(Clearwisdom.net) I started to print truth clarification materials when the persecution of Falun Dafa began. With Master's protection, I have overcome many difficulties under immense pressure. Now I would like share my experience.
1. Validating the Fa from a Technical Perspective
After July 20, 1999, I was persecuted and detained as a “key person” in the local area by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). After I was released, I went to Beijing with several fellow practitioners to to validate the Fa. We were detained and taken to a police station on the east side of Tiananmen Square. There, I saw the truth clarification materials confiscated from practitioners from other areas. They were in color and very beautiful. I felt we should print this high quality material in our local area.
Master helped me because of this simple but pure thought. In the following ten years I have been working on this. It was indeed very difficult at that time. First, we did not have money. At that time, many of us were in the transition period, moving from personal cultivation to the Fa-rectification cultivation phase. We were still limited in our thinking arranged by the old forces. With the attachment to time, we thought the practice required us to give up everything. So the economic conditions of many of us were very bad. The funding for operations of the truth-clarification material production site relied on several practitioners who had relatively better finances, but the funds were often stretched.
The secondhand copy machine we first purchased quickly stopped working because we had no money to maintain it. Because of a shortage of money, we bought a manual mimeograph. We had to type on waxed paper first, then print it out manually. We also received some truth clarification materials from other areas. These were the materials we were using to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. The practitioners who participated in making the materials at the time all had the same feeling: inexplicable fear of the machine. We felt the evil in other dimensions staring at us. I read an experience sharing article that mentioned this, too. There was so much evil in other dimensions at the time; everything was in their control. Without Master's protection, we could not have made it through that difficult time. With the Fa-rectification progressing, Master suggested setting up material production sites everywhere. The small material production sites were set up very rapidly everywhere. I also have my own production site. Many practitioners donate money to support the operations, and we can also provide materials to some remote areas with poor economic conditions.
Funding was not the main issue: the key was the technology. No one in our area knew how to do it. What should we do? I believed that Master and the Fa would give me wisdom and that I could do anything to validate the Fa. Like Master said in Hong Yin II, "When Disciples Have Sufficient Righteous Thoughts, Master Has the Almighty Power to Turn the Cosmos Around." I bought a Canon 4200 printer that had been modified. It broke not long after we started to use it. I took the machine apart and studied it carefully. I discovered that the modification had caused the problem, which could not support long-term use. So I went online and asked for help on a blog. I also searched for a solution. But I had some technical problems. I spent more time on Fa study and sending forth righteous thoughts, and my knowing side was also sending forth righteous thoughts with me. Sometimes I was so anxious that I could not eat. Sometimes when sending righteous thoughts, the solution would appear in my mind: where the problem was, how to solve it, and which button to push. After sending righteous thoughts, I followed the steps, and the problems would be solved. I knew Master was helping me and giving me the wisdom. Full of gratitude for Master, I held my palms together in Heshi position.
I also found that, as a fellow practitioner said in an article on the Minghui/Clearwisdom website, everything around us is related to our cultivation state. Many problems were solved after I adjusted my cultivation state, and some equipment problems were caused by my poor cultivation state. When I repaired equipment problems for fellow practitioners, I noticed that the practitioners who often had equipment problems often had xinxing issues. Some knew the root cause of the problem was a xinxing issue and did not correct it; some do not notice his/her xinxing problems. So I want to remind fellow practitioners that we need to look inwards when we have equipment problems. We need to check where we did not do well. Once a xinxing problem is corrected, the equipment problem will be fixed soon. Otherwise the problem will come back in another form if the root cause xinxing problem is not solved. This is because the old forces are taking advantage our loopholes to interfere with our saving sentient beings. How can our equipment malfunction so frequently? They are our instruments to validate the Fa. Many of our ink jet printers have printed over one or two million pages but are still working fine. They are extraordinary.
