Raising My Xinxing Level and Arriving at Certain Realizations During Fa-rectification Cultivation
By a Falun Gong practitioner from Henan Province
(Clearwisdom.net) I began practicing Falun Gong in 1996. The authorities
harassed me after the persecution began on July 20, 1999. After that, I was in
an on-and-off cultivation state. In 2004, with Master's compassionate
protection, I received a copy of the "Minghui Weekly" and
gradually returned to Dafa. I would like to share my thoughts and experiences
from these years. 1. Validating the Fa When I first decided to return to cultivation during Fa-rectification, I had
a strong attachment to fear. I read stories in Minghui Weekly about
fellow practitioners' righteous thoughts and actions, admiring them but feeling
ashamed of myself. I started clarifying the truth, but I was not
conversant enough with the facts and my environment was not the best. Some kind
co-workers reminded me, "As long as you know Falun Gong is good, you can
practice it quietly at home. Be careful not to say too much!" I had not studied the Fa enough and had poor comprehension of Fa
principles. I was moved by my co-workers and felt that they were so kind. I
thought we were trying to gain their sympathy and that if more people could
accept the facts, the situation might get better. In fact, I relied on ordinary
people to stop the persecution. I did not understand that Falun Gong
practitioners are assisting Master in Fa-rectification and offering sentient
beings salvation. Practitioners do not need to beg for people's support. As I studied the Fa more and had a better understanding of Fa principles, I
gradually did the three things better. Compassion gradually replaced
fear. I truly hoped all sentient beings could be saved and have a good future. After explaining the facts to people I know, I extended my efforts to more
people. It was a breakthrough that required a calmer mind. I had to understand
the other person's attitudes and acceptance level. In the process I further
eliminated my attachment to fear. I have gained more patience and tolerance. The
more I did, the easier it seemed they could accept the facts. This is also due
to the further elimination of the evil. It is no longer easy for the evil to
control sentient beings. It is also directly related to my improved cultivation
state. 2. Establishing the Environment In 2002, my employer temporarily suspended me from my job for a period of
time. People came to my home each day trying to persuade me to quit Falun Gong.
I did again not have a good understanding of the Fa principles. I was unable to
explain their questions about the "self-immolation incident" well, and
neither had I fully recognized the evilness of the CCP. I follow the principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," so
my co-workers all know that I'm a good person. They thought they were trying to
help me and protect me from the persecution and thought I was being very
stubborn. When I thought about it, I harbored resentment and a competitive
mentality and did not calmly and pro-actively explain the facts to them. I
didn't realize they are sentient beings that needed to be saved. They are the
ones the old forces want to destroy. Most of the time when conversing with them
I tried to contradict their opinions. Therefore, for a while, they worried about
me. They would approach me at each sensitive date. I realized I had
to establish an environment to break through that state. I started explaining
the facts to my co-workers, even to those who had previously tried to avoid the
topic of Falun Gong because they did not want to cause any trouble. I told them why I practice Falun Gong. I explained the "self-immolation
incident" and talked about the CCP's many political movements throughout
its history. Later on I exposed the evildoers' harvesting of living
practitioners' organs. I thought that the more I could help people to
understand, the better. It turned out that the more I explained, the easier it
became. I also used examples and fellow practitioners' experiences published in
the Minghui Weekly and tried to use them in my contacts with people. I
explained things over and over, and to more and more people, from upper
management to regular employees. I not only clarified the truth, but also used
Fa principles to increase their wisdom and help them solve problems they
encountered. I suggested they follow the principles of
"Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" in their daily lives. Some
co-workers were initially cautious but saw later that I was reasonable and
rational. After they chatted with me, their issues were resolved and they became
happier. They all wanted to talk more with me. Upper management now knows the
truth as well and seldom bothers me any more. I can study the Fa during my break
time at work every day now. With Master's arrangement I received software that helped me break through
the Internet blockade. I was able to visit the Minghui/Clearwisdom website
for truth clarification information. I then thought how great would it be if my
co-workers could visit this website themselves. so I decided to tell them about
the software. They all were happy to use it because they wanted to know more
about the facts. I know this is due to Master's mighty benevolence. Their
ability to circumnavigate the CCP's vast Internet blockade eventually built a
solid foundation for exhorting people to quit the CCP. Although some of my
co-workers have not yet quit the CCP, almost no one is against quitting. Even
though they have not quit yet they still say, "I know your intention for me
is good. Let me think about it more." My environment is currently very good. I know this is the result of following
what Master taught me. 3. Establishing a Materials Site The Minghui/Clearwisdom website suggested that practitioners establish
small materials sites. I was fully equipped, and there were practitioners who
could help distribute materials, so we established a materials site. The operation of the materials production site helps improve my cultivation
greatly. I originally treated self-interest lightly. I did not care too much
when others took credit for my work. I thought I was not attached to fame and
money. I merely used my skills in the technical arena and could usually solve
challenging issues. Others see me as a technical expert, so I am well known for
solving technical problems even outside of the company. I hence felt very
content. When I tried to resolve an issue, I did not want to try a different
approach until I exhausted the absolute last resort with the current method.
