Paying Attention to Details in Cultivation

(Minghui.org) After witnessing some events at our practice site and recalling my experience in China, I realized that, as practitioners, we should compare our every thought and action to what Master Li (Falun Dafa’s founder) requires. By doing so, we can meet His requirement of being “full of great aspirations while minding minor details.” (“Sage,”Essentials for Further Advancement)

I was once sitting with another practitioner to learn a process for my project. He had studied and worked in Japan before coming to the United States. He asked me, “Do you want a piece of gum?” I refused because I normally don’t chew gum. After a while, he asked me again, and I refused once more. He then said, “I am asking you because your breath smells. In Japan, a lot of the employees chew gum because they don’t want their breath to affect others.” I thanked him, accepted the gum, and told him that I will be more mindful next time.

Several days later, I was on public transit with him. I answered my phone and spoke to the caller over the speaker. After we got off, he told me that my actions would be considered rude in Japan, because people are mindful of others when riding in buses or subways. And that other practitioners who recently came from Mainland China need to pay attention in this regard.

I was embarrassed. It is common sense not to bother others in public. However, I didn’t do well to represent Chinese practitioners who recently came from Mainland China.

I shared this experience with other U.S. practitioners online. Someone said, “It is common for a practitioner who recently left China to be less mindful in public. People in the West are more mindful of their surroundings.” While I was sharing my experience, my wife said, “Why are your legs shaking while you are sharing with others? You must sit with a good posture!”I realized there are so many details in life that I never paid attention to. If we don’t rectify this and we let our bad habits run amok, eventually we won’t even notice it ourselves. 

Master said,

“He is on a Providential mission in this world as well as in heaven above. He has bountiful virtue and also maintains a benevolent heart; he is full of great aspirations while minding minor details. With broad knowledge of the laws and principles, he is able to unravel uncertainties. Offering salvation to the world and its people, he builds up his merit naturally.”(“Sage,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

Not paying attention to detail is an aspect of the Communist Party culture. This will directly influence how people see Dafa practitioners.

I once went to our outdoor practice site a little later than usual. Normally, the exercise music was quite loud, but the music was very quiet that day. After the exercises finished, I asked the coordinator about this. The practitioner told me that when they turned on the exercise music, a police officer stopped by and said that loud noise is prohibited from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. 

Residents lived right across the street. I recalled that the music was really loud, and no one at our site said anything. So I had gotten used to it. Maybe the practitioner turned the music up so people could hear it and learn about Dafa. I realized that regardless of whether someone just came from China or not, if we do not pay attention to these details, it can create a negative image of practitioners. 

While I was driving home, events that happened in China resurfaced in my mind. For example, a fellow practitioner rented an apartment to use for our group Fa-study. Everyone really liked sharing their experiences with the group. A few months later, the police went and ransacked the apartment, taking away a lot of Dafa materials. 

An elderly practitioner lived in the apartment. She was hard of hearing, so she turned the exercise music up very loud. She refused to listen when we asked her not to turn it up so loud. She did the exercises at 3 a.m. Someone may have reported her for disturbing the neighborhood. Upon seeing the aftermath of the apartment being ransacked, I realized that even small things may become bigger things if practitioners do not watch their behavior.

The U.S. is a free country, so people can do the exercises in public, but we must also obey the rules. A practitioner in charge of a project couldn’t find a proper place to work, so everyone went to this practitioner’s house. Many cars were parked outside the house, and sometimes there would be tow trucks parked outside. It gradually raised a neighbor’s suspicion. This neighbor even came over and asked why so many cars were parked outside. Those in Western Society value their community culture and their rules. Everyone must follow the rules so everyone can get along.

While writing this article, I read an article on Minghui.org about practitioners sitting outside the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. The article was published 19 years ago. It said: “3. Do not make noise. Except for special circumstances (like a press conference), loudspeakers should not be used when playing the music for the exercises. Moreover, we should pay attention not to play the music at all before 9 a.m. and after 8 p.m. (the residents’ rest time). In addition, it should be at a low volume when playing music or talking.” (Some Ideas From Discussions Among Students Who Have Participated in the Sit-In Appeals in Front of the Chinese Embassies and Consulates (With Master's Comments)) 

Have we forgotten the practitioner’s advice from this article? Master commented on this Minghui article: 

“If all Chinese Dafa students can be more mindful of their conduct in daily life, be neater, and be considerate of others in everything they do, then that's the demeanor of Dafa disciples.” (“Comments,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress III)

In another Minghui article titled, “Additional Notice on Putting up Door Hangers,” Master commented: 

“Aren’t cultivators supposed to consider others first when doing things? Why are you so insistent on doing such things? Why bring behavior that has been corrupted by the evil Party to regions beyond China?” (Additional Notice on Putting Up Door Hangers (with Comment from Master) 

We need to pay attention to details so we can achieve what Master has demonstrated to us. We need to do things with a sense of responsibility to society. People will then be able to feel the difference between Dafa practitioners and regular people, and this can lead to better results when we clarify the truth in public. That is also validating the Fa. 

I didn’t do enough in this regard in the past. Now that I am aware of it, I hope I can do better in the future. I wrote this to share my experience with fellow practitioners. If there is anything that should be corrected, please kindly point it out.