(Minghui.org)
Master taught us,
“... Hardships accompany me as I ride the long chariot ...” (“Awakening,” Hong Yin III)
Whenever I read this poem, it always touches my heart deeply and fills me with encouragement. Looking back over 28 years of my cultivation journey, I have experienced countless ordeals, large and small, but it was not until the past two years that I truly had a completely different understanding of ordeals.
My husband and I bought a restaurant and signed a five-year lease with the landlord in January 2020. However, the pandemic broke out in March, and due to the lockdown, we were unable to open the restaurant.
At the time, the supplier took payment for the equipment but didn’t deliver it. The upstairs of the restaurant had severe water leaks, and the landlord didn’t repair them. The sewer was really blocked, causing sewage to flood the kitchen, and the repair cost was nearly $5,000. The restaurant’s air conditioning did not work, and repair costs were also over $4,000. The kitchen freezer and hot water system were also damaged, costing around $2,000. When the restaurant couldn’t open, we had to pay nearly $6,000 in rent each month, and we were forced to send our employees home yet had to still pay their wages.
When we finally opened the restaurant, business was slow with very few customers, and we often couldn’t cover our expenses. Additionally, customers usually didn’t leave tips.
We managed to hold on until November 2021, when my husband’s hand was injured by the dough machine, leading to the restaurant’s complete closure. Even after closing, we still had to pay the landlord nearly $6,000 in rent each month.
Aside from my suffering in the forced labor camp in China in 2000 for refusing to give up my faith, this was the toughest challenge my husband and I experienced. We both felt intense pain and had no idea when these hardships would finally come to an end.
On our way home from the restaurant every night, we often listened to a recording of Master’s lecture in Australia. It gave us immense strength and taught us how to handle challenges correctly.
One day in early 2022, I read something Master said:
“People in the society of ordinary people think that if they live quite comfortably with no disasters or hardships, if each day is pleasant and carefree, and if they’re not short of money and have everything they need, then God is compassionate toward them and is being really good to them. Let me tell you though, that God isn’t like that. If He were really that way, He would be being terrible to people. That’s because human reasoning is totally reversed.” (Teachings at the Conference in Switzerland).
I was deeply moved by Master’s teaching. I knew any bad or good thing we encounter in cultivation is a good thing.
As I continued to study the Fa and improve my xinxing, this hardship finally ended in April 2022. A few months later, Master enlightened me in a dream and let me understand why this happened.
I would like to talk about my understandings of the tribulations we usually face in our cultivation.
Practitioners in China who have faced persecution in labor camps and prisons know that those who were forced to “transform” didn’t do so just because they couldn’t bear the torture. The persecutors specifically targeted individuals with strong attachments, while using twisted logic to mislead them.
Some practitioners outside China might feel relieved, thinking there are no labor camps abroad. However, there is still interference, though in different forms.
In recent years, a harmful trend has emerged on Chinese social media platforms abroad (I’m not sure if similar things happened in other countries’ social media).
It started with a person who claimed to be a Falun Gong practitioner from China. This person was well-educated and said he had been imprisoned in China for 10 years (although fellow practitioners who knew him said he had actually given up the practice after just 3 months).
This person first constantly criticized practitioners and the Minghui website on social media. He focused on individual practitioners’ mistakes while ignoring their overall conduct, making it seem like practitioners were entirely bad. He also took parts of the Fa that are difficult for ordinary people to understand, quoted them out of context, misled ordinary people, and confused practitioners who hadn’t deeply studied the teachings or had strong attachments. He went on to smear the teachings and Master, completely opposing the Fa.
Looking back on this person’s actions, I see that his methods used to undermine the teachings are very similar to the tactics used to persecute practitioners in labor camps in China. The distorted ideas they promoted are exactly the same. In the labor camps, educated or influential practitioners were often targeted for brainwashing, with the aim of turning them into tools to “transform” other practitioners.
Master taught us,
“As for the people who have been “reformed,” it was arranged in history that they would persecute the Fa this way. No matter how well they acted when arrested or beaten, all of that was just setting the stage for their springing forth today to persecute the Fa and confuse students. I hope that students don’t listen to or believe their wicked lies. This has come about because I am purposely allowing them to show themselves so that you may clearly recognize them and have these hidden malignant tumors be removed from among our disciples.” (“Suffocate the Evil,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress II)
Understanding all this, we can recognize the harmful trend emerging on social media outside of China. In fact, it’s even more concerning. These platforms act like invisible labor camps, making it harder for practitioners to stay clearheaded and see through the deception. In the beginning, many practitioners were misled, thinking that what this person was saying made sense. It wasn’t until he openly attacked Master and Dafa that they finally realized the truth. Even more alarming is that a small number of practitioners continue to follow him.
