I am a Falun Dafa practitioner from a remote area of Northwest China and I am 55 years old. Since I attained the Fa in November 1996, and especially since July 20, 1999 (when the persecution began), I have been through many tribulations and difficulties, but I have always persisted in practicing Dafa. I want to share with fellow practitioners about my understanding of cultivation and improving my xinxing during the process of producing truth-clarifying materials. Please kindly point out anything improper.
1. Giving Up the Attachment of Fear and Taking the Initiative to Start a Truth-Clarifying Materials Production Project
Since July 20, 1999, under the environment of terror and persecution, although the evil tried to destroy our Dafa materials production site and we encountered many tribulations and difficulties, materials production in our areas never stopped. At first, our ability to make Dafa materials was limited only to providing Teacher's articles and a few truth-clarifying brochures and flyers, copied separately by a few coordinators in the local copy shop and sent to the other practitioners. This method was not safe, and was also time-consuming and expensive. It could not meet the practitioners' needs for the materials.
Given this situation, in 2002 we planned to purchase a high-capacity copier and other equipment to establish a materials production site in a suburban area. However, it was destroyed by the evil before we started production. Many practitioners were arrested. Later, a practitioner purchased a small all-in-one copier for materials production. We had to constantly transfer the machine to different locations either because some practitioners' home environment was not good or because some locations were not safe. Finally the machine was put in my office and for more than six months, I used the time before and after work to produce the materials. But then my employer gave me notice and took back the office. We had to change the materials site again.
In 2003, with the fast progress of the Fa-rectification, we needed massive amounts of truth-clarifying materials. But we could not find an appropriate place for the materials production site because all the places we used before had been destroyed by the evil. Everyone was really anxious. After I continuously studied the Fa and cultivated myself, my attachment of fear was gradually reduced. I decided to establish the materials production site at my home. I understood that producing the truth-clarifying materials to save sentient beings is the most righteous thing in the universe. It will correct anything not righteous. Why should we be afraid of the evil? How dare the evil interfere with us?
After I discussed the project with practitioners who had knowledge of computers, and exchanged ideas with a few coordinators, they felt that it was not appropriate to use my home as the materials production site. At the same time, my human side and divine side also had intense conflicts. My human side thought that it was definitely not appropriate, since my home had been invaded and items confiscated many times by the local police and I was monitored by the police as an important person. Moreover, my wife was still detained in prison and was being persecuted. But my divine side thought that as long as I did it with righteous thoughts and righteous actions and I did not create the attachment of fear, no one would interfere with me. There were three reasons that made me think so. Firstly, since the last time that I had expelled the police out of my home, they did not dare to come to my home again to harass me for more than a year and they just peeked in on me at the courtyard. Secondly, when I went to Tiananmen Square to display banners and shouted "Falun Dafa is good," the police did not dare to arrest me. They detained me at the Tiananmen Police Station for three hours and then just released me. Thirdly, it has been said by other people that the most dangerous place is really the safest place. As long as I did things with righteous thoughts and righteous actions, there should not be any problem.
Because we are in the Fa-rectification period and we are with Teacher, there is nothing we should be afraid of. After I thought it over, my divine side took control. I asked the practitioner who knew how to use computers to buy the computer and printer for me and very soon, I learned how to print materials. A fixed materials production site was therefore established at my home. Under Teacher's compassion and protection, the site has run safely ever since.
2. Giving Up the Attachment of Selfishness, Thinking about the Needs of Others
Having grasped the printing technology, I could basically guarantee being able to supply the text materials that practitioners would need. I could produce the materials depending on what the practitioners needed and how many copies they would need. But I could still only supply materials to a few practitioners. Either they came to pick up the materials or I sent the materials to them, and then they delivered them to the other practitioners.
Several times when other practitioners came to my home, I did not give them any materials for safety reasons. Once a practitioner came from the countryside far away from my home, but I did not give him any materials. After that I felt very regretful. I calmed down and judged myself according to Dafa, and I found that I had gone to an extreme. I was ashamed. I realized that I was only considering my safety and not considering fellow practitioners' needs. This was the attachment of selfishness taking effect. Would a god do something like this? Teacher told us,
"From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism." ("Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature" in Essentials for Further Advancement)
It is right to pay attention to safety, but we should not go to extremes. We need to be more considerate of others. Our Dafa disciples' task is to save sentient beings. I did not try my best to overcome difficulties so as to guarantee the materials that fellow practitioners needed in order to save sentient beings. Actually my attachment of self-protection interfered with me.
From this experience I clearly realized that although I had cultivated for many years, the selfish nature of the old cosmos was still hiding deep inside my heart. How were we to guarantee the safety of the materials site and allow practitioners to get the materials they needed in time when they came to the materials site? We thought of many ways. But none of them could incorporate the two aspects well. Finally under Teacher's arrangement, we found a good way to solve both problems which would guarantee the safety of the materials site as well as guarantee a supply of the materials to practitioners. Right now all the practitioners can get the materials they need immediately when they come to the materials sites.
With the progress of Fa-rectification, the manner in which Dafa disciples validate the Fa and save sentient beings needs to keep up. The requirements for the materials are widely varied, and the requirements for the materials sites keep getting higher and higher. Just printing flyers, booklets and stickers cannot meet the needs. What could we do since we didn't know any other techniques? After studying the Fa, I understood that as long as we do everything with a pure heart, Dafa will open the door of immeasurable wisdom for us.
