Striving to Do the Three Things Well After Having Practiced Falun Gong for Two Years
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Chongqing City, China
(Clearwisdom.net) I started on my Falun Dafa cultivation path in November
2002. The first time I watched a truth-clarifying CD, I felt both deep
indignation and respect. On a VCD I saw some practitioners doing the standing
exercises, holding the wheel above the head. This made me remember a dream of 11
years ago. A tall teacher taught me a movement -- this movement was
"holding the wheel above the head." In the dream, when I raised my
arms, a strong energy current went through my body, from top to bottom. This
strong feeling lasted for a few seconds, after which I woke up. I was shocked.
The memory of the dream was imprinted in my mind. For the next 11 years, I
searched for this cultivation way. I learned 5 qigong practices, yet none of
them taught the movement of my dream. When watching the CD, I realized that
Falun Dafa was the fundamental cultivation way of the cosmos that I had looked
for all these years. My excitement was beyond words. I started to cultivate 10 years after Teacher Li brought Falun Gong to the
public. I knew I was late in learning it. However, I did not become attached to
the lateness. I said to myself that maybe Teacher Li arranged it this way. I
made up my mind to keep up with the progress of Fa-rectification, cultivate
diligently, and do the three things that Teacher asked us to do well. 1. Studying the Fa and Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts It took me just three days to listen to the 9-session Fa-lecture audiotapes.
I could not hear enough of the immense and profound principles. During the
following 6 months, I listened to the audiotapes over and over again, for 3 to 4
hours daily, starting after dinner until late at night. Sometimes I even
listened for 5 to 6 hours per day. Therefore, I finished the 9 sessions in about
5 days. Every time I listened to the tapes, I enlightened to new principles. At the same time, I also read Zhuan Falun. As I worked full-time, I
had little spare time. Consequently, I took over two months to finish the book
the first time. There was a time afterwards during which I felt sleepy or my
thoughts drifted when reading Zhuan Falun. Later on another practitioner
shared their understanding that when reading Zhuan Falun the first time,
one should read the entire book in a little over one week, an average of one
lecture per day. A veteran practitioner once told me, "Because it took you
so long to finish the book the first time, you may be prone to evil interference
later on." This was a strong lesson. When reading Zhuan Falun later,
I paid more attention to eliminating interference. I also chose the time of the
day when I was most energetic, such as early in the morning (around 4 a.m.) or
after my afternoon nap. As time went by, the effect of my Fa study gradually
showed itself more and more. When I was able to read the book with a calm mind,
I felt as if Teacher Li was beside me. My body felt so different, I could
understand better and deeper the Fa and read much faster. In the past two years,
I have read through Zhuan Falun and listened to the audiotapes at least
80 times. Now, I read Zhuan Falun daily. Once in a while, I listen to the
9-day lecture series audiotapes and read through all other Dafa books and new
articles between, 1 and 3 times. I feel that in keeping up with the progress of
Fa-rectification, I should first study the Fa well. At the same time, I
carefully read Minghui.org (Chinese version of Clearwisdom) daily and have
benefited much from reading the website. Three months ago, I began to memorize Zhuan Falun. I read through a
paragraph many times, then tried to memorize the paragraph. Every day, I try to
recite the sections I memorized the previous day, and then start to memorize new
sections. When I try to memorize the book, I feel my body is filled with energy,
as if I melt into Dafa and become a part of Dafa. I spent 3 to 4 hours daily to
memorize the book, and finished memorizing the first lecture in 6 weeks. I am in
my 60s, so memorizing the book takes more time. I also seem to forget some parts
after a while and need to work on them again. However, I am not memorizing the
book just for the sake of doing so. I use the method to study the Fa. Through
memorizing Zhuan Falun, I feel that my understandings of Dafa principles
have much improved. In "Touring North America to Teach the Fa," Teacher said, "Sending forth righteous thoughts is another really magnificent thing
for our Dafa disciples." A few days after I started to cultivate, I began to send forth righteous
thoughts. Aside from the 4 times a day, when all practitioners send forth
righteous thoughts (SFRT) together, sometimes I add a few times. I followed the
suggestions on the Minghui website every time. Recently, I feel better and
better when I SFRT. 2. Promoting Falun Dafa After I began to cultivate Falun Dafa, I felt that I should tell more people
about Falun Dafa, so I returned to the city where I used to work and promoted
Falun Dafa there. I gave copies of Zhuan Falun, the 9-session audiotapes,
and truth-clarifying CDs to my friends. Some are old friends and some are
friends that have practiced other forms of qigong'. I also invited some friends
to my home and introduced Falun Dafa to them. One friend who had practiced
another qigong was shocked by the profound principles of Falun Dafa after
listening to only one session of the 9-session audiotape series. That friend
wanted to quit the other qigong immediately and learn Falun Dafa instead. Of the
8 people I introduced to Falun Dafa, six of them indicated that they wanted to
cultivate in Falun Dafa. Most of these six are rather diligent. Soon, they
introduced Falun Dafa to their friends and relatives. As a result, there were
more than 10 new practitioners in a few months. The new practitioners formed a
Fa study group, which keeps growing steadily. During group Fa study, we frequently shared our experiences in different
ways. We hold a small-scale experience sharing conference every three months,
during which we discuss how to do the three things well, as well as some issues
about cultivation. As the number of practitioners in our group grew, we needed more Falun Dafa
books and truth-clarifying materials. I continued to photocopy books and
materials and make copies of the audiotapes; I also buy Falun Dafa books at used
book sales - sometimes I could find several books at a time. In the process of promoting Falun Dafa to my friends and relatives, I also
met veteran practitioners who had obtained Falun Dafa before the persecution
started. In my former work unit, there used to be a practice site where over 10
practitioners used to practice in a group setting. After July 20, 1999, these
practitioners stopped practicing Falun Gong. I found the former assistant and
shared my experiences with him. I gave him Teacher Li's new articles and
truth-clarifying materials. In the beginning, he had all kinds of excuses,
including poor eyesight, and refused to read the materials I brought. He also
returned the truth-clarifying CD I gave him, saying that he did not know how to
open the files on the computer. I decided to invite him to my home. He came and
we watched the truth-clarification CD together. However, the former assistant
still did not step forward. I tried to share my experiences with other veteran
practitioners whenever I could find them. After sharing, some of them wanted to
continue practicing and accepted the truth-clarifying materials, but others were
still poisoned by the propaganda that constantly defames and slanders Falun Dafa.
