(Minghui.org)
Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I am a new practitioner. Looking back at my life since I started to practice Falun Dafa more than one year ago, it seems that this one year is longer and more real than the decades in the past when I was a non-practitioner. I was very excited to obtain the Buddha Fa and now I feel like a wholly new person.
Overcoming Obstacles and Doing the Three Things Well
I was late in obtaining the Fa and also had a hard time obtaining the Fa. For several months I was tested on whether or not I could practice Dafa. In the beginning my family members were strongly against it. When I insisted on practicing even if I had to leave home, they backed off and agreed to let me practice at home. However, studying the Fa and doing the exercises is not enough, we have to do three things well to meet Master's requirement.
Master said,
“From now on, the Dafa disciples in China as much as anyone, both new students and veterans alike, should let go of their long-standing human attachments and start to seize the day and comprehensively save the world's people. Once the current time period is over, the first large-scale process of weeding out sentient beings will begin. For a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, personal liberation is not the goal of cultivation: when you came, saving sentient beings was your great aspiration, and that is the responsibility and mission history has bestowed upon you in Fa-rectification. Thus great numbers of beings are to be saved by you. Dafa disciples, don't forsake the magnificent responsibility that has been bestowed upon you in Fa-rectification, and even less should you disappoint those beings, as you are now their only hope for entering the future. For this reason, all Dafa disciples, students both new and veteran, should get to work and begin comprehensively clarifying the truth. This is especially so for the Dafa disciples in Mainland China: each must come out and clarify the truth, bringing it to every field and valley, mountain and hill, not omitting a single area where there are people.” (“Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World's People”)
So I started to print Zhuan Falun and other pamphlets. In the beginning I used a shelved printer at home, later I bought another one which was more efficient but cost less. When I first obtained Dafa, I just wanted to let more people know the truth of Falun Dafa.
My family members stopped me when I started to print Falun Dafa materials. They kept saying that I might be arrested and they could not live without me. I did not realize that the old forces used them to stop me from validating the Fa. I gave in and stopped printing materials.
I could not distribute materials. Occasionally my fellow practitioners gave me several Shen Yun DVDs, which must be handed out face to face, but I only handed out a few of them. For several months I stopped distributing materials or talking to people about Dafa altogether. I only did the exercises and studied the Fa at home. Then my fear developed – I feared that if I were arrested, nobody would take care of my child and my parents, and that my husband would divorce me.
This situation lasted for several months. I frequently dreamed of talking to people about Falun Dafa, maybe because I wanted to spread the truth. Master saw that and told me in my dream: “There are many ways to clarify the truth, you can always find one that works for you.” He gave me two machines. I had many dreams during that time. I knew that Master was encouraging me to step forward.
But my fear stopped me from going out to validate Fa. I had fear even when I was holding the materials. I told a fellow practitioner, “I am the mainstay of my home, it cannot do without me.” My fellow practitioner retorted, “Only Master is the pillar of your home. Your parents and child used to be fragile, now they are all healthy. You are less busy at work, and you do not have to make as many business trips as you used to. It was Master who created such a good environment for you. Would you rather live like before?” I suddenly realized that my fear originated in my sentimentality towards my family. I did not pay proper attention to my cultivation because I put too much emphasis on my family. After this realization, my worries were gone immediately.
Making Dafa Materials to Save People
I started to learn computer technology from the Minghui website and learned how to install systems and file editing.
The requirement for the quality of Shen Yun DVDs had been upgraded for the 2012 Shen Yun performance, but we were still using the same simple plastic package as last year. My fellow practitioners often complained about the quality, so I bought new discs and made a few dozen at home. This time, I did not tell my family about it. I learned that we should not tell our non-practitioner family members everything we do. It would be hard for them to comprehend. We are happy with the Shen Yun DVDs we made. Half a year has passed, and the discs we made can meet our own needs, plus fellow practitioners in the neighboring areas also use them.
