(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I would like to share my cultivation experience on Clearwisdom. Without the protection of Master, and without righteous thoughts and actions and a determined will, it would be impossible for me to have kept cultivating myself up to this day.
Master Enlightened Me to Do Better in Cultivation
I began learning Falun Dafa in early May 2005. Since then, I've always firmly believed in Master and the Fa. During the beginning stage, like other practitioners, I joined group Fa study and exercised at night and went out to clarify the truth in the daytime. No matter how cold it was, I always clarified the truth to save people and was happy to do the three things required by Master. At night we distributed truth-clarification materials. No matter how dark it was, we always walked fast, as if we were flying. We felt that we were doing the most meaningful thing in our lives, which was also our mission and responsibility.
When I first started to do the sitting meditation, I could not bend my legs. Even when I sat in the single lotus position, my top leg would not lay flat. To practice double lotus sitting, I pressed my legs with a 4 kg weight. It was so painful that I started to sweat. The pain truly penetrated deep into my bones. I held on just by seconds, and finally I made it. I was able to do all five exercises, and I improved physically and mentally day by day.
I practiced diligently for four years, and although my belief in Master and Dafa never changed, I became attached to comfort and got lazy. Soon interference came along. I could barely study the Fa, do the exercises, or send forth righteous thoughts. I would practice the standing exercise one day and do the sitting meditation another day. Five days later, I would need to take a Sunday off and get up late. This kind of lazy cultivation status lasted for quite a long time.
One night I had a dream. I saw many people I did not know sitting in a very large meadow. Mountains surrounded the meadow and it was beautiful. There was a large green truck in the meadow, and a tall, bold man stood on the truck. He held a piece of paper with names on it. After he called a name, that person would board the truck, which meant that the person had graduated and would be sent to another location. I stood around the truck with everyone else and waited for my name to be called. I saw that the truck was getting full, but my name had still not been called. I was very worried, so I asked him, “May I get on the truck?” He looked at me seriously and pointed to another person who was in charge, saying, “Go ask him.” I walked over and saw that the man wore a red top and blue pants. He had a large, square face and looked friendly, so I asked him, “The man on the truck told me to ask you if I could get on board.” He looked at me and sighed, “You are not normal. You are on and off.” His voice was loud and deep. What he said suddenly woke me up from the dream. I turned on the lights, my heart pounding, since Master was giving me a hint. Suddenly I thought about my recent cultivation status. I realized that my cultivation was on and off, which was not normal, and I would not be able to “graduate” if I kept on like this—I would not be able to reach consummation. Once I figured it out, I immediately felt relieved all over. I took a deep breath and felt awake. I did not feel like sleeping anymore and wanted to study Zhuan Falun. However, I was too ashamed to look at Master's picture.
Starting from that day, I resumed my Fa study schedule. Now, every night I study the Fa until 10 p.m. and send forth righteous thoughts every hour. I get up at 3:30 a.m. and start to do the exercise at 3:50 a.m. sharp. I do all the five exercise at that time. I never miss any of the four global times to send forth righteous each day. Besides my Dafa projects, I also post flyers and clarify the truth with fellow practitioners. Through this, I have truly understood the meaning of “... always cultivating as if you were just starting will surely result in achieving your ultimate rank.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference”)
During one of the experience sharings organized by local coordinators, I shared my experience, including Master's hint. Practitioners were quite shocked and were reminded of the seriousness of cultivation. Their situations were similar to mine, and they also corrected themselves.
Thoroughly Clarifying the Truth
It is difficult to clarify the truth, especially when facing former government officials who used to work for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). So when practitioners clarify the truth, besides studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts, we must be rational and do it wisely. In different situations, we can use different approaches and do not need to rush. If we cannot reach the goal of saving someone then and there, at least we can lay down a foundation for later. I have some in-depth experience in clarifying the truth to a retired government official.
My aunt has a cousin I will call uncle. He lives in our village and had worked for the CCP for several decades. I know that he had been a director for a forced labor camp, but he since retired. One day he came back to his hometown on business, and I met him in the village. We were able to chat because of the relationship with my aunt. He was also happy to see me. I invited him to visit my home and he agreed immediately.
