Cultivating Myself While Saving Sentient Beings

(Clearwisdom.net)

In "Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference," Master said:

"Right now, one important thing that needs to be attended to is the matter of how to save more sentient beings, and it is something Dafa disciples are to accomplish during their current process of achieving Consummation. This is Dafa disciples' mission, a duty that cannot be shirked, something that they must do and must complete."

Almost in every lecture, Master has emphasized the importance of saving sentient beings and the limited time we have. Whenever I think of what Master has said, I feel the urgency and realize that I haven't done as well as Master requires us to do. Especially last year, when we went to the US to listen to Master lecture to Australian disciples, I further realized that I should grasp every opportunity to save people to fulfill my own prehistoric vows.

With Master's help and strengthening, I put saving sentient beings as the first priority among the things I do every day. Whether I am in front of the Chinese Consulate, at the Quit the CCP Service Center, at scenic spots, on a bus, or when I am walking somewhere, I clarify the truth to all the Chinese people that I come across and ask them to withdraw from the Communist Party and its affiliated organization. I jump at every opportunity and spend every minute in saving sentient beings.

One day I saw a Chinese lady on the train. I handed her an Epoch Times newspaper in Chinese. I elaborated on one of the articles in the paper, clarified the truth to her, and asked her to quit the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). Pretty soon she agreed to withdraw from the CCP. Because we got off the train at the same station, I utilized the ten minutes before we got off the train to tell her the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong. At that time I discovered that an older Chinese couple that was sitting behind us was listening to us attentively. I gave them an Epoch Times newspaper, too. They happily accepted it. I wanted to ask them to quit the CCP, but I hesitated because I was about to get off the train. On second thought, I decided to tell them about it even though I was not able to get them to quit the CCP. Pointing at the number of people that have already quit the CCP on the newspaper, I briefly told them about the importance of quitting the Party. Then I asked them if they were members of the Communist Party or Youth League. The lady answered, "I am not a Party member." I said, "You must have joined the Youth League. You withdrew from it a long time ago, didn't you?" She replied, "Yes."

I told them that it didn't count and also explained to them why they should withdraw now. Finally I said, "I will choose two aliases for you. One is 'Chang Shou' and the other is 'Chang Le.' You can use these two aliased to quit, and then you will be safe and you will be protected. We'd rather believe it works than not believe it." When I asked them their surnames, they didn't say. As they were hesitating, the other lady on the train who had just withdrawn from the CCP said, "You just say your surnames, you don't need to give your real names. She just gave me an alias, 'Mei Hao.' I told her my surname is Yu, then I used the name Yu Meihao to quit the CCP." I said, "Yes, she just withdrew from the CCP." That elderly man said, "My surname is Wang." The train stopped at the station where I needed to get off. I said to them while I was getting out, "Ok, your aliases are Wang Changshou and Wang Changle." They replied happily, "Ok, Ok!"

After I got off the train, I said to the lady, "You helped to save them and that is a boundless virtue. Please tell other people to quit the CCP." She willingly agreed.

Whether in front of the Chinese Consulate or at the Quit the CCP Service Center, as long as we have the wish to save people, Master's law body will bring the predestined people to us. So every time, within about an hour, I am able to convince four or five or seven or eight people to quit the CCP, and sometimes even more. The evil factors are becoming less and less, and people are awakening.

At a tourist site, I ask individuals to withdraw from the CCP and have achieved good results. One day I clarified the truth to a group of tourists from China. One of them, who looked like an official, said, "I know, I know." So I asked him to quit the CCP. But he refused abruptly. Because there were other people nearby, he left, but I was not going to let him go like this so I followed him and explained to him further how corrupt the evil Party is and about the big boulder on which is written "The Chinese Communist Party Perish." He said he also knew this. Then all of a sudden he said angrily, "What does the Chinese Communist Part account for? I know all the information about the persecution of Falun Gong."

I thought to myself that he might have been persecuted by the Party. I said to him, "Please stay far away from it. It is urgent that you protect yourself. Never, ever be its pawn. Please quit the CCP. I choose the alias 'Qing Xing' for you." So he agreed and at the same time he also quit the CCP on behalf of his wife. I told him to remember that "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good."

I usually persuade people to quit the CCP like this. Normally people are in a rush, so I talk to them while walking. On the train or bus, people have agreed to withdraw or given me their names seconds before they got off. When some of them learned the true implications of quitting the CCP, they not only withdrew themselves but also withdrew on behalf of their family members and relatives. They took their relatives' names to the Quit the CCP Service Center. Some ordinary people--and even some practitioners--couldn't understand me or even felt antipathy towards me when I followed people, trying to persuade them to quit the CCP. I don't blame them. People are in delusion and don't know what danger can befall them. Since I do know, I treasure every human life, so it doesn't matter how others treat me. As long as I am not moved, I will save as many as I can. When a human being comes to understand, the person will be very grateful for what we have done for him. Of course we are not expecting any rewards--we are only doing good for people.