Distributing Shen Yun DVDs is also a challenging experience. At first only a small number were distributed. Later we learned from other practitioners' experiences posted on the Minghui website. I went with another practitioner to give out Shen Yun DVDs face to face, “Excuse me, have you heard about Shen Yun Performing Arts? It is a performance celebrating traditional Chinese culture, put on by overseas Chinese.” “Shen Yun Performing Arts is based in New York. It is a first-class performance group that tours different countries each year. Foreigners who want to understand Chinese culture all give it a big thumbs up.” Those who heard this introduction would usually want a disc. If we gave it to a person in a group, those who did not get one would say, “Please give me one, too.” Some people were surprised with joy, “Is this really for me? Thank you so much!” For those who refused the DVD, I felt really sorry for them.
I also learned how to duplicate discs. We made and distributed a lot of discs such as the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and We Tell the Future. Then I learned to make discs that contain the Internet anti-blocking software, which the younger generation and teenagers are always eager to have.
It is definitely true that there are so many ways to clarify the truth, such as distributing Shen Yun DVDs or other discs, distributing materials, printing phrases on paper currency, putting up stickers on the walls or trees, etc. If I see a bulletin board displaying Communist Party propaganda against Falun Dafa, I tear it down and throw it away, so it will not continue to poison people. If the poster is displayed inside a glass bulletin board case and cannot be removed, I put another poster on top of it.
Ridding Myself of Attachments while Validating the Fa
Different attachments showed up when I went out to validate the Fa, such as jealousy, the competitive mentality, self validation, laziness, carelessness in my speech, self protection, etc. Gradually I learned to reject and remove these attachments. Through this process, I continuously upgraded myself, and the Fa principles manifested before me layer after layer. After I enlightened to more Fa principles, I felt even more blessed.
After I realized that what stopped me from going out to validate the Fa was my sentimentality for my family, my fear went away.
“We should treat everyone in the same way. We must be good to our parents and children and be considerate of others in all respects. Such a heart is thus unselfish, and it is a heart of kindness and benevolence.” (Zhuan Falun)
Sentimentality is selfish – I will be nice to you if you are nice to me first, but compassion is unselfish.
When I was the most difficult and depressed, I could not let go of my sentimentality for my family, and always gave in to their requests. It not only interrupted my mission of saving people, but also brought harm to my family. My husband spoke ill of Master and Falun Dafa without reservation, claiming that this was fair to me, that I had nothing to complain about even if he divorced me. Because of me, my parents and siblings felt ashamed in front of my parents-in-law. My husband's parents threatened to report my fellow practitioners to the police so that their families would be ruined. They were fierce in their language, but when I decided to go out to validate the Fa, the old forces used my family in another way to interfere with me – they were especially nice to me. When I had no time to eat breakfast in the morning before going to work, my mother would hold the bowl and feed me. My husband yielded to all my wishes and took good care of me—I was living a privileged life.
All these were just illusions. The old forces tried to make practitioners be low in spirit, so that they would eventually give up practicing. When I looked through their tricks and determined resolutely to do what I should do, everything changed again. My family was neither good nor bad to me. What I talk about at home are things mostly related to Falun Dafa. Now they have seen the changes in me – I have become easygoing, energetic, and healthy. They basically agree that Falun Dafa is good. My mother respects Master very much and has listened to several of Master's lectures. My father burned incense sticks for Master and apologized for his previous disrespectful language.
All of my family's previous behaviors were tests for me as a practitioner. No matter how hard it felt when I was in the conflict, as long as I had solid faith in Master and Dafa, there was no barrier that I could not overcome. The change in my family's attitude was due to the awesome and supernormal power of Falun Dafa.
As the saying goes: “One cannot say more than three sentences without speaking about one's own ideas.” When I chat with people, I always refer to Falun Dafa without being aware of it. The words from my mouth can eliminate evil elements behind everyday people. I use many of the messages posted on the Internet to talk to people about the truth of Falun Dafa. If someone does not accept Falun Dafa, and if I know the person, I talk about the truth of Falun Dafa from different aspects: there has to be something which can move this person and appeals to his/her needs. I really feel that Falun Dafa is boundless, and Master's grace is tremendous. Walking on the path to divinity, I am honored to the highest degree.
Thank you, Master, for giving me the chance to practice. Thank you, my fellow practitioners, who have offered their generous help.
