Adhering to Dafa in All I Do and Say

(Minghui.org) I started to practice Falun Dafa in 1996 and live in a rural area.

When I started to practice Falun Dafa I had one simple thought, “Dafa is good and will help me become a good person. Not only that, it is also said to improve one's health. But, cultivating and looking within was a new concept for me. By studying the Fa, I realized that cultivation is to remove my attachments and improve my character. For that I must steadfastly follow the Fa taught by Teacher and adhere to the Fa in all I do and say.

Teacher said: “Examine how each and every thing measures up—Achieving these is cultivation” (“Solid Cultivation” from Hong Yin)

A farmer's life is not easy and one tries to take shortcuts. When one finds bricks or tiles, one just throws them into another farmer's field. Cultivation taught me that I should not be a selfish person and that I should consider others’ needs first. Thus, I put these tiles and bricks aside and disposed of them later.

Remembering and Applying the Fa Principles

Cultivation in Dafa requires one to remember and adhere to the Fa principles at all times. But, one also has to look inward and let go of attachments that affect one's ability to follow the principles. At times one will fail to pass cultivation tests or tribulations because one has not found and let go of hidden attachments.

During the autumn harvest, I hired a person operating a planter to sow wheat for me. After the wheat was sown, I asked how much I owed him. We had a disagreement about the amount owed, but I did pay what he asked. However, I felt angry in my heart, forgetting that as a practitioner I should not have argued with him.

When I thought more about it, I thought how could I quarrel with an ordinary person over the price? No matter who was wrong, there must be something I overlooked, which put me at fault. Besides, I should not have argued with an everyday person. Then, I remembered that my land was at an angle, which makes it time-consuming to sow wheat. I should have paid him more than a few yuan. I regretted my action and having sullied my reputation.

During the season of planting corn in summer, four years later, I ran into that person operating the planter. I apologized and asked his forgiveness. He accepted my apology and let go of his resentment.

Soon after starting to cultivate, the well pump for our group was changed and no longer used. The unused pump was placed in my house, which took up too much room, so I sold it for 55 yuan and kept the money.

Teacher said:

“...the factory has taken on a new look. He used to take home pieces of towels from the textile factory, and so did the rest of the employees. After practicing Dafa, instead of taking things home he brought back to the factory what he took home before. When others saw his actions, nobody would take things home anymore.” (Zhuan Falun)

Recalling Master's Fa, I realized that I could not keep that money, and thus gave it to the group. The person in charge of the group said that it is common practice to keep the money. I responded: “I must return it as I am a Falun Dafa practitioner.”

Working in the fields is a good opportunity for a practitioner to cultivate. When I wanted to plant my autumn crop, I noticed that wheat had already been sown in the neighboring field. This farmer had sown the seeds beyond the boundary of his field. If I plowed my field, the wheat growing in the neighboring field would be destroyed, resulting in a conflict.

“Don’t get irritated,” I told myself. “I am a Dafa practitioner. This matter hasn’t happened without any reason, which means that I must have an attachment that needs to be removed.”

When discussing the subject with my neighbor he accused me of something I had done. Instead of fighting I suggested that we measure the boundary of the field, to which he agreed. We resolved the matter amiably and the conflict was solved peacefully.

Letting Go of Attachments

As I am required to cultivate my heart, I should look inward unconditionally. When I was very busy during the summer harvesting season in 2016 with farm work I experienced a toothache. The pain was not too bad during the day, but worsened at night, which gave me sleepless nights.

My mind told me that the toothache must have been caused by an attachment. I looked inward and found many attachments, such as impatience, competitiveness, resentment, showing off, jealousy, and sentimentality. I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all these attachments. The toothache provided me with the opportunity for looking inward. I increased my time in studying the Fa, doing the exercises, sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth.

Looking inward means to look at every thought based on the Fa. This is the distinction between everyday people and a divine being.

When talking to an acquaintance once, he told me that another person was selfish. As I was of the same opinion, I agreed and said a few words. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized that I am a Dafa practitioner and did not cultivate my speech. I looked again within and found that I was still influenced by the Party's indoctrination. Once I let go of my attachments my toothache was gone.