Following Master on the Path of Cultivation

(Minghui.org) I began to practice Falun Dafa in 2001. At first, I struggled and did not know how to truly cultivate. With Master’s compassionate guidance and protection, I have remained on the path of cultivation. I am deeply grateful to Master for saving me, for guiding my every step as I have cultivated, and for strengthening my righteous thoughts and actions.

Letting Go of Self-Interest

Before I became a Dafa cultivator, my sister gave me the nickname “Ms. Always Right,” because I always thought I was right and was offended even when I was wrong. I had the final say at home and was competitive outside. I was selfish and always protected my own interests so that I wouldn’t suffer any losses. I was also very picky when I shopped.

It was mentally painful to let go my pursuit of self-interest. I once took a taxi with another practitioner. As we neared our destination, she told the driver that we could get out there, but I asked her to wait a little longer. When we finally got out, I said, “I was watching the meter and wanted to wait until the price was just about to click over and then get out.” She pointed out that I was too obsessed with personal gains. That awakened me. I recognized my attachment and began to truly cultivate myself and work to eliminate the pursuit of self-interest.

Now when I buy groceries, I simply ask the seller to pack the items for me, instead of picking and choosing. Sometimes when the seller asks me to check the weight, I tell them, “It’s okay to be slightly under. Please don’t give me more than I pay for.” Sometimes the seller rounds down the price, but I still pay the correct price. They compliment me, saying that there are too few good people like me these days. I take the opportunity to tell them that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner and that Dafa taught me to be good, following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. This naturally leads to my clarifying the truth to them, and many listen and agree to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

A practitioner dropped off a bag of paper bills with truth-clarification messages printed on them. I counted the bills in front of her and found 100 yuan was missing. I immediately understood it was a test for me to eliminate my pursuit of self-interest and that I should make up for the missing amount myself. She also looked inward and wanted to make up the missing amount. In the end, we agreed to split the difference.

The next morning, I found a bundle of cash totaling 100 yuan as I was sweeping the floor near where the practitioner had stood the day before. I realized it was not only a test of my pursuit of self-interest, but also interference from the old forces trying to create a gap between us. Fortunately, we both looked inward in time without blaming each other. Master saw our hearts and resolved the issue.

Another time, a merchant wrongly accused me of taking a bundle of her goods without paying for it. I knew it was a test for me to get rid of my attachments to saving face, pursuit of fame, and personnel gain. I calmly told her, “I did not take your any buncle. But if I owe you from a previous life, maybe now is the time to pay it back. Please take whatever you feel is yours from my goods.”

She hesitated, saying, “I will look again.”

The next day, she found her bundle in another pile of goods and was embarrassed. After that, she trusted me completely.

My Daughter-in-Law Helped Me Eliminate Attachments

I grew up in a large family and enjoyed the warmth of having family around. My parents-in-law, my children, and my grandchildren lived in harmony under one roof. I was proud of that, proud that others envied me.

However, my daughter-in-law believed the CCP’s lies and feared that my practicing Dafa might affect my son’s promotion and began to oppose me practicing. She repeatedly made a big fuss, threatening to report the practitioners who visited me, and tried to pressure me to write guarantee statements to renounce my belief. I refused. She escalated the situation by taking my two grandchildren away and cutting off contact with me.

My home was very quiet after they moved out. I missed my grandchildren badly. Their smiling faces often appeared in my mind, and I struggled to let go of sentimentality. Later, I adjusted my mindset: “If they aren’t here, it could be a good thing. I have plenty of time to study the Fa and clarify the truth.”

My daughter-in-law kept creating issues with my son, which upsset him. One day he told me, “She keeps making trouble for me. If this marriage does not work out, we should just get divorced!”

I told him, “Divorce is not recognized in traditional Chinese culture. Children will suffer the most. When you were considering getting married, I told you that you must think about it seriously before going ahead. We are a family of Dafa practitioners. Once you get married, you should not get divorced. You must be responsible for your wife for the rest of your life.”

I explained to him that only after people’s morals became corrupt did divorce become an option. My husband, however, refused to let it go and repeatedly suggested divorce to our son. My daughter-in-law’s father admitted that his daughter was stubborn and feared the marriage wouldn’t last.

I began to reflect on the situation and myself. My daughter-in-law used to get along well with me and I treated her like a daughter. She used to be reasonable and respectful, always buying me gifts for the Chinese New Year and Mother’s Day. Why did she become so different? I looked inward calmly and found many attachments, including showing off my happy family and my dutiful daughter-in-law, saving face, the pursuit of fame, looking down on others, and self-righteousness. In addition, I had a strong attachment to my son. When I could not let go if all those attachments, my will to cultivate Falun Dafa suffered. Those attachments were not my true self, and I had to eliminate them completely. I came to truly appreciate my daughter-in-law for helping me improve my xinxing and remove my deeply hidden attachments.

In 2005, I was released from a forced labor camp, where I’d been tortured. My husband sold our house and we had to rent a place temporarily. Even worse, I discovered that he was having an affair. I told him calmly, “If you want to be with her, go ahead, but treat her well. I can let go of our marriage.” When he said he did not want to live with her, I said, “If you do not want to be with her, you should end the relationship and not deceive her.”

