New Practitioner Makes Cultivation Breakthroughs While Clarifying the Truth About the Persecution

(Minghui.org) Greetings compassionate Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!

Before I began practicing Falun Dafa in May 2023 I suffered from depression due to many complex factors, including the data in my doctoral dissertation not meeting expectations and conflicts with my professor, family, and students. The depression was so severe that I was unable to work or study. For several years, the torment of writing my dissertation followed me like a shadow, filling me with fear, anxiety, irritability, and feelings of inferiority. Each time I tried to write it felt like torture. I would endure long stretches of fear, pain, self-doubt, and physical discomfort.

Over the past two years of cultivation with inspiration from Dafa and help from fellow practitioners I gradually managed to get out of bed, emerge from depression, and uncover and break through one attachment after another that lay behind my inability to write my dissertation.

It Isn’t Just About the Dissertation, It’s About Cultivation

One time, when I was suffering terribly and felt like giving up and just submitting something random to be done with it, I dreamed I was taking an important exam and working on the final question. Time was running out, but there were many mathematical equations left to solve, full of complex numbers and letters on both sides of the equations. I felt extremely anxious and didn’t want to continue. Suddenly, the exam switched to an essay question. In the dream, I handed in a poem that a friend wrote for me. When the teacher read it aloud to the entire class, I was terrified that people would discover the handwriting wasn’t mine.

When I woke up, I realized that the problem wasn’t about the dissertation itself, it was a series of cultivation tests I needed to face. I always viewed my inability to write the dissertation as an ordinary person’s problem, or even as an illness. So, at times I just wanted to rush through it anyway I could, so that I could be free to go out and clarify the truth and save people.

But everything we encounter in the human world is part of our cultivation. How to elevate my xinxing and complete my studies in a dignified and upright way, and how to emerge from this tribulation—that was my true test.

Eliminating Fear Is Crucial

Two months ago, a fellow practitioner handed me a petition booklet and a thick stack of petition sheets. I thought perhaps I was meant to fill them with signatures. I’d never collected signatures or helped Chinese people quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations, so I decided to give it a try to break through my fear. At first, I was very nervous. Unlike my usual aggressive approach, I tried talking to a few people, and to my surprise, many of them signed. Suddenly, I understood that Master was encouraging me, and that as long as I went out to do it, it could be done.

On May 13, I arranged to go with two other new practitioners to the CN Tower in Toronto to collect more signatures. Initially, I felt extremely anxious talking to passersby, and the people I approached seemed hesitant. But once the two fellow practitioners arrived, my fear diminished, and people became more willing to sign.However, many people wearing blue baseball caps were on their way to the Rogers Centre across the street to watch a baseball game, and none of them would sign. When I approached another group, they joked that they were “too weak and didn’t have the courage” to sign the petition. No matter how I encouraged them, they insisted they lacked the courage and hurried away.

At that point, there were no more pedestrians around. The two practitioners pointed across the street and said the baseball game was about to start, and that there would be more people inside. Looking at the sea of blue baseball caps, I felt overwhelmed. If they wouldn’t sign when they were outside the stadium, how could they possibly sign when they are inside the stadium? But I decided to accept the practitioners’ suggestion. I thought, Maybe this is just my own notion, so I forced myself to go over with them. To my surprise, inside the stadium, many people began signing, even groups of friends signed together.

Later, I realized: the fear I saw in those people was actually a reflection of my own fear. When they said they were weak, it was because I felt weak. Through this experience, Master showed me my mental state and helped me understand that other people’s reactions are often reflections of my own attachments. When I broke through my notions, doubts, and fear, they too broke through their fear of the CCP and began signing. I started telling people: “One person’s voice may be soft, but when we all stand together and speak out, it becomes incredibly powerful. What the CCP fears most is our voices.” When I said this, even more people were willing to sign.

This experience made me realize that for the past two years, whenever I clarified the truth, whether in different projects or with family and friends, I always skirted around the edges. I was afraid to directly touch the core issues that scared me the most. It was just like how I’d always avoided facing my xinxing test with my dissertation and my professor. In that moment, it was as if I suddenly woke up from a dream.

Collecting Signatures in the Place I Feared Most – My University

A fellow practitioner suggested that I go back to my school to collect signatures. At first, I was very afraid, because school and familiar people were the places where I least dared to clarify the truth and most wanted to avoid. But I realized that facing my core fears was a barrier I had to overcome in cultivation, so I went to the campus to collect signatures.

It felt as though it had been arranged just for me: there’s a free parking lot in the wooded area around the campus, and the path to campus naturally allows me to greet people there. Because I was relaxed, the people I met were also at ease, and many signed without hesitation.

I met two Cantonese speaking people who said that they were Christians. They initially refused to sign. Unlike before, when I would have been deterred by a rejection, this time I forced myself to persist and spoke kindly. They first talked about how the CCP boosted China’s economy, but later recalled the suffering of relatives persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. Eventually, both of them signed the petition, including the quiet wife. Afterwards, they were so happy that they hugged me and treated me like family. It was the first time I experienced the joy and gratitude of sentient beings who truly understood the truth, and I felt incredibly happy myself.

