(Clearwisdom.net) Following my release from a forced labor camp in the summer of 2008, due to my family’s financial circumstances I had to go work in a far-away city. The working conditions were complicated, and the hours were long. My job was to work at a window service where large numbers of customers came and went every day. As I was responsible for multiple tasks at the same time, I had little time to rest. I was unable to find local practitioners, and neither could I get Master's new lectures or the Minghui Weekly. I could not get truth-clarifying materials. The environment was a huge contrast to that back home.
I felt it was way too difficult for me to cultivate in such an environment since I hardly had time to send righteous thoughts. I wanted to go home to look for a job so that I could cultivate in a much better environment. That situation persisted, and a year or so later, I realized that it was wrong to think like that. Dafa practitioners should be able to cultivate and do well anywhere. It was possible that this environment could help me improve, eliminate some of my attachments, and, furthermore, there could be people waiting for me to offer them salvation. No matter how hard the environment is, I should not forget what a Dafa disciple should do. I should not forget to do the three things well. Thereafter, I began to shift my mentality to its correct path.
1. Studying the Fa Whenever I Could; Paying Attention to the Quality of Fa-study
There was very little time left for me to study the Fa after I finished doing the five exercises in the evening, so I had to study the Fa during the day. I normally studied the Fa in the mornings at work since there were fewer customers. I also used my lunch hour to study. I studied the Fa whenever I could, regardless of how much or little time I had.
I was initially unable to keep a tranquil mind when I read the Fa. As a result, I could only read a little bit, and the effect was poor, too. To solve that problem, I adjusted my mentality not to be affected by my surroundings. After that, I was able to study the Fa in tranquility. After persistently studying the Fa, I started to notice that my job responsibilities had been reduced, and thus I had more and more time to study the Fa. Through studying the Fa regularly, I also found that I could always be within the Fa, and was able to measure myself against the Fa; my xinxing was enhanced as a result.
2. Overcoming Difficulties, Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts Hourly
My job kept me me from sending forth righteous thoughts during the four set global times. I could only follow the global schedule once a day, at midnight. I had tried to send righteous thoughts at work, but since the job load was heavy, I was unable to focus on it. I was deeply concerned about it until after I shared my concern with a fellow practitioner. He told me that maybe I could think that, since I was doing the most righteous thing in the universe, nothing was allowed to interfere; the normal tasks could be pushed back. I added that thought when I sent forth righteous thoughts that night at home, and it worked. After that, I had less work to do every day, which allowed me to keep to the schedule of sending righteous thoughts. If I do not have anything to do during other hours, I also send righteous thoughts. After I intensified my righteous thoughts, I no longer experienced as much interference and had more time to do the three things.
3. Overcoming Tribulations; Clarifying the Truth to Sentient Beings
Practitioners in the area where I work were persecuted severely, and very few people knew the truth of Dafa, and few people had quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. I realized that I should distribute truth-clarifying materials to a large area to help more people understand Dafa, but I could not get the materials since I was unable to find practitioners in the local area.
I began to make materials myself, but it was far from sufficient. Then I brought back materials from my hometown every time I visited my family. To avoid the checkpoints at the railway stations and bus stops, I took a mini-bus. Taking advantage of me, however, the bus driver overcharged me. Afterwards I realized the reason I was taking the mini-bus was my fear of being caught. After studying the Fa, I learned that, as long as I had strong righteous thoughts, I could demonstrate the bountiful power of Dafa with which I could overcome all kinds of difficulties. I switched to taking the regular, long-distance bus.
I sent forth righteous thoughts before taking the bus to eliminate all of the evil influence behind the staff at the bus station. When I approached the checkpoint, one staff member was reading the newspaper and his loudspeaker was silent. I passed through the checkpoint safe and sound. On another occasion I needed to take a train. At the checkpoint I repeatedly sent forth righteous thoughts, and compassion arose as I did. I felt that we should save the staff members at the train station, so I sent righteous thoughts for 30 minutes. When I passed the checkpoint, the staff there did not even seem to notice me.
I also posted hand-written truth-clarifying messages on walls inside apartment building hallways, on power poles and elsewhere. Since they took a long time to write, I kept very strong righteous thoughts as I did so to prevent any interference. I needed to keep a very stable mindset and constantly sent righteous thoughts. One night a plainclothes police officer followed me while I was writing messages inside an apartment building. I had not studied the Fa well, and neither had I sent righteous thoughts during the day. As I left the building, he followed me. I started to run, and he chased me. Just then I remembered an article from the Minghui/Clearwisdom website on how to stop the evil forces from interrupting with truth-clarification. I said: "Freeze! Freeze!" Right after that, I heard a choking sound, and the person following me stopped running. After that incident I searched inside myself and found that I had not studied the Fa well and had not sent forth righteous thoughts well enough either. My mentality of doing things had accelerated and had thus given the evil forces an opportunity.