When I was focusing on it, I did not tolerate any interference. If somebody
bothered me while I was solving a problem, I would get angry and pick a fight
with them. Others always tried to avoid me then. I assumed this was normal. Now
that I think about it, this is an ordinary person's way of thinking. I was using
an ordinary person's standard to measure myself. This was a huge loophole. It
was an attachment that needed to be gotten rid of. In fact, this hides an attachment to validating self. Although someone else
might take credit for the final results, most of the people involved still knew
it was I who made it happen. Hence, I had a sense of enrichment. The attachment
to my ego resurfaced while working for the Dafa materials site. Every time when
I hoped no one would bother me, I would get some unexpected interference. It was
either telephone calls, or children demanding something, or my wife asking me to
do something. I would then get very annoyed. The more annoyed I felt, the more
trouble I would encounter. The machine often did not want to cooperate. I sent
righteous thoughts to the machine, which worked a little bit better, but it did
not solve the fundamental problem. I would stare at the machine for a while and
was so fearful it might have problems. I did not look inward and did not realize
that I needed to change my mentality and had to rid myself of my desire for
recognition in order to cultivate to a point where no outside factors could
affect me. Prompted by Master's hints I finally found my loop-hole and eliminated it.
Gradually the interference became less and less. The machine worked fine. 4. Writing for the Minghui Website I experienced frequent insights while reading articles on the Minghui /Clearwisdomwebsite
and thought I ought to write for the website as well. The realization I had
during my cultivation might be helpful to fellow practitioners, although the
insights are merely limited to my current level. I started writing for the
Minghui website and eventually discovered that doing so is also a way to help
improve my cultivation. It was initially difficult to express myself clearly. But with Master's
arrangement, two of my articles were published, which increased my confidence. I
had previously admired fellow practitioners who wrote articles. Now that I had
become an author, I realized that my previous mindset was incorrect. Getting the
articles published does not mean the authors are special. It only means that the
wisdom they have gained might be helpful for fellow practitioners and thus it
was accepted by the Minghui editors. The authors might still have many
attachments in other areas they need to work on. By comparing myself with them,
I eliminated my mentality of blind admiration. After my articles were published and I gained confidence, new notions
emerged. I often wanted to write something. Once I submitted my articles I would
eagerly wait and wait: has it been published yet? If it was not, I would feel
discouraged. Later I realized that this was due to my showoff mentality and that
I should eliminate it. Writing an article for the purpose of getting published
is not the right mindset. After I eliminated this attachment, my articles
started getting published again. 5. Remaining Unaffected When the Situation Changes Going through ups and downs over the past years, the external environment has
been difficult every now and then. With fellow practitioners' encouragement I
had initially stepped forward to validate the Fa and explain the facts. I did
not really know exactly what was going on and the external circumstances had not
severely impacted me. It was only during certain sensitive dates that several
people came to harass me. At the beginning, I was not exposed to the external
environment changes because I had a strong attachment to fear. I might have been
scared if I knew the details of the persecution. After I had eliminated portions
of my attachment to fear I started facing bigger tests. These tests also made me
more clear-minded and calmer when doing the three things. Now I am no longer
impacted by any changes in the external environment although it does not mean I
do not pay attention to personal safety. Regardless of how relaxed the
environment is, I always remind myself of safety because I have a responsibility
for sentient beings that have not yet been saved. I need to be responsible for
myself, too. Paying insufficient attention to safety is most likely due to the
attachment of zealotry and the showoff mentality. Even in severe conditions I
still do what I am supposed to do, because I feel I should negate a severe
condition. If one does not negate it, it will happen often and keep coming. If
difficult conditions arranged by the old forces are absent, the truth
explanation effort progresses, the three withdrawals increase steadily, and then
the evil will be discouraged and no longer function. The evilness requires huge
monetary resources to maintain its effect. If the evil sees that it does not
work, it will stop. This is also the issue of breaking through the old forces'
arrangements. 6. Making Breakthroughs in Ourselves Finally, I am writing about how to make a breakthrough in myself. Because
every practitioner has a different cultivation starting point, different
background, and different attachments, and everyone experiences different tests,
it might be easier for some practitioners to pass a test meant for them, and
other practitioners to overcome a different hurdle. We practitioners have to
pass all tests, regardless of how difficult. All attachments need to be purged.
Master will help us in this area, but we cannot solely rely on Master's power
without cultivating ourselves. If we could actually rid ourselves of our
attachments on our own, we would feel great happiness after we improve, and we
would make Master happy and he would worry about us less. Just like when we clarify the truth, the practitioners who like to distribute
materials do it a lot. Those who like to clarify the truth face-to-face are
eager to do it. They all play a key role. However, if practitioners who like to
distribute materials experience a breakthrough and become better able to explain
the facts face-to-face, or those who focus on clarifying the truth in person are
able to distribute materials, by my way of thinking, that means they have made
huge progress in their realms. Every area where Dafa work needs to be done well
yet it is difficult for some practitioners to accomplish is a great opportunity.
It is also a direction we should go, a loophole we need to fix. If we could
overcome this hurdle we would feel joy and a confident ease. We have to advance in cultivation, even when facing challenges. It is easier
said than done. For example, I am sometimes lazy, especially when practicing the
exercises. When sending forth righteous thoughts at 12:00 p.m., I often fall
asleep. I have made up my mind several times to do the exercises and send forth
righteous thoughts better. But I still have not been completely successful, and
still have the desire for comfort, which I will try my best to overcome. Writing this experience-sharing article is also a breakthrough for me. I
usually like to write something based on my experiences and thoughts. If there
is a preset topic I find it difficult to write about. This is also why I never
participated in a Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference on the Internet. In
fact, I am restraining myself within my own human notions. This time, I didn't
worry too much about the writing. The moment I saw the notifice I started
thinking and preparing. My article was ready in a few days. This experience
enabled me to clear my mind. The opportunities and turning points of advancement
on Fa principles resurfaced in my mind, which gave me hints to identify hidden
attachments. Some of the attachments have been eliminated. Some I have just
discovered. I share my experiences with fellow practitioners for mutual encouragement.
Let us try our best to eliminate our attachments instead of waiting for Master
to take them away for us. Heshi.
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/10/24/165149.html
Yearly Archive
Printer Version
feedback@clearwisdom.net