(Minghui.org) As the pandemic in Taiwan eased, the government reduced restrictions on indoor gatherings in late September and allowed larger numbers of people to attend events. Falun Dafa practitioners in central Taiwan gathered at Xiluo Town in Yulin County on September 25 and 26 to read the teachings and to exchange experiences.
Many practitioners talked about how they adhered to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their daily lives and strove to remain diligent in their cultivation practice.
Young practitioner Yanlin talked about the time management challenges at work and how he handled it. He was 19 years old when he first began to practice, and felt an attachment to time could be a serious issue. He felt it might be difficult to cover everything—Fa study, doing the exercises, and participating in truth clarification activities. He also learned that when one is no longer attached to time, challenges are easier to overcome.
“I went to Hong Kong to tell people about Falun Dafa and how it’s persecuted. Another practitioner said he was very busy every day. Because time was so precious, he reduced the length of time he slept so that he could study the Fa. At that time I did not think I could do that. But I always remembered what he said.”
Yanlin later encountered the issue of not having enough time. After finishing up at The Epoch Times print shop and distributing the paper, it’s usually about 2 a.m. “Because I have to get up around 4 a.m. to take care of my own business, I only had two and a half hours to sleep,” he explained, “So, it was as if every minute was critical for me. Even if I just lost 5 or 10 minutes, I felt like someone stole them from me. ”
As this continued, he realized this was not right. One time, a distribution location was not open yet. He thought, “Maybe I could just drop the newspaper outside the door and leave?” But if he did this it felt like he did not complete the task. On the other hand, it was already past 2 a.m. and he needed to leave home before 5 a.m. for his own business. He wasn’t sure what to do.
While he waited, he took out of his phone and read the teachings. Amazingly, one tenant in the building happened to come out. Yanlin was able to deliver the paper safely and left for home.
Since then Yanlin said he was no longer attached to time. He stopped worrying about having enough time to sleep. He had the mindset of “things will work out.” “When I let go of the attachment, I found myself having more time and I used my time efficiently.”
Retired elementary school principal Xiuying is chairman of the board for a medical beauty company as well as president of a Lion’s Club. She was introverted and lacked self-esteem. She noticed in contrast some practitioners have done well in clarifying the truth to people.
After becoming an office manager for The Epoch Times, Xiuying felt hesitant and fearful promoting the media. “My own company recently recruited a very capable partner. She was able to engage customers well and bring a group of people for high-end medical beauty treatment,” she recalled. “I saw my gap along with various human notions such as fear, worry, and negative thoughts.”
When she examined herself, Xiuying realized that even though she was affiliated with numerous organizations, she was not good at interacting with people. As a result she hadn’t done well introducing Falun Dafa to people or promoting Shen Yun. This made her feel like she was wasting money and time.
Through Fa study and sharing with others, she understood that Master arranged every practitioner's path. “Otherwise, I would not have stayed such a long time in the Lion’s Club and the medical beauty industry. I have to make a breakthrough,” she thought.
With that understanding and the willingness to improve, the situation changed. She could deeply feel the power of righteous thoughts when visiting organizations or businesses. “Many business owners subscribed or made donations to The Epoch Times. Some provided sponsorship. The materials I brought to the events were nearly gone before I entered the venue.” She was very moved by this and looked forward to participating in more events.
“I know all this happened because of Master’s arrangement,” she explained, “Master has already created the path for us, we just have to set our feet on it with our hearts.”
Raising oysters is tedious and hard work. Considerate of her husband, Jinmian lets him sleep while she gets everything done. “Usually one would feel tired after working for hours,” she said, “But after I finish things up and take a shower, I feel energetic again – not tired at all.”
Jinmian has to tend to the oysters during the day and she also makes phone calls to China. Many Chinese people have been brainwashed by the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party) hate propaganda against Dafa and they need to learn the facts, she explained.
But to maintain her schedule was not easy. After sending forth righteous thoughts at midnight, she often reads the Fa with other practitioners. She usually wakes up after 3 a.m., having slept less than two hours. Nonetheless, she tried to be strict with herself. “When I slacked off occasionally, Master would give me some hint through dreams,” she recalled, “One night I dreamed our roof was leaking and our house was flooded. I immediately realized that cultivation is serious and there is no room to slack off.”
She sometimes took a nap after doing the exercises in the morning. “When that happened, I dreamed I couldn’t find the road back home, or I lost the car keys. Sometimes I felt left behind by other practitioners,” she added.
She is very thankful to Master for guiding her. “When we remain righteous and selfless, miracles will come,” she explained, “This is the power of Dafa and I feel so fortunate.”
Shengzhi lives in Taizhong. To better align with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, he decided this past March to memorize the teachings and lengthen the time he did the exercises. “When I encountered conflicts, I remembered the Fa. It became easier for me to look inward and let go of bad thoughts,” he said. This also helped him to calm down when he meditated. His physical improvement has also been significant. His back became straight again and even his bad breath is gone.
Eight years have passed since he began to practice in 2013. Shengzhi recalled that he suffered from bone spurs, frozen shoulder, gallstones, and high blood pressure. Upon recommendation from a friend, he began to learn the exercises. “Within one month, my high blood pressure was gone and the pain from the bone spurs was also reduced. Because of that, a scheduled surgery was no longer needed,” he said.
He later learned the importance of studying the teachings in addition to the exercises. “Both my wife and I are practitioners. Whenever we have conflicts we recite the Fa and the issues are resolved,” he said.
Yuchun from Nantou County talked about how she memorized the teachings. Having practiced for nearly 20 years, she knows the importance of improving one’s character. About three years ago, she began to recite Zhuan Falun. It took about 10 months to recite the book the first time and the second time only took four months. Then she began to hand copy the book.
“The principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are very profound,” she said, “They have been guiding me at work and in my life, allowing me to constantly improve myself on the journey of returning to my true self.”