(Clearwisdom.net) I began practicing Falun Gong before the persecution began on July 20, 1999. I would like to share with everyone my cultivation experiences during the past years.
Learning to Think of Others First
Master taught us in “Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston,”
“You probably remember something I've said to you often: A Dafa disciple should consider others first in everything he does. Whenever something happens or whenever a situation comes about, even if it's a minor thing, my first thought is of others, for it's already become natural for me--I just think of others first.”
During the past seven Internet experience sharing conferences for practitioners in China, I had always simply given my handwritten submissions to a few practitioners at our local materials production site to type into a computer. Even though I was aware of how busy they were, all I did was just think, “Wow, they’re really hard-working.” This year when the eighth experience sharing conference called for papers, I helped-out whenever possible. For instance, I proofread submissions to make sure there were no mistakes. I learned from Master’s teachings that if we could all consider others first, those practitioners at the materials production sites would face less pressure, and subsequently have more time to study the Fa and practice the exercises.
As Dafa disciples, we are all clear that returning to our true selves is the real purpose of life. So how should we conduct ourselves to achieve our goal? As I see it, the key lies in our willingness and ability to be considerate of others. The following example demonstrates how thinking of others first leads to better outcomes.
Fellow practitioner Ms. Wang often complained to me about how her boss picked on her all the time and how she wanted to quit. At the beginning, I didn’t think much about her frustration. Instead, I kept citing Master’s teachings in an effort to remind her that a true cultivator should be able to endure such trivial hardships. The result however wasn’t so good. Realizing that I failed to think from her perspective, I decided to change my approach. I began to talk to her about the traditional Chinese culture’s principles of how one should conduct oneself in different environments, and she seemed to be quite receptive. Another practitioner asked me, “Why does Ms. Wang behave so nicely when she's with you, but changes when you leave?” I smiled in response. Three months passed and Ms. Wang no longer mentioned anything about quitting her job.
One day Ms. Wang said to me hastily, “I got confused about the time I was supposed to report to work today. Now that I’m going to be late no matter what, I’m sure my boss will not be happy with me and I have no doubt she’ll deduct from my salary!” I reminded her that as a cultivator she should cherish the predestined relationship between herself and her boss, and that she should not forget to clarify the truth to her boss. I then drafted a text message for her to send to her boss. The message read, “I am sorry to bother you. I wanted to let you know that I remembered the time to report to work incorrectly, and I apologize for not being at work on time.” She said the message sounded too formal and too polite. I said, “It will only do you good to have your boss see you observe the proprieties.” She obliged and soon received a response from her boss saying, “No worries. It will be fine if you come in after lunch.”
Not long ago Ms. Wang encountered another matter that upset her so much that she seemed became determined to part ways with her boss. Realizing that she had improved in her cultivation, I changed my approach to comfort her. I began to share my life story and also reminded her of how hard it was for Master to save us. In addition, I talked about the persecution that some local practitioners had gone through for standing up for their beliefs. Those practitioners were all people whom she knew very well. She felt very ashamed and said, “I changed my mind. I’ll still work there. In the future I’ll behave like a cultivator and treat everyone with kindness.”
Having the Courage to Break Through Myself
Master said in “Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan,”
“Then there are some students who shift the blame, trying to attribute whatever problem comes up to this or that reason. And if there really isn’t any reason, they’ll make one up (everyone laughs), saying things like, 'You don’t realize what the situation was at the time.' And then they carry on with some nonsense or other. (Everyone laughs) And that’s the lighter of the problems, no less. In the more severe cases, the person won’t have any part of it whatsoever. Do you know how gods look at you in these instances? The old forces will remember you for it as soon as that happens, with your performance at that time becoming a handle for them to latch on to. What’s in store for you is trouble, then. When your xinxing doesn’t measure up in this regard, it will spell big trouble for you. Watch out.”
“Moreover, there is the fact of all of the world’s people having been poisoned, and Dafa disciples needing to clarify the truth to some 7 billion people. So, if they don’t have a dauntless will born of righteous thoughts, they aren’t able to save sentient beings and validate the Fa.”
