(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I was fortunate to receive a copy of the book Zhuan Falun on March 17, 1997. It completely changed my life, filling it with joy, excitement, and hope.
I was in my 20s at the time and was suffering from a digestive disorder. An abnormal enlargement of the bile duct interfered with the liver's normal function. As a result, I could only eat and drink a very small portion at a time, or my stomach would be bloated.
Although I was 5'5” tall, I weighed less than 110 pounds. My brother teased me, saying I was like dry firewood that could easily catch on fire. I went to work every day, no matter how frail I was. I was in constant fear of death and pain.
Falun Dafa not only changed my outlook on life, but also cured all of my illnesses. Since I began practicing, I have been very healthy and happy. I try my best to tell people about the beauty and miraculousness of Dafa in different ways.
I would like to report to Master my experiences in cultivation and hope it can encourage fellow practitioners as well.
Cultivating Myself Well
I became a teacher at the age of 23. Six months after I began cultivating in Dafa, I was transferred from the accounting position at a middle school to being the principal of a small elementary school. I was later reassigned to be the lead logistics coordinator and treasurer at a top elementary school. During the many transfers, I was always in charge of money or in a position of power. Wherever I went, I strove to be a good person and followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I was not tempted by money or personal gains, and strictly adhered to the rules when dealing with money.
The school officials and my colleagues learned through my actions that Dafa practitioners were good people who weren't greedy and did not compete for personal gain.
All three principals at the top elementary school trusted me completely and never had to worry about the school's financial situation. I was trusted to go on business trips alone to make large purchases. When we held a sports event, I handled all of the money from our sponsors, although handling such a task usually required two people. For several consecutive years now, I have taken care of the entire school's system of payments.
My husband is also on the management team at work, and people often try to give him money or gifts in exchange for some type of favor. After I became a practitioner, I explained to him the consequences of that and convinced him to return any money or gifts he received.
Once, a young woman tried to give us some expensive cigarettes. When we refused to take them, she became worried that we wouldn't help her. I told her about Falun Dafa and that practitioners follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and consider others first. How could a practitioner take gifts in exchange for favors? Seeing my sincerity, she happily took back the cigarettes and said that she would also like to practice Falun Dafa.
Some people have even put money in small envelopes and gave them to our child. These things happened pretty frequently. Eventually, people learned that we didn't accept any money or gifts, so they stopped trying to give them to us.
Helping Students Quit the Young Pioneers Organization
After I retired last year, I was asked to fill in as the Chinese Literature teacher when the school was short of staff. During the class, I clarified the truth about Dafa to the students by talking about traditional Chinese culture.
One time, I wrote three sentences on the board. The first sentence began with the character “Truthfulness,” the second “Compassion,” and the third “Forbearance.” While talking about the principles of being a human being, I marked the first character of each sentence with colored chalk, so the characters Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance instantly stood out.
The next time, I drew a big circle on the board and put many dots inside the circle. The students looked at it curiously and wondered what I was going to say. I told them that an evil spirit from the West had come to China a hundred years ago and turned into a red dragon with eight claws. In order to harm people, it gained control of many wicked people and made Chinese people join the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Youth League, and the Young Pioneers. Those who joined these organizations have become part of the evil dragon.
While talking, I drew a red dragon on top of the circle. I then pointed to the dots inside the circle and said, “These are the people who have joined the CCP and its affiliated organizations.” The students were astonished: “Wow! That's scary! Can we not be in the circle?” I explained to them: “Of course you can. You only need to voluntarily quit these organizations, and then you can escape from the circle.” I drew arrows that pointed out of the circle to represent people who had escaped. All 31 students in the class raised their hands to show that they wanted to quit the Young Pioneers.
Once, I took many amulets with words “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” printed on them to class. All of the students wanted one. Some wore the amulet like a necklace, while others carefully put it away. A few days later, the police came to the school to talk to the principal. They said that several parents had reported that their children got a Falun Dafa amulet from a teacher. The police asked the principal to investigate and collect all of the amulets from the students.
The principal passed this message to each homeroom teacher. The teachers, however, knew the truth about Dafa, and only pretended to try to collect the amulets. The students told me, “We hid the amulets, so our homeroom teacher couldn't find them.”
Afterward, the principal talked to me about this incident. I assured him: “Please don't worry. I know what to do now. I will be rational.”
When I went over homework assignments with the students one on one, I often told them to sincerely recite, “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” Students improved a great deal in their studies by doing that. One student used to get only C's in the Chinese Literature class. However, after he began reciting, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” he began to participate in class more and answered almost all of the questions correctly. By the end of the semester, his grade went up to an A. Even his homeroom teacher was surprised.
Setting Up Material Production Sites Wherever They're Needed
To set up a material production site is easier said than done. It requires a lot of preparation work and materials. For example, we need computers, printers, paper, DVD burners, etc. Most importantly, we need money to buy the equipment, and someone who knows how to resolve technical issues. The local practitioners also need to coordinate and cooperate with each other to distribute the materials.
