(Clearwisdom.net) (Following are the experiences of an elderly and veteran Dafa practitioner. From being a dignitary to a pauper, from having a complete family to losing his son, he endured much sadness. But with firm belief in Master and the Fa he came through all these hardships. He does the three things diligently and never misses any opportunity to tell people about Dafa and the persecution and offer sentient beings salvation. For years he and his wife have daily persuaded people to do the three withdrawals [referring to quitting the Chinese Communist Party and its two youth organizations] and helped make it possible for at least 10 thousand people to do the three withdrawals.)
I was fortunate to attend Master's Fa lectures at the end of April 1994. From then on I ended my history of "being lost in wandering" and began to walk on the path of "returning to my original self." So far I have cultivated for 15 years. What I have experienced in these 15 years remain vivid memories to this day. I have experienced the happiness of beginning Fa cultivation and being enlightened to the Fa principles. I have also gone through sadness and pain due to my inability to overcome certain hardships and sometimes failing to comprehend the Fa. Only with Master's compassion and protection was I able to walk on my path of validating the Fa and rescuing sentient beings to this day. I am no longer lost, thanks to my firm belief in Master and the Fa, and I am advancing more diligently.
Seizing the opportunity of this Internet experience sharing conference, I wish to report to Master and fellow practitioners my experiences in studying and validating the Fa and rescuing sentient beings.
Dafa Gave Me a Second Life
Prior to I acquiring the Fa, I suffered more than ten illnesses, such as Meniere's disease, a condition that made my eyes hurt as if being stabbed with needles, tracheitis, hyperosteogeny, insufficient blood supply too the brain that made me feel dizzy, stomach problems, a strain in my lumbar muscles, and arthritis in the legs. Especially the Meniere's disease and the insufficient blood supply to the brain made me feel very dizzy and nauseated. Living was worse than dying. But all these miraculously disappeared after I attended Master's Fa lectures. I really realized how magical Dafa was, and seeing Dafa's effect on illness curing and gaining a healthy body, I no longer believed in materialism.
Improve with Fa Study
With my health improved, I unconditionally and firmly believed in the Fa. I really understood what I had after continuously studying the Fa, giving me a healthy body. Master taught me to cultivate myself, as human beings actually originated from heaven and are produced by divine beings and that the true meaning for us is to return to our origin after clearing the karma accumulated from so many lifetimes.
With further Fa study my level rose steadily. Gradually I realized that recognition and personal advantages were not so important.
Master said, "the whole process of cultivation is a process of constantly getting rid of human attachments." (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun, Translation Version 2003)
As Master teaches, cultivation aims at attachments and continually getting rid of them. With the determination that came from knowing life's purpose, I gradually no longer regarded my personal benefits as so important. About a year after I began cultivation, the department where I work was reorganized. Others scrambled to get an advantageous deal for themselves, but I did not and let matters take their own course. In the end I gave up my formal post as regimental commander and made an independent living. Though I gave up my previous job, I have more time to study and spread the Fa. I feel my life is enriched. As another example, I got more than a ten thousand-yuan commission while working on a communications project. After I studied the Fa, I realized that I shouldn't accept such money, so I donated all of it to the Hope Elementary School Project.
Taking Every Chance to Tell People about the Fa and the Persecution and Rescuing Sentient Beings
I was afraid to take on this project and dared not to do it at first. Fa study improved my comprehension. Master said,
"The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
But sometimes I still did not dare to take on this obligation. Then I realized that instead of just talking about believing in Master and the Fa, we should believe truly and do righteous things with righteous thoughts. As Master teaches us, Dafa is supernatural; we need not cultivate if we don't truly believe in the Fa. As my comprehension of the teachings improved, I no longer felt fearful and began telling people about Falun Dafa and the persecution and offering sentient beings salvation.
My neighbors wanted to lease their house but couldn't stay home to wait for interested renters because they worked every day. They gave us their key so that we could show people the house. Three different groups came to look at the house one day. My wife and I took the advantage of the opportunity to persuade them to make the three withdrawals. One of us told them about the Fa and the persecution and encouraged them to quit the Party and/or its youth organizations while the other sent righteous thoughts. We then helped them do the three withdrawals.
Whenever I study the Fa calmly and think about sentient beings' need to be saved, I can no longer stay at home anymore. I go out to tell people about the Fa and the persecution and usually get quite good results. To do this, I ride my bike and have traversed several miles in the city several times. Many people became aware and did the three withdrawals. Doing this individually rather than as a group project seemed to be more effective. My wife retired two years ago, so we combined our efforts, one of us doing the talking, the other sending righteous thoughts. Those who listened or did the three withdrawals also received a truth-clarifying disc so that they could spread the truth widely.