The next morning, after breakfast, he came to my home. I let him sit on the couch, offered him a cigarette and lit it for him. Then I prepared a cup of hot water for him on the coffee table. We chatted about family, finances, kids, and other things. While we were talking, I noticed him staring at Master's picture hanging on the wall. The picture is big and very eye-catching. I realized that nothing is coincidental. Since he came to my home, it must have been arranged by Master and I should clarify the truth to him. While I was looking for an opportunity to start the topic, he asked, “You practice Falun Gong?” I realized that it was time, so I replied, “Yes, both my wife and I practice Falun Gong.” I pointed to the picture and said, “That is my Master.” I told him how we recovered our health after practicing and told him that Falun Gong is practiced in more than 100 countries. I also told him about the movement to quit the CCP.
I talked about the decline of morality and corruption in the current society and about the rock in Guizhou City with the Chinese characters that say, “The CCP will collapse.” He did not say anything, so I asked him, “Uncle, what do you think about Falun Gong?” He said, “I am not against Falun Gong, but you cannot go against the CCP.” I said, “We learn Falun Gong to get better health and follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, to be a good person. It is not like what the CCP propaganda says. Falun Gong has been severely slandered and is completely innocent. The CCP has gone too far, as it rules China with a dictatorship and violence and persecutes Falun Gong practitioners brutally. How can they stop innocent people from speaking out?” He said, “Everyone has his/her own reason, but the weaker party will never win.”
From his expression and tone, I realized that it would not work if I continued to argue with him. Instead, it would affect his self-esteem and I would not be able to save him. I needed to change gears. I said, “Uncle, let's stop talking about this. It is not easy to explain it in a couple of sentences. It was not easy for you to come to my home. We have our own lifestyles, and everyone has his or her own standards and belief. That is normal. I have a DVD about Ye Hao. He is a former official for the Police Department. I want you to hear what he said about it. If it does not suit you, let's just regard it as a private conversation. Today we can sit down together. It is a predestined relationship and very enjoyable. You have been working out of town for several decades. You must have seen a lot and know a lot. I am not exaggerating, right?” In my heart, I asked Master to help me: “Master, do not let him leave, I want him to know the truth.” In response, his blinked and smiled, “Sure.”
I took out the DVD and my laptop and played it on the table in front of us. Throughout the process, we did not say a single word to each other. He watched, listened, and smoked. I served him on the side. After he finished one cigarette, I offered another one and lit it for him. After the hot water cooled down, I replaced it with another cup. After a little over an hour, he’d finished watching the DVD. He put down his cigarette and took a deep breath, asking, “Where did you get the DVD?” I told him that every Falun Gong practitioner had one. We spend our own money to make them so that we can use them to save people. He said, “Very well, that makes sense.” Then he looked at his watch, “It is almost 11 a.m., I should go. If you have more DVDs like this, put some together for me so that I can watch them at home.” I replied happily, “Sure.” I invited him to stay for lunch, but he declined and left.
The next morning, I packed a bag of DVDs with all kinds of truth-clarification information, including quitting the CCP, the staged Tiananmen Square self-immolation, persecution facts from labor camps, etc. I delivered them to him and told him my phone number, so that he could call me later.
After more than three weeks, I got a phone call from him. He told me happily that he had finished watching all the DVDs. He said he bought another DVD player to watch them, since he did not want his children to know what he was watching. I smiled after hearing that. I told him that I had some other good material and asked him if he wanted it. He said, “Please, get me more. I am bored at home and it is good to have something to read or watch.” So that he could understand the truth and have a correct understanding of Falun Gong, I put together some materials about high-level CCP officials quitting the CCP and a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, and I asked his niece and her husband to bring them to him.
