(Clearwisdom.net)
1. Creating a Truth Clarification Environment at the Shilin Night Market
After people from Mainland China were permitted to visit Taiwan in 2009, groups of them have daily visited the Shilin Night market. We [practitioners] initially stood by the entrance to the food area and displayed truth clarification boards. The practitioners were mostly elderly. They usually stood there holding the boards for two to three hours for the night and did so because they had the heart to rescue sentient beings. Because we did not cooperate well as one-body, these practitioners worked so hard there for over four months.
I felt I had a responsibility to create a suitable environment—to have more practitioners come out to validate the Fa and offer sentient beings salvation. Just when I did not know where to start, I was told that we could put up the truth clarification boards in the parking lots. As soon as my desire to rescue sentient beings emerged, Master immediately helped us. But at the same time it was also a time for testing us.
The owner of the parking lots told us we could only have a two-year contract. We thought that Master needed us to rescue more Chinese people, so we would do this for as long as we could. Thinking too much about time would be an attachment to Fa-rectification time. After I eliminated the attachment, I designed truth clarification boards.
Two months later, a row of large truth clarification boards stood up in the parking lots. We also had a television playing truth clarification videos. We sent righteous thoughts in groups. I realized that the environment for practitioners is arranged for rescuing sentient beings. It all depends on whether we meet the standard.
Conflicts with fellow practitioners made me realize that basing everything on the Fa when clarifying the truth and offering people salvation is more important than our own convenience. I forced myself to go there right after work. I was afraid if I took a break I would be unable to continue. Then the evil factors kept attacking me, for example, I saw scenes of car accidents in my mind. I realized my attachment of being afraid of troubles. The evil continued to strengthen my inappropriate thoughts. I kept sending righteous thoughts and kept telling myself, “I am a Dafa disciple. I have my Master. No one can touch me!”
After we put up the truth clarification boards in the parking lot, the evil kept trying to make me give up. We took turns to send righteous thoughts for longer periods of time. When it rained, practitioners asked me, “Do we still put up the boards?” I said, “Yes; this is interference as well as a test for us. This is not only for rescuing sentient beings. This is also to test for our determination in cultivation and Dafa.” Master said,
“Whatever project or initiative it may be that you are involved in, or whatever it may be that you’re doing to save sentient beings, you should all be steadfast about doing it, and finishing it, well.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of the Minghui Website’s Founding”)
No matter how hard the test is, we should continue to walk the cultivation path with determination.
Prior to the head in charge of the persecution from Mainland China coming to Taiwan with a touring group on August 16, while sending righteous thoughts I felt that the evil had arranged the field in Taiwan. I realized that we should send righteous thoughts as one-body. But because we did not pay enough attention, the evil took advantage of us. Conflicts happened between the head of the police and practitioners. Two days later the truth clarification boards had to be removed from the night market.
After that incident I looked inward and found that I did not realize I should have involved more practitioners in sending righteous thoughts. I did not share my thoughts regarding the importance of sending righteous thoughts with other coordinators. 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”)
I discovered that our notions are to blame. We thought the police understood the truth and that they should no longer interfere with us. But the police are only sentient beings. How could we rely on human beings to protect the field in which to rescue sentient beings?
After we refurbished the boards, two weeks later they were all standing around our practice site. A month later we started playing the truth clarification videos on television.
2. Tempering One’s Will
The Shilin Night Market required us to take down the board display by 10:00 p.m. to be in line with the Mainland Chinese tourists’ schedule. Initially, anxious to offer sentient beings salvation, practitioners did not think that was too late. As time went on, this became a test. As soon as a notion emerges it makes it easy to look outward: “Can we leave a little earlier?” In my opinion, rescuing sentient beings is the same as cultivation. As we move forward, we are required to have stronger endurance and larger capacity.
Master said,
“In this difficult environment, you will temper your will and upgrade your xinxing. Under the influence of different ill thoughts from everyday people, you will be able to reach above and beyond.” (Zhuan Falun)
Dafa disciples let go of the comfortable human environment to rescue more sentient beings. This is the process for Dafa disciples to get rid of the human shell. This is also a key cultivation- improvement moment—an opportunity Master gives us to build our mighty power. We should cherish this precious time and should not let up just because the environment is less intense.
Because of our determination, we have witnessed many miracles. Sometimes it was raining very hard, but when it was exercise time, the rain stopped. Then, when we returned home, the rain started again. Once when we were done doing the exercises, we saw many colorful Falun around the moon.