With Master's compassionate care and fellow practitioners' cooperation, I have been helping with setting up production sites since 2004, and have been involved in every aspect of the task.
Throughout the process of helping Master rectify the Fa and save sentient beings, my xinxing has been improving. The following are a few examples.
1. Setting Up the First Production Site
The coordinator in our region and I were illegally arrested in 2002. As a result, our area's source of truth-clarification materials was cut off. After I was released, I became very fearful, especially when I saw a police car. I also didn't want to contact practitioners from other regions.
Through studying the Fa, I gradually strengthened my righteous thoughts. I thought about the sentient beings who had no way of learning the truth about Dafa and how sad it would be if they got eliminated. I then brought up the idea of setting up a material production site to local practitioners. Several of us donated some money, and soon we had more than 2,000 yuan.
At that time, I didn't know much about printers; I also didn't know anyone who knew about technology. I only had the heart to save people. I rode the bus for over 60 miles to buy an HP printer. After I got home, and before I could even test out the printer, I realized the money we had left wasn't enough to buy a computer. I went back to the same store and exchanged the printer for a copy machine.
After everything was set up, I became too afraid to print truth-clarification materials at home because I was closely monitored by the police. I then took the copier to another practitioner's home and did the printing there. We mainly printed the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.
The copier was very slow; it took almost an hour to print one copy of the Nine Commentaries. I began to feel anxious, since so many sentient beings were waiting to be saved. What should we do? Who could help us? Just when I needed help, a practitioner gave me a used laser printer and a laptop. However, the laser printer got easily jammed if the paper was slightly damp. To fix the jam, I had to carefully take the printer apart. I always ended up with a pile of small parts. I had to remember which part went where and in which order, so I could put the printer back together.
After every 20 pages were printed, the printer would get jammed. As a result, I had to take the printer apart and put it back together several times a day. Although I had put in a lot of time and effort, the result wasn't good.
When I saw a heated bed at a practitioner's home, I thought, “The heated bed would come in handy to dry the damp paper.” However, I didn't want to bring pressure or cause others to worry, so I decided to solve the issue by myself. I laid two heated blankets on the bed, set them to the highest setting, and laid the moist paper on top of the blankets to dry. Although I could only dry a few pieces at a time, the copier didn't get stuck as often as before.
Even with the slight improvements, it still took me several days to make a few truth-clarification booklets. Another practitioner then bought me a Canon 3000 printer and a used laptop. I could finally make more truth-clarification materials in less time than before.
Setting up the first production site was the most challenging, since I didn't have any previous experience. I was under a lot of pressure, but I never got discouraged during the process. I have overcome many difficulties. Although it was hard, I was truly happy when I saw the materials that could save sentient beings.
2. Small Production Sites “Blossoming” Everywhere
Later, we were able to successfully set up eight more production sites in our area.
It began with the goal to have the material production sites “blossom” everywhere in our region. The biggest difficulty, though, was having enough funds. We live in a rural area, so not many people have a paid salary or even a steady income.
At the time, half of our household income was spent on our child's college tuition and expenses. I lived a frugal lifestyle and had not bought any new clothes for myself in three years. Even during the Chinese New Year, I didn't want to spend money on new shirts or socks. Yet, I never hesitated to take out money from my savings to use for Dafa projects.
Each production site requires a lot of preparation, commitment, coordination, and cooperation between everyone. I worked with the practitioners in different areas to get the production sites up and running. Sometimes I had to go to an area more than 10 times to help them. Besides ensuring that the printing process went smoothly, the local practitioners had to coordinate and cooperate together as one body in order to successfully distribute all of the materials. Only then, could the production site be fully utilized in saving sentient beings.
One time, I went to an area with more than 10 practitioners to help set up a production site. I stayed there overnight to help with the setup, and helped them form Fa-study groups and distribution groups. I divided the local area into sections and assigned each group a section, so as to avoid covering the same area twice. We shared experiences and understandings of the Fa to help everyone improve their xinxing. Once everyone understood the progress of the Fa-rectification, they started to feel the urgency to save more sentient beings.
The next time I visited that area, some of the groups had already gone out to distribute materials for the first time. They felt great afterwards, and told the coordinator that they could cover other sections if needed. Seeing that practitioners worked so hard and risked their lives to save sentient beings, I gained more confidence in what I was doing.
I also realized that the work of laying a solid foundation for fellow practitioners to better save sentient beings was very important. In the process of cultivating while doing Dafa work and working on Dafa projects to cultivate, I gradually eliminated my attachments to laziness, impatience, and fear of encountering problems and hardships.
We now go wherever practitioners need help with setting up material production sites. I cooperate with practitioners in charge of purchasing the materials, and then I deliver the equipment to the area as quickly as possible. I download and install an encryption system on their computers and teach practitioners basic skills, such as how to connect to the Internet, download, print, and burn DVDs.