After that, I did not get in touch with him again. I believed that once he finished watching the DVDs and reading the books, he would definitely know the truth. I was very sure about it. After a month, I needed to go to his city on business, so I called him the day before I went and asked if there was anything that he wanted me to bring. He replied happily, “Whatever you bring, I will read.” I understood his meaning. This time I brought him Zhuan Falun, Master's lectures in Guangzhou, and the DVD of Shen Yun. I called him after I arrived and told him that I would wait for him at the bus station. After 30 minutes, he came on his bike, and we met on a cross street next to the bus station. I asked him if he had gained anything from the materials that I'd given him. He smiled and said, “I gained a lot. The Nine Commentaries is very well written. Falun Gong indeed is innocent.” Then I asked him to quit the CCP. He immediately agreed. I told him, “This time I brought you the most precious gifts—the book Zhuan Falun, Master's lectures in Guangzhou and the DVD of Shen Yun. Please review them carefully and it will be very beneficial for your future life. “ He agreed happily. I told him that he had to finish reading Zhuan Falun and to never give up, otherwise he would regret it for his whole life.
After he understood the truth, I kept in touch with him. Every once in a while, I’d send him more truth-clarification materials.
Improving Xinxing while Producing Truth-Clarification Materials
In April 2008, the practitioner producing truth-clarification materials for us was arrested while clarifying the truth. The local coordinator arranged for me to take up the job of producing the materials. It was not easy for me, since I was nearly 60 years old, and I’d only had middle school education. However, I knew that as a cultivator, with the help of Master and the Fa, there was nothing to fear. This mentality gave me lots of courage.
The original material production site had only one printing machine, and there was no computer or printer. Our coordinator traveled 50 kilometers away every Saturday to get the template for the printing machine. The list of people quitting the CCP and practitioners' solemn declarations also needed to be sent 50 kilometers away to be published online. This traveling back and forth cost lots of money and increased the burden on the coordinator. After I took over the production job, for the safety of the production site, I did by myself the jobs originally done by three practitioners. I was also equipped with a computer and printer. Since then, I have been in charge of Minghui Weekly and all truth-clarification materials and amulets(1) for more than 100 practitioners in our area. Everyday I need to type out the lists of people quitting the CCP and the solemn declarations of practitioners, and then send them to the Quitting the CCP website and Minghui to be published. Since I had no computer background and did not know how to type, when I initially saw those long lists of people quitting the CCP, I was happy but also afraid. I was happy that so many people were saved, but worried whether I could finish the job. The first time, it was very tiring for me. I sat in front of the computer for hours, but finished only a few lists. I had to work until late at night to finish this special task.
Since I had little background on computers and was not too familiar with printers and printing machines, it was indeed difficult for me to produce truth-clarification materials. To figure out how to use these machines, for a period of time I did not study the Fa much and regarded working on Dafa projects as cultivation. Then interferences came. Once while I was printing, the machine worked fine at first, but then suddenly stopped. I touched it here and there, but nothing worked. I opened the front of the printing machine and tried to pull out the drum, but it was stuck inside. I thought that I was in big trouble, since it was not easy to fix the printing machine. I would need to inform the coordinator, and then he would need to tell another practitioner living more than 50 kilometers away. That practitioner would have to bring his car to take the printing machine to Zhengzhou City. Since this was confidential, we could not casually use just any car, and we could only transfer the machine late at night when no one was around. After realizing this, I was so scared. I started to sweat, and I spaced out while sitting on the stool. I helplessly stared at the machine, as it was making noise but not working.
At that moment, I realized that I needed to ask Master for help. So I stood up, touched the machine with my hand and said, “The machine was fine just a moment ago. It suddenly stopped working. It must be the interference of the evil to prevent me from making truth-clarification materials. Master, please help me to eliminate the evil so that the machine will work normally.” Before I finished saying “work normally,” I heard the machine make a noise and then suddenly it sounded normal again. I pressed the button, and it worked. Tears immediately ran down my face; I was not able to express my emotion. I wiped away my tears and sweat and continued to work.
Regarding the improvement of xinxing, Master's protection, and the miracles in cultivation, I think other practitioners have also experienced these. What I want to say is that, as cultivators, we must truly believe in Master and the Fa, and there cannot be a tiny bit of pretending. We must be truly unswerving in our hearts. Only by studying the Fa well will we not be interfered with and gain wisdom. Then there will be miracles, we will be able to walk out of difficulties, Master will help us, and we will be able to achieve what we need to do.
Note: (1) Amulets – In China, practitioners sometimes "clarify the truth" by giving people something small to wear or cherish, bearing a few words reminding them of the goodness of Dafa.
