachment of "Not Accepting Criticism"
Teacher taught us,
"Let me tell you, since you’re cultivators and you’re among ordinary people, you just have to listen to those displeasing words, and you have to be able to listen to those displeasing words." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference")
I thought then that I did not have this problem. But during truth clarification there were often people saying that my Mandarin language skills were not good. Even another Mainland practitioner told me once, after having listened to my voice recording files, "Can we change to a practitioner with more standard Mandarin for the voice recording?" This disturbed me at the time, but I have been hiding this attachment without letting go.
Recently Teacher taught us,
"You cannot refuse to accept other people's constructive comments and even negative comments. You cannot continue to push these things away. From now on all of you have to begin getting rid of this attachment." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")
I then realized that as long as I keep Teacher’s Fa in mind I will be able to suppress the attachments. I will be able to remain calm and harmonious, and I will be able to make improvements! Actually, at times during our cultivation process we have some attachments of which we are not aware. When they are touched upon, we really need to pay attention to them with the mindset of being diligent to eliminate them.
Letting Go of Self-interest and Validating Dafa With a Pure Mind
Teacher said,
"But true improvements come from letting go, not from gaining."
"It’s not like Gods see that your idea worked and then they raise your level. Instead, they only raise your level when they see that your understanding of it has improved. This is a truth in the Righteous Fa." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
I remembered that once when sharing with fellow practitioners I mentioned one of my ideas that I thought was a pretty good one. I tried generally to not be attached to my ideas, and I supported other practitioners’ recommendations. But I found that I kept thinking about this issue. When I looked deep inside I found that I had some feelings of being left out. When I told another practitioner my thoughts the practitioner told me, "Try to arrange more time to study the Fa. If your idea is good and can save lives, Teacher will make arrangements for you." I calmed down after that. I firmly believe that Teacher’s arrangement is the best. One week later another practitioner came to me to discuss how to cooperate with each other to clarify the truth. His ideas were exactly like what I had thought before. By then I had discarded the attachment. I told the practitioner that I would co-operate with him and support him with righteous thoughts.
Thoroughly Explaining the Truth
I found that some people I met on the Internet, even though they were opposing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), still had deep misunderstandings about Dafa. My personal conviction is that it is important to further clear up their misconceptions after their withdrawals from the CCP. This can make them really understand the truth, and moreover, they will relate the information to other people. I told some of the people on the Internet who had withdrawn from the CCP that I had benefited very much from practicing Falun Gong. They accused me and said that I should not speak of Falun Gong. Through chatting with them I found that many of them had developed a misunderstanding because of the fabricated "Tiananmen Square Self-immolation" incident. I then met with them individually to unravel their knots of misunderstanding. They frequently asked after learning the true facts, "Then how can I learn Falun Gong?" These experiences further made me understand Master's teachings.
"When you clarify the truth to people you have to consider their level of acceptance. You’ll be able to see and observe this, so you have to do well clarifying the truth. Don’t just go to talk for the sake of formality. Whenever you talk to someone you need to have him understand." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference")
More and More Chinese People are Passing on the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and Calling for Withdrawal from the CCP
Teacher taught us,
"… the situation is different: The vile CCP's evil specter has been destroyed to the point where it can no longer control the common ordinary person, people are now able to think about things independently, and people are no longer controlled by the vile Party's evil specter." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")
I had many personal experiences related to this teaching. We really must grasp any opportunity to spread the truth. It is true that more and more Chinese people are taking the initiative to learn the truth, to accept the truth and to pass on the truth they learned to others.
One person I met on the Internet said to me, "The website I like the most is Dynaweb. The TV station I like to watch the most is NTDTV. The voice I like to hear the most is the Sound of Hope. The publication I like the most is The Epoch Times. The cultivation I like to practice the most is Falun Gong. The book I like to read the most is the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. The people I trust the most are people who cultivate. The thing I am most angry about is the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong. The phrase I want to say the most is ‘Falun Dafa is Good.’ I am not trying to show off here. In Mainland China there are not many people like me who completely accept your point of view!"
Another person I met on the Internet initially had difficulties accepting the facts of the evil conduct of the Communist Party. She told me that she was a high ranking official and did not realize that her loyalties were with such an evil party. Later, after she read the Nine Commentaries, not only did all of her family members announce their withdrawals from the CCP, but several days ago she even asked me to help nine of her friends to announce their withdrawals from the CCP and the Youth League. She also told me that later there would be more people needing my help to announce their withdrawals from the CCP!
I encountered a different person on the Internet. After hearing about the inhuman concentration camp crimes of CCP agents harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, and after hearing about Annie and Peter risking their lives to come forward and expose the CCP’s behind-the-scenes plotting, this man was very indignant about the evil Party’s crimes. For several days he made contact with me, asking me to help his friends write announcements of withdrawing from the CCP, the Youth League and the Young Pioneers. It is true that many ordinary people are taking the initiative to persuade others to withdraw from the CCP and related organizations. I also realized that in these situations we should be more diligent in clarifying the truth.
When Clarifying the Truth, the Righteous Field can Eliminate People’s Fears and Help People Understand the Truth
I encountered many people on the Internet who disliked the CCP, but lived under the Communist tyranny and were afraid of making an announcement. One person said, "My head would be chopped off if I made this announcement." One student, after reading the Nine Commentaries, refused his teacher’s request for him to join the Youth League but was unwilling to make the announcement to withdraw from the Young Pioneers. He kept asking me, "Can you guarantee that I will be OK if I make the announcement? Will the CCP cause me trouble? Do you have any evidence that the CCP is that bad?" I had him listen to the voice files about the concentration camp harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners and of the two witness's voice recordings. He then discarded his fear and said to me, "Please, help me to make the announcement!"
Each time I mentioned to one woman that Falun Dafa is good, she tried to avoid me, using the excuse that she had other things to do. She did not want to tell me about the knot in her mind, but she did not oppose me telling her of the evil deeds of the CCP. She also agreed to make announcements to withdraw from the CCP, the Youth League and the Young Pioneers. One day she suddenly told me, "I told others to quickly withdraw from the CCP, and that their illnesses will disappear because withdrawing from the CCP can protect them. Am I right by saying that?" I told this older "sister," "It should not be said that way! We help others to clearly recognize the cruel nature of the CCP, help them to support justice and to oppose the wicked Party from the bottom of our hearts. Their conscience is awakened and they will naturally be rewarded. But we should not make those statements because it may mislead them."
After listening to me she said, "What you said is right. I felt the compassion that Falun Gong practice manifests in you." She then took the initiative to tell me about her misunderstanding. Afterwards we shared our thoughts she finally understood the truth about Falun Gong.