When I visited my aunt in another city, he brought the other woman into our home again. I did not make a scene when I found out. Instead, I treated her kindly and told her about Falun Dafa and how to be a good person. She, her son, her sister, and her brother-in-law all learned the truth about Dafa and quit the CCP and its youth organizations. In the end, she broke up with my husband completely and moved to another city.

Cultivating My Xinxing As a Coordinator

When the persecution of Falun Dafa began, many local practitioners were arrested. As a result, we could not form a whole body and the state of our cultivation was worrying. Practitioners from another city frequently came to our area to share cultivation experiences and hold small-scale Fa meetings with us. From half a dozen to more than 20 sometimes came. Local practitioners gradually improved our understanding of the Fa and started going out to clarify the truth face to face, distribute truth-clarification materials, and help people quit the CCP.

As we improved as a whole, practitioners from other cities no longer needed to come. Later, practitioners recommended me to be the local coordinator. I hesitated at first, giving myself many reasons not to do it, such as taking care of the elderly at home, being busy with business, and not studying the Fa enough. However, Master told us the importance of forming a whole body and someone needed to assume the responsibility to be the coordinator. So I accepted.

Being a coordinator was not easy. When I did not do well, practitioners criticized me. And I criticized those with the energy and ability when they did not contribute. At that time, I felt tremendous pressure as I did not study the Fa well and did not know how to truly cultivate myself. Sometimes, I even had the thought of giving up being a coordinator and cried in private: “Why is cultivation so hard? Why is no one else willing to be a coordinator? What kind of attachments do I need to eliminate?”

When I was about to give up, I thought of our compassionate and great Master, who sacrificed so much in order to save us. I had strong righteous thoughts at once and made up my mind to follow Master and carry the burden to continue moving forward.

A practitioner was arrested, and we hired a lawyer from another city to defend him. The family of the persecuted practitioner could not afford the legal fees, so several practitioners helped pay them.

However, some practitioners opposed the idea or accused me of raising funds among practitioners. In addition to the pressure and accusations, I had to communicate with the family of the persecuted practitioner frequently and cooperate with them to get a signature from the practitioner in the detention center. Sometimes we were followed by the police. But no matter how difficult it was, I knew we must follow Master on the righteous path.

At first, I handled this alone. Later, more and more practitioners got involved, and we were making more progress. Some invited non-practitioners to attend the trial, some posted truth-clarification flyers, and others helped to send forth righteous thoughts.

On the day of the trial, some practitioners sent righteous thoughts non-stop for over three hours. Even a practitioner who had a lot of fear attended the public hearing. The lawyer defended the practitioner’s innocence and the judge and prosecutor listened quietly. Many people in the audience learned the truth about Dafa that day. After the trial, a police officer from the court complimented the lawyer for speaking so well. Overall, our efforts to hire a lawyer to defend the practitioner helped reduce the practitioner’s sentence.

Clarify the Truth to Predestined People

When I was released from a labor camp in 2005 and my family picked me up, a guard rode with us. I used that opportunity to clarify the truth to him and told him how the labor camp persecuted practitioners. Although I was afraid, I reminded myself, “Even with fear, I must clarify the truth, ecauseb this is what Master asks us to do.” He was shocked to hear what I revealed. Although he worked in the labor camp, he was not in the area of the incarcerated practitioners. He knew about the persecution of Falun Dafa but had no idea of it was so severe.

After I returned home, I began clarifying the truth to my relatives and friends and then to merchants and customers. At first, I was still fearful of being reported to the police. I would wait a day to confirm nothing would happen before I continued. It took me a while to finally get rid of that fear.

After understanding the truth about Dafa, one of my business partners brought her relatives and friends to hear about Dafa from me. She also helped them to quit the CCP. She later started her own business, which flourished. Another merchant next to my booth always brought her relatives and friends who visited her to me to listen to the truth about Dafa. Her business also boomed, even when other businesses were losing money.

With Master’s strengthening and protection, I clarified the truth wherever I went. Once when I escaped from a detention center with righteous thoughts, I ran into someone on the street, clarified the truth to him, and he quit the CCP. Another time when I was arrested, I clarified the truth to the officers who arrested me, and two of them quit the Party.

A few years ago, a customer who had back pain agreed with what I said about Dafa and quit the CCP. She remembered the auspicious phrases, and a month later, told me her back pain was gone after she sincerely recited “Falun Dafa is good.”

Clarifying the truth has become part of my daily life. I go into more detail for those who are willing to listen. If someone wants to listen to the truth-clarification broadcasts, I give them a small audio player and advise them to let their entire family listen.

Over the past few years, whenever practitioners have asked for my help with Dafa matters, I immediately drop what I am doing to help, unconcerned about my business being affected or any losses I might suffer. Still, I’ve made more money every year than the merchants nearby. I’ve realized that Master will ensure that we have enough, and I could never spend it all anyway. Now, I’ve not only bought a house but also have enough savings and don’t need to run my business anymore.

I have come to understand that, as long as Dafa disciples walk on the righteous path of cultivation, Master will always give us the best.