(Clearwisdom.net) Another practitioner, who I'll call Practitioner A, urged me to write about the practitioners being persecuted to death. I said that I would try my best. In the process, a different practitioner, Practitioner B, advised that the article be carefully written. His words were like a bucket of cold water that extinguished my enthusiasm. I consider myself a beginner in writing. I had worked very hard already, and I had only so much ability. I almost wanted to decline writing the article.
I then thought of Teacher’s Fa, and I felt my righteous thoughts grow stronger. Coincidentally, I soon found on the Minghui website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net) an article explaining how to write news articles. I did heshi with my hands and thanked Teacher. I spent the entire night without sleep reading related articles, and I kept crying. I felt Teacher’s enormous benevolence. When I wrote the article, interference from evil in other dimensions was very strong. Practitioner A saw that I was pale and weak. I told her that I had bad dreams whenever I slept and that I could not fall asleep. Only by listening to Pudu or Jishi did it get better. Practitioner A told me that while she was collecting evidence for this case, she also experienced many disruptions. After we shared our experiences, we realized even more the importance of this article in suppressing the evil.
– By the author
Greetings, respectable Teacher! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
It is already time for the Eighth Chinese Internet Fa-Conference. I would like to write about my cultivation experience of being a Minghui correspondent over the past year, and report it to Teacher and fellow practitioners.
1. Studying the Fa Well and Finding a Fa-rectification Task That Suits Me
I regained my freedom last January after being incarcerated for four months. In May, I traveled to the city where I had attended college. The city had many practitioners, and many Fa-rectification tasks were underway. I wanted to join the group and start working, but no one was able to help me because they were all very busy. I thought perhaps the karmic relationship was not quite there yet.
I had some savings, and I stayed with an elderly practitioner. I didn't feel the need to rush into looking for a job. I settled myself down to quietly study Dafa and do the exercises. Every morning, the elderly practitioner and I got up early and joined in the worldwide group exercises. We then studied one chapter of Zhuan Falun. In the evening, we went to the group Fa study. I tried to study as much Fa as I could at other times, too. I asked Teacher, “Please arrange a suitable thing for me to do.”
One day, the elderly practitioner told me that he had written several times about his persecution experience, but the coordinator felt it wasn't good enough and did not publish it. So I helped him edit his article, and got it published. From then on, more and more practitioners asked me to help them with their articles.
I developed a firm thought in my mind, “I will use the ability that Teacher has given me and the wisdom that Dafa has inspired in me to help the persecuted practitioners write about their experiences, to expose the evil and fulfill our great historical missions and responsibilities.”
2. Improving My Writing Skills in the Process of Writing Articles
When I first began helping fellow practitioners write their persecution experiences, I did not have much knowledge about how to proceed. I had studied psychology in college. Teacher said,
“Actually, with a lot of things if you calmly and gently talk to people and handle those things rationally, you'll find that your wisdom will flow forth like a spring, and every sentence of yours will get right to the point, and every sentence will speak the truth.” (“Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference”)
I immediately had an abundance of confidence. I felt that with Teacher next to me, no tribulations could stop me.
But when I actually wrote the articles, my thoughts and reasoning were still not sufficiently clear. I thought a good article exposing the persecution should not only expose the persecution of Dafa practitioners and dissolve the evil in other dimensions, but should also suppress the evil in this dimension and stop it from committing more atrocities. From another point of view, it should save those sentient beings who have been deceived by the evil’s lies.
Rather than being just for practitioners to read, the articles that we write exposing the persecution are primarily for sentient beings to read. Teacher said, “… being able to truly think from other beings' perspectives.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.”) Therefore we need to use an angle of everyday people and use reasons acceptable to them to write the articles. We need to tell them of the wonders of Dafa and of the cruelty of the persecution. When editing the articles, I tried to follow everyday people’s language structure and thought processes as much as I could.
Teacher said,
“Your mind will become increasingly pure as you reach higher levels. What your thinking brings forth then, and what you say, will be extremely pure. The purer and simpler they are, the more they conform to the principles of that level of the universe. The words you speak then can instantly pierce people’s hearts, strike the depths of people’s thoughts, and strike the more microscopic part of their existences. Now isn’t that going to be powerful?!” (“Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Switzerland”)
Each time I wrote an article, I always sent forth righteous thoughts to clean myself up, so that I would have the purest heart while writing.
Many practitioners described to me the mental and physical suffering that they had endured. When I described their experiences with written language, the practitioners said with emotion, “That is it exactly. It is wonderfully written and just right.”
I initiated many hunger strikes during two years of incarceration. I was tortured often but never betrayed Teacher and Dafa. Because of my own experience, I could sympathize well with other practitioners’ feelings regarding their physical and mental sufferings. In writing about their sufferings, I did not use elegant or fancy phrases to dramatize the stories. I wrote my true feelings so the readers could feel that every word was real. Every word became more substantial and carried my own message.
3. Eliminating Interference from Other Dimensions
Practitioner A urged me to write about the practitioners being persecuted to death. I said that I would try my best. In the process, Practitioner B advised that the article be carefully written. His words were like a bucket of cold water that extinguished my enthusiasm. I considered myself a beginner in writing. I had worked very hard already, and I had only so much ability. Furthermore, I was not a literature major. I almost wanted to decline writing the article. I felt that there was a huge mountain in front of me, and I became depressed. I then thought of Teacher’s Fa,
“It's cultivation, so don't be intimidated by difficulties. No matter what, no matter how hard it is, you are definitely able to come through on the path given to you by Master. (Applause) As long as you raise your xinxing you can make it through.” (“Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference”)
I felt my righteous thoughts grow stronger. Teacher also said, “The Buddha Fa is boundless!” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2005 Manhattan International Fa Conference”) I thought, “Teacher will help me for sure.”