After I slowly mastered the maintenance skills, fellow practitioners and I posted our experiences on modifying the printer to the forum, which was forwarded to the Minghui website later. Starting from knowing nothing, I can now master complicated skills that a regular technician cannot. It would be impossible without Master's help. The Buddha’s Fa is boundless!
2. Breaking Through Economic Persecution Arranged by the Old Forces
I will share how I broke through economic persecution arranged by the old forces. Before the persecution, my family was affluent, and I was fairly well known locally. The situation worsened after the persecution started. My company only gave me the cost of living because I would not give up Falun Gong. My wife lost her job and stayed home. Our savings were quickly exhausted due to the cost of operating the material production site. Friends and relatives told me, "Look at him now. He was so good before." I felt very bad after hearing this, but I was limited to thinking arranged by the old forces and did not realize what was wrong with it. Studying Master's overseas lectures, I understood that the persecution was arranged by the old forces, which we then acknowledged. Master does not acknowledge the persecution, so we, as Master's disciples, should not acknowledge the persecution, either.
We are blessed with Falun Dafa. Why we should lose everything? So I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all interference having to do with my financial situation. Just the change of mindset is not enough: I needed to break through the persecution with my actions! So, with the help of a fellow practitioner, I started a business. Since I changed my mindset based on the Fa, my economic condition changed a lot. Not only am I living a good life, but I can also provide more funding to many Falun Dafa projects to validate the Fa. I realized that money has life, too. When money knows that it can be used by Falun Dafa practitioners and can be saved, it will come to us. One thing I never forget is to always spend enough time on Fa study and validating the Fa, no matter how busy I am with business. I turn off my cell phone when we have group study in the evening. No matter how important the business is, I will handle it the next day. But the business has never been impacted. Doing the three things is always the most important, and I spend most of my time in any given day on this, because cultivation is the most important to my life. I know the reason that I came to this world was to obtain the Fa and save sentient beings. With the change in my financial situation, people's attitudes changed, too. Before, some people looked down on me; now, they admire me. They say, "Look, he is practicing Falun Gong. He has a good family and good health. He also has a big business. He drives a nice car. I want to practice Falun Gong, too." I know showing a good example to ordinary people is also validating the Fa. Many practitioners in different professions have done well, and ordinary people see the goodness of Falun Dafa practitioners. Many new practitioners obtain the Fa and start to cultivate. We have printed many Zhuan Falun books but still cannot meet the demand.
Many practitioners have shared on this topic in the recent issues of Minghui Weekly that we need to be the mainstream of society today. Master has shown us how to focus on the mainstream using the Shen Yun project: a world class performance with ticket prices and promotional methods targeting mainstream society. We all know from the Fa that Falun Dafa practitioners were the mainstream of the society in China before the persecution began in 1999. This persecution made us vulnerable, on the surface in need of sympathy. In some areas I have also seen a number of undesirable things. Many practitioners were bank employees, civil servants, officials, and big business owners. Due to the persecution, they are now doing low level work. Some cannot even support themselves. They have not overcome the economic persecution arranged by the old forces. Some ordinary people have a negative image of Falun Dafa practitioners, which hinders them from being saved. Many practitioners' family members and friends cannot accept the truth of Falun Gong. This is a major reason. In the first several years of the persecution, my parents and parents-in-law were hostile towards us, and some even cursed at us. Once our economic condition and xinxing improved, they are not only not opposed to our practice, but have started to read Zhuan Falun. I suggest that practitioners who have not broken through economic persecution arranged by the old forces be clear on the Fa principles and not endure the persecution passively. Sentient beings are waiting for us to save them. We need to set a good example for ordinary people and help them see the sacredness and beauty of Falun Dafa. Let our friends and relatives admire us. They are also the living media, and such positive impact can be enormous..
I have shared the experiences above in the areas where I did well. I know I am far away from Falun Dafa's requirements. I want to study the Fa more, cultivate myself well, and return home with Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners. Thank you, great Master.