(Minghui.org) Greetings Revered Master. Greetings fellow practitioners.
I am a young Falun Dafa practitioner, and I was born into a family of practitioners. As soon as I could speak, my parents taught me to recite many of Master’s poems from the book Hong Yin and to read Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa principles.
My parents and I recently left China and we started a new cultivation journey. I would like to share some of my experiences with you.
I was always very emotional. I valued friendship and maintaining good relationships with my classmates. But I occasionally had conflicts with them. When I calmed down, I looked inward to identify my attachments. When conflicts arise, I often think of one of Master’s poems:
“Don't argue when people argue with you.Cultivation is looking within for the cause.Wanting to explain just feeds the attachment.Breadth of mind, unattached, brings true insight”(“Don’t Argue,” Hong Yin III)
After I eliminated the conflicts and misunderstandings that I had with my classmates, our relationships and friendships became deeper and stronger.
After three years in junior high school, I became unwittingly entangled in my classmates’ emotions. Everyday people in this society are in a big dye vat; I was obsessed with love and relationships but didn’t notice that this was happening to me. I didn’t think too much about it until graduation day, when my heart felt indescribable sadness. At that time, I knew that I was attached to my emotions and was being interfered with by the demon of emotion.
Master said,
“Cultivation is something you do right in the thick of tribulations. They’ll test whether you can sever your emotions and desires, and they’ll see if you can take them lightly. If you’re attached to those things you won’t be able to finish your cultivation. Everything has its cause. Why can human beings be human? It’s exactly because humans have emotion. People just live for emotion. The affection among family members, the love between a man and woman, love for parents, feelings, friendships, doing things for friendship’s sake—no matter where you go you can’t get out of emotion. You want to do something, you don’t want to do something, you’re happy, you’re unhappy, you love something, you hate something—everything in society comes completely from emotion. If you don’t sever emotion, you won’t be able to cultivate. But if you do break out of emotion, nobody can affect you, and ordinary attachments won’t be able to sway you. What replaces it is compassion, which is more noble. Of course, it’s not easy to sever it all at once. Cultivation is a long process, it’s a gradual process to get rid of attachments. But you really have to be disciplined.” (The Fourth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
Through Fa study, I understood that the purpose of my coming to this world was not for emotion, but to return to my true nature.
After we left China, I often chatted with my classmates online. My parents kept enlightening me with the Fa’s principles. I gradually realized that the sentimentality I felt for my classmates was interfering with my cultivation. I continued to read the teachings and tried my best to get rid of these feelings. Now I rarely contact them and I can focus more on cultivation.
Polluted while living in society I went with the flow, and I took many obsessions for granted. I accepted many meaningless and negative things as normal. For example, I was obsessed with my appearance. I loved to wear nice clothes so that I would be attractive to women. This went on for a long time. Since I didn’t discover this obsession for a while, it grew and became stronger. I didn’t realize that this thinking was not my real self. I thought that it was normal to fall in love with the opposite sex, and that I was a good boy who was “in love” and “devoted.” I also thought that I was better than other young men.
Master said,
“When some people do bad things and you point it out to them, they don’t even believe you—they really can’t believe they’re doing something wrong. Some people size themselves up with the fallen moral standard, and they think they’re better than other people. That’s because even the standard for measuring has changed.” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun)
A few days ago Master gave me a hint to read some articles about the lustful mind which were written by practitioners. Whenever a bad thought enters my mind, I should not acknowledge it and quickly clean it up.
Master said,
“Those who are attached to lust are no different from wicked people. While reciting the scriptures, they even cast furtive glances; they are far from the Dao and are wicked, everyday people.” (”Cultivators' Avoidances,” Essentials For Further Advancement)
I use this Fa to remind myself that the mind of a practitioner should be pure. I should correct every thought, and not give evil a chance to take advantage. In this way, I slowly removed most of my lustful thoughts.
I often met friends from China and I would clarify the truth to them about Dafa and the evilness of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Some understood the facts and I helped them to withdraw their membership in the CCP and its youth organizations. During this final period, I thank Master for giving me the opportunity to make up for my previous insufficiency in not being diligent, to save more sentient beings, and to fulfill my mission as a Dafa practitioner.
I also came in contact with many young fellow practitioners on an online platform. I occasionally told them my own story and what I learned about Dafa, improving myself each time.
Due to the Covid-19 lockdown, my parents began going online to chat with fellow practitioners and to help ordinary people quit the CCP. With encouragement from my parents, I participated in the phone calling project to tell people the facts about Falun Dafa.
I remember the first time I made a call. I was so nervous that I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. I overcame it and talked about Falun Dafa and the persecution with the person I called. He agreed to withdraw from the CCP. I was very happy. I knew this was encouragement and blessings from Master, who allowed me to break through this big barrier.
Now I’m no longer afraid to pick up the phone, and there’s very little fear left. Sometimes amazing things happen during these calls. I remember once, I called a man in the south of China who could not speak Mandarin, so it was hard for him to understand what I said.
I thought it would be great if I could speak his dialect. Unexpectedly, I was talking in his dialect. He understood what I said and also agreed to quit the CCP. I realized that Master helped me save this person.
I am very grateful to Master for giving wisdom to all his disciples so that sentient beings can be saved. He shows us that there are miracles in Dafa and the miracle of saving people.
As time goes by, I feel that Master continues to extend the time for us so that we can save more people and to give more opportunities to practitioners who have not cultivated well.
Master said,
“...Light are the boats, quick the travelwith attachments cast asideBut the ocean proves hard to crossif human thoughts weigh one down”(“Self-Evident is the Heart,” Hong Yin II)
I have benefited from Dafa very much. When we eliminate our attachments, at that moment, nothing will be difficult for us, and we’re completely in a state of non-action. During the final period of the Fa-rectification, I want to save more people, learn the Fa well, and eliminate the bad thoughts I acquired in ordinary society. I will send righteous thoughts to remove the karma and evil factors from the three realms; and continue to enlighten to the principles of the Fa righteously. All of us will diligently cultivate and improve our level until we reach Consummation.
Thank you Master. Thank you fellow practitioners.
(Presented at the 2021 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)