(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings Master! Greetings Fellow Practitioners!
The Joy of Obtaining Falun Dafa
I began practicing Falun Dafa in 2004. One time prior to this I experienced illness symptoms while traveling with my coworkers, so I sincerely chanted “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” and my body improved immediately. This had an enormous impact on me. I grew up with an atheist influence, and I studied science. When a miracle happened to me personally, I felt the existence of supernatural phenomenon. I was excited! When I got home, I began meditating with my legs crossed. When I went to work, I went straight to a Dafa practitioner, whom I was not very familiar with and asked, “Do you have books on Falun Dafa? Could you lend one to me?” He brought me Zhuan Falun the next day. After I went home, I finished the book without a break, I regret not having read it earlier. I also learned the exercises.
From the first day I meditated, even though my legs ached terribly and sweat dripped down due to pain, I was thinking that I had obtained the Fa very late and that I had to strive forward vigorously to catch up with other practitioners. Whenever the pain became unbearable, I chanted Master's words, “When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.” (Zhuan Falun) In the meantime, I said to myself, “one more second, one more second...” I thought if I took down my leg today due to pain, it would be even more difficult tomorrow. With Master's support, I kept my legs crossed for an hour from the very first day. I was in so much pain by the end of the hour that it took me a long time to take down my leg. Even though the pain was hard to bear, after daily endurance, my body began feeling light and delightful.
From that day on, I immersed myself in the joy of Dafa, and enjoyed an illness-free state. With the help of fellow practitioners, I finished reading all of Master's writings in a short period of time. My view of the world changed. From childhood, I had always searched for the meaning of life. I didn't know why we were here, but I had now found the answer. I had found the way home, and my happiness was beyond words. I determined that I would cultivate well, return to my original true self, and follow Master home. During the past seven years, I have been firmly walking on the path of cultivation.
Walking on the Path of Cultivation
I obtained Dafa after the persecution began. I began Fa rectification cultivation immediately. Aside from cultivating oneself well, practitioners must also save sentient beings. This is our mission. I distributed truth-clarification material as much as possible every day, and I felt warm and covered with energy. I didn't feel tired no matter how far I had to walk, or how many stairs in a building I had to climb. I prepared truth-clarification materials well before my business trips, and distributed them at night after the business meetings. I communicated with the truth-clarification materials and reinforced the energy before I distributed them. I wanted to let all who received material be saved, and eliminate interference from evil factors which keeps the worldly people from learning the truth.
With the advance of the Fa rectification, I have learned that consummation is no longer the sole purpose or a problem for Dafa practitioners. The most important task is saving sentient beings. I went out to tell the world's people the truth of Falun Dafa, bring the wonders of Dafa to them, expose the persecution, and persuade people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Before I obtained Dafa, I was a proud individual and hardly ever approached other people. But Dafa changed my character. Through constant Fa study, I realized Master's enormous compassion. In order to provide salvation to us all, what Master endured for us is beyond our imaginations, and I am often moved to tears. Whenever I meet predestined people, I want to approach them. If I speak about the weather and natural disasters, man-made trauma, the poisonous food, or the corruption of the CCP, most of people agreed with me. From that point on, I tell them that Falun Dafa has spread around the world, and about the brutal persecution launched by the CCP. For those who accept this, I ask them to quit the CCP. For those who are hesitant, I tell them the principle of “Good receives rewards, and evil receives punishment.” I also mention the stone from two hundred million years ago, engraved with the words “Eliminate the CCP.” I point out that it is a celestial phenomenon, and that one should follow the will of heaven in order to be safe. I also create a good name for them to use to quit the CCP, and most of them agreed. For those still hesitant, I tell them it is for their own well-being, and advise that when they hear this again next time, to please do it for their future safety.