I was very good at debating and would spare no chance to prove my point. Even after starting cultivation, I still grabbed every possible opportunity to strike my opponents and render them speechless. One day a fellow practitioner named Li said something totally wrong about me. If it were in the past, I’d jump right at her. This time however, I received a message in my mind asking me not to explain myself. I stopped my urge to say something and found that I was actually very at-ease. Ten minutes passed. Thirty minutes passed. I was still able to wear a smile on my face. Suddenly I felt very comfortable all over, a sensation I had never experienced before. The kind of fatigue I had after each debate and argument was simply gone.
Only by Solidly Cultivating Ourselves Can We Truly Help Other People
We once decided to hold an experience sharing conference to help some former practitioners who submitted to the pressure of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution, and went awry in their cultivation. With this one thought, compassionate Master arranged a perfect opportunity for us to meet these former practitioners, including one who used to be the coordinator of our local exercise site. As a matter of fact, I was very familiar with this former coordinator, Mr. Li, since we had worked together on Dafa projects in the past. I felt very content after the experience sharing conference, and thought I did a great job offering advice to these former practitioners.
To my surprise, a fellow practitioner who also attended the conference said to me later, “You always give me and Mr. Li an impression that you’re superior to us.” I was dumbfounded upon hearing this. Afterwards, I kept looking inward and a few other practitioners also tried to help me identify my problems. Was it that my words were not kind enough? Was it that I displayed irrational behavior? Was it that I indeed felt superior to others? Or was it that I possessed a showoff mentality?
Even though I was still not sure what was my root problem, I decided not to dread this matter. I paid attention to my every word and action.
We had another experience sharing conference earlier this year. I had a talk with Mr. Li at the conference and he said to me afterwards, “I’m happy to see the ‘you’ that I knew in the past come back. You reminded me of the times when we worked together on Dafa projects. We now have a mutual understanding and trust. You are more mature and have a more determined mind towards Dafa. Moreover, I no longer see the superior attitude you had the last time we met.”
When Master’s new article “Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference” was published, I finally saw my root problem. The first time I tried to help Mr. Li at the experience sharing conference, I was just working hard to show that I was a good person. However, without solid cultivation and lacking a compassionate energy field, I failed to make him feel my sincerity, let alone offer meaningful help to him.
Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts While Working on Technical Issues
I am the go-to person when it comes to technical problems. When I first started to help fellow practitioners, I knew to send forth righteous thoughts, but I later slacked off in this regard when it became clear I was usually able to identify and fix the technical problems. In other words, I treated this matter just like a non-practitioner.
Not long ago, a fellow practitioner complained to me that he just couldn’t turn on his MP4 player. When I tried the on-off switch, the player powered on and off just fine. A few days later this practitioner came back complaining about the same problem, wondering if I had ever fixed his player to begin with. I examined it again and the player functioned without any glitch. To my surprise, this practitioner requested my help with the same issue again not long after. This time I kept his player with me for a few days just to make sure there was no problem. When I returned the player to him, I specifically told him, “I finally found the problem and got it fixed.” He was very happy. When I checked with him a few days later, he told me everything was fine. I suddenly came to the realization that he kept experiencing the same technical problem probably because he thought I never really fixed his player, but he was relieved when I explicitly assured him the problem was solved. When he no longer doubted me, the player worked just fine. This incident suggested that a cultivator’s thoughts really have an impact on everything we do and we should pay attention to sending forth righteous thoughts.
On another occasion I tried to fix another practitioner’s computer and figured there was something wrong with the CPU. After I re-installed the CPU however, the machine failed to reboot. Based on my experience, I was pretty sure that the CPU needed to be replaced. When I went to buy a new one, there were none available, so I lent my own computer to the fellow practitioner.
During the time the broken computer sat in my home, I maintained a calm mind and intensified my Fa-study. A few days later I had a thought to try the computer again. When I plugged it in, it powered on normally. I didn’t become elated, but instead simply reconfigured the machine to make sure it functioned just fine.
Through this incident, I came to the understanding that cultivators should not focus on the possible gain or loss in a given situation. We should let go of our attachments and just do what we are supposed to do without any pursuit. The outcome will for sure be the best.
As long as we maintain righteous thoughts and follow Master’s teachings, there is no obstacle that we cannot overcome.
Category: Improving Oneself