Believe in Master and the Fa, Maintain Righteous Thoughts and Actions
I have had different kinds of understandings of believing in Master and the Fa and doing righteous things with righteous thoughts during my 15 years of cultivation. During my cultivation, I became aware that studying the Fa well is the basis for doing the three things well. As Master urges us all the time, we must study the Fa more and well and then the Fa will guide our cultivation. Then we must believe in Master and the Fa unhesitatingly; otherwise, everything we do becomes nothing. When you study the Fa well and firmly believe in Master and the Fa, you will have righteous thoughts and do the right thing. But everyone has different experiences and attachments, and different people actually have different understandings of the Fa, so there are differences in believing in Master and the Fa and doing the three things. For example, my son was persecuted by the old forces and died due to disease karma. I was able to endure the hard times due to my firm belief in Master and the Fa. I still do the three things and offer more sentient beings salvation.
The extent of our belief can differ. Do you believe a little bit, half believe and half doubt, or do you completely believe in Master and the Fa? I fluctuated among different levels of belief on my way of validating the Fa and rescuing sentient beings. For example, after the CCP started the persecution on July 20, 1999, I was arrested on July 28 and held at the local detention center for two days. Because I didn't understand the Fa well and was quick to believe what others said, I wrote a guarantee statement against my will.
After I returned from incarceration I realized I had done something wrong: how can a practitioner tell lies? I didn't act according to Master's requirements and was not up to the standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I was wrong. The second day I went to the police station and told them that I hadn't informed them about the Fa and the persecution before. I mentioned how great and health-giving the practice Falun Dafa is. How could I not practice? The police officer didn't detain me after hearing what I said and replied, "I know that you are good people. Go home. "
It is really true that any outcome will be different if we truly believe in Master and the Fa. In those years, scores of practitioners were arrested. We really need to think it over.
As I explained in depth about the Fa and the persecution, I comprehended the Fa teachings on a more profound level and realized that as a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period, I must keep up with Master's Fa-rectification process. We must let go of human attachments and fear and try to rescue all the sentient beings that we can.
In August 2008, a material production site near my home was ransacked, and all the machines and lots of informational materials were taken away. Many practitioners in the neighborhood were interrogated and ordered to fill out a form, sign their names, and put their fingerprints on the form. Three police officers arrived at my home. I realized this did not happen accidentally--they had come to hear about the Fa and the persecution facts and should be rescued. I told them about Dafa and the persecution while my wife sent righteous thoughts. In the end they said, "You don't need to fill out the form and sign your names." The evil factors behind them were actually dissolved. The police learned the facts and secured a bright future for themselves.
I understand through my cultivation that if we are doing the most sacred thing--saving sentient beings with righteous thoughts and righteous deeds--we are able to remain invisible to all evildoers. For example, ever since July 20, 1999, somebody downstairs has watched us on all the sensitive days. My wife and I have never paid attention to them but just think about how we are doing the most sacred thing in the universe--saving sentient beings--so none of the evildoers persecuting practitioners can see us. We have experienced that for ten years. Sometimes when speaking with people about the Fa and the persecution, bad people have noticed and followed me. I would recall the sentence above and continue doing what I was doing. Nothing happened. It means that our righteous thoughts and supernatural powers do work.
Last July and August before the Beijing Olympic Games, people in our community called us and wanted to come to my home right away. I had many Dafa books and materials. What should we do? I thought about Dafa's supernatural energies, that I should do righteous things with righteous thoughts, that Dafa books must have their rightful place, and that the evildoers should not find anything. I immediately sent righteous thoughts to clear out the evil lives and factors in other dimensions. Twenty minutes later the people called back, saying they had changed their mind and would not visit. The evil factors in other dimensions were dissolved and never, ever showed up.
I haven't felt satisfied with many aspects relative to doing the three things for ten years. With human attachments and without studying the Fa well, we just couldn't do righteous deeds and maintain righteous thoughts. We might be indecisive, our thoughts might fluctuate with our attachments, and the evil factors might take advantage of us. If I did not study the Fa well for several days, I was fearful of doing anything Master requires. When I couldn't calm down and argued with others, I could not succeed in telling people about the Fa and the persecution. Especially this year, I always searched outside and couldn't control myself when I encountered anything, sometimes even to the extent that I couldn't stand it when others criticized me. The evil took advantage of my bad mindset and made my body swollen. I knew that was a fake symptom but I still could not raise my level. I really needed to learn the lesson.
I must study the Fa calmly, cultivate myself, let go of my ego, and do the three things well. In my helping Master with the Fa-rectification, telling people about the Fa and the persecution, and offering sentient beings salvation, I should fulfill my great vows made in pre-historic times. I want to let go of all my attachments and follow Master home.
I have never written an article before. Please correct me if I made any mistakes.
