(Minghui.org) Almost ten years have passed since I started to practice of Falun Dafa. I am very honored to share my cultivation experience today.
Memorizing the Fa helps me a lot. I am a reporter. The editor asked me to write more crime stories, involving murder, drugs, gangs, fraud, etc. A senior manager at a major media outlet was shocked when I told him that my beat was crime news. A well-known reporter told me that crime reporting was a big challenge for female reporters.
I enlightened that reading one chapter of Zhuan Falun is far from enough due to the large amount of pollution that I have to face almost every day.
I asked myself, “Why don’t I memorize it?” I would have to give up some sleep to have time to memorize the Fa.
At the beginning, memorizing Zhuan Falun was very difficult. Each paragraph of Lectures One and Two seemed so long to me, so I started with the Hong Yin books. I then memorized the traditional Chinese version of Zhuan Falun. I am now memorizing it for the second time, one page almost every day.
After memorizing the Fa, I don’t need to sleep as much as before. I used to wake at 9:00 a.m. when I was studying at the university. Now I wake up very early every day. The quality of my sleep has also improved. I can fall asleep quickly and have very few dreams or nightmares.
When I have to fly to other cities, I always pick a midnight flight. I can sleep on the plane and work as usual during the day before and after the flight. Dafa is so powerful.
Without Master’s boundless benevolence, I would not have survived until today. Whenever I came across danger, I felt Master protecting and helping me.
For example, to report on drug news, I had to go to a marijuana growing operation on a farm. To take photos and conduct interviews, I endured the terrible odor of marijuana for almost an hour, I felt dizzy but quickly recovered. I am grateful for what Master has done for me.
One very snowy day, I had an accident on my way to a Chinese community event. My car wouldn’t start after the accident. I was not injured, nor was the driver of the other car. Someone was kind enough to give me a ride so that I could interview a VIP at the event. The interview went very well and I completed the story in time, just as if I had never had the accident.
Because my car hit the other car, the police said I was at fault, so my insurance premium should have gone up. But to my surprise, it actually went down. Also, I quickly found a very nice car at a very good price. I have to thank Master.
Another time, I took the express lane to go to a press conference. I was in the wrong, because there was only one person in the car. When a police officer signaled me to pull over, I was so startled that I did not pull over right away. The officer saw that I had a good attitude, in the sense that I realized I was wrong right away. He told me that he could have given me a $400 ticket, but he instead gave me a written warning with no fine. I knew that Master was helping me.
I have become a better person and a better cultivator after memorizing the Fa. For example, my mother does not cultivate, and did not want me to cultivate. She sent me bizarre text messages and emails. When I called her, she often yelled at me until she hung up the phone. I tried to convince her, but it did not work. She would not listen to me.
After I began memorizing the Fa, I developed stronger righteous thoughts. Whenever she scolded me again, I listened quietly, sent righteous thoughts, and no longer became angry with her. I called her again after a few days as if nothing had happened. I told her that I still cared for her and wanted to look after her.
After two and a half years of struggle, my mother emailed me and also talked to me over the phone. She said, “Falun Gong practitioners are all good people. Some practitioners have helped me a lot. I respect your faith. I should not have done that to you. I will never do that to you again. I have this and that problem, so I treated you that way. I was wrong.” She no longer interferes with my cultivation.
We must also watch out for sentimentality toward other practitioners. I used to be very close to a certain female practitioner, and we were very frank with each other. But when I met other practitioners of different ages, I would say very little. After some time, I became attached to that practitioner. If she said something very bad to me, I would feel terrible.
After studying the Fa, I realized that this was an attachment. I had to eliminate sentimentality. Clarifying the truth at tourist sites helped me remove this attachment.
Whenever I go to tourist destinations, I come across many tourists from China. I enlightened that I only have one chance to clarify the truth to them. It’s hard for them to come to Canada again, so I have to treasure each opportunity. I have to eliminate the attachment to preferring one person over another. Only then can I save more people.
I have run into many different situations at tourist sites over the past three years. For example, a group of Chinese public security people stood around me and yelled at me, a Chinese lady called me names, and a bird pooped on my head. If all these things couldn’t stop me from clarifying truth to strangers, why couldn’t I be more compassionate to other practitioners?
When I went to work again, I saw the good in everyone. I was happy to help everyone, no matter where they came from or how old they were. I was not particularly nice to just one practitioner or a small group of practitioners.
I live in a townhouse that has no fan or air conditioning. In the winter, it’s only a bit over 50°F at home. It’s hard to sleep in the winter. I managed to survive two winters and almost two summers, though it was quite difficult.
The manager of the townhouse is almost 80 years old. He said that he could not live with air-conditioning or turn up the heater in winter. Otherwise, he could not sleep and would become very sick. I said, “Okay” and let it be.
One day I was reading the news and found a city bylaw that said that landlords must maintain a minimum room temperature of 70°F. I told him about the by-law, and he yelled at me for about 20 minutes.
I then had a negative view of the manager. In my eyes, he was very mean. I understood that he wanted to save electricity, so I used very little. I leave home before 4:00 a.m. and return at around 9:00 p.m. every day.
After reading and memorizing the Fa, I enlightened that I was wrong. If everyday people become upset when they encounter this, and so do I, I am just an everyday person. We have to save everyday people, so how can I be upset with them? Would a God be upset with an everyday person? No.
I enlightened that no matter what happens, I shouldn’t become upset. A cultivator should see hardship as a good thing. Not being comfortable at home is a great way to improve my xinxing and remove my attachment to comfort. If my bed is too comfortable, would I still wake up at 3:35 a.m. every day? Would I still join the group Fa-study and exercises?
If home is too comfortable, would I still wake up early every weekend and on public holidays? If I wake up late, would I still meet so many Chinese tourists at attraction sites? No.
Therefore, I really had to thank the manager. I couldn’t find such a great cultivation environment elsewhere. It was a pre-destined relationship that we met each other in this lifetime. I have to appreciate the people around me.
I recently said to the manager, “Sir, I have to thank you, really thank you from the bottom of my heart. After moving into this townhouse, I can wake up early and be self-disciplined. This helps me save lots of time and be more productive.” Then he said, “I am sorry for what I have done.”
A practitioner who works at our media outlet once said that co-workers were not eager to help each other when someone had a tribulation. As a result, some practitioners with big tribulations would not seek help.
I enlightened that we should care for each other and encourage each other.
About two years ago, a practitioner came for group exercise and Fa-study at around 5:20 a.m. every day. She was very punctual every day, but I was often late. I asked her, “What makes you so punctual?” She replied that she picked up another female practitioner every morning, and this motivated her to wake up early.
I have met some older practitioners and realized that they really need our help with transportation, to be picked up and dropped off when it was very difficult to take public transit.
For example, immediately after the New York Fahui this year, our bus came back at around 4:00 a.m. There was very little traffic, so I drove a few older practitioners home.
After I got home, I was hungry, but I couldn’t find any food in the fridge. Then the townhouse manager said, “Just take my breakfast (a few pieces of bread and a cup of milk).”
The manager had hardly ever talked to me before, let alone given me his food. But on that day, not only did he talk to me, he also gave me something to eat. I felt so touched, it was unbelievable. I enlightened that helping others is helping oneself. Master encouraged me to be a better person. I should care for others.
This is my cultivation sharing at my current level, and my level is limited. I am forever grateful for what Master has done for me.