(Minghui.org) I’m 56 years old, and I began practicing Dafa in 1997. Looking back on my cultivation journey, I was able to overcome every hurdle and difficulty with Master’s compassionate protection and guidance. Practicing Falun Dafa is the greatest honor in my life!
I’d like to tell you how I let go of my attachments and my cultivation insights while clarifying the truth . If there are any areas that are not in line with the Fa, please kindly point them out.
My husband was strongly opposed to my practicing Falun Dafa. Influenced by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) atheism, he said I was too young to be involved in such illusory things. Although I took care of all the household chores, he frequently beat and verbally abused me because I persisted in practicing the exercises. He also said sarcastic and insulting things to me. Even though by studying the Fa I understood that he was helping me eliminate karma and improve my xinxing, when the situation was intense I couldn’t completely let go of my human attachments: resentment and my competitive mentality. I just suppressed them. During these repeated trials, I often thought he was interfering with my cultivation, that it was his fault, and I felt wronged.
Through studying the Fa, I finally understood why my husband treated me this way. He was helping me cultivate away my jealousy and selfishness. I am a practitioner, and I needed to cultivate and eliminate my attachments. He is an ordinary person. During these years of the CCP’s persecution I was illegally detained and sent to forced labor camps several times, and he was under great pressure. I should understand him and treat him kindly. I should not resent him. My innate nature is to assimilate to Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. As soon as I realized this my mood brightened considerably. I was happy. I knew that Master helped remove the negative elements from me.
After my xinxing improved, my husband’s attitude changed. He never beat or verbally abused me again, and sometimes he even praised me in front of relatives and friends. I realized that our family environment is where we cultivate and our family members’ behavior helps us improve.
In 2011, while distributing CDs about Falun Dafa on the street, I was illegally arrested. In the detention center, I repeatedly recited,
“Your body lies in prison—don’t be sorrowful, don’t be sadWith righteous thoughts and righteous actions, Fa is hereCalmly reflect on how many attachments you haveAs you get rid of human mentality, evil is naturally defeated”(“Don’t Be Sad” Hong Yin II)
I looked inward and realized I thought performing tasks was cultivating—so I failed to truly cultivate. I thought that doing Dafa-related things and reading Dafa books every day constituted cultivation, but I hadn’t used the Fa’s standards to measure my every word and action. I still felt self-righteous and I relied on others. I didn’t cultivate my speech, I had a show-off mentality, and I hadn’t eliminated my attachments such as competitiveness, self-interest, and lust.
I sent forth righteous thoughts for hours to eliminate these negative, acquired notions and human attachments. I refused to cooperate with the guards’ demands. Besides reciting the Fa, sending forth righteous thoughts, and practicing the exercises every day, I also clarified the truth to the inmates in my cell and the guards.
With Master’s protection, I was released from the detention center after twenty days. I understood that during tribulations, as long as we believe in Master and the Fa, and act according to Master’s requirements, he will help us resolve the tribulations.
With other practitioners’ help I began making informational materials about Falun Dafa in 2012. I truly felt that the printer is our Fa instrument; it also has a mission and helps us cultivate and improve.
When I first started making the materials, I was impatient and depended on others. I only focused on making the materials and knew nothing about machine maintenance and repair. I didn’t realize that the machine also has life and needs to be cherished and maintained. When the machine malfunctioned, I bothered other practitioners and asked them to help me.
Later, I read an article in the Minghui Weekly by a practitioner who mentioned that repairing machines requires cultivating one’s xinxing. I was inspired. I realized that I must first study the Fa well and maintain a pure mindset while doing Dafa work to minimize problems. The printer jammed, but I couldn’t find the jammed paper. Turning it off and on repeatedly didn’t work. I realized that the machine was also alive and came for the Fa, so I sent righteous thoughts, and cleared out all the interfering factors in my own dimension and the dimension of the materials production site. I talked to the printer, and said I hoped it could adjust itself and cooperate with me.
When I turned the printer back on it started working. It suddenly spat out a long, narrow strip of paper, about a centimeter wide, that was badly crumpled. It ejected the paper that was jammed inside. I was amazed and tears welled up in my eyes. I knew Master helped me! Thank you, Master!
During the process of making the materials, several other miraculous things happened, which allowed me to deeply understand the principle of “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Zhuan Falun)
I followed the steps in the book of Machine Troubleshooting Methods a practitioner gave me and I gradually learned basic troubleshooting. This process also helped me overcome my impatience and dependence on other practitioners for technical help. Now, with the improvement of my xinxing, the machine rarely malfunctions, and the truth-clarifying booklets I print are even more beautiful.
Lin and I often work together to clarify the truth to people. She’s experienced in clarifying the truth and has a high success rate in persuading people to renounce their ties to the CCP. She talks to everyone, regardless of age or gender, and she’s good at striking up conversations, which I admire. Every day, she does the main talking, and I assist by sending righteous thoughts and writing down the names of those who renounce their ties to the CCP. We’ve worked together quite well for the past year.
