Western Practitioner: How the Fa Helped Me to Harmoniously Combine Dafa Work and Family Life

(Clearwisdom.net)

Greetings respected Master,

Greetings fellow practitioners:

I live in Belgium. I have been practicing Falun Gong for 5 years. I would like to share with you my experience of how I as a practitioner became more steadfast and was able to balance better my family life with my work in doing the three things well, especially after the birth of my daughter six months ago.

During the last days of my wife's pregnancy, the delivery itself and the days after the birth, I coordinated a project whereby the Canadian investigators Kilgour and Matas came to Belgium to introduce their second report about the organ harvesting and organ trade of living Falun Gong practitioners in China. I was co-responsible for the contacts of their testimony in the Flemish Parliament. A member of the Parliament agreed to help us to arrange a press conference in the Parliament together with the Mr. Kilgour and Mr. Matas. It seemed rather logical that I, as a co-moderator, should lead the press conference. I became aware of this rather slowly. But in fact I already knew it for some time but refused to fully accept the responsibility and hoped another solution would surface. I didn't want to take the responsibility, since the notion that I am not talented in talking fluently, certainly not in public and in English, controlled my thoughts. It was also the first time that I was organizing a big event like this.

I only decided approximately two days before the press conference to go for it. This was the moment that I realized that this task came to me very naturally. I also realized that by taking up this responsibility I wouldn't cause the others working on this project an extra burden. Also, it was an opportunity to raise my xinxing and tell the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong--more specifically, the organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China--to more people and to clean up the environment in the Flemish Parliament. It was also my duty to support the practitioners in China where I could. The responsibility came to me and it was my responsibility to face it.

During the preparations with a Member of Parliament, I received the compliment that I would be a good assistant. He was happy with how I handled everything and with the information I gave to him. I understood from this that Master was encouraging me to move forward in a steadfast way and not to be afraid of failing.

On the evening and night before, I became nervous. A practitioner advised me to study the Fa. After writing the preparatory text, I stayed up until 3 o'clock in the morning to study a chapter of Zhuan Falun. I also regularly asked Master to give me wisdom and help me to handle my responsibilities well. The morning of the conference I learned that it would be better to edit the preparatory text and translate it into English. Because of being nervous, I forgot to do this. With the support and the compassion of fellow practitioners, I was able to adjust and translate the text, even though they were very busy too. Consequently, I was on time for the press conference. The conference itself proceeded rather fluently. I spoke clearly and comprehensibly, said what had to be said and was flexible when needed. The conference was a success.

My personal life changed thoroughly with the birth of my daughter. Now, not only have to take my wife into consideration, but also my daughter. Because of this I had to sacrifice a lot, make some difficult decisions and take up the responsibilities of a father. By handling my family issues with patience and in a steadfast way, I received other things that are priceless to me: I matured a lot as a practitioner and lived closer to the three principles. The result could be seen in a positive way both in family life and in the three things that a practitioner ought to do. Not so long ago, my wife told me that after the birth I took very good care of her, supported the household and our daughter, and endured during the 3-month period when she suffered from postnatal depression. During that period we never fought with each other once. She told me that if I hadn't studied Falun Dafa and become a practitioner, because of the pressure and tensions, we certainly would have had fights on a regular basis. She also said, "Because of your good care, patience and thinking of me, the depression didn't last longer." As a result my wife tolerated the work I did for Falun Dafa, despite her situation. In "Lecture Three" of Zhuan Falun, in the part "Energy Field" it is written,

"That's why there used to be a saying in Buddhism, 'Buddha's light shines everywhere, propriety and righteousness harmonize everything.'"

I believe this is what happened.

During that period, all the household work, my job as an educator, caring for my daughter and my wife were all my responsibilities. In addition, I was also responsible to do my best to study the Fa diligently, tell the truth about the persecution and send forth righteous thoughts. I took on these tasks, because it was my duty as a good father and a Falun Gong practitioner. If I don't do things like this, will I have shown compassion to others? I didn't think much about it. I only did what I had to do. In "Lecture Six" of Zhuan Falun, in the part "Breeding Demons in Your Own Mind," Master says,

"Of course, while we're cultivating in the ordinary world we're supposed to respect our parents and be good to them, just as we should teach our kids and discipline them. In every situation we should be good to others and be kind to people, let alone your family members. We should treat everyone the same, be good to our parents and our kids, and always be considerate of others."

My wife also told me that I became more clear and steadfast in my decisions and I am still growing. I used to think too much before about the pros and cons. Now I make decisions much faster and stand by my decisions without being negative towards the situation; and I still think about other people too. My actions are also more focused because of this.

There were some things during the process, described in this experience sharing, that could have gone better if I had studied the Fa more diligently. For example, fellow practitioners would have had more time to concentrate on their own preparations and my wife's depression would have disappeared even faster. Nevertheless, I want to thank all practitioners who supported me during the process of maturing as a practitioner and in informing the Belgian community more about the persecution of Falun Gong.

I want to thank Master for the strength He gave me to believe that the press conference would go well and for helping me succeed.

In the conclusion of Zhuan Falun it is mentioned,

"When it's difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it's impossible to do, you can do it. If you can actually do it, you will find: After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!"

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/6/2/156081.html

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