(Minghui.org) Learning to have confidence is an important part of Falun Dafa cultivation practice. Having confidence is something I have always struggled with when it comes to talking to people. I would always fear how others would think of what I said and did. When I was asked to collect signatures for a petition to help stop organ harvesting, I got a chance to see my hidden attachments that I didn’t realize before.
During this relatively short period of Dafa cultivation practice, I have participated in many truth-clarification activities and collected signatures to call for an end to the persecution. Recently, we have been informing people about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) transnational repression, and I have met many who knew nothing about it before.
The importance of this project has encouraged me even more to speak face-to-face with people and tell them the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China. I have realized that we Dafa practitioners are the only ones in the world who truly have the courage to do this.
I’m truly grateful to a fellow practitioner who encouraged me to step out again and take part in this activity. If he hadn’t invited me directly, I would have missed this precious opportunity to inform people about Dafa, and to eliminate attachments long hidden inside me.
What I realized is that fear and the desire for comfort may have been hidden deep in my heart all along. I hadn’t actively wanted to go out. I often felt busy with household chores, or thought that since many others were already collecting signatures, I could simply rely on them. Because of that, I didn’t truly see my own attachments.
All of these notions, in fact, were thought karma, and attachments of fear and laziness, including wanting to avoid people, confrontations, and shy away from conflicts and challenges.
When we have fear in our hearts, people can sense that something isn’t quite right. Our fear prevents them from trusting us. This realization helped me understand something deeper: fear can influence others and make them feel uneasy, but confidence can also have an impact by bringing warmth and reassurance.
When we remain calm, confident, and free of fear in our hearts, others can sense it, and they will be able to trust us. But such confidence can only come from studying the Fa well, and clearly understanding the history of the CCP and it’s role in the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners.
Fear is a harmful notion. It’s like an evil force that tries to control us. My understanding is that fear can cause a person to make mistakes, or even lead to wrong or distorted understandings. If fear lingers in one’s heart for too long without being removed, it can cause a person to go astray, or develop attachments of jealousy or resentment.
Because of fear, I’ve often been afraid to express my true feelings. I worried that others might misunderstand my feelings and actions. This made it difficult for me to approach people and even caused others to feel that I was not trustworthy, no matter how good my intentions were.
Because of this fear, I often avoided pointing out other people’s problems or correcting their misunderstandings, as I didn’t want to cause conflict or make others dislike me. This is why I believe fear can lead to jealousy, and even to distorted understandings, such as being afraid to speak about the truth of the persecution, or to share the goodness of Dafa with others. Sometimes it even made me feel that I shouldn’t go out to collect signatures on the petition drive, since so many others are already doing it.
When we truly walk our own path with confidence and a determined will to succeed, removing all fear and laziness that stand in our way, nothing can stop us. Only when people sense no fear in us, and see that we are truly confident, will the power of the Fa manifest, and the people will come to believe in us.
Collecting signatures could help to stop the persecution, and clarifying the truth is a precious opportunity for us to cultivate our inner selves and improve our xinxing. Without engaging in such activities, many of our attachments would remain hidden, and I would not have been able to recognize and remove those attachments to fear, saving face, lust, anger, competitiveness, or the pursuit of joy.
If I didn’t go out to collect signatures, I wouldn’t know that I still had these attachments. If I had chosen to stay at home, instead of going out to clarify the truth face-to-face, I would never have understood the power of confidence. Opportunities for cultivation will not last forever. Once the persecution ends and this environment no longer exists, attachments such as fear may never be completely eliminated.
One of the antidotes to fear is confidence. But without an environment that allows us to nourish our confidence, or an environment that exposes the fear inside us, it’s very difficult to eliminate this attachment. It is also very hard to remain truly steadfast and unmoved when facing conflicts or mental pressure.
While collecting signatures with fellow practitioners in the park, I met a Chinese woman who practiced Falun Dafa many years ago in China. One of our practitioners, who is usually quite shy, was helping to clarify the truth to her and tried to persuade her to quit the CCP. But she was very stubborn and refused, saying it had nothing to do with her. Fortunately, another practitioner who couldn’t speak Chinese didn’t give up. He kept encouraging the one who could speak Chinese to continue helping her to understand the truth and persuade her to quit.
The woman finally did agree to quit the Party. Afterwards, the shy practitioner shared a very enlightening insight with us. He said that at that moment, a thought suddenly came to him. Perhaps she was thinking that if she quit the Party, her soul would then belong to Falun Dafa. So he explained to her that quitting the Party simply means freeing one’s soul from belonging to the CCP, and it doesn’t mean that one’s soul will belong to Falun Dafa. After listening to the explanation, she immediately agreed to quit. Although the woman didn’t say that this was the reason for her hesitation, it was of great concern to her.
I came to realize that once we stop worrying about how others see us, we become truly confident because our hearts are no longer occupied with thoughts of protecting ourselves or being afraid of making mistakes. When there is no fear in our mind, what remains is confidence, and that confidence is the ultimate power of faith and truth. It carries the strength to touch people’s hearts.
There is a Chinese idiom that basically means taking credit that belongs to heaven as one’s own. We should remain humble when we achieve success or gain new insights.
When confidence turns into zealotry or self-aggrandizement, it is no longer pure confidence. For example, while talking with a parent, I saw their child start to wander off, but I didn’t stop my talk to alert the parent. Another time, when I spoke too much and too fast, I realized that there was either fear or a sense of zealotry behind it, because I didn’t stop to listen or give the other person time to absorb what I said. I knew something wasn’t right in both situations, and that I needed to be more patient and considerate.
I have now become calmer and more patient. Every person deserves our careful attention and sincere efforts to help them understand the truth. When we take the time to listen attentively, even to someone’s criticism or refusal, we may find more opportunities to help them, and let others feel that our caring is genuine.
I’ve come to understand that when zealotry arises, others cannot truly sense the energy of genuine compassion, even if my intentions are good. I realize that I need to be more open and confident. Such confidence is rational and steadfast, sets aside oneself, and focuses on the well-being of others.
This is my current understanding at my level, please point out anything that is not in keeping with the Fa.