For example, when we just started to produce Dafa amulets, no one knew how to do it. We went to some retail shops. They charged two yuan for one small amulet, which was too expensive for us.
I thought that if everyday people could do it, then Dafa disciples could do it too. But I still could not figure out how to make our amulets. It bothered me for a few days until the third night when I burned incense and kowtowed to Teacher. I saw that Teacher's photos were plastic-sealed. Suddenly I was inspired.
The next day, I visited all the retail shops, but I could not find a plastic sealing machine. Finally darkness descended and I found an advertisement for a businessman. He was able to help me contact retailers in Xi'an City that would have this machine. Just after half an hour, we found the machine. It was sent out that night and we picked it up the next afternoon. At the same time, I also ordered the plastic-sealing paper for the machine. Two days after we got the machines, we made the first batch of amulets and the quality was not bad. After that, the quality of the amulets became better and better. Now we can fill not only the needs of the local practitioners, but also the needs of practitioners in nearby areas.
After Teacher published the article, "We Are Not 'Getting Political'", we started to produce large batches of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. We first sent it out chapter by chapter. Later we got feedback from practitioners that people generally wanted to read the whole book at once and we should print out the entire book. But it was not easy. We could not even meet the demand of single chapter copies, much less the whole book. Because we did not know how to make books at that time, we thought that our production could only meet the needs of a limited number of people and we wondered what we should do to guarantee a massive production and a large-scale delivery.
Afterwards, we read the Minghui website articles and shared experiences with each other. We realized the importance of sending the Nine Commentaries to as many people as possible. We decided to follow the method that the Minghui website introduced, and produced the book version of the Nine Commentaries. We ordered a paper-cutting machine and book assembling machine and produced the book, which was nearly as good as a professionally published book.
During this period, the materials production sites in our area were like flowers blossoming everywhere. Some practitioners purchased more offset printing equipment. Under the coordinator's guidance, we centralized the printing of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and assembled the books in separated locations. We could produce more than 1,000 books every week. It was just like Teacher said,
"You can do a lot of things well if you approach them with righteous thoughts." ("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")
Master also said,
"That's because you are Dafa disciples, and you aren't everyday people doing things for Dafa, but Dafa disciples who are validating the Fa." ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference")
3. Giving Up the Attachment to Doing Things, Fulfilling Our Historic Responsibilities
Teacher said,
"A cultivator is simply one who eliminates the attachments of an everyday person." ("Cultivation Practice and Taking Responsibility" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Actually, the process of materials production is the process of cultivating oneself. I deeply realized that in order to produce the materials well, I had to study the Fa well and cultivate myself well.
In the beginning, since I just started to learn everything from zero, I felt it was completely new. My human attachments all showed up, such as the feeling of being inferior (when I could not understand the techniques and I was afraid that other people would point it out), the attachment of zealotry and the attachment of focusing only on doing work. My attachment of focusing only on doing work was especially strong. I was like an everyday person doing things for Dafa and I just produced the materials for the sake of materials production. I did not consider the sacred and glorious task as a Dafa disciple validating the Fa and saving sentient beings.
I was very busy every day. After I learned the printing techniques, I needed to learn how to burn CDs. After I learned how to use the Internet, I needed to learn how to type. I did not put Fa-study first and I did not understand how to do the three things well. So, during the materials production, I had all kinds of troubles. I constantly forgot some details and the equipments constantly had problems. I could not guarantee the production of the materials that practitioners needed and I did not fulfill my task very well. Teacher said,
"If you don't study the Fa well, you won't be able to do Dafa work well." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
Teacher also emphasized repeatedly,
"No matter how busy you are or how many things you have to do, you can't neglect your own Fa study and cultivation. It's the fundamental guarantee that you'll do well in validating the Fa, and it's also a guarantee that you'll be able to make it to the last step." ("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")
It was not until then that I clearly realized that I had not studied the Fa well and that studying the Fa well is the most fundamental thing.
After I cleared my mind, I organized my time rationally. Besides a guaranteed two hours of practicing the exercises and four times of sending forth righteous thoughts every day, I also required myself to study the Fa well no matter what happened, to strive forward to cultivate myself, to guarantee sending forth righteous thoughts, guarantee the truth-clarifying materials production and follow a natural course for all the other daily things. Generally, I would study the Fa for four hours, or at a minimum of three hours. Studying the Fa with a calm mind, I memorized and recited Zhuan Falun paragraph by paragraph five times, section by section twice and chapter by chapter once. I memorized Essentials for Further Advancement, Essentials for Further Advancement II and all the articles except Teacher's Fa lectures four times. I recited Hong Yin and Hong Yin Vol. II many times and I can recite it from the beginning or from the end very fluently.
Because I studied the Fa well and I improved my xinxing constantly, I could produce the materials easily and all the Fa-implements worked together very well. Many problems that I never had before were easily solved. I did not delay producing any materials that practitioners needed, and I did not need to deal with all the troubles again.
When I look back on my path of validating the Fa and improving my xinxing, I find there are still many things that I did not do well. But I have the confidence to follow the progress of the Fa-rectification and do the three things well.
Thank you Teacher! Thank you fellow practitioners!