(Clearwisdom.net) I'm a veteran practitioner who attended one of Teacher's early lectures in Guangzhou City. I have been cultivating ever since, and hold a deep faith in Teacher and the Fa. Today I would like to share my experiences with fellow practitioners.
Doing the Three Things Well
Due to the persecution of Falun Gong, and in order to avoid arrest, I have been homeless for several years. Wherever I go, however, I still do what a practitioner should do. In 2005, I read articles about practitioners reciting the Fa. I also tried to recite the Fa before the persecution began in 1999, but the words would never stay in my head. By the time I had learned to recite the second half of a paragraph, I could not recall what was in the first part, so I stopped trying to do it. Eight years later, I realized how important it was to recite the Fa. What I needed was perseverance. I spent over five months learning to recite the book Zhuan Falun. I would now like to thank the Minghui website and fellow practitioners for helping me learn.
If someone wants to study the Fa effectively, he must first achieve a tranquil mind. When I tried to recite the Fa, I noticed some sentences seemed as if I had never read them before, and I was often moved to tears. The way I recited was by first studying one chapter of Zhuan Falun every day, then studying Teacher's other lectures or articles. After that, I recited the Fa. I am currently reciting Zhuan Falun for the sixth time. I also encouraged my husband to recite the Fa. I told him, "Don't think that you are over 70 years old. Maybe your primordial spirit is not that old." On the first day he recited three paragraphs and hoped to finish the book in six months. The more he recited, however, the faster he progressed. He took fifteen days to recite the first chapter, and only four days for the ninth chapter. He took a total of 70 days to recite all of Zhuan Falun. When he was able to recite the Fa, he did much better at clarifying the truth about Falun Gong and helping people quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
When I send forth righteous thoughts, I first imagine myself as a very powerful, giant divine being. In the past when I sent forth righteous thoughts, my hands would begin to tilt and fall down after a while. When I was able to recite the Fa, my hands remained firm and erect for the entire time. I send forth righteous thoughts ten times each day, or even more if necessary.
When I started to clarify the facts about Falun Gong, the most difficult thing for me was talking to people face to face. I had read on the Minghui website that a practitioner had helped over 10,000 people to quit the CCP, but I had only been able to help about 100 people quit, as of July 2007. So the next month, as soon as I sent forth righteous thoughts in the early morning, I began going out to clarify the truth and help people to quit the CCP. I act in accordance with what Teacher requires of us, to do the three things well and to save more sentient beings.
Looking Inward Whenever Conflicts Occur
I have tried to study the Fa more and look within whenever I encounter a conflict. I always feel very regretful if I cannot control my temper or don't act in accordance with the Fa. I have a relative who is also a practitioner, and we used to argue a lot. Later, I realized that these conflicts occurred to help me cultivate and improve. One day my relative told me that police officers in charge of the area where I used to live had stopped by to see my son, and asked him where I was living now, and that my son had fabricated a story to satisfy them. Then my relative said, "Your son always lies." Upon hearing this I felt sad, but I was not angry. Two days later, when I saw this relative again, I said, "The other day you told me my son had lied, but he had to do it. My son has suffered a lot." My relative was so angry with me and denied what was said before. I then regretted bringing up the issue. Several days later, I met another practitioner and told her what had happened. She said, "Teacher arranged everything to help you let go of your attachments." My attachments had taken hold of my mind, and I suddenly understood that I needed to be more tolerant of others. What the relative said to me was exactly what Teacher had arranged for me to hear.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2008, as usual, I asked Teacher to make my righteous thoughts stronger. My righteous thoughts were, "Today is a harvest festival. I'll save more sentient beings at this festival." That day I was able to help many people quit the CCP. When I got to the thirty-third person, their last name is Zhu, so I suggested he use the alias "Zhu Fu," which means "Wish you good luck!" to quit the CCP. Prior to that day, my record of helping people to quit in a single day was 31, but I denied myself the mentality of elation and continued helping others to quit. When I had reached the 36th person, their last name was also Zhu, so I used the alias "Zhu He," which means "Congratulations!" to quit. I had never met anyone whose last name was Zhu before, as it is not a very common name, but that day I met two. I knew that it was Teacher who encouraged me, when seeing that my xinxing had improved a little.
Teacher said, "For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool" ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference"), and I have cherished this "magic tool" to look within. In Spring 2009, one of my husband's relatives asked a practitioner to ask me for some truth-clarification materials and entrusted me with 1,000 yuan to give to the practitioners who were making the materials. I told the practitioner, "He has the attachment of fear, otherwise he would have found practitioners in his own area to help him." Hearing my words, the practitioner said to me gravely, "Cultivation is a cultivator's own affair. We are not supposed to look outside. Instead, we need to look within." I realized that I was wrong. I looked within and found that I had assumed that I was superior to my relative. I thought that the pressure I faced was huge, so why did he come to me for materials? I found my attachment to selfishness, and also noticed that I had a lack of compassion. All of a sudden, I thought my husband's relative was like one of my family. I recalled that Teacher said all the people in the world had once been his family, so they were all my family, too. Last year I was attached to the thought of the CCP falling from power prior to the Olympic Games. If the CCP had collapsed, since I still had so many attachments to eliminate, how could I have reached Consummation? I would like to thank our great Teacher for the prolonged time for reaching Consummation. I will live up to Teacher's compassionate salvation.
On my cultivation path, I need to constantly look within. When I go out to clarify the truth after sending forth righteous thoughts in the morning, I always take some money with truth-clarification words written on it, along with other truth-clarification materials to distribute, and wherever I go I clarify the truth to people face to face. One day when I returned home, I counted that I had helped 41 people to quit the CCP. I had broken my record again. I know pretty well that cultivation depends on oneself while gong depends on one's Master. Teacher encouraged me after he saw that I had truly looked within.
Clarifying the Truth with Pleasure
I go here and there to clarify the truth with pleasure amidst difficulty and sometimes danger. With Teacher's protection, I still do well. Not long after the earthquake in Sichuan Province, I saw a middle-aged man nearby, so I tried to talk to him in order to help him quit the CCP, and at the same time, let him know that unpredictable things can happen. He asked me coldly, "Do you want the earthquake or something? " I replied, "How could I want an earthquake? I feel guilty for not having saved them before they left this world. That is why I ask you to quit the CCP." He did in fact quit the CCP after we talked some more.
I talked to a young couple and their two-year-old child, as they sat under a big tree. We were having a pleasant conversation when all of a sudden, the husband turned angry and asked me, "Do you know what my job is?" I replied calmly, "No matter what job you do, I hope you and your family have a bright future. Actually, I don't hate anyone, even if he hates me and treats me badly, as he may not understand that I am really being honest and kind to him..." He told me that he was a Party member, while his wife was a member of the Youth League. He asked me to help them quit.
At a construction site, I saw a young man driving a truck. I approached him and said, "You must be a migrant worker, please pay attention to safety!" After I clarified the truth to him, he quickly agreed to quit the CCP.
I have mentioned only a few of my experiences. As of October 2009, I have helped 8,800 people quit the CCP by talking face to face with them. I will cultivate more diligently and work together with other practitioners to save more people.
Please kindly point out anything that is inappropriate.