(Clearwisdom.net)
At the end of 2004, a Falun Gong practitioner sent me a Dafa pin and asked me, "Can you accept it?" I said, "Yes." At that time I wondered, "What's Falun Gong?" The evil Communist Party did not allow people to practice Falun Gong; however, there were so many people practicing it. I thought there must be some secrets and reasons for practicing it. I said, "I also want to read the Dafa book." A fellow practitioner brought me the videotapes of Teacher's Fa lectures.
As soon as I listened to the tapes, I had a headache, and I could not stand it. At that time, I did not know that thought karma was interfering with my Fa study and I gave up. However, in my mind I did not let go. I asked the fellow practitioner to bring me the book Zhuan Falun and I would read it. Looking at Teacher's photo on the first page, I felt very enthusiastic. My first words were, "I think I have seen Teacher somewhere." The fellow practitioner said, "You must be a person with a predestined relationship." In a dream at night, I saw Boddhidarma say to me, "Will you learn from me?" I said, "No, I have to learn Falun Dafa." Then Teacher's picture appeared, and I woke up.
The next day, I told the fellow practitioner about my dream, and he said, "You really have a predestined relationship with Teacher." It was during the busy season of the Chinese lunar New Year and I decided to begin studying the Fa and practicing the exercises on the first day of the Chinese New Year. On New Year's Eve, I still smoked cigarettes, played Mahjong, and drank liquor; however, on the first day of the New Year I quit them all. I have practiced Falun Gong since then.
Before I began to practice Falun Gong, I had a bad temper, and I was unrestrained. I often fought with my wife, and we almost divorced because of the fights. After I began to practice Falun Gong, I started to know that Falun Dafa is the universal Fa, and that I should cherish it more and more. Because there was a lot of farm work, I had to get up early and stay up late at night to study the Fa and practice. During the peak season, I got up at 1:00 a.m. to practice and studied the Fa in the evening.
I have practiced for almost two years. I have persisted in studying the Fa and practicing every day. From the perspective of the Fa, I realized that as a Dafa disciple, in everyday life I should be able to behave by "not striking back when beaten and not swearing back when sworn at." I realized that I should strictly follow the standard of Dafa, rectify my words and behavior, and look within in every situation. Through practicing Falun Gong, my family life became better. My neighbors said, "Since practicing Falun Gong, he never fights." I show that "Falun Dafa is good" by my words and behavior.
I have become more diligent in studying the Fa over time. In the process of cultivation, Teacher looks after me at every moment. For example, when I was sleeping and it was time to send forth righteous thoughts, I heard thunder and woke up. I checked the time, and it was exactly time to send forth righteous thoughts. Another time, I missed a set of exercises when I practiced in the day time. I considered myself to be a senior practitioner, and thought that there should not be a problem if I missed one exercise. However, at 11:00 p.m. I suddenly had difficulty breathing, and I could barely breathe. I looked within, and found that I had missed an exercise. I should not regard myself as a senior practitioner in this way. I did the exercise and my discomfort immediately disappeared. There are so many examples like this showing Teacher is around us at every moment.
It's not easy to cultivate; we should be strict with our thoughts and actions, measure everything in daily life with the Fa, and see to it that we meet the standard of Dafa. Every day before going to sleep, I measure my daily words and actions with the Fa principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. If they did not meet the requirements, I rectify it the next day, and never make the same mistakes. Every day, I truly look within like this. Just like what Teacher said,
"Can you be considered a Falun Dafa disciple if you just practice these few sets of exercises everyday? Not necessarily. This is because true cultivation practice must follow the requirements of the xinxing standard that we have established, and you have to truly upgrade your xinxing--then, it is true cultivation practice."(Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
We came to this world not to pursue comfort, but to practice Falun Gong and save sentient beings. We should study the Fa more and really study the Fa well. We should regard ourselves as practitioners at every moment, do the three things well as Teacher required, and walk well the path of Fa-rectification arranged by Teacher.
Fellow practitioners, let's strive forward and progress together!
February 23, 2007