It was a good cultivation process when I was trying to persuade my family members to withdraw from the CCP. Trying to get my husband to quit was a crucial step because he affected other family members and relatives. As soon as I mentioned this to him, he lost his temper and there was no way that I could even have a discussion with him about it. My daughter-in-law had the same attitude and didn't listen. I was very concerned. I knew I had to look inward whenever there was a problem: "The problem must be within me." Whenever I talked to them about Falun Gong, my competitive heart appeared. I intended to force my own opinions upon them. Almost every time I clarified the truth to them, we ended up in an argument. But I myself still thought I was protecting the Fa. I didn't consider whether they could accept it or not or their feelings. As a result, I didn't achieve anything. On the contrary, tensions were high, and they were not willing to make the "three withdrawals" (to withdraw from the CCP, the Communist Youth League, and the Young Pioneers). The reason I wanted to persuade them to quit the CCP was to have them influence other relatives. I realized that I didn't have real compassion for them. My heart was not pure, thus my words didn't carry any power and couldn't change anybody. As soon as I found my own problem, I cultivated myself first. I let go of my self and considered them first in everything. With a truly compassionate heart, I respected them in every way. Whenever there was a conflict, I took a step back and looked inward first. I tried my best to do more housework and took on more responsibilities and held myself to a practitioner's standards. Shortly after, our relationship improved and we were in harmony. When I talked to them again about the three withdrawals, they accepted it silently. My husband and my daughter-in-law both quit the CCP this year. Afterwards, my relatives and friends both here and overseas quit the CCP, one family after another. The iceberg has melted. From last year up to the present, I have persuaded about 1,200 people to withdraw from the CCP, including 300 people who quit after I talked to them over the phone. Since September of this year, on average, every day 4 or 5 people quit the CCP after I talk to them.

When saving sentient beings in recent years, I have come to a deeper understanding of Master's words: "One must truly temper and upgrade oneself through actual practice." (Zhuan Falun)

In "Fa Teaching at the 2008 New York Conference," Master said, "But in your case, as you validate the Fa and save people, you are a cultivator still..."

During these years, year in and year out, day in and day out, in rain or wind, I clarify the truth to people and try to persuade them to withdraw from the CCP, saving them even as I I cultivate myself. From writing letters to giving out pamphlets to clarifying the truth and persuading people to withdraw from the CCP face to face; from clarifying the truth to people with a trembling voice and reading from the paper over the phone to now talking to people and clarifying the truth to people in China with confidence, this was beyond what I could ever have imagined. I was previously a very ill person--I had breast cancer and had an operation. I had also had two-thirds of my stomach removed and had my gallbladder removed. At the age of 76, I haven't become weaker and weaker but instead I have become healthier and am in good spirits. Every day I go out to clarify the truth to people and ask them to withdraw from the CCP. All of this has been given to me by the Fa. Master is protecting me and strengthening what I have gained every minute. Only cultivators can fully understand this. Here, I would like to say "Thank you" to our great and compassionate Master. Master, thank you.

Master said, "In cultivation, it is human beings doing cultivation, not gods."

In "Further Understanding" in Essentials for Further Advancement, Master said:

"Do you realize that as long as you're a cultivator, in any environment or under any circumstances, I will use any troubles or unpleasant things you come across--even if they involve work for Dafa, or no matter how good or sacred you think they are--to eliminate your attachments and expose your demon-nature so that it can be eliminated, for your improvement is what's most important."

The process of my clarifying the truth and persuading people to withdraw from the CCP is also a process to expose my various attachments and a process of cultivation. When I had persuaded quite a few people to quit the CCP, my heart of complacency and showing off emerged immediately. I liked to brag about it to other practitioners. Then the evil would take advantage of it. The result was that I couldn't persuade as many people to withdraw later on. I had many lessons in this regard, so I tried to eliminate bad notions or thoughts and rectify myself. My heart of jealousy was exposed most. Whenever I found that other practitioners had persuaded more people to quit the CCP than I had, instead of feeling happy for them, I would feel unbalanced in my heart and feel uncomfortable. Even when the other practitioner was telling people the facts, I would have the thought, "You will not succeed in convincing this person to withdraw," though this thought was very hidden. But I myself was frightened at this thought. How wicked this heart was! This was a heart of evil! And this thought occurred more than once. I was so upset. I knew what it meant and its severe consequences. I knew it was not my real self but a postnatal notion. I had to identify it and get rid of it completely. I asked for Master's help not to allow such evil thoughts to interfere with our clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings.

One day I suddenly realized that saving sentient beings is what Master wants, and Master thanked us if we could save half of the Chinese people. The more people we save the better. Isn't it what Master requires us to do? Though I knew of this requirement a long time ago, I had a further understanding about it at that moment. I am helping Master to rectify the Fa and should 100 percent follow Master. How come I still had the opposite thought? It must be the evil demon in other dimensions that was afraid of our saving sentient beings and trying every means to interfere. I had still many attachments yet to be relinquished and had been taken advantage by them. I had to dig out the roots of the attachments and eliminate them. Except for the heart of complacency, showing off, and jealousy that I was aware of, I found that I had strong desire for fame. I always wanted to do better than others in every regard. If others did better than me, I would feel uncomfortable in my heart. It was precisely this heart for fame that brought up other attachments that interfered with the matter of saving sentient beings. In "Further Understanding," Master said, "...what you do then, with a pure heart, will be the best and most sacred."(Essentials for Further Advancement) With so many human emotions, how could I possibly complete the mission of saving sentient beings? I realized how important it is to cultivate oneself in the process of clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings. I also save myself while I am saving other people. This is the journey we have to take in order to return to our original, true self.

Today I have exposed my bad thoughts so that they have nowhere to hide and I can eliminate them completely and as soon as possible. Those bad postnatal thoughts are a material existence and are afraid of being exposed. They are derived from selfishness and are not my true self. So when they come up, I will grasp them and eliminate them, and I will use the Fa to rectify myself and clean myself. In the process of validating the Fa and clarifying the truth to people, I will use every opportunity to cultivate myself and do a better job in completing our prehistoric vows.

Finally I'd like quote Master's article "Realms" from Essentials for Further Advancement to end my sharing:

"Realms

A wicked person is born of jealousy.
Out of selfishness and anger he complains about unfairness towards himself.
A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion.
With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy.
An enlightened person has no attachments at all.
He quietly observes the people of the world deluded by illusions."