(Minghui.org) A friend called me in December 2016 and invited me to a reception held to introduce Shen Yun. A few days later, she told me about Falun Dafa. I then started practicing Dafa.
During my cultivation I haven’t experienced anything extraordinary. I did not have any grand events such as happened during the early years when veteran practitioners promoted the Fa and clarified the truth about the persecution.
However, I gradually gained a deep understanding of the meaning of life, why we cultivate, how to cultivate and also the mission that Falun Dafa practitioners shoulder. I gradually began to believe in Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) and the Fa, and became steadfast in my cultivation. I read Master's teachings, practice the exercises, send righteous thoughts, and help promote Shen Yun. I’ve also joined the international phone call platform to make phone calls to China to clarify the truth, and I joined the New Tang Dynasty Television team.
Before I began practicing, I often saw advertisements along the roads with the words “Falun Dafa Is Good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Is Good.” One day I participated in a parade for an anti-drug campaign organized by the local city government. The participants from the different groups were all neatly lined up, waiting for the emcee to arrive. It suddenly began to rain heavily. All the groups quickly dispersed and sought shelter.
However, the marching band that was in front of my group still stood there, looking completely unaffected. The rain kept pouring down for an hour, drenching everyone. However, every member of the band still stood there without moving. I admired them. Afterwards, I learned that this was the Tian Guo Marching Band, which is made up of Dafa practitioners. This was the first time I witnessed practitioners displaying amazing Forbearance.
After I began practicing, I truly understood the importance of cultivating Forbearance. Everything I encountered after I began practicing emphasized this. For example, during meditation, the process of going from sitting in the half lotus position to the full lotus position was also a process of enduring heart wrenching pain and numbness. While practicing the exercises outside in summer, the weather was hot, and there were mosquitoes. They bit my hands, face and neck but I could not hit them, so this also required Forbearance. In the past, when I interacted with my family members, we often criticized each other. But now, I can remain calm!
Master said,
“When people you don’t get along with really irritate you, it can be even more trying than physical pain. I would say physical pain is much easier to bear, as you can simply tough it out. It’s much harder to take it when someone is scheming against you.” (The Fourth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I understood that cultivating Forbearance is critical in improving xinxing.
Master said,
“Our discipline is different from those of the past, and so too is what it asks of you. When we speak, we should simply speak in a manner befitting a practitioner, and not say anything bad or divisive.” (The Eighth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I am honest and forthright. I always told others about good or bad things without keeping anything back. After I began practicing, I understood the importance of guarding my speech.
A local practitioner wanted to help call people in China, but did not have any experience in helping people withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. I encouraged her and told her not to be worried. However, a year passed but she just could not overcome her psychological obstacle. To make matters worse, there were some issues at her job.
She recently left this phone call platform and joined the RTC training to play audio records while calling people in China. She wanted to avoid talking and play the prerecorded truth-clarification messages instead.
I told another practitioner that this practitioner had a strong attachment to fear. I said there was nothing to be afraid of. I’d also felt nervous when I made the first phone calls, but after I called a few people, my fear gradually left. I couldn’t understand why she could not overcome this obstacle!
The other practitioner told me, “Your words are so hurtful! Not everyone is the same as you.” I was surprised. It was only then that I realized that this practitioner had also been using prerecorded messages for many years. She only recently began to speak directly to people when she phoned them. She still had an attachment to fear. My words hurt her. I quickly apologized.
I examined myself afterwards and found out that I had an attachment to showing off. I also did not guard my speech, so, I unintentionally hurt her feelings.
Two years ago, a coordinator on the platform asked me to be in charge of sending out cases for a shift on a certain day. The shift was three hours and I could not leave the computer during that time. I felt the coordinator trusted me to carry out this task so I gladly accepted.
A few months ago the coordinator asked me if I could take over another practitioner’s shift, but that time slot was around noon, which was when I took my lunch break and read the Fa online with other practitioners. I hesitated but agreed.