As I continued walking out of the woods, I suddenly saw two friends from my lab sitting right outside the campus building as if they were waiting for me. Summoning my courage, I told them about the petition. They signed without any hesitation.

Stepping back into the campus environment was just like the experience at the baseball game. Because I broke through my fear of familiar surroundings, many people were willing to sign. Some sincerely thanked us for what we were doing. I became even more firmly convinced that breaking through core attachments is the key to both my cultivation and saving people at this stage.

One day, while walking through the campus, I suddenly felt a strong longing to see Master. I began imagining Master walking beside me and wondered where he might be. Just then, I turned my head and saw a Chinese student. I froze for a moment, then mustered my courage and cautiously approached him, asking if he could support ending the persecution. He said he was afraid and hurried away. I wasn’t disturbed and jokingly called after him, “Don’t be afraid!” To my surprise, he ran about ten meters away, suddenly turned back, and came running toward me, asking for the pen to sign. He said he was worried about being identified. I told him it was fine to sign with a nickname. Not only did he sign his English name, he started a new line and also signed his Chinese name and wrote his address in Shanghai. I was stunned!It took me quite a while to process what had happened. I realized that Master has always been right by my side. Everything is done by Master. As long as I can let go of my human attachments, trust that Master is with me, and believe that it’s Master speaking through my mouth, then anything can be accomplished.

Breaking Through Fear and Resentment

As I gradually eliminated my fear and attachments through collecting signatures, I also became more determined to overcome the difficulties in my academic studies.

When facing my dissertation and my professor again, no matter how painful or uncomfortable I felt, I forced myself to endure the waves of suffering, fear, and resentment toward others, and to keep moving forward. Each time I persevered, it seemed my professor provided guidance on my dissertation, revealing a path forward just when I thought all hope was lost. Although I still haven’t finished writing, I finally see hope for breaking through this barrier.

During this process, I realized that for the past two years, I never truly let go of my resentment toward my professor. I was afraid of being hurt, so I didn’t trust her and even kept my guard up. These barriers caused me to look down on her and push her away, which prevented her from helping me.

When I let go of my ego and sincerely sought her guidance, she got new ideas and gave me helpful advice. My sincere gratitude made her very happy. She even apologized for neglecting me over the past two years, saying she had felt guilty. I sincerely told her that it was my own fear and ego that kept me from accepting her help and that my attitude caused her to lose confidence in her role as my advisor.

Now, I’m working hard on writing my dissertation, and she’s helping me by shielding me from pressures coming from other directions. I feel deeply grateful. Although we still don’t know when we’ll reach the finish line, we’ve finally learned how to respect and cooperate with each other. I’ve let go of my ego and sincerely follow her directions. When problems arise, we solve them together, instead of blaming each other, pressuring each other, or giving up just because we can’t see the end result for now.

Overcoming Attachments to Fame, Personal Gain, Human Relationships, andMatters of Life and Death

A practitioner who helps collect signatures at City Hall heard my story and encouraged me to tell my professor and the other students about Falun Dafa and the persecution. She told me to believe that they would understand. I recalled how much my professor valued privacy, and this thought kept me from approaching her. But this practitioner patiently and repeatedly encouraged me to save my professor and the people in my scientific field. She told me to speak directly, not to be afraid, and believe that people can understand.

I work in HIV vaccine research, and although I’ve realized that a true vaccine for HIV can’t be developed, the thought of mentioning divine beings in the realm of science stunned me. I also remembered seeing, over the previous weeks at school and in the lab, how people strongly supported and defended political correctness. I realized that my deepest fear was precisely this.

With support from fellow practitioners, I finally let go of my fear of political correctness and atheism. I came to understand that behind that fear lay my attachments: fear of being disliked, fear of facing criticism or skepticism from public opinion and authority, and fear of losing all the fame and benefits tied to the scientific system. I made up my mind: If speaking out is truly required of me, I am willing to do it, no matter what I might lose! Everything I’m afraid of is an illusion. I will walk the path Master wants me to walk.

Perhaps Master saw my heart to save people. One day, I ran into my professor in the corridor and naturally brought up the topic. She carefully read the petition and signed it. I believe that by breaking through my core fears toward her, my dissertation, and even the theory of evolution, I also helped her break through her own fears. At that moment, many memories flooded my mind. I saw how, during my stubbornness and self-righteousness in the past, she always tolerated me. My distrust towards her and my attachment to my own ego obstructed her from obtaining the Fa. In fact, she was far more divine, kind, and perceptive than I had ever imagined.

After that, Master also brought many other predestined professors into my path. While collecting signatures at school, I met a professor I’d previously clarified the truth to. After a brief hesitation, she signed her name but still seemed unsure whether it would have any effect. As I took the elevator upstairs with her, we encountered another professor. When I mentioned that I was close to finishing my dissertation, she was very happy for me. I had spoken to her previously about Dafa and about Shen Yun. When I handed her the petition, she hesitated briefly but then saw another professor’s name on it. She asked me, “Is this Professor A?” I said yes, she’s a genetics professor. The second professor quickly signed as well.