I have cultivated away numerous human sentiments during the process. When I didn't study the Fa well, my state was not good. When I had fear, the worldly people I spoke to would refuse to quit the CCP. When I wanted only to finish the task, I noticed that my words lacked the power of the Fa, and it was also hard to convince people to quit. I noticed recently that when I was impatient, without clearly explaining the situation, it was also hard to convince people to quit. It is such a sacred deed. If we don't do well, not only can we not save the people, but we could hurt them. We have to cultivate away all human sentiments. Only when we study the Fa well and cultivate ourselves well, can we save people. When we study the Fa well, and cultivate away human attachments, it isn't hard to save people. Master has arranged everything. Master did it all, but Master leaves us the opportunity to establish mighty virtue. When we let go of self, with no fear and no attachments, we will witness sentient beings, their and their happiness after they understand the truth and are saved.
Cultivating Away the Attachments of Fame and Benefit
I have been stumbling alone in the process of cultivating xinxing, and eliminating attachments. When I encounter difficulties, sometimes I find my shortcomings by comparing to the Fa. I also search inward when encountering conflicts, and am able to find attachments of fame and benefit, the mentality of showing off, jealousy, attachments to leisure, and attachments to material things. I want to eliminate those human sentiments, but sometimes I feel like it is superficially done, as if I didn't go through vigorous individual cultivation. During the Fa rectification period, I sometimes took care of the three things as if they were duties. I was busy doing things, and it seemed that I studied the Fa every day, sent forth righteous thoughts at least seven times, and also clarified the truth to sentient beings. I felt alright, and I had no idea that anything was wrong with me. Because I hadn't truly cultivated myself for a long period of time, my mind wandered while I studied the Fa. I fell asleep while meditating, my palm fell while sending forth righteous thoughts, and I could not convince others while clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa. I was able to point out fellow practitioner's shortcomings immediately, but could not find my own problems at times. I used the Fa to measure others, while not looking inward, truly cultivating myself. I was stuck at that state for quite some time.
I was qualified as a senior engineer, but there were no job openings. Others were also not hired, but they were young would have plenty of chances. I was about to retire, but were there any chances for me? I didn't voice it out, nor did I fight for the position. But it was there deep down, and came out once in a while. I knew this thought was not right. It was an attachment to fame and benefit. It was something I needed to cultivate away. I kept subduing it, but it surfaced once in a while. From constant Fa study, Master's Fa came into my mind,
“...as a practitioner should follow the course of nature. If something is yours, you will not lose it. If something is not yours, you will not have it even if you fight for it. Of course, that is not absolute. If it were as absolute as that, there would not be the issue of committing wrongdoing. In other words, there are some unstable factors. But as a practitioner, you are in principle protected by Teacher’s fashen. Others cannot take away what is yours, even if they want to. We therefore believe in following the course of nature. Sometimes, you think that something should be yours, and others also tell you that it is yours. Actually, it is not. You may believe that it is yours, but in the end it is not yours. Through this, it can be seen whether you can give it up. If you cannot let it go, it is an attachment. This method must be used to get rid of your attachment to self-interest. This is the issue.” (Zhuan Falun)
This Fa was as if it was talking directly to me. After so many years of cultivation, I still had such a filthy heart of pursuing benefit, so how could I be qualified as a Fa rectification period Dafa practitioner? If I didn't cultivate myself well, how could I save others? I was very ashamed of myself. After I studied this Fa over and over, I felt light, both mentally and physically. The attachment to benefit disappeared. As long as you realize that you have this attachment and want to eliminate it, Master will help you. In the meantime, it also verified that, “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master” (Zhuan Falun) is the absolute truth. As long as you have that thought, Master will help you remove that substance. When Master found out that I wanted to be rid of the attachment to benefit, Master took away the substance hard as a rock. I also realized that the fundamental attachment of humans was to fame and benefit, which also branched out with numerous different attachments. If you still have the fundamental attachment, you are only pacing around the path arranged by the old forces. You are not a Dafa practitioner, so no matter how many things you do in Fa rectification, it is done by humans, and there is no virtue. We are cultivators, so we should cultivate our hearts, let go of attachments in the human world, and reach the realm as true cultivators. Just like what Master taught,
“...since you still need to remain among ordinary people until your cultivation meets with Consummation, you have to reach a state in which you have such things but have no heart for them, in which you can do such things but without attachment.” (“Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan”)
After eliminating the deep-seated attachment to benefit, my body became light, and I experienced the wonder of cultivation.
