(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 2021. When I first began going to the local Fa study and cultivation experience sharing meetings, I felt that some practitioners’ speech and behavior were not really aligned with the teachings. I felt that my own understanding was better than theirs and that my cultivation level was higher too. I was full of myself. I immediately realized that these thoughts were not appropriate, so I refused to go along with them.
I felt depressed when I did not handle a xinxing test well, and I realized that behind almost all of my thoughts were attachments. Even though I had just begun practicing, I thought about giving up. I quickly rejected this thought. When I compared myself with the Fa’s principles I adjusted and corrected myself. My knowing side knew that I would never give up practicing Falun Dafa.
I gradually understood that having my attachments exposed was a good thing. Not only do I need to identify them, I must also differentiate whether these thoughts are actually mine.
Master said,
“But you shouldn’t take a relaxed approach just because we know it takes time. It’s a problem if you take my words to be license for being lax. To follow a sacred path requires the ultimate dedication and effort.” (The Ninth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
As I read Master’s lectures given in different regions, I understood that Master was asking us to clarify the truth and save people. I work, so I have little time to go to tourist attractions and talk to people. Just as I was wondering what I could do, a practitioner called me and asked if I wanted to join a team that was sending truth-clarifying messages. My fear and attachment to comfort immediately welled up, but the other practitioner kept encouraging me and asked me to try. After struggling for a while, I thought that I should just treat this as the cultivation path that Master arranged for me. I contacted her and agreed to help.
Master said,
“Once a person steps onto the path of cultivation, there will be nothing coincidental in his life from then on.” (“Fa Teaching Given at a Meeting in New York,” Teachings at Conferences in the United States)
I was worried that I would not do well. However, while listening to other practitioners discuss the importance of saving people in China, I gradually understood how urgent this project was. It no longer seemed so difficult. As Fa rectification speeds up, practitioners all know the urgency of saving people.
I was asked to help with technical support. Some of the members of the team that contact people in China are elderly, and are not very familiar with modern smart phones. They sometimes find it difficult to grasp their phone’s settings. One practitioner kept having the same problem, and I had to patiently help her resolve it.
In the process I realized that I had an attachment to ego, and I wanted the other practitioners to have a good impression of me. But I also knew that cultivators must align themselves with the Fa’s principles, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I reminded myself that I should be patient with the elderly practitioners, even if I had to keep explaining the steps to them repeatedly. Everyone is anxious to save people.
I also understood that the process of doing things was also an opportunity to cultivate myself. I had to show one practitioner how to operate his phone. In my opinion he did not have a serious attitude. I became frustrated and thought that he was just randomly shooting out technical questions. I felt as though he was just going through the formalities—perhaps he thought that it was enough to just participate in the project.
As I explained, my voice got louder and more aggressive. Although I did not lose my temper, the practitioner noticed that I was irritated, and apologized. He asked if his attitude bothered me and explained that he also wanted to do better in his cultivation, but just could not. Even though I said that there was no problem, I still felt uncomfortable. This project is very urgent, and I could not understand why his attitude seemed so casual.
After the incident, I shared my thoughts about cultivation with another practitioner. I realized that my preconceived notions about that practitioner made me think that since he was highly educated he should know how to operate a mobile phone. He should know what I was talking about, and he should grasp it after I showed him once. After I thought about it, that practitioner may have known how to do it but he just did not have enough confidence, so he kept asking me. This was also a test of my patience. It was an opportunity to get rid of the habit of having preconceived notions about others, and also the attachment to thinking highly of myself.
I work in the electronic product safety inspection department of my company. Sometimes, when there are problems with the computer system at work, all I need to do is make a phone call and report the matter to the IT department. I never read the booklet for common problems. People usually want problems to be resolved quickly. However, now that I am helping practitioners resolve their technical issues for their mobile phones, I must be more patient. I am the one who is in charge of helping them maintain their mobile phones.
I recently had a deeper understanding about using phones to send truth-clarifying messages, and I started to get responses from people that indicated that the effect and quantity of responses received by the other practitioners had improved. We felt this was due to our cooperation as a group. However, when I received zero responses for a few days, I started to get impatient. I targeted this interference when I sent righteous thoughts. I later realized that my attitude was wrong—I was looking for results.
We send SMS and MMS so that people can understand Dafa and quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations. When I realized that I was seeking results I immediately corrected myself. When I looked inward, I found that it was caused by jealousy, impatience, and wanting to be acknowledged. I received responses two days later, and I knew that the messages were sent out successfully. I knew that Master was encouraging me.
When team members talked about their cultivation experiences, I heard that some practitioners were always able to buy mobile phones and immediately grasp the technical aspects, while others had all sorts of difficulties. Nothing is coincidental so there must be the element of cultivation with this phenomenon. When I shared cultivation thoughts with the practitioners who were able to smoothly send out messages, I discovered that they all just maintained a pure mindset. They did not think too much when they sent out the messages.
Their attitude of not thinking too much moved me deeply. I sometimes tend to think too much. I worry about many things using emotion and past experiences to settle the problem, instead of looking at the problem from the perspective of the Fa. Because I tend to think too much, I cannot concentrate when I meditate or send forth righteous thoughts. Because I think a lot, I’m afraid of offending people or I’m afraid others will criticize me. When my mindset is pure and righteous I am more able to do things well and get rid of my wild thoughts.
I hope that all practitioners can cultivate more diligently together and make good use of the remaining time to save people and help them understand the truth.
These are my understandings at my current level. Kindly let me know if there is any room for improvement.