(Minghui.org) Many practitioners have felt that the situation has changed since last year. My older son (who is also a practitioner) once described it as “intensification.” I think what he said makes sense. With so many things going on and so many things to finish up, we are experiencing all kinds of tests.
Compassionate Master eliminates any bad substances we haven’t eliminated. This also means that we practitioners have to hold onto Dafa tightly, stay diligent, and quickly let go of our attachments. Only then can we catch up and only then can we return home with Master.
[Excerpt from the article]
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Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I hadn’t visited my hometown for a few years when my children and I visited my family in August. My younger son (who practices Falun Dafa) took the college entrance exam this year and did very well, and my mother-in-law wanted to see him. My older brother suggested I pay my respects at our parents’ graves since both of my sons had been admitted to university, marking a new chapter in our family. My brother did this when his son went to college. Because I felt this was conforming to everyday society, I went.
Our days would be busy, and I planned our itinerary as best as I could to accommodate everyone. Many things were different from what I expected, and there were always surprises, but I’d like to tell you about an incident that occurred the day before I was due to leave.
My uncle’s daughters Bei and Dai invited my older sister Fei and me to lunch. We are the only girls in this generation of the family, but we hadn’t seen each other for a few years. Fei and I do not drink because we are practitioners, Bei and Dai had wine, and Bei smoked.
Bei is a successful businesswoman and owns several apartments. Her son found a well-paying job after earning a graduate degree. He planned to get married soon. Despite these successes, Bei was not happy, not at all.
“I don’t see hope in this life. Please tell me: What is the purpose of life?” she asked me more than once after a couple of glasses of wine.
“I smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. I know it’s not good for me, but I can’t quit. I want to learn from you and take the same path as you do,” she said.
I could tell Bei was still sober. Turning to her younger sister Dai, she said, “Look, she [meaning me] did not ask for anything. It is me who wants to learn from her. You [pointing to me] are different. You just sit here quietly eating, no drinking and no gossiping like us. I like that.”
The meal lasted several hours, and Bei invited me to her place afterward. She asked her husband to leave, so she and I could talk. Helping people to learn Dafa is very important, so I quickly modified my schedule and postponed my trip home. Fei brought over two copies of Zhuan Falunand my clothes, so I could stay with Bei and read Zhuan Falun.
Looking at the two books in front of us, Bei said she had a few questions she wanted me to answer before we began to read the book. I nodded. In fact, several people in my extended family practice Dafa. My father and grandfather’s generations had been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in different political campaigns, and both Bei and Dai had already quit the CCP organizations, so I knew she had other questions.
First, she asked if my husband practiced Dafa, and I said he did not. When she asked why, I said that everyone’s situation is different: “Maybe I haven’t done well and set a good enough example; maybe he will practice later. It’s hard to tell. Although my husband does not read Falun Dafa books or do the exercises, he knows Dafa is good and takes fame and material interests lightly. Human society is like a maze—some people practice and some do not. People make their own decisions.”
Bei then asked, “Why is Fei, who has practiced for a few years, different from you?”
Fei knew about Falun Dafa back in 1998, but she hadn’t read the Dafa books very much before the CCP began the suppression in 1999. Shortly after she began reading them, she was diagnosed with cancer. As a practitioner, she knew she would be fine because she was a practitioner. But her husband cried and begged her to have surgery. She could not let go of her feelings for him (qing) and followed his advice. Then he had an affair. She was not happy.
“Cultivation practice is like going school and studying several subjects,” I explained. “Fei has done well in many areas. But she could probably have done better in this one—letting go of her sentimentality for her husband.”
“Is there anything you cannot let go of?” Bei asked.
I looked within, but I did not find anything. “No, nothing,” I said and gave a few examples. After the persecution started, I was worried I wouldn’t get my diploma, or I wouldn’t be able to find a job, or my employer would fire me, or my boyfriend would abandon me.
“Those may big issues to other people, but I considered them small things, and I was determined to practice,” I said. “Looking back, one may think I gave up many things. But in reality, I didn’t lose anything. On the contrary, I have benefited much more.”
“That’s true,” Bei nodded.
She asked several other questions, and I told her how Falun Dafa is practiced in many countries around the world but only in China is it persecuted.
Bei then ask her last question: “Can one still worship other deities if one practices Dafa?” Knowing her family worshipped some statues, including ones with spirit or animal possession, I understood this was a sensitive topic, so I replied, “How about we put this question on hold for now? After you finish reading the book, you can decide.” She agreed.
It was already very late that day, so we only read about 10 pages before we went to bed. The next morning, Bei did not smoke, nor did she want to. After a simple breakfast, we took turns reading Zhuan Falun, paragraph by paragraph. We continued studying after a brief lunch. When she had questions, she would stop reading and ask me. After I answered her, we continued. By dinnertime, we had read four lectures in Zhuan Falun.
Her husband had sent over some dumplings earlier that day, so Bei went downstairs to get them. When she returned, she looked frightened. She said the deities that her family worshipped had given her some messages, and she dared not read Zhuan Falun anymore. I realized I should have sent forth righteous thoughts. So I calmed down and sent righteous thoughts to clear away the spirit and animal possession. But the result was limited. Bei then lit a cigarette, and her hand shook. Before that, she hadn’t smoked all day.
Knowing this was a tribulation for Bei, I asked her to choose: “It’s not that difficult. Once you choose Dafa, other things will be cleared instantly. It’s similar to the stories in Journey to the West. When the monsters wanted to eat Monk Tang, the Monkey King decided to fight them to protect Monk Tang. When Monkey King was not powerful enough, Bodhisattva and the Buddha helped. So, in the end, it was up to Monk Tang to choose which path to take.”
Bei looked sad and said her family was “all right now,” meaning she did not want to affect them. I knew she was remembering things that had happened in the past. Back in 2001, my father recommended to Bei’s father Gang (his brother, my uncle) that he read Dafa books. At that time, Gang had been paralyzed on one side for many years. Before he finished reading Zhuan Falun, he was able to move his disabled arm. However, the “deities” his family worshipped began to make trouble. Almost everyone in his family got sick, and some had to have surgery. In the end, the entire family pressured Gang to stop practicing Dafa. Gang listened to them, became depressed, and died several Lyears later.
Bei chose not to practice, so I would leave for my hometown as scheduled. She insisted on driving me to the train station. She said, “You and our younger uncle [another practitioner] made the right choice. Please do not feel sad because of me. Please do not give up on me.”
Even though she decided not to practice, from this experience we can see that everyday people are looking for and waiting for Dafa. But embarking on the cultivation path is not easy. We Dafa disciples are very fortunate to have been on this path all these years. Please cherish what we have.
Many practitioners have felt that the situation has changed since last year. My older son (who is also a practitioner) once described it as “intensification.” I think what he said makes sense. With so many things going on and so many things to finish up, we are experiencing all kinds of tests.
Compassionate Master eliminates any bad substances we haven’t eliminated. This also means that we practitioners have to hold onto Dafa tightly, stay diligent, and quickly let go of our attachments. Only then can we catch up and only then can we return home with Master.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Selected submission for the 22nd China Fa Conference on Minghui.org)
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