Soon afterward, I circled the campus to collect signatures from students. When I returned to the building entrance, I unexpectedly ran into the second professor again. This time she was accompanied by several other professors whom I also knew well. I briefly explained the situation and again emphasized that it was Falun Dafa that had helped me recover from depression and enabled me to return to writing my dissertation. They all knew about my situation and were happy for me. During the conversation, this professor encouraged the others to sign. One professor who was close friends with her initially didn’t want to sign. She asked, “Why not? Just sign!” The professor couldn’t come up with an answer, hesitated a moment, and finally signed her name.

I happily carried the petition back to my office. On the way, I ran into the first professor again. I showed her the other professors’ signatures and told her that it was because they’d seen her name that they signed. She became visibly moved and told me, “We’re a great team.”

I know that all of this was arranged by Master. All I need to do is cultivate my own heart. Once I meet the required standard, Master can bring the people who meet that standard to be saved.

Overcoming Notions About People’s Backgrounds

A practitioner who coordinates the truth-clarification site outside the Chinese consulate said that the consulate is the CCP den. Having gone through several prior experiences, I thought that going to the consulate would help me further break through my deepest fears. On the way there, I couldn’t help feeling a surge of excitement and happiness, as if I’d been waiting for this day for a long time. As soon as I arrived, I saw a man standing on the road near the driveway, watching the practitioners. Without thinking too much, I walked straight up to him and began clarifying the truth. I spoke haltingly, and at first, he refused to listen. Then I brought up the pandemic and the possibility of many future viruses, telling him I was speaking for the sake of his health and hoping he could learn the truth. He began to listen, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

Later, I realized that this was a rare opportunity. Usually, when I approach Chinese people, they run away as soon as I start talking. But CCP agents are paid to stand there and listen, they’re predestined beings who don’t run away. This gave me a chance to practice clarifying the truth to Chinese people. If I encounter them again, I want to speak kindly, so that either they understand the truth and quit the CCP for their safety, or the negative factors behind them become so afraid that they won’t dare to come back. Once I truly broke through my notions about evolution, I genuinely believed that every person is a divine being who descended to the human world for the Fa. They’ve merely chosen their current identity because they’ve been buried under lies and dust for too long. When they truly understand the truth, it’s impossible for them to continue committing evil acts, they are the true victims and are the ones who most need to be saved. The only question is whether I can reach a state of kind and rational compassion that allows me to explain things so they understand. When I thought about it this way, I no longer felt fear or any negative emotion toward them.

Later, while collecting signatures, I became even more calm and approached people with the mindset that putting their name down was for their salvation. Sometimes just a few words were enough for people to sign. I met a Chinese person who worked at a nearby hospital. After listening and understanding, he was deeply moved and took the pen to sign. I realized even more clearly that whether people can be saved or whether they sign isn’t determined by what I say, it depends on whether my heart is genuinely focused on saving them, on acting for their sake, rather than trying merely to gain their support.

It was as if the universe validated this understanding for me. A young Western woman very sincerely signed a petition for two practitioners who didn’t speak English well. I approached her to further explain what we were doing. She immediately asked if she could have more small lotus flowers. I gave her a handful. She was very excited, and carefully put them into her bag. She told us she wanted to share them with friends in her artist community. I asked her to pass on what we told her and to recite the words written on the lotus flowers. She enthusiastically promised. She said she understood everything and hugged me. She told me she carried a Bible in her bag. She was very happy and asked for more informational flyers.

I later talked to a lesbian. After understanding the truth, she wanted to help her child and her partner sign the petition. I quickly let go of my notions and gave her a lotus flower, and told the same words of encouragement. She told me that everything I’d said was exactly what her partner had been telling her. In the end, she eagerly asked for more little lotus flowers, saying she couldn’t wait to get on the bus and start sharing the message with others. It was the first time I witnessed such a profound transformation in a person who truly understood the truth. The urgency and eagerness she felt to save others, afraid of leaving behind any of her predestined connections, deeply touched and inspired me.

On my way home, my mind was overflowing with thoughts. I realized that regardless of race—Chinese, Black, or White; regardless of occupation—professor or spy; regardless of religion—Christian or Muslim; regardless of group—the most fundamental truth is that everyone is a being who descended from higher realms and carries a divine side. What blocks us from saving them is not their identities, but my own human notions about them. When I let go of my notions about people’s identities, they also let go of those identities, breaking through layer upon layer of superficial concepts to connect directly with their divine side and awaken.

After returning home, I felt like I was truly walking the path of a divine being. I completely let go of my anxiety and attachment over when my dissertation would be finished. I told myself that as long as I did well in what I could do, that was enough.

Once I fully relaxed, and no longer obsessed about proving anything, I suddenly saw a perspective in my research data that I’d never seen before. All at once, I had ideas for my dissertation, I could write again! I feel that this life-and-death barrier that has entangled me for so many years is finally about to pass.

I am endlessly grateful to Master. Thank you to my fellow practitioners!

This is my understanding at my current level. Please kindly point out anything that is not in line with the Fa. Heshi.

(Selected Sharing Article Presented at the 2025 Canada Fa Conference)