Coincidentally, I soon found on the Minghui website an article explaining how to write news articles. I did heshi with my hands and thanked Teacher. I spent the entire night without sleep reading related articles, and I kept crying. I felt Teacher's enormous benevolence. I thought, “Teacher, I will work hard to improve my writing skills so that I may validate Dafa better, and in the meantime reduce the load for those practitioners working on the Minghui website.”
When I wrote an article about a practitioner that had died as a result of persecution, interference by the evil in other dimensions was very strong. Practitioner A saw that my face was pale and my body was weak. I told her that I had bad dreams whenever I slept, and that I could not fall asleep. Only by listening to Pudu or Jishi did it get better. Practitioner A told me that while she was collecting evidence for this case, she also experienced many disruptions.
After we shared our experiences, we realized even more the importance of this article in suppressing the evil. After the article was finished, I wrote a few more articles related to it. I feel that I have broken through and overcome many difficulties, and the evil’s interference is diminishing.
4. Elevating My Xinxing While Writing Articles
Teacher said, “Falun Dafa is for cultivation practice—it is not a job.” (Essentials for Further Advancement)
I held what Teacher said solid in my mind and approached writing articles as a cultivation process. In helping fellow practitioners to write or edit articles, opportunities for me to elevate my xinxing are everywhere.
A young male practitioner was once persecuted in a forced labor camp. When I helped him edit the article, he insisted on saying “police” instead of “evil police,” thinking that they were not that evil. I explained to him with emotion, “The police torture practitioners, beat them, order them to write guarantee statements, and you were pressured to succumb. Are they not evil? It seems that you may have 'Stockholm Syndrome' (a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express positive feelings towards their captors).” Seeing that he was turned off by my emotional reaction and remained firm in his conviction, I calmed down and told him that we should talk about it again in a few days.
I expressed my opinion to some other practitioners, who all agreed with me. I even went to talk with the coordinator of the large Fa-study group. He agreed with me, too. But when I was ready to go and convince the young practitioner, I sensed the strong attachment that I had in insisting on my own opinion. I told myself, “Even if I am right, I need to put down my own thoughts and respect his opinion. Whether it is 'evil police' or 'police,' the article will not be affected much.” I also found another attachment of mine, which was sentimentality. The practitioner was younger than me by two years. He had always treated me as an elder sister, and we had known each other for ten years. I felt sorry for him for his sufferings and leaving a bad mark in his cultivation. What was worse is that he was not clear about the Fa-principles. Seeing our omissions, I treated this experience as an opportunity for me to elevate myself. I adopted his opinion and sent out the article.
Practitioner C had been put into forced labor camps twice. She fought the persecution and got out of the camps. For a long time, she didn't want to expose the persecution that she had suffered. After I discussed it with her, she understood that we should expose it, but she was still afraid. Some time later, she finally agreed to have her experiences written up. After I wrote them up for her, she wanted me to change the article so that it appeared to be written by a third party. I did, but after she read it, she decided not to publish it. She said to me apologetically, “I'm sorry to have caused you much trouble.” I said, “No problem. This is what I should do. I will mail it to Minghui after you make up your mind.” I explained her situation to other practitioners, who encouraged her to have the article published, and she finally did.
During the few months I was helping Practitioner C, my capacity kept expanding. Whenever I got tired, I remembered Teacher’s lecture,
“They are in a state of immense tolerance, of mercy toward all beings, and of being able to understand everything with kindness. To put it in human terms, they're always able to be understanding of others.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston”)
After I helped Practitioner D publish her article, she told me that there were some errors due to her mistaken memory. I said we could write to the Minghui editor to correct it. I felt somewhat uneasy. I always took my writing very seriously and reviewed carefully the articles that I had written. I thought I would tell the Minghui editor that it was due to Practitioner D's mistaken memory, rather than having it appear that I had made the mistake. I sensed that this thought of mine was not in line with the Fa. It was an attachment of wanting to validate myself, and I had to eliminate it. This was an opportunity that Teacher provided for me to elevate myself. Teacher said, “All of these are stepping stones by which to cultivate and improve.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference”) In the end, I wrote to the editor about the error, but did not mention the cause.
5. Dafa Practitioners Are in Unity--Thanks to All Fellow Practitioners at Minghui for Their Unselfish Devotion
Teacher said,
“…a lot of Dafa disciples there have cultivated well. Whenever I see you do well, and, in particular, whenever you cooperate with each other as a whole and have a great impact, the multitude of gods praise you. And you've played an important role clarifying the truth and opposing the persecution. Capitalize on your strengths and put to use the righteous thoughts of Dafa disciples, and do even better. Your doing well in and of itself scares the evil.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students”)
Whenever I read this paragraph, I cannot help but shed tears. Teacher’s encouragement helps me move forward diligently.
Over the past year of writing articles, each time I would carefully read the changes made by the Minghui editor. My writing skills have continued to improve. I have experienced even more deeply the attitude of responsibility that Minghui editors have toward the articles.
To ensure the accuracy of the articles, I work with an elderly practitioner to proofread the articles along with the originator of each article. The elderly practitioner is 65, older than my own father. No matter how bad the weather is, even in the summer heat or winter cold, he never complains. He will take me on his motorcycle wherever I need to go. Sometimes when I am very busy, he brings the originator to his own house. When practitioners from out of town come to work on the article, he lets them stay in his home.
Over the past year, I have written over 90 articles. Although on the surface it is me writing the articles, in reality it is a result of everyone’s efforts, including some coordinators from different districts who help quietly. I will work harder in the future.
Thank you, Teacher and fellow practitioners.