However, Lin liked to tell me about conflicts she’s had with other practitioners—unfortunately she always blames others and never looks inward. One day, I couldn’t help but tell her that she shouldn’t look outward, but should cultivate herself. She exploded, and lashed out at me. I was stunned and felt uncomfortable. I thought that after all these years of cultivating, her xinxing hadn’t improved, and when I pointed out her problems, she criticized me.
I calmed down after I returned home and studied the Fa. I realized that Lin’s behavior was caused by the old forces that used her human attachments and karma to create difficulties for her, causing a rift in our cultivation environment. This wasn’t her true self, but her behavior showed me that I also had problems. I looked inward and found that I looked down on her. I resented her for spreading rumors and criticizing me. I had an attachment to self, and I wanted to be praised. I was surprised that I had so many hidden human attachments.
After I looked inward and let go of my dissatisfaction and resentment towards Lin, I felt genuine compassion for her—for so many years, the old forces used her human attachments to prevent her from improving in the Fa. How much suffering and hardship has she endured?! I know that some practitioners are still unhappy with her, but isn’t this falling into the old forces’ trap? The old forces want us to be divided so they can single us out and persecute us.
Lin was harassed by the CCP and forced to become homeless, which interfered with her efforts to clarify the truth to people. I realized that we are all practitioners, and we should be tolerant of each other. When we see other practitioners’ shortcomings, we should examine ourselves and improve together. We should help Lin eliminate the corrupt substances in her dimensions that block her from assimilating to the Fa. If we’re compassionate when we point out each others’ problems then these conflicts won’t exist. In my understanding, this is what Master wants us to do.
Now, I only see Lin’s positive aspects. All practitioners who have followed Master to this point are remarkable. The parts that have been cultivated well have been separated by Master, and the parts that haven’t been cultivated well are still there so we can see each other’s shortcomings, cultivate ourselves, and improve together. We should be grateful to other practitioners for allowing us to find our negative human attachments. After my perspective changed, Lin’s attitude towards me also changed. The distance between us disappeared, and we get along much better now.
Fang and I went to the countryside last March to talk to people about the persecution. When we arrived at a village we saw a man playing with his child in front of his house. I went over to greet him and offered him a truth-clarifying booklet. He refused it. I said, “Look at all the natural and man-made disasters happening now. This magazine Heaven-Sent Blessings tells you how to stay safe during times of disaster.” He reluctantly accepted it.
I walked a few steps when his wife came out of the house, holding the materials and shouting loudly, “You still practice Falun Dafa? You’re so bold! Just a few days ago, several practitioners were arrested here.” I replied, “Falun Dafa teaches people how to be good. We are telling you how to avoid disaster for your own good.” Fang and I sent righteous thoughts as we walked away.
At another house, we saw several elderly men playing mahjong, so we offered them some materials and clarified the truth. Two elderly women were watching them play, and we clarified the truth to them. Three people withdrew from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. We noticed the woman from the other house was still watching us from her doorway.
After we clarified the truth to people at a few more houses and we reached the road at the back of the village, we suddenly heard a voice coming from a telephone pole by the road, “This place is dangerous, leave quickly,” repeated several times. Fang and I realized Master was hinting that we needed to leave. When we reached the highway to wait for a bus, we saw a police car heading towards the village. We wondered if that woman reported us. We were grateful for Master’s compassionate protection, which allowed us to escape without harm.
Fang and I drove an electric bike two years ago to a town to distribute truth-clarifying materials. It was a windy day and the electric bike had a canopy, so Fang drove slowly. On the way home she noticed in the rearview mirror that a car was following us. Other cars sped past us, but that car was following us slowly and even honking its horn. Fang and I knew we were being followed, but we weren’t afraid; we just sent righteous thoughts. We continued driving slowly, and the car followed us for nearly twenty kilometers. Seeing that we didn’t react, it drove away. We knew there was a police station not far ahead, so we asked Master to put a protective shield around us, allowing our bike to travel in another dimension so the police couldn’t see us. Sure enough, when our bike passed the police station, that car was parked on the side of the road, and there were several people inside. Fang saw in the rearview mirror that they didn’t follow us; it was as if they didn’t see us. We returned home safely.
Fang and I knew that these two incidents were battles between good and evil in another dimension, and that Master protected us and helped us overcome the difficulties. I realized that as long as our hearts are aligned with the Fa, and we are wholeheartedly dedicated to helping Master save sentient beings by clarifying the truth, the old forces dare not touch us, because they have no excuse to persecute us. Master and the guardian deities will protect us.
After more than twenty years of practicing Dafa, I now understand that many of the tribulations I faced before were due to my poor understanding of the Fa, my failure to calmly study the Fa, and my ineffective approach to studying the Fa. This allowed the old forces to exploit my human notions and attachments. Only through genuine cultivation and looking inward unconditionally can I walk the path of cultivation well.
I will cherish the remaining time for cultivation, eliminate my complacency and various human attachments, cooperate with other practitioners to clarify the truth and save people, and return home with Master!