We went to another city at the beginning of this year to help with the setup of a production site. When I downloaded and showed several truth-clarification newsletters to a practitioner, she told me that she had never seen them before. She said that they only got copies of the Minghui Weekly every two weeks. I couldn't believe that there were still areas that didn't get truth-clarification materials regularly. I asked her again to make sure I'd heard her right. She said she honestly had never seen the newsletters before.
I was speechless and had tears in my eyes. Sentient beings are waiting to hear the truth, yet we are still far behind.
Going Door to Door to Clarify the Truth
In the rural area, many people live in one-story buildings and near their relatives. This makes it easy to go door to door to clarify the truth about Dafa and help people withdraw from the CCP. Yet, our local practitioners haven't been doing it enough.
I used to complain about others not taking the initiative to go out to tell people about the persecution. After I finished reciting Zhuan Falun in 2008, I felt that Master was strengthening my righteous thoughts. I became more tolerant and no longer depended on or complained about others. I decided to go out to do truth clarification face to face.
I went to a distant village where many of my relatives lived and brought informational materials with me. I went door to door to tell people about Dafa and helped more than 70 people quit the Party in just two days.
Out of the blue, my husband then called and scolded me: “Are you distributing fliers? Hurry up and come home! The Party secretary of the village called me.” I wasn't moved since I knew that I wasn't doing anything wrong. Time is short, so no one can interfere with me saving sentient beings.
After my husband's phone call, I realized that I had been too relaxed. I thought that I wouldn't have any problem because many of the people in the village were my relatives. The old forces, however, are always lurking around; in other dimensions, a battle between good and evil was going on.
While doing such sacred work, only my human notions could bring interference. I corrected my thinking, sent forth righteous thoughts, and continued to clarify the truth in the village.
On my way home, I called the 114 directory line to get the Party secretary's phone number. I then called and clarified the truth to him, and explained the consequences of interfering with practitioners. He didn't say much, except to tell me to pay attention to safety.
After I shared my experiences at the village with fellow practitioners, they agreed that clarifying the truth in person was the most effective method, but they didn't know where to start. They asked if they could go with me next time, and I agreed. After going with me to clarify the truth in person, two practitioners could do it on their own, and both have stronger righteous thoughts now.
From my experiences as a coordinator, studying the Fa well is the key to everything, as well as looking inward whenever there is a problem or conflict. When I do something, I make sure it is what Master wants, what fellow practitioners need, and what sentient beings hope for. I cultivate myself while participating in Dafa projects and have enlightened to higher meanings of the Fa and upgraded my xinxing in the process.
Editing Truth-Clarification Materials
When I was still working, I always took the initiative to try to figure out what was wrong with the school's computer or printer. I also volunteered to edit the school newsletter, thinking that one day I could apply what I learned to make truth-clarification materials.
When I was asked by practitioners to edit materials a few years later, I knew that Master was making my wish come true. When the article I edited was published on Minghui.org, I became happy and felt pleased with myself. I quickly realized my attachments to zealotry and validating myself, and eliminated them.
Since practitioners from the Minghui website gave me a few pointers on how to change the font settings and use the empty space better, I began to pay more attention to these aspects to make it easier for the editors. I still have room to improve.
The truth-clarifying materials are targeted for everyday people. We can't let our shortcomings get in the way of saving them.
When I edit newsletter articles, I give a lot of consideration to the title, the first paragraph, and the layout, so the reader will be interested in the article and continue reading.
I also pay attention to the details while not losing sight of the overall effect, so the newsletter has a nice and elegant look. Each issue consists of at least two articles and two images. The typeface and images need to be appropriate for the content of the articles, and the colors shouldn't be too bright. I carefully edit the contents of the article.
Some articles are more complex and difficult to follow because they involve many people, storylines, and details. When editing such articles, I restructure the paragraphs and change their order, so the main story is told first, before providing more details toward the end. This is what I have enlightened to at my level.
I always go back and carefully read the parts that I have changed and re-evaluate each word and even each character.
I have encountered tribulations and xinxing tests during my cultivation path, but haven't had any major interference. The only shortcut in cultivation is to look inward. I often remind myself to follow Master's teachings and eliminate my attachment to validating myself.
Master said:
“There's something you must pay attention to: you are validating the Fa, not validating yourselves. A Dafa disciple's responsibility is to validate the Fa. Validating the Fa is cultivation, and what you remove in the cultivation process is none other than the attachment to self; you can't, instead, go and exacerbate the problem of validating oneself, even if you do it unwittingly. When you're validating the Fa and cultivating, that is a process of removing self, and only when you do that are you really validating yourself. That's because ultimately you have to let go of all your human things, and only after you've let go of all your human attachments can you step out from the throngs of everyday people.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students”)
Thank you, Master, for compassionately saving me and looking after me! Thanks to fellow practitioners who have helped and supported me. Heshi!
