(Clearwisdom.net) I have come to deeply understand that paying attention to self-cultivation is very important for saving sentient beings. This understanding has come through my cultivation and efforts to clarify the truth to others in recent years.
When I began following Dafa to cultivate diligently, my environment was very good and there were many people who benefited from it. My neighbors saw that after I cultivated Falun Gong, I got rid of a lot of bad behaviors. The neighbors saw the goodness of Dafa. More and more, people came to disbelieve what the evil party said to slander Dafa and practitioners. These people will have a bright future. Teacher said,
"Then as for all of the beings in this entire cosmos, including the beings and people in the Three Realms, their attitudes today toward Dafa are of utmost importance." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2005 Manhattan International Fa Conference")
Cultivation practice requires each practitioner to be strict with himself. But there were times when it was very painful to eliminate human attachments. On one occasion, I went shopping at a place in my town and I was given an extra thirty yuan in change. I thought, "If I don't say anything, no one will know." I started thinking ordinary thoughts. Then I thought, "It was not an accident for me to encounter this matter. It must be Teacher's arrangement to test my xinxing." Therefore, I immediately went to tell the store owner and return the money. The owner was very thankful and said, "People who practice Falun Gong do not take advantage of others." From this situation, people got a good impression of Dafa, and this store owner might be saved as a result. Clarifying the truth to him or handing him Dafa truth clarifying materials at this point would be easy. He would be receptive to it. As Dafa practitioners, it is our most important responsibility to validate the Fa and save sentient beings.
My determination to cultivate Dafa has changed my family members' understanding of Dafa. They no longer believe the rumors fabricated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They have recognized the evil nature of the party, eliminated the poison it instilled in them, and have chosen the righteous way for their lives.
I am 56 years old. I have been practicing Falun Dafa for nine years, and my health and xinxing have improved substantially since then. My family members have witnessed the changes in me. I quit smoking, drinking and spending money on medicine. My body is getting stronger and stronger. I had three illnesses before I began cultivating: psoriasis, enteritis and a lumbar vertebra compression bone fracture. These three illnesses were difficult for the doctors to cure. They brought a lot of difficulty to my life and interfered with my work. If I had not practiced Falun Gong, I would not be alive now. An ordinary person's tolerance is limited, and when the suffering exceeds one's ability to endure, one might get extreme ideas. Before I practiced Falun Gong, I did not dare to carry anything weighing 50 kg (110 pounds). After practicing, I gradually came to be able to move such things and could do work that I had not been able to do before.
In 1999, the evil party started to defame Dafa, and started the persecution. The slander told to the public claimed that practicing Dafa would lead to setting oneself on fire, committing suicide, etc. The CCP-controlled state media instigated hatred towards Dafa. The police around the country searched practitioners' homes, put practitioners in jail and forced labor camps, confiscated practitioners' money, brought practitioners to trial, beat, tortured and even killed practitioners. My home was searched four times, I was put in jail three times, and I was detained for 100 days without any reason given. These occurrences have damaged my life at work and within my family. At that time, my family members and most other people believed the evil propaganda. My family created a lot of trouble for me, trying to prevent me from practicing Falun Gong and studying the Fa. The situation was just like what Teacher said:
"A hundred hardships falling all at once,|
See how one lives."("Tempering One's Heart and Will" from Hong Yin)
I recalled that Dafa has taught us that one,
"...examines his own xinxing to look for the causes of wrongdoing so as to do better next time, and considers others first when taking any action..." ("Lecture Nine" from Zhuan Falun)
Falun Dafa is based on righteous principles, and cultivation based on Dafa is also righteous. As long as I am alive, I will practice Dafa. My wife saw my health becoming stronger and stronger. She gradually stopped interfering with my book study and exercises. During the Chinese Lunar New Year last year I was clarifying the truth to my visitors, and my son argued back saying, "If you think it is good, then do it yourself, don't tell other people." My wife saw that my son was making trouble for me and said, "Your father did not need you to heal his illness, isn't this your fortune?!" The atmosphere eased. She was supporting my efforts to clarify the truth to my visitors.
The changes I experienced through practicing Falun Dafa have helped my family realize how the CCP culture poisons people's minds. My family environment is becoming easier and easier for me. Now my wife also helps me to distribute materials. I have moved the exercise group from a fellow practitioner's home to my home, and the improvements are getting better and better.
December 14, 2005