Before coming to the United States, there was a time when fellow practitioners frequently praised me. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but later I realized things were getting out of hand. I became more aware and looked inward, discovering my attachment to fame. Because I desired recognition and enjoyed the compliments, people kept praising me. How dangerous! If this continued, it could easily lead to demons arising from my own mind.
After realizing this, I quickly let go of these attachments, and over time, the compliments from fellow practitioners became less frequent. As I continued my practice, I came to understand that the more I cultivate, the more I recognize my own smallness and the greatness of Master and the Fa.
There was a time when my husband misunderstood me deeply. He even said I was a demon disrupting his cultivation. This wasn’t a joke; he truly believed it. I felt extreme pain, anger, and resentment. What made it worse was that my husband, who is also a fellow practitioner, said this about me. For about two to three years, his words led to arguments and quarrels between us, almost escalating into physical fights.
Once, I read an experience-sharing article on the Minghui website. It told the story of a practitioner who was arrested and taken to a labor camp. Despite the tortures, he maintained his righteous thoughts and didn’t give up practicing. After his sentence ended, he was released, but another practitioner accused him of being a spy, reasoning that if he hadn’t been “transformed,” how could he have been released on time? This rumor spread, and all the local practitioners ignored him. Facing such tribulations, the practitioner felt deep pain and injustice. However, as a cultivator, he continued to look inward, let go of his attachments, and gradually became less affected by these matters. After he let go of these attachments, Master allowed him to see the karmic relationship between himself and the practitioner who slandered him. It turned out that in a past life, the practitioner had been a judge, and the one who accused him had been someone he had wrongfully sentenced to death.
This story greatly inspired me. I began to shift from not understanding why my husband, a fellow practitioner, treated me this way, to gradually realizing that perhaps in a past life, I had caused him great suffering. Everything we encounter in this life is not accidental.
Master has enlightened us,
““He’s right,And I’m wrong,”What’s to dispute?”(“Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong,” Hong Yin III)
In the past, I didn’t understand why he was right and I was wrong. Now I finally realize that everything in this world has a karmic relationship. No matter how wronged or unfair you feel in this life, maybe you are not at fault in this lifetime, but you might have been at fault in past lives. Therefore, there is nothing to argue about.
For more than 10 years, I was tested when it came to sentimentality. These trials spanned from my previous boyfriend to my current husband. Whenever these emotional entanglements were resolved, Master would reveal the karmic connections behind them.
I’ve noticed a common situation among fellow practitioners: they often do well outside the family but struggle within the family setting. They think that because someone is their husband or wife, that person should treat them in a certain way.
But is that really possible? As cultivators, we come into this world to cultivate, and the family is one of the key environments arranged by Master. How could there be no challenges in a family? If we don’t cultivate ourselves within the family, aren’t we missing out on an essential part of our cultivation? If we spend our whole lives avoiding cultivation within the family, can we truly reach consummation?
Some practitioners have seemingly happy daily lives and may slack off. As cultivators, are we truly cultivating if we get caught up in emotions, and fail to let go of emotional attachments?
I once read an ancient Chinese prophecy book about the major challenges a practitioner must overcome before reaching completion. Some of its allegorical stories offer useful insights for practitioners. It described the trial of personal gain as the last and most difficult one.
One story describes a practitioner entering a “money maze.” Since money is vital for ordinary life, everyone desires it. In the maze, everything seems perfect—the houses are luxurious, the furnishings are exquisite, the clothes are rich, the food is delicious, and the household is filled with family. The practitioner starts enjoying this life and, without realizing it, became preoccupied with family matters. As he grows older, with gray hair and a frail body, he suddenly remembers he was supposed to cultivate, but by then, it was too late—he’s trapped in the “money maze” until he dies.
When I first read this, I didn’t understand and thought it described an everyday, beautiful life. But as I continued my cultivation, I realized this was a subtle trial, like the boiling frog story.
A practitioner can get so caught up in ordinary life—money, houses, possessions, food, clothing, family—that they forget they’re supposed to be cultivating. Eventually, they stop cultivating and neglect the essential tasks they should be doing. How can they then reach consummation? How can they return to the heavenly realm with Master?
（Presented at the 2024 Florida Fa Conference）