(Clearwisdom.net) I have survived seven years of trials and tribulations because of teacher's benevolent protection. When we are faced with thorny interferences and our own attachments, we will be able to overcome them with righteous thoughts and righteous actions.
Teacher said,
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughts
Master has the power to turn back the tide” (Hong Yin Volume II)
One day, at the forced labor camp, a fellow practitioner was being shocked with electronic batons and beaten by inmates after she shouted, “Falun Dafa is good.” When witnessing the many guards and inmates surrounding the practitioner, I did not hold hatred in my heart, but compassion. I shouted “Falun Dafa is good,” which shocked the guards. The inmate who was monitoring me cried. Later, a police officer said, “I did not know that you were that bold. You Falun Gong practitioners are unbelievable.” The inmate said, “You are different from us. There is something sacred about you guys.” When I was coughing, she offered to keep on the look out for trouble, so I could practice. When I recovered after some severe cough attacks in no time, they were convinced. They said, “We were not convinced when you were talking about the benefits of Falun Dafa. Now, we see it with our eyes. Falun Gong is magical.” I enlightened, as long as we immerse ourselves into the Fa and conduct ourselves as practitioners, hold righteous thoughts and have righteous actions, the Fa's power will manifest and we will not stumble.
When faced with inhuman and cruel torture, when you have to choose righteous faith despite excruciating pain, as long as you keep a strong mind and righteous thoughts, you will not stumble.
Soon after the persecution started, the police confiscated Teacher's portrait from my house. When I came home, looking at the empty wall, I felt like a fish out of water. I thought, “I cannot live without the Fa. Yet, I was stopped from taking action by all kinds of notions and attachments. I hesitated. In the end, after talking about it with my family members, we went to the police station and spoke to the director. Although we were kind and tried to “clarify the truth” to the director, we did not have righteous thoughts. He refused to return the portrait. I got a little impatient and thought, “What should I do?” I then realized that I have teacher at my side and I have the Fa. Why don't I just let go of my fear completely! I said to him firmly, “I have said all I needed to say. No one can take Falun Dafa practitioners' things without a second thought.” He then changed his mind and agreed to return teacher's portrait.
The reason some practitioners cannot step forward is because of fear. They do not realize that the fear is not my original self. I suggest “be determined” and the fear will disappear.
One time, a practitioner was arrested who had truth clarification materials I had given to him. On the second day, when I did not see him, I had a funny feeling. So, I sent forth righteous thoughts. On the third day, I heard that he had been arrested, and I began to waver. At this point, a sentence from “Zhuan Falun” came to my mind, “...other people’s supernormal abilities cannot reach me at all. Nobody is able to understand me or know what is on my mind.” That's right. How did I forget? No one can put Dafa to a test. The old forces are not fit to test the practitioners, nor the dark minions, behind the scene helper helpers, or evil spirits. If they control some beings to do evil, they are also damaging these beings. We can never acknowledge the arrangements of the old forces. In order to save sentient beings, we have to disintegrate the evil.
In those days, whether I was studying the Fa or carrying on in my daily life, some invisible pressure almost suffocated me. I even heard something like, “Don't worry. We will not arrest you. We will let you go. We only need to know a little bit.” I almost succumbed. Then I thought, I am acknowledging the old forces arrangements and putting my fellow practitioners at risk as well as those beings used by the evil. No, I cannot do that! I kept my righteous thoughts. After some time, the arrested practitioner, due to fear and wanting to be released, revealed to the evil people information about other practitioners. However, he did not mention my name, even though he had the materials I gave him. (I was not very pure, very selfish). I enlightened that fear and attachments, human mentalities, and notions are nothing. Dark minions, evil spirits and rotten minions are nothing. Just as Teacher said in Zhuan Falun,
“Actually, I say that they are not formidable and are nothing before a true practitioner. Though you may find one that has practiced cultivation for nearly one thousand years, a tiny finger will be more than enough to crush it.”
The crux of the matter is that we have to study the Fa well and determinedly look within. Sometimes we cannot find our attachments, remain angry and cannot calm down. Or we may have more or less acknowledged the arrangements by the old forces. As long as we calm down when studying the Fa and keep our righteous thoughts and strengthen them, we can pull through. Teacher said,
“If you can commit your mind, no difficulties can stop you. I would say that there is not a problem.” (Zhuan Falun)
A short while ago, three of us (A, B and myself) were trying to get on the Internet with some software that can break through the Internet blockade. No matter which software I picked, my fellow practitioner A had something to say. Therefore, I said, “We should cooperate with each other and strengthen our righteous thoughts. We should not blame each other before we have even started. None of us is an IT expert. The old forces will take advantage of our loopholes.” Practitioner B responded, “why should we cooperate with you all the time? Why do you not cooperate with other people? You are always so superior and impose your will on us.” For safety reasons, I got off the Internet and said, “Let's talk about this and look within.”
This just opened up a can of worms. They started to complain about me, including things that I do not even remember. I felt that I was a good for nothing. I have always been very sensitive. I thought, “It was all my fault. What about you guys?” I tried to check myself and hoped to have a chance to explain. But in the end, the focus was still on me and it was all my fault. They even said that they did this for my own good and that I will thank them in the future.
I was so upset. I thought that since I was a practitioner with such conflicts, I must have some strong attachments. At this time, I could not find my shortcomings. I told myself that I have to keep my “xinxing.” So I said, “Let me think about it.”
After a few days, when I finally settled down to study the Fa, I read “Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital,”
“Cultivation is about cultivating one's self. No matter what kind of state emerges, you need to take a hard look at yourself. I can tell you, if an ordinary person is able to look at himself whenever he encounters problems, he will become what ordinary people call a sage. When a Dafa disciple has a hard time with something and needs to think things over, he should look for things starting with himself and do things in line with the environment needed by Dafa disciples and the Fa-rectification. When a problem occurs, it is because that person is stubbornly going against the Fa principles. Go and find where the problem lies, let go of that stubbornness, and sort things out. When you encounter something, the best approach is not to charge forward and contend with others, push your way to the front, and rush forward to chase down the solution. Let go of your attachment, take a step back, and then resolve it. (Applause) If whenever something happens you instantly jump into who's right, whose problem it is, and how you have done, then while on the surface it looks like you are resolving the conflict or tension, in reality that's not the case at all. On the surface it looks plenty rational, but in reality that's not rational at all. You haven't taken a step back and fully cast off your attachment, and then thought the issue over. Only after a person calmly and peacefully withdraws from a conflict and then looks at it can he truly resolve it.”
I realize that this is all targeting my human mentalities, including the way I do things and the reflections of the communist party culture. I found that I was standing on the point of selfishness and did not look at it from the Fa's point of view. When I found my wrong notions and became determined to let them go, I realized the preciousness of my fellow practitioners and realized what it is to think from other people's perspective. Now, I have reached another realm.
I heard that practitioners, when faced with tribulations, wanting to do well and achieving the standards, still hold on to the Fa and humanness at the same time. In the end, they could not pass the test, and complained that it was too difficult, and that they could not overcome this problem. I think as Dafa practitioners, when doing the “three things,” if we can keep our righteous thoughts, and be determined to do the three things well, and also follow teacher, nothing can stop us.
We have to remember what Teacher said, “When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.” (Zhuan Falun)
Let us advance diligently together.
