(Minghui.org) I started learning Falun Dafa in 1998. During my 15 years of cultivation, I have deeply felt Master's protection all the way. I have a firm belief in Master and Dafa, and believe that what Master asks us to do is the best.
I know that as a Dafa practitioner I must do the three things well. I must study the Fa more, as Master said:
“The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.” (“Drive Out Interference” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
In previous years I would spend half the day studying the Fa and the rest of the time clarifying the truth outside, distributing truth clarification materials, and saving people. I used my time very well.
I know from my Fa understanding that the reason Master is rectifying the Fa is to save the original lives, and save every sentient being who is savable. The practitioners whose mission it is to help Master in the Fa-rectification period have great responsibilities. We cannot slack off.
Looking for former practitioners who fell behind during the Fa-rectification process is part of our cultivation and one of our responsibilities. Our benevolent Master doesn’t want to leave any disciple behind. Even those former practitioners have the ability to help save more sentient beings should they come back.
An elderly couple in our local area, who started practicing Dafa in 1996, benefited a lot not long after taking up the practice. They were very diligent among all the practitioners at the local practice site. They contributed a lot in spreading Dafa in the local area. However, after “July 20” in 1999, when the persecution began, they were harassed several times by police. They knew how cruel the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was, so they gave up, due to fear. They thought that it would be alright if they just kept in mind that Dafa was good, and were good people. These thoughts and fear made them leave the practice.
The husband went to the tea house and watched TV while the wife played Mahjong and did her house chores every day. The disease karma eventually came out and she had to take medicine every day. Some practitioners visited them to persuade them to return to study the Fa and to fulfill their mission in saving sentient beings. They said, “We tell people Falun Gong is good when we meet people who don't understand, but we haven’t studied the Fa for years. I don't think Master will look after us anymore.” We sent Master's lectures and some Dafa materials to them. We asked some other practitioners to talk to them as well, and communicate with them on the Fa principles. However, it didn’t work well.
Master said,
“The truth is, losing this opportunity of the ages and not fulfilling the real purpose of coming to this world are more terrifying than the attachment of being too ashamed to face others. Cultivation is cultivation, and cultivation is about getting rid of one's attachments, putting a stop to bad human behavior and all kinds of fears, including the human attachments of being afraid of this and being afraid of that.” (“Pass the Deadly Test”)
Master mentioned again the seriousness of cultivation, and that getting rid of all kinds of attachments and bad behavior is a mandatory “deadly test” in cultivation. I realized that I should wake up the former practitioners, and tell them about Master’s benevolence and Fa principles. I copied this article by hand ten times and sent it to practitioners far away. I studied and discussed with them one by one, and helped them to improve their understanding from the basis of the Fa. I really hope they can come back to cultivation soon.
After I studied this article and Master’s other lectures with the old couple several times, their righteous thoughts became stronger and stronger gradually, and they started to practice again. For example, for a period of time, the wife was thinking about playing Mahjong. Although she knew it was not good, she felt it was hard to eliminate this bad thought. When she was sending forth righteous thoughts after Fa study, she saw something similar to Mahjong being taken away. Afterwards, her thought karma about playing Mahjong disappeared. They came back to Dafa in 2006, and founded a Fa-study group in their home. They are now practicing diligently and saving people every day. When they visited their relatives, they told their relatives and friends about Dafa and persuaded many people to quit the CCP.
There is another female practitioner whose husband and son are civil servants. Her family's financial situation is good. She left Dafa after July 20, 1999, due to pressure from her family and fear. She has since lived a normal, “good” life, playing Mahjong and dancing all day long. However, to her surprise, her husband died from cancer, which shocked her a lot. I went and talked with her, telling her about Dafa, the awesome virtue of Master, and our prehistoric vows. She returned to Dafa in 2009. She knew that she had wasted much precious time, and began cultivating diligently. We keep studying the Fa and talking together every day. We go out to clarify the truth and distribute materials together. We focus on how to study and cultivate diligently together. I have improved a lot.
After the publication of “20th Anniversary Fa Teaching,” some practitioners and I brought Master’s Fa principles with us to wake up three former practitioners who had taken up Buddhism. We sent forth righteous thoughts to dissolve all evil factors in their space which interfered with us studying the Fa together. We went to one of the former practitioners four times and studied the Fa together. As Master said, “The Fa can break all attachments...” (“Drive Out Interference” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
This practitioner awakened and began cultivating again. She then brought with her the other two who were practicing Buddhism. Within three days, all the three former practitioners came back to Dafa. They are now doing the three things and waking up other practitioners. I believe that our doing this was arranged by Master. We just walk our paths; it's Master who's actually making things happen.