Elevation in Cultivation by Saving Sentient Beings
I retired this year, and before my retirement, I made a vow that I would use most of my time on Fa study and saving sentient beings. I asked Master to let me meet more fellow practitioners nearby so I could form a Fa study group. Master helped me to meet several fellow practitioners, and we spent all of our days doing the three things. We studied the Fa in the morning, and after sending forth righteous thoughts at noon, we go out to places where people gather to hand out Shen Yun DVDs and clarify the truth of Falun Dafa. This helped us to eliminate numerous human attachments. When we went out the first time, I saw a fellow practitioner talking to everyone she met. She was completely exposed to the crowd. I felt it was not safe, and I kept sending forth righteous thoughts behind, instead of passing out Shen Yun DVDs.
After I came home, I was exhausted. I knew that there was something wrong with me. Searching inward, I found the heart of self protection. Normally I felt no fear, but at the critical time, the deep seated fear came out. After I found the heart, I had the thought to completely eliminate the fear that prevented me from clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings. That night I studied Master's related scripture,
“Fear can cause one to make mistakes, and fear can cause one to lose a predestined opportunity. Fear is a death trap on a human being's journey toward divinity.” ("Pass the Deadly Test")
I felt the substance of fear being dissolved. When I went out the next day, I felt at ease. I was moved by the amount of people who asked me for Shen Yun DVDs. There are so many people who still don't know the truth, and still have not been saved at this critical junction of history. I felt so ashamed by my numerous human sentiments. In actuality, Master has already paved the road for us, and there are numerous righteous gods also helping us in other dimensions. As long as we eliminate our human hearts and follow Master's arrangement, the path we walk will be wider and smoother.
When some people refuse to take Shen Yun DVDs or make odd comments, I immediately search within to see if I had thoughts or sentiments that were not in alignment with the Fa. when I found human sentiments such as elation, lack of compassion, or resentment, I rectified myself right away, used the purest heart to carry out Dafa tasks. Only then could I save people. In the meantime I sent out the thought to eliminate all the evil beings and factors in other dimensions that interfere with me saving sentient beings. I quickly found out that the people were then willing to take the DVDs. I also noticed that I became more peaceful and content. I kept smiling regardless of if people took the DVDs or not. It is their choice, and the only duty I have is to save them. If they don't take it this time, maybe this was a good foundation for them to be saved next time. I was able to handle things well with everything and everyone. The number of people saved and who take DVDs has been consistently rising.
This summer was unusually hot. I noticed that fellow practitioners disregarded the heat, skipped meals and water, and ran in the streets clarifying the truth and persuading people quit the CCP face to face. I could not help but admire them. In the meantime, the substances that fear heat and the baking sun, hardship, and tiredness were also dissolved in my thoughts. Inspired by fellow practitioners, I remembered Master's words,
“When they return with full bounty,
The multitude of gods shall receive them.” (Stirred by Reflection)
I will strive forward vigorously on the path of cultivation. Each day before we go out, we ask Master to support us to save more beings. We noticed we were able to drive faster and walk further, in less time. We felt we were able to yield twice the result with half the effort. We felt that time was extended for saving the sentient beings. It was Master's support and protection. We felt gratified when we saw the happiness showed by sentient beings who obtained the Shen Yun DVDs, and we felt proud to carry out our vows and walk the way home.
When we studied Master two recent scriptures “What is a Dafa Disciple” and “Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa,” I felt the importance of our mission and our historic responsibility in cultivating ourselves well and saving sentient beings. I also felt ashamed for my lack of diligence, and my slacking off periods. I am more determined to study the Fa well, not to slack off, to cooperate well with fellow practitioners, to search inward whenever conflicts surface, to cultivate myself well, and to use righteous thoughts and deeds while following Master home!
Please kindly point out shortcomings!
Heshi!