My workplace has a guarded gate, and it is not easy to enter and exit from there to distribute truth-clarifying materials. In addition, the employees, who also reside on the company’s campus, are prohibited from leaving the campus in the evenings. To leave in the evening, we have to apply ahead of time. I held a special position in the company, and they did not have very specific requirements for me. For a while I felt that my boss and his wife thought highly of me, and that I should take care of more tasks for them. With that thought, I attempted to meddle in some unacceptable conduct of other employees, but the situation worsened.
A male and a female sales assistant left the residential compound and did not return for the entire evening. By the time I realized that I should not have got involved in that matter, it was already too late; the evil also seized this loophole. Consequently, my boss and his wife told my family that I left the compound every evening, and they asked my family to stop me because they were worried.
After they did that, I became alert that they were interfering with me in carrying out truth-clarifying tasks. I searched inside and found that there were things in which practitioners should not get involved. Dafa practitioners should follow the requirements for practitioners. It was the boss and the managers’ responsibility to deal with conduct that violated the company’s rules and regulations. I should just focus on my own tasks and do them well.
I kept searching even deeper within myself and noticed that I had some other hidden attachments. For example, I felt it was unfair that other employees did not put forth as much effort as I did on our tasks. I realized this thought was the result of my jealousy. Immediately I began to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate those bad thoughts and also changed my bad habits.
After that, when things happened again and I was about to interfere, I thought of Master's teachings and stopped right away. Sometimes I stopped in the middle of a sentence when I realized I should not become involved. Gradually I completely eliminated that attachment. After that there was less trouble for me. The work environment improved, too, and my boss no longer interfered when I went out to clarify the truth.
I also write the truth clarifying messages on paper currency. Working at the cash register, I write such messages on about ten bills every day. When I give customers change, I insert one of the bills inside. When businesses around us ask me to make change for them, I give them some bills that contain the truth of Dafa.
I also clarify the truth to people in person and encourage them to quit the CCP. One student treated me like a relative after we first met. I knew we must have a predestined relationship, and he was there for me to offer him salvation. After I told him to quit the CCP to secure his future, he happily said, “You’ve rescued me! Thank you so very much. Let me go back to school and get everyone in my class to quit the CCP as well. I’ll bring the list of names to you later.”
4. Studying the Fa; Cultivating the Mind to Eliminate Karma
I was busy with my job in April 2009 and did not study the Fa well enough. Because of that, my attachments magnified, which gave the evil forces a chance to persecute me. I had extreme back pain one morning and could not do the exercises since I was unable to move. I did not know what I should do because I had never come across any interference like that since I began to cultivate in Dafa.
I called my practitioner wife, who traveled many miles to come see me and solve the problem for me. She told me to treat the issue as a practitioner, to stand up and walk as usual. Furthermore, I should do the exercises. I also searched inside myself. First of all, I knew that it was evil interference that caused my back pain. Secondly, I discovered numerous attachments, which the evil forces used to persecute me, as if they were helping me to eliminate my attachments. A few days later I also shared with two other practitioners who encouraged me to focus on cultivating my xinxing, especially at this stage, when the Fa-rectification has nearly reached the end. My cultivation needed to be more solid and stable.
Fa-study also taught me that, although I had cultivated for more than 10 years, some of my attachments had persisted. Because of them, the evil old forces had caused me to be incarcerated many times. This time the evil forces used the form of illness to persecute me.
After that I focused on genuinely cultivating myself, guarding every single word I said and everything I did. When I noticed that I had bad thoughts or had done something wrong, I corrected them right away. I also intensified my righteous thoughts to eliminate the conventional thinking that I had accumulated in this lifetime and attachments. I denied the evil arrangements, ignored my back pain, and walked as normal. No matter how badly my back hurt, I walked with my back straight. We did the five exercises together. My back hurt so badly that I almost fainted when I did them. I was soaked in sweat due to pain after I finished an hour later. After practicing for a few days, the pain was reduced. I continued doing the three things with righteous thoughts and behavior as usual. My back felt almost normal two months later, and was completely fine six months later. As a matter of fact, I felt better than before. I could feel that Master was always with me, even though there were no other practitioners nearby.
Practitioners in my hometown also sent me copies of the Minghui Weekly and Master's lectures as well as sent forth righteous thoughts for me. I knew that I was part of the body of Dafa.
Going through tribulations and tests in the past two years, I have become more mature and rid myself of my habit of always depending on other practitioners. I have found out how to walk my own path and deal with problems. I learned how to search inside myself. I know that I have eliminated lots of my attachments.
By studying the Fa, cultivating myself, and doing the three things well, my environment gradually changed; most of all, my work load has been reduced, and things are going more smoothly.
Although my work hours are still long, I have time to send forth righteous thoughts, especially at the four global times. Furthermore, there are no longer any obstacles to prevent me from distributing materials in the evenings, and my boss no longer cares. I also get along well with my co-workers, and my boss approves of my work abilities. He has increased my salary numerous times; thus my family is able to get out from under financial difficulties.