I felt that there was much more work to be done. 3. Clarifying the truth A few months after I started my cultivation, I began to clarify the truth to
the public. I clarify the truth to the people I know well and trust personally,
or talk to them from a third party angle. I also gave them the truth-clarifying
materials. I spent most of my time distributing truth-clarifying fliers and
video CDs to people. I leave the materials at telephone booths, shops,
supermarkets, markets, residential buildings, front yards of small business
owners, baskets on bikes, buses and taxis, and even in the backpacks of farmers. The place where I began practicing Falun Dafa was over 100 miles (roughly)
from the city I live in. In my city, we could get articles from Minghui.org and
limited amounts of truth-clarifying fliers only once in several months. Before
we could get in touch with other local practitioners, we made our own fliers.
One method is to make more copies from the fliers we have; another method is to
print paragraphs of suitable articles from Minghui.org, piece them together into
a flier, then make copies in a printing and photocopying service store. This is
a temporary way of producing truth-clarifying materials until we can establish a
(truth-clarifying) materials production site. One needs to be careful about picking a location to make photocopies of
truth-clarification materials. Before I go into a store, I first send forth
righteous thoughts. We also pay attention to the cooperation between
practitioners, and we usually go together in small groups. I think that picking
a kind-hearted owner is important. We talk to the owners. We know that a kind
hearted owner would not report the practitioners to the persecutors even if he
or she refuses to provide the service. Of course, if an owner comes to
understand the truth about Falun Dafa and is willing to help us, he or she is
choosing a bright future for himself or herself. We tried 6 photocopy shops. Finally, with the efforts of a new practitioner,
we found a reliable one. We deliver the materials to be photocopied to the
store, and pick up the photocopied materials a couple of days later. Once when
we went there to pick up the photocopied materials, the owners were reading the
truth-clarifying fliers. After we receive a new truth-clarifying CD, we used the above method and find
a place to copy more CDs, ensuring safety and quality. As more practitioners joined our Fa study group, we needed more materials.
Some veteran practitioners also helped to photocopy materials. In making,
photocopying, and distributing the materials, we divided the work among us and
paid attention to safety at all times. The practitioners cooperated well with
each other, and every one participates in clarifying the truth and distributing
truth-clarifying materials. We are happy about the fact that more people are
learning the truth. There are also lessons we have learned. Once I passed a clothing store.
Originally, I was not thinking about distributing fliers there. Yet I returned
after passing the store and left some truth-clarifying materials casually. My
action was discovered by the owner of the store, who got upset and said to me
when I was leaving, "Take your stuff away." I realized that a police
station was nearby, so I took the materials and left without further talking to
the owner. Soon the store closed. I learned from the lesson: I was not rational,
too casual, and was without righteous thoughts. With an ordinary person's
mentality, one cannot save sentient beings. Another lesson I learned was about making truth-clarifying fliers. A
practitioner once handed me a flier. It read, "From Xinhua.net" (Xinhua
is a primary mouthpiece for Chinese government state-run media) I had some
doubts in my mind, "How come it is not from Minghui?" After reading
the flier, I thought the materials to be good, as it discussed restoring the
reputation of Falun Gong. So I photocopied it. After reading Teacher's article
"In Fa-Rectification Your Thoughts Have to be Righteous, Not Human," I
realized that my human being's notions were still very strong. I was ashamed of
myself, and burned all copies of the flier from Xinhua.net that I had not been
able to distribute. In conclusion, I think there is much I could do better in clarifying the
truth. I still am rather fearful. After hearing that some practitioners were
arrested while clarifying the truth, or that the police were patrolling the
streets more frequently, I stayed at home for a while. I have only gone to the
rural areas once to clarify the truth. In the rural areas, when I saw the pure
eyes of the farmers who wish to be saved, I felt the urgency of the situation
and know I need to do more. In the cities, especially the city I live in, we
have not clarified the truth to people in the government administrative offices.
Most residents of this city enjoy good living conditions, but they are poisoned
more deeply by the evil propaganda. They live in residential areas surrounded by
tall walls and guarded by security staff around the clock. Furthermore, each
apartment is equipped with electronic monitoring systems outside the door. As a
result, it is more difficult to distribute truth-clarifying materials. I feel
that my responsibility is very heavy. I know that as long as we hold the thought
of saving the sentient beings, we will find ways to do so. I am determined to make the best use of the time in doing the three things
that all Falun Dafa practitioners should do: "clarifying the truth, sending
forth righteous thoughts, and studying the Fa."
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.cc/mh/articles/2004/12/26/92186.html
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