3. Losing No Time to Study the Fa and Practice the Exercises
Master said,
“Right now, the evil in other dimensions has been badly decimated, and its ability to control people has waned. So, for Dafa disciples, things overall have become ever more relaxed and comfortable. But as things get more comfortable, the pressure lessens; and when the pressure is lessened, it's apt to lead to a desire for comfort, to wanting a little more ease, to relaxing a little bit, and to seeking some relief. But the reality is, each Dafa disciple's life has been tightly wed to, like links in a chain, his cultivation. So when you relax yourself, it amounts to relaxing in your cultivation.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference”)
Prior to 2007, I always went to the exercise site in the morning. I was able to keep up with regular Fa-study and exercise practice. Later on, because I changed jobs and moved, sometimes I went to bed very late. I gradually fell behind on doing the morning exercises. Sometimes, even with three alarm clocks, I still could not get up. I was bothered by that. If I was able to finish the five exercises all at once, I usually had minimal interference whether it was Fa validation or doing my daily work . I was also able to study the Fa with a calm mind. Otherwise, I would have a lot of trouble.
When I could not maintain a regular morning exercise routine, I felt bad matter interfering with me. Every night when I went home I always wanted to rest or relax by watching TV. Sometimes as I got up in the morning I thought, “When I’m done with the exercises I can go back to take a quick nap before going to work.” Finding the notion of feeling the need to rest, I eliminated the attachment that I did not want to get rid of for a long time.
I understood that the attachment to comfort is the attachment to my own body. Eliminating the attachment did not make me lose anything. I changed from taking a nap to studying the Fa after morning exercises. I could usually read one lecture of Zhuan Falun.
Sometimes I needed to take care of some Fa validation work at night. I did not have enough time to sleep, but I still went to do the exercises on time at 4:30 a.m. Looking back at those two years that I did not pay attention to practicing the exercises, although I still kept studying the Fa and clarifying the truth, I was never steadfast in my cultivation. I was able to have a breakthrough because I had been going to the night market to rescue sentient beings with other practitioners and lost no time to study the Fa. I told Master, “I am willing to accept Dafa’s standards on different levels and cultivate diligently.”
4. Cultivating Away the Attachment to Lust and Desire
I always experienced tests during my cultivation in the past ten years. Especially during the past couple of years, with a strong attachment to comfort, I did not get up on time to practice the exercises. I did not cultivate my xinxing diligently and did not pay enough attention to this issue.
Once my legs were swollen. I looked inward for my loopholes. I had similar symptoms several years before. It took more than two months before I recovered. I did not find any loopholes. When the symptom recurred I thought, "It must be some deeply hidden attachment that I have not yet eliminated. I will find it.” I found my attachment to lust and desire. If I did not eliminate this attachment it would directly impact my Fa validation work. When I had that righteous thought and truly wanted to eliminate the attachment, the next morning my legs were fine, with only minor pain at the knee.
Master said,
“Even each Dafa disciple's every move, every action, every word, and even the questions you ponder, none of it is that simple. In the future you'll see that everything was very carefully arranged. But it's not me who arranged this, it's the old forces who did.” (“Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.”)
Once on my way back from the market, a popular song came to mind. While doing Dafa work, my mind went to ordinary people’s things. When I looked deeper I found an attachment on a more micro level. I cared about emotions between man and woman. When I discovered the attachment to lust and desire, I felt great and my knee pain was gone, too.
5. The Power of Righteous Thoughts
After going through the tests of establishing the truth clarification site and improvement, I have eliminated many human notions. When I send righteous thoughts, the power becomes stronger. One stormy day the boards fell in a strong wind. I sent righteous thoughts. In my mind I built a wall to block the wind. After that, no matter how hard the wind blew, the boards still stood. I realized it was Master teaching me how to use the power He gave me. That night I slept less than three hours. I still went to the morning exercises on time, highly energized. While doing the meditation exercise I heard rain drops. When I was done, I saw that the ground was wet, but my clothes were dry.
After going through tests over more than a year, I have developed a stronger determination in my cultivation. I am able to face my cultivation shortcomings with dignity—to reach the Fa requirements on different levels. I am grateful for the environment and opportunities our benevolent Master has given us to improve and build mighty powers. We will cherish the environment for rescuing sentient beings and do well what Dafa disciples are supposed to do.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