In a following phone-calling project, the practitioner arranged for me to be on duty for two consecutive days, but she did not ask if I was available. I started to complain in my heart and wondered why she did not inform me beforehand. I knew that I should not have such negative thoughts and I forced myself to accept the arrangement.
I realized that my complaints came from selfishness and my attachment to comfort. The old forces immediately made use of my loophole. The next day, blood appeared in my urine and I was immediately aware of my mistake. I realized that the coordinator must need help. She could not find anyone to help so she asked me. I am a cultivator but I did not treat this matter with compassion. I was so ashamed of myself! I quickly sent righteous thoughts to get rid of my bad thoughts. The next day, the illness symptoms disappeared.
I deeply experienced how serious cultivation is. Any attachment can cause me to fall and stop me from improving in my cultivation.
I’ve made phone calls to China for four years now. The results are sometimes good and sometimes bad. Other practitioners often said that peoples’ response to their calls reflected their cultivation states. Every time I finished calling, I thought about my cultivation state and reminded myself to not slack off. As I strengthened my righteous thoughts and kept making phone calls, I achieved some breakthroughs and the person I phoned quit the CCP. I felt that this was encouragement from Master.
Once, I called the mobile phone of the director of a police station branch in Shandong Province. He answered the phone but kept verbally abusing me using vulgar words. I was not moved and I continued to talk, telling him about the CCP's organ harvesting from living Falun Dafa practitioners.
I said that many high level officials like Zhou Yongkang, Li Dongsheng and Bo Xilai, who persecuted Falun Dafa when they were in power, were sentenced to jail and received retribution. Gradually, the director stopped talking and just listened quietly.
I continued to clarify the truth and said that the persecution of Falun Dafa is violating Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution, and I told him many other facts. I also gave him the website to circumvent the CCP’s information censorship and also the website of the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong. He wrote down the websites.
I told him that the CCP is not equal to China. The CCP has caused the deaths of more than 80 million Chinese people; the true nature of the CCP is lies and violence. I felt that the director understood what I was trying to tell him. I told him that he needed to separate himself from the CCP by quitting it. He immediately agreed. I congratulated him for making a wise choice.
Master said,
“When a Dafa disciple saves one person, it’s by no means simply one human being as we know it: an enormous body of lives will thus be saved.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)
This experience encouraged me to do even better in making phone calls to save more people in the law enforcement departments.
When tickets for the Shen Yun show went on sale, I contacted people from various organizations and invited them to join the promotional reception. Since they were all strangers, this process helped raise my xinxing. The people I called were from social organizations such as dance, music, social services, academia, and culture. Every phone number may belong to someone waiting to be saved. When I received the lists of phone numbers, I called each one. Some numbers were invalid, or the person did not answer. But I did not give up and kept calling.
I began helping New Tang Dynasty Television one year ago and realized that this media can save people. This is especially true in this modern society when information travels quickly through the Internet, causing fake news to spread widely. The media founded by practitioners thus plays a very important role. Despite the lack of manpower, practitioners at the TV station contribute their time and effort to participate in this project selflessly. I was deeply moved and decided to join the team.
Although there are many projects and I have limited time, I cherish this environment that Master has set up for me to cultivate and to save sentient beings.
Master said,
“The Fa’s rectification of the Cosmos has finished, and now a transition to the Fa’s rectification of the human world is taking place. Most of our Dafa disciples will join me as the Fa rectifies the human world.” (“Wake Up”)
When I read this, I was both worried and happy. I was worried that I did not cultivate very well and that I did not meet Master’s requirements. The happy part is that Master is benevolent and lets me have the opportunity to be diligent in my cultivation again. I hope that I can do well on my path of cultivation in the future. My every thought and every action must be righteous. Even though this is difficult, I must cultivate myself well so that I can save sentient beings.
These are my own understandings. Kindly correct me if there is